Since the cost and time requirement of flying to Dubai via Muscat is now comparable to going further afield I've narrowed my early August escape from Dohell to the following:

1. Lebanon. Stay in hotel somewhere on Hamra. Swim at beaches somewhere. Eat lots of Lebanese food and chilled beers. Day trip to Baalbek. Will be hot but not as bad as Qatar.

2. BKK. Posh hotel with a nice pool. Eat lots of Thai grub. Do a food tour. Flight timing is very convenient but weather will be hot and humid.

Thoughts?

BKK , been going for 25 years and it's still a great city . Food is phenomenal try Bo Lan in Sukhumvit , outstanding .

Not another holiday thread....

Anyway - BKK. I'm going to Cambodia.

Lebanon is overpriced, and full, sadly, of Lebanese people.

Ha ha. Lebanon and the Lebanese truly are an interesting bunch.

BKK would be my choice.

Where you hitting in Cambodia Millhouse?

Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. I'll let you know if I see Gary Glitter.

Is he not in dead?

Love Phnom Penh, great city. Found Siem Reap a bit meh once you've seen a temple or two.

So last year chief , we're looking at Bhutan on The Ranches fella .

BKK: hot and steamy with spicy food and drinks on rooftop bars. And fighting off the ladyboys.

Lebanon: swimming in the Mediterranean. And likely cooler.

I have a strong desire to swim in the Mediterranean. And Lebanon is the closest option. And I'd like to see Baalbek before it eventually gets blown up.

Maybe do both on two successive weekends?

I'm told the food is crap.

According to the expat already been to 100 countries and plastered the walls of his villa in Jumeira 1 with the photos of smiling dark coloured kids with bright shiny white teeth to prove it, tells me western China is the place to go. Yunnan food

I'm doing 5 days in each, interesting you say Siem is the lesser one, most say the opposite. Either way will be ok - as long as it is warm, I can get massages, cheap beer and drive around half drunk on a scooter, I'm ok.

BKK is a dump.

Just hide in your Banyan Tree suite like we did.

Or, go somewhere else. Swim in the Med is appealing, at least it'll be fresh air.

Yeah, quite a few folk have a downer on PP for some reason but it's got quite a lot when you scratch the surface, both for day and night time activities / places to see. Siem Reap is pretty much temples and thats about it as far as I could see (although admittedly I didn't put too much effort into it). I did 3 temples in an afternoon and that was me over it. They have the main street full of bars but that wasn't up to much when I was there, although it was low season. It's also a pain in the tits to get to.

Sihanookiville and Koh Rong are worth a look but they're closer to PP than SR.

Top temple visiting tip is don't do one of the organised (v expensive tours). Just do 10 mins of research and grab any random tuk tuk and tell him which ones you want to see. He'll sort it all for a fraction of the price. I booked mine the night before when he was bringing me back to the hotel. He organised between temple tuk tuk travel beers too for a dollar or two extra too.

oh gawd not ANOTHER thread on holidays

Don't worry Mission, these are people who are actually GOING rather than planning. Nothing for you to see here

aww ma'an not you too SHED, i thought you of all peeps would have my back and for the umpteenth time I AM GOING