Thinking of going on a holiday. I like to do stuff, hike, bike, sail etc rather then just laze around a pool. Like to eat local food
(not hotel restaurant food...yawn), hangout with the locals and do a bit of photography, don't mind going off the beaten track, cheap or roughing it. I'd like to go anywhere apart from Europe or USA, somewhere where life is really different to how we live in Aust. Any suggestions, ideas or experiences to relate would be great, thanks 
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Ok, hoping this is genuine and not a travel agent or such crap.
I like the same things from a holiday, so;
My fave places to have travelled are;
1. NZ.
2. Scotland
3. Turkey, Romania, Norway, China
Biggest want to do; Travel the length of the Andes.
Vietnam. People, food, history, geography are just a few brilliant things to experience. Oh it's very cheap too.
Koh Lipe in Thailand, fly to Langkawi then get a speed boat to the island. You get a good feel for the pace of the island when you stand at the Immigration 'hut' with beach sand between your toes.
Been a few laps around SE Asia.
Thailand is great, I love it, will go again, it's easy but a bit less adventurous than others
Vietnam: Interesting, cheap, does get a bit samey - they tend to be quite conformist so everything's much the same in one region (food/shops/etc) so you have to travel for a difference. Stayed a month or so here which was a highlight www.google.com.au/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=vietnam%20phu%20quoc
Cambodia: interesting, lots of history, slightly edgier like when you pull into Pnomh Phen (sp?) they have lots of guards around bus and give lots of theft warnings etc. Stayed in worst room ever, a $5/night on stilts over the lake (now filled in) with a rat highway thru it in the middle of the night.
My pick: Laos.
We stayed somewhere about $35/night US for double massive hut with bathroom & balcony w river view. Included 3 hot meals /day for 2 of us, french cooks, homemade bread & local coffee for breakfast, etc. Free bikes, fishing rods, kayaks. One of the only rivers in SE asia totally clean and inviting to dive in. Lots of local trips organised etc. Could have happily stayed weeks.
Can't put my finger on the exact one but this kinda thing is representative of what you can find.. http://ecotourismlaos.com/eco_accommodation/index.html
Papua New Guinea can be pretty wild. I spent a short time in an emergency department and i can tell you it was very different to Australia or anywhere i've been in S.E.A.. It's an incredibly stunning place.
I know you said no US but Alaska is incredible. Where else in the world can you take photos of bears and 20minutes later humpback whales 20-100m off the shore.
Cuba would be cool or somewhere off the beaten track in Africa (Togo Guinea Bissa?) is worth a look? South America (Ecuador, Bolivia?) followed by Antartica would be amazing
Select to expand quotesausage said..
Vietnam. People, food, history, geography are just a few brilliant things to experience. Oh it's very cheap too.
South Vietnam rather than north I have been told.
If you've got 2-3 weeks in Vietnam i'd travel from North to South (a well travelled trail) but i'd skip Vietnam and go to Laos or Cambodia. Places less travelled but Vietnam was pretty ordinary i thought. Maybe it was the dengue fever but i'd never go back.
