Hello David,

to the forum. I've moved your post to the Japan forum as your first destination is Tokyo.

My first thought is that you might actually be able to do that trip as a combination of overland legs and budget airline hops, but it all depends how much time you have for your trip. Certainly SE Asia is well covered by budget airlines (check out Air Asia for some sample routes). You could cross from Japan to China by sea (or try to get a cheap flight), then travel by train through China to Hong Kong, fly on Air Asia to Bangkok. Just a thought for a hell of a trip if you have bags of time (unlikely I know).

I am surprised at the prices you have been quoted on BA. London to Hong Kong is a competitive route and I've seen fares for around £300-350, although that's presumably dependent on season. What are your approximate dates? London-Tokyo is a more pricey hop - I am planning to go in April and I was getting figures at around £550. I have some AirMiles saved up so I can use them as part payment on a BA flight, knocking £200 off it bringing it down to about £350 return to Tokyo.

Is the Circle Asia pass the same as this one? One World Asia Pass A recent post suggested this pass was decent value, although it was advertised as starting from the US. Perhaps a similar option might be available from Europe?

Hope that gives you some ideas...

cheers
Steve