Daily flights, nonstop, to Chiang Mai Thailand from HKG. 2.5 hrs. Many top hotels, and also many less expensive lodging options. Food good, local transport OK, Uber on tap (under the covers), lots of decent walking thru the city with numerous temples to visit. Also possible to fly from CM, on propeller driven planes, to nearby remote spots, like Mae Hong Song, even Luang Prabang Laos.
If rain possibility must be zero only, keep away. Might rain any day, for 5 minutes or longer. Otherwise mild temps and nearly all days/nights without air con.
What is enjoyable? So far, my husbands flight was late so he arrived after midnight; we forgot to set an alarm and woke up at 9:50... the breakfast buffet had almost nothing left (closed at 10) so we asked if we could pay for one since it was so bad... no.. ok bugger that went out to McDonalds on a shuttle bus. Got lost walking back, found all sorts of little shops, did shopping, got back tot he hotel too late to go hiking (our original plan... plus its raining now).... so far we are having more fun than we did in Switzerland. Fun is relative. You have fun when you are in the mood to have fun. Getting lost is annoying or an adventure. Getting wet is a pain or hilarious. You can have an enjoyable holiday anywhere if you are in the right mood, and the loveliest place is awful if you are not.
China is hard work. But it can also be very enjoyable. Absolutely loved Jiuzhaigou when we went a few years back despite the fact that the taxi ripped us off, flights were delayed and the place is infested with Chinese tourists. We ditched the "normal" way to see it and walked 17km on lesser known paths and found some absolutely stunning scenery rivalling anything in the Alps or Rockies. We ate bizarre food and generally had an adventure in the evenings.
Holidays, much like life, are what you make of them, not what the destination holds.
Kunming and Dali are enjoyable at this time of the year. I don't know if I would recommend Lijiang itself, as I have only ever passed through it getting to Tiger Leaping Gorge (which was an amazing trip). Anyway, the weather in Kunming and Dali right now is mild. It does rain sometimes in the afternoon, but you can just be prepared and take naps during the raining afternoon after a morning out. In Kunming you can do little day trip excursions like the Stone Forest, Golden Temple Park (Jindian park), Dragon's Gate, flower markets, really good food. Dali you can do a half-day cycling trip along the lake, walk around the old town which is rather nice, take the cable cars up the mountain or even do some overnight hiking.
My two cents about China: it is indeed a pain and rough (dirty hotels, spitting, sometimes harsh people trying to scam you, language barrier, cars crashing, hah), but can also be all the more rewarding when you manage. Definitely worth our time being based in Hong Kong to get to know our "neighbors" (who think we're actually "family").
@HK_Katherine you'll have to explain how you avoided the crowds in Jiuzhai -- was it just a day hike? Or did you do overnight camping?
When you enter the park, there is a choice to take a shuttle bus (extra cost) which takes you to the centre of the park. All the really good stuff is at the centre of the park, or further in up one of the two arms (Think of a Y, the entrance is at the bottom, the centre is the centre and the best sights are up the arms of the Y). Anyway, if you do NOT take the shuttle bus (99.9% of people take the bus), but instead follow your nose there is a hiking trail right from the entrance. It follows a river and has some really nice waterfalls and other scenery all of it's own. You basically follow that towards the centre of the park (which is about 17km from the entrance). You will see about 5 other people during that 17km. Then we jumped on the shuttle bus and left. (we were there two days, Day 1 we did the standard stuff and saw the best sights, along with 10000 other people, second day we did the hiking and enjoyed it 100x more).
I went to Munduk a few years ago. Humid but only 23c or so. Lovely rice terraces and waterfalls etc.Original Post Deleted
Just got back from 4 days in Sapporo. The ice cream was delicious and I could wear a jacket at night. Highly recommended
Very jealous Jen!
I think lots of people have missed the point of this thread. The OP wants somewhere that is not humid in summer.
Most of China is hot and humid during the summer, so it doesn't really fit the brief. There are some cooler parts, but most are difficult to get to if you only have a long weekend.