Asian trip means more planning

I shall be leaving shortly on a trip to China, and a pile of guidebooks, brochures and e-mails from friends stands 2 feet high on my bedside table. For Americans, travel to Asia takes more than the usual preparations, and even with all my previous trips to the Far East, I’m still nervous about overlooking some important advance task.

Apart from reading about political, economic and cultural conditions and making reservations, I’ve needed to arrange shots for hepatitis A and B, order a cell phone that can make outgoing calls from Asia and select a giant historical novel for the long flight.

Other general preparation for Asia falls into four categories:

Deciding when to go: The seasons in Asia are different from those in the United States and Europe. Asian countries fall into three general climatic zones. In the north -- Japan and Korea -- you are in a temperate zone with conditions akin to those of the U.S. and most of Europe. Tokyo’s weather is similar to that of Washington, D.C.; Korea’s is closer to that of Fargo, N.D., and it can get cold there in winter.

The second great zone -- from Hong Kong and Taiwan south through Southeast Asia and over to India -- is tropical and subtropical, and you will generally encounter year-round heat in all places other than New Delhi and northern India. Hong Kong and Taiwan are slightly cooler December through February, but not markedly so.

China is a zone all its own. Beijing has cold and windy winter weather, hot and dry summers and passable spring and fall weather. Shanghai is a bit more like Hong Kong and Taiwan. China’s worst weather occurs during the cold months of December through February in Beijing, and the rainy season of July and August in Shanghai.

Assessing relative costs: Japan is the costliest Asian destination, followed by Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Bangkok (the latter two about the same). Indonesia and northern Thailand (Chiang Mai) are at the bottom of the list. Above them are New Delhi and Manila. In the middle: Beijing; Shanghai; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Korea.

Understanding local religions: You should read about the religions of the countries you plan to visit. Keep in mind that Mahayana Buddhism (which allows priests to marry and have families) is the predominant religion of Asia, particularly strong in Thailand and Japan. In Japan, most Japanese are both Buddhists and Shintoists.

Koreans are equally divided between Buddhism and Christianity (the latter Catholic and Protestant in about equal parts). In countries or areas where the Chinese predominate (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore), there are few practicing Buddhists, and most Chinese follow the teachings of Confucius. In the Philippines, most of the population is Catholic, with a scattering of Protestants and Muslims.

India is three-quarters Hindu and one-quarter Muslim, with a scattering of Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Bahais. Bali practices a form of Hinduism; the rest of Indonesia and Malaysia is generally Muslim.

Preparing for local customs: Far more than for a trip to Europe or elsewhere, you should also read up about particular Asian customs, such as the usual practice of not touching another person -- except, on rare occasions, when they will deign to shake hands out of deference to your strange Western ways.

In Thailand, because of Buddhist teachings, the head in particular should not be touched, even to pat the head of a child, and you should be careful where you point the bottoms of your feet. Never expose the soles of your feet or shoes to anyone, especially a statue of the Buddha or a picture of the king. It is polite to take off your shoes when entering homes and temples in Buddhist countries. Note that in most homes, there are also separate slippers for the toilet, found right outside of it.