Talking Travel: Greetings from Central Asia Edition

Talking Travel is usually written from a desk in Beijing, but occasionally it's written from the field. For this edition, it's being written from the shores of Issyk-Kul, the second-largest alpine lake in the world, a blue gem ringed by the jagged and snow-capped peaks of the Tian Shan mountains. Think Xinjiang without the visa and the current troubles. More on Kyrgyzstan and why it may be the most underrated destination in Asia when I'm back at that desk in Beijing.

Some great deals coming out of Hainan Airlines recently. Fly from Beijing to Phuket, Thailand, from now until September 30 for RMB 890 roundtrip. Their much-heralded Boston service has now begun, and that's on offer for RMB 3,000 from September 11 to December 31. Perhaps they could have picked a different date to initiate that fare. Regardless, check out all these limited-time options here.

That Los Angeles (LAX) to Beijing price of USD 758 on United Airlines that we wrote about previously continues. It doesn't help us here in Beijing, but for family and friends on the US West Coast who want to visit, this is about as good as it gets. More information on that here.

Book your Mid-Autumn Festival (September 6-8) travel now. Prices are already getting stupid, with roundtrip airfares to Southeast Asian destinations like Manila are already approaching RMB 6,000 roundtrip on various airlines.

On Thursday, have look at weekend options for the world's new gambling capital, Macau, from the Beijinger's monthly travel column, Get Out. 'Til next Tuesday, one road flat safe.

Photo: Steven Schwankert/the Beijinger