BudgetTravel

Matthew answered your questions Tuesday, August 31, at 1 p.m. EST.

Matthew Link was destined to be a travel writer, having grown up on his father's 52-foot sailboat during his teenage years, cruising around Southeast Asia and the Pacific. He has at various times called Hong, Kong, the Philippines, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand home (not to mention more hum-drum spots like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and London). His last stint was on the Big Island of Hawaii for five years, where he wrote and published his own guidebooks to the islands, Rainbow Handbook Hawaii. Link has produced award-winning social documentaries which have shown in film festivals and on PBS stations, and he is also an avid kayaker, hiker, snowboarder, and skin diver. Africa is his all-time favorite travel destination, and he has visited Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Egypt, and Ghana.

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Matthew Link: Hi everyone! Thanks for your questions we'll get right to them.

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Castro Valley, CA: Matthew, Trying to find a low price airfare to India. Also looking for any other way to get to India, maybe through Hong Kong?

Matthew Link: The best company we've found for roundtrips to India from the U.S. is Hari World. Established over 30 years ago in Canada, this company serves the ex-pat Indian community in North America, offering them great deals that anyone else can enjoy too. Don't hold me to it, but in the past they have quoted me roughly $800 for a roundtrip from New York to Delhi. They have offices in Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Toronto and New Delhi, with plans to open ones in Boston, Washington, and Miami later in the year. You can contact their office in San Francisco at 510/795-5000 or go to hariworld.com.

Air India (airindia.com) also offers a "Companion Free Scheme" which gets you a free coach ticket when someone flies from the U.S. to India at Executive Class level. The passengers need to fly on the outbound flight together, but can return to the States at different times. The deal is good until March 31, 2005, and certain restrictions apply.

When I lived in Hong Kong in the early '90s, it was a cheap place to get onward airplane tickets throughout Asia. Now, Hong Kong is one of the most expensive cities in the world according to surveys, and I think it will be cheaper and easier for you to fly directly to India, since Air India now has flights three times a week from L.A. (which just started in June), and you fly via Frankfurt anyway.

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New York, NY: When is the best time to visit China? Which cities have the best food in China?

Matthew Link: China covers many different regions and ecosystems, but generally speaking has hot summers and unpleasant winters, making spring and fall the best times for traveling there. Hong Kong in the south is muggy and humid in summer, and Beijing can be freezing in winter -- but even spring and fall can be wet, so don't blame me! ;-) Although Chinese New Year is like Mardi Gras (without the nudity), this time period (usually around February) can be packed and hard to find rooms, so book early.