Cheap city breaks in Asia Sophie Butler, consumer correspondent, replies Your choice of stopover city will be governed by which airline you fly with, which part of Australia you're going to, your budget and the amount of time you're prepared to travel. Hong Kong and Bangkok are the most common choices for city stopovers because of the large number of airlines using them, including British Airways (ba.com) and Qantas (qantas.com.au). As a destination, Bangkok is even more exhilarating and exhausting than Hong Kong. With its extraordinary street-life, smoggy climate and clogged roads, visitors need stamina. However, if you stay in a riverside hotel, you can visit its Grand Palace temples by boat and it's a great place for shopping, restaurants and nightlife (see tourismthailand.org). Nightly rates at hotels are good value too. According to Hotels.com, the average price for a four-star hotel in Bangkok is £67, compared with £137 in Hong Kong. Another city to consider is Singapore (yoursingapore.com). The national carrier Singapore Airlines (singaporeair.com) flies to various cities in Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. You'll face a long first leg (London to Singapore takes 13 hours and 30 minutes) but a shorter second leg (just under eight hours to Sydney). This city is more relaxed and easier to get around than other similar destinations, with English widely spoken and interesting sights (including the Botanic Gardens, Asian Civilisations Museum and colonial areas). However, hotels in Singapore are expensive, averaging £144 per night for a four-star hotel. Other possibilities include Beijing and Shanghai - both fascinating places to visit (see cnto.org), with good-value hotels (four-star hotel rooms average £74 per night). However, travelling via China with Air China (airchina.com) or China Eastern (flychinaeastern.com) will make your overall journey time to Australia longer (up to 24 hours of flying time). The Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur, served by Malaysia Airlines (uk.malaysiaairlines.com), offers reasonably priced hotels, varied shopping and interesting sightseeing plus a relatively short total flight time to Australia of just over 20 hours (see travel.tourism.gov.my). Slightly more off the beaten track, Seoul, served by Korean Air (koreanair.com), offers interesting culture (see visitkorea.or.kr) but hotels are relatively pricey. Check visa requirements for your stopover choice and compare long-haul flight deals. A good agent, such as Trailfinders (0845 050 5892; trailfinders.com), STA Travel (0333 321 0099; statravel.co.uk) or DialAFlight (0844 811 4444; dialaflight.com) may have IT ("Inclusive Tour") airfares which include two or three nights" accommodation. This sort of deal can make a city stopover great value for money.