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Post summer travel to Asia is not only affordable, it's also the best time of year to travel; as India, China and Japan come to life with autumn festivals celebrating religion, culture and the harvest.

Planning an autumn family vacation in Asia is not only affordable, it's also the best time of year to travel the region. In many areas, the summer heat has abated, the rains have stopped, and airfares have fallen as days in the northern hemisphere begin to shorten. If you’re heading east or west to India, Japan or China this fall, there are plenty of festivals for you and your family to enjoy. Plan ahead and be sure to book hotel rooms early.

September Celebrations: Faith, Floats, Families

India's Ganesh Chaturthi Festival is in honor of Ganesh, the elephant-headed deity who is recognized as the remover of obstacles. It begins in late August in Mumbai and lasts for 10 days. Various communities, residential blocks, streets, markets, wealthy merchants and organizations put up pavilions. An image of Ganesh, usually quite lavish, is placed on each mandap, a decorative archway. The Ganesh festival can be considered a public declaration about the place of religion in contemporary Indian society. Remember the vitality of Mumbai residents in the Academy Award-winning film, "Slumdog Millionaire"? Visitors to Mumbai during this period will witness the liveliness of Indian communities, the strength of popular artistic and artisan traditions, and the malleability of an Indian deity who can be used to celebrate almost any achievement.

Japan’s Danjiri Festival at Kishiki Shrine in Kishiwada City, Osaka, takes place in mid-September, on September 14-15 in 2009. A danjiri is a traditional type of wooden float, decorated with various ornaments. About 30 of these floats, each representing different neighborhoods, parade around the whole day and ram into each other when they encounter. Thus, this is also referred to as the Fighting Festival. On the second day of the festival, the gigantic floats are drawn as fast as possible around town. The highlight of the festival is watching the floats go around the corners of narrow streets at high speed, ending at the site of Kishiwada Castle.

On the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, China holds its Moon Festival. This usually falls in mid-late September. The holiday encourages families to get together wherever possible, as the round shape of the moon symbolizes the family reunion. Moon cakes (round pastries filled with bean paste, fruit, or jam) are the main food of the festivities, and are often piled 13 high in pyramids to represent the months of the lunar calendar year. People feast on moon cakes, gaze at the moon, and spend time with their families. They also hang colorful paper lanterns all over their houses and adorn their supper tables with round fruits.

October: Battle of Rama

Dussehra is an Indian Festival that takes place after nine days of Navaratri celebrations, which commemorate the death of the evil king Ravana, his son, and his brother. Most Hindu communities around the country celebrate Dussehra with great fanfare. During the festival, professional dance companies and amateur troupes act out the Ramleela, or the story of Rama. Young men and small boys dressed as Rama (forces of good), his brother Lakshman, Ravana (forces of evil), and other players in the drama proceed through the streets of the community as part of an elaborate float. Rama and Ravana engage in a battle and Ravana is defeated. Rama then fires an arrow into the huge effigies of the sons of Ravana, Meghnada and Kumbhakarna (lethargy and laziness, respectively), which are stuffed with crackers and explosives. The “Victory to Rama” is celebrated with a large explosion in the sky. In Bengal, Dussehra is celebrated as Durga Puja, and idols of the goddess Durga are worshipped for nine days before being immersed into a body of water. In Mysore, caparisoned elephants in ornate "jewelry" lead a colorful procession through the streets of the city. totally delighting onlookers.