MPs leaving on the annual Speaker's tour will cover everything from a Tip Top icecream factory in Ho Chi Minh to a Japanese farm turning fermented cow manure into bio-gas.
The MPs will also get briefings and visits on their individual interests - which range from boy racer laws to cataract operations.
The four MPs leave for the 10-day trip to Vietnam and Japan on Tuesday, led by Dr Lockwood Smith. Often derided as a "junket" for backbench MPs, last year's tour attracted particular criticism because most of the MPs on it were retiring that year.
MPs on this year's trip insisted it was not a waste of time - citing the chance to learn more about the issues facing New Zealand companies operating in Japan. It also enabled them to foster links with other politicians at a time when New Zealand was hoping to secure a free-trade agreement with Japan, its third-largest trading partner.
MPs will also be given a chance to follow their own wish lists. National MP Nicky Wagner said she was hoping to find how Japan handled boy racers, an issue close to her own heart as a Christchurch MP, and she also wanted briefings on how each country handled their carbon emissions.
Act MP John Boscawen has been offered a visit to eye surgery clinics and a briefing from Health Ministry officials in Japan to compare national systems for cataract surgery.
He said his concern was that while it was a relatively quick and simple procedure, in New Zealand, people either had to face a long waiting list or pay expensive private surgery bills.
For Labour's Dr Ashraf Choudhary, the agricultural focus of the trip holds the most allure. He was a consultant in the agriculture industry in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos before becoming an MP. Fellow Labour MP Raymond Huo said he was interested in significant New Zealand business interests in both Japan and Vietnam.
Criticism of past Speakers' trips appear to have prompted Dr Smith to be open about the first one under his watch. Last year, the Speaker Margaret Wilson refused to release an itinerary beforehand but Dr Smith released it when asked.
MPs will visit several places with New Zealand links in Ho Chi Minh City - including Tip Top Ice Cream's factory, the international school ACG and Victoria University's campus. In Vietnam they will also meet National Assembly President Nguyen Phu Trong and State President Nguyen Minh Triet, and Ministers of Trade, Foreign Affairs and Education.
In Japan, the MPs will meet fellow politicians - including Japan's Speaker - officials and New Zealand businesses that have interests in Japan, as well as visiting businesses in the rural area of Hokkaido.
The trip ends on Anzac Day, which the MPs will spend in Yokohama for a commemoration at the Commonwealth War Cemetery.
The costs of the trip are not finalised. While host countries cover many of the costs, MPs are allowed to fly business class, or economy if they take their partners. Return business class tickets to Vietnam cost about $10,000.
MPs get wish lists on Speaker's tour
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