Thailand - Malaysia - Singapore advice

smarten31

Hi All

I have read some threads here with excellent tips etc for travellers.
I fly out on the 8th Dec to Bangkok. I plan to travel through Malaysia to Singapore where I fly from Singapore to Cairns on the 20th December.
I am sorted for when I go to Oz so basically just looking for some ideas on good hotels , things to do , places to see... what not to do etc .. I have never been to this part of the world so any advice you can give would be appreciatecd

Cheers

I am MAN

you wont be in bangkok for long ...grand palace..kosan road for shopping and mbk shopping centre near siam square for shopping also, another freaky but cool thing the forensic museum off the hospital...lots of dead body's and stuff its interesting if you like that sort of thing.

Get meter taxi's they are alot cheaper than tuc tucs and other taxis.

bringitdown

Thailand highlights:
Get out of BKK ASAP
Koh Tao - go diving fuppin magic, wonderful place above and below water, spend over a week there
Chiang Mai - in the north - trekking and culture, on your time you may need to miss it.

Go Tuk-Tuk racing - if you can find a driver who'll take your money

Malaysia:
Didn't like this place much apart from ...
Perhentian Islands - pure unspoilt paradise - not a road in sight.

Singapore:
Little India at night - a must see / smell / hear
Chinatown - cleaned up but still interested
Satay - eat IT lots of it.
Tiger Beer with a tub of ice, isn't it, suits you
Four floors of hoares - great crack :eek:

elivsvonchiaing

bringitdown wrote:

Thailand highlights:
Get out of BKK ASAP:

Sound advice!

I've just back from Malaysia and would have to recommend you take in Langkawi but only for a couple of days as it's expensive. Its split between - wildlife park and hotels. If you like the idea of wild monkeys appearing on your hotel balcony this is for you. Tour of the mangrove swamps is well worth it - would not recommend doing your own hiking without extensive research into where is safe (from cobras etc.) Beaches are fab also.

Cameron Highlands if you want dramatic scenery.

Melacca is also worth a look as it is a dramatic contrast with the rest of Malaysia - food/culture.

Penang - nothing to write home about - I just happened to like it.

Taiping - if you find it on your route has a good zoo. We stayed in Ipoh and just spent a few hours in Taiping. Wished we had just skipped Ipoh tbh.

KL - go to Imbi plaza for DVDs electronic stuff. Putra Jaya is also worth a look as are the Genting Highlands if you're feeling lucky!

10 years since I was in Singapore so can't remember - though do go to Raffles and order a Singapore Sling - they do them well there for some reason

You have just 10 days (remember it takes a day to get there... and a day's jetlag). I would recommend you split as follows: Thailand: 5-7 days, Malaysia 2 -4 days, Singapore 1 day.

Personally, I think I would fly from Bangkok to Langkawi and from there to KL flying finally to Singapore, spending as little time travelling as possible - I'm not a train/bus person tbh. If your on a tight budget you might be tempted to stick to Thailand and fly direct to Singapore. Even if you are I'd still recommend a day or two in Malaysia- KL if its just a short stay. You can get 5 star hotels for just €60 for single room, 3-star for €30 - why not pay double for the luxury of it?

Gav99

It's amazing how opinions differ so much when it comes to Bangkok. I would recommend you stay there for at least 2 or 3 days and have a good wander round the city. Don't stay near the Khoa San Rd, but get a hotel on Sukhumvit Rd. It's a great city for exploring the markets, finding strange bars and meeting strange people. There's so much energy to the place that any time I'm there I can't help but have a good time. It is quite dirty and the traffic is a nightmare but it is very safe and the people are pretty cool. Anyway if I was you I'd just turn up and make up my own mind.

EDIT - I've just realized how long you have in Asia. Change your flights and stay a bit longer. You'll enjoy it more than Oz.

smarten31

Thanks everyone for the suggestions - Keep them coming!! The more I hear the more excited I get.. I cant wait for this trip.. Just a quick question to all of you ... If I was to book internal flights for example Malaysia to Singapore etc...can you recommend a good website to do this... I think instead of travelling by bus/train that I might do as suggested and book a flight... It will mean I will have more time to explore and less hassle all round

bringitdown

http://www.airasia.com/index.htm

The Ryanair of Asia....

Loco

nokair is pretty good also, flew from bkk to chiang mai for 14 euros and i booked a few days before , thats only a few euros more than a 2nd class sleeper on that horrible 14 hour train

grasshopper

I would wait until you arrived to book flights, there are millions of little travel agents on the koh san road that will sort you out at half the price.

grasshopper

make sure to bring some spare passport photos with you in case you need to get visa's for the countries your travelling too, also bring a torch handy when trying to find your way to the nearest loo at beach party type events. Some rizzla also come in handy as the skins over there tend kinda ****e.

Enjoy ya lucky thing.

Loco

yeah those travel agents always add a few quid onto the prices

best to go straight to the airline at the airport, or do it on the internet

Loco

most 7elevens sell large blue rizzla's

the family marts dont stock any skins

smarten31

On the subject of skins etc... Is grass difficult to get over there.. Have been told to stay away from it altogether over there ( Thailand) and wait till I get to Oz where its handy enough?

elivsvonchiaing

smarten31 wrote:

On the subject of skins etc... Is grass difficult to get over there.. Have been told to stay away from it altogether over there ( Thailand) and wait till I get to Oz where its handy enough?

Wouldn't touch it with a barge-pole. Think a kilo of resin is enough for the death-penatly there. I'm sure one spliff carries a week in jail where you have to work out which is the rice and which are the magotts :eek: Actually that's an easy one. Its the rice and the dead-maggots that are tricky :eek: :eek: :eek:
Oz I would wait for if I were you... If in doubt I can recommend Amsterdam

Loco

elivsvonchiaing wrote:

Wouldn't touch it with a barge-pole. Think a kilo of resin is enough for the death-penatly there. I'm sure one spliff carries a week in jail where you have to work out which is the rice and which are the magotts :eek: Actually that's an easy one. Its the rice and the dead-maggots that are tricky :eek: :eek: :eek:
Oz I would wait for if I were you... If in doubt I can recommend Amsterdam

nah its fine just not the best of quality
i got it loads of different places during my 3 months there

purple haze ko pangnan
happy daze ko tao
reggae bar kosan rd
rasta bar chiang mai
etc...
if they have bob marley posters they probably sell weed

smarten31

Thanks for all this info lads - really helpful

One last question for you.. I am flying to Bangkok quite late at night and looking for a good 4 star hotel.. I want to be located near ( not in the middle of ) where all the action is.. clubs , bars girlies etc.. any suggestions as to a good hotel to book now which is located centrally ( had a look at map of bangkok and got totally lost )

Thanks again for all your help Less than 4 weeks to go :-)

Gav99

smarten31 wrote:

Thanks for all this info lads - really helpful

One last question for you.. I am flying to Bangkok quite late at night and looking for a good 4 star hotel.. I want to be located near ( not in the middle of ) where all the action is.. clubs , bars girlies etc.. any suggestions as to a good hotel to book now which is located centrally ( had a look at map of bangkok and got totally lost )

Thanks again for all your help Less than 4 weeks to go :-)

Go to www.planetholiday.com . They have very good rates on hotels in Bangkok. I would recommned splashing out and staying in the JW Marriott just of Sukhumvit Road. It's about the only Marriott you'll ever be able to afford so it's a nice treat just for a night or two. It's a 5 start by the way and has the greatest breakfast ever served by man. :cool:

I am MAN

ummm for the first gut there saying dont touch it with a barge pole that needs to be applied in bangkok but as you go down to the Island and stuff its alot more easy going ya just have to keep your wits about ya. As for the comment above about the grass not been the best I found over there we got some good stuff and some stuff that was the best that we ever had and some of the lads had been to amsterdam. We got some mushrooms too they arent hard to get and they where class also. Another thing you dont need prescriptions in the pharmacy so valium and stuff is free for the taken if you are after that sort of thing

dsab

If you are intrested in girls and the action that comes with it, then make sure that the hotel is "girl-friendly". The JW is, btw. And only a few metresaway from one of the main bar areas (Nana).

Another one would be the landmark. Although that said, most 4 and 5 star hotels are.

I will send you a PM with some infos.

drgonzo

down forget if you make it to koh pangnan, head up to the MM bar up in the mountain at had rin beach...amazing bar with amazing views with amazing people and amazing magic mushrooms.... say no more...

also sol twin towers in bangkok 4 star hotel for about 15 dollars a night when i was there last year... its like a 7 star hotel compared to dublin..

have a good one

elivsvonchiaing

Gav99 wrote:

Go to www.planetholiday.com . They have very good rates on hotels in Bangkok. I would recommned splashing out and staying in the JW Marriott just of Sukhumvit Road. It's about the only Marriott you'll ever be able to afford so it's a nice treat just for a night or two. It's a 5 start by the way and has the greatest breakfast ever served by man. :cool:

Dunno what you paid here. From the website its $105/night. In Kuala Lumpur paid just €60-62/night can't remember the exact rate in RM. Think maybe RM280. I can recommend the Marriott in Kuala Lumpur, unless you need to avoid Bertie Ahern This was the price of a single room, had to say breakfast was brill.

I saw Bertie in the hotel foyer - he was there for ... lets just leave it at that hope he doesn't see this post and sack certain people for putting him in a cheap hotel