Singapore/Malaysia/Bangkok

[Bottle of Tonic]

Am spending three weeks in these places in the summer. Fly into Singapore and traveling up to fly out of bangkok. Any of ye make a similar trip before and could recommend a few interesting sights/things to do that you shouldn't really miss?

[Risteard]

How long are you in Bangkok Bottle of Tonic?

[Bottle of Tonic]

Nothing concrete yet. Just fly into Singapore for a wedding then flying out of Bangkok three weeks later. We are exploring possible things to do on the way up through Malaysia, can spend as long or short a time as we like in a place depending on facilities, interest, etc. We already have some idea, just wondering if there is anything hidden/underrated/truly unmissable that might slip through the radar.

[Risteard]

If you've a few days to spare head down to Phi Phi island off Phuket for a while.
Best nights ever lying down on the beds in the bar, drinking buckets of cocktail, watching the fire-dancers (if thats your cup of tea).
Ya could always go riding elephants in Chang Mai for a day or two.
However, if you only have a day or two in Bangkok, just walk around Siam. The thai cinema is a good experience + eat from the stalls.

[superreds]

I am actually living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the moment. So if you want to meet up for a beer while you are here in kl feel free to pm me. Always happy to meet up with fellow Irish out this neck of the woods. Plenty to keep you occupied in KL for a few days at least.

[Cosmo]

Am spending three weeks in these places in the summer. Fly into Singapore and traveling up to fly out of bangkok. Any of ye make a similar trip before and could recommend a few interesting sights/things to do that you shouldn't really miss?

I'm just back from a 4 week holiday in thailand, malaysia and singapore - weird or what :eek: (missed more drogs matches in those 4 weeks than i did in last few years combined :( but a good trip nonetheless

I started off in bangkok - tbh I wouldnt spend more than a couple of days there, not much to do! I just went to see the main temple, visited the markets, went to a thai boxing match, cheap massages (not those massages as I was with my gf :( ), etc etc

I then went to kamala beach in phuket! This is a small little village!! stayed in a great place there right on the beach. Lovely chilled out place.

Went to phi phi islands! As said above definitely has to be done! A wee island, no roads, buckets of coctails - you should defo do the islands tour if ye go there!!

Went to patong in phuket! Very lively but wasnt too impressed with it tbh!!

Loved malaysia - lovely country compared to bangkok and penang in malaysia i alot cheaper than thailand (hard to belive!!) for dvds, market stuff, etc

- stayed 4 days in KL - loads to se there and its dirt cheap and ye dont get the hassle walking down the street like ye get in bangkok. A word of warning if youre going to those twin towers go before 830 as the queues are mad and if ye arrive later than 930/10 ye wont get in that day!
- went off to penang then. Spend 2 days in the capital tehre, georgetown. A complete kip but theres supposed to be loads to 'discover' there (as on the whjole island like penag hill etc). Didnt get a chance myself as the gf had to go to hospital when we were there- Went off to buta ferringhi beach resort then for a couple of days - absolute paradise off a place we were in called the golden sands resort - would recommend it if ye go there

Singapre was a very clean city - and have s ome strange laws . Down by boat quay is great, do the boat tour! Also make sure ye go to setosa island for the day! Go early in the morning as you'd easily spend a full day there!! Loads of stuff to do there and is great craic and bring your beach gear

I thought those 3 countries were a great combination for a 4 week holiday but id say i only saw 1/100th of what others probably saw there! You'll have a great time!!

[paul_oshea]

man walk through turnstile wrong way - bangkok

[endabob1]

A few years since I did this corner of Asia but Thailand is my favourite place in the world, that said Bangkok is no more than 3 days max, Phuket was very developed and not much fun but that was pre-tsunami so I'm not sure now, We stayed in Patong (not recomended) and a bit further down in Kata (which we enjoyed much more) & Phi Phi was the highlight but again that was pre-tsunami so I don' know how much has changed since. Samui is worth a stop but like Phuket parts of it are very developed and you need to get off the main tourist trail to see some proper Thailand, Have also heard good things about Krabi but haven't been there personally.
As you're only in the area for 3 weeks I wouldn't go to northern Thailand as it will suck up a lot of time. KL is a good city and Langkawai is beautiful, amazingly I've never been to Singapore so can't comment.
Another option would be to check out Vietnam, we did 2 weeks there last year and really enjoyed it.
Whatever you do I'm sure you'll have a blast, SE Asia is fantastic, the mix of oven heat, humidity and the smell of Asia that hits you when you step out of the airplane gets me everytime.

[Risteard]

Krabi is a great place. Quiet enough.
There's an Irish pub that serves irish dinners that taste like Irish dinners.
He'll put you up.

If you get to Phuket, you could spend a day or two in Kata or Karon. I think they're still being rebuilt. Get the boat out one-way then to Phi-Phi.
Chillax for a few days there.
Get the boat back to the mainland to Krabi.
Yer man will put you up.
I think he's from Cork.
The local hotels will sort ya out with getting to Bangkok.
Little jeep thing to Krabi bus station. Bus to Surat Thani for the overnight train to Bangkok (Go first class).
If you've a day or two in Bangkok, you could maybe take herself to Siam shopping, big stores like the MBK (http://www.mbk-center.com/en/) or for the true Bangkokians experience, Chatuchak weekend market (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatuchak_Weekend_Market). Use the Skytrain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok_Skytrain) to get to either or maybe the underground for the market.
You could afford to have a really really swanky dinner in Bangkok aswell I'd say.
Never been but you could try one of the restaurants (http://www.thaihotels.com/hotels/restaurant-pictures-2859.aspx) in the Baiyoke Sky Hotel. (http://2bangkok.com/06/baiyoke-king-06.jpg)
Good view. (http://gardkarlsen.com/thailand2002/view_from_Baiyoke.jpg)

Things not to miss.
1. Phi-Phi Island (Carpe Diem and Hippies Bar)
2. Food at the stalls
3. Cinema experience in Siam.

[Risteard]

Don't forget to go for a massage,
Incidentally, all these adventures and travelling are very cheap.
Elephant-trekking is a big thing in the North, Chang-mai etc but you could go in Krabi or Patong, Phuket.
In the zoo in Phuket you could get to rub a lion or kiss,hug, shake hands with and generally befriend a chimp.
Nothing compared to this place (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Temple), though, the Tiger Temple, Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua (http://www.tigertemple.org/Eng/index.php)
The name of that pub is the Irish Rover/ Ao Nang Inn which happens to be in Ao Nang.
There's busier areas in Krabi but this is handy for a couple.
Nice few restaurants, quiet beach, english-speaking area, enough shopping.

Make sure to do the 3 though.
Thai-boxing at Lumphini or Ratchadamneorn (central Bangkok) is a good one also.

[Bottle of Tonic]

Great stuff lads, thanks for all the advice. Heading out on Saturday and really looking forward to it.
The way the trip has panned out we are going to spend almost a week in and around Singapore as the wedding we are attending is a little later than we first thought so we only really have two weeks to get all the way up to Bangkok.Might have to cut out some "must sees" so. We are considering getting the ferry to the island Palau Tioman for a couple of days before the wedding, it's said to be beautiful. Also how big a factor is the monsoon rains? The west coast is supposed to be wet this time of year (KL, Phuket, Phi Phi) leaving the east coast much drier. Is it bad enough to ignore the west coast and just stay east?

That Irish place in Krabi? If I brought my girlfriend(scottish) and our pal(also female and scottish) all the way out to SE Asia and I suggested looking up an Irish pub for a pint of porter and a stew I'd never hear the end of it!! Think I'll have to "stumble" across it so.......

[Dublin12]

Great stuff lads, thanks for all the advice. Heading out on Saturday and really looking forward to it.
The way the trip has panned out we are going to spend almost a week in and around Singapore as the wedding we are attending is a little later than we first thought so we only really have two weeks to get all the way up to Bangkok.Might have to cut out some "must sees" so. We are considering getting the ferry to the island Palau Tioman for a couple of days before the wedding, it's said to be beautiful. Also how big a factor is the monsoon rains? The west coast is supposed to be wet this time of year (KL, Phuket, Phi Phi) leaving the east coast much drier. Is it bad enough to ignore the west coast and just stay east?

That Irish place in Krabi? If I brought my girlfriend(scottish) and our pal(also female and scottish) all the way out to SE Asia and I suggested looking up an Irish pub for a pint of porter and a stew I'd never hear the end of it!! Think I'll have to "stumble" across it so.......

When in Singapore don't forget to do the night safari,well worth it..and after that you can do your own little night safari if you go down to Orchard Towers on Orchard Rd ;) and if possible theres no need to bring an apple to the orchard ;)

[Risteard]

Great stuff lads, thanks for all the advice. Heading out on Saturday and really looking forward to it.
The way the trip has panned out we are going to spend almost a week in and around Singapore as the wedding we are attending is a little later than we first thought so we only really have two weeks to get all the way up to Bangkok.Might have to cut out some "must sees" so. We are considering getting the ferry to the island Palau Tioman for a couple of days before the wedding, it's said to be beautiful. Also how big a factor is the monsoon rains? The west coast is supposed to be wet this time of year (KL, Phuket, Phi Phi) leaving the east coast much drier. Is it bad enough to ignore the west coast and just stay east?

That Irish place in Krabi? If I brought my girlfriend(scottish) and our pal(also female and scottish) all the way out to SE Asia and I suggested looking up an Irish pub for a pint of porter and a stew I'd never hear the end of it!! Think I'll have to "stumble" across it so.......
Ha.
Great stuff.
Those things above i heartily recommend but then I haven't seen the other places people here have mentioned.
I'm sure that between us all, you'll have good times no matter what you cut out.
Enjoy!!!

[Bottle of Tonic]

Well thats me back, not really in one piece with baggage still lost somewhere in Heathrow, *sigh*. Cheers BA.
Starting off in Singapore, I thought it was a lovely place, if a little too.... lovely. There appears to be no crime, homeless/beggars, poverty, its all very clean, everyone looks well off and as if they live in amazing apartments and chill out at swimming pools all day. Loads of rich expats with trophy asian gf/wife. Alot of this is great of course but it doesn't feel like a genuine travelling experience. It's a city that could easily be anywhere but asia. I get the feeling not much goes on there in terms of culture, politics, debate etc, the kind of things that fill newspapers here but maybe I'm wrong? Little India was quite different though and thought the zoo was class( night safari a bit cheesy though!). If you like a few beers on your holiday(in usual Irish quantities) Singapore dollars will burn a hole in your pocket. Wouldn't have liked to make the trip from Thailand down to Singapore, would almost be too disgusted to drink!
Malaysia - didnt see as much as I wanted. Spent a couple of nights in KL which I loved as a change from Singapore. However it hammered it down with rain every day from about 3/4pm on. Glad I booked a 4 star hotel- cheap too! Got the slowest ever night train to Penang then. As mentioned above thought Georgetown was a kip but a genuine taste of Asia and with a decent backpacker inspired night scene it just about passed. Not much sights here though apart from Penang hill (go early there's more to do up there than you'd think).
From there to Koh Samui. We got lucky with beautiful bungalow accomodation beside Mae Nam beach, a long undeveloped one compared to the hectic Chaweng half an hour away. Lovely place to chill out. Boat trip to Ko Phangan as well as the national marine park recommended.
Loved the couple of days in Bangkok, we stayed near khao san road, good craic. Saw the Grand Palace and a bit of Thai boxing too. Will definitely return to Thailand, see the islands on the west coast and tour the north. Most economical country to travel in too and the locals are friendly ;)

[Risteard]

Great stuff BoT.
Definitely more to be discovered there.
Going to head back at some stage too myself.

[Ash]

thought the zoo was class
( night safari a bit cheesy though!).

I thought the same when I was there ... at every stop the tour guides gave
a tear jerking speil about saving and looking after all animals, conservation
etc ... and then at the end we were all encouraged to go to the resteraunt
and try the excellent 100% beef "Bongo Burgers".