Visiting Asia

[Skint Gull]

Me and a couple of mates are looking to visit South East Asia next spring and so i'm looking for advice from anyone who's been on places to go, and more importantly the best places for tickets.

We all have permanent jobs now so realisically would find it difficult to go for more than 14 days so were thinking, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Anyone know of a reasonable ticket that would allow us to visit all 3 places? In Thailand should we go to Phuket or Bangkok or both?

As said, any advice greatfully received!





I know that occasionally some airlines have stupidly cheap flight offers so if anybody ever finds some can you post them here, ta!

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Firstly, don't spend much time in Singapore as it's really dull. Thailand is ok, Malaysia is good fun, but Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City) is the place to go.

Try Air Asia & JetStar for cheap flights

 

[vu1ture]

Since when did you get a job

 

[driller]

I have spent a year travelling around this part of the world so here are my thouights:

avoid phucket it is a shit hole!
full of fat german with hourly girlfriends or package holiday chavs.

disagree that malaysia is good fun, it is very muslim and drinking although allowed is a bit frowned upon. out of tourist places it is a bit difficult for women to get around. KL is ok but a bit like any other big city.
malaysian borneo-sabah- is great. rainforest, oragutans great diving and beaches with turtles and more importantly unspoilt. it is along way though. 6 hours further from KL.

bali is good but spoilt a bit around kuta, but still fun. try another area, along way down though.

singapore is like a big shopping centre and very sterile. no atmosphere. if want a big city, do hong kong.

my choice would be ho chi minh (siagon) for a bit of a asian city then back to bangkok for a couple of days- a good city lots to do and see, but very busy and humid, so 3 nights enough. then head up to north thailand to see the hill tribes and golden triangle. then back to south thialand beaches. phucket could be used for launch pad to phi phi, krabi or koh lanta. both nice beaches and less seedy. still have thialand charm(ish). koh samui is a bit western now the package trade is there, but could be used to go to koh phan gan which is great and very laid back-except around full moon when hedonistic really.

for travel agents try trailfinders.
accomodation all around se asia very easy to book on arrival if you want local otherwise for more 4/5star hotels you need to book in advance.use the net and do it independantly. trip advisor good for reviews.

hope this helps,

enjoy a great place to be free!!

 

[maffew]

went to 'nam 10 years ago for a month, loved it a lot

Hanoi is probably my favourite city in the world I've been to

 

[driller]

hanoi is great i agree. but more strict than ho chi minh due to the commies

 

[¡Cereal Killer!]

Just got back from Vietnam, was only going to stay there for 2 weeks max and stayed for a month

Spent a week in Hanoi, 2 weeks in Hoi An (but I was working in a bar for free drinks), 2 nights in Nha Trang (really party town, BUT be careful there of getting mugged, MANY people I spoke to (including me) got mugged (or at least were attempted to be mugged) and mostely by a group of transvestites) and 2 nights in Saigon (would have stayed longer but ran out of money and had to book the flight home)

Had a great time in Vietnam, but I wouldnt recomend staying in Hoi An for more than 2 nights as its not exactly the most partying town/city in the world.
If you go to Vietnam though, look out for the street drinking places cos you can get beer for 10p, and it's pretty decent (in Hanoi, they have the most famous one called Bia Hoi! (pronounced Beer Ahoy!) or you can call it beer corner, there are 4 shops selling cheap local beer and it is the place to go for tourists and backpackers before you head of to the bars and stuff)

Would have went to Cambodia and Thailand had it not been for me running out of money, Cambodia is REALLY cheap according to what I heard and you will have a great time there, apperently after visiting the Killing Fields, the taxi drivers offers to take you to a place where you can use an AK47 and let you shoot a cow or chickens.
I've heard mixed things about Bangkok, i've heard some saying they hated it and some saying they could stay forever if they were allowed. I've also heard its quite expenive and it's only cheap if you know where and what you are doing.

Although everyone is saying LAOS is the place to go, especially for Vang Vieng for the Tubing.

 

[perth seagull]

I don't think you can go wrong anywhere in South East Asia. I've been to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei and Hong Kong and they were all worthwhile trips. I was in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City just over a month ago.

Bangkok is a great place especially for shopping and the night life. There are also a lot of good palaces and other historical sites worth seeing. Nana Entertainment Plaza is worth a visit if you're all single and looking for a bit of fun. You can also take a taxi two hours south to a beach town called Pattaya. It is very seedy and Bangkok look like a monastry in comparison. If you're of extremely conservative morals it is probably not worth visiting but if you like partying and a lively night life, the "walking street" is an experience you probably won't see in many parts of the world. In Bangkok it is best to stay along Sukhumvit Road. I stayed in Siam and Nana, both along the sky train and in the heart of the city.

Ho Chi Minh City is a great place for its history and the cheap tours. If you do go there, it is best to stay in District 1, that's the central part of a very large city. You can book tours through Sinh Cafe (http://www.sinhcafe.vn). It is cheaper to book tours when you get there rather than from the UK. There are many famous historical sites and museums like the Reunification Palace where Communist tanks crashed through the gates in 1975. You can also do day trips like the Mekong Delta which was well worth doing to see some more traditional Vietnamese lifestyle. But you'll have to go through a tour guide to do all these things, you won't be able to do a lot of things on your own.

 

[maffew]

ha ha, when I went there was a woman in Nha trang, went by the name of Mama Hahn I think. She did these mad boat trips with barbecues and gave everyone on the boat free spliffs so you're swimming round by some island in a rubber ring smoking and loads of people absolutely battered cos of the heat

I understand she's in prison now

 

[vu1ture]

I don't think you can go wrong anywhere in South East Asia. I've been to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei and Hong Kong and they were all worthwhile trips. I was in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City just over a month ago.

Bangkok is a great place especially for shopping and the night life. There are also a lot of good palaces and other historical sites worth seeing. Nana Entertainment Plaza is worth a visit if you're all single and looking for a bit of fun. You can also take a taxi two hours south to a beach town called Pattaya. It is very seedy and Bangkok look like a monastry in comparison. If you're of extremely conservative morals it is probably not worth visiting but if you like partying and a lively night life, the "walking street" is an experience you probably won't see in many parts of the world. In Bangkok it is best to stay along Sukhumvit Road. I stayed in Siam and Nana, both along the sky train and in the heart of the city.

Ho Chi Minh City is a great place for its history and the cheap tours. If you do go there, it is best to stay in District 1, that's the central part of a very large city. You can book tours through Sinh Cafe (http://www.sinhcafe.vn). It is cheaper to book tours when you get there rather than from the UK. There are many famous historical sites and museums like the Reunification Palace where Communist tanks crashed through the gates in 1975. You can also do day trips like the Mekong Delta which was well worth doing to see some more traditional Vietnamese lifestyle. But you'll have to go through a tour guide to do all these things, you won't be able to do a lot of things on your own.

Whats outside district 1?

 

[perth seagull]

Whats outside district 1?

I didn't really get a chance to see much outside of District 1 as I was only there for 4 days. Everything I did was either inside District 1 (Reunification Palace, Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes...or whatever they renamed it, Notre Dame Cathedral, the General Post Office building), or well outside of Ho Chi Minh City (Mekong Delta, Cu Chi tunnels).

 

[¡Cereal Killer!]

Ho Chi Minh City is a great place for its history and the cheap tours. If you do go there, it is best to stay in District 1, that's the central part of a very large city. You can book tours through Sinh Cafe (http://www.sinhcafe.vn). It is cheaper to book tours when you get there rather than from the UK. There are many famous historical sites and museums like the Reunification Palace where Communist tanks crashed through the gates in 1975. You can also do day trips like the Mekong Delta which was well worth doing to see some more traditional Vietnamese lifestyle. But you'll have to go through a tour guide to do all these things, you won't be able to do a lot of things on your own.

The only problem with Sinh Cafes are that there ar a lot of fake ones (especially in Hanoi) so you may end up paying over the odds and/or even get a fake ticket.
I went to the Reunification Palace and to be honest it isnt worth the effort, although the tv's in the basement were quite interesting. I did go there right after going to the War Remmants Museum and was feeling both sick and down after what I had seen there
I've heard the Mekong Delta is good as the the tunnels (in which the soldiers used to fight in) but I never got round to doing that
I'm definitley going back in the next couple of years though when I have enough money to go backpacking again

 

[vu1ture]

I didn't really get a chance to see much outside of District 1 as I was only there for 4 days. Everything I did was either inside District 1 (Reunification Palace, Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes...or whatever they renamed it, Notre Dame Cathedral, the General Post Office building), or well outside of Ho Chi Minh City (Mekong Delta, Cu Chi tunnels).

The way you make it sound,it sounds like venturing outside the green belt or zone in Baghdad.

 

[¡Cereal Killer!]

Whats outside district 1?

As i got my Lonely Planet guide in hand now, outside district 1 is...

not much to be honest, theres a water park (although I would recommend the one in Nha Trang on the Vinh Pearl Ialand, although I dont know anything about this one so it could be better for all I know), opposite is an ammusment park. There's also a few pagodas, churches, temples and a racetrack.

 

[perth seagull]

The only problem with Sinh Cafes are that there ar a lot of fake ones (especially in Hanoi) so you may end up paying over the odds and/or even get a fake ticket.
I went to the Reunification Palace and to be honest it isnt worth the effort, although the tv's in the basement were quite interesting. I did go there right after going to the War Remmants Museum and was feeling both sick and down after what I had seen there
I've heard the Mekong Delta is good as the the tunnels (in which the soldiers used to fight in) but I never got round to doing that
I'm definitley going back in the next couple of years though when I have enough money to go backpacking again

I had no problem with Sinh Cafe in Ho Chi Minh City. I just went in there and booked where I wanted to go the night before, and then the next morning went outside their office and waited for the coach to arrive. But there are lots of other tour guide offices around in the same area. I like the Reunification Palace, but that is because I'm a bit of a history buff, but I can see how some people may find it a bit boring.

My favourite part of my trip to Ho Chi Minh City was the Cu Chi tunnel tour. Just going out into the thick jungle and village, and seeing the tunnels, death traps, crater left by a B52 bomber, captured military hardware and getting to fire an AK47 (which is very loud and very powerful!) really makes you appreciate what a nightmare of a war the Vietnam War would have been (for all sides involved) more than any book or movie could!

 

[Trufflehound]

Cambodia is REALLY cheap according to what I heard and you will have a great time there, apperently after visiting the Killing Fields, the taxi drivers offers to take you to a place where you can use an AK47 and let you shoot a cow or chickens.

I've heard mixed things about Bangkok, i've heard some saying they hated it and some saying they could stay forever if they were allowed. I've also heard its quite expenive and it's only cheap if you know where and what you are doing.

Although everyone is saying LAOS is the place to go, especially for Vang Vieng for the Tubing.

Depends on how you define cheap and what you're spending your money on I guess . You won't get beer in Cambodia for 10p like in Vietnam, but having said that Angkor Beer is a bloody sight nicer than Vietnamese beer and worth going all the way up to 30p a bottle for.

I've been everywhere in that region and I'd say the Cambodians, Laotians and Philippinos are the friendliest people I've met anywhere in the world, in that order. Go to Cambodia and Loas if you want to see wot the rest of Southeast Asia USED to be like.

As for letting off an AK47 after visiting the Killing Fields, it wasn't offered to me nor anyone I know. After you've been there, as anyone who has will tell you, all you will want to do afterwards is cry, having seen how badly human beings are capable of treating one another. I've been round concentration camps in Germany that aren't nearly as upsetting as that place.

Oh, and I LOVE Bangkok. My favourite megacity in the world.

 

[pasty]

I thought the thread title said Visiting Asda

 

[vu1ture]

I thought the thread title said Visiting Asda

I did as well.

 

[Trufflehound]

It's all about Tesco over there you know.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I thought the thread title said Visiting Asda

... and it's turned into a discussion about where to buy cheap crap beer.

You could be right, pasty.