Southeast Asia

[Hemi]

okay rebels, i'm headed to southeast asia at the end of february. i'll be in ho chi minh, hanoi, bangkok, singapore, kuala lumpur...maybe chiang mai if i can fit it in. i'll be on business, but hope to have some free time once in a while. i'd love to meet up with rebels abroad, and welcome any suggestions of stuff to do in any of these places. except for bangkok, this is new territory for me. any must see/do things?

EXCITED!!!

[StrengthIsBeauty]

That sounds amazing! I'd love to hear about it when you return!

[jediknightingale]

Depending on how much time you have in Singapore, Sentosa is a pretty amazing place to visit. Besides being gorgeous there are tons of activities for everyone! Even if you only have a day or two you can plan ahead and arrange your schedule so you experience everything you want. Kuala Lumpur has a bunch of shopping areas and touristy places...I enjoyed the Islamic Art Museum but I am somewhat of a history/humanities geek. Have not seen any of the other towns but have a blast! A few years of living in Japan and traveling all over Asia taught me to take chances with restaurants...be adventurous and you will find the most amazing food in the most random places.

[patrickc]

Since you'll be in KL, try to take a side trip over to Kuching. I spent about 3 weeks there on business a few months ago. It's a fantastic city! Very cheap place to visit also

[Pat G]

Where abouts in Bangkok will you be staying? will you be heading into the country apart from Chang Mai? Awesome sauce man. try to get some Isaan food into you if you're heading up that way. hot as hell, so delicious. probably paleo too.

[Hemi]

Thanks, all! I'm leaving in less than a week and I can barely contain myself. I've had to cut KL from this itinerary, but I will go there next time around and I'll definitely be checking in with you for tips! I'm heartbroken that I've had to leave it out. Seems like an amazing place!

@PatG- I was unsure during planning, but now Chiang Mai is a definite! In my free time in Chiang Mai, I'm headed up to the Wat on Doi Suthep in the evening to catch the sunset and the monks chanting. I might actually get into the countryside a little bit- part of my work there is to check out a volunteer site outside the city. Isaan food? I will look for it! Any other freetime I have (mostly evenings) I plan to see the Wats lit up at night, go to the night bazaar, and generally eat all the street food I can possibly shove in my face. In Bangkok I'm staying in Sukhumvit just because it's near my meetings and easily accessible by public transport. I hope to go to see some Muay Thai at Lumphini since I'll be there on a Tuesday night (anybody done that? easy to get tix or no?). I'll catch up with a friend on another night. I do have one day free on a Buddhist holiday, so I'm excited about that. I've seen some of the major Wats in BKK, so I'm up for suggestions for my free day.

@Jedi- I arrive in Singapore at 3pm and I have the rest of the day free. Is that enough time to get over to Sentosa and see the basics? I only have that and an evening the next day free. Time is really tight.

In general, no worries about me on the food front. I LOVE street food and trying new stuff. I eat like a BOSS when I travel. I love exploring via food, so all suggestions welcome.

[jediknightingale]

From the airport Sentosa is about 25km (15-16 miles). My group rented a car and drove and it did not take very long at all. Taxis may go a little faster as they are familiar with the roadways. I am pretty sure it is 20-30USD to take a taxi out there. You can also take a railcar there but I am not sure how long it takes! I suppose it depends on the schedule. Anyhow, it is not too far from Changi. As for time, you should have enough time to walk around and see the attractions...http://www.sentosa.com.sg/en/attractions/ has information on what they have. Megazip is AMAZING. We had way too much fun going through the park...if you go through it I would make it the first stop as it closes early (around 7) and can take a couple of hours to get through. The beach is gorgeous and they do firework shows and stuff at night. It should be pretty warm there still, but it will most likely rain for a few minutes. When I was there the lines to major attractions were out of control, but it was during the busy season (june-early september).

If you scuba (and even if you don't) you can dive in the oceanarium--it was pretty clean and had tons of sealife when I went. If you are certified they have PADI and NAUI shops in the area that offer dive tours/charter boats. During the day it was busy but the night dives were great. They have a bus system that is $8 for a full day pass and will take you all over the park. It also isn't bad for traveling by foot either.

[Pat G]

its easy to get tix for Muay Thai bouts, at the door usually.

Isaan food is super hot, hope you like it that way.

[Marlowe]

Hi - I lived in Singapore up until about a year ago, when I moved back to the US. Recommendations on what you would want to do there really depends upon what you're interested in. If you're going to get in mid-afternoon, one idea would be to go to the Singapore Botanical gardens, which is a big & beautiful park you can walk around in and enjoy the scenery and stretch your legs to get over the fight. (Link: http://www.sbg.org.sg/) They also have an amazing orchid garden there where you have to pay something like $5 to get in, and it's really amazing to see the hundreds and hundreds of types of orchids.

And then from there you can mosey over to the Dempsey Hill area, which is nearby... It's a former army barracks area that's been converted into a bunch of great restaurants and bars. (link: http://www.dempseyhill.com/tenants_fnb.htm). It's one of the rare places in Singapore where you don't feel like you're in a big city.

Apart from that, there are a million other places to go and do, but again, it depends on what you want to get out of it. But, the above suggestion is a way to spend a few hours in the afternoon and kick into the evening.

[Hemi]

hey marlowe, thanks for the suggestions! that sounds right up my alley. if my schedule works out, might be able to do that on one afternoon, and maybe sentosa on the next. i might also try to find a rooftop bar to take in the sights at night. thank you!!!

[Marlowe]

hey marlowe, thanks for the suggestions! that sounds right up my alley. if my schedule works out, might be able to do that on one afternoon, and maybe sentosa on the next. i might also try to find a rooftop bar to take in the sights at night. thank you!!!

Cool! if you do end up going to the botanical garden... be sure to have a Singapore $5 bill with you, because the tree that's on the back is in the middle of the garden. So, you can get a picture of yourself holding a $5 while standing next to the tree. It's cheesy but fun.

The best place to have a drink to get a dramatic view is the top of the Swishotel building. The Swisshotel is just right of downtown and has a 72nd floor bar that has an absolutely amazing view of the city.

For a very cool rooftop bar that's lower to the ground but gives a great vibe, try out Screening Room, which is in Chinatown (just north of downtown). http://www.screeningroom.com.sg/aboutus.aspx

[Hemi]

thanks, marlowe! you have just built my entire free-time itinerary for singapore. screening room will be my nightcap stop, since i'm actually staying in chinatown.

[yoyo]

I lived in Singapore for 5 years and I know the region quite well. So here's my advice:

Ho Chi Minh-Suprisingly boring, there aren't a lot of great sights to see in the city. The largest site is the Ho Chi Minh palace but to be honest that get's boring after the with opulent room, plus it's crawling with tourists. You should go out to see the Cu Chi tunnels outside the city which should be a half-day trip. I don't know where you're staying but I know a great place in the back-packer's district. When I went to Ho CHi Minh one of my favourite things was to go to go2bar and just watch the world pass by. It proves to be quite an experience.

Hanoi-Haven't been personally, but my friend who loves Vietnam says it's much nicer than Ho Chi Minh and there's a lot more do and see. I know for a fact that there are some great temples up north.

Bangkok- I don't know if Bangkok is still flooded but the main place (read:obligatory) to go is the large temple (forgot what it's called-sorry. Someone will definitely be able to push you in the right direction though). Although, truth be told, I prefer the floating market to the large temple, I think a private taxi would be easiest to organise so that you avoid all the stupid touristy shit group packages like to throw in. Bangkok is seedy at night, it's an experience and a half, but "walking into a den of sin" would be barely be scratching the surface. Just politely refuse any offers you receive and you should be fine.

Singapore-The city where I spent my formative years. Sentosa, personally I think it's a bit of a rip off, there are some good things to do and some not so good. The places already suggested should get you going. Although I would recommend a walk through China town/Little India/Arab quarter/Colonial district to get a sense of the multi-cultural aspect of Singapore. Avoid Boat Quay like the plague, probably the most aggressive salesmanship in all of Singapore and the prices will be greatly inflated.

Kuala Lumpur- To be honest I don't know this city very well. If you want to get on the Patronas towers you have to get there early in the day as they have a very limited number of tickets.

[lwatcher1]

If you make it to Chiang Mai, there's some really wicked awesome buddhist temples in the mountains nearby. Went there in high school a decade ago; took about an hour to get there, but the architecture and sheer beauty of the place was just cool to see.