julies

We are looking at visiting Borneo and possibly other parts of these countries for 4 to 6 weeks. From the US, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are the gateway cities we'd go through to get a flight to Borneo (or elsewhere in the area). For tourist interest, which city would you recommend and why? Our rule of thumb is to always be in our departure city (or close outskirts) at least a day ahead of time so as to minimize our chances of missing our flight. And, we will need some place to decompress and adjust to the time change after our long flight from the US, so we'd be looking at one of these cities (or a place within an hour or so) for a couple days at the start. Or, if neither sounds like it would appeal to us, we could just spend the night and move on immediately (not a first choice, but we've done it before).

We have zero interest in shopping and malls. Noisy, neon-lit places full of anonymous looking, generic type high rise building do nothing for us. We prefer cities that are walk-able (or mostly walk-able to places that interest tourists). Waterfronts tend to fascinate us as do authentic markets (not full of tourist or plastic junk). We are interested in history and cultural aspects of cities.We don't do high end or westernized restaurants but prefer great local food in smaller but clean establishments.

As far as other large Asian cities we've visited, we are not fans of Bangkok or Delhi. We liked Mumbai and Phnom Penh. Kathmandu was okay. We preferred Hanoi to Saigon. Vientiane was fine.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Kathie

Personally, I find Singapore more interesting and walkable than Kuala Lumpur. Both have many, many shopping centers, but Singapore also has wonderful gardens, a bird park, and of course, their famous zoo. Be aware, though that it is hot all year round, which may limit your walking. Singapore has a wonderful subway system (the MRT) which is clean and air-conditioned.

There are number of ethnic markets in Singapore: Arab Street, Little India and such. Singapore also has lots of glitzy, but interesting modern architecture.

Both Singapore and KL have lots of wonderful local food and have food courts that accessible and clean with a huge variety of foods.

I highly recommend Singapore's Museum of Asian Civilizations. We also always enjoy the tiny museum inside the Raffles Hotel.

MmePerdu

It sounds to me like you'll be much happier in Singapore, as I was. I found KL a difficult place to walk and, as we were only there for a couple of days, I ended up just staying in our hotel, the Hilton at the main station, and using the time to rest, before taking the train south. Singapore, on the other hand, is my favorite city in Asia to walk, from neighborhood to neighborhood. The city is leafy and much of it remains low-rise, ideal for walkers. And they haven't cut it up with expressways as they've done in KL. A really lovely city, one of my favorites.

kja

I haven't been to KL, but enjoyed Singapore and agree that it has many things that fit your list of interests. You might check my recent trip report -- the first part is on Singapore. BTW, the little museum Kathie mentioned in Raffles doesn't exist anymore, but there are several other museums in Singapore that I thought well worth the time.

Kathie

Oh, no! I wondered how long that would allow that tiny museum to take up such valuable retail space.

PS, Julies, I will look forward to your report. That cruise is on our short list for fall of 2017.

sartoric

Another vote for Singapore, it's easy to get around (unlike KL).

If you open jaw, consider Georgetown Penang, a one hour flight from KL. It's a fascinating melting pot of Malay culture and history, easily walkable.

MmePerdu

Georgetown, indeed! A place I could live, as I could, I think, in Kuching. But Penang would be top of the list.

Kathie

Are we all moving to Malaysia? Georgetown and Kuching are two places on our list as well. I think there are non-stop flights from Singapore to Georgetown as well as from KL.

MmePerdu

The dilemma for me is that I'm less fond of Malaysian food than that of Thailand & China. Yes, Chinese is readily available in Malaysia and then maybe the friendliness of Malaysians would make up for it. I'm going to get too old while I try to make up my mind.

julies

I was reading about Georgetown, and it does sound appealing to me. I'll look into the possibilities.

Leafy and walk-able Singapore does sound like it might do the trick. But, will it be too pristine for us? We are lovers of crazy, chaotic, dirty, and ever-fascinating India.

Thanks again. I am trying to do a lot of research before we make any decision on the entire trip. Other places we've been I've just jumped and bought airline tickets and then figured out our plan; this time around I want to make sure the destination and trip length all meld before making any final decisions.

MmePerdu

Yes, probably too clean, better just stay in India. Much cheaper, too.

Kathie

If you are worried about Singapore being too clean, consider flying in and out of Jakarta. It is not an attractive city, and its traffic will remind you of India, but I don't think anyone ever complained about it being too clean.

marmot

Here's another vote for Singapore over KL -- more history, more heritage, though both have been sanitized. Singapore IS squeaky clean and obsessively organized. Because I live in Indonesia, that makes an appealing contrast every now and then, but after a couple of days I start to twitch.

To me the key to long haul travel is to make as few stops as you can enroute. The Singapore Airlines non-stop from San Francisco to Singapore will save you much time and aggravation.

I would suggest that you consider skipping both cities and heading directly to Bali upon arrival in Singapore. Bali, especially Ubud, is a wonderful place to decompress, get over jetlag and get used to the heat and humidity. From Bali there are good connections to all parts of Indonesia and most of Asia. You could fly home from Singapore or from Hong Kong.

You should be aware that Lunar New Year will take place on January 28 next year which will impact travel throughout Asia, though differently in different cultures.

Guenmai

#1- Georgetown, Penang

#2- Singapore

I can't wait to get back to both soon, along with Bangkok and Hong Kong.

Have a great trip.

Happy Travels!

Guenmai

"Kathie on Dec 17, 16 at 3:45pm
Are we all moving to Malaysia? Georgetown and Kuching are two places on our list as well. I think there are non-stop flights from Singapore to Georgetown as well as from KL."

My upcoming flight is non-stop from Penang to Singapore on Singapore Air (US$114.00). It takes an hour and 25 minutes. On my last flight, Jan 2016, I had a non-stop flight from Penang-KL, but then didn't take it as I had my driver, in Penang, just drive me to the from door of my hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The cost of the flight, that I didn't use, was around $45. on Malaysia Air. I then flew Singapore Air from Kl-Singapore, non-stop. If you're on Malaysia Air, just watch your baggage allowance as they love to charge extra. I don't think I've ever escaped not paying extra for overweight baggage with them although Singapore Air didn't charge me on similar flights.

Happy Travels!

Guenmai

"MmePerdu on Dec 17, 16 at 3:54pm
The dilemma for me is that I'm less fond of Malaysian food than that of Thailand & China. Yes, Chinese is readily available in Malaysia and then maybe the friendliness of Malaysians would make up for it. I'm going to get too old while I try to make up my mind."

Although I love Thai food as I've been eating it since a teen, I also love Nonya food and get crazy when I'm in Penang and Singapore. The Kebaya restaurant, inside the 7 Terraces boutique hotel, is very good. I also eat Nonya food at the inexpensive places in the malls. Smiles.

Happy Travels!

Guenmai

Correction: "to the from door" Should have read, "to the front door".

Happy Travels!

AskOksena

Warm Sunday greetings from our lovely home of Singapore to the OP, julie; glad to hear you may be spending time in our city-state. Love living in SIN for family, work and residence. Any lodging and aviation requests, pleased to assist.

Concerning aviation, can give the highest personal recommendation to Singapore Airlines' SIN-SFO non-stop service, SQ 32/31. Flew on her inaugural flight out of Changi in October and completed a second business related round trip ~10 days back. Great sectors and ideal for my ongoing work in the SF Bay Area. Nothing to lose by staying abreast of various promotions via: singaporeair dot com/

Wherever you holiday, have fun and savour your planning; happy for you. Sending early holiday greetings from Singapore and in a few days, Patagonia and Antarctica; love those regions this time of year. Best,

robert


... Singapore Airlines, You're a Great Way to Fly ...

CaliforniaLady

How about starting in Kuching? If you get the KL to Kuching flight on the same ticket, you don't have to stress if you have a delay, they'll just put you on the next flight. Anyway, it's an interesting city to start your journey, and there are all sorts of places nearby for day trips. One of my favorite spots there, thanks to Kathie's suggestion, was the orchid garden. I stayed at the Basaga Holiday Residence, and the owner there planned day trips for me.

I like KL, but it certainly is not "charming." It's more about having great snacks in Chinatown, and seeing the towers.

Southam

For decades, Singapore has been possibly the greatest place in the world for grazing among restaurants and styles of cuisine. Other places can compete as international cuisine, and money, spread out. But Singapore's traditions were founded on street food and have grown to embrace fine dining as the major showcase for wealth. And it is the most multi-cultural of any Asian city, in my narrow experience. The street hawkers have been collected in central, sanitized centres, whether under open-air roofs or in malls, but the tang of competition is still there. At the opposite end of the scale, hotels stress fine dining as an essential service. And the food, like the people, come from all over; the best confit de canard I have tasted (and I've looked around) was in a small bistro in Singapore which also had Canadian ice wine on the drinks list. I'd never have guessed. Microbrew beers have also taken hold.
Only problem: Money. Singapore is not cheap.
KL wants to be like Singapore, at least in terms of prosperity, but Malaysia is a more rigid society and I expect it will retain its 'neighbour' status.