it looks fabulous to me..

check our salana botique hotel in vientianne

I'd change the order - you fly from Bangkok to Singapore, then back up to Penang. Thai Air has non-stop late afternoon flight to Penang. I'd fly to Penang first, (add a day here) then on to KL, then Singapore (take a day away from here for Penang) and from Singapore to Java.

Forget the ferry from Java to Bali, IMO. Indonesian ferries are renowned for overcrowding, and several sink each year. Fly.

My reply disappeared. Oh dang..

rhkkmk, it looks like the Salana may be booked for our dates but I have emailed them, sometimes more accurate.

Kathie, you are absolutely right. Penang should be first. Thanks for the Thai Airways tip. Will look more closely but looks as if it may work. I am going to book E&O for Penang. It will be a lovely place to spend Christmas.

Worried about Singapore hotel. So pricey. Probably best to book soon as I am sure the city will be busy NYE

Thank you for the ferry warning. We live in Seattle (Whidbey) and we take ferry safety for granted.

This trip has taken months for me to plan. Finally feels like a winner. Am sure I will have more questions and in the meantime am avidly following Fodors. Thank you.

Cindy, as a fellow Seattle-ite, I know what you mean about ferries.

You'll love the E&O and it will be great for Christmas. Singapore has gotten SO expensive! This would be a fine time to use any hotel points you have.

It will be a wonderful trip!

Sounds like a great trip!

Although I agree that you should avoid long distance ferries in Indonesia, the ferry between East Java and North Bali is an exception. It's just a short hop (about 20 minutes)and is fairly reliable. There are several crossings daily, used mostly by Indonesian tourists and trucks bringing goods from Java to Bali. Service is suspended during storms and high seas.

This is an acceptable option if you're on the far east coast -- Bromo or Ijen. If you're in Surabaya or Central Java you might as well fly.

Unless you're staying in North Bali, you'll still have to arrange transportation to Ubud or the Southern beaches. So, the choice between the ferry and flying really depends where you're coming from and going to.

Another option for Bangkok to Penang and on to KL and even Singapore is the train. Either the regular train, or the pricey Orient Express.

See http://www.seat61.com/Malaysia.htm#
and http://www.orient-express.com/web/eoe/eastern_and_oriental_express.jsp

i have used air asia for those flights fr bkk to k/l and penang..

clove hall is a very nice small place in penang

It looks as we can get a,flight from Vientiane with Nokair at 07:15 and then a 14:10 with Airasia to Penang, the Thai Airways flight is an evening flight. Laos Air was twice the price of Nokair for V to B.

We planned on the train once we are in Maylasia. we like trains and prefer if there isn't a time crunch. I did research seat61's article on train and it seems reasonable especially with a stop in Penang, KL and Singapore.

Thus far Clove Hall comes in quite a bit above the early special the E&O is offering. I understand why, it is a gorgeous place.

Re ferry. We do,plan to end our trip in eastern Java to,see Bromo so thought the ferry would be comvenient but this part of the trip is still a bit foggy for me. Kathie, your Java trip report sparked our interest in extending the trip to include Java.

I have just started looking at Airbnb for rentals near Ubud. Most of them are out of the city center, is this a bad thing?

We originally were planning a 3 month South America trip but changed our focus in order to meet up with our daughter and family in Asia. They are taking a 10 month around the world adventure with their 2 eleven year olds. Thailand was the best place to meet meshing our trip time. We will be rooming together in Chiang Mai for a week and then most likely meeting up again in LP before they continue on round the world!

Looks like a great trip. Makes me wish we were going with you.

This may require more of a change in your plan than you want to deal with but your travel dates begin right at the time of Ok Phansa, which marks the end of the rainy season and Buddhist Lent. The holiday is celebrated with boat races and festivities all along the Mekong River (and other locales) in Thailand and Lao. You might want to look into where and when some of these festivals are scheduled and consider working some into your plan. We did that in October 2010 and had one of our best trips ever to SE-Asia. See http://www.se-asiatravel.com/thailand/2010-northeast-thailand-isaan/ for a report of that trip and links to several videos of different festivals.

Also, rather than going by train all the way from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in one pass, consider a stop of a day or two in Sukhothai, the ancient capital of Siam. It’s roughly half way between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Phitsanulok is the location of the nearby train station you would use and is the home of Wat Yai, where you can see the Phra Buddha Chinnarat, a gold-plated Buddha image that is considered by many to be the 2nd most beautiful Buddha in all of Thailand (after only the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok.)

IMHO, you could steal a day or two from Siem Reap to free up the time for this stop. You can see quite a bit of the Central Angkor and surrounding temple sites in visit of 3-4 nights. Also, Bangkok to Sukhothai is a relatively inexpensive flight and you could easily fly REP to BKK to THS in one day saving you an overnight in Bangkok.

With all the planning you’ve obviously done, I’m sure you have looked into the Discovery Airpass offered by Bangkok Air but if not, you should check it out. The routing includes many of the locations in your plan including between BKK and Singapore (but with a stop in Samui).

If you do make it to Bali, look into spending a little time up in the northern mountains around Munduk. We found it to be a magical place.

we love alam shanti near ubud... many of the nice places are just outside town..AS runs an on demand free shuttle to downtown areas, i.e. restaurants..

gangga and yumma are the best rooms and worth the extra $$

"I have just started looking at Airbnb for rentals near Ubud. Most of them are out of the city center, is this a bad thing?"

It's just a matter of preference. The town of Ubud has a lot of appeal -- restaurants, shops, performance venues. Personally, after about an hour of battling tourists, traffic and Ubud's impossible so-called sidewalks, I'm always relieved to get out of town.

The countryside is lush, beautiful and serene. You can wander around the rice paddies and little villages or just sit on your balcony and soak up the green. Most resorts will offer shuttles into Ubud, and most likely you'll be touring different areas anyway.

I would also agree with the above poster that the Munduk area is full of charm. If you do end up taking the ferry from East Java this would be a good place for your first stop in Bali.

cindyjo, your itinerary sounds wonderful! I hope it all went smoothly and that you had a lovely reunion with your extended family.

I noticed your remark about meeting with your daughter's family. I would love to hear more about their trip, too -- we are about 6 weeks away from leaving on a 5 month RTW with 2 ten year olds! Do they have a blog or posts I might read somewhere? We just started our blog today: www.yourturn.ca/thebigtrip and our Twitter account @thebigtrippers so you could send that onto her if you think she might like to get in touch.

Some really good advice moving us toward tweaking our trip a bit.

Mediakzar, thanks for the link to your trip blog. Really enjoying it. We will stop in Sukhouthai before moving on to Chiang Mai. Any thoughts on where to spend the night?
Unfortunately we arrive in Bangkok Oct. 20 which I think is ok phansa. Also, thanks for the suggestion of Munduk. Also adding this to the plan.

Rhkkmk, will look for Alam Shanti.

Marmot, peace and quiet - i think that will be how we want to end this trip so am encouraged to find a rental outside of Ubud proper.

Thursdaysd, we love trains and the idea of Bangkok to Malaysia is exciting. Have looked at the Seat61 info. We will be coming from Ventiane and earliest flight is 07:15 putting us in Bangkok at 12:50. The current schedule for the international express leaves at 2:45. Seems like that might be cutting it close. So,if train is elected, may have to spend a night in Bangkok.

Jaysfan, our trip starts next October. Our daughter leaves in September. I sent her the link to your blog. Do you have an email I could pass to her. I am sure she would like share info.

Thanks again for all the good advice.

Have you looked at taking the night train from Vientiane? (Not from Vientiane itself, but it's easy to get to it from there - seat61 again.) That would get you into Bangkok early in the morning. I've taken that train a couple of times and it's quite comfortable (in second class, too). Only problem would be back-to-back night trains - don't know whether Bangkok station has showers.

thursdaysd, will investigate the night train.

spent the morning online and have confirmed a booking at the Clover Hotel in Singapore. Not surprisingly, many hotels are already sold out for NYE week. This seemed to be the best of the lot in or near our price range. online pix and reviews look ok and actually like the look of the place with Streetview. According to Google Maps it is only an 8 minute to Bugis MRT. Also made the reserve at E&O in Penang. A splurge for us but can anticipate how lovely it will be after the train from Bangkok! Will they laugh at us coming in bedraggled with our packs???

Have decided to catch the 2pm train to KL so will extend KL to 3 nights. Any suggestions for a hotel. This is approaching a part of the trip I have not researched very well. Moderate price.

rhkkmk, is alam shanti in Ubud proper? can't quite figure that our by website.

Thanks.

yes it is just on the other side of monkey forrest from the town...

i can't imagine taking any of those trains when air travel is sooo cheap...

we stayed at the imperial (starwoods) and were very happy---cash and pts...

mediakzar, where did you stay in Munduk?

Cindy Jo, I firmly believe that a crucial component for your trip success would be to treat your beloved daughter, son-in-law and grandkids to a luxury resort on a Thailand beach. (;

So glad you enjoyed the blog. If you navigate a bit on the same site, you will find some links to Bali as well.

In Munduk we stayed at the Puri Lumbung Balinese Cultural Hotel. The accommodations there are 2-story Dutch Colonial style cottages, constructed of teak with woven bamboo floors and walls. The cottages are set in the middle of pools of water and rice paddies. The views in every direction were spectacular and the staff was as kind as humanly possible. It is also a good source for local tours.

In Suhothai, we stayed at the Tharaburi Resort. We had read that it was a nice hotel but our experience exceeded our expectations. One of the reasons we selected it was the close proximity to the Old City. FYI…We were able to get a better rate contacting the hotel directly by email than what we saw listed on their web page.

Greetings cindyjo, and early congrats on retirement journey and spending time in our fine home of Singapore. Should be a joyous time; the past few end-of-year celebrations in SIN have been most memorable.

You could very well find the Hotel Clover in Singapore to your liking. Mind you, have never stayed at the property (pre-homeownership, the Four Seasons was my primary SIN business travel hotel), but have toured her public areas, and on more than a few occasions, her immediate neighbourhood; good character, all around. Would be honoured to offer additional Singapore dining and recreational suggestions for you. (And, of course, any potential flights involving that fine Singaporean carrier.)

More later, regarding Thailand lodging; signing off for now on this fine Tuesday morning. Savour your planning cindy; you are venturing off to some special locales. Good week of flights and work to all,

macintosh (robert)


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

In Ubud, I would suggest the Artini 2 cottages. It's on a main street in town, but down in a valley and very quiet. Yet you can still walk to many places, and it just a 10-minute walk to the Monkey Forest. Many restaurants are in walking distance. And Artini 2 rooms, in lovely bungalows, are very pleasant in a beautiful setting. Full breakfast is included and there's a swimming pool as well. But one caveat: if you will be there in January, that's the middle of the wet season, and the humidity can be debilitating.

Hello all, evolving retirement trip update with a few questions.

we will be traveling in northern Laos for one week after spending one week in LP. Taking the bus from Luang Namtha to Thai border. We would like to spend a week getting from border to Chiang Mai stopping overnight for 2-3 nights (we don't do well with one night stands). Wondering where an experienced SEA traveller would spend some time in order to get a taste of the area and any suggestions for specific hotels or guesthouses. We would like a moderately priced place with some comfort (will have been in pretty basic lodging in Laos). We are considering a car rental with pickup in Chiang Rai and dropoff in Chiang Mai.

I have been researching but still do not have a handle on how much time to spend where.


Thanks very much.