oceanrockview

I have travelled extensively but have never been to Asia.
Where to plunge in for a dream trip scheduled for the month of November 2010?

Great panoramas, culture, wonderful food and romance are the points of reference for a 25th anniversary celebration. Smart planning to encourage maximum vacation time and minimum wasted time is on the wish list as well.

What would you suggest? What's your dream trip?

Gpanda

My dream trip would be as folows:

Bangkok-3 days
Luang Prabang, Laos-4 days
Thailand Beach, Phuket or Krabi-5 days
Bangkok-3 days

That's 15 days. If you could stretch it to 18 days, I would also include the temples of Angkor Wat.

All of these places have an excellent tourist infrastructure. Hotels, restaurants, guides, etc. are readily available. Also, you can have a great time regardless of budget. There's backpackers and those who only frequent 5 star hotels and everything in between. They really do have it organized to make visitors have a great time.

AskOksena

>>>Great panoramas, culture, wonderful food and romance<<<

Oh, that's an easy one : Fly with those fabulous Singapore Girls - Fovever!!! (And warm congrats on your forthcoming 25th.)

Here's a little 'suggestion' : fly cherished SIA to sweet Singapore, spend a few joyous days/nights at the Four Seasons (sentimental reasons, to be sure), then keep the party rolling with SQ J to BKK, check into one of numerous, fine, 'friendly' hotels, then, well, repeat the following year.

Have fun! (And don't forget those late-night, in-room massage treatments.)

macintosh (robert)


... All Around the World -- Singapore Girls ...

Kristina

Do you have the entire month of November?

Like Gpanda I lean toward South East Asia. Even if you have a full month, resist the urge to squeeze in more and more locations.

With a month I would include time in Bali, Thailand, Cambodia and possibly Vietnam.

oceanrockview

I have blocked out 25 days, including travel time to and from.

rhkkmk

perfect, so that is a strong 3 weeks on the ground...

as a newbie, i would start in thailand which is the most english friendly and has the most developed tourist structure...

november is a perfect month!!

the outline gpanda has given is a good one, but involves some flights, which you may or may not want to do...

i would also urge you to consider staying your whole vacation in thailand...

start with 5 or so days in bangkok....the jet lague when you arrive from the west is significant, so forget day one and even part of day two....choose a hotel with a nice pool and hang there to adjust to the extreme heat and humidity....don't underestimate it....supply us with your budget and we can assist with hotel choices....many of us prefer hotels along the river....food in bkk and thailand in general is not a problem at all....all major cuisines are very well represented and are very reasonable...

after those initial days, i might consier a few days up north, in either chiang mai or chiang rai areas or both....say 6 days total...

from there i would fly to a beach area: krabi, phuket, koh samui or back to bkk and travel by road to hua hin or pattaya/jontiem....all are beach areas...

after that i would return to bkk for a few days (maybe stay in a different part of town) and then home quickly so you can make your reservations for a return visit...

Kathie

If you have 25 days, let's say 23 after travel time, you have a nice amount of time to get a great introduction to SE Asia. Let me start by saying that there is so much to see and do it's tempting to over-schedule yourself. Your itinerary should be an exercise in restraint. A great introduction to SE Asia would include time in Thailand, the most traveler-friendly destination with great tourist infrastructure, lots of English spoken and great buys on lovely hotels and tasty food (as well as wonderful shopping) and some side trip to other parts of Thailand and nearby countries.

What you choose will depend on your particular interests. Flying in and out of Bangkok is usually the least expensive aces to SE Asia and Bangkok is a great introduction. As others have noted, I'd spend time on the way in and on the way out in this fascinating city.

Travel in SE Asia takes time, so consider that you won't get much done on your travel days. Three nights in a location is just two full days.

I think a great intro to Asia would include Bangkok and at least one other location in Thailand (north and/or a beach), Luang Prabang, Laos and Siem Reap Cambodia (Angkor).

Take a look at some of our photos www.marlandc.com for some inspiration. I'd suggest at least 4 nights in each Luang Prabang and Siem Reap (more depending on your interests), at least three nights on each end in Bangkok, at least 4 nights at each a beach and northern Thailand... that's 22 nights.

By the way, I'm not fond of Chaing Mai, but loved out time in the Golden Triangle area (you fly into Chiang Rai, drive an hour). Take a look at the Anantara at the Golden Triangle.

As you begin to outline your itinerary, we can be helpful with hotels, just let us know your budget. Browse Thai hotels at www.sawasdee.com The rates there include tax and service (which adds to 17%) as well as (usually) breakfast. You can stay at beautiful places with fabulous service for the price of a holiday Inn in the US.

What a wonderful 25th anniversary trip!

oceanrockview

Thanks for this information.
A few questions:
Would you consider adding Hong Kong to the itinerary given a few extra travel days?
Why not include Chiang Mai in the tour?
Last, our budget is generous for this trip.
A 25th year anniversary is a big deal!
What hotels do you think would be most memorable, have a great sense of place and romance, and be worth the splurge?
What would be your dream trip to Southeast Asia?

Gpanda

Hotels

BKK-Peninsula or Oriental-there have been numerous threads on this forum discussing preference
Siem Reap-Hotel de la Paix
Phuket-there are several 5 star hotels, Amanpuri, Tristara, etc.
Krabi-Rayavadee

There is a split on Chiang Mai-some love it some (I)think it's overrated. I think Luang Prabang is much nicer. If you go to Chiang Mai, the Four Seasons is the best hotel.

filmwill

I might disagree there...I think the best hotel in CM is the Mandaran Oriental (Dhara Devi)--sure it's a bit like a fantasyland, but boy is it easy to get sucked into its allure.

I am one of the few who think Chiang Mai is fantastic. I actually prefer it over Bangkok--but then again, I'm not one to spend lots of time in big cities. I find its proximity to nature, its surroundings (lush, gorgeous mountains) and it's slower pace to be exactly what I love on a trip.

Agree that LP is definitely worth a visit, but LP (as magical as it is) is even slower than CM, so I think visiting both would definitely be on my itinerary.

AskOksena

>>>Thanks for this information.
A few questions:
Would you consider adding Hong Kong to the itinerary given a few extra travel days?
Why not include Chiang Mai in the tour?
Last, our budget is generous for this trip.
A 25th year anniversary is a big deal!
What hotels do you think would be most memorable, have a great sense of place and romance, and be worth the splurge?
What would be your dream trip to Southeast Asia?<<<


You are most welcome; pleasure to help out on this fine family friendly forum.

Now, you mentioned a generous budget. Well, that is 'music to my ears', as I can't help but suggest suites / first / business with those precious Singapore Girls. For your 25th, fly in style, indeed. (To help you get more in the mood, venture over to the fine folks on SQTalk, as well as one of the world's greatest websites, that singaporeair dot com.

As for lodging, I've always had joyous, uplifting (business/leisure) times at the hotels I've reviewed on this site, as well as the precious Peninsula in Bangkok, and the Amanpuri. (Would suggest going over to that hotel board on flyertalk for the 'hard core', 'aman lovers'.)

Have fun with the planning ... (and booking those SQ flights) ...

robert


... The Greatest Show in the Sky -- Singapore Airlines ...

FromDC

Because you are travelling in November, you should try to plan your trip so that you will be in Thailand, either Bangkok or Chiang Mai, during the Loy Krathong festival. It takes place the night of the full moon. We were lucky enough to be able to do this in Nov 08 and stayed at the Oriental in Bangkok. Their celebration is wonderful. Definitely worth planning around it.
We also have stayed at Hotel de La Paix in Siem Reap, the 4 Seasons outside Chiang Mai, and the Anantara in the Golden Triangle. These are splurge hotels that are worth every penny. I also agree about adding Hong Kong if possible. Expensive but fascinating. We stayed at the Oriental and had a great view of the harbor, did lots of walking, hiking and eating.
I think the key is whether you want a relaxed pace or not. If you want to spend 4-5 days in each place and really getting to know it and then add 1 travel day for each place, it means 4 stops. Remember, you will get bitten by the SEAsia bug and so you will return often....don't try to do too much during the first trip.

oceanrockview

From DC,
This is what I had in mind. I want to take enough time in each place to put down, enjoy the hotel and have a sense of place before moving on.
Each of your hotel suggestions appeals.
I imagine we will select all of them.
As to the itinerary, where to place Siem Reap? Would you consider adding Luang Prabang and subtracting another stop?How best to order the itinerary to minimize backtracking and wasted time? What's the smart way to do this?
I appreciate your time and thoughtfulness as well as every reply in the thread. Thanks.
Oceanrock -

FromDC

This is how I would organize my thinking: first, what combination of cities, beaches, small towns do you want? If you have 4 stops, would it be 2 cities, 1 beach and 1 "other"? If so, then Hong Kong, BKK, a Thai beach resort and either LP or SR or Golden Triangle would make sense. Next, investigate how easy it is to get from one place to the next. That may suggest that you eliminate a beach, for example and add a second small town. Or it may determine the order in which you visit. You just have to play with the airline schedules. If you are planning on the top hotels, then there is a lot of agreement about which those are and given the current economic conditions, you probably won't have trouble booking them esp this far out.
We personally much preferred the Golden Triangle to Chiang Mai, altho the 4 seasons hotel there was one of the most beautiful places we've ever stayed but it is at least 1/2 hr outside town. An option is to do BKK, fly to CM and then drive to the Golden Triangle. That would be an "efficient" trip, altho I would rather do LP or SR than CM.
We don't normally do beach resorts in SE Asia because we have a house in Anguilla and nothing compares with those beaches. We have stayed at a couple (Datai in Langkawi because we wanted to experience the rainforest; Seminyak in Bali to recover from jet lag) and have not really been impressed with the beaches compared to the Caribbean. We found the countryside very relaxing when we wanted a less hectic few days. Also, altho we loved Bali, I would save it for another trip because it is so much farther away from the Thailand/Laos/Cambodia area. I would stick with those places plus maybe Hong Kong.

Kathie

There are many different ways to have a wonderful trip. There is no "right" answer to this. Think about what the most important experiences are for you. You have limited time, so consider the balance and variety in the four stops you are making.

If I was designing a trip of all "special places," I'd opt for Bangkok, Golden Triangle, Luang Prabang, Siem Reap, return to Bangkok for trip home.

Start with a few days in Bangkok, staying at the Oriental or the Pen.

Fly to Chiang Rai and have the Anantara pick you up for the one hour drive to the Anantara at the Golden Triangle.

Hire a car and driver to take you to Houei Say to catch the Luangsay boat down the Mekoong, with an overnight stay at the Luangsay Eco-Lodge, then the Luangsay boat on to Luang Prabang. Stay at La Residence PhouVao.

Fly from Luang Prabang to Siem Reap, staying at Hotel de la Paix.

Return to Bangkok for a night (or more) before you flight home.

What fabulous trip! I'm envious!

marya_

Sigh. Kathie's proposed itinerary is spectacular -- as close to heaven on earth as one planning a dream vacation in SEA could hope for, I think.

cruisinred

So, 25 days including travel time is about 22 days on the ground.

A great trip for me would be:
3 days Hong Kong
3 days Hanoi (Sofitel Metropole)
3 days Siem Reap (Hotel de La Paix)
3-4 days Luang Prabang (new Aman resort or the La Résidence Phou Vao )
4 days Bangkok (Peninsula)
6 days Bali (3 days in mountains in Ubud, 3 days at beach at Amankila)

This has a bit more moving around than some people might like, but on a first trip my instinct is to get a taste of several different places.

oceanrockview

Kathie,

Your itinerary for SE Asia is beautiful and I intend to make this the essential part of our trip.

I am still interested in the Four Seasons Chiang Mai and would consider adding it before Golden Triangle. That would work.

Some questions:
I have enough points on American Airlines to upgrade, and this could take us through Hong Kong using Cathay Pacific.
Is a layover of 5 nights through Hong Kong allowed coming or going on a ticket to Bangkok? Is it possible to fly from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai and then to finish the trip with one good stay in Bangkok? It would be great to begin the trip with a resort.

What are your thoughts about China Airlines? The fares seem to be less than its competitors. Do you have any other thoughts about business class to Bangkok and which company provides the best seat for the money?

Last, do you think finishing the trip in Siem Reap with a flight to BKK and onward to the states in one go is plausible?

I appreciate any help you or your colleagues may give-

Oceanrock

Nywoman

Layovers are generally permitted, call AA and ask.
I flew China airlines last year and they were fine.

Siem Reap - BKK - USA in one go absolutely.I flew Siem Reap-Seoul-NYC in one fell swoop economy and it was good.

You may be able to do a lot of your trip going to different places using miles, speak to FF desk at AA. I had Delta miles and got several legs included.

oceanrockview

Here is the provisional itinerary:

Bangkok
Chiang Mai
Golden Triangle
Mekong Cruise, 2 days/1 night
Luang Prabang
Siem Reap
Hong Kong

With 26 days on the ground, how would you allocate your time? If you have a 27th day, where would you add it? If you had 25 days, where would you shed the time?

I would appreciate your ideas and advise. This is our first time in Asia and our first 25th anniversary.

Thanks