3 week SE Asia itinerary
 

Looking for feedback on this itinerary. This will be my first trip to Asia, but I've traveled in Europe, Australia and Peru. I do not get a lot of time off work, so I try to fit in as much as possible while not feeling too rushed. I like archeology and architecture, and enjoy spending time in green areas, like parks and botanic gardens. I am not very interested in shopping, going to the beach, or nightlife. My trip is from Sept 24 to Oct 14

Day 1&2- arrive Singapore very early. Explore at a relaxed pace, gardens, parks, etc. This is also during Mid-Autumn festival any suggestions for activities during this time welcome
Day 3 – fly to Yogyakarta in the morning. Yogya city/ Taman Sari and Kraton in the afternoon
Day 4&5 – one day Borobudur, one day Prambanan, Plaosan, Ratu Boko
Day 6 &7 – fly back to Singapore in the morning. Sensota afternoon
Day 8 – museum in the morning. Fly to Siem Reap mid-day. Arrive for dinner in SR
Day 9- 12 – One day seeing Siem Reap itself, 3 days for Ankor temples
Day 13 - 16 – fly to Bangkok in the morning, possible day trip to Ayutthaya depending on if I want more time in Bangkok and if I'm feeling temple fatigue. Sightseeing in Bangkok including Grand Palace/river area
Day 17 – morning souvenir shopping, afternoon flight to Chiang Mai
Day 18-21 – Chiang Mai town, Elephant Nature Park, day trip to White temple/Black house, Do
Sithep

I know splitting the Singapore days up by visiting Yogya is a little strange, that seemed to be the only way to get direct flights instead of long connections.

I usually enjoy stopping at a zoo, but given some of the reviews for tiger and elephant parks, I'm concerned about the animal welfare at zoos in the area. Are the zoos best avoided or are there any particularly good ones? Singapore maybe?

Do I have an appropriate number of days in each city to see the major sites?

Overall, you have a reasonable plan. While in Central Java, don't miss the Ramayana Ballet performed dat the open-air theatre at Prambanam.

In/near Siem Reap, the temples are the main attraction. Do you have a copy of Dawn Rooney's nook, Angkor: A Guide to Cambodia's Wondrous Temples? Do get yourself a copy. She figures it takes three full days just to see the major temples. I spent a week there and didn't see everything. You don't need a full day to explore Siem Reap.

The zoo in Singapore gets good reviews, especially the night zoo.

Enjoy this wonderful part of the world!

You should have some wonderful experiences!

I wanted more time in Singapore than you are giving it, but of course, it depends on your interests and preferences. I think Singapore's zoo has a decent reputation, and enjoyed my evening there. If you like zoos, you might want to give it even more time.

I think your plan for Jogja could work. Traffic in that area can be incredibly congested, so getting from place to place can take longer than the distances alone might suggest. I must admit that I wanted to see much more of Java....

I haven't been to the other places you plan to visit. I'm sure the experts will chime in with some irreplaceable wisdom.

If you haven't already seen it, you might find some helpful information in my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...a-and-bali.cfm

I think you might try harder to get to Central Java either before or after your time in Singapore. By sandwiching it in between you'll waste too much time in airports. AirAsia, which is a terrific airline, flies every day non-stop between Singapore and Yogya.

Prambanan, Ratu Boko and Plaosan are in the same general area and are close to Yogya city center. I would recommend that you try to spend a night in countryside around Borobudur as it's serene and beautiful and a completely different environment from the congested cities. If you can, try to fit in the Dieng Plateau. You can continue on from Dieng to the airport in Semarang and then to Singapore.

I would also consider Ubud Bali in lieu of Chiang Mai (another city) for gardens, temples and a unique culture.

Singapore has some wonderful zoos. I'm especially fond of the Night Safari and the Bird Park.

There are two versions of the zoo in Singapore. The "day" zoo and the "night" zoo. The night zoo has separate tickets. You can walk or ride little trains to see the animals in the dark (with discreet lighting) It was great, as many of the nocturnal animals, like the cats, are much more active at night.

We also loved the day zoo. It's not a huge one, but you are able to view the animals from much closer than in many other places. One monkey exhibit seems to have monkeys swinging right over your head. On the whole, the animals appear to be well kept.

Hi Kathie - I have ordered Rooney's book, but I don't have it yet to look at. I would like to add a day in Siem Reap for Ankor, I could maybe take a day out of Bangkok, or Chiang Mai. I'm not really a fan of Ballet, would Ramayana Ballet still be worth the visit?

Kja- thank you for the trip report, I'll take a look at that for sure

Marmot - I think you may have a point about putting Yogya after Singapore instead of splitting it. I was concerned that Yogya to Siem Reap was about 6 hours with the layover in Singapore as opposed to a 1 hr flight Singapore to Yogya and 2 hr from Singapore to Siem Reap, but that might actually be better considering I'd only have to go through immigration/security etc once.

I worked in Sing for a month, and still did not think it was enough time! ;) I highly recommend the Night Zoo and the Botanical Gardens, I think you can skip Sentosa.

Siem Reap is one of my favorite towns, and if you haven't yet booked a hotel, I highly recommend the Victoria Angkor!

If you happen to be in Bangkok on a weekend, I recommend the JJ market, mostly for the atmosphere, but also for the shopping :)Just avoid the pet area, it's horribly sad.

The Ramayana Ballet is not western ballet, although it is a highly stylized dance. I'm sure you can google it to find some short youtube videos....

BTW, my visit to Singapore's zoo was the "night safari."