Amy

So, yeah, first of all it's not long enough, I know. But reality is what it is, and at the end of this I'll fly into MCO to meet up with the family (27 or so of us!) for a few days of Disney. This would be late July into early August. (yeah, I know, rainy season in Thailand, lots of heat, plus it'll still be hot as hades in Florida, but...it's when I can.) I'll be flying out of Philadelphia, if that makes any difference--or a nearby airport, if I can get a direct flight without it costing the earth.

I'll either be traveling solo or with one other person (my niece, 28) and I definitely don't need any beach time--strong on the culture/nature, good with some city time. I've stayed in everything from $5 rooms in Ladakh to 5 star hotels in Iguassu, but generally look for someplace not to expensive that has an ensuite and, in this case, AC. My only experience in Southeast Asia is Vietnam and the Angkor Wat area of Cambodia, and that's been a few years ago now. I keep looking and reading, but at this point I'm undecided about what to do--below is what I was thinking, but I'm very open to suggestions! (By the way, Thailand and Singapore were chosen for me by my students, in case you're wondering why I seem not to have very strong feelings one way or another. Thailand has always been "on the list", but not near enough to the top for me to investigate a lot.)

Fly into Bangkok, stay along the river maybe, 4 nights. Walking tour, floating markets.
Train to Ayutthaya, stay one night.
Fly to Chiang Mai, go to ethical elephant reserve (maybe an overnight?), overnight on "Local Alike" tour to a mountain community (thanks to Kavey for the info!) 5 nights total
Fly Chiang Mai to Singapore (looks like there are non-stops?)
Singapore 3 nights Walking tour, botanical gardens, food!
Fly to Orlando from Singapore

So, my questions--and also quite open for general commentary--what am I missing that I just shouldn't miss? Should I reverse the order, as in Singapore first, for any reason? J (my niece) and I both love food tours; would Bangkok or Singapore be better for one of those? The national parks look lovely, too...any thoughts?

Thanks for any help you can give or insight you may have!

kja

I haven't been to Thailand yet, but for my interests, thought about 5 full days right for Singapore. If you haven't already seen it, you might get some useful information from my trip report; Singapore is at the start of my trip:
A Memorable Solo Month in Singapore, Java, and Bali

Guenmai

I spend a lot of time in Bangkok, 20 years of vacations as of this trip. Was recently there for 3 weeks straight. I'm now in Singapore as I arrived today from Jakarta. I've also been coming to Singapore regularly for 20 years. I think it's best to research different hotels and then run them by us for feedback. Plus, there's already a lot of information on this forum on both places.

As for non-stops from Chiangmai to Singapore, there are probably some and I find no problem with your order. I remember my first trip to S.E. Asia,1998/1999 trip, and I was in Singapore and flew non-stop to Chiangmai and after spending time there, flew to Bangkok and ended in Bangkok before flying back home to L.A. So, there were non-stops from Singapore to Chiangmai then and vice versa.

Happy Travels!

Nelson

My $0.02, somewhat dated but perhaps still valid. We thought Chiang Mai was a lot bigger and busier than we expected it. In some regards a scaled down version of BKK, though that's not really accurate. But since you are already spending time in BKK then maybe consider Chiang Rai as a northern base instead of Chiang Mai. We like to chill in a small town after time in a big city, so it depends on your preferences, but I thought it worth a mention.

Food ideas in Singapore:
Komala Vilas in Little India
East Coast Seafood Centre, right around sunset. We went to Red House, Long Beach, or Jumbo in that order depending on how busy.
Any of the big hawker Centers in Chinatown, perhaps Maxwell Food Centre.

Have fun!

Amy

Thanks, everyone! Kja, I'd probably love five days in Singapore, but wasn't sure that was a realistic ratio with Thailand, north and south. Singapore seems pretty easy for access/getting around (except the heat, of course!) so I'm hoping to fit a fair amount into my days.

Hotel-wise it looks as if we're pretty much spoilt for choice, so I guess the opinions I'm really looking for on those would be along the lines of what area is best for a base for somebody who's usually up early and to bed fairly early as well! (Don't need nightlife, that is to say, but night markets will probably happen.) Generally I do a mix that includes a condo/apartment type at some point to do laundry, although it seems I can get it done pretty cheaply from the looks of things. And I'm thinking I'd get the most bang for my buck is my "splurge" hotel were to be in Thailand rather than Singapore? Just to give you some idea of how I travel, last year I was in a botel in Prague (Botel Matylda: loved!), an apartment in Budapest, a pension in Maramures, Romania, an historic hotel in city center Sibiu, and another apartment in Timisoara.

Nelson, thanks for that suggestion! I do like a smaller town after the city rush, and Chiang Rai certainly looks pleasant. I'll explore that option further, for sure.

kja

Hotels in Singapore are not inexpensive, at least by my standards. Being close to a metro line can be a real benefit.

Amy

Yes, I'll definitely look for an MRT station nearby! I figured I wouldn't be going for luxe in Singapore with the prices being what they are, but it looks like there are some decent places in the $125-150 range. Of course, if I end up doing this one solo, I might be looking for cheap-n-cheerful everywhere!

Guenmai

As for "luxe" hotels in Singapore versus Bangkok as I stay in them in both cities along with other types of accomodations, it is not always more expensive for a luxe hotel in Singapore over Bangkok. I check online regularly and book accordingly and personally do the majority of my bookings on Expedia as it works out very well for me. Plus, I like keeping my complex travel itineraries in one online system, if possible, so that I can easily pull up the various bookings if needed.

I just stayed at the Park Hyatt-Bangkok 2 weeks ago and the room rate was only about the equivalent of US$15.00 a night less than the Four Seasons-Hotel here in Singapore. But, at the Park Hyatt, breakfast buffet was not included and I didn't get amenities. At the Four Seasons-Singapore, I get breakfast buffet included daily, 10% discount on food and beverages, 15% discount on laundry services, 15% off on Business Center services (I don't need), and 15% off spa. So, the Four Seasons comes out less expensive than the Park Hyatt-Bangkok and still at a base price of both being in the high twos per night.

I'm one who checks prices regularly, jumps on them when the prices are acceptable to what I will pay, usually pay it in full and with a very flexible cancellation policy, and book with an online booking company that I know will refund me quickly and easily if I need to do a cancellation, like when the price might suddenly drop and then I can just rebook at a lower price or if I totally decide to cancel a hotel to choose another one, but will get a full refund on the cancellation. I've been through all types of travel scenarios. And booking directly through a hotel does not always guarantee the best price.

Now, as for Singapore, I agree to book a hotel near an MRT station and there are plenty of them and it's easy to get around on the MRT. You can get one of those E-Z cards I think it's called and then put whatever amount on it that you want. If you don't use the whole amount before leaving Singapore, you can go to an MRT station and get a refund for the unused portion, minus the cost of the card which doesn't cost that much. The card is good for 5 years.

I would try to use the MRT as much as possible. Today, I stood at the taxi stand for a good 20 minutes at Raffles City Mall, with only 2 people ahead of me, and got to the point where I decided to just get on the MRT, with all of my bags and some groceries, and head back to the area of my hotel. As I was leaving the taxi area, there was a Singaporean man still waiting ahead of me. We had struck up a conversation and when two taxis stopped and the driver decided that he didn't want to drive to where the first woman, at the head of the line, was going and then the second taxi didn't want to drive to where I was going, I commented to the Singaporean man that it was starting to look like Bangkok as Thai friends and I go have been through that scenario more than a few times.

In Bangkok, I depend mostly on the skytrain and book accomodations very near a skytrain station. I also take the river taxi sometimes. But, I have no problem with just walking a lot. My Thai friend and I did take GRAB three times, I think it was within three weeks, as we waited about 30 minutes for a taxi that a doorman had called for us, but which didn't show up and then my friend got out her cell phone and called GRAB and it came in about 15 minutes. However, GRAB, was not inexpensive.

There is, GRAB in Singapore, but I've heard different opinions of it. There was discussion of it and talk of problems with pre-installing the APP, if out of Singapore, and not having a Singaporean SIM which I read some discussion of on Tripadvisor. Since I don't have a cell phone here, I don't need to use GRAB.

https://sbr.com.sg/transport-logisti...-takeover-uber

And as for the weather, both yesterday and today were cool and very breezy. I was out nearly all day and had on a T-Shirt under a shirt and a long-sleeved T-shirt over the shirt along with wearing a cotton skirt. I was fine both outside and inside as airconditioning inside is usually really cold throughout S.E. Asia except for when I was just down in Jakarta. I'd suggest to maybe pack a pashmina if you are one to get really cold in air conditioning.

Happy Travels!

Amy

Thanks for the tips! I'll keep checking out Expedia (my usual site, too) for both places and see what I can do. (I usually end up having to use Booking.com, too, for the weirder ones.) And I'll have a pashmina (always pack one for on the plane--those blankets are, well...) but I'll be sure to keep it handy for restaurants. (That's usually the only place where the super cold AC bothers me.) Any thoughts on Chiang Rai vs. Chiang Mai? I found I can fly non-stop from either to Singapore, so that part isn't a problem. I'm leaning toward Chiang Rai as being a bit more laid-back for the time between Bangkok and Singapore; could go to both, of course, but that's a few too many stops for me.

crellston

Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai are very different. Chiang Rai is much, much quieter than CM and sees far fewer tourists. There is a lot to see within the old city walks of Chiang Mai which is where I would choose to stay. The hotel choice in CM is much wider with plenty of boutique type options, good quality Guesthouses and a few chain type places. The 4 * places, I would avoid. Last time there we stayed at 3 Sis B&B which was well located and had all we wanted. We have also stayed at places like the Shangri La - overated. I would avoid staying anywhere near the night market ( unless you really like crowds)

Chiang Rai has fewer luxury accomdation option but some terrific B&Bs. I can look up the last two places we stayed at if you are interested. Three sights worth seeing in CR are the Black House, The White Temple and the Saturday walking market.
The first two of those are covered in our blog @
https://accidentalnomads.com/2015/10...ack-and-white/
There are of course other temples and places within the town.

Chiang Rai also offers better opportunities for visiting the minority peoples villages out in the hills than those around Chiang Mai. Although to make it worth while you really need to get quite far away from the city (and make sure to use a fully ethical operator - not easy!)
A trip out to the border with Lao or the golden triangle is also an option.

One issue with CR is that I don’t think there are direct flights to Singapore . It is only a two hour taxi ride to CM airport though.

Guenmai

Amy: I forgot to add that here in Singapore, there is Jane's Tours. I've been on her mailing list for some years, but unfortunately have yet to take one as I usually end up with either some conflicts of having other things to do or, during the dates that I'm in Singapore, the tours that I'm interested in aren't being offered. But, yesterday I got an e-mail from her company and was thinking of taking the Chinese New Year tour, but then noticed that it was already sold out. It's one that starts at 7PM which is best for me as I'm not an early-morning person.

This would probably be a really good, specialized tour company for you since you're only allocating 3 nights for Singapore.

https://janestours.sg

Happy Travels!

Amy

Thanks, Crellston, you've given me food for thought! I would like (an ethical) visit into the more remote areas, but definitely not a "look at the people all dressed up" type, so I'll need to do research. The elephant reserve that I was considering is out of Chiang Mai, and while I definitely could do both (fly into one and out of the other, perhaps) I don't want to spend large amounts of my limited time in travel--plus it's nice to stay a bit in one place.

Guenmai, those tours do indeed look interesting! Thanks.