Guenmai:
 

You seem to be the King/Queen (sorry!) of thrift, so here is a budget question for you:

Regarding my BKK-Angkor-Singapore itinerary, this is my capital spending program:

[Excluding the flights from Canada to BKK, then Angkor, then Singapore and back home.]

Hotels - Landmark Hotel (4 nights), Princess Angkor (3-4 nights), Singapore - probably Traders Hotel or something like that (3 nights). Total cost: approx. US1,200-1,500.

Another US$2,000 has been earmarked for souvenirs, food, entertainment, blah blah.

Is this reasonable? Sorry, I am young and not the most experienced of all travellers.

Other Fodorites' opinions are welcome.

P.S. That's why I only stayed in Thailand for 7 days; I get extremely paranoid about running out of money.

Which is why I opened up several bank accounts in Canada before I left; if one ATM card is swallowed in BKK, I have another. Plus, I take a bundle of cash with me in case the ATM system is down in Thailand.

I am such a worrywart I will drive myself to drink!!!

P.S.P.S. Not too late for booking the trip in early March?

Razzle Dazzle...yes, I'm the Queen of budget. And by being able to budget so, that's why I can do 5-stars in BK. Why are you staying at Traders? Check into the "Y". And give Singapore at least 3 full days! You say you are young and not too experienced with travel? Ok...I'm in my 40s and have been on these overseas roads for 31 years...and totally alone,too. So I really have to budget since I have no one to split cost with. Don't throw away money on hotel rooms if you stress out about running out of money. I haven't been to Angkor so I can't comment on that. I don't know the Landmark hotel in BK. How much does it cost? I got the Chateau de Bangkok...Jr. Suite...200 meters from the Ploenchit skytrain stop for 1400 Baht a night...in Aug 2004. There's a pool on the roof and a laundry room...so you'll save money on doing laundry. I've got to go...If you have other questions then post them. Happy Travels!

Thanks for getting back.

Landmark Hotel is in the Sukhumvit area. It's about 3,500-4000 Baht. Yes, very expensive, BUT I stayed at Grand President (Suhkumvit Soi 7) last time I was there for approx. 1,200 Baht/night and I was NOT impressed. They put me in a shitty tower on the other side from the main two towers, there were stains on the walls, it took them 30 min. to get soap into my room after I phoned them up (ugly spoiled Canuck abroad??), and the thing that ticked me off most, was that the walls weren't too sound-proof, which was bothersome at night.

Yes, I do have a question:
1. Is it too late to book for early March? I would hope not.
2. Last time, I booked everything through my travel agency. This time, I want to book the flights through the travel agency, but book hotels online to take advantage of extras and save costs. What do you think?

I will call up my travel agent as soon as I hear from you. I am really excited! 48 hours ago anything of this sort (and so soon) wasn't even in the cards.

I use www.asiahotels.com to book hotels and have had excellent experience with them. It should not be too late to book for March.

Kathie - I was about to ask you about asiahotels.com as to whether they are legit or not. Glad to hear they are!

You are priceless!

Razzle...I just typed you a long reply, but it got deleted. I'll have to retype it in a few hours. Sorry. Happy Travels!

Sure - I'll be looking forward to your reply, Guenmai.

This asiahotels.com - they have some great rates!!! I can even book the Cambodian hotel through them, as well as Traders in Singapore for pretty competitive rates.

I am single, so obviously, single occupancy...what's TBA (under published rate)?

I gather they are affiliated with all these hotels...I am just paranoid (there we go!) that I'll arrive at the hotel and they'll tell me "we are not familiar with that reservation".

But I reckon I can book all three hotels with them, huh?

TBA means to be announced. In other words they don't have the rates yet. However, they will often get them for you if you book those dates and will email the rates to you.

They send you an email confirmation which you take to the hotel.

Razzle...I typed a post to you earlier, but then there was a problem in the Fodor system and as soon as I hit send, it was all deleted! So, I'll try again. Anyhow, it's unfortunate about your pit hotel in BK. Is that the same Grand President that has serviced apartments? Anyhow, I didn't have any problem with my room at the Chateau de Bangkok by Sofitel...an Accor hotel...800.818.4685 in the U.S. The room was very nice and had a full kitchenette with apartment- sized fridge, microwave, sink, and cabinet space...and there was a pool on the top floor. As for booking hotel rooms through the internet, well, I'm old school when it comes to buying plane tickets and booking hotel rooms. I call the airlines directly and buy my plane tickets over the phone and have many times paid less than what's been quoted on the internet. As for hotel rooms, I prepay nothing unless I absolutely have to...like when, on a whim, I decided to go to Barbados and went on Expedia and booked the whole trip and then left 24 hrs later. I had no choice there. But, I like to see what I'm getting before I pay a cent...like on Bali when I had a nightmare situation of a room/bungalow that I was to stay in for about 10 days. Well, I packed my bags, after day 2 and moved elsewhere.It didn't cost me a cent to leave. I book all of my own trips and use Amexp to try to get me the best room rate after I have picked out the hotel of my choice and then have them have the hotel hold the room with my credit card. Or, I call the hotel directly... like a couple of weeks ago when I went on the internet to price a hotel room in Ghana since I'm leaving in about a week. Well, all the internet rates,different companies,including the hotels own website, listed $175. a night which I laughed hysterically over. I had stayed at the same hotel, around this time last year and had paid $74. for the same room. So, I called the hotel in Ghana directly...35 cents a minute... and got the $74. rate...a big difference from $175. a night. If you chose the "Y" then you'd better book it early. Last summer the whole month of July was booked solid. It's a very popular place. I was there in August. I just called the "Y" directly and booked over the phone with a credit card. No problem. Lots of solo travelers, families, and church groups stay there and as I said before it's a regular hotel...NOT some dumpy place.

Guenmai,

Thanks for your reply! That's some good advice there. The thing is, I don't get to travel more than once a year (work-related) and I figure that sometimes, it's worth paying a bit extra to stay a nicer place. You only live once!

The Grand President is in fact part of the serviced apartments. Like I said, I was not overly impressed. To give credit where it's due though, you'll be hard pressed to find an even somewhat decent room for US$39 a night. That much I'll give them. But, given the short duration of my stay in BKK, I might as well pay up a little.

Will check into the Y in Singapore though.

Thanks,

Razzle Dazzle

Razzle... My room at the Chateau de Bangkok Hotel was $US 34.00.Happy Travels!

Sorry - I meant you'd be hard-pressed to find a decent room for US$39 in Europe/North America!

Razzle...Post when you get back in March. I'm curious to see how things went. Happy Travels!