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.

chian saen is nice and right at the golden triangle... i suspect the anantara and four seasons are more than you want to spend but A is lovely...