HK & Bali or Singapore,KL & Langkawi
 

Please advise us on which countires my husband and I should visit. This is ourfirst time to Asia. Air is Cathay. I'm torn between beach resort in langkawi or just visit Bali and HK. Is there a direct flight from Singapore to Langkawi (which airline?) . Please give us some advise. Thank you all so much.<BR>

Hello, Lucia. I am planning a trip just like yours. We are taking Cathay to HK and Bali - I did extensive research of Cathay's destinations in that region. I chose Bali because it has a lot of culture, good food, all kinds of activities. On top of all, it is cheap.<BR>BTW, Cathay has the best hotel deals -for their passengers only. I checked all the recommended hotel websites from this chart room. Nothing beats Cathay. The hard part may be choosing a hotel in HK. YMCA in TST is absolutely the one - I have been there. It is not the YMCA you usually see. It is plush, affordable, and very conveniently located. Also, Cathay offers free transportation between the airport and the hotel by bus. Try at least once to take the train Airport Express (you have to pay that yourself, but it is a faster way), then take the free bus between the train station and the hotel (5 minutes drive). You'll know how great life can be in the train.

Langkawi is a beautiful island. I think the only major carrier is Malaysia Air from KL and Penang. Its quiet and relatively laid back. The hotel doesn't have that many hotels. I stopped at the Sheraton Perdana Hotel (Not the Sheraton which isn't as good) near Kuah, which I found excellent. Also recommended are The Datai and Anderman but these are considerably more expensive. Michael Schumacher holidays on Langkawi before the Malaysian Grand Prix. Its also very Cheap as the island is Duty Free.

I would go for Hong Kong and Bali. These two places are strong contrast to each other, culture and everything else. Singapore and Malaysia are not that much different.

I've only been to Hong Kong and Singapore, but if I were to choose between the two, I'd definitely choose Hong Kong over Singapore. Singapore is a very boring place! I'm headed to Bali myself in September and have heard great things about it.

I have been to all of the places. Singapore and Hong Kong are well developed, modern cities, with all of the infrastructure you would need. In Hong Kong I always stay at the Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel in Kowloon. In Singapore I stayed at the Marina Mandarin. Both are excellent hotels.<BR><BR>Bali's culture will be the most different. Bali will also be the the least developed. I stayed in Bali in three areas Nusa Dua - Sheraton's Indah Nusa, at Kerobokan at the Balisani Suites, and in Tanjung Benoa at the Coralia Novotel. And in order I rated them Very Good, Good, and Excellent (the Novotel had the best food) <BR><BR>Langkawi is generally approachable from Penang or KL by Malaysian Airlines but you can fly to Penang from HK via Cathay Pacific. I stayed at the Sheraton Perdana near Kuah town. I think this is a superb facility. Langkawi is chiefly a resort island but has a modern and efficient style and manner. <BR><BR>You can check out my pictures from Hong Kong, Singapore, Bali, and Langkawi here:<BR><BR>http://community.webshots.com/user/michaelfromny <BR><BR>If you want modern Asia city see Singapore. If you want modern and spectacular geography see Hong Kong. If you are looking for the unusual and different go to Bali but stay in different areas, don't go to just one area. Finally - Langkawi has all the modern conveniences of the big city hotels but with out all the people. I found my time in Langkawi to be delightful. And if you stay at the Sheraton Perdana you will be able to walk to the town...and pass through a forest with monkeys to get there.<BR><BR>Michael<BR>

Thank you so much everyone. When is the best month to visit Langkawi? WE ARE considering Datai, Anderman, Tanjung Rhu or sheraton perdana. Which resort has the nicest beach/room and food/service? If you've been to any of the above resort, please tell me more.<BR>Michael,<BR>How is the room & bathroom at perdana? (we want deluxe or luxury) Is there a beach with clear water? I like the idea of able to walk to the town. Is there a gym at the perdana? We're from NY, so we want peace and quiet, maybe HK for the busy visit and Bali or Langkawi for the peace & quiet? Ahhh, as you can tell, I'm sooo confused.

There are direct flights from Singapore to Langkawi, either on Malaysian Airlines via Kuala Lumpur or direct on Silkair (website: silkair.com.sg). The Datai is a beautiful hotel, am also planning on a trip at the end of this year (website : thedatai.com) or you could check out the Andaman's web site at theandaman.com. If you're in Langkawi, don't miss out on snorkelling at Pulau Payar (it's a marine reserve), it costs approx. M$230 per person for a full day package.

I'm a Malaysian and have been to all places you mentioned. I would prefer HK and Bali. What could better represent an Asian city and a tropical island than HK and Bali? You can find in Bali what you want in Langkawi. You can find in a modern US city what you want in Singapore and KL just ain't worth it.If you want to visit something in M'sia which you can't find anywhere lese in the world, then you must visit Taman Negara the magnificent 100m yr old tropical rainforest.

The Perdana is quite a peaceful resort but it isn't small. If you want luxury plump for the Datai, but it is significantly more pricey (about 4 times as much) - I hope its an awful lot better for that price margin.

of course you could buy an all asia pass buy cathey or malaysia air. and see them all pluss more .... I did...<BR><BR>I take it money is not much of an issue, if it were you'd be posting on frommers. <BR>so I guess the HK -BALI is your best bet.. HK is just a cool vibrant EXPENSIVE city.. as opposed too KL where their is not much too do.. and you get a better bang for the buck in BALI then langkawi .. try getting away from KUTA the drug and prostitution hustling capital of the world. balies culture is special though.. pluss the food and beer is nice and cheap!!.. <BR><BR>

Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE.<BR>now, I'm more confused, however, if we choose to go to HK & Bali, another (more confused)about which resort to stay in Bali. Ritz & Pita Maha,or Four Seasons, Maya &/or Natura resort? (we have 12 nights/13 days, resort time) does not include the travel time. I'm trying to combined Jimbranbay & Ubud area??? Any suggestions? Also, maybe visit lembongan island for the beach. Anyway, please give me more advise if you have the time. Thanks a million to everyone for your great advise & your patient ansering my questions. Can we go to HK and relax or it is very crowded even if we're planning to stay at one of the lux hotel (thinking of 3 nights)? Do we have to fight through the crowd to get to the ferry, restaurants and etc? which lux hotel would you say has the most Balinese feel such as garden, room and the structure?

lucia, maybe you should tell us what your likes are and may'be your age group and other usefull info ...I'm not a travel consultant, even though I did study travel and tourism in colloage, but It seems, that your expecting may'be a litle too much from all these places...<BR><BR>this may be harsh but don't over expect any thing from any where. you'll be plesently surpised from what ever you see if you didn't already have it in minde..<BR>---------------<BR>HOng kong is definatlaly crowdad.(thats why I love it), it's fool of energy.. I guess some people can't handle it..<BR><BR>may'be an all inclusive or independent tour would be better for you? many include HK, SINgapore, and bali for less thes $1500pp form the USA. but I know nothing about luxury tours or LUX anyting for that case..

I have been to all four of the places that you want to visit and my recommendation is to go with HK and Bali and here are the reasons why:<BR><BR>HK vs. Singapore: Both cities are metropolitans like NY but only more international. You would be able to get around in both places even if you only speak English. The major difference between the two cities is the energy that you will feel in HK. HK is a more vibrant, lively city than Singapore. Think of HK as the city of choice for young expats whereas Singapore as the city for families. I think you will have a great time in both cities but my vote will be for HK for its great food, vibrant night life and impeccable service at the 5 star hotels. If you are into luxury hotels, HK will win hands down. Try either the Peninsula, the Intercontinental (old Regent), or the Mandarin Oriental. The service levels at these hotels are miles ahead of what you can find in the US or Europe.<BR><BR>Bali vs. Langkawi: If you are looking for a quiet relaxing time on the beach, either one of these places will do. Bali, in addition to the sun and beach, will also offer cultural sites to visit, interesting furniture shops, balinese paintings/sculptures, and a night life. Langkawi, on the other hand, has nothing more than a night market which you can probably spend at most 3 hours. If you are going to be there for 12 days, I would definitely not go to Langkawi since you will be bored out of your mind. Don't get me wrong, it is beautiful but there is nothing else to see aside from the hotel and the night market. I did stay at the Datai. Fabulous hotel especially if you stay in your own villa. They have nice pools too. My only reservation are the restaurants since they only have two. After the same restaurants for 5 nights, it does get boring and the food is not spectacular. You should also be aware that since the Datai is in the middle of a forest, there are plenty of monkeys running around. You CANNOT open the windows of your villa and will have to keep it closed at all times. You also need to be on the constant watch out for the monkeys so that they won't sneak into your room to steal food. A bit of a nuisance and the reason why I don't think I will go back to the hotel since I want to be absolutely worry free on my vacations. When I went to Bali, I stayed at the Four Season in Jimbaran Bay. First class hotel that I cannot find any fault. Every villa gets its own dipping pool! If I can afford it, I will go back any time.

I live in HK and have been to Singapore three times. I think Singapore is more boring for travelers.<BR><BR>YMCA in Tsim Sha Tsui is a very very good choice. It is right next to the 6-star Peninsula Hotel and close to the MTR station.<BR><BR>Yes, hong kong is very very crowded. However, you are lucky that things have gone very cheap here as the economy is going down hill.