I'm trying to plan our first trip to SEA and feeling overwhelmed...
May 18th, 2006, 12:58 PM
#21
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Guenmai, I completely understand what you are saying. We even made that mistake on one of our first trips to Europe and learned our lesson. We are advocates for slow travel, and usually choose to park it in one place for about a week at a time, maybe taking a few side trips but mainly staying put. I am definitely not one of those who tries to do 10 cities in Europe in 3 weeks.
Tracy
Tracy
May 18th, 2006, 05:32 PM
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Tracy,
We went to Singapore for a month to visit our kids when our granddaughter was born. To me Singapore is like a western city with a large Chinese population! Shopping seems to be the national pastime. My husband was very worried about a few day stopover in Hong Kong on the way home but he absolutely loved it there. It is easy to get around on your own. We walked everywhere or took the ferry with no problem. The markets are great. There are day trips to the other islands. I would say it is an easy place to visit for a westerner. We were there during the SARS outbreak last time so we are going back this spring.
We went to Singapore for a month to visit our kids when our granddaughter was born. To me Singapore is like a western city with a large Chinese population! Shopping seems to be the national pastime. My husband was very worried about a few day stopover in Hong Kong on the way home but he absolutely loved it there. It is easy to get around on your own. We walked everywhere or took the ferry with no problem. The markets are great. There are day trips to the other islands. I would say it is an easy place to visit for a westerner. We were there during the SARS outbreak last time so we are going back this spring.
May 19th, 2006, 02:11 AM
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Hi Tracy
I'll offer my experiences/comparisons of some of the cities mentioned for you.
Of both Singapore and HK, I prefered HK but didn't find it too crowded. I found Bangkok more crowded. In my previous post I mentioned that perhaps BKK wasn't ideal for a first time visit which some people have disagreed with! I'm not saying skip it, never go there etc, I based my views on your requirements and reservations for a first time visit. If you are planning on going back to SEA, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for your next trip. What might be a good option if you really wanted to go for it is to perhaps go to HK first and acclimatise and then go onto BKK, followed by Bali. It would certainly give you a good flavour of the different cultures.
HK is so easy to get around as there are so many transport options, you just load up an Octopus card and off you go. It is also quite compact so it doesn't take long.
While the transport in BKK is very good, the roads are a nightmare and it can take ages to get around, so the best way is via Sky train and boat. It is a much bigger city than I imagined, in fact it's bigger than London population wise. The advice about staying on the river is good, we found it easy to get up to the temples by basing ourselves there and also to get on the Skytrain to go into the city centre. The hotels also offered a relaxing pool area and gardens etc. One major difference I found between BK and HK was the restaurants, we struggled to find 'good' restaurants in BKK outisde of the hotels and shopping centres. This may be down to a lack of time to really explore though. In HK they are everywhere and just seemed a bit more inviting. Eating out is a bit more expensive in HK though.
As for Singapore, while the most Westernised of the FE cities IMO, it does offer a good taste of both Chinese and Indian culture. You can visit the markets and taste and smell all the wonderful food and spices. The orchid gardens are also stunning. And yes, there is also the shopping!
You won't be disappointed with HK and if you really want to see 3 places you could combine HK, BK and Bali with 4 days in each but it will be tiring so go for hotels with a good pool area so you can relax. I personally would probably just stick with 2 locations though as you have a long flight to contend with.
I'll offer my experiences/comparisons of some of the cities mentioned for you.
Of both Singapore and HK, I prefered HK but didn't find it too crowded. I found Bangkok more crowded. In my previous post I mentioned that perhaps BKK wasn't ideal for a first time visit which some people have disagreed with! I'm not saying skip it, never go there etc, I based my views on your requirements and reservations for a first time visit. If you are planning on going back to SEA, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for your next trip. What might be a good option if you really wanted to go for it is to perhaps go to HK first and acclimatise and then go onto BKK, followed by Bali. It would certainly give you a good flavour of the different cultures.
HK is so easy to get around as there are so many transport options, you just load up an Octopus card and off you go. It is also quite compact so it doesn't take long.
While the transport in BKK is very good, the roads are a nightmare and it can take ages to get around, so the best way is via Sky train and boat. It is a much bigger city than I imagined, in fact it's bigger than London population wise. The advice about staying on the river is good, we found it easy to get up to the temples by basing ourselves there and also to get on the Skytrain to go into the city centre. The hotels also offered a relaxing pool area and gardens etc. One major difference I found between BK and HK was the restaurants, we struggled to find 'good' restaurants in BKK outisde of the hotels and shopping centres. This may be down to a lack of time to really explore though. In HK they are everywhere and just seemed a bit more inviting. Eating out is a bit more expensive in HK though.
As for Singapore, while the most Westernised of the FE cities IMO, it does offer a good taste of both Chinese and Indian culture. You can visit the markets and taste and smell all the wonderful food and spices. The orchid gardens are also stunning. And yes, there is also the shopping!
You won't be disappointed with HK and if you really want to see 3 places you could combine HK, BK and Bali with 4 days in each but it will be tiring so go for hotels with a good pool area so you can relax. I personally would probably just stick with 2 locations though as you have a long flight to contend with.
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