Well, my friends son is getting married in Kuala Lumpur Aug 16th.

The far east is one area I have always wanted to explore. However, I always thot I would have some time to plan it.

I know I have like 6 weeks but I am usually planning these kind of trips a year in advance.

So, I need some help, please.

I am thinking like 3 weeks I want to visit Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and since to be honest have not researched enough yet, but am working on it, any other place in between or around that you think I should see.

I think we need to fly into Singapore for ecomony reasons, so far I have learned you can rent a car which I would like or take a train up to Kuala Lumpur.

Am curious what you would advise?

Also should we fly into Hong Kong and Thailand.

Sorry I am soooo abstract on details but this is the first time I have so little time to plan a big trip.

By the way am flying out of Tampa Florida.

Would appreciate any comments.

Thank you

Ok, do you have 3 weeks in addition to the wedding time?

You list Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong as places you want to visit. Singapore and Hong Kong are large cities, but Thailand is a whole country. You could easily spend all three weeks in Thailand alone. You will have to make some choices. You could visit Hong Kong, Singapore and perhaps two locations in Thailand if you have, say, 20 days on the ground.

But I'd advise that you start by researching the SE Asia area, as there are lots of places that have likely not occurred to you. For instance, are you interested in visiting the temples at Angkor, near Siem Reap, Cambodia? What about Laos or VietNam? Or would you prefer to spend some time in Indonesia? Are you interested in rural areas? Are there particular arts and crafts you are interested in (such as silk-weaving or painting or silver-work)? Are you especially interested in Buddhism. say, or Hinduism? Do you love the juxtapositions of the ancient and the modern or do you want to see modern Asian cities that put US cities to shame in innovative architecture? Would you prefer to visit places that are mostly unchanged in decades, even centuries?

I'd also advise, since this is your first trip to Asia, that you let someone else do the driving. The route you mention between Singapore and KL has trains and luxury buses as well as flights.

You may want to check on Malaysia Air's special airfares that include your overseas flights as well as intra-Asia flights. (Malaysia Air is an excellent airline). I don't know whether they offer this airpass during our summer months or not. Check their website.

So go buy some guidebooks and browse this board for trip reports. You are also welcome to view our photos from the last few years at www.marlandc.com This will give you a sense of many of these areas.

When we were in KL last month, one of the hotel staff mentioned to us that flights within SE Asia can be very affordable....I want to say as low as $16 one way between KL and Singapore. And as Kathie says, I *think* it was Malaysia Air.

There's several ways of going between KL and Singapore.

- Luxury coach

Example:

http://www.yellowexpress.com.sg/index.html

- Air. Recently budget airlines, Air Asia, Jet Star and Tiger, have been permitted to fly between the 2 cities. The tickets themselves (depending on the date/period of the flight) aren't expensive, the airport tax, fuel surcharge etc can cost more than the tickets.

- Train

- Road. Driving between KL and Singapore is quite easy. The thing is that KL roads are often jammed, confusing with lots of one way streets and ring roads. Driving there is the survival of the fittest and might not be for faint hearts.

OK, Mari808 is frantically looking for her password, so she asked me to tell you: It's TIGER AIRLINES that was the low-budget airlines.

Tried typing in sing-kul-sing for july, and it was about $14us one way; typed in hcmc-sing-hcmc and it was $35 one way. Try it!!

Do note that Tiger like other budget airlines have started to impose lots of different charges. Do check the full fare airlines for offers. I believe JAL has some promotions on occasions.

Tiger has gotten some bad press recently due to delayed flight from Bangkok to Singapore. So book on budget only if you are flexible with your dates.

Between Sin KL, flights do not save much time due to the time needed to be at the airport before departure and the distance from KLIA to the city. The bus is a good alternative.

Thanks everyone!! I booked my major flight last nite so that is taken care of. I was up til 3am surfing the net. I am so excited.

If you still have time, you might want to check out some other places in Malaysia.
KL would be the best way for shopping forsure If you are hunger for duty-free alcohol and chocolate meanwhile enjoying the seabreeze you might put Langkawi island into your consideration. Malacca and Penang are historical city which you might enjoy knowing more about the culture. Malacca was the busiest port hundreds years ago, thus there're lots to explore and it is 2++ hours away from Kuala Lumpur.
If you'd rather go on a beach vacation, you can go for those islands in east coast of Malaysia. "Pulau" meaning island in Malay language.

There're lots to explore in SE Asia, and time will never enough for that! Happy travel!