My husband and I recently got back from a trip to Singapore and Bali - we have friends in Singapore we went to visit and we went to Bali since we were "in the neighborhood". Had a great time in both places.

We are thinking of taking a trip back to Asia in October 2009 - to Singapore to see some folks again, and then see some more of SE Asia.

We are brainstorming ideas, so I thought I would ask here to see what ideas others have. We'd have 2-3 weeks for the trip and probably spend about 4-5 days in Singapore before heading off to another location.

We like cities, the mountains, the coast, learning about culture and history, good food, a good mix of relaxation and activity - we like to walk, hike, bike, take day tours, visit temples and museums... but aren't going to climb to the top of Mt. Agung or anything like that. We also like relaxing by the pool or on the beach, but when we do, we prefer smaller resorts and hotels to the big ones. Nightlife isn't a big deal, but we do like low key clubs and bars - live music, pool table, decent beer selection, etc.

So, with those interests in mind - any good ideas for our brainstorming?

Thanks

i always suggest thailand as it offers so much to everyone....

bkk for your city time, eating, shopping

many beach choices: phuket, khao lak, krabi, samui, koh chang, hua hin to name a few

chiang mai and chiang rai for hill country at a slower pace

easy connection from singapore....you could even fly into singapore and out of bkk and use air asia or tiger to get you cheaply from one to the other...

The possibilities are endless.

As Bob says, Thailand would be an excellent choice.

Are you interested in visiting the temples at Angkor? You could combine time in Cambodia with another nearby country.

What about Luang Prabang, Laos?

Vietnam?

There are lots of places to visit in Malaysia. We loved our time in Georgetown in Penang. And we loved our time in Malaysian Borneo.

There are other places to visit in Indonesia. Central Java is a favorite of mine.

You will be quite spoiled for choice. Firstly, take a look at weatherbase.com and other weather sites to determine what places will be in good weather, and what places you may want to avoid. There is a winter monsoon pattern moving through parts of Asia at that time, and some places get very heavy rain. I would avoid Phuket/Krabi in October as you will have a good bit of rain. Thailand otherwise is a good destination, esp the north and of course Bangkok, while rainy, is really good in all weather. The lovely east coast of Malaysia is also not so good then, and Kalimantan can have rain issues too.

Bhutan would be wonderful in October, great weather and some of the major festivals are held then. (Check timing you may be in time for the Thimphu festival, which I have not seen myself but would love to one day). You can do walking/trekking and the culture and history of the place is just marvelous. An untouched place really.

Another place to consider would be the Philippines, which are in excellent weather in October (again esp toward the latter half). I am not a huge fan of Manila, but for a day or two is fine, and they you could go to areas like the rice terraces of Banaue or really lovely beach areas like Palawan.

Japan would be very nice in October I think and as you have 2-3 weeks, you could see more than just Tokyo, which is really just a huge (very clean!) city with a few sites, but not the traditional Japan you may want to see which are in Kyoto or smaller towns. It is a long flight down to Singapore from there, and most flights go during the day so you “lose” some time, but may work well for an outbound or inbound flight from the US.

Singapore is only 4 hours from the stunning and sublime Maldives. A little bit rainy there too then, but still so beautiful, and if you are not there to dive, may not bother you at all.

India in late October would have some quite nice aspects, you may still have some heat in northern areas (but bearable IMO and dry), and places in the Himalaya (Ladakh which will be quite cool, or hill stations like Simla, Darjeeling or hill areas around Rikisesh which will be pleasantly fall-like and dry) would be quite nice. (Avoid the west coast like Chennai and south, too rainy.) With 2 weeks you could get a good flavour. Lots of flight options from Singapore, and again India may be a good outbound or inbound option from the US and go on to Singapore from there or vice versa.

Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos are all good choices and easily reached from Singapore. You may have rain in coastal areas of Vietnam, see weather websites. You may have some rain in Laos or Cambodia as well, but generally I don’t think it would be a big issue (and you aren’t there for a beach).

Finally, I have to put in a good word for Hong Kong in October, esp after the middle of the month when “winter” arrives (dry, sunny temps in the 70F). It is the start of the best weather all year. If you like to hike, walk, bike, explore little villages, take ferry rides (or hire your own boat) AND also have the advantage of a big city with museums, restaurants, culture offerings and shopping, then Hong Kong in October is really hard to beat. It could be a gateway city back to the US for you as well.

Of course all of China in October is generally good weather too, and with a bit more than 2 weeks you could see some interesting areas (Beijing, Xian, Lijiang to name a few). Do watch the first week in October, which traditionally was a week-long holiday, but has now will be changing over to a long weekend or one-day holiday centered around October 1. In the past, this whole week was a bad week to travel, as sights were very crowded. Last year was the first year that the government started shortening the holidays, and it is hard to say what effect this will have. Generally, I would still avoid the PRC during the first week in October (old habits are hard to break IMO). Hong Kong is not affected by this, as they never had the week-long holiday.

Excellent brainstorming Definitely have some good ideas to consider.

Thailand. Happy Travels!