Suggestion for SE Asia

Old Jul 13th, 2000, 12:17 PM
  #1  
Wilfred Crowcroft
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Suggestion for SE Asia

We are beginning to plan (parents and 15 and 12 year old kids) a Xmas and New Year's Eve trip to SE Asia. Naturally Thailand comes to mind and is easily convinceable because of the recent film (The Beach).

What we are looking for is a beach for a week. And then a country to explore. Culture, monuments and shops.

If anyone could point to a direction where we should be looking I would be most grateful.

We live in Austria so we will be leaving from Europe

Thanks
 
Old Jul 17th, 2000, 04:24 PM
  #2  
Michael
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Wilfred: I am heading for Bali and I will be staying in three different areas:

a) Nusa Dusa
b) Tanjung Benoa
c) Jimbaran Bay

From there I am heading for Langkawi in Malaysia...and from there I will stop for three days at Batu Ferringhi Beach in Penang, Malaysia.

If you want a beach followed by culture then BALI might be a good fit. But I am told that the most beautiful beach in all of SE Asia is to be found at Palawan Island in the Philippines.
 
Old Jul 17th, 2000, 10:31 PM
  #3  
Roger
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Keep well away from Batu Ferringhi on Penang. It must be the most overrated beach in the world. Langkawi is OK. Unless you are into sailing or board surfing, Bali beaches are not so good except for Kuta and Legian - but these can be quite treacherous if you are not used to surf swimming.

My personal favourite family beach is Karon beach on Phuket, although if you don't mind being in amongst a crowd Patong is OK. Even then a week sounds a bit long unless you want to take some of the range of tours that are on offer.

But island resorts tend to be a bit short on culture. For Thai culture you need to go to Bangkok or Chiang Mai. And I guess the shopping in Bangkok is the best in the country, although there are markets everywhere for cheap clothing (mostly seconds), cheap tapes and CD's and souvenirs.

Hope this helps.

 
Old Jul 25th, 2000, 10:52 AM
  #4  
Alexa
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Hello, Wilfred.

I'd recommend Angkor Wat and the other nearby temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia for culture. There are other things to do in the area, as well.

In Thailand, my family and I spent a week in Chiang Mai, 3 days in Bangkok, and a week on Koh Samui. It was a fabulous vacation. The sites in Bangkok were very interesting, but three days was the perfect amount of time; after that long, the smog started to get to us. We also enjoyed Chiang Mai for trekking and a cooking school, but a week was longer than we needed to stay. Koh Samui was the highlight of our time in Thailand. We stayed at the Royal Blue Lagoon, which is a nice family resort. Very peaceful and relaxing. $50/night. The beach there was rocky and not that much fun for lazing around. However, Lamai beach is very close. The sand was smooth and white and the water was clean, warm, and perfect for swimming.
 
Old Aug 2nd, 2000, 11:29 PM
  #5  
Nancy
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Wilfred,

Karon or Kata Beach in Phuket are extremely nice, and get you away from the crowds of Patong. You're also close enough to Patpong to check it out in the evening for a meal, shopping, and ambience (if you can call it that). Hotels there run day trip tours to Wat Chalong which is the biggest temple community in Phuket - and very worthwhile, and other interesting places (i.e. Gibbons monkey rescue retreat). Combining a stay here with 3 nights in Bangkok to see the temples, floating market, and Grand Palace will prove to be an relaxing, paced cultural vacation.

I've heard mixed reviews about the Golden Triangle area, so with kids I would pay the extra money for a reputable guide.

Have fun! We love Thailand and are planning to go back this December.
 
Old Aug 5th, 2000, 12:03 AM
  #6  
loonyontheloose
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Hi! I'm from Malaysia and will have to agree that the Batu Feringgi Beach is overrated. Got loads of better beaches around scattered all over Malaysia, especially on the east coast of West Malaysia. However, since you are coming over on a Christmas and New Year trip, most of these beaches will be rained out due to the monsoon season. If you still like some of lazying around on beaches, try some of the beaches on the west coast of West Malaysia e.g Pangkor Island's beaches.
 
Old Aug 11th, 2000, 01:52 PM
  #7  
S
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I'd think a 15 and 12 year old would love the physical activity possible in and around Ubud on Bali -- rice paddy walks, longer treks to distant villages, cool and cheap shopping...Neka Museum -- small enough to see everything, varied enough for everyone. The crafts villages around Ubud are also fascinating and you can hike from one to another or hire a cab for nearly nothing. Don't take a tour -- design your own...we found it much more fun.

Chiang Mai offers simlar action-oriented and cultural possiblities and is also an excellent value...
 
Old Aug 15th, 2000, 07:06 AM
  #8  
MACARENA MIER
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HIĦĦĦĦĦ
I VE JUST BEEN IN ANGKOR WAT, AT CAMBODIA...... I WAS REALLY IMPRESSED ABOUT THAT PLACE. THE RUINS ARE FANTASTIC, UNIQUE. BUT THE BEST OF ALL IS THAT THEY ARE NOT CROWDED AND THE WHOLE PLACE IS SO NATURAL, SO DIFFERENT......
I WAS IN BANGKOK AND I LIKED IT VERY MUCH, BUT MY HIGHLIGHT IN THAILAND WAS THE NATIONAL PARK OF KHAO YAI..... I HIRED A CAR IN BANGKOK AND WENT THERE, JUST FOR ONE DAY. ITS ABOUT THREE HOURS FROM THE CITY. YOU CAN DO TREKS AS LONG AS YOU WANT THERE, WE WENT BY OURSELVES BUT YOU CAN ALSO ASK FOR A GUIDE. THE NATURE IS REALLY BEUTIFUL (TROPICAL FOREST)...... IN THE NIGHT WE WENT FOR THE NIGHT SAFARI AND WE SAW MONKEYS, BATS, MANY KIND OF DEER, CIVETS, A PORCOPIN, A PYTHON, AND ELEPHANTS. WE WERE VERY LUCKY BECAUSE WE SAW A LOT OF WILD ANIMALS. WE LOVED THAT PLAN BECAUSE ITS OFF THE BEATEN TRACK, IT WAS REALLY AN ADVENTURE, SO I THINK YOU AND YOUR KIDS CAN BE INTERESTED ON THAT.
SORRY BECUASE OF MY BAD ENGLISH, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN MORE DETAILS ABOUT MY TRIP, CONTACT ME.
MACARENA MIER
 
Old Aug 29th, 2000, 05:20 PM
  #9  
Sara Fletcher
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Old Aug 29th, 2000, 05:28 PM
  #10  
Sara Fletcher
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Hi Wilfred,
My last message got deleted somehow. Anyway, basically the places I recommend are in Malaysia and they are Mulu for jungle trekking, Tioman Island for one of the most beautiful beaches in the world,and the orangutan sanctuary near Kuching. Always remember to do the sting ray shuffle eveywhere you go swimming. I was stung on the island of Pankgor and had to go to the hospital and get stitches, pain killer shots, and tetanus shots. The sting was extremely painful.Still, SE Asia is one of my favorite places. Have fun.
 
Old Sep 6th, 2000, 02:27 PM
  #11  
Jane
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Hi, Sara!
Can you tell me more about Tioman Island?? I was leaning towards going to Phi Phi or a different island in Thailand. Do you feel Tioman Island is more beautiful? White sand beach and clear water??
Thanks, Jane
 
Old Sep 11th, 2000, 04:32 PM
  #12  
June
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Message: Wilfred, I have been to S.E. Asia a couple of times and have to agree Batu Ferrenghi is not the best beach but Penang has a great deal of culture and natural beauty. There is a big park in the middle of town. Great for picnics. Monkeys, palm trees and orchids everywhere. If you do stay at Batu Ferrenghi, you can walk out the door of your hotel to restaurants, shops, stores and the post office.

I caught pneumonia in Bangkok and was very ill by the time we made Penang. I was treated in a clinic there. The clinic was nice and clean and the doctor was wonderful.

Bali is gorgeous too. We stayed at Nusa Dua, I would highly recommend this paradise to anyone. The few extra dollars it will cost you to stay in Nusa Dua it is worth it. After a 5 minute walk or a free shuttle ride, you will find the galleria, which contains local restaurants and shops. The galleria also had a supermarket where you could pickup any food item for a reasonable cost. Take Bali taxi to Kuta for about 2 Marks(may be more during high season}. Tour guides usually speak English, French, German and Spanish.
 
Old Sep 11th, 2000, 09:32 PM
  #13  
Sjoerd
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Go to Vietnam. As nice as Thailand and much fewer tourists. And even better food. I used to like Thailand, but most of the country is overrun by tourists now.
Indonesia is also nice. Try Java or Lombok for something different from Bali. Nusa Dua is EXTREMELY boring: nothing to do there, just a row of 4 and 5 star hotels and lots of old people.
 
Old Sep 13th, 2000, 06:05 PM
  #14  
Sophia Buranakul
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Specifically for Thailand, it's an excellent time of year to be travelling, except that it's the high season. Prices in the more touristic areas (but not Bangkok) tend to go up significantly during this season (October to May), so you might want to look at quieter places not so much on the beaten track.

The islands off Satun province in the far south (on the border with Malaysia) are really beautiful and much less visited than many other areas. It's not the area where The Beach was filmed (that was Phi Phi Leh in Krabi province), but it is similar and it is much less developed.

Once you've had a week there snorkelling, lazing, eating etc., you could explore places like Songkhla and Nakhon Sri Thammarat in the South for the southern culture and some shopping - mostly local handicrafts (lipao, nielloware and shadow puppetry in Nakhon Sri Thammarat) or you could head to the Central area and on to the Northeast of Thailand. That would give a good mix of touristic and less touristic places (depends what you can handle!). Bangkok has the Grand Palace, Vimanmek mansion, and the old city (now kept relatively free of traffic and with a guided tour bus too), Ayutthaya is a World Heritage area and the old capital of Thailand, North of Ayutthaya you have Sukhothai and Khamphaeng Phet for even older capitals of the Thai kingdom. In the Northeast of Thailand there is Phimai (near Khorat), Phanom Rung (near Buriram) and Khao Phra Viharn (in Srisaket province) temples. These are wonderful Khmer temples from around the time of Angkor Wat. Shopping in Bangkok is a major past-time - loads of information on most web sites on Bangkok. In the Northeast you would need to go local - look for silk in the provinces I've mentioned. Go further north in the Northeast along the Mekhong river and there is Laos weaving and embroidery and silver.

The Northeast is very untouristy in most places with limited accommodation but lots of atmosphere and a strong sense of tradition. The southern towns I mentioned have better infrastructure and also very few western tourists so also make for good off the beaten track kinds of places if you like that sort of thing.
 

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