doloresmercado

Hello Fodors,

I have to prepare a trip for my 30 year old male boss. He suggested 3 weeks in South East Asia.
Just to keep it more or less in the area, he is leaving Buenos Aires, Argentina to QATAR

Please await comments - feedbacks--Never been in the area.

Fly BUENOS AIRES QATAR HANOI

VIETNAM TO SEE
Sa Pa
Delta Mekong
Hanoi
Sai On
Halong Bay

Fly Bangkok - any must see here?

Fly Singapore - any must see? how many nights?

Fly BALI - How many nights?

I discovered the Caves at Gunung Mulu / Where wud u insert this avoiding going to Kuala Lumpur?

How do I go to Cambodia for the Angkor Wat temple..would like to do the cycling tour from Bangkok but SURFACE without flying? I saw on google that it is onle some hours drive?

Thank you for your suggestions, comments.:!!

rhkkmk

it will be very very HOT...

Bangkok: sights--- grand palace---wat pho...wat arun...jim Thompson house---klong (canal) tour by long tail boat

hotel choices in bkk are varied... I prefer hotels along the river: peninsula, Hilton, Shangri-La, royal orchid Sheraton, oriental, anantara riverside.....in city center: plaza anthanee, jw Marriott, Conrad, hyatt, park hyatt, kempenski, and many more.

bali---stay in town of ubud... hire a driver (cheap) to drive him around: www.MyBaliFriend.com putu is fantastic

thursdaysd

It will not be very hot in northern Vietnam, that is a bad time to go there. You might also read the current thread in visas, if your boss is a US citizen.

Kathie

You have WAY too much here. In Three weeks, he could see the places you list for VN and maybe fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia for the Temples at Angkor. But all of the other places - no way.

He needs to pause and decide what it is he want to see/do/experience on this trip.

To help you and him think about this:
In Vietnam, Hanoi, SaPa and Halong Bay are all in the norther, and he would fly into Hanoi to get to all of these. He will need at least 10 days to see all of these. It's an overnight train ride from Hanoi to Sapa and another overnight back, and he would want at least three dull days in Sapa. If he want to go to Halong Bay, it's a 5-6 hour (very boring) drive each way and he would want a night on a boat in the bay. Hanoi itself is a fascinating city and he would want time there to explore.

Saigon is in the south, and he would want at least a few days there and a few days in the Delta. Transport takes time, so if he wants, say 3 days in Saigon, he would need to spend 4 nights there.

To see the temples at Angkor takes three full days just to see the major temples, so he should plan on a minimum of 4 nights in Siem Reap. I've never heard of a cycling tour from Bangkok to Siem Reap. It would take a couple of days. He needs to fly to Siem Reap, and if he wants he can rent a bike there. Unless he is acclimated to very hot, humid weather, I don't recommend cycling there.

So VN and Cambodia would be three weeks.

OR, look at the other places you list:

Bangkok is a fabulous city and I spent 9 days there my first trip back in the mid-1980s. If he has an interest in Bangkok, I'd recommend a minimum of 5 nights, but he could fill up weeks there visiting wats (Buddhist temples), eating fabulous food, visiting various museums, seeing Thai boxing or Thai dance shows, etc. and taking a day trip or two.

Singapore likewise has lots to do and see, maybe 4-5 nights there as well.

For Bali, he would need a minimum of a week, and I'd recommend he consider a stop in central Java to visit Borobudur and Prambanam.

There is all kinds of stuff to see in Sarawak and Sabah, not just the Mulu Caves, but that should be a couple of weeks by itself. And yes, you can get there without going via Kuala Lumpur. There are flights to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu from Singapore.

By my reckoning, you have six to eight weeks of things you/he think he can see in that time. Has he given you any guidance on what is important to him? I fear he has given you "Mission Impossible."

LancasterLad

@thursdaysd<<<It will not be very hot in northern Vietnam, that is a bad time to go there. You might also read the current thread in visas, if your boss is a US citizen.>>>

That's one of the reasons we're giving Sapa a miss in February. Could be cold and damp, with low cloud. The rice terraces will be bare. So not a right lot of point. More time in Hanoi, and local day trips, will be more rewarding.

@Kathie<<<It's an overnight train ride from Hanoi to Sapa and another overnight back.>>>

It's not train all the way. The final leg from Lao Cai to Sapa is by bus. There have been landslides on that road very recently. In January during possibly poor weather the risk of landslides will be greater.

There's also a new highway linking Hanoi and Sapa. Very twisty though when the bus hits the mountain areas. The journey is easily achieved during the day by bus. But it's not something I'd do if the weather forecast was iffy.

LancasterLad

Cycling from Bangkok to Siem Reap is a crazy idea.

Plenty of buses, but they're boring.

If your boss doesn't want to fly then the best way [imo] is to take the train from Bangkok [Hualamphong] to Aranyapraphet. The Thai/Cambodia border crossing at Poipet is a short tuk tuk ride from Aranyapraphet train station. Then continue to Siem Reap by bus or taxi.

Comprehensive details are in the excellent Seat61 website. Scroll down to the Bangkok to Siem Reap section...

http://www.seat61.com/Cambodia.htm#Siem Reap

doloresmercado

wow guys thank youuuuuuuu LancasterLad, Kathie , thursdaysd and rhkkmk

I thought of eliminating the caves OR Bali... adn will then eliminate something in Vietnam

I discovered a train from Bangkok to Phuket, Kuala, Singapore

Will re do itin and come back

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dolores

Kathie

There are very inexpensive flights in SE Asia (look at Air Asia). Unless your boss loves trains, he is better off flying, as the train from Bangkok to Singapore takes about 48 hours. You need to eliminate several of your proposed destinations, not just the Mulu Caves (which certainly is the outlier in all of this). Ask your boss to think about what is most important to him on this trip. There are many ways to combine some of these destinations into a wonderful trip, but it will only be a wonderful trip if there are fewer destinations.

doloresmercado

HI GUys..you misunderstood jajaja..Bangkok to Siam Rep BY TRAIN..and there there is a bike tour of 3 or 4 days to visit all the temples.

Is the only reason I would take him to Cambodia.

Will eliminate due to yr tips Sa Pa.. well I have to SUGGEST HIM..very funny Kathie yr comment..I am normally given missions impossible but with Fodors recommendations will be fine

30 degrees for us Argies is normal in summer and are also used to humid weather with shorts and jandals is ok! imagine us wearing suits in that weather !!

Will come back to you with another itin! once I go through with it with him!! in a week or so.

Cheers!

LancasterLad

Don't underestimate the heat and humidity in Siem Reap/Angkor. Cycling from point-to-point might be doable, but it will drain the body. And the thought of doing 3 or 4 days in succession will be very hard work. Hiring a tuk tuk will be more fun.