I'm contemplating a ~10 day trip to Singapore. Would ordinarily do an open jaw with the second half of the trip in some other city (KUL, Tokyo, etc.), but my companions unfortunately think that KUL is unsafe (I tend to disagree...) and no reasonable fare on AA allows a stopover in NRT.

So I find myself thinking about ~8 days in Singapore (and the other two days on planes to and from!). Too much? I was in SIN briefly several years ago and loved it -- but that was my first trip to Asia, I didn't know what to expect, and I didn't have nearly enough time. I feel like 8 days might be too much.

Good side trips from SIN? Day trips would be fine, and overnight trips (2-3 days, even) might be even better. http://www.tourismsingapore.com didn't immediately suggest anything, though. Seems like the likely options are Malaysia and Indonesia. Probably would prefer rail or bus transportation rather than air to keep the travel time down (avoid long waits at airports) and the cost sensible. Enjoy outdoor activities, culture, art, history, museums, of course food & sights generally. Might relish a bit of time at a good beach, though not too much. Less interested in nightlife, gambling, etc.

Many thanks for guidance.

(The good fare to SIN on AA: $640 minus 10%. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum71/HTML/013166.html for details.)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by bedelman:
..., but my companions unfortunately think that KUL is unsafe ...</font>
I disagree. I've been there two times and never had any problems with safety.
I wouldn't stay that long at the same place - but I'm sure that is is easily possible to find side trips.

Possible trips from SIN:
- Malakka (oldest town in Malaysia): day trip from Singapore by bus (tour bus/group or alone)
- Brunei: day trip (or 1 night stay) by plane
- Phnom Penh: 2 day trip to Angkor Wat

I don't find KUL dangerous either. I actually prefer it to Singapore.

Other possibilities include:
1.Kuching in Borneo. Delightful place. If you fly from Johor Bahru (Malaysia Airlines runs a shuttle from the Copthorne Orchid Hotel in SIN directly to the airport in Johor Bahru), round trips are in the US$107 range on Malaysia Airlines.
2.Maldives and Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Airlines has packages to the Maldives from SIN that include round trip air, a free stopover in Colombo, hotel in the Maldives for 3 nights (or more if you want) + speedboat transfers to the resort starting at roughly US$500 plus tax per person.
Sri Lankan is a surprisingly good airline and Sri Lanka itself is a very beautiful country. The only turnoff is the odd hour flight times.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dogcanyon:
1.Kuching in Borneo.</font>

What is Kuching? a town? With the ing on the end I'm reading it as a verb.

8 days is too much in SIN, Phuket Thailand is an option and the others mentioned above.

I would still travel to KUL myself.

I would say 4-5 days in SIN, day trip or overnight trip to KUL and 1-2 day trip to Brunei.
I do not think KUL is dangerous. I remember they have quite nice Ritz hotel in KUL. Rate is very reasonable.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Sweet Willie:
What is Kuching? a town? With the ing on the end I'm reading it as a verb.
</font>

Yes, Kuching is a city in the Malaysian part of Borneo.

8 days in Singapore is way to long, I would work on 3 days in Singapore, then any of the above recommendations. Personally I would head in Thailand, may be Koh Samui for a couple of days diving.
I also have to agree that KUL is as safe as SIN.

3 days/2 nights in Singapore is enough and you'll be busy but you'll enjoy all the sights that singapore has to offer, don't forget to go to the night safari.

I disagree with your friend's thoughts on KUL. Kuala Lumpur is a very safe city, and very enjoyable. Prices are considerably cheaper than singapore and the food is even better. Hotel's are generally at least 50% cheaper.

KUL has a good train network (the putra/ktm lines), a fast train from the airport to the city, joining to the rest of the rail network, taxi's are very very cheap. If in Kuala Lumpur I would allow 3-4 days, and visit the indian batu caves on the outskirts of KUL, petaling street markets, perhaps take a trip out to petaling jaya if you have a car and go to one of the areas there and enjoy a pasar malam (night market) with the locals, KL tower, shopping in or around sungei wang area, and if you are game, go karting, it's dirt cheap and safe. They have a number of great go karting areas in and around shah alam where they hold the F1 GP.

If in Malaysia, a trip to Penang is also definitely worth it. Malaysia has a great freeway network (though toll charges apply) you are only about a 3-5 hour drive to Penang from KUL (depending if you want to stop in say Ipoh on the way or somewhere for lunch).

If you don't mind trekking, I would suggest you take the SIN-JB bus in SIN (very cheap- a taxi is about US$10/per person but often less if you are smart are negotiating and share the cab with locals), it will drop you off near the Holiday Inn, where you can rent a car at Avis, you can organise the reservation ahead of time - rates are low - typically US$25/day. From JB (Johor Bahru) you can drive throughout Malaysia, including up to KUL (3 hr drive) and beyond to Penang as mention, then back down to JB to return the car and back to SIN.

Other trips from SIN (perhaps upon your return back to SIN), I would suggest an SK flight up to BKK (cheap and nice) and stay at a hotel there, all hotels are relatively cheap in BKK compared to SIN and perhaps take in some thai dance/dinner, cruise on the chao praya river or half day trip to see a cobra show and the river markets (about 90 mins from BKK depending on traffic). Tours are cheap, though you'll probably go insane with the BKK traffic waiting in your tour bus!

Chiang Mai and northern thailand is also superb, and there are very cheap fares from BKK to Laos (Vientienne) and Myanmar (Yangoon) if you want to go off the beaten track a bit. Airfares from SIN-BKK are typically no more than US$200 return incl taxes, and from BKK-Laos or Myanmar no more than THB6,000 (about US$130 return).

I can't comment on Indonesia (but you would need to fly or catch a boat there), I spent all of 30 mins there on a mileage run from SIN on LH!

All the best,

kawoh.

[This message has been edited by kawoh (edited 02-07-2003).]

Two days in SIN is enough. Bali is great and only 20,000 frequent flyer economy or 30,000 business class RT away. Many places in Thailand would be on par with Bali. Samui or Phuket in the south; Bangkok; Chang Mai, Chaing Rai, and Mae Hong Son in the north. Sri Lanka is also only 20,000 or 30,000 FF miles away RT. KL is a wonderful city.

I am in a similar situation myself with an upcoming week-long trip next month.

I decided to split my time between SIN and BKK, using an open-jaw ticket. I paid about $90 USD for the one-way SIN-BKK on Indian Airlines, which offers a daily A320 11:30 AM departure ex-SIN, arriving into BKK at 12:45 PM.

If you have to keep SIN as your final destination on the AA ticket, it should be possible to obtain a SIN-BKK r/t for $160-180 or so through a BKK-based agency. SIN-based agencies will not have access to some of the lowest fares, since many cannot be purchased by SIN residents. I can strongly recommend Ms. Jaipak of Oriole Travels & Tours (oriole@samart.co.th) if you decide to pursue this or any other intra-Asia travel option.

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[This message has been edited by avek00 (edited 02-22-2003).]