Elena

I am in Chiang Mai and have plans to visit Koh Samui, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, and possible Hanoi. I am looking for advice on how I should route this. For instance should I fly directly to Koh Samui from CNX or via BKK and then return to BKK for the other countries or should I go directly from CNX to SIN and do Koh Samui on the way back? I noticed Bangkok Airways seems to have a monopoly on Koh Samui (USM)- does it make sense to fly to BKK first and then to Surathani to take a ferry? Or should I go from Chang Mai directly to Cambodia and return from there to BKK and then go to USM... tricky. Of course I would like to go in the order that would be most cost efficient or if there are any deals that would get me some Skyteam miles... I am also interested in options with express first class trains or vip buses. On the way to CNX from BKK I had to fly as the trains were all sold out of the sleeper seats.

jpatokal

The best option is to fly from USM to KUL (or, to be more precise, SZB) -- there's one crack in the Bangkok Airways monopoly, and that's Berjaya's direct flight on this route. It's a turboprop Dash-7, so don't expect many frills, but it's a reliable company, prices are not crazy and the flight isn't too long. No frequent flyer miles though

Just note that there are only two (2) flights per week, and you'll arrive at KL's secondary Subang airport, not KLIA, but it's actually closer to the city.