letsbeadventurers

I'll be traveling to Singapore for two weeks come late October. I'll have the weekend off and was hoping to travel somewhere to break up the trip. Was considering going to Bali for the weekend. Anyone have weekend suggestions other than Singapore that I can relativity easy?

TA

How about Ha Long Bay, Vietnam? Go on one of those 2 day boat trips for a change of scenery. Would probably require flying on Friday night to go for a Saturday boat departure.

txflyer77

But note that visas are required for some nationalities.

MSPeconomist

Malaysia is the obvious place, but since there are Malaysian communities in Singapore, you might feel that it's too much of the same.

If you're traveling for work and only have two weeks total, I'd suggest spending two days doing tourist things in Singapore that you can't do during evenings of your workweeks.

IIRC Bali is about a three hour flight, plus you need to allow time for traffic jams to get to/from the airport there, probably an hour for the nearest reasonable hotels, and time to stand in line at the airport. I wouldn't suggest this unless you have about a four day weekend. There's a lot to do in Bali assuming that you want to get beyond the drunk tourists on the beach stuff.

invisible

Two days for Bali is just too short - you will spend whole day on flights and transport to/from both airports.

The best choice for a place without flight is Malacca, you can leave early in morning, spend a day and come back on evening.

If you want to fly, then Yogyakarta would be more suitable then Bali. Leave on Friday afternoon, on Saturday morning go and see sunrise at Borobudur, come back and see Prambanan, spend evening doing Alun-Alun and fly out on Sunday afternoon.

tycosiao

KL, Penang, Bintan, Batam, Bandung, Bangkok....

Many places you can go my friend.

letsbeadventurers

Bangkok is one of my favorite cities. I've also have already been to Vietnam.

TA

As a side curiosity -- what do you love about BKK?

I went there one time (admittedly a short trip), and I could not come away with anything particularly enchanting about it. I stayed at Le Meridien, looked at various neighborhood for 2 days, and took a train trip to Ayutthaya.

I felt that the traffic in BKK was pretty horrible (although I wasn't driving a car). The river was not especially scenic. The temples were nice but I wouldn't go there many times just for that. Khao San road was good for some gawking at touristy street scenes and phony IDs. Street food everywhere was pretty good though.

I would be glad to know what to try next time to enjoy it more.

TravelDream

Bangkok must be one of Asia's coolest cities, no?
- Great sightseeing, so many places to explore, amazing food, really good nightlife and a cheap destination. I suppose I really like the vibe too. It's such a chilled out city.
Yeah the traffic can be awful, but you can get around some (most of the touristy areas) areas by Skytrain or boat.

For the weekend I think flying somewhere is a bit much.
At best you'll fly Friday night, have all day Saturday and some of Sunday reading for a flight back Sunday night.

crazycrab955

Could you elaborate on what you mean by "Malaysian communities" in Singapore?

JHattery

There's lots that is feasible on a 2-3 day weekend trip. here's 3 I'd suggest.

Bali - doable, although visa-on-arrival is a significant pain in the a$$. Prepare to wait. You can go downscale/budget in Kuta, with the unwashed drunken Euro & Aussie masses, upscale beach in Nusa Dua, or sublimely relaxing at a mountain jungle resort near Ubud.

Bangkok - The Hangover movie had it about right, but tamer. Lots to see and do and taste. some you can even write home about.

Siem Reap - This is where Angkor Wat is located. Can get decent deals on local hotels via Agoda or even the Amex travel site. Prepare for near unbearable heat and humidity, but it is worth it. also a PITA visa-on-arrival. Oddly, a Dairy Queen in the airport.

invisible

Seems that round trip flight prices to Siem Reap from Singapore have gone up. Now return flight from Singapore with budget airlines (AirAsia/Tiger/Jetstar/Scoot - BTW not all of them fly to REP directly) is at least $300, not including anything extra - credit card processing fees, seat selection, checked luggage, etc.

Max price one should pay for decent hotel in Siem Reap is $50 and avoid Club Street vicinities.

To expedite visa situation, don't do VoA, instead do online visa application - would require filling up just one form after arrival and go directly to the immigration counter. Costs $10 more per visa but cuts 30-45 min wait time in line.

I think that Angkor for weekend trip is a little bit tight, unless you do not plan to see any remote sites - Small Circuit would require two full days to visit all major sites. BTW, fun part to see temples is via electric bikes - used them twice and was ultimate fun.

MSPeconomist

I remember going to some events in a Malaysian Cultural Center which I would describe as being east of Little India. I had the impression that the neighborhood around it is predominantly Malaysian, with some temples, etc.

Also, to me the food in Malaysia is similar to some of what one can get in Singapore.

crazycrab955

Malay. Not Malaysian.

Malay is an ethnicity/race. Malaysian is a nationality. Lots of folks not from this part of the world get these confused.

There are Malay Malaysians, Malay Singaporeans, etc. Malaysians and Singaporeans can be any number of different ethnicities, though the predominant ones are Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian, and indigenous (Orang Asli).

So I am guessing what you saw was the Malay Cultural Centre, which if I remember is in the Kampong Glam area (near to Little India).

To your original point about Malaysia and Singapore being similar -- your observation is correct. Shared history as a colony, and the same ethnicities represented in both places, for the most part. So if the OP is looking for something different from Singapore, going to Malaysia would not provide a huge cultural contrast.

MSPeconomist

Yes, that's right: the Malay Cultural Center in Kampong Glam.