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Hong Kong or Thailand for me? (Im picky) =)

Hong Kong or Thailand for me? (Im picky) =)

Old Sep 20, 2011, 1:56 pm
  #1  
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Hong Kong or Thailand for me? (Im picky) =)

Posting this in both the HK and Thailand forum, so apologies in advance for the double post.

My wife and I are thinking of going to Singapore in December for 3 days and then another location, but not sure where.
Either Hong Kong or Thailand (I guess Bangkok).

Im into Touristy stuff, so on all my previous vacations, I went to places like:
China - Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square
London - Harrods, London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, London Bridge

Basically whenever I go on vacation, people always tell me - "Go to ABC and XYZ, thats where the locals go, you don't want to go to those tourist traps"
But I LIKE the tourist spots, I dont want to go where the locals go

And I'm not a big fan of the beach.

I rather be out checking out the "tourist traps"/sites than sitting on the sand.

Because my thought is this (could be the wrong way of looking at it):
"I will probably NOT be back anytime soon, so its a once in a lifetime chance to see these 'amazing' sights, afterall thats why millions of people visit this spot every year"
I know most people (including my wife) disagrees with it, but most people take 1 or at most 2 vacations a year...and once we start a family vacations are going to go from Paris to Disneyworld, so nows the chance to see all I can.

Knowing this do you recommend HK or Thailand (which part?)

Thanks!
sard is offline  
Old Sep 20, 2011, 2:52 pm
  #2  
 
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You can see some pretty awesome "tourist traps" in both cities.

Since you've already been to China and you're going to Singapore (which has a large Chinese population), Bangkok and maybe Chiang Mai in Thailand would probably be more of a new, unique experience for you.

(But I love both cities)
jfh1107 is offline  
Old Sep 20, 2011, 8:15 pm
  #3  
 
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Definitely Thailand. In bangkok preferably stay on the river, and then go to Chiang Mai and/or the Golden Triangle in Chiang Rai. December will be a beautiful time to travel in Thailand.
MikeFromTokyo is offline  
Old Sep 20, 2011, 8:38 pm
  #4  
 
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this thread

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thail...ld-you-do.html
glob99 is offline  
Old Sep 20, 2011, 10:07 pm
  #5  
 
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I'd actually suggest you lose SIN and go to both HKG/Thailand instead. IMO, HKG is far more interesting than SIN.
Braindrain is offline  
Old Sep 21, 2011, 12:49 am
  #6  
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Hong Kong is great, but you can do most of the must-do tourist stuff (shop, take the Star Ferry to see the harbor and Skyline, and then Victoria Peak tram) in a day. A second day would have me over in Macao checking out the colonial architecture and then the casinos.

Singapore is good for shopping, Sentosa is a fun tourist trap, and has a nice zoo, and a lot of good local dining (Malay, Chinese, Peranakan, Indian). It's still a couple of days sort of stop, especially for big touristy stuff.

Bangkok IMO has a great deal more to offer from a tourist perspective, both in the city and day-trippable, than either of the others. Even from a shallow perspective, trying to get the big tourist sites in with 3 days or fewer is going to be hard.
nkedel is offline  
Old Sep 21, 2011, 7:37 am
  #7  
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Originally Posted by nkedel
Hong Kong is great, but you can do most of the must-do tourist stuff (shop, take the Star Ferry to see the harbor and Skyline, and then Victoria Peak tram) in a day. A second day would have me over in Macao checking out the colonial architecture and then the casinos.

Singapore is good for shopping, Sentosa is a fun tourist trap, and has a nice zoo, and a lot of good local dining (Malay, Chinese, Peranakan, Indian). It's still a couple of days sort of stop, especially for big touristy stuff.

Bangkok IMO has a great deal more to offer from a tourist perspective, both in the city and day-trippable, than either of the others. Even from a shallow perspective, trying to get the big tourist sites in with 3 days or fewer is going to be hard.
Thanks.

As mentioned in the other thread, SGP is a must, cuz I have to visit my sister there, who I have not seen in about 2 years.

Now its between HK or Thailand.
Wife has been to Thailand, and lived in HK for 2 years, so she said its up to me.
sard is offline  
Old Sep 21, 2011, 11:43 am
  #8  
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Originally Posted by sard
Now its between HK or Thailand.
Wife has been to Thailand, and lived in HK for 2 years, so she said its up to me.
How much time do you have for one or the other? IMO, The less time you have (< 3 days), the more attractive Hong Kong is, the more time you have (3+ days), the more attractive Bangkok is...

Unless you have enough time and/or a routing which uses HKG as your gateway back to US, in which case do mostly Bangkok with a single day for Hong Kong at the end.
nkedel is offline  
Old Sep 21, 2011, 12:27 pm
  #9  
formerly known as 2lovelife
 
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From what you describe of your travelling style, I recommend

Angor Wat, Siem Riep, Cambodia.


But, to answer your question, both Bangkok and Hong Kong are great cities for the newbie tourist. Thailand has the great food and cultural aspect, Hong Kong the ease of getting around and 1st worldness predictability/ regulated feel, a desirable trait for some travelers. Thailand has organized chaos which is refreshing, but requires you to keep your wits about you.

I love both Bangkok & Chiang Mai, Bangkok has great 5 star hotels at reasonable rates. CM is an awesome place for many other reasons.

Have fun deciding.
seanthepilot is offline  
Old Sep 21, 2011, 1:01 pm
  #10  
 
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If you are looking for the tourist traps, I definitely vote for Bangkok. ^
Koby is offline  
Old Oct 9, 2011, 7:38 pm
  #11  
 
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Bangkok. Singapore and Hong Kong doesn't come even close.
joorinainen is offline  

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