Originally Posted by
dieuwer2
If I depart from Singapore, the fare of the TPAC ticket is about $4,000 while the fare of the TPAC ticket departing Bangkok is about $4,500. Outbound in KE business, return in EC Delta.
Do you think that the fare will come down a bit, or should I book sooner rather than later?
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Without knowing your entire itinerary, it's hard to stay. Is all travel just in SE Asia? If so the fares seem expensive. Also, some of the flights are quite short so economy is very bearable. Often looking at the website of the actual airline will get you a cheaper ticket.
What exactly is the downside of staying near the Patong area? Would it not be more convenient to be able to have walking access to restaurants and nightlife?
Again it depends on what's important to you. Patong is certainly "lively." If you like peace and quiet, I'd avoid Patong. If nightlife is important, near Patong could be a better choice.
Again, if you have any choice on Singapore you might consider a different stop. There are direct flights from REP to SGN, and IMHO that's a much more interesting option both during the day and at night.
One last comment on Phang Nga. The islands directly off Krabi are not by any means flat and up until about 10 or 11am there are almost tourists. The northern part of the bay does have islands that are more impressive geologically (including the iconic Ko Tapu) and better snorkeling, but the islands directly off Krabi are very beautiful. If you want an easy trip and a beautiful island to yourself, going from Krabi is a much better option. You can do this privately on a local boat (long-tail) direct from the beach at you hotel, which is quite affordable.
Any trip from Phuket will be on a tour or private speedboat. It's quite far to do it in a local boat. You can also do this from Krabi.
As I mentioned before the beaches in Phuket are better than Krabi so I almost always go to Phuket rather than Krabi. However, IMHO if you're primarily interested in Phang Nga Bay, Krabi is a better option. (Part of this may just be personal preference. As Jiejie points out, my suggestions tend to be idiosyncratic
.... for me getting on a crowded tour bus or boat is not very high on my list of things to do.