Originally Posted by PLTHOO
Mrs. PLTHOO and I are planning a trip to Phuket in March for some beach time and diving. Originally we assumed we would travel to BKK, spend a couple of days, and then fly Thai down to Phuket, however fares are about the same into SIN with a LCC providing cheap airfare to Phuket. I know the two cities will offer two different experiences---which one is recommended for a short stay, unique sightseeing, etc?
We have traveled a couple of times in Asia (mostly Japan) therefore we are not new to the region, but maybe thinking BKK might be too intense for the first visit.
The reviews all seem to indicate BKK is hard to get around in due to traffic, is very cheap, and is a good experience, however SIN impresses with cleanliness and the friendly people.
My vote would definitely be BKK. SIN is also a nice city, a great place to use as a base for exploring Asia, and perhaps one of the single best cities to be an expat in, but I couldn't help thinking that if you took Miami and exchanged the Latinos for Chinese, you would get Singapore. It's really, really Western in a lot of places, and that is not really what you have come thousands of miles to see, is it?
BKK is also drifting in this direction and becoming more cosmopolitan by the day, but here at least you still the get the feeling that you are indeed in the heart of Asia.
What clinches it for me is that you would have to fly Tiger Airways (the LCC out of SIN) to get to Phuket, and that is an experience I would rather like to avoid. They do have good planes (shiny new A320s), but the service is on the low end of the LCC spectrum.
And one more thing: at Tiger, it's every man for himself when boarding because there are no seat assignments. On a SIN - Macau (for HKG) flight with them, I actually saw two HKGers get into a fistfight at boarding.