Don in LA

Hi there. I'm going to Singapore from LAX on or about July 18, and will be joined by my girlfriend and two kids (9 and 11) who will be flying out of LAX on or about July 30. I then want us all to fly to see Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and then end up on a beach somewhere in either Thailand or Vietnam before flying home on August 11. My company will pay for my flight to SIN and home to LAX, but I'm on the hook for all other flights. I realize that's a lot of variables, but I would appreciate any advice you all might have for me. Do I look into QPasses, or All Asia Passes; do I book roundtrip LAX-Singapore flights for everyone and then just make our way back to Singapore when it's time to leave? Do I fly direct to Siem Reap, or go into Phnom Penh and make our way from there? Gosh, I'm confused by all the options, oh, I'm not made of money. Thanks in advance.

obscure2k

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RustyC

Travel as light as you can and look into LCCs Tiger Airways, JetStar Asia and Air Asia, with the first two having hubs in SIN and the third in KUL (an easy VIP bus ride away, and with a few sights of its own).

I saw Siem Reap and Angkor in 1997 and 2000 and I'm afraid it's much more crowded now (and not easily adapted to handle that), but it won't get better in the future on that count, so go.

With beaches, avoid the Andaman coast that time of year and favor the gulf side. The Perhentians in Malaysia are very good and so is Tioman, as are the ones up and down Thailand. Flights from Siem Reap to BKK are overpriced, though. There's a bus option (favored by backpackers) to BKK but it can be rough going and you lose the time.

Technically even Singapore has a beach (at Sentosa), so that could function as a bare minimum. Your problem is that it's not easy or cheap to get from Siem Reap to a marquee place like Samui or the Perhentians, though you could do it from Siem Reap on a double bus ride to BKK and then Ko Samet or Hua Hin, or a double bus to Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville (flying to SIN out of BKK or PP respectively). As for other beach options, it'd be the wrong time of year for Phuket or Langkawi, and Pattaya isn't terribly family oriented and the beach isn't that good, anyway.

Don in LA

You have no idea how valuable that info is already, Rusty. Thank you so much! ^^

invisible

So you have about 11 days for vacation, right? Your options really depend how much do you want to spend per day (flights/hotel/etc included) what is your minimum acceptable level of comfort/etc.

Just ant to warn - for the same class property/accommodation you should expect 1.5-2 times more than you'd spend in States (HI included).

whackyjacky

Angkor Air is cheap BKK-REP (Siem Reap) $60 (ow) - http://www.cambodiaangkorair.com/en/home.aspx. Getting to Koh Samui isn't. Maybe look into a Bangkok Air 'Discovery Airpass' - http://www.bangkokair.com/pages/disc...covery-airpass. Taking a cab or minivan to Koh Chang from BKK (4 or 5 hrs) is also a good option. There are flights to Sihanoukville from REP a couple days a week too.

quarryking

I think RustyC has pretty much summed up all the info required. Tioman is a good bet. The Sentosa option might be a bit expensive though.

IceTrojan

How about as an option, going from Siem Reap to Da Nang on VN or SilkAir?

Are you booking your LAX-SIN flights or is your company? Wherever you end up, perhaps you could book an open jaw? So for example, using the above itinerary, you could fly LAX-SIN for work, then make your way to REP and DAD, then depart directly from DAD. You can fly DAD-LAX via
- HKG on KA/CX
- ICN on OZ and KE, or
- PVG on Shanghai.

You could also get back to SIN on Silk, but that would be backtracking.

Don in LA

Thanks so much everyone. The confusion is slowly lifting. Company will pay for me to go to Singapore, stay there for two weeks, and come home (via whichever country I come home from). I'll be adding vacation on to my work plans. Air travel for the other three (GF and kids), and any flights I take myself within SE Asia are on me, along with hotels after Singapore. As a result, I think open jaw is the way to go.

I did the backpack and youth hostel thing when I was younger, but I'm not going to subject my kids to that (they can do that after college). I'd like to stay in nice properties that bear some relation to the location where I'm staying (as nice as Four Seasons Hotels are, you could drop them in any country and have relatively the same outstanding experience -- I want to experience the country I'm in, even if it's not quite as outstanding).

I said I wasn't made of money, but I do save my money to do the things I like to do, and traveling is one of them...so I'll spend it when I have to with no regrets. I haven't actually come up with a daily budget, but I figure if I'm spending $200 a night for the four of us (we'll share a room), that should be enough for a decent hotel. In the sam vein, I'll pay for flights rather than a 5 hour cab ride.

Did I mention my kids really want to ride an elephant? I know it's mean and cruel and not PC, but my kids will suffer through the heat and humidity of Singapore and Cambodia without a complaint if I can do that for them. That may mean Thailand over Vietnam, though a night or two in Sihanoukville after Siem Reap may be necessary.

How about SIN to REP for two nights, then to Sihanoukville for two nights, and then on to ? for the duration...OK, so maybe I'm still confused. Anyway, thanks again everyone and I'm obviously stil open to advice.

IAN-UK

I reckon the key to happiness on a trip like this is in the editing. Don't try for too much. Cambodia will probably offer enough differences to California to enthrall the kids without nuancing the experience with different slices of SE Asia. So I'd say stick to Cambodia, as that appears to be your major interest.

Phnom Penh is usually cheaper to get to than Siem Reap on a direct flight. And while PNH is over-shadowed on the tourist circuit by REP, it's a fascinating place, with quite enough to occupy a couple of days. It even has an elephant

You mention taxi as a cheapskate option, but for PNH REP it is an excellent option, certainly in fiancial terms (around $65), and in offering diversions on the journey.

REP to the southern beaches would be via PNH by bus or taxi. Bus travel on the major Cambodian routes is easy and well-organised.

$120 a night should get you very comfortable accommodation all over` Cambodia. You could get comfort for a lot less and, of course, you could pay an awful lot more. Singapore will be very significantly more expensive.

whackyjacky

The Sokha Resort is about as good as you're going to get in Sihanoukville. It's huge, on the best beach in Cambodia, and has a massive pool. Oh yeah, and a casino.

invisible

For Singapore there would be a suggestion to rise that minimum to $250. That's because rooms in red light district start from $80 min and anything decent anywhere - you need to triple that price.

For Singapore it is better to reset your expectations in terms of accommodation price/performance. For a city where there are 708 rental properties for $25000-$50000 per month you should have appropriate expectations.

Another thing - contrary to States, in Asia very common practice with hotels is to charge per person, not per room and 9 and 11 might not 'qualify' in some places for kids' rate to stay in the same room so either you need get another room or... something else.

Please do your due diligence well in advance, including calling the hotel, clarifying the above and confirming that they do have reservation you made online.


Fixing something on spot would be much more frustrating and expensive than in advance.


Good luck.

duniawala

You mean the other way around. Rooms in most places in Asia are per room NOT per person. Some US based chains charge per person though not all.

IceTrojan

And I've seen hotels have a flat rate for 2 with extra charges for the 3rd and 4th, but not if they're under a certain age (Vietnam)

Lesson learned: YMMV

Nivek

I agree with invisible. I hope your USD$200 applies to countries excluding SG, since you mentioned that "Company will pay for me to go to Singapore, stay there for two weeks..".

Hotel rooms in SG generally charge by room per night basis. Typically, rooms are ridiculously small and expensive. To house 2 adults / 2 kids, a good bet is to look at serviced residence or apartments.

By the way, the beach at Sentosa isn't that great. With the casino, universal studio and upscale hotels like W, it has become too commercialized. Too crowded with "poor quality" water. The high sea traffic kicks up a fair amount of sediment, that's why you'll never see crystal clear water around SG.

To give you more adventurous beach options, if you're free during the weekends or at the end of your business trip, you can consider a short trip by ferry to islands around Singapore.

SG -> Batam Island
SG -> Bintan Island
SG -> Bintan Island -> Joyo Island (Pulau Joyo)
SG -> Bintan Island -> Nikoi Island