Advice: KL or BKK
 

I'd like to take a 4-5 day trip to SE Asia. Typically I'll "home-base" in one city and try to do a day trip. If its too far, I'd have to actually switch hotels ofcourse. I'm the type that likes to cram a ton of sightseeing into one day and likes to learn a cities public transit system (if it has one). I'm not much for bars/clubs partying nightlife. That doesnt mean I don't mind being out at night to see a good light show/skyline, etc. I'm also not big on nature (mountains, trees) unless its some unique scenery that I can't see back in the US.

My first thought was KL. Prob arriving via SIN then taking the train or another flight. I've been to SIN a few times before but might take a day to see some things I havent seen before (ie. sentosa). KL has been on my to-see list for a while because of Petronas Towers. I'm not sure what else there is and wouldn't want to go just to see one building.

I've also heard lots of recommendations for BKK. If I did that, I might take a side trip to siem reap to see the temples.

I'd appreciate any recommendations. I'll add that I'm Chinese and can speak mandarin if that makes any difference.

I didn't find a lot of interest in KL. OTOH, I find there's lots to do in BKK. Drove from KL to Georgetown in Penang. That I enjoyed. I like the outdoors and stay a few days in the Cameron Highlands. Georgetown is more interesting than KL, at least for me. But, if you haven't been to BKK, there's loads more to do there than in KL

Mandarin not particularly useful in KL or Bkk. For first visit, definitely Bkk.....more to see, do and eat!

A trip to Siem Reap is also well worth 2-3 days, depending how long you want to spend at the various temples. Personally, I did a full tour day starting before sunrise with a guide/car and thought more than enough. Others will suggest more time. YMMV

BKK

Side trip to Hua-hin ~2 hours via car
Side trip to Pataya ~ 1.5 hours via car
Side trip to Chang Mi/Rai via train or plane

and the food is better

with only 4-5 days just go to Siem Reap. Obviously everyone's different, but it's such a unique place I think it deserves more than a day or two. And you can also do day trips out of town to the more far flung places that are a little quieter. I am a city boy at heart, but I enjoy spending some time in the quieter parts of the region.

And it's SE Asia. Slow down. The pace of life is generally slower. Embrace it.

Splitting 4 days between BKK and REP doesn't make sense to me when you consider the amount of time you'll spend dealing with airports.

I love BKK and it's insanity. You could find plenty to do in 4-5 days. But most Asian BIG cities have a fair bit in common. So going some place totally different with such a limited amount of time would make more sense to me. BKK does have a fairly extensive public transport system though which is one reason I like it. Skytrain, subway, BRT (although I've not used the BRT), river boats, canal boats, etc. Even after a lot of visits though I'm barely starting to get a feel for where things are in the big picture sense. I like to walk a lot when I travel but BKK isn't a great walking city which is one reason why I have a hard time relating where things are in relation to each other.

I was planning on taking plane one night, staying overnight, getting up early then return that night giving me about a day. I was thinking the main attraction was the temples and that would be a one-day thing. Perhaps I am under estimating Siem Reap.

If you can speak Cantonese, that can be helpful in KL or some remote parts of Malaysia.

Same here.... I find KL to be extremely boring. The food is nice though :-).

I remember I liked singapore. However I was there for work and really only got about half a day to look around. I heard that KL is very similar to singapore, just more malay, less chinese.

+1. Choose either BKK or REP. Whichever you choose you'll have a great time, but stick to one :)

Definitely. Siem Reap/Angkor worths several days.

Doable. I flew in Friday mid day and do some store audits [biz]. Spent entire Sat doing the tour with guide, and flew out Sunday morning.

My suggestion would then be to use Bkk as home-base, as cheap flights via Cambodia Air. KL is not a great sightseeing city.

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I was just in both KL and Bangkok (plus Penang, Kuching on Borneo and my favorite, Vietnam). I never plan to return to KL, but Bangkok is always nice (especially like the Chao Phraya Express Boat).

I was a little disappointed in Penang as well, but Kuching was well worth the effort, and I would like to explore more of Borneo one day. Now, if you want an interesting city, Hanoi is for you!

Did you find that the tour seemed "sufficient"? I would imagine that after a whole day of seeing temples, I wouldn't want to see more temples the next day but maybe I'm missing something

Actually, I meant to say I'd fly in Friday night and fly out Saturday night and spending saturday doing the tour. But now that I see there is more, I may do something more like what you did.

So maybe fly into BKK on a Tues Night, fly to REP Friday afternoon, fly back to BKK Sunday and connect to my flight back home on sunday as well (depending on schedule. Giving me approx 2.5days in BKK and 1.5 in REP.

I had a free weekend when I did the trip.

On Saturday, started at 4:20 am, tour/driver picked me up and we did the obligatory sunrise view. He knew the exact spots to get good pictures. Then instead of doing breakfast, which is what most tour groups go, we started our tour and did two temples. Then we had a leisurely breakfast, without the crowds. Visited 2 more temples, skipped the elephant rides, but lots of walking, lots of picture taking, very leisurely. Finished by 12:30 noon, where upon went for 1 hour massage, lunch and brief nap. Got picked up again at 4:30 to do sunset view, walked half up the mountain but cloudy and guide said there wouldn't be much to see....so got dropped off in town, walked about Pub Street, had a few drinks and meal....

Others would probably do a second day, to the outer temples but for me, it was enough. YMMV.