:eek:

Count me in this time then..... :p

I'm also heavily considering a side trip to tie in with the SIN Do.. just to add some excitement. If anyone's interested, let me know and maybe we can throw something together.. (ie, BKK, CNX, KUL, DPS.. or maybe even MNL).

Last year I did a 4 day side trip to Jakarta - it basically sucked. Had I done some research before hand, I would have realized that Jan is in the middle of the rainy season :o The one bright spot was that the Shangri-La was a fantastic place to stay. The shopping was really cheap too :)

I'm definitely up for another side trip this time around. I've been thinking about Vietnam but that may warrant more than a few days. I bet DPS would be a great long weekend.

I thought about SGN/HAN but there's a visa involved.. and that's annoying.

I did a side trip to Borneo from Singapore two years ago. It's an easy flight into Kuching. There's an excellent Hilton there. You can go see long houses and orangutans.

I'm a 'definite maybe' - depends on schedule & finances. Too soon to know either way. Hmm, bit concerned about no upgrade space available on UA. I'm Marriott/Hilton gal, so if I make it will stay at one of those. Cheers. Sharon

I am looking pretty definite too......short trip arrive pm1/ 12 leave pm 1/16 as busy season for this professional still trying to exit her business.....oh, not what you might think.....
Hoping to stay at RC Millenia which I absolutely ADORE but still shopping for best hotel rates for my profession .....keep some of you all guessing....haha ;)
I love SIN and relish visiting again after 3 years....think I might want to share that cuppa java with the chimp at the zoo this time...weelll, not so sure.....

Going to try to convince my sweetie to show up with me
this time. But at the very least, I'll be there.

Michael

Vietnam visa is a piece of cake. Unlike China which stopped mail-in service, Vietnam still does it. For my last trip, mailed in my app on a Monday to the SFO consulate, had my passport with visa in it back Thursday the same week.

And I forgot to add...Mike...mark me as a yes for 2006...

Must have sweetie to use up those SWU;s :)

I'm definately interested and flexible! I too was looking to do a side trip probably to Bali, Bangkok and Saigon. So keep me posted..

What little effort is required to get a visa is more than worth it to visit Vietnam.

Sorry - Lonely Planet says this:

Visas: Bureaucratic hassles will be your first problem in getting a visa - expect delays of five days or more. Bangkok is the best place to get one. It's usually best to get your visas through a travel agency. Expense is the other problem; tourist visas valid for a single 30-day stay cost about 40.00 in Bangkok.

Glad to hear that people have better experiences.. but for a 2-3 night sidetrip, I don't know if that would do SGN/HAN justice.. but who knows? We'll see about the logistics of the sidetrippers. :D

izzik, get your Vietnam visa while in the States. It's easy, just takes a bit of money and time while the passport is out of your hands. I suspect Lonely Planet is telling backpackers with uncertain schedules how to get a visa while on the road; you've got no need to do it that way.

I like your idea of Borneo -- eastern Malaysia sounds exciting and very different than urban Singapore. There's still a ways until Jan 2006.. so I'm hoping to tally a list of ppl who are interested in sidetripping.. then narrow down the choices based on mutual interests, etc.