Hello everybody,

I moved in Singapore 1.5 years ago but have not seen any country around it (Malaysia thru JB does not count )

I plan to take a vacation for last two weeks of June, possibly adding first week of July and go and see places with my wife.


I'll give you some basic information about us and would appreciate if you can recommend how to spend our time on those conditions:

- mid 40ies, no children.

- Can see a city, museums and sights for a day or two but don't thing would be happy to stay whole week there (I am living in Singapore), not club going types.

- I am not laying on a beach type (two weeks ago I and my wife hiked Observation Point in Zion National Park and loved every second of it), rather see a scenery.

- Not too picky about lodging, but it must be clean, quiet, has electricity and air conditioning, hot and cold water, clean sheets and no bugs/insects inside. Would not mind to stay at Airbnb/Wimdu places if they satisfy those conditions.

- Budget is kinda limited (I am writing this message being at Tokyo's 5* hotel on company's business, but no way I can afford to travel and stay here on my own) but as I understand except Japan and Korea the rest of SE Asia should be fine.

- Safety (personal and health) is the major travel requirement, especially for my wife. For this reason India, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Indonesia are excluded for obvious reasons.

- Finally: we really want to enjoy the vacation and not start with too exoctic places. We'll go there once we get acclimated with the travel.


That's pretty much it. When I was doing research on my own, I came with the idea to fly to Penang, see it around, get a rental car and drive south and east, stop by at Cameron Highlands, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, some of ocean resorts for 2-3 days in each, returning to Singapore via JB. Would be delighted to hear what others think about this option, pros/cons, what to look for, etc.

However any other recommendations/alternatives would be accepted too.

Thanks in advance.

Sounds like she and Loren's wife should get together and share notes.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/...hats-like.html

Went thru the thread, was quite useful and informative.

No, I do not think Vietnam is the problem from this perspective, been aware and educated helps, plus I can second that I've also heard that locals were very warm towards foreigners.

Does it mean you are not Singaporean?

I don't think SE Asia includes Japan and Korea anyway.

Perhaps you can hint us which Southeast Asian countries are more appealing to you so folks in the know can provide some more specific recommendations.

No, I am not. I do not think Singaporean would use this forum for questions like this, they have Hardwarezone.sg for that.

Malaysia, (as it was in the original post), Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos. I would expect that visiting each country is a separate trip.

If your (or wife's) current comfort zone is to approach the SE Asia explorations step by step from infrastructure/facilities most advanced (Singapore) to most primitive, then I don't see anything wrong with the idea of making Malaysia the next country of focus. That's pretty much ratcheting down just one step.

However, I would suggest that peninsular Malaysia with is maybe more suitable for a 7-10 day trip (Melaka, KL, Penang, Cameron) or perhaps two different long weekends. In other words, maybe not the best match for a 2-3 week trip where there is no desire to put a beach resort like Redang or the Perhentians in the mix.

So I'd suggest instead going to East Malaysia--Sarawak (via Kuching) and Sabah (via Kota Kinabalu) Scenery, culture, orangutans, villages, etc. And a 2-3 week time frame would be perfect. Infrastructure and support as you wish, no need to "rough it" unless you specifically want to and choose way off-the-beaten track locations. Should be able to get some budget flights from Singapore to/from these locations.

Thank you. Yes, that's what we are looking for, again, there is no requirement for luxury or even upscale, that's the reason I said that we are considering Airbnb/wimdu to save on lodging.

Makes sense. Do you think 7-8 days are enough to explore peninsular Malaysia from top (Penang) to bottom (JB)? Where would you recommend to stop on this route expect Cameron, KL and Melaka and how many days would you allocate for each place?

Regarding logistics - if one flies to Penang, gets a car there and drive back to JB - is there anything wrong with the process? What one needs to take into consideration while doing a trip like this?

Hm, can we do one week for peninsular MY and and another week - after returning in Singapore - for East MY? Or is it too overstretching? for East MY we'd prefer just to go places instead of driving or moving on our own.

Based on your criteria, I'd 100% recommend Luang Prabang, Laos. It should be low season right now, so low season rates (and accommodation there is very good value), beautiful suurrounding scenery and nature, town is lovely to walk or cycle around.

Great food and drink!

You can fly Singapore to Luang Prabang via Vientiane or Bangkok.

No, not really enough to hit everywhere. IMO, Penang 3 days, KL 2 days, Cameron 2 days, Melaka 1-2 days, JB only as a transit point. Plus additional time for travel between places. So if you want to spend only 7-8 days, pick Penang, KL, Melaka and be done with it. Alternatively, spend the entire two weeks on the peninsula and maybe add Teman Negara Park to the above list. Weather permitting. Remember the east coast of the peninsula will usually be drier than the west coast.

Nothing wrong with this concept. I would do it this way, fly up/drive down. For June-July trip, you'll need to keep an eye on the weather. If it's really rainy you may want to amend your stop-off plans as you go.

No way. With only two weeks, commit to one place or another. I am confused as to whether you have 2 weeks or 3. If you have only 2 weeks, pick either the peninsula or East Malaysia. East Malaysia you can get between the critical places by flight, and then just drive locally or use an alternative (private car/driver, join-in bus, etc) to hit the places of interest. If you have 3 full weeks, then splitting between peninsula and either Sarawak OR Sabah in East Malaysia would be doable. Or 2 weeks in East Malaysia then fly to KL and see that, Penang, Melaka and that's it.

Hello club,

My wife is joining me in Singapore in the beginning of June and we'd like to take 7-10 days vacation in a resort area in SE Asia. I have to say from the beginning that except Singapore and airports in neighbouring countries my knowledge of the region from this perspective is zero.

We'd like to go in a place which is relatively close from Singapore (no more than 2 hours of flight and max one more hour to reach the destination after arrival) but at the same time we'd like to avoid overcrowded and overused touristy places, this is the reason why Phuket or Bali is not considered.

Here is what we look for:

- ideally a beach resort place but not completely remote
- cleanliness of the area (beach filled with plastic bottles is no cool),
- decent but not a luxury accommodation - clean room and bed sheets, no bugs/insects, running hot/cold water and working and quiet aircon inside the room, wifi.
- ability to do something in addition to just lay down on a beach - to go on a day nature/cultural tours in nearby areas, rent a bike, snorkeling, hiking, etc
- low crime area
- Appx $2000 budget for 10 days/2 people.

What would you recommend based on criteria above?

Thanks in advance.

Re: OP. I'd stay with one or both of the two heavyweights, Thailand and Malaysia. Other places can require more adapting. For beachy type stuff at that time of year, try the islands on the east side of the isthmus, like Ko Samui or the Perhentians. Sarawak and Sabah also have much to offer. In Thailand the north tends to get rainy and hot and humid...you can still manage a decent trip to Chiang Mai, but I'd limit the number of days there.

I know you're trying to rule out Phuket, but some of the more secluded resorts there have pristine private beaches with no overcrowding. I've had a very pleasant stay at the Le Meridien that's between Karon and Patong, while still being able to enjoy the chaos of Patong just a short taxi/tuk-tuk ride away.

I wonder if someone call talk about options for Burma.

Start a new thread rather than getting buried in this old one which isn't relevant. If you want itinerary suggestions, then make it clear in the title and the questions posed. It would be helpful to know time of year, length of stay in-country, your interests, and if you'll be with "special needs" people (elderly, small kids, etc.). Also how you envision the setup (group tour, custom private, independent, etc.)