This week I’ll be off on a 24 day trip to Southeast Asia and I’m hoping to hear some recommendations for restaurants, bars, cultural oddities to look for, hidden gems, and warnings from those who’ve been there. I’ll be landing in Singapore and staying with my sister and BiL, who live there. I’ve previously been to Thailand, and while I’d love to get to a full moon party, I don’t know that I can fit it in on this trip; I’m hoping to get to Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Angkor Wat. Suggestions for these locales as well as other places would be most appreciated.
You MUST get a guide for Ankgor Wat. Especially for my husband, who didn’t know almost anything about Buddhism, Hinduism, or the history of the area (I know a little, although I’m certainly no expert), it made all the difference between an impressive but sort of anonymous set of ruins, and one of the best touring experiences we ever had. All the guides get certified through the same program, but I’m sure some are better than others. If you’d like to hire the one we used last May, his surname is Mao (that’s what he told us to call him, and I don’t remember his first name), and we booked him through the Golden Banana hotel. We loved the Golden Banana, also - pleasant rooms, nice courtyards/pools, super-helpful staff, and not expensive. It’s primarily a gay-friendly hotel, but everyone was lovely to us super-conventional-married-straights. I think we stayed in the Resort version, down the alley from the Bed and Breakfast version.
On the road outside of the main AW complex, heading towards Banteay Srei (the pink ‘Lady Temple’), you can stop at the Land Mine Museum, which is the public face of a one-man de-mining operation + school/orphanage for kids injured by landmines. We lucked into a tour led by an American retiree who volunteers there full-time, but even if you’re not interested in the subject, stop by and give them a few dollars if you’re in the area. They really seem to do a ton of good work on a shoestring.
We spent 23 days last May/June touring Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, and the day in Ankgor Wat was one of our absolute favorites. (I think our other favorite thing was the overnight cruise in Halong Bay, in Vietnam.) Have a wonderful time!
Many thanks for the tips GilaB!
We didn’t have a guide for Angkor Wat, but we did hire our own driver for the day, one of those little vehicles called a remorque-kang or remorque-moto I think they’re called. Seven bucks American for the day (a few years ago) and he waits for you at each site. Don’t worry, the drivers will find you. For the more distant ruins, hire a proper car and driver. I didn’t feel we missed anything by not having a guide, but then I knew a bit about the ruins anyway. If you do opt for a guide, it won’t be expensive. In town, the Angkor What? Bar was a decent place to hang out. Wonder if it’s still there. An American journalist named Gordon Sharpless is based in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh and runs the Tales of Asia website, which is very informative for Angkor Wat and the town. He also owns and operates the Two Dragons Guesthouse on the side with his Thai significant other. Gordon is a nice guy and a font of information. We’ve not actually stayed at his guesthouse, but it gets good reports.
Penang is a pleasant little city. It will give you a good feel for what Singapore and Hong Kong were like before their skyscraper modification.
On Bali, the town of Ubud is a good place to while away a few days, and dolphin watching off the northern coast is a must. Board member Ale is on Bali right now – see thread here – and can probably give you up-to-date information.
Missed the Edit window. I see Halong Bay was mentioned above. That is a good place, but beware of the cheap tours. Some operators promise ridiculously cheap prices like US$20 or not much more. The boat on one of those just broke in two in the middle of the night a month or so ago – no warning, just literally split in two – killing 11, mostly tourists. The wife and I booked through Ocean Tours in Hanoi, which were recommended to us. And we can recommend them. A bit pricey, but extremely safe, extremely professional. They have their own very nice boat for the overnight stays.
Thx Sam!!!
Actually, I should have said Georgetown is a pleasant little city, as that’s the major city on the island of Penang, but people often call it Penang too.
Also for Angkor Wat, spend three days minimum, ideally at least four. A week is not out of the question, but I understand you may be pressed for time. One strategy some use is to take a guide for two or three days, then revisit the places most liked on one’s one afterward. And take your own passport photos to be laminated into your pass, because unless it’s changed they don’t have their own photo equipment at the entrance and will turn you away without photos.
Singapore is one of the easiest place to navigate in Southeast Asia. There are theme parks at Sentosa; my friends swore by the Battlestar Galatica ride, but I have never been there. There are good food all over the island, but you will need someone who knows where to find them.
I would have liked two days, perhaps three, but think that four to seven is way too much, unless you like to have a few hours of touring per day and a lot of relaxing. (We took an hour break in the late morning, but otherwise were going from predawn until sunset.) As of last May, one did not need to bring photos for the ID pass - they take them on site, and print them with the pass.
I didn’t go into our Halong Bay experience, because Vietnam wasn’t on the OP’s list, but yes, don’t try to go with one of the one-day cheap tours. Splurge a little, and it’ll be worth it. At a minimum, go with one of the two-day, one night tours (which actually add up to a little less than 24 hours on the boat), and spend at least $100/person. The $25/person versions are notoriously filthy, crowded, and rat-infested. I no longer remember the name of the company that ran our tour, but we booked it through our hotel (the Hanoi Elegance 4 - I’d recommend any of the Elegances; the rooms are small but very clean, it’s remarkably cheap for what it is, and the staff bends over backwards to be helpful and speaks awesome English.) We totally lucked out - we booked the $119/person version, but were the only two who did for that tour, so we got consolidated onto the $165/person boat. There were four tourists total for a nine-person-staffed yacht that appeared to be carved entirely out of rosewood. We keep kosher and had to eat our own food, but the other two guests got what appeared to be fabulous four-five course gourmet meals. I never expected to go yachting in my life (I’m not such a fancy gal, plus I get seasick), but the experience was great, and the scenery was some of the most amazing I’ve ever seen anywhere.
Agree - we had 3 days at Ankor Wat with a guide and car and wouldn’t have wanted any more. The benefit of that was also that when it got too hot or I was too tired (I was 8-10 weeks pregnant on our trip) we could go back to the hotel for a break, and pickup in the afternoon. We got recommended our guide, but the hotel could have arranged something for us as well.
On a different tack, on the way out to the temples there is a children’s hospital on the left, with crowds of families camping outside waiting days to be seen after days of travel - it’s a bit of a reality shock. Our guide had lost his sister in childbirth the year before (the same age as me) and was so matter of fact about it that we really understood how bad healthcare is there for those without funds. You can make donations there, and it’s really humbling - we only gave $100 but the hospital director came out to meet us and we got a certificate - kind of over the top.
I also really loved Vietnam, particularly Ho Chi Minh and Hoi An, although for different reasons. Hoi An is charming and a great place to kick back; HCM is crazy busy but I liked the contrast.
When in Penang, eat laksa, on the street, ::::drool:::,
When in Bali be sure to get to Ubud, dance, one night, till dawn in Kuta Beach.
(I am green with envy. I too stay with friends in S’pore, and fan out from there!)
I’ll have to disagree with the notion that 4-7 days at Angkor Wat is too much. We’ve spent five and wished for more. I know many who feel a week is not enough. Of course, we were exploring the far outer ruins too, plus it’s amazing exactly how extensive the ruins are; I myself did not quite understand how far-flung they were until we first visited. (I originally had this silly notion that we’d just hike between them at first. Ha!) And we also enjoy returning to the ones we like best, such as the wonderfully overgrown Ta Phrom; it usually takes a crowbar to get me out of there. But to each his own. Glad they finally wised up and started taking photos on site.
For Vietnam, I agree on Hoi An, a wonderful place, but Hanoi outshines Ho Chi Minh City. We found HCM City to be mostly just another large, hot city, but Hanoi, which turned 1000 years old last year, has a lot of old character. Stay in the Old City center if possible.
Oops! The wife just informed me that while we did take out own photos along that were used, they did have a camera there for that purpose too.
Thanks again for all of the advice. I am now in Bangkok (sawas dee kop, Sam!!). I’m staying in Silom, plan on taking a train tmrw out to Nakhon Pathom, possibly Ayutthaya on Thursday.
I went to Kuala Lumpur for 2 days - highlight there was the Batu Caves.
I spent 4 days in Bali (3 in Seminyak, 1 in Legian). I rented a motorbike and drove up to Jata Luwih one day, and attempted to get to Ubud the next day. I never was able to find it, but I stumbled into Goa Gajah, which has been the highlight of the whole trip thus far.
In Singapore, I’ve been to Santosa, Dempsey Hill, Holland Village, the Botanical Gardens, and Haw Par Villa (one block away from my sister’s house). The food in Singapore is tremendous - I am loving carrot cake.
Unfortunately, Angkor Wat was never realized as plane ticket prices tripled before I purchased (up to nearly 800 usd!). Oh well, hopefully on my next trip.
Glad to hear you’re having a good time. The wife and I have done the overland trip to Siem Reap/Angkor Wat before, paying 1000 baht for a taxi the whole way. At the time that was about US$25. Only two hours from the border … if there have been no rains (second hour, after Sispohon, is unpaved) and no bridges are out. This would be a good time of year to do that. We were lucky and made it in the usual two hours. But we hear that since then, the taxi mafia has really pushed prices up, and you have to pay $100. Still, that’s better than $800. You could also fly into Phnom Penh and take a connecting flight from there or even a bus, which is just a few hours. (I think Bangkok Airways has a monopoly on the Bangkok-Siem Reap route, which is why the price is so high. Hell, I can fly to Hawaii for less than that!) But I understand you may be running out of time.
If you’re taking a train to Nakhon Pathom, I’d recommending continuing further on that same line to Kanchanaburi, where the Bridge Over the River Kwai is located in town, and there’s a nice little Allied cemetery. (A second cemetery is outside of town, too, but few visit it.)
Ah, I see the overland route to Siem Reap may be easier now after all, with the price down and the road maybe paved the whole way. See here. If so, that’s definitely how we would do it.