To Malaysia... and beyond!

slinga

Alcmene wrote: »

I've just returned from KL and Hanoi (in the same trip). Without a doubt if I had to choose out of those 2 I would choose Hanoi, it is amazing!

When you visited Hanoi was it in a group or under your own steam.
We would like to visit Hanoi and have travelled around SE Asia a lot but always wonder if Vietnam would be easy or not.
Problems with language and hotel booking being two.

Doshwaster

Good to see this thread back.

The OP, Owains, said he (I'm assuming "he") was going to Malaysia and Thailand around Easter. Are you back yet? I'd love to read a trip report.

totallybored

Not my thread but I'm back from my Singapore and Bangkok trip. I kind of wish I'd gone to Hanoi and not Bangkok. I did enjoy Bangkok but felt it was too touristy and easy. I would definitely recommend the Hansar hotel though, I think it is possibly the best hotel I've stayed in (and I'm very fussy!). Maybe Vietnam and Cambodia next time!

PompeyPete

totallybored wrote: »

Maybe Vietnam and Cambodia next time!

Myanmar is a superb destination too!

slinga

PompeyPete wrote: »

Myanmar is a superb destination too!

I was on business there 15 years or so ago.

Personally I wouldn't advise anybody to go there.

PompeyPete

slinga wrote: »

Personally I wouldn't advise anybody to go there.

What's the point saying that, if you aren't saying why?
So why?

PompeyPete

Here's some photos of what Myanmar has to offer...

http://www.asiaphoto.de/burma/index.htm

...brilliant!

slinga

PompeyPete wrote: »

What's the point saying that, if you aren't saying why?
So why?

I was taken into many family homes and made welcome even though they had very little.
In every home they had photos of sons and in some cases daughters who had been arrested by the military government and never been seen or heard from since.

Every family told me to tell my friends that on no account should business be done with Myanmar and on no account should people tour the country.

PompeyPete

slinga wrote: »

I was taken into many family homes and made welcome even though they had very little.
In every home they had photos of sons and in some cases daughters who had been arrested by the military government and never been seen or heard from since.

There's no denying that.

slinga wrote: »

Every family told me to tell my friends that on no account should business be done with Myanmar and on no account should people tour the country.

That's all in the past, the people of Myanmar don't want to be forgotten, they need to see foreign visitors.
The secret is to make sure as much of your money goes to the people and not the government. While it's impossible to avoid government taxes it's still very easy to make sure that the bulk of your money goes directly to the people.
Myanmar is very popular now, and there is an active forum on Trip Advisor which gives loads of useful advice for a thoroughly enjoyable visit.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g294190-i9408-Myanmar.html

The country is used to travellers, albeit there are many areas that are out of bounds to foreigners. It's a beautiful country, with wonderful friendly people.
We hired a taxi/driver/guide for 2 weeks.
Beat up old Toyota saloon, no a/c, dodgy suspension, right hand drive (they drive on the right). Started every day off with a white face, ended it with an orange face and orange hair. Drove through 100s of villages, saw Myanmar life as it is.
Brilliant adventure!

amictus

Well I'm back! Got back home last Sunday and went straight back to work on Monday morning. Bit of a shock... spent all week recovering!

The trip was fantastic... what an experience! Again, a big thank you to everyone here who helped with all the planning. I really appreciate the time you took to answer all of my questions.

Anyway, I thought I'd write up a brief trip report in case anyone is still interested. It's not exactly comprehensive as I have just tried to record information that might be useful for anyone wanting to do something similar in the future. So, here goes...


London > Singapore - overnight flight
Emirates - London (Fri afternoon) > Dubai (2h40 stopover) > Singapore (Sat afternoon)

Emirates worked out well. The two-hour stopover at Dubai was very welcome... I don't think I would have lasted the 13-hour direct flight!


Singapore (3 days)

Stayed with a friend and her family. Did pretty much all the standard tourist stuff seeing the city. Also went for a bike ride at East Coast Park, walk along the Southern Ridges, Night cable car ride from Mount Faber and Sentosa beach.

A lot of my time was spent being taken to favourite local restaurants and being "educated" on Malay/Chinese cuisine... awesome! Was introduced to bubble tea, which is great. Not too impressed by durian fruit though is! From then on, during the rest of my travels, almost all my meals were based around trying the local "must-tries"... great fun!

So, yeah, Singapore was great fun, particularly having a local showing me around.

Singapore > Kuala Lumpur - overnight train
Very straightforward. Didn't get much sleep because the bunk wasn't big enough for me to lie comfortably (even though I'm only about 6ft).


Kuala Lumpur (2 days)

Stayed at Impiana KLCC. Hotel was great for the price - good location, pool, helpful staff, good breakfast.

Spent the first couple of hours queuing for the Petronas towers Skybridge, which seemed like a waste of time as, when I showed up at my scheduled time, a couple just turned up and bought a ticket on the spot! View was pretty a bit disappointing as my time coincided with the afternoon rain shower. I reckon go for a morning slot if possible.

Went on the hopon-hopoff tourist bus tour of the city. Waste of time in my opinion... I didn't actually get off the bus at all! Unless you want to visit all the tourist attractions outside the main city centre then you're better off using the much quicker monorail/train network.

Wandering around Little India and Chinatown was fun, but the central market was just too touristy for me.
When living in the Emirates for a period, I developed a taste for Middle Eastern food. So, around exploring the shopping malls in I enjoyed some baklava with Arabic coffee, and later a hummus, ful and shwarma meal in the small Arabic quarter near Bukit Bintang.

I also visited the Batu Caves just outside the city. Very easy with a direct train from Sentral station. Tons of cheeky monkeys wandering around. Well worth a morning trip.

I reckon 2 full days was about right to "see" Kuala Lumpur. Most of the tourist attractions felt a bit artificial - as if they had been created just to give visitors something to do.


Kuala Lumpur > Taman Negara - morning bus and afternoon boat (1 day)

Booked by email with HAN Transport, which all worked out well. Boat trip to the town was fun, but 3 hours didn't exactly fly by - not a huge amount to see along the way.

Taman Negara (2 days)

Stayed at Durian Chalets on the outskirts of Kuala Tahan town. Had small room with an attached "bathroom". Pretty basic - cold shower, squat toilet, no food served, bit grubby... but was fine for me. The place was nice and quiet, which I liked.

Had a couple of days jungle trekking to and from one of the observation hides (Bumbun Kumbang), where I stayed overnight. The stay in the hide booked with at the national park office the night before. The first section of the walk was crowded with tourists, but, after Bukit Teresek hill I saw only a few groups of people. The canopy walkway was fun for a different perspective of the forest, but didn't get a view of the wider landscape. Plenty of interesting trees etc. to see along the trail, but nothing particularly exotic. Didn't see any particularly interesting wildlife during the days or in the hide overnight. However, I was just doing it for the walk, so, overall, I really enjoyed the experience.

Wasn't able to find anywhere to hire equipment. There were mini-markets for buying supplies, but they were pretty minimal - stock up before you go if possible. I don't think there's an ATM in the town. Walking was surprisingly hard work because of the heat and humidity - got through all the food and drink I brought... and I took a lot! Tons of leeches on the trail when wet, so be prepared for a bit or two. Didn't have any mosquito problems, but perhaps this was because of the time of year that I went.

Taman Negara > Cameron Highlands - morning/afternoon minibus (1 day)

Again, arranged with HAN Transport.

Cameron Highlands (2 days)

Stayed at Gerard's Place apartment room, which is part of Father's Guesthouse. Shared bathroom and lounge area which I think were cleaned daily. It's a bit of a walk out of the town, but as it's in a residential area, it's nice and quiet. Nice to have somewhere to go back to during the regular afternoon rain shower.

Joined up with my friend from Singapore here, so it was good to have some company (and my food guide) again.

This part of my trip was a bit disappointing. In general, the area is not as idyllic as my research suggested - very touristy and agriculture is on the industrial scale, which ruins a lot of the landscape. I was hoping to do some walks through the hills, but the only trails are short steep hikes, which are completely enclosed by forest, with no view of the surrounding countryside. Not what I was looking for after jungle trekking.

The weather was a pleasant relief after the heat of the jungle. However, don't expect to do anything outdoors in the early afternoon as it *will* be wet. Again, this might change depending on the time of year you visit.

I visited a couple of tea plantations, which were very picturesque, and a lot more like what I was expecting the whole area to be like. Certainly had some good views. Tea and cake in the cafes were a bit of fun... though I think I preferred teh tarik and sugar roti! I didn't do any of the guided tours because I wasn't interested in visiting any of the other tourist attractions - I can pick strawberries at home! It was easy and reasonably cheap to get around by taxi when necessary.

Cameron Highlands > Penang - morning bus (1 day)

Booked this with one of the local companies at the tourist information office. Ordinarily, it would be best to get off at Butterworth and get the ferry over to Georgetown (rather than the Sungai Nibong terminus waaay outside the town), but for some reason our driver went carried on to the KOMTAR station.

Penang (3 days)

Stayed at Hutton Lodge. Great guesthouse - good location, very helpful staff, clean, but a bit noisy until midnight. Breakfast was pretty basic, but there's plenty of alternatives nearby... dim sum in Chinatown is a good choice!

Spent a good amount of time exploring Georgetown. Tons of temples and heritage sites to visit. Think I got to most of the key sites. Very interesting stuff. Did the classic trishaw tour. Numerous food courts and cheap restaurants serving excellent local food.

Hired a taxi to do a tour of the southern fishing villages. There was a set price for 8 hours which was pretty reasonable when shared between 2 people. Stopped of at the Kek Lok Si, which was well worth a stopover and wander around (funicular to the large statue and terrace). Didn't see anything interesting at Batu Maung, just a very small port.

The last day was pretty much taken up with a trip up Penang Hill. This re-opened the over the weekend that I was staying, which is fortunate. There was a long queue mid-morning, but this was probably because it had only just opened. The view from the top is worth the trip, but, as far as I'm concerned there's nothing else of much interest.

Penang > Bangkok - afternoon flight (1 day)
Air Asia - Penang (17:05) > Bangkok (17:45)

Not much to say here. All went as planned. I decided to get a taxi from the airport, which I'm sure is the quickest route (provided city traffic is OK) and was not expensive. I didn't bother trying the rail link on the way back.


Bangkok (2 days)

Stayed at Navalai River Resort in Banglamphu. Great location for easy river access and exploring Khao San area. Room was clean and spacious. Breakfast was good. Friendly and helpful staff. Rooftop pool was a nice bonus. Not exactly luxurious, but I would certainly recommend the hotel.

I spent the first day wandering around The Grand Palace and temples, which were very impressive. Having to wear trousers and trainers made the heat pretty uncomfortable though. Went to a Muay Thai boxing match at Lumphini Stadium in the evening. Rather expensive but definitely worth it. I would recommend getting a second class ticket - decent view with seating, packed with locals. There were about 8 matches through the evening, with the major events towards the end. I took a break after the first hour and went for a drink at the nearby Vertigo rooftop bar. Again, expensive, but got a great night view of the city while enjoying a gin and tonic.

Didn't do a great deal of sight seeing the next day, just wandered around Chinatown in the day and Khao San Road in the night.

Bangkok > Ayutthaya - morning minibus (1 day)

Ayutthaya is the old capital north of Bangkok, consisting of an island of temples and ruins, surrounded by the Chao Phraya River.

Booked transport with a travel agent just outside the hotel. The journey was frustratingly slow, as it involved swapping minibuses at a bus stop somewhere outside the city centre. It would probably have been quicker (and much cheaper) to get a bus from the main bus station.

Stayed at Prom Tong Mansion. This place was great, particularly for about £20/night. The staff were very friendly and made a real effort to be helpful and provide advice. Free tea and coffee at reception, and nice pancakes for breakfast! Location is ideal for exploring the island. Bikes available to hire for more-or-less nothing.

I decided to take a bike from the guesthouse and make my own way around the island. Took me from about 13:00 to 18:00 to see all the main attractions. Having never seen that kind of thing before, I was very impressed with the different sites. There isn't much else to do, so it's definitely doable in a day (by bike or tuk-tuk). Well worth a trip if you want a day or two out of the city.

Ayutthaya > Bangkok - morning/afternoon train (1 day)

I was originally planning to set off early travel further north to Lopburi before heading back to Bangkok. However, after a busy day in the sun, I felt like taking things a bit easier, and just went straight back to Bangkok. The train was the local (rather than express) service, so it was busy, hot, and very slow. Again, I think a bus would have been a better option.

Arrived in Bangkok mid afternoon and checked in at Hansar hotel in the Lumphini area. Wow... what a hotel! Huge comfortable rooms. Decent view. Free drinks and snacks from minibar. Great service from staff (personal escort to room). Ideal location next to a skytrain station. Nice pool and facilities. Excellent breakfast. Perfect! Two or three times what I was paying for accommodation elsewhere, but it was a great way place to relax before my last day in Bangkok. Not sure I could justify staying there for more that one night!

After spending some time enjoying the hotel, I spent the evening in the Sukhumvit area. Enjoyed another nice Arabic meal in the Little Arabia area and just wandered around for a while.

My last day was spent exploring the main shopping malls in the Siam Square area. Bought some souvenirs for the family in MBK... that kind of thing. Collected my bag from the hotel late afternoon and got a taxi to the airport. Holiday over!


Phew... I think that's about it. If anyone wants further details on something specific then just ask.

I can't wait to get back and see some more of Southeast Asia!