Stopover on the way to Oz

Deemol

Hey guys I'm heading to Oz in January with a few friends (probably to Perth, not sure yet!) and i was just wondering were would be a good stopover on our way over and how long should we stopover for?

Cheers

gordon_gekko

Deemol wrote: »

Hey guys I'm heading to Oz in January with a few friends (probably to Perth, not sure yet!) and i was just wondering were would be a good stopover on our way over and how long should we stopover for?

Cheers

if it was me , bangkok for a week , mad wonderfull city and a great country for tourists full stop , most people stop in singapore but that country is nothing but a big shopping centre and has no culture of its own whatsoever

spurious

If it was me, I'd say Hong Kong for two or three days - if it's an option.
Went through Singapore one time - really wasn't enamoured of the place, but that might just be me.

finbarrk

If you are going with guys Bangkok, or girls Singapore.

Deemol

going with two guys and a girl so i think it might be Bangkok for us then, is it expensive over there? do you have any suggestions of where to stay over there? Were not on a major budget but dont want to break the bank either before we hit oz

shoegirl

I've spent a few days in all 3 cities and here is what I thought:

Bangkok - sleazy and dirty, everywhere we went there were mangy dogs lying around the streets and dodgy tour guides trying to find ever more creative ways of getting us to overpay. Plus its politically unstable at the moment so there is a small risk of getting delayed. Its very cheap though, and you'll get a really nice 3-star western style hotel for about 40-45 euros which is fine as long as you don't mind sharing it with 50-something Swedes and their 18 year old pre-pubescent looking girlfriends.
Food cheap but watch the seafood. I stayed in a Mercure owned hotel off Sukhumvit, very nice hotel, area a teeny bit sleazy as not far from the notorious Soi Cowboy.

Hong Kong - don't make the mistake I made the first time and leave it so late you can't get a decent hotel. Try to stay on the island - the city is pretty congested, polluted and cramped. The people were very nice though. Go up the peak, its worth it for the view. A lot of curiosities I thought. Accomodation is a lot more expensive and you really do get what you paid for here.
Food - pricier than BK but quite good. English less well spoken that you would be led to believe. I stayed in Mongkok - avoid! Paid 50 euros for a total hovel of a room, it was clean but really cramped. Hotels on the island are fab but you'll pay for them.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - by far my favourite of the 3 cities, clean, modern, maybe a little less to do and see but a nice relaxing stopover. Hotels again quite cheap, but also a good range of native and Chinese hotels. The twin towers are worth a look. Food very cheap and nice. Only caveat was alcohol is quite expensive. Stayed in Chinatown over the night market in one of the Chinese hotels - dirt cheap and got a nice room (deluxe) for I think about 35 euros a night, but there are excellent places for around 15 euros a night. I made a deliberate detour here on my way to Australia so it cost me a few hundred more than I expected. If you're looking for smut and boozing this probably isn't the place to come. Liked the people a lot here, very friendly, and surprisingly good English.

Haven't been to Singapore, have heard the shopping is good and its very clean.