2 weeks in Asia in July?!

Glowing

Hey there,

Can anyone suggest places for a 2 week holiday in July - in the Thailand, Malaysia region?

I know it's monsoon season, but I hear KL is perfect that time of year. Would like to take in KL and Bangkok and some beaches inbetween.

Thanks in advance!

southsiderosie

Glowing wrote: »

Hey there,

Can anyone suggest places for a 2 week holiday in July - in the Thailand, Malaysia region?

I know it's monsoon season, but I hear KL is perfect that time of year. Would like to take in KL and Bangkok and some beaches inbetween.

Thanks in advance!

I went to Langkawi in Malaysia last year in August, and although it was overcast a lot of the time, there wasn't constant rain. Out of seven days, we had one where it rained for 3 hours; otherwise, it rained at night, or for 20 minutes here and there. It really varies by where you are; literally one side of a mountain will be clear, and the other side foggy (we did some mountain biking in the mountains). I will admit that the clouds were a bit of a relief, because when the sun came out full blast, it was almost unbearably hot.

Anyway, we had a good time, and it's one of those places where you can just chill out on the beach or at the pool, or do more adventurous stuff (kayaking, biking, etc).

Badgermonkey

I'd advise against spending too long in KL, not one of Asias more interesting cities.

You could take a night train sleeper up to Penang then continue on to Langkawi by ferry.

AirAsia.com are a terriffic low cost airline and have a lot of destinations within 1-2 hrs of KL some of which are very exotic.

Glowing

Thanks all - I've been through Asia myself extensively, but never in July.

I'm actually bringing my parents over for their first 'Asia experience' so want to ensure that we're not rained out of it for 2 weeks! KL would be a good first stopover for 2 or 3 days to acclimatise to Asia and get over the jetlag!

I've heard Koh Samui has a mini-peak in July as it has lower rainfall averages, but has anyone been there that time of year? Looking at maybe Lamai or Bophut? Is that 'parent friendly'?

9_Iron

I'd second southsiderosie's suggestion of Langkawi if you were looking for a beach resort: I was there in September last year and the weather was generally very fine and sunny, with occasional overcast periods (not sure whether July would be exactly like that).
The island is a very chilled out place, with some great beachfront hotels (checkout those near Pantai Cenang in particular). Public transport is limited, but taxis are freely available and dirt cheap compared to back home.

I've also been to KL a couple of times and I found it to be a fascinating city: it doesn't have a whole host of famous sights, but there's certainly enough to keep you interested if you're looking for a 2 or 3 day stopover. Plenty of good shopping to be had as well!

I'd also recommend Air Asia for flights around Malaysia and/or to Thailand. Ryanair prices but a rather more pleasant flying experience (and I say that as a regular Ryanair flier, if not quite a fan!).

Glowing

cheers all. Does Langkawi offer much else apart from beaches? Are there markets, villages, food stalls etc? Does it have character or is it one of those resort islands with nothing else to it? Also is it expensive?

thanks

Donkeygonads

Glowing wrote: »

Hey there,

Can anyone suggest places for a 2 week holiday in July - in the Thailand, Malaysia region?

I know it's monsoon season, but I hear KL is perfect that time of year. Would like to take in KL and Bangkok and some beaches inbetween.

Thanks in advance!

I was in KL 2 months ago passing through for a couple of days ..... with its glitzy hotels and sky scrapers ..... I felt i could easily have been in the Middle East surrounded by palm tree's .... it does'nt really have an authentic asian feel to it and is quite expensive compared to Thailand .... I flew from KL to the Phillipines - Clark base (Angeles city) with Air Asia ..... beautiful scenery, truly asia feel... and entertaining night life !;)

9_Iron

Glowing wrote: »

cheers all. Does Langkawi offer much else apart from beaches? Are there markets, villages, food stalls etc? Does it have character or is it one of those resort islands with nothing else to it? Also is it expensive?

thanks

I stayed on the west coast, which is mostly beach resorts, but there is also a strip of bars, restaurants and shops along Pantai Cenang so there was always a bit of life in the evenings. Some cracking food to be had as well.
Price-wise, that's a touristy area, so you would be paying a premium on "normal" Malaysia prices, and its probably more in line with what you'd pay in KL. However, the island is duty-free, so a meal out in a nice restaurant with wine/beer tends to cost a good bit less than in the capital.

If you're looking to avoid the beach resorts entirely, then you're probably best basing yourself in the main urban centre, Kuah town, in the southeast. I didn't get there during my stay, but I had read that it was a popular shopping spot (again, the duty-free element kicking in), was more or less beach-free and more representative of the island than the western resorts. It's also the hub of what public transport there is, which might come in handy.

Regarding things to do other than beach-bumming, I'd recommend a quick Google search, as there are some useful tourist info websites available.
A couple of the higher profile things to do would be a cable car to the top of one of the highest mountains on the island (did that, stunning views to be had) and a waterfall climb/hike (didn't do that, but saw it from the cable car and it looked impressive). Also, there are a myriad of island hopping tours, some animal sanctuaries and a handful of local museums.
On a separate note, part of island was struck by the 2004 tsunami, and while I'm not sure if there are official memorials to it, my taxi driver pointed out some of the effected parts as we were travelling around the west coast. It was thought-provoking stuff....

Finally (honest!), I felt the airport was very impressive and would put a lot of small European airports to shame. It's worth checking out whether you can fly onwards to Thailand directly though - I was going to and from KL, so I'm not sure what the connections north are like.