Travelling in Thailand and Singapore

gosull

Hi, so I will be travelling in Thailand for about 4 weeks and Singapore for 10 days.

The plan is:
Arrive into Bangkok and spend two nights;
Then Koh Phangan for five nights;
Then to Ko Tao for three nights;
Phi Phi for five nights;
Phuket for three nights;
Chiang Mai for four nights;
Bangkok for three nights.

(Above is a rough estimate of days, left out a few in case we decide to go elsewhere during that time)

Then to Singapore for 9/10 nights.

The main question I have is to anyone who has traveled to these areas; is there anything you would definitely recommend doing or seeing etc.

We have a good idea on different things we would like to do and see but as I have never been to either place, I would appreciate any recommendations on must do activities and places to see. Thank you in advance.

brownbinman

Singapore for 9-10 nights is an awful lot. Personally 3-4 nights is enough. There's good bit to see there, Bay hotel, Universal Studios (go during week to avoid kids & queues), gardens by the bay. Also a Singapore eye (a big Londons eye)

Get a travel pass for the subway, like a leap card type thing. Very handy. There underground is great

We flew into Singapore, spent a few nights there then traveled by bus to Melaka. Stop in KL on the way down if you can, or travel a bit of Malaysia. Very nice part of the world.

There's a street called Smith street. It's full of places selling street food. Has nice roof so you'll be dry and good grub. Go bit off the beaten track for even cheaper local street food.

We went down to Clarke Quay and picked up a few drinks in the 7/11 and had them down there. Toilets are open most of the night in the shopping malls. Prices in bars is quite high in comparison.

brownbinman

there's a place called Pai, north of Chiang Mai. Nice little spot to be fair. Takes a while to get there as there 740 odd corners...no joke, you'll see t shirts everywhere with it

We spent about a week on Koh Tao, great island. Same amount on Phi Phi

You're making me look up flights now!!

gosull

Been told by a few people that 9/10 nights in Singapore is a lot, booked already so nothing I can do about it now!

Thanks for all the information brownbinman, will be sure to check all of it out! Going to Chiang Rai while we're in Chiang Mai as well, purely to see the white palace (or whatever it's called).

Any more advice is appreciated

brownbinman

Melaka (or Malacca) is only about 3 hours by bus so if you have that many day, i'd certainly consider going for a few days. Lovely city, was run by the Portuguese. Do a bit of research on getting in and out of singapore that way as we only left, didn't re-enter. They are pretty insistent you have a place booked when you arrive so have the address handy

I'd certainly go to Chaing Rai over Pai if that's you're thinking.

You've a good plan overall, not too long in each but not too little. If you have or can get a loan of a GoPro...do!

enjoy your trip

bluepants

In koh phangan if you made it to a full moon party (on the beach) or a half moon party (in the jungle) it would be an experience.
Koh tao is good for scuba diving.
In phi phi we got a boat out to the little island where they made 'the beach' and swam around doing a bit of snorkelling. Also camped there for a night another time.
Never made it to phuket.
Chiang mai we went white water rafting which was brilliant, a little scary at times but brilliant!
Bankok we never ventured far from the kosan road, didn't ever spend much time there.
Enjoy the people and the food.
It's been a while since I've been back, very jealous!

gosull

Had a quick look at Malacca there and it looks amazing, might try go up for a day trip! We have our accommodation in Singapore all booked so providing an address will be fine.

Bought a gopro hero 5 black over Christmas specifically for this trip so I should get plenty of use out of it. Any ideas on what good attachments are to get for it? The GoPro branded ones are ridiculously expensive. Thank you so much for all your advice brownbinman!

@bluepants: Yeah we're going to the full moon party, excited is an understatement. We'll more than likely do the scuba diving as we've heard Ko Tao is the place to do it. I myself am dying to do white water rafting, not sure about herself though! Looking forward to the food part

Thanks for the help!

brownbinman

Phuket is a bit of an experience, especially Bangla Road in Patong Beach. We stayed in Phuket for about 3 nights. The main thing that annoyed me there was they literally ran down the road after us with menus to try get us to go in

There's a good reggae bar on the canal in Malacca, at evening it's nice to just sit and have few drinks. If you're going that far, stay for a night or two. some really great coffee there too. Singapore is very expensive city, so if you have 9-10 nights it'll be costly. The bus there cost us S$50 (€34) for two, drops you in bus depot on outskirts of town. Jump on local bus to drop you into town itself

meant to say about GoPro accessories, don't cheap on them. When I did and they came into sea water and the salt they didn't last long

PM me if you need details on hotels or what not, think I have them somewhere, can dig them out

gosull

Have all our accommodation in Singapore booked so I doubt we'd stay a night in Malacca as we spent A LOT on hotels in Singapore. Will definitely check it out though!

Yeah I was a bit wary of getting the cheap gopro accessory kits that amazon have just in case they're crap. Might just pick up one of the sticks so i can walk around with it easily and the box to bring it underwater.