Travel Suggestions for SEA

[LiquidSky]

Greetings all... this is my first post in the great forum however I've been reading here for months.

Ex-pat American m35 living in London, UK and moving to Singapore in January 2010 for a year. I'm really looking for toward the experience and most of all looking forward to traveling around the region. I have 25 days vacation time and a decent budget for travel... I love photography, outdoor sports, water sports, sailing, and adventures in general. In London I've hooked up with many travel groups for great budget trips around the UK and neighboring countries that happen on weekends or some week long trips. I've met some great people and share great experiences without breaking my bank. I'm hoping to do the same in SEA and I'm hoping people can share some great ideas for trips here or point me in the direction of a similar thread which has already discussed this topic... also if there are any groups you know of that specialize in travel it would be great to learn about them also.

Thanks in advance!!

[econoMIC]

Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the possibilities are endless. It depends on what you want to see or do. Budget airlines of really high quality compared to American or European ones like South West or Ryanair (air asia, tiger airways) fly daily into many great destinations. It is all down to what you want to see or do.

[x9200]

If you ask how to distribute these 25 days I would suggest something like 5-7 days for Cambodia, 5-8 days for mainland Thailand, up to 5 days for a tropical island (Tioman, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Samui, one of the Redang archipelago), 3-5 days for Bali, the rest you should be able to visit during weekends + 1 day trips and national holidays. Flying is reasonably cheap (not only budget), top-end hotels are often also cheap as per offered standard, most of the destinations are safe.
Just get here and start planning.

[LiquidSky]

If you ask how to distribute these 25 days I would suggest something like 5-7 days for Cambodia, 5-8 days for mainland Thailand, up to 5 days for a tropical island (Tioman, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Samui, one of the Redang archipelago), 3-5 days for Bali, the rest you should be able to visit during weekends + 1 day trips and national holidays. Flying is reasonably cheap (not only budget), top-end hotels are often also cheap as per offered standard, most of the destinations are safe.
Just get here and start planning.

I suppose that is more the type of information I'm looking for, so thanks. I can look at a map and pick out places... I'm hoping people will share their (best) experiences and the best value they've had while traveling around SEA. My time is limited.... I'd rather get to the best if I can. I realize life is an individual journey but surely there must be some "must do" experiences for a budget traveler... or some groups that are doing it right.

[Tas Burrfoot]

Greetings all... this is my first post in the great forum however I've been reading here for months.

Ex-pat American m35 living in London, UK and moving to Singapore in January 2010 for a year. I'm really looking for toward the experience and most of all looking forward to traveling around the region. I have 25 days vacation time and a decent budget for travel... I love photography, outdoor sports, water sports, sailing, and adventures in general. In London I've hooked up with many travel groups for great budget trips around the UK and neighboring countries that happen on weekends or some week long trips. I've met some great people and share great experiences without breaking my bank. I'm hoping to do the same in SEA and I'm hoping people can share some great ideas for trips here or point me in the direction of a similar thread which has already discussed this topic... also if there are any groups you know of that specialize in travel it would be great to learn about them also.

Thanks in advance!!

Yes, being assigned in Singapore is a paradise for travel buffs. The diverse network flying in and out of Changi Airport can practically connect to anywhere in Asia...

25 days of annual leave will take you a long way next year, added to the fact that there will be numerous long weekend next year as a result of the local holidays here in Singapore.

Just to share, I use Travel Fish as one of my online reference whenever I travel as well as of course Wikitravel. I also have the Yellow Bible of Lonely Planet (Southeast Asia on a Shoestring), this is very useful book reference if you want to roam around SEA.

Enjoy your trips!!

[LiquidSky]

Thanks Tas.... any favorites you can let me in on?

[Grumpy77]

I use wotif.com to find good accomodation with great value. Has a great search feature and shows location on a map so you can get something exactly where you want to be.

[Superglide]

Nice thread.

My 2 cents:

Cambodia: Angkor Wat. My no. 1. Sheer beauty and the best 5 to 7 day experience in SEA. The temples are worth a week visit.

Bali. Magic it is, despite the tourists. September and october were the best, quiet and plenty of space.

Sipadan, Redang and Perhentian for the best scuba diving. Sipadan is world class, few places, if any, compare to it. If you wanna visit, contact Olaf, a Dutchman, living in Kota Kinabalu, he'll turn your trip into a fantasy come through: www.sabah-borneo.nl

Thailand, Chiang Rai region, jungle trips. awesome.

One of my best other memories: Motorcycle trip through malaysia, together with the notorious member Wild Rover. But......

you'd need a Harley for that....

[LiquidSky]

thanks everybody, some great ideas superglide!!! Will be in touch when I move in January. Hoping to check out some of India and Nepal at some point... incredible year ahead I'm sure!!