BootsnAll Travel Community

hi everyone
i have the green light to go ahead with my trip

currently it looks like:
dc -> march - 4-5 days in paris
gulf air flight through dubai and bahrain to new delhi- 3-4 weeks
flight to singapore - 4-5 days
then flight to sydney for 2.5 months (will book a sidetrip to nz and perhaps fiji) -> us (2100 USD total)

some questions i have
1) how is gulf air? as i have never taken them before i was curious as to the service/quality
2) is 4-5 days in singapore enough? i have a friend there who will show me around but if there is alot to see i may extend my trip by another week...
2)a) i also have the option of going to bangkok instead of singapore for an addtl 300 bucks, i was thinkin about doing some kinda of trip down to singapore from bangkok but i am not sure if that is cost effective for me

any thoughts?

maybe do a bangkok - kuala lampur- singapore trip?

You can do th etrain all the wauy from BKK to Singapore going down through Malaysia. You can pick how much you want to see in between of course.

As for Singapore, having had achat with the tourist board guys I think a week is plenty of time to see the sights, relax and enjoy.

4-5 days in Singapore is probably cool.

I spent 3.5 days there and didn't feel like I was really missing out on anything when I left. That said, you'll have jet lag to deal with, which I didn't when I arrived (coming from Perth, Australia.)

If I had an extra week to add to the trip I'd definitely choose to take the train from Bangkok to Singapore. A few days in BKK, a couple days in KL, a day or two in the Penang area (you have to change trains there) and one or two more in some random, interesting spots along the way.

Hey spacemanspiff,

I say this "revolutionary" idea semi regularly on this forum: unless you are planning on working there, skip Australia. I do not mean to offend the good people of Oz. They are great and Australia is a wonderful place. It is probably an amazing country to live in. However, you would get tons more for your money elsewhere. There are lots of third world countries where you can see extraordinary things for very little money, without the figuratively sterilized first world display, but without the big hardship that say "the travel chanel" would like you to believe it is. Many of these are less likely to stay around- for example within a decade or two there will be no wild orangutans left. Australia is unlikely to destroy the environment and you can go back later as an old person, drive it in comfort the same as today. Some of the now still visible 3rd world wonders will be gone soon. The only 3rd world destination that you mention is India. INdia is great, but it is one of the hardest destinations, regardless that many there speak English and on account of the large number of domestic tourists there is a pretty good tourism set up. Please think more SE asia, South america or africa.

have a great trip!
Charlie

well the reasons i am going to australia/india is i have friends/ family there that i am going to see

so those are my 2 must destinations

next trip South america , japan, africa!

i am also thinking of maybe just going to kuala lampur and skipping bangkok since i have been there before and dont want to take that 24 hr train from bangkok

i would like to do some scuba diving and see that island where the beach was filmed and stuff


is there good scuba diving in kuala lampur or would i have to head back towards phucket? or in singapore (btw im already certified!)

We didn't try to dive around KL, only at Phuket, at the Similans and in the Singapore aquarium .

Our favorite was Similan.

now my decision is between 2 things and my iternary is set
spending 2 weeks going from bangkok - singapore
-ive been to bangkok before and seen most of the sites there, went to patthaya once but was only on the beach for a few hours

or:
goto KL and Singapore for about a week , then spend the next week mucking about in australia

hmmmm

KL is the main city - good for clubs and food. If you want yo go Scuba diving, i suggest stopping off in Penang to go towards langkawi or to the east coast off kota bharu - towards perhentian island. Try the malaysian tourism website or try the PADI website to look at diving sites in M'sia. Try this website http://secure.server.name/langkawicoral/home.html

Otherwise look up the PADI website.

its booked!!!!!!!!!!!!

DC to Paris (3 days) - India ( 3 weeks) - to bangkok - (2 weeks) to singapore - to darwin - (4-5 days)- to sydney ( 1 month) to New Zealand (1 month) to dc

still gotta book singapore to darwin to sydney flight (200 usd)
and sydney to nz flight

but the other flights come out to about 1700 total (thanks STA)

sickness!