How much time to spend in SEA cities?

I'll be in SEA for four months starting in April and I'm wondering how much time I should be planning for cities, in Europe it was a pretty standard 4-5 days for each major city. However I'm wondering what you would reccomend for SEA cities. Here is a basic list of the major cities I'll be spending time in.

Singapore
Kuala Lumpor
Georgetown
Bangkok
Yangon
Mandalay
Chang Mai
Luang Prabang
Vientiane
Pakse
Siem Reap
Battambang
Penoh Penh
Sinoukville
HCM City
Hue
Hanoi

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi

The only three i can advise on is KL, Georgetown and Bangkok - for KL we spent 3 nights and found it to be enough - tip if you want to go to the Skybridge in the Petronas Towers - be there for 8.30am in the morning to get a time slot as they only have 1500 spaces a day and you wont get one if you arent there by that time. We found KL to be expensive for food and drink, especially alcohol. The Travellers Palm hostel is a good place to stay. Great location for sightseeing and friendly staff.

I loved Georgetown especially after tourist crazy Thailand - for some reason it seemed like we were the only tourists there - crazy. There is quite a bit to go see in Georgetown itself - and also a good base to do day trips out to rest of Penang. Id prob say 3-4 nights again, maybe longer if you use either one as a base to do a trip to the Cameron Highlands. Stay at Huttonlodge - was fantastic place.

As for Bangkok - we stayed only 2 nights because we were on a short trip and desperate to get to the islands - I would have liked to have spent more time there to see other things. One thing I def recommend is to get a longtail boat and cruise round on the river - its a great way to see the diversity of the city.

So for these 3 id prob say go with at least 3 full days in each, more in Bangkok.

Michelle

Hi!

I've visited some of the cities that you have listed. Here are my opinions on each. Of course, you may find you are more or less interested than me once you get there, so use this only as the source of just another opinion. You'll have to decide for yourself once you arrive.

Singapore -- 3-5 days should be enough. After the zoo, and eating (Little India, Pepper Crab, etc), there's not a whole lot more to do besides shopping. Try a boat tour in the harbor or head out to Sentosa Island for some entertainment.

Bangkok -- for me, one week minimum. There's a ton to see in this city. The food is great and there is a lot going on everywhere. If you haven't been to Bangkok before, I'd spend even longer. But, that's just me. I met a lot of people that couldn't get out of Bangkok fast enough.

Yangon -- 3-4 days is plenty. There are some things to see in town: Schwedegon Pagoda, Fish Market, etc. But it is not sightseeing central. It is also not the culinary capitol of the world. It is mostly used as a base before heading out to see the rest of the country. Don't miss Bagan or Inle Lake. They were my favorites.

Mandalay -- 2-3 days is plenty. I actually didn't care much for Mandalay. There are a number of smaller towns close to there that are more interesting. There are some good sites in Mandalay, but Bagan is much more interesting, in my opinion.

Chang Mai -- One of my favorites. I had only planned to spend 2-3 days there, but after I arrived, I ended up staying close to a week. There are tons of things to see there and just outside town. The food is great. And, compared to Bangkok, the prices are lower, the hassle factor is lower, and the weather is milder. It's a real pleasure to spend time in Chiang Mai, especially if you need to relax after roughing it for a while.

Luang Prabang -- This is another town that some people love and others hate. I was in between. There are lots of good sites and plenty of great food. The biggest drawback for me is that it was very crowded and touristy. That's not necessarily bad, but compared to the rest of Laos, the people seemed a bit more jaded by the tourists here. None the less, I'd still plan on at least 4-5 days here. You won't run out of things to do.

Vientiane -- I really enjoyed Vientiane. It's not what you'd expect from a capitol city. Very quiet and relaxed. It is not loaded with spectacular sites, but I just really enjoyed the vibe there. Again, 4-5 days seems to be the right balance for a leisurely visit.

Pakse -- there's not much to see or do in Pakse itself. It serves more as a launching point to see the Bolaven Plateau (Tad Fan Waterfall, etc) or for a trip down to Champasak. You could blow through Pakse in 1-2 days. I highly recommend heading down to Champasak, which is only about 30-45 minutes south of here. The Wat Phu Temple is very interesting and was one of the highlights of my visit to Laos. Dong Daeng Island, directly across the river from Champasak was also great for exploring. Almost no tourists head over there, so you get a good look at the traditional lifestyle. There's a boutique hotel over there (for some reason), but other than that no place really to sleep or eat. It's an easy day trip from Champasak.

Siem Reap -- It's been a while since I was there (2001), so things have probably changed. I'd budget a minimum of 3 days for exploring Angkor Wat and maybe a few more days for relaxing and/or visiting some of the remote temples that are off the beaten path. Some people get bored after 1-2 days at the temples. I love that stuff, so I like to stay longer.

Penoh Penh -- You'll either love it or hate it. You can easily cover the sites in 2-3 days. The S-21 Prison and Killing Fields are the most important sites to see (again, in my opinion). There are a few more points of interest, but for the most part, Phnom Penh is more about experiencing the pace of life there. This is where you will love or hate the place. The chaos factor is off the scale. It is like Bangkok times 3. Some people love that. Having just come from relatively laid back Laos, I found the hassle to be more than I cared for. If you are coming from Vietnam, you might find Phnom Penh relaxing

One last word of advice -- four months will go faster than you think. I strongly recommend you narrow your itinerary to 4 or 5 countries maximum. I crammed 5 countries into 3 months. If I had to do it again, I would have cut that down to only 3 countries and maximized my time in each. You could easily spend 1-2 months in each of the countries you listed (except Singapore) and still not see everything.

Have a great trip!

Pelke

My two cents based on the ones I've been to-

Bangkok- I probably spent about a week here total as it's the city of the region, so my itinerary had me looping back two or three times depending how you count it. I spent my time there recharging my batteries by buying stuff I needed (if you want to have an unusual afternoon, try buying a sweater in Thailand! had no choice as I was heading to Europe next) and eating good food and having a fun time at night. The food thing is particularly noteworthy as it was the only place in SE Asia where they had cheese.

Chang Mai- Nice place for sure but somehow it didn't click for me- I think it's because for whatever reason I hardly met anyone, which is really odd in hindsight. So I did three nights.

Luang Prabang- Not really a city, but definitely a great spot. I confess my favorite thing though were the waterfall pools which is a daytrip from the city.

obligatory comment: based on size, if Luang Prabang counts as a city in Laos than so does Vang Vieng. Touristy as hell but between that and the spectacular scenery around (ie caves and mountain biking and kayaking and all that) I coulda easily spent a week here.

Vientiae- Only did a night here as I had to catch a flight the next day, but a nice enough spot. Not to sound like I was starving or unappreciative of Asian food while there but they have awesome French restaurants here as good as any you'd get in Europe, and when I got my giant chocolate cake for desert I nearly cried.

Siem Reap- Was certainly happy I got the three day pass for Angkor Wat! Definitely a great spot though the cynic in me will be expecting a McDonalds next time I visit.

Bangkok - I would give yourself a week in Bangkok. It's a massive city and you can easily occupy yourself for 7 days here.

Chang Mai - 3-4 days is good here. You can check out the city center, the market, and the tiger temple.

Luang Prabang - 3-4 days is good for Luang Prabang. You could cut it shorter if you were strapped for time. There are lots of wats to see, and you can take a boat trip to the Pak Ou Caves.

Vientiane - I wasn't a fan of Vientiane at all. If I went to SE Asia again, I'd cut out the city altogether.

Siem Reap - Depends on if you get the 1-day or 3-day Angkor pass. You could also spend a day outside of Angkor wandering around town, going to the markets, seeing some other sites as well.

Phnom Penh - 3-4 days is good for Phnom Penh. I would recommend the S-21 school and killing fields.

Sihanoukville - 3-4 days is good for Sihanoukville. It's the most relaxing of all these cities.

HCM City - I would stay at least a week in Saigon. You can take a side trip to the Mekong Delta while you're here.

Hue - 3 days is enough for Hue.

Well, I haven't been to ALL the places mentioned on your list, but when I travelled I went with the following and found them to be a good length of time. It depends how much time you have in total though, I would recommend the following as minimum stay lengths:

Singapore - 3 nights
I don't think you really need much more than this. Once you've done Orchard Road, the Zoo and the Night Safari there's not a great deal more to see.

Kuala Lumpor - 2 nights
I really wasn't a big fan of KL!

Bangkok - 4 nights
Though you'd probably still find plenty to do if you stayed longer!

Chang Mai - 3 nights
But this depends if you're getting the sleeper train there and back and if you're planning to do a trek. If you want to do a trek you'll want at least 1 night either side. Maybe 2 nights once you get back so you can recuperate!

Luang Prabang - 4 nights
I had 3 nights here, but wish I'd stayed just that little bit longer! I really fell in love with Luang Prabang!

Vientiane - 2 nights
Again, I wasn't a big fan of Vientiane. If it hadn't been for a festival going on while I was there I think I might have run out of things to see.

Siem Reap - 3 nights
This should be the minimum though! Siem Reap has a great atmosphere and you'll want at least 1 full day to visit the Angkor Temples.

Penoh Penh - 3 nights
Again, great atmosphere and there's lots to see and do.

HCM City - 3 nights
I think 3 nights max. Wasn't a massive fan of HCMC, but it's the worth it for the Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta trips you can do from here.

Hue - 2 nights
If you're arriving in the morning 2 nights is plenty. You can see most of the main sites in that full day.

Hanoi - 4 nights
Loved Hanoi! So I would say 4 nights minimum if you've got enough time. There are tones of trips that you can do from here - Halong Bay, Sapa, Mai Chau to mention just a few and the city itself is just great!

Thank you so much for all the wonderful responses, your input really helped me put my itinerary together. I posted it in another thread if you would like to make any additional comments.

comments-on-my-full-sea-itinerary-t44141.html

-Matt