My First Trip Report - Circle Asia (sorta) October 2015

[Gold60]

HI All,

This is my first attempt at a trip report.

I basically did a "circle" or Asia with a view to see where if anywhere I wanted to go back to later on in retirement/later holidays. I’ll break it down into a number of parts to make it a little less boring LOL...



The route was - BNE>SIN>surface>KUL>SIN>HKG>MNL>BKK>SIN>BNE in October/Nov 2015.


My first (recent) Asian experience - Singapore Changi airport. I flew into Changi on SQ 256 - quite a nice flight - except for the smog from the Borneo fires.

The view from near my hotel on OCT:


This one is actually taken from the Sentosa Cable car looking towards where I was apparently staying - I am sure the hotel is over there somewhere.

 

[Gold60]

I stayed at the Peninsular. Excelsior Hotel.

I actually stayed there twice - once on the way over and then at the end of the trip on the way home.

I stayed in the Excelsior part of the hotel on the first leg, and this was the view from the room, but not the room with a view?-




On the return trip i stayed on the other side of the hotel, in the Excelsior part (i hope i have this around the right way LOL) and this was the room i had, with the view:


The room/bed -
Reception/lounge area -

The view room the room - different room, about a month later

 

[Gold60]

To finish off Singapore, the hotel pool from my room, and outside the hotel reception area – as you can see it was a clearer day, a month later.

A room with a view --


on a clearer day you can see forever - or at least as far as the BIG BOAT -







All up I quite enjoyed Singapore –


· I took up a Singapore Holiday package which included all my accommodation, unlimited use of the HOHO bus around town for three days I think, and access to a number of attractions
· I made extensive use of the underground
· I tried to do a lot of round-the-island sight-seeing until I realised that that much of the train system is UNDERGROUND – so you tend to not see all that much except concrete walls – oh the joys of travelling
· I also did an awful lot of walking – mainly to try and find a floppy hat
· my shopping endeavours even bought me into contact with some lovely ladies up on Orchard Road in a building with FOUR floors – I was only looking for a hat, honest !!!

I found the accommodation was quite expensive – unsurprisingly – that was about the only turn off in Singas– otherwise it is a nice place to visit, good for families, compact, clean and safe…

One other thing I found good was that the holiday package gave you a $40 voucher to spend at Changi – part of which I used to see/use the transit lounge – after/once I finally found it – after more walking…..

NEXT - off to KL by bus…………….

 

[kermatu]

Nice. I was in Singapore for a few days in October. Caught a few days of terrible smoke and haze. Then a very violent storm early one morning and the smoke pretty much lifted to reveal sense like yours. Much more pleasant!

 

[Gold60]

shows you can be lucky!!!!!

 

[subichow]

Thanks for sharing! Any thoughts on the plane trips?

 

[love_the_life]

I enjoy Singapore as it is very easy to get around and has great food. Accommodation prices have increased over the time I've been going though unfortunately. The Walking Tours are good fun and quite cheap.

 

[Gold60]

what can i help you with here subichow ??

 

[Gold60]

TO KL

For my trip I flew mainly with Singapore Air, except the flight to MNL form HKG and from MNL to BKK which was on Philippines Air – what a contrast !!!
The other thing I did was get a bus from SIN to KL – an Aeroline “business” class bus – it just has fewer and more comfortable seats than the usual coaches/buses you might catch.




Aside form not having the hassle of airport tangos, the bus was a more leisurely way to go – I left Singas at 13:30 and got to KL about 19:30 give or take.

After a hard day of busing, it was good to wind up in my room, with a view the next day, later that afternoon, like this.

 

[Gold60]

There are many things to do in KL.

I was there in 1982 for a stopover on my way to Europe, and stayed at the Miramar Hotel (as kindly advised by the good folk at the Malaysian HC).

One of the things I wanted to try and do was to recreate a collage of shots I believe took from my hotel room in 1982




I am pretty sure this is a view looking north or north-east over/up towards the Bikit Bintang area?

I asked the hotel manager if I could access one of the front rooms, but he said no, so I had to settle for a street view, which nonetheless does show that things have changed a bit over the years

 

[Gold60]

Moving Right along to Hong Kong ...............

Next stop after KL was HKG - back via SIN and Singa Air. Singapore metal all the way, even though it was booked as an Air India code-share - stomach had a few flutters about this LOL....

A shot of HKG airport if you haven't been there:



The room at the Kimberley Hotel was small, but comfortable and clean - priced at about $160.00 per night.



And Kimberley Road outside the hotel looking east i THINK.





They say that travelling broadens the mind and you see some interesting and exotic sights.

Well this was certainly true.

Got up one morning and looked out the window, i was on the 19th Floor, and saw a sight you don't see every day.



He would have been 18 floors up and tethered to either a water power pipe that services the compressor.

i looked back in a short while later, and he was gone.




I checked on the ground and there were no splatter marks, so i presume he and the owner must have manhandled the unit back inside the unit and taken it away for servicing.

Nothing like rigorous OHS practices being followed.


I quite enjoyed HKG - can't say I'd rush back there, but it was a lot like Singapore (yes it was expensive), but it also seemed fairly clean, orderly and there was/is plenty to see and do.

i did a couple of HOHO Bus tours around Kowloon, Central and over to Repulse Bay and Stanley. The view from Victoria Peak was a bit cloudy the day i was put there, but you saw enough to see what you need to see. I also did a Harbour cruise so got the low down angle as well.

All up Hong Kong is worth a look.

 

[Gold60]

Skipping Manila and Straight onto Bangkok

I decided to skip reporting on Manila. I am glad I went there and had a look, but it really is the pits, so I’ll say no more about it.

Stayed at the President Solitaire in Bangkok. $75.00/night – money well spent in my books.









The only glitch was that there wasn’t one of one of those guest directory books in the room – the one that gives you the run down on what is what in the hotel and the room.

I tried to explain to the front desk and concierge what I was after. They said they understood what I wanted and would send someone up with one ASAP.

This is what turned up:




Don’t think they really got the message after all LOL.


Eventually I asked one of the cleaners who informed me that they don’t have these books in the rooms. Oh well I tried, I failed, I moved on.

 

[Gold60]

I was quite surprised at BKK. I went through there at night about 3 years previously when I was going to Pattaya for a couple of weeks, and so obviously didn’t see much.

So now it was time to have a look around BKK and environs.

I found the Sky train bizo thing pretty easy to sort out – if a little chilly even in the middle of the day and jam packed with a couple of hundred of my closest friends.









After a couple e of days around BKK sampling the various sights and tastes on offer I had a couple of days out at the Bridge on the River Kwai with a side trip to Hellfire pass.






The Bridge bit was a bit too touristy, but worth seeing.

The Pass, on the other hand was quite moving.

 

[Gold60]

 

[love_the_life]

Skipping Manila and Straight onto Bangkok......
Don’t think they really got the message after all LOL.

I remember being in Wuhan in China and it was snowing. I said to the receptionist that it was very cold. He nodded and came back with a box of matches for my cigarettes (I don't smoke). Lost in translation somewhere I would think.

 

[Gold60]

I remember being in Wuhan in China and it was snowing. I said to the receptionist that it was very cold. He nodded and came back with a box of matches for my cigarettes (I don't smoke). Lost in translation somewhere I would think.

i know the feeling LOL