Trip Planning Singapore/Cambodia/Vietnam/Beijing/Japan

[Mananetwork]

I'd like to start off by saying that I love getting up and making the most of my day. If you think it's better to stay longer to enjoy my time, well I enjoy time moving from place to place, so no time to relax and smell the flowers. I'm more of a go go go when traveling!
I don't like to stick around to long, I just want to visit, take some pictures, enjoy the food and move on.

My trip is in it's working stage right now, but here's what I got.

Fly to Singapore
Fly to Phon phen, Canbodia
Bus to Siem Reap, Canbodia
Fly to Hanoi, Vietnam
Bus to Halong Bay, Vietnam
Bus back to Hanoi, Vietnam
Train to Hong Kong for New Years
Make my way out to Shenzhen Airport to fly to Beijing
From Beijing fly to Tokyo (maybe another airport)
Visit Shit all over Japan
Fly Home

I'm looking for some advice on what are the MUST sees, what to avoid, where to stay, and cheap things to buy

Singapore - Arrive at night, next day zoo, shop and visit (night + one whole day)
Siem Reap - Angkor Wat (two days)
Halong Bay - The bay (Stay the night)
Hong Kong - New Years (Evening arrival, stay two days)
Beijing - Forbidden City, Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, Hutongs, Anything else?
All of Japan - Mount Fuji, Tokyo (how many days?) Hiroshima, Relax a bit more, Haven't researched to much yet

Thanks for the help!
I'll keep this thread updated with a calendar once I get one started!


I'm blogging my entire trip:
www.mananetwork.blogspot.com

[CivicBlues]

hey can i ask how much your flight to singapore cost? is it return or open jaw from Japan?

[Mananetwork]

It's a Two way, Arrive in Singapore and Return flight from Tokyo

It cost me $1,680 after taxes. Yes it's expensive, but that's because I'm leaving on the 21st
Surprisingly Air Canada was the cheapest way to go

[vancitylove]

i wouldn't recommend going to mt fuji in dec/jan. the mountain is closed for climbing. the closest you can get is the 5th station and it's not much of a view from there. you're better off going to hakone and seeing fuji from a distance.

3-4 days in tokyo. 2 days in hakone 3-4 days in kyoto/osaka and 2 days in hiroshima

[SkinnyPupp]

11 days in Japan is enough to fit in Tokyo, Hakone (worth it - you HAVE to go to a hot spring during your trip) and Kyoto. But Hiroshima is pushing it a little.

[Mananetwork]

Originally Posted by vancitylove

i wouldn't recommend going to mt fuji in dec/jan. the mountain is closed for climbing. the closest you can get is the 5th station and it's not much of a view from there. you're better off going to hakone and seeing fuji from a distance.

3-4 days in tokyo. 2 days in hakone 3-4 days in kyoto/osaka and 2 days in hiroshima

I was thinking of taking a helicopter tour over the mountain. Is there any?

[Machi604]

How come you're taking the train to Beijing from Hanoi? that's one LONG ride.. haha

[Mananetwork]

Originally Posted by Machi604

How come you're taking the train to Beijing from Hanoi? that's one LONG ride.. haha

For the most part it's because airline tickets aren't cheap, 400$+ per person.

[SkinnyPupp]

Originally Posted by Mananetwork

For the most part it's because airline tickets aren't cheap, 400$+ per person.

Do you realize how long that train ride is going to be? And for what, 4 days in Beijing? There are some amazing places to visit in China, and Beijing isn't the best. If you're going to do China at all, I would suggest somewhere in the southern region if you want to stay on ground. Then you can make your way from Vietnam to Hong Kong, and fly to Japan from there (NWA has the best prices there).

[Mananetwork]

Originally Posted by SkinnyPupp

Do you realize how long that train ride is going to be? And for what, 4 days in Beijing? There are some amazing places to visit in China, and Beijing isn't the best. If you're going to do China at all, I would suggest somewhere in the southern region if you want to stay on ground. Then you can make your way from Vietnam to Hong Kong, and fly to Japan from there (NWA has the best prices there).

I've never been on a train before, silly I know. I'll do some more research on it, thanks for advice.

In terms of Beijing's Attractions, I've wanted to see the Great Wall for a long time! A little out of the way, but something I have to see

[SkinnyPupp]

Originally Posted by Mananetwork

I've never been on a train before, silly I know. I'll do some more research on it, thanks for advice.

In terms of Beijing's Attractions, I've wanted to see the Great Wall for a long time! A little out of the way, but something I have to see

The Great Wall is certainly something to see, but that is taking a huge departure from the rest of the trip just to see one thing. And that would be the case even if you were flying there, let alone a train ride! Especially since you haven't been on a train before, going on one through rural China... man that's not fun. You can ask my sister, she and her husband went all over the world for over a year, and they spent a lot of time on trains in Thailand, China, etc. The way she describes it, it sure doesn't sound very pleasant.

If money is even a little bit of a concern, think about shortening the trip, cutting Japan off it - that is going to add a LOT, traveling to Japan is not cheap, and once you get there the other costs skyrocket. Trains are expensive as hell, not to mention accommodation and of course food. Take those 11 days and work your way through China, or even see if you can visit Tibet or something. Do a Japan trip some other time perhaps.

[RouRK]

HCMC:
tunnels of CU CHI
war remnance museum
floating market on the Mekong?
Phu quoc ?

[scottsman]

I would suggest Nha Trang for New years. Unless you know people in Hanoi. Otherwise the city can shut pretty early. The best spots in Hanoi for after hours are down the side streets in hard to find locations. After hours being 12-1am.

The old quarter area is nice to walk around. Always fun to bargain with people selling things. Few nice lakes in Hanoi to check out. but if the rainy season keeps up I would stay away from Hanoi, there is really bad flooding right now.

HCMC has convenient bus schedules to Phan Thiet and Mui Ne. Night life and dining in HCMC pretty decent. the expat area definatly goes to the early morning. Can find some viet clubs that will go late as well.

Suggest for dinner: Park Hyatt(two restaurants), On the 6.
Plenty of night spots, 17 saloon, lush, cage bar, apocolypse, sheraton Roof top, Q bar, etc. The in flight mag on Vietname Airlines lists a bunch of places.

Da Nang is also a nice spot to stop by if your interested in visiting Hue and Hoi an

[SlySi]

I was there in Beijing September...
Took me 2 days to do the following. And I was quite rushed

Both started at 9am. Ended around 5-6pm

Day 1
Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven

Day 2
Start at 8am
Great Wall, Tian'anmen Sqaure, Forbidden City

If I had to only chose 1...
I would say Forbidden City is a must.
Simply amazing....

And dont forget to eat Peking Duck!
Ask for the most expensive restaraunt. Costs about 120RMB
The place has 6 floors... Basicly the biggest and most expensive Peking Duck restaurant.

[Mananetwork]

Just updated the schedule

-Looks like I'm going to cut HCMC and fly straight from Siem Reap to Hanoi (Save a day but pay 100$ for it)
-I'm also making a stop in Hong Kong for New years because a flight out from Shenzhen Airport to Beijing is only 20-25$

[Mananetwork]

Originally Posted by SlySi

I was there in Beijing September...
Took me 2 days to do the following. And I was quite rushed

Both started at 9am. Ended around 5-6pm

Day 1
Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven

Day 2
Start at 8am
Great Wall, Tian'anmen Sqaure, Forbidden City

If I had to only chose 1...
I would say Forbidden City is a must.
Simply amazing....

And dont forget to eat Peking Duck!
Ask for the most expensive restaraunt. Costs about 120RMB
The place has 6 floors... Basicly the biggest and most expensive Peking Duck restaurant.

- You did Great wall/Square/Forbidden all in one day? Wow
- How did you get to the great wall? Please tell me more about it, I haven't researched it yet
- Is Summer Palace worth it?
- Temple of Heaven any good?

Day1 - I was going to fit Forbidden City/Square all in one day because I like to take photos.

Day2 - Great wall (maybe add Hutongs)

Day3 - Summer Palace, (is it worth going to Temple of Heaven?), Shop and Eat ( Check out the Peking Duck resturant - links?)

[SlySi]

Originally Posted by Mananetwork

- You did Great wall/Square/Forbidden all in one day? Wow
- How did you get to the great wall? Please tell me more about it, I haven't researched it yet
- Is Summer Palace worth it?
- Temple of Heaven any good?

Day1 - I was going to fit Forbidden City/Square all in one day because I like to take photos.

Day2 - Great wall (maybe add Hutongs)

Day3 - Summer Palace, (is it worth going to Temple of Heaven?), Shop and Eat ( Check out the Peking Duck resturant - links?)

Yes.. I did all those in 1 day trips.
I was only in Beijing for 4 days.
So I hired a driver and I had him boot me around for 2 days.
I paid a premium. But he picked me up. Dropped me off. And took me to all the sites I needed to see. I think I paid 1000RMB a day for his driving and tour around China. Which is about right since taking cabs will be fairly expensive, depending on where you go. Most cab drivers wont drive you out to the Great Wall anyways because of the distance.
Plus, I wanted an english speaking driver.
If you want his contact info, let me know.

I dont have the name of the restaurant in front of me. Its at home. But Im sure I can find it.

Its up to you how you want to visit these places. Great wall can be done in about 2-4 hours or more. Depending on how much stair climbing youd like to do. Getting there by cab can take a bit of time. Its quite the drive.

I think I passed on Temple of Heaven. I didnt have time.
Its easy to spend a whole day at Forbidden city. The sheer size of the city was breathtaking.
Tian'anmen Sqaure is only interesting to me when I was standing there and to think what happened in 1989. Other than that...nothing special.

Make sure you visit the Birds Nest. Its one of the most amazing buildings I have ever set my eyes on. Especially at night. The sheer size of this stadium will blow you away.

Summer Palace is quite intersting too. Especially when you learn the story behind Summer Palace.


Where will you be staying?

[Mananetwork]

Originally Posted by SlySi

If you want his contact info, let me know.

I would like that, thank you!

Originally Posted by SlySi

I dont have the name of the restaurant in front of me. Its at home. But Im sure I can find it.

Its up to you how you want to visit these places. Great wall can be done in about 2-4 hours or more. Depending on how much stair climbing youd like to do. Getting there by cab can take a bit of time. Its quite the drive.

Maybe I'll fit something in with the Great Wall like the Hutongs or Birds nest.

Originally Posted by SlySi

I think I passed on Temple of Heaven. I didnt have time.
Its easy to spend a whole day at Forbidden city. The sheer size of the city was breathtaking.
Tian'anmen Sqaure is only interesting to me when I was standing there and to think what happened in 1989. Other than that...nothing special.

Make sure you visit the Birds Nest. Its one of the most amazing buildings I have ever set my eyes on. Especially at night. The sheer size of this stadium will blow you away.

Summer Palace is quite intersting too. Especially when you learn the story behind Summer Palace.

I'll look into the Summer Palace a bit more. Forbidden and T'Square can be done in a day

Originally Posted by SlySi

Where will you be staying?

Haven't looked into accommodations yet. Any inquirers?

[CivicBlues]

Hey mananetwork, not to nitpick but I think you pulled a Sarah Palin: Singapore/Cambodia/Vietname/Asia/Japan all the countries you listed are located in the continent of Asia

I was in Beijing for 2 weeks last year before all the Olympic hoopla.. i found alot of lesser known sights to be pretty cool and alot less crowded. You'll feel like you're at a human cattle farm at some parts of the Great Wall (Badaling site). I went to the Mutianyu site as well which I found much more surreal and cool. Simatai is even more rugged and remote if you're looking for a more authentic experience.

Definately see the Temple of Heaven. If not for the temple itself, go early morning and see old Chinese men and women practicing tai chi, water calligraphy, and other martial arts. The early morning mist makes the whole park very surreal looking.

The "lesser known" sites I think you should see if you're in the area (in brackets):

Dongyue Temple (near forbidden city): Has lifesized dioramas of Chinese versions of "hell" which i found pretty cool

Ming City Wall (near forbidden city): Yes, another wall, but within Beijing City limits. Now surrounded by a very nice park and you'll have the place to yourself

Beihai Park(near the forbidden city): The Lake and pagoda is nice to paddle around in a pedal boat

Houhai District (forbidden city): for Beijing Nightlife - which is a bit different from the clubs and bar
scene we're used to in more westernized cities.

The Old Summer Palace aka. YuanMingYuan (cab it from the summer palace)- Ruins of a European-style Emperor's Palace burnt down by Europeans (oh the irony) during the Boxer Rebellion. Quiet place to walk around and chill out. Alot less touristy than the Summer Palace

Millitary Museum (take the subway to "Millitary Museum" stop duh)- If you're into Communist Kitsch, huge Mao statues and old Soviet, US, and even Canadian millitary vehicles. Then you got to check it out...one of the few places left in Beijing that still proudly displays it's Communist past.

Snack Street (near Wangfujing Street- the main shopping area): IF you feel like eating Scorpions, Starfish, Sea Horses and various other creepy crawlies on a stick, or just want to be photographed with them. Don't worry, the have less exotic food there like lamb kebobs and fruit.

[Mananetwork]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

Hey mananetwork, not to nitpick but I think you pulled a Sarah Palin: Singapore/Cambodia/Vietname/Asia/Japan all the countries you listed are located in the continent of Asia

I know! I couldn't fix the title after I posted!

Thanks for getting more in depth with Beijing, i'll look into those places

[CivicBlues]

Now for Tokyo, I spent all of 4 days on the way to China. I'm sure there's more in depth knowledge here but basically there aren't too many "sights" to see other than a few temples and the Imperial Palace. It's more for seeing different neighbourhoods that each have a different feel.

Asakusa - "Old Tokyo" where I stayed, there's a huge temple there and a traditional shopping street. Quiet and very much unlike the tokyo of popular imagination.

Shinjuku - The business district. Make sure you go up the tokyo metro gov't building for a free view of the city.

Shibuya, Ginza, Harajuku - shopping, shopping, shopping and chicks galore. I'm sure you'll like "Shibuya 109" mall the most even if you hate the first 3 things on that list

Roppongi - The foreigner clubbing district...i found it "meh". Ask locals where they go.

Oh and wake up early (4am) to see the Tsukiji fish market and have a sushi breakfast.

Oh i also took a day trip to Kamakura which is a small town about an hour train ride from Tokyo. Lots of ancient temples and a traditional Japanese feel. Another 1/2 hour away by old-timey train is the seaside town of Enoshima, which I found almost deviod of Western tourists, but full of Japanese tourists - kinda like a Japanese "Seaside, Oregon". Some very nice scenery there too.

[CivicBlues]

As for Singapore, I haven't been since I was a teenager visiting relatives. But from what I remember there's Sentosa Island which is sorta an amusement park/historical fort. Other than that, it's also a 'hood city. There's a Chinatown, Little India, Arabtown, etc. The rest of the city is very modern and Westernized. Shopping - Orchard Road I found wasn't too great cause the dollar is almost at par with ours. But you what you MUST do there is eat, eat, eat Malay, Indian, Chinese, Western food. All of it dirt cheap (espeicailly the hawker stores) and 10x better than what passes for "Malaysian" food here in Vancouver.

I hear nightlife is pretty nuts there if you're a foreigner, lots of SPG (sarong party girls) trying to hook up with you, etc, etc.

p.s. if you're going to Cambodia just to see Angkor Wat, I think you can fly direct Singapore-Siem Reap on Jetstar, a budget airline.

[Mananetwork]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

p.s. if you're going to Cambodia just to see Angkor Wat, I think you can fly direct Singapore-Siem Reap on Jetstar, a budget airline.

There was, but it was $200 without tax compared to the $25 without tax to Phnom Phen

[SlySi]

Mananetwork,

When are you doing this trip?

[Mananetwork]

Originally Posted by SlySi

Mananetwork,

When are you doing this trip?

Leaving Dec21st