Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Not Angry]

I am planning a trip in December from Singapore to Bangkok and was wondering if anyone could tell me how long the trip overland takes from Singapore to Bangkok and how much it would likely cost. I plan on exploring it more thoroughly on the return trip to Singapore but want to move fairly quickly on the way to Bangkok. Plus anyone who has travelled around SE Asia(Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam) for about 2 months how much money did you take along. I tend to travel pretty cheap but I would appreciate any advice anyone has. Thanks for you help.

[The Lemon]

This depends on your mode of transport - I like trains, though buses are cheaper. BKK-SIN can be done for $100 or less on a train, though you'll have to change trains mid-way near the Thai-Malaysian border (Penang/Georgetown usually). That price also (if I recall... costed it out before I went in January) includes the sleeping car, so that'd be another discount if you wanted to go without.

Decent accoms can be found in all places on the route for less than $20/night, with the exception of Singapore, which is closer to $40 for the cheapest decent place. Knock the $20 down to $10 or less if you want to redefine your opinion of "decent".

I would have suggested going up the east coast of Malaysia (as opposed to the more popular western route), and through the "Jungle line" and Kota Bharu, but December/January's the peak of the monsoon season and most worthwhile places (Perhentian Islands) close up.

Sounds like a great trip. I've done similar ones twice, but never with the amount of time you've got to play with. I'm jealous.

Have a great time..

[camel96]

It's the peak season in Thailand also so the south will be packed with overweight sunburned Europeans. It also means many of the prices in the beach resorts like Krabi and Phuket will skyrocket.
Yeah $100 by train to BKK sounds about right. Check www.ktmb.com.my
That should have all the info in English you need.
The train between Singapore and Bangkok will take you 2 full days.
Everything in Singapore is about twice the price of everything in Johor Bharu just over the Malaysian border including transport so you'll find you save a lot of money to catch the bus over the border and then organise your onward transport in Malaysia.
If you want to do the trip quickly one way and slowly the other you may want to consider flying Singapore to Bangkok. Flights out of Singapore are suprisingly cheap. Singapore-Bangkok one way will cost about $80 on Bangladesh Airlines, Aeroflot, Indian Airlines or Finn Air. Check www.misatravel.com or Airpower travel (Mazlina) [email protected]. Both are in Singapore and are very honest and reliable.
Lunch is ready so I'll try and write more about the other stuff later.

[camel96]

Rock bottom costs for Cambodia and Vietnam will be around $15US a day. $20-25 a day you can live like a relative king. Laos is cheaper - maybe $10 a day on a budget.
One more suggestion in regard to getting between Singapore and Bangkok is don't take the toursit bus. The travel agents that run it (especially their offices in Southern Thailand) have been scamming people for decades. You'll get to some tin pot little dump like Surat Thani suddenly additional charges appear. If you want to go by bus take the local bus. They're a little more expensive but they're fast, comfortable and a million times more interesting than being crammed in with a pile of diarrhea (sp?) racked foreigners on their way to Koh Phan Gan to get stoned.
And Lemon is right avoid the east coast of Malaysia until maybe Feb/March. It will rain constantly.

[Not Angry]

Thanks for the advice lemon and camel. It's still 4 months away but I am getting pretty excited just thinking about it. Gets me through those not so fun days. Thanks again.

[camel96]

Feel free to PM if you want any more advice.
I'd like to do some more exploring in the far south of Thailand. Along the Malaysian border. I think the area is called Narrithwat. Last time I was there though there some mafia type group had taken a disliking to the Thai cops and were setting off bombs all over the province so I gave it a miss. That area looks really great and there's no tourists but it could also be rain affected at that time like the east of Malaysia.
You'll have a great time.

[pucheon]

I've done the Singapore-> Bangkok trip before!!!

here's how I did it. Singapore->Perentian Islands->Bangkok

The biggest cost is gonna be the cost of the bus from Singapore/KL into Thailand. This is cause you're still paying the higher Malaysian/Singaporian prices so you're looking at somewhere between 20 CAD to 30 dollars. When you cross the border into Thailand, you can hop onto a train and take that train straight into Bangkok for about 20 bucks CAD for the airconditioned sleeper cab.

My girlfriend and I did that it it was wicked! There's nothing like going overland between countries!

Oh yeah, Cambodia and Laos are only super cheap if you stay out of the main cities. Siem Riep Cambodia, due to the whole "Ankor Wat" thing, it's gonna be hard to find super cheap places to stay. You should do that whole, Bangkok->Siem Riep deal they have at Khaosan road though. I went on this last year and it was the craziest ride of my life. Bangkok to the Cambodian border was fine.. air con bus.. whatever, then we had to walk about 2 KM through the mud and rain to get to the pickup truck which was replacing the mini-bus that has conveniently broken down... no joking you, there was me, 12 other people, tons of luggage, and a motorbike all in the bed of the truck. Thank go it stopped raining though.. the entire ride was only like 150 baht though so it was increadibly cheap. Also, don't fall for those on Khaosan road who would charge you 400~800 for the same ride telling you they're better. They're not. When I talked to other people on the same ride, they quoted between 100-400 baht and they were on the SAME bus!!!

Anyways, better get back to work. good luck!

[camel96]

Good advice Pucheon,
But definitely skip the Perhentian Islands then. Actually I don't think you even have any say in the matter. I think the boats are no shows at that time of year.
Also personally I wouldn't be doing those KS Rd bus combos into Cambodia. Cambodia is still the wild west and the western part of the country is one of the worst areas. You've gotta figure that those pick ups loaded with stinky backpackers laden with big fat money belts are a juicy target. One of them will get nailed one day. I guarantee it. Just do it on your own. It's easy and you'll save money and it's far more interesting than hanging out with a bunch of whiteys talking about how much pot they can smoke. I'm sure some people would disagree though...