Questions and Answers

Hello Lucky/OMAT,

I follow your blog and reviews daily. Thanks so much for all of your detailed insight. I am in the luxury travel business myself being a branded luxury hotel owner and consultant and like to travel internationally from the United States to the most luxurious and beautiful resorts around the world.

On our trip out to the Maldives (taking the Searex yacht for a week and then Kudadoo Resort for 4 nights) we have a 4 nights to kill connecting through Singapore. We love Singapore and have 3 nights back on the return which will just stay in Singapore but on the way out we want to jump off to somewhere reasonably close. We have looked at Bintan (ferry ride), Phuket (1.5 hour flight), Bangkok, Langkawi but I would love to get your thoughts on a great experience in that region.

Wondering about the city and the specific property you would recommend. It would be even better if it were Marriott branded but not necessary.

Thanks,
Mr Reilly007

Kuala Lumpur? Ho Chi Minh City? Phnom Penh? Siem Real? All reasonably close

hello Mr Reilly007,

Man, I love Singapore! My profile picture is one of the orangutans from their Zoo. Ok, let’s go back to your question. If you haven’t been to that area, then Bangkok is a good place to start, very metropolitan, safe, but still has the SE Asia feel. If you want to go a smaller, and maybe more intricate experience of SEA, I would recommend you consider Hanoi and Ha long bay. It’s a 3.5-hour flight from Singapore, and you could do a 1-2 night cruise through the emerald waters surrounding its famous karst formations in Ha Long Bay (one of the most beautiful places I’ve been). Hanoi also has a JW Marriott (but you can check out the Metropole Hanoi – I think Sofitel owns it now – a very historic hotel that offers tours daily to see the bunker and other interesting sites within the hotel).

My wife was not happy with Cambodia, and to be completely honest, I would advocate for plenty of other places in the region before going there (Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, etc.)

Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip.

Pepito