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1 hour ago, R1shabh said:

How does this itinerary sounds? What's the best way to book a flight right now? Google/MMT? - Check Skyscanner

 

Singapore:

 

Day # 1 (After checking at 14:00)

Evening:

River Wonders + Night Safari Combo - River Wonders will take around a couple of hours at least, specially if you are stopping to take pics etc. Night Safari starts at 6 (or 7) - check their sites. Also ensure you pre-book your visiting slot for Singapore Zoo + River + Night Safari since entry is limited due to COVID.

 

Day # 2 

Morning:

Singapore Zoo (Include Tram Ride) - Around 3-4 hours to go through most of the stuff, including some feeding. The polar bear feeding is pretty good. 

Jurong Bird Park - Situated on the other end vs Zoo. Travel of nearly 45 mins I reckon. Good for a couple of hours again. 

 

Evening:

Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands Skypark Evening Tour - With parents and kids, they might be too tired to do this if you are walking through Zoo and Jurong. Anyway, reach Gardens by the Bay by 4 pm. Go through the free gardens and see their really awesome sculpture. Paid visit to Flower Garden + Floral Fantasy + Cloud Forest. Will take around 3-4 hours to go through everything. Come back to Supertree Groove + Skywalk for some awesome music and light fest. Really doubt that you can do MBS on the same day unless you really wanna be awake till 11 pm. 

 

Day 3# 

Whole day: Sentosa Island

S.E.A. Aquarium and Universal Studios Singapore With Shared Transfers (non-guided) - Difficult to do justice in 1 day. USS will take 1 day or a good chunk of hours even on express pass. You can do USS + night shows on Day 1, plus everything else in Sentosa + Cable Car on Day 2. 

Cable Car ride and Skyride

 

Day 4#

 

jewelchangiairport - Canopy Bridge/Hedge Maze/Skybridge/Mirror Maze/Manulife Sky Nets Walking - 1 day for Chang is good enough. 

 

OR

 

Shopping - Good stuff at most places. I love Bugis Central/Junction/Street/Mall

 

Leave for KL

 

KL: 

 

Day 5#  

Putrajaya, KL City, Batu Caves & Fireflies Trip (4 in 1 Combo Tour) 

 

Day 6# KL 

Malacca Night Tour with River Cruise Trishaw Ride (Shared)

 

day 7# return 

 

54 minutes ago, R1shabh said:

 

I am but I will be travelling with wife, 8 year old and mother so 1 day should be fine. I will take express pass for myself. 

 

If you dont mind answering few more question - 

  • How did you commute locally? Metro? Buses? Are they easy to get for a non-SGP person? - 1 card works for both bus and metro. However, for bigger families, it makes sense to just get a cab as final pricing will be more or less same. Get a Grab. 
  • Where did you book attractions tickets from? - Official site or Klook
  • Did you take customise tour with MMT/Thomas cook etc or local operators or planned everything yourselves? I am finding much better hotels (and rates) if I do it myself but its a lot of work and planning. - Plan yourself. Much better deals + pacing on your own terms. Stay near Little India if you want Indian food daily, else the whole country is open. 

 

 

 

Answered in quotes above. Expand and check.

Edited by Bird Bird Bird
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1 hour ago, R1shabh said:

 

I am but I will be travelling with wife, 8 year old and mother so 1 day should be fine. I will take express pass for myself. 

 

If you dont mind answering few more question - 

  • How did you commute locally? Metro? Buses? Are they easy to get for a non-SGP person?
  • Where did you book attractions tickets from? 
  • Did you take customise tour with MMT/Thomas cook etc or local operators or planned everything yourselves? I am finding much better hotels (and rates) if I do it myself but its a lot of work and planning. 

 

 

Metro was best. Plus there's a cable car till Sentosa. 

 

Booked via Klook, got some discount as well. 

 

1st time I took a tour and swore to never do that again. Get a customized package, but ask for some day trips as well. So you get freedom plus some itinerary items are taken care of. I've done the same for my upcoming trip to Europe. 

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33 minutes ago, Bird Bird Bird said:

 

Just checked. That's true. Damn, majestic animal. 

Dude. It's been more than year I think :p

 

Indeed majestic! I am fortunate to watch the bear live. It was also huge in size. Didn't know there was feeding option back then. Panda and polar bear were my first time live seeing them. 

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11 minutes ago, dante77 said:

Dude. It's been more than year I think :p

 

Indeed majestic! I am fortunate to watch the bear live. It was also huge in size. Didn't know there was feeding option back then. Panda and polar bear were my first time live seeing them. 

 

I think it died in 2018.

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Apart from above mentioned areas. I would also add Marina Bay Observation deck. It doesn't take much time and gives you a good almost 360 degree view of Singapore/Garden Bay. 

 

Besides, you would be looking at this marvelous building multiple times during your journey, not going to the top, you may miss it lol. No access to infinity pool as that is reserved for guests only. 

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1 hour ago, Shantz said:

What are your tips for things to do or avoid in/around Bangkok for family?

 

Well, many years ago, saw the Ping Pong dance. Don't, just don't. It's kind of gross (also gross exploitation). 

If you eat non veg, street food is really good. Vegetarians will have a tough time since most Thai places consider fish as veg. :mellow:

I primarily survived on pancakes and fruits (which are pretty awesome btw. They have these baby mangoes which can be eaten with skin). 

Floating market is pretty cool (water used be to kinda dirty though), and again, you can get freshly made ramen and other stuff (as long as you eat non veg). 

Forgot most of the trip, but you can bargain a tuk tuk for a city wide tour. 

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11 minutes ago, Bird Bird Bird said:

 

Well, many years ago, saw the Ping Pong dance. Don't, just don't. It's kind of gross (also gross exploitation). 

If you eat non veg, street food is really good. Vegetarians will have a tough time since most Thai places consider fish as veg. :mellow:

I primarily survived on pancakes and fruits (which are pretty awesome btw. They have these baby mangoes which can be eaten with skin). 

Floating market is pretty cool (water used be to kinda dirty though), and again, you can get freshly made ramen and other stuff (as long as you eat non veg). 

Forgot most of the trip, but you can bargain a tuk tuk for a city wide tour. 

Ping pong is just.....never to be seen again.

 

I would say that for family, it will be mainly Zoo, which is quite good. They do have dolphin/elephant/seal shows (can't be reasoned against the captivity of animals),

Then you have Sea Life, Malls, Floating Markets and they also have many regular markets, Chatuchak being the biggest.

Non-vegetarian delight absolutely, street food is great. Indian and veggie food not so much and it's unecessarily expensive. Plenty of fruits though.

You can also go to Dreamworld (amusement park) and do activities like skywalk. Other than that, mainly tours of shrines and Grand palace.

Edited by KunjanPSD
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28 minutes ago, KunjanPSD said:

Ping pong is just.....never to be seen again.

 

I would say that for family, it will be mainly Zoo, which is quite good. They do have dolphin/elephant/seal shows (can't be reasoned against the captivity of animals),

Then you have Sea Life, Malls, Floating Markets and they also have many regular markets, Chatuchak being the biggest.

Non-vegetarian delight absolutely, street food is great. Indian and veggie food not so much and it's unecessarily expensive. Plenty of fruits though.

You can also go to Dreamworld (amusement park) and do activities like skywalk. Other than that, mainly tours of shrines and Grand palace.

 

Also, I've no idea how people eat Mango and Sticky rice. It's gross. 

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5 hours ago, Shantz said:

What are your tips for things to do or avoid in/around Bangkok for family?

Do eat at the Bangkok airport food court. It’s after baggage in one corner and it’s hands down the tastiest food I’ve had in all my trips to Thailand. Yuh-mee ? 

Grab the ice fruit bowl after from the same area. 

 

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1 hour ago, Bhpian Bali said:

Bangkok is yuck. I had gone there with friends and they did all sorts of stuff. I mainly went cuz i like thai food and wanted to buy a led tv. I literally used to sit outside in the cab while they went for whoremongering and pig pong shows. The driver thought that I am gay and even hit on me. Had to sleep on the floor of my 5star room as friends got whores in the suite and I couldn't sleep on the same sheets. 

 

Worst thing is that i didnt like the thai food there and my tv konked off in a month of getting it here. 

 

Even worse thing is I dont even have any dignity as I am sure everyone in my family would think that I have done stuff. Yuck!!

 

 

Edit:- even the massage staff at five star hotels offer happy ending. The whole place is dirty. I would never go there. Go to Bali. Place is much better, cheaper etc. Go by Singapore airlines. They feed you so much you would feel you are a damaad. 

Even the 5* hotels will have girls sitting in the bars, all alone and you will find it very odd. But they are there to offer something.

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1 hour ago, Bhpian Bali said:

Bangkok is yuck. I had gone there with friends and they did all sorts of stuff. I mainly went cuz i like thai food and wanted to buy a led tv. I literally used to sit outside in the cab while they went for whoremongering and pig pong shows. The driver thought that I am gay and even hit on me. Had to sleep on the floor of my 5star room as friends got whores in the suite and I couldn't sleep on the same sheets. 

 

Worst thing is that i didnt like the thai food there and my tv konked off in a month of getting it here. 

 

Even worse thing is I dont even have any dignity as I am sure everyone in my family would think that I have done stuff. Yuck!!

 

 

Edit:- even the massage staff at five star hotels offer happy ending. The whole place is dirty. I would never go there. Go to Bali. Place is much better, cheaper etc. Go by Singapore airlines. They feed you so much you would feel you are a damaad. 

 

This is top quality Reddit material. Post on one of the travel communities and watch the world burn. 

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17 hours ago, Shantz said:

What are your tips for things to do or avoid in/around Bangkok for family?

 

Bangkok itself? It's a city, so you will have to do a city tour. This means malls and shopping. Get a Rabbit Card, add money to it and use the metro to travel around Bangkok. Avoid the Tuk Tuks(They will cheat many times - they are tourist traps) and as far as possible taxis as well (Possibility of cheating + Bangkok has very bad traffic).

 

1) MBK Mall is good for Electronics, video games and consoles and such.

 

2) Try Platinum Mall for all knick-knacks, dresses, souvenirs etc. Weekend Market is there, but Platinum (In Ratchathewi, Bangkok) is better.

 

3) If you like books - go to Paragon Mall in Siam, Bangkok. The store name is Kinokuniya, and you will get a World of Books, many of which you might not even find in India (Or might not even have heard of). The store is so big that you might get lost in there. Just note that Paragon Mall is expensive. Kinokuniya itself is  pretty expensive, and worth it for the rare books. But even otherwise Paragon Mall is where you will find stores displaying/selling Ferrarris, Lamborghinis, Rolls Royce etc. One thing I will recommend in this mall - go to the bottom floor (Food Court) and buy the breads there. They have various flavored bread (Such as Japanese Sakura Flavored Bread etc.) and it's simply amazing.

 

Other than shopping, these are the things you can do in Bangkok -

 

1) Go to the Thai Grand Palace. It's an entire complex of buildings, and is really amazing if you like history and beautiful architecture. It's pretty old (Constructed in 1782) and was the official residence of the King of Siam (Old name for Thailand). It's a combination of Hindu and Buddhist Architecture, and you will most probably like it.

 

2) Go to Wat Pho Temple in Bangkok. It's again a very beautiful Buddhist temple, which has one of the largest Reclining Buddhas.

 

3) You can do cruises in the Chao Phraya River. Generally they serve Thai Dinner in these cruises. I'm not sure if you can get vegetarian food though.

 

4) Make a Day trip to Pattaya (Or if you can stay for 2-3 days there). Pattaya is around 2 hours away from Bangkok by car. If you go there as a day trip - just do Mini Siam Park (Miniature Park Which Contains miniature replicas of most of the World's famous wonders) and either the Tiffany Show or The Alcazar Show (Don't do both - these are Ladyboy Shows that are not erotic, but more of a cultural show). If you can stay for some more days, then you can do stuff like Para-Sailing, Undersea Walk or other Adventure Sports. There is also a Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum in Pattaya that is very highly recommended (You have to book tickets for shows and/or Ripley's before'hand online).

 

As far as food is concerned, you need not worry - even if you are a vegetarian. There are tons of Indian restaurants all over the place, which give excellent veg food if you want (Better than India itself tbqh). If you want Thai food, avoid Street Food (For veg). In the hotel where you stay, make a specific request to make the food a Veg Preparation, and avoid fish and fish oil. You will get really good quality food, including stuff like amazing Pad thai Noodles, Thai Curries, Thai Soups etc. The hotel where I stayed also served stuff like Samosas, Spring Rolls, Veg Sushis etc. on request. If you're really bored, then the evergreen Junk Food of Pizzas are always there (Which you can request Veg).

 

For Non-Veg people of course - the sky is the limit and you can have anything and everything.

 

One thing I would request - avoid any and all animal shows. Most (Rather 99.9% of these) are absolutely unethical, and in many cases the animals are kept badly in captivity, treated badly and many times drugged also. You will get stuff like take pictures with Tigers, play with Tiger Cubs, Big Cat Shows, Elephant Shows, Zoos, Safaris etc. Avoid them. These people should ideally not get business.

Edited by roun90
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Booked tickets for Singapore. Thank you for all the advice. I booked for 6 nights - and full days on either end. Will use the return day to explore Changi - flight is super late at night :) 

 

Can someone explain what the currency exchange, forex cards, and all that jazz works and what I should be doing? 

 

1. Using our cards while we're there, like normally swiping at restaurants etc? 

2. Withdrawing in SGD from ATMs when we're there? 

3. Carrying cash and exchanging it when we get to Singapore? Or do we just carry minimal amount and rely on card? 

4. Additional forex cards or something? 

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