Suggestions for traveling cheaply, and (mostly) comfortably *within* Asia?

February 25, 2009 4:50 PM

Suggestions for traveling cheaply, and (mostly) comfortably *within* Asia?

Hi folks, we are planning a trip to Asia this summer, between end of June and beginning of July. We will be hitting three countries: Singapore, Thailand, and Japan, in that order. We will be going to Chiang Mai in Thailand. Our master plan was to buy tickets from Boston to Singapore and then, at the end, out of Narita back to Boston, and assume we could figure out how to get around cheaply from Singapore to Thailand and then Thailand to Japan. At least, we'd heard of other people doing this and it seemed reasonable, but...is this really feasible and economical? Has anyone done this? Which are the best Asia-regional airlines to get around? For recommending airlines, know that we'd rather pay a bit more (but not a lot more) and get some more service, comfort and security than go with the bottom of the bucket sort of airline (a la no Ryanair analogs, thank you very much...).

posted by dubitable to travel & transportation (14 comments total)

Air Asia is great - I flew around Southeast Asia a bit last year (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand) and their flights were consistently cheap. You might have to endure some early morning/late night flights (the cheapest departure/return flight are usually the first of day - about 6am - and the last of the day), but you can often fly between destinations for under $100 USD.
posted by jourman2 at 5:04 PM on February 25

Also here's a list of discount airlines within southeast Asia.
posted by jourman2 at 5:05 PM on February 25

I was going to suggest the train, but you seem pressed for time. Flights are dirt cheap between Singapore and Bangkok. We're talking like $50 USD. I know you said you didn't want a no frills airline, but we're talking about a short short flight here. You can use the same airline to fly up to Chiang Mai. In order to see a bit of the countryside, I'd suggest taking an overnight train back to Bangkok - 2nd class sleeper. LOWER BIRTHS ONLY - windows don't open up top and the bed is slightly slimmer as well. A/C is incredibly cold, so don't bother. You can book train tickets yourself at Hua Lamphong station in Bangkok or at the station in CM. You could also have a travel agent book your rail tickets for you, but it'll be at a premium. As for your flight to Japan, the best deals can be found at the travel agents on or around Kao San in Banglumpoo. If you let me know what area you intend to stay in, I can point you in the right direction.
posted by gman at 5:07 PM on February 25

Gman is totally correct. Those trains get frigid.
posted by josher71 at 5:21 PM on February 25

As do the movie theatres, shopping centres, and anywhere else they can possibly abuse the luxury. And it's further compounded by the contrast to the hot/humid weather you've just left.
posted by gman at 5:28 PM on February 25

You might also want to have a look at the Cathay Pacific All-Asia Pass. Starting from $1500, you can fly to Hong Kong and up to four other cities in Asia within three weeks. The price goes up in the summer and is more expensive to fly out of Boston, though.
posted by Etaoin Shrdlu at 5:57 PM on February 25

well as for comfort, be prepared for high heat and high humidity
i have never been so hot as Japan in July except Thailand in July
posted by dougiedd at 6:50 PM on February 25

By the third week of July it will be high summer in Japan, and Tokyo, being an island of concrete and steel, is the hottest place in the country.

You'll need to be based in Tokyo as you'll most likely fly in and then out of Narita.

One way to beat the heat (kind of) would be to purchase a JR Rail Pass (prior to entering Japan) and heading north.

Most tourists, if they escape Tokyo, head for Kyoto, which, being inland, is pretty goddamn hot.

Kyoto is okay for tourists (it's really a better place to live as an expat artist or a student), but the number of temples and whatever there can be overwhelming.

Instead, escape the heat (kind of) by heading north to Hiraizumi in Iwate. There's a bullet train stop there. It's an interesting little town with at least two neat temples (one of which is soon to be a world heritage site), rafting on a river (good way to cool off in the summer) and a whole bunch of rustic (read: authentic and totally cool) onsen hot springs ringing Kurikoma National Park. Plenty of nice walking and good public transport.

And if it gets stinking hot, at least it's the countryside and not some smoggy city.

If you have time you can head to Kessanuma, the home of the Japanese longline tuna fleet and some good seafood.

Mrs. Kokuryu and I drove to Hiraizumi from Kyoto back in 2001, and it is one of the best trips I have ever taken.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:46 PM on February 25

@Etaoin Shrdlu: yeah, we looked at the All-Asia Pass a little while ago but, like you mentioned,

1) There is a $500 surcharge for the period we want to go,
2) there is another $360 surcharge for leaving from Boston (or else we'd have to get to NYC somehow, and we don't want to deal with that, frankly, I know it's relatively easy, but...),
3) and that only includes Hong Kong plus just "2 basic cities--" we'd have to pay more ($300) per city.

That takes us up to $2360 (+$300 for every new city) per ticket per person, which is really not cost effective when we can get from Boston to Singapore, and out of Japan to Boston, for $1600-1700 round-trip (on JAL, and if we wanted to use AA it's about $200 cheaper). I think this deal used to be better, no? I thought I remembered it being more flexible and cheaper.

@jourman2 and @gman: Thanks for the great tips--I found some cheap fares between Singapore and Thailand already, and the train between Bangkok from Chiang Mai sounds like fun. The only thing that seems up-in-the-air is getting from Bangkok to Japan, but gman, you say that "the best deals can be found at the travel agents on or around Kao San in Banglumpoo?" Do you have a rough idea of what a one-way ticket from Bangkok (or Chiang Mai) to Japan is? Does it vary wildly? We don't know if we'll stay in Bangkok at all this time, so we may just be flying in and out of Chiang Mai...but if you think we can get cheaper tickets by training-it over to Bangkok and then flying from there to Japan, I'll give it a shot.

@KokuRyu: Thanks for the great suggestions. I would love to try and get to some parts of Japan that are not tourist-central. Last time I was there I spent my whole time in Tokyo and that was a blast...I also went to Kamakura, which I think I might try to do again...Kyoto sounds a bit overwhelming, although I'll get there some day. Rafting on a river in the Japanese summer sounds incredible!

@everybody: we know it's going to be hot. If I had my druthers I'd have taken the time in November, which was when I was last in Southeast Asia, and that was just about right. But we have a wedding to go to in Thailand so we don't have much choice, alas...
posted by dubitable at 6:26 AM on February 26

I am 99.9% sure there wouldn't be a direct flight from Chiang Mai to Tokyo (or Osaka). Thus your best bet is to buy a Bangkok to Japan ticket in Banglumpoo (Bangkok). How you get from CM to Bangkok is up to you. The travel agent I've use for years and years (and done business ventures with) is Abas Travel. Dude's name is Bas and he is located in a small shop on Soi Rambutri off of Samsen. Ask anyone on Khao San where Rambutri is. It's a small street and basically a continuation of Khao San. Bas' phone numbers were (and may still be) 02-629-5022 and 07-058-0555 (that's from within Thailand). Drop the first 0 and add the country code if you intend to call from the States.

A one way to Tokyo is probably around $250 USD and double for a return ticket. Feel free to email me with any other questions.
posted by gman at 2:13 PM on February 27

Cebu Pacific, a low-cost carrier based in the Philippines, flies from Bangkok to Manila and from Manila to Osaka.
posted by mdonley at 3:13 PM on March 2

I'm pretty biased but after living here for almost 10 years, I think that Singapore is pretty boring and 3 days would be enough to see everything that is to be seen in this country :D

If you can afford the time, try to take the train from Singapore -> Malaysia -> Thailand, or you could try the opposite direction (Thailand -> Singapore). The whole journey would probably last less than a week, and should be reasonably affordable and scenic. You should be able to get by with just using English throughout the whole route. Check out this page for a lot of helpful hints: http://www.seat61.com/Malaysia.htm

A flight from Singapore to Tokyo should be not more than USD 500. These are the sites that I used to book my flight from Singapore to Tokyo last December 2008:
http://www.zuji.com.sg/
http://www.asiatravel.com/

If you are going to pass by Yokohama, I'd like to put some good words for this place where I stayed during my trip last year: http://yokohama.hostelvillage.com/en/
Good place, helpful staff, and most importantly, really cheap!
posted by joewandy at 9:03 AM on March 3

Also, avoid Cebu Pacific unless you like delays and confusions ^__^
posted by joewandy at 9:04 AM on March 3

A flight from Singapore to Tokyo should be not more than USD 500.

Ooops ... I forgot that this figure is for return ticket (Singapore - Tokyo - Singapore). For one way trip, halve that figure.
posted by joewandy at 9:07 AM on March 3