Visiting the South East Asia for the first time
 

I've received an invitation from a friend in Singapore.

The plan is to meet her in Singapore and then travel in the region for 7-8 days, end of April.

My current plan, which maybe ambitious, is to fly to Bangkok, spend 2 days there, then go to Angkor Vat for two days there, followed by Ho Chi Min and maybe Hoi An.

Any opinion if this is a good plan for a first time there ? I'd love to see it all but time is short unfortunately.

I'm thinking also of flying with Cathay and spend an extra day in HK on the way back. Do you think the business is worth the extra over the premium eco ?

Georges... That sounds like an Awesome trip; don't forget to see our AA member Jerry while you are there. :ok:

Thank you Ivan, I'm very excited, apart from a quick business trip to Seoul, it's my first time there.

I'd love to meet with Jerry and I'll make sure to contact him when I'm there. You know that I enjoy meeting AA'ers from all over the world.

Georges,

That sounds excellent ! I have been in Cambodia 2 years ago. That was wonderful. Our hotel in Angkor was the Angkor Village Resort. It was beautiful with superb service.
The Premium eco on Cathay worths nothing. Better than the Air France one but I would not pay the extra price over the eco. I saw it because my son was in eco.
The Business is the best I saw. Much better than American Airlines for example. The space is huge and the seats go all over to 180 degrees, transforming into horizontal beds. The First class gets you even more space ( but you really do not use it ) and better food and drinks but I do not care either for drinking a Meurseault in the plane.
The Business Class on Cathay is the sweet spot.

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That may be a bit aggressive if you plan two days at each of these locations and Singapore?

Bangkok to Ankor Wat to Ho Chi Min City to Singapore would be a very full agenda for 7 to 8 days. If you were to prioritize, I would cut out Vietnam and save that as the focus of a future trip. With travel you would still average less than 3 days at each location. I don't know what your interests are but Bangkok could be 3 days, Ankor Wat and surrounding area could be 2.5 days and Singapore could be 3 days...

These days business class is a very large premium to economy and you have to decide if you want to prioritize your money there, but for me, after 50+ roundtrips over the Pacific, I would pay it or do everything possible to use my miles.

Addition -- +1 on Cathay Pacific. One of the world's best.

Highly agreed.
See less Georges, but deeper.

My suggestion is to fly Singapore Air if at all possible.

When in Singapore make sure you spend a day in the Adelphi Building. A lot of fine audio stores to spend your time.

+1 on both suggestions. Can't go wrong with either Cathay or Sing Air. Bought AFA PCs in Adelphi.

Oh and BTW, you could spend 3 days easily in Hong Kong, Phuket, Bali, etc. each. SEA is a treasure to be fully seen. Got to prioritize.

Sure you don't have a month and need someone to carry your bags? ;)

Thank you guys for the suggestions.

Indeed it may be too aggressive and I'll cut Vietnam to focus more on Thailand. Is it better to stay in Bangkok or go some place else in the country ? I can only have a short stay there and it's quite a shame I can't stay longer.

As for the airline, Cathay has the best prices and offers premium eco. Singapore Airlines is 50% more expensive ! I often travel business but mostly for work and you get used to it. Plus it's a 17+ hours trip

17 hours ???
Paris -HK is about 12 hours. Same for Bangkok.