It’s official! Just bought tickets
for
5 days in Bangkok Thailand

5 days in Singapore

2 weeks in Osaka &Tokyo areas
(driving from Osaka to Tokyo)
Looking for recommendations for day trips to nearby areas in each or must do activities!
Thanks in advance - I love this site and often plan my trips around all the recommendations made here!

We did not enjoy Bankok at all but really enjoyed our day trip to the daemon saduk floating market and Maeklong train market.

we did a night time bike tour of Bangkok with Grasshopper that we really enjoyed, We also loved the flower market there

I agree, spent 3 weeks in Thailand and hated Bankok! Get to the islands..

I can recommend Grasshopper too. Did a tour with them in Siem Reap that was stellar, so hoping Bangkok's would be just as good.

For Tokyo, I suggest the following!
- Go to Asakusa area if you want that old-world Japan feel! While in this area, I suggest trying on yukata/kimono and walk around. I did this and it was one of the best experiences I had in Japan.
- Go to Ginza but amazing views of buildings and tons of amazing shopping/department stores. I would also try to have a sit down cake and tea from Wako
- Go to Meiji Temple. Bring comfy shoes as it is a long walk but so worth it! Was able to see temple monks and witnessed a traditional wedding there.

As soon as you land, get out of the the cities.

Search this site for Bangkok ~ an amazing guy sent me PAGES of things to do there !

Roberta do you happen to remember his name??

Bernie ... see below. He kindly reposted

Make sure to plan 2 days in Kyoto it was our favourite part of Japan! We loved staying in asakusa in Tokyo, right on the water and we often took a boat to where we were going for the day, kids loved it!

Katie do you remember the name of your accommodations? Would love to book it!

From Bangkok, check out
-erawan national park, has really nice waterfalls
-lopburi, a town overrun by monkeys
-ayutthaya, on the way to lopburi by train, old capital of Thailand and lots of history
-an island off pattaya, I’ve done Koh samet and it was a lot less pattaya-ish
-hua hin, further than pattaya area but no boat to an island.
Within Bangkok, check out
-boat noodles at victory monument, famous
-terminal 21 mall food court on 5th floor, good and cheap
-chatuchak market, big weekend market
-Wat arun and grand palace, temple and palace
-mahanakhon skywalk, tallest building in bkk I think
-one of the sky bars like banyan tree or lebua state (stupid overpriced)
-one of the nearby floating markets
-I always stay in the western Sukhumvit area. Like soi 2-15 ish.

Bangkok is fun but if you’re not going there for anything in particular and being the rest of your vacation is big cities I’d deft recommend literally hopping on the next flight out to somewhere smaller like Koh lanta or Koh tao. Even somewhere in krabi like Ao nang.

Make sure go to the floating market , the kings palace .

While in Singapore, for an somewhat unusual day trip, visit Pulau Ubin. It’s a step back in time to see what Singapore was like before modern urbanisation - it has the last surviving old village on the island, and doesn’t allow cars (except for a few very old vehicles belonging to residents). Great for bicycling, hiking, or just strolling around.

In BKK, do a day tour to Ayutthaya

- Take a jaunt up to Amanohashidate and walk along it (it's about a 2 hours drive from Osaka but there are toll roads). It's one of the famous 3 most scenic sights of Japan and it's this long spit of land with beaches on either side.
- Go to Nara for temple spotting and to see the wild deer roaming around
- from Tokyo, spend a night in Hakone at a traditional ryokan
- Drive up to Nikko to see the temples and shrines
- Go to Kamakura for the giant Buddha, or Enoshima for a chill beach town (both easy to do by train)

In Singapore make sure you take the shuttle bus out to the zoo for the night safari, the animals roam free in several areas and the lions roaring at feeding time will give you chills

Gosh...reading all these suggestions I want to do this trip! Can I ask what the cost is??

Carla thanks for the info. Appreciate it. Sounds like an amazing journey. Share lots of pics with the page!

Have you considered taking the train instead of driving?The train system is amazing. We have been to Japan many times and never wanted to drive as it is very busy and you are driving on the left.

The trains are amazing, always on time, quick, and a railpass for two weeks would be much less than car rental.

The JR Pass. The JR system is six different companies that work together; JR East, for instance, serves Tokyo and metro area. Get the pass directly from Japan Rail, though, NOT through third parties - in case there is a cancellation or other change, if you go through third parties you are hooped. If you get it directly through JR you have a better chance at hassle-free changes (much like booking ferries or fast boats throughout Asia).
The link is: https://japanrailpass.net/en/
And I've attached a photo of their rail system map, covers the whole country.

Sharon yes we have considered the train, however there are going to be 8 of us at that point - and we want to stop at Mt. Fuji.

I've been to Thailand several times, going back soon. I have a doc on my dropbox, which is too big to DM or email due to photos; you are welcome to check it out, share it, whatever. I have a similar doc on Bali if you are interested in that, and I'm compiling one on Malaysia as well, as I spend much of the year in SE Asia.
https://www.dropbox.com/.../Thailand%20-%20Siem%20Reap...
DROPBOX.COM
Thailand - Siem Reap recommendations.pdf

Bernie ~ thanks for reposting

Would love to see the doc for bali please!

Here is Bali:
https://www.dropbox.com/.../Bali%20recommendations.pdf...
DROPBOX.COM
Bali recommendations.pdf

I would spend more time in Thailand than in Singapore. Thailand is huge. Go to Chiang Mai, Phuket and the islands.

And Chiang Rai, and Pai. I'd skip Phuket itself, but Koh Lanta, Phi Phi are awesome, and Khao Lak up the west coast is amazing.

For Bangkok check out my YouTube channel under the name of Kim, I have 8 or 10 Bangkok videos. Here is one of them...
Feel free to ask me any questions.
https://youtu.be/PLFyOyliucw
YOUTUBE.COM
Bangkok Blue Flag Tourist Boat

Kim Hi Kim,
I am currently in Bangkok and have one day left before I leave from here. Could you suggest a sight seeing activity that could be explored in 8-15 hours ? I am at Makkasan, Ratchathewi currently. Thank you!

Kim Sure! I will check your videos. I just went to Chao Phraya River ride last night. So looking for sight seeing options near by. Thanks for your reply:)

What about MBK Centre? It's not far from you.

Kim oh okay. Let me check:) Thanks

In Bangkok, definitely go to the Snake Farm. Close to it is Jim Thompson house which is also interesting. https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g293916...
TRIPADVISOR.CA
Snake Farm (Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute) (Bangkok, Thailand): Hours, Address, Nature & Wildlife Area Reviews - tripadvisor

Singapore - Sentosa Island, little india, pulua ubin, botanicle gardens, Orchard Road, Lavender Food Court, Newton Food Court,

Harvey ate at Newton Food Court many times. Insanely delish!

Lavender food court is no more there...

In BKK, a fun thing to do is a canal boat tour, and could combine this with a visit to view the royal boat collection.

We loved Bangkok. Cheap massages and great food. Tokyo Disney seas is well worth a day in Tokyo

Ayutthaya on outskirts of Bangkok is a good day trip for temples.

Check out Wat Samphran 40 kilometres outside of Bangkok.

Bangkok, Palace and Kaosan Road.

If you don't want to drive....check out this giveaway that japan airlines is doing. Not sure if the dates work with your trip
https://www.jal.co.jp/en/jmb/japan-promotion/
JAL.CO.JP
Win a Trip with JAL - JAL Mileage Bank

There’s so much to recommend in Japan, but TeamLab installations in Tokyo are a big must for me.

I recommend the JR pass
JR pass is the most convenient & efficient way.
https://japanrailpass.net/en/
JAPANRAILPASS.NET
JAPAN RAIL PASS

Make sure you try to make a reservation at Raan Jay Fai when you are in Bangkok

The orchid garden in Singapore is stunning. Beautiful, safe, clean city. You will love it!!

Tokyo : Odaiba , shinjuku , tsukiji market , akihabara , Menji temple are must , Osaka : Kuromon market , universal studio , Disney sea world , sky tower ..... etc make sure you plan ahead .... so much to see and shop and eat in Japan

5 days in Singapore will seem like forever. Time better spent elsewhere.

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