Social The Travel thread

[wizard of Tauranga]

Where’s @Defence? He spends more time roaming the world than at home!

 

[MrFrankWhite]

I have endless global food spots. Few country gaps though.

for USA
SF, Sac, Oakland, LA, Vegas, Denver, Fayetteville

 

[Tohu’s_Knees]

Anyone got any travel advice for Malaysia & Singapore? Off there for 4 weeks mid year & the wife is on my case about never contributing to our travel plans

I was in Singapore October (I’ve been many times), I watched the Kiwis vs Australia on Boat Quay by the Singapore river.
“BQ bar” plays NRL and stuff, that’s where I go.

If you got kids.
Sentosa island is pretty cool, they have a Universal Studios (which IMO is better than the LA one). They even have a skyline luge (like Queenstown and Rotorua) and the aquarium is decent.

The Singapore Zoo is WAY better than the Auckland one. And you can even feed animals there (we fed a Rhino) and they have a decent breakfast option there too.
They have a “night safari” which is pretty much going to the zoo at night. It’s hit or miss though.

Marina Bay Sand is just an expensive building with a whole bunch of expensive stuff. Got a Casino though.
Gardens by the bay is cool, they have a light show every night.

Lau pa Sat, is a hawker centre that I smash every time I go. Or alternatively, Satay by the bay.
(My personal favourite place is called Dumpling Darlings, there’s 2 of them. I like the one on Circular road. That’s by boat quay)

You can catch a ferry and go to Batam (which is actually Indonesia). I’ve had a few rounds of golf there.
Or go to Johar Bahru across the border to Malaysia. (Be careful though I’ve been stuck in traffic there)

MTR is good. Or download the app “Grab”. Which is like Uber. Uber doesn’t work.

I always love going to Singapore.
I’ve been to KL once. It’s ok.
Petrona towers, the Batu caves and Petaling street markets are interesting.
They even have a Skyline luge there as well.

 

[snake77]

I'm not too well travelled. I hadn't left the North Island until my mid 20's.

The furthest I've travelled is Thailand. Even that was only to Phuket which is probably not the full authentic Thailand seeing as it is a holiday destination. It was a cool holiday though. Convenient watching the NRL as it was head to an Aussie bar at a convenient time. I managed to go to a Muay Thai night which I was keen on. The locals made it sound like the seats were far away so ended up at ringside which was actually ringside. Also about 2 metres away from the far away seats.

Only other reasonably far place I've travelled to is the Cook Islands.

I should really head to the UK to see the village my family grew up.

Travel hasn't really been top of mind the last few years. Partly due to covid and also renovations. We have been talking about taking the family to the Gold Coast now that our boys are at a good age for all of the theme parks. I think last time one was 2-3 and the other about 5 so we were stuck in the kid rides. Now we should be able to get to the water parks and hopefully an NRL game or two.

 

[Inruin]

We had a trip planned for 2020 and COVID hit and put an end to that. We had Singapore as a stop over for a couple of days but the more I'm looking at it and reading on here it's a destination in it's own right. How many days/nights would be a decent time to spend there as a single destination?

 

[~Navigator~]

Great thread guys,
I'm back off to Fiji in June for 2 weeks flight in to Nadi then driving south for a road trip for a few days before heading back to Musket cove for 7 days then back to Nadi before a road trip North.

 

[Tohu’s_Knees]

We had a trip planned for 2020 and COVID hit and put an end to that. We had Singapore as a stop over for a couple of days but the more I'm looking at it and reading on here it's a destination in it's own right. How many days/nights would be a decent time to spend there as a single destination?

I was there for 10 days in October last year.
(On my way home, I was actually at the Airport watching the Tonga vs Kiwis game, to the embarrassment of my family lol. Roller coaster) and I’ve been there many times before that.

You can EASILY fill in a solid week. There’s heaps to do over there. Singapore makes Auckland look like shit. It is expensive though.
I could go on and on of things to do.

If you’re asking stop over spots, Hong Kong.
I frickin LOVE Hong Kong. (My misses was born in British Hong Kong)

 

[Cces]

2 weeks into a trip to Borneo.
2 nights in Singapore before heading over and thought it was awesome. Delicious variety of food at the Hawker markets, caught the light show and visited the Cloud Forest where they had an impressive Jurassic Park exhibition.
Borneo is amazing. Seen all the Borneo Big 5 (Orangutan, Sun Bear, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Pygmy Elephant and Crocodile) along with heaps of other wildlife, with the Sun Bear the only one not seen in the wild. Had an overnight trip to the Turtle Island too to see the egg laying & hatching process which was cool. Sandakan was a really run down, dirty city but the gateway to the Kinabatangan River. Kota Kinabula is more modern & a better city to explore on foot.
NZD goes about 3 times further in Malaysia than Singapore.

 

[Tookey 2.0]

2 weeks into a trip to Borneo.
2 nights in Singapore before heading over and thought it was awesome. Delicious variety of food at the Hawker markets, caught the light show and visited the Cloud Forest where they had an impressive Jurassic Park exhibition.
Borneo is amazing. Seen all the Borneo Big 5 (Orangutan, Sun Bear, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Pygmy Elephant and Crocodile) along with heaps of other wildlife, with the Sun Bear the only one not seen in the wild. Had an overnight trip to the Turtle Island too to see the egg laying & hatching process which was cool. Sandakan was a really run down, dirty city but the gateway to the Kinabatangan River. Kota Kinabula is more modern & a better city to explore on foot.
NZD goes about 3 times further in Malaysia then Singapore.

Wow sounds awesome man, I've been looking at that part of the world myself.

Is 2 nights in Singapore enough, or would you go for a little while longer?

 

[Cces]

Wow sounds awesome man, I've been looking at that part of the world myself.

Is 2 nights in Singapore enough, or would you go for a little while longer?

We've got another 2 nights on the way home. Would have been disappointed if that wasn't the case. On day 2 I was already talking to the wife about relocating there

 

[Cces]

Another Borneo update.
Hiked Mt Kinabula & my quads are still tender 3 days later. Day 1 went for about 6 hours (probably an hour longer than most take but my wife runs out of puff quick) with shelters & toilets every 1 km. Stayed at 3,272m above sea level (took a course of altitude medication in advance/during) and the accommodation was dormitory style but put on a full on buffet for 150 people, including lamb chops, with all food/clean bedding etc carted up on the backs of the local porters. Day 2 was a 2am light supper before setting off to the summit (4095m) for sunrise. Our guide paced us to perfection but unfortunately it was too cloudy when we arrived at the peak & too cold to wait around for it to clear. Mrs got some great pics on the way down though including a porter carrying a lady up who couldn't be fucked walking anymore Another feed at the accomodation on the way down. Finished around 4pm so a big slog. Never used a walking pole before but was a huge help on the descent.
To finish the holiday we're now on Gaya Island for some genuine R&R