A gap year favourite but south east Asia still has many pockets left under-explored. In this episode of Travel Smart, Ben Parker and Simon Calder give you a whistle-stop guide to Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore.Simon explains what to see in Thailand's capital, Bangkok and Chiang Mai, before taking a look round the beautiful islands off the coast. Ben meanwhile takes a tour of Malaysia and the sights to see there, before Simon gives his guide to the urban sprawl of Singapore.Watch Travel Smart on Independent TV for your guide to travelling smart.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Travel Smart, your weekly guide to the best of travel from
00:06the independent. We aim to inform, inspire and entertain you about the industry of
00:13human happiness, whether you're going on a day trip around Britain or a gap year
00:18around the world. Today we're focusing on a corner of the globe that's
00:22understandably popular with gap year travelers, Southeast Asia. It's a region
00:27where extraordinary natural beauty is combined with an ancient and rich
00:32culture. Add local people who are kind and friendly, some of the planet's most
00:37appealing cuisine and prices way below Western levels and it's hardly
00:42surprising so many people express a yearning for the Orient.
00:48So let's start by evaluating the three Southeast Asian nations that are most
01:00popular with British travelers. That's Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. For sheer
01:08indulgence and a certain spirituality, there's nowhere quite like Thailand.
01:13Explore the temples of the capital Bangkok and the northern city Chiang Mai,
01:19then head for the beautiful South. Many visitors make straight for Koh Samui, a
01:26gorgeous island in the Gulf of Thailand, though it's not quite the backpacker
01:31haven it once was. For lower prices and a stronger sense of nature, make for the
01:38west side of the mainland, the resort of Krabi, the sultry island of Koh Pipi and
01:44glorious Phuket, where rainforest in the high interior unravels to a shore
01:51speckled with great beaches. A cheap and quick one-hour flight takes you from
01:57Phuket to Penang, the spice island that provides the perfect start to any
02:02exploration of Malaysia. Check in to a beach hotel on the north coast for a
02:09couple of days, building in a visit to Georgetown, the isle's colonial hub, then
02:13move on to explore the rest of Malaysia. Don't linger too long in the capital
02:17Kuala Lumpur because there are many great places to discover. Malacca with
02:22its Portuguese ambience and the vast island of Borneo, location for two
02:26Malaysian states, Sarawak and Sabah. The latter offers some superb beaches, though
02:31be on the lookout for jellyfish and also the prospect of climbing Mount
02:35Kinabalu, the highest peak in Southeast Asia. Singapore is so much more than an
02:42airport with a city-state attached. The diamond-shaped island at the tip of the
02:48Southeast Asian Peninsula is a crossroads for the world, on the way to a
02:54vast range of destinations. Singapore deserves at least a week to make the
03:03most of its adventures, from cutting-edge architecture to raw Southeast Asian
03:09nature, plus a rich ethnic mix in which Peranakan culture is increasingly
03:16significant, being the heritage of the earliest Chinese settlers. The next
03:22territory along is Indonesia, a land of 17,000 islands and nearly 300 million
03:30people. You could easily spend a year exploring Indonesia, but on the basis
03:39that time is short, then focus on three locations. The exuberant Isle of Bali,
03:46whose beaches are just one small part of the island's story. Neighbouring Lombok,
03:52much quieter and less spoiled. And the impossibly beautiful and geographically
03:58implausible island of Sulawesi, where volcanoes and hundreds of miles of
04:04coastline compete for your attention.
04:14Before you conclude that your holidays for life are sorted, it's worth
04:18considering formerly French Indochina. Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam endured immense
04:24suffering at the end of the 20th century, but have blossomed into challenging yet
04:28rewarding destinations. As soon as you cross the border from Thailand to Laos
04:34and Cambodia, you'll feel you have entered a slower, more tranquil region
04:38with a simpler way of life. The Mekong River is central to both of these
04:42nations, and a boat trip downstream is well worthwhile for a day or two. Vietnam
04:48has the most advanced tourist industry and a spectrum of attractions. They start
04:52in the handsome capital Hanoi, a relatively serene Asian city full of
04:57parks and lakes. From the nearby port of Haiphong, take a boat trip into Halong
05:03Bay, the main tourist attraction in North Vietnam. The location is hauntingly
05:08beautiful, a dramatic seascape decorated by limestone pillars that rise from the
05:13water. Heading south, ideally by train, Hue is well worth a stop, a relaxed
05:19central Vietnam City filled with temples, pagodas and monasteries. A short way
05:24south, Hoi An has a Chinese quarter and French colonial architecture that earned
05:29it UNESCO World Heritage status. Ho Chi Minh City, the nation's energetic
05:35commercial hub, was the former capital of South Vietnam, Saigon. What's known here
05:41as the American War, but in the West as the Vietnam War, is described from the
05:45victor's perspective at the War Remnants Museum. Outside the city, visit the
05:50underground war tunnels of Cu Chi. They were dug by the Viet Cong army and were
05:55the scene of some brutal confrontations with American forces.
06:02We've got time for one quick question. Simon, as you can see, it's pretty wet and
06:07miserable here right now, but tell me when is the best time to go to Southeast
06:11Asia? It's a vast region and therefore the answer actually depends on where
06:16exactly you're going, but for my favorite parts of Southeast Asia, which is
06:21basically everywhere from the north of Vietnam down through Laos and Cambodia
06:26into Thailand and then even as far as northern Malaysia, a really good time to
06:33go is when the weather in the northern hemisphere and in particular in the UK
06:37is at its worst, say from November through till March. You'll find that the
06:43skies are clearer, it's less humid, there's lower rainfall, from all points of view
06:48it makes sense to be there then. However, once you get a bit further south and
06:53Singapore's sitting pretty much on the equator, then you find that actually the
06:59season's rather reverse and both in Singapore and in Bali, the best time to
07:05be there is in the northern summer, so really any time from May through to
07:10September, but any time of year you're not going to get cold, you are going to
07:16be happy. Brilliant, thank you very much.
07:23That's it for this episode, but do get in touch with your favorite Southeast Asia
07:28destinations and journeys. And for the latest travel news, reviews and advice go
07:34to independent.co.uk forward slash travel and perhaps check out my daily
07:40travel podcast. Bye for now!