Booking side trips from Singapore

I do tons of research on travel all the time and often end up booking or researching things for friends and family too. Honestly there's no trick! It's just me with usually a bunch of tabs open and some of the following websites running.


FLIGHTS

Skyscanner
I went into a travel agency and watched the agent pull up Skyscanner to find me flights. Then she quoted me an unbelievably high rate (she gave herself a $200 commission on a $500 flight). I left and went home and typed in Skyscanner to discover that she could, in fact, see all the discount flights as well as flights from bigger airlines. Lesson learned, start at Skyscanner at home, don't use an agent and then go to the airline's site to book as not all flights come up on skyscanner.

KLM
Sometimes it's good to just check the KLM site to see what deals might be coming up. They run flights from Holland to Bali via Singapore. This flight is always cheaper than booking on Air Asia for the same trip AND you don't have to throw a tantrum trying to use the Air Asia website.

Berjaya Air
Never heard of it? It's a small Malaysian airline with fairly new planes that go to the various Malaysian islands and they are pretty cheap. They also partner with local resorts and offer deals. This is probably the easiest way to get to Tioman, Redang or Langkawi. They won't come up in any other travel sites. You have to book flights directly through them.

Tiger Airways
They are a royal pain in the arse to deal with but sometimes there are good deals especially in off seasons and to locations that aren't as popular with western visitors.


ACCOMMODATION


Agoda
I often start with using Agoda to look for hotel deals. I always keep Trip Advisor open while I do this so I can check actual experiences and rates. I've had 50% off really neat places on this site but I've also had to cancel a booking when I all of a sudden realized that my quoted rate was not what they put through on my credit card! Just be wary. It's not a scam per say but it can have some tricky wording just before the final check out.

AirBnB
I had no idea AirBnB was in Asia! Seriously I discovered this today. We use this in North America a lot and it's a great way to find reasonable vacation rentals and nightly B&B accommodation. I was just skimming through what's available in Bali for instance and there are some really good deals. Well worth spending some time on here.


TRAVEL APPS

It's no secret that I run everything in my life from my iphone. When I travel it's my most trusted sidekick. Here's what I use:

Tripit
Forget Tripit pro. I had it for a year and it never did anything amazing it was supposed to. Just get the basic, free account, forward your itineraries and voila. Everything neatly ends up compiled in one itinerary. I usually need to type in B&Bs and some obscure modes of transit but generally it's pretty easy. This is where i look to check flight times, confirmation numbers and to share my itinerary with my co-travelers. It works without data/wifi but doesn't refresh so scroll through your itinerary right before you leave home to make sure you have it all loaded.

Trip Advisor
I have to say I'm pretty thrilled with this app. We had wifi in our car in New Zealand and finding a place to eat lunch on our road trips was so easy! We'd pull over, type in the name of the town, tap the highest rated option and then ask it to guide us there with this little compas arrow. So simple.

Bali: where have you been all my life?

I'm sitting on the steps outside our guest house to catch the feeble waves of wifi from the other end of the courtyard. They probably can't quite make it around the shrine of stone statues who are casually guarding us from bad spirits. Stray dogs, crickets and roosters make up a din in the distance reminding me I'm definitely not in Singapore. Throw in the heavy perfume of whatever flower is blooming by night here and you have a perfect night.

The past two days are a blur of temples, iridescent green rice fields, lush jungle and the most warm genuine human beings. Ubud, while full of tourists is also pretty laid back and easy. It reminds me of every single one of my favorite places in the world. It's a little of the tribal atmosphere of Ilha Grande, some of the hippi hold out of Fairfax and a smattering of the off-beat art and surf culture of Venice Beach and Santa Monica all rolled up in one delicious Balinese sandwich. It's the kind of place you want to hold onto, to own a piece of and never let go. Though that's not what's good for Bali which has been experiencing rapid development due to folks who just want to be part of this place. I plan to return and keep supporting the cool places we've discovered so far. Bali might just be the antidote for all the little things that drive me mental in Singapore. Cheers!

Tips: Stay at Tirta Arum Guest House in Ubud for some local cultural immersion. I don't suggest Matahari Cottages which we fled from after one night. Cabins in the woods sounded great until we crawled into damp sheets on a moldy mattress and spent the night with mosquitoes circling our netting. Funky yes, not in the way we were hoping.

George Town, Penang Malaysia

My mother and brother returned to Singapore with us last week when we flew back from Victoria. After their first five days exploring the red dot we took a side trip to Penang. We flew in on Tiger Airways, which is cheaper than even buying the gas to get there. 

We lucked out in the accommodation department and scored a two bedroom apartment at the Straits Collection which is right in the UNESCO heritage area we came here to see. It's a row of converted shop houses which are now restored and full of antique furnishings and some modern amenities like a/c. 

Our first day took us around only half of the heritage walk suggested by our host. It was actually too hot for us to even walk outside after noon. I thought Singapore was hot but Penang takes the cake. I think it's the lack of foggy atmosphere and also the lack of trees and shelter along the streets because the temperature is supposed to be cooler than we are used to.