From the 4th of June until the 19th June 2015 R2TC Co-Founder Andrew McCoy, Head Golf Reviewer John Thompson, And with R2TC Reviewers David and Phil Pryer travelled through South East Asia Reviewing and playing some of the best Golf courses Asia had to offer, Staying at our recommended hotels for each city and finding new and adventurous thing's to do in each city to help challenge you on your next trip to asia. 

 

Resident R2TC Reviewer Phil Pryer wrote a great review article on his thought's of our time in South East Asia. 

 

R2TC DOES SOUTH EAST ASIA 

By Phil Pryer              14.07.2015

 

 

Melbourne to Bangkok:

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Our 2015 Asian Golfing Extravaganza started with a meeting at Melbourne Tullamarine a few hours before our scheduled flight departure at 2:00pm.  After a few frustrating hours of delay our flight finally departed for Bangkok at about 4:00pm.

The flight itself was relatively smooth and uneventful and we arrived at the Eastin Grande Strathorn hotel in Bangkok hotel just before midnight.  After check-in it was up to the bar on the 14 floor for a few nightcaps.  The room was pretty good.  Although we were all pretty tired I don’t think we would have noticed if it wasn’t.

The original plan was to get acclimatised a bit on the first day in Bangkok and then golf on the next day.  As the definition of a plan is that it is a base for change, the original plan didn’t quite come to fruition.  Hot and humid weather was the case so the golf was put aside so that we could spend the next few days ‘acclimatising’ and keeping well hydrated.

 

Shopping.  Of course a trip to Bangkok would not be complete without a visit to the MBK shopping centre.  Depending on what you want they have everything and mostly at a good price.  The higher you go up in floors, the cheaper things become.  Unfortunately the quality decreases as well.

The Eastin Grand Hotel was pretty good.  I would give it 4 out of 5 mainly because of the staff.  Their were a number of them that went way above what you would expect of such a large hotel.  You got the feeling that you were the only guest.  Special mention must go to Jonas at the Concierge Desk.  He was fantastic.  He organised everything that we needed.  He would have even organised the golf if we had decided to play.

 

Bangkok to Hanoi:

The flight to Hanoi was with Vietjet Airlines, a low cost carrier.  Great for a short flight but that’s about it.  The cabin crew did ask us if we wanted to move to the Row 1 as the flight was not full.  An opportunity we took up with relish as their was a lot more leg room.  This was good as all seats on the plane were fixed and did not recline.

Going through customs in Vietnam can be a little daunting.  Remember that Vietnam is a communist country and they can be a little funny if you don’t have a Visa to enter as on person on our flight found out.  Unlike Bali, you cant land, go to a machine and buy a visa.  It must be organised before you go.  You can do it online and pick up your visa upon arrival but beware of shonky websites offering this service.  Remember that if you select this service there are two fees.  One you pay online and the other is a ‘stamping fee’ when you get to Vietnam.  Go to the Vietnamese Embassy Website for a list of dodgy websites.  I downloaded the application from the embassy website and sent it with payment and my passport to the Embassy in Canberra.  The website says to allow upto 3 days for processing in addition to Australia Post times.  I had it back 5 days after I posted it.

 

Whist in Hanoi we stayed at the Hanoi Guest House on Ma May Street.  Its small and intimate.  Close to everything in the old quarter and French Quarter.  On Friday, Saturday and Sunday Nights, Ma May Street comes to life.  Street theatre, buskers and food stalls.  The highlight of Hanoi has to be the nightlife.  During the day it looks like any other Asian City but at night it takes on an atmosphere all of its own. 

The staff at the Hanoi Guest House were absolutely fantastic.  Anna was awesome.  She welcomed us as if we were long lost family and treated us as such for the three days we were there.  She is a little bit of a flirt but never crosses the line and is very professional.  She organised everything for us.  City Tour and of course the reason we were there, GOLF. 

 

We were booked into play golf at the King Island Resort about a 45 minute drive from Hanoi, then a 10 minute ride by boat.  King Island Resort is on an island.  When we got there we were astounded by the quality of the course.  The caddies were absolutely fantastic if you want to be a lazy golfer.  All you had to do was hit the ball.  Once you got to the green, they marked and cleaned the ball and even lined the ball up for the putt.  A number of bars are located throughout the 18 holes and are cash free.  Sign for your drinks etc and it get put on your bill at the end.  All very civilized.  King Island wasn’t cheap but it was a one off so why not.  Golf Course and Golf Experience Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

 

City Tour was pretty good but if I ever see another Buddhist Temple I will probably scream.  The Presidential Palace and Uncle Ho’s House in the gardens were pretty good.  Its all situated right next to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum where “Uncle Ho’s” body is on display.  Not open on Mondays.  There is also the Bangkok Hilton which is pretty interesting.  It must be remembered that the Vietnamese have a different version of history than we do.

 

The Hanoi Guest House would rate 4.5 out of 5 for our visit only blemish was the loss of power on our first night so no air conditioning.  This unfortunate incident was not the fault of the Guest House but the electric company doing ‘routine’ repairs but the didn’t tell anyone.  The rooms were a good size for two people and the breakfast was great.  Our room was at the rear of the house so was pretty quiet which was great if you want to sleep.  Some rooms at the front had a small balcony which would be great if you want to sit and have a beer and watch the world go by. 

Beer: Good beer at a great price.  Don’t pay any more that 30,000 Vietnamese Dong (about $1.80 with the exchange rate at the time, $A1 = VD16000) for a stubby.  Most places a stubby is around VD20,000.  Saigon Export (Red) is the local beer that I preferred.  Saigon Green and Hanoi were a little bitter for me.

Food:   Hanoi had the best food of our trip.  The little restaurants across from the guest house had the best food ever.  Try a vegetable called ‘Morning Glory’ you wont be disappointed.

 

Hanoi to HoChiMinh City

Vietjet Airlines again, what can I say.

 

Whist in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) we stayed at the Elios Hotel in the heart of the city.  Good, clean, great staff and reasonably cheap bar prices in the restaurant on the 12 Floor.  Remember that there is no lift between the 11 and 12 Floor so access to the bar is via a narrow stairwell.  Views of the city are pretty spectacular, especially at night.  A massage at the 2 floor gym is pretty good.  Only cost VD220000 ($A15.00), not including the tip which is customarily another 50%.  Still pretty good value.  Especially when it’s the best massage you will ever have.  Rating 3.5 out of 5.

 

Too hot and humid for golf so we did the tourist bit, including the ‘Museum of American War Crimes’ and the Cu Chi Tunnels.  I get a little claustrophobic but still went through the tunnels.  Another item ticked of the bucket list.

 

Ho Chi Minh City to Kuala Lumpur:

Vietjet Airlines again then Jetstar.  Vietjet does not fly direct to KL so we had to go through Singapore.  What a drama.  Vietjet and Jetstar do not have any transfer arrangements so when you land in Singapore you will land in Terminal 3, you have to collect your bags and go through Customs and Immigration to ‘enter’ Singapore, then catch a train (15 minute walk) to Terminal 1, go through Customs again to ‘leave’ Singapore for the Jetstar Flight to KL.  It wouldn’t have been so bad if Vietjet had have told us this before leaving Ho Chi Minh.  We got of the plane and walked to Terminal 3 as we had a few hours between flights.  When we tried to check in with Jetstar they gave us the bad news that we had to return to Terminal 1 and go through Customs.  We got checked in with Jetstar with about 2 minutes to spare.

 

We arrived at our Hotel in the early evening.  We stayed at the Furama Bintang just near Times Square.  Awesome Hotel, great people especially Mr Anwar at the Concierge’s desk.  He organised our golf day at the most extra-ordinary golf course I have ever played.  Palm Meadows is absolutely awesome.  It must be pretty good if the Queen of Malaysia plays there.  She had just finished her round when we got there.  Golf Course and Golf Experience Rating: 9.5 out of 10.

 

The local food stalls are definitely the place to eat at a great price.  As we have discovered all through our trip, food is cheaper than alcohol and alcohol has been really cheap.

KL is not my favourite place and if I don’t go back it wouldn’t worry me.

 

KL to Singapore:

Jetstar from KL to Singapore.  After golfing at Palm Meadows we headed strainght to the airport to catch our flight to Singapore.  We arrived at the airport at around 6pm for our flight to Singapore at 9pm.  After a few beers we boarded our flight. 

The cab ride from Changi Airport to the Park Regis took about 20 minutes and cost about $S30.00.  Remember when you catch a cab in Singapore that cabs have more than on e meter.  The main one is the cost of the fare and the second is for extras.  Unlike Australia, the ‘extras’ are not fixed, both meters are ever increasing.  Extras include, evening surcharge, night surcharge and strangely enough you can also get an extras depending on the make of the taxi.  The biggest surcharge is if the taxi is a Chrysler or Mercedes.

 

We arrived at the Park Regis at midnight and checked in.  We were pretty tired so we had a night cap in our room and hit the sack.

Next day we did the city tour by bus.  Singapore is a very beautiful city but we did notice that no-one smiled.

 

That evening we found a bar at Clarke Quay about a 5 minute walk from the hotel for State of Origin at the MCG.  If I wasn’t in Singapore I would have been at the G.  Good night, disappointing result.

 

Golf the next day was supposed to be a twilight tee time so we could play under lights.  We decided to try and hit off early and luckily we could.  Marina Bay is one of the premier golf courses in Singapore and the course was pretty good.  However the fairway bunkers were horrible.  For a low handicapper with a long drive they would not be a problem but for the average golfer they were placed at around the 200 – 240 metre distance from the tee.  Inevitably you will find one and the only way out is with a sand iron and you won’t get very far down the fairway so in effect it will cost you at least two strokes for landing in a fairway bunker.  Golf Course and Golf Experience Rating: 8 out of 10.

 

On the last day of our trip we visited the Marina Bay Sands Shopping Complex.  This is the three building that are joined at the top (over 50 stories high), by what looks like a ship’s hull, which is actually an observation deck and swimming pool.  Absolutely awesome.

 

Our flight from Singapore to Melbourne was an overnighter departing at 9pm (11pm Melbourne time).  We arrived at the airport about 4pm and booked into the lounge.  Cost was about $S50 but it included refreshments, food, internet and a free 15 minute massage, so it was worth the money as we would have spent that at the bar waiting for the flight.

 

We landed at 6am to a chilly 6 degrees.  A little different to the 30 – 38 degrees and up to 95% humidity beut we had a great time anyway.