Nightlife in Asia

[jai6638]

Hey!!

I'm going to be visiting my friend in Singapore for 2 weeks along with another friend from college.. The three of us were thinking of partying in Singapore for 4-5 days but wanted to go out to another Asian city/country to have fun. I've heard of the full/half moon festival in Ko Samui and was wondering if anyone could comment on that? I might be able to make it for the half moon festival.. Are there any other places you guys could recommend that wont be too expensive to fly to and check out?

Thanks much

 

[Chaotic42]

If I had to pick two cities to visit in SE Asia, I'd pick Singapore and Hong Kong. If not HK, maybe Taipei? I've never been to any of these places, but they sound neat.

Edit: Oh, what about George Town? That's close to Singapore.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Hk baby!

 

[Baked]

If you're bi-curious, there's always Bangkok.

 

[Farang]

Bangkok is a hell of a town. Avoid Malaysia as the night life there is weak for the most part.

The party you refer to has a very high ratio of guys to girls, but it can be good. It isn't uncommon for a few people to die during it so be careful and stick to booze. The best day to go is actually the day before the scheduled party date, that is when it is the wildest (during the actual party, many people are hungover from the night or two before). Also Ko Pha-Ngan is really the place to go, not Samui.

From Singapore you've got a lot of cheap options with Asia Airlines. I'd check out if there were any interesting events/concerts/festivals in SE Asia, and if not then I'd go to Ko Pha-Ngan if you're looking to party.

 

[skyking]

One night in Bangkok

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: Baked
If you're bi-curious, there's always Bangkok.

Well they say they all look alike in the dark...

 

[onlyCOpunk]

If your only intent is to party then make sure to get somewhere for the moon parties. Also make sure you stay close to central backpackers locations because all the drunk european kids will be a riot.

But if you want beaches and cheap travel then go to Malaysia.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

One night in Bangkok

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
If I had to pick two cities to visit in SE Asia, I'd pick Singapore and Hong Kong. If not HK, maybe Taipei? I've never been to any of these places, but they sound neat.

Edit: Oh, what about George Town? That's close to Singapore.

georgetown is full of hookers, i hear

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
If I had to pick two cities to visit in SE Asia, I'd pick Singapore and Hong Kong. If not HK, maybe Taipei? I've never been to any of these places, but they sound neat.

Edit: Oh, what about George Town? That's close to Singapore.

georgetown is full of hookers, i hear

Hong Kong and Taipei aren't really Southeast Asia.. at least four hours and a few hundred dollars away.

I haven't been to Georgetown but I'd skip Malaysia in general for nightlife, booze is expensive and everything is a bit tamer due to Islam. In KL for example the cheapest beer you can get are $3 deuces at restaurants in Chinatown.

 

[andylawcc]

Ko Samui is pretty nice, it's a beach town so after a night of partying you can go surfing and what not

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Farang

Hong Kong and Taipei aren't really Southeast Asia.. at least four hours and a few hundred dollars away.

I haven't been to Georgetown but I'd skip Malaysia in general for nightlife, booze is expensive and everything is a bit tamer due to Islam. In KL for example the cheapest beer you can get are $3 deuces at restaurants in Chinatown.

the italian lady who ran the b&b i stayed at in phuket said KL had awesome nightlife.

i never went looking for it while i was there, but i think there were lots of clubs in the golden triangle area of KL.

 

[Cristatus]

Ko Samui is crazy according to my cousin that lives in Hong Kong.

Then again, Hong Kong in itself is also pretty nice for nightlife.

Don't know about specific locations though.

What about Mumbai or Delhi? Or would that be too far?

(C)

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Farang

Hong Kong and Taipei aren't really Southeast Asia.. at least four hours and a few hundred dollars away.

I haven't been to Georgetown but I'd skip Malaysia in general for nightlife, booze is expensive and everything is a bit tamer due to Islam. In KL for example the cheapest beer you can get are $3 deuces at restaurants in Chinatown.

the italian lady who ran the b&b i stayed at in phuket said KL had awesome nightlife.

i never went looking for it while i was there, but i think there were lots of clubs in the golden triangle area of KL.

Yea but Singapore has better clubs so it'd be pointless to head up to KL.

Awesome.. relative to what? In my view, what is in KL can be found better in Bangkok or Singapore. It is a great city that takes a while to love (definitely rough edges, like rats running around the streets and poor transportation), but more because of the food and cultural mix than the nightlife.

Thinking about it now the OP should try to head to a beach town to party because all Southeast Asian cities offer more or less the same thing for nightlife, and if you're limited on time it isn't worth bouncing around.

 

[jai6638]

Hmm as of now, we are planning to do the following: Singapore - Ko Samui - Japan - Singapore. We have a friend in Japan so gonna be living with her in Yokohoma (sp?). Gonna be there for 2 weeks. Anything places that are a must see? We are vegetarian ( no meat or fish ) so..

Thanks

 

[Michael]

I lived in Singapore for 3 years (been back just under a year) and it has a very good nightlife. Safe and clean and many places to party in. You can go from classy to seedy. It is so clean and modern that you might be missing some of the "spice" of the region, though.

By far, I preferred Thailand as my country of choice in the area for vacations. The major cities and tourist destinations have a great nightlife as well.

I actually like KL, but much of the nightlife (for visitors) is concentrated in the area near Petronas Towers and I certainly can't recommend visiting KL for it.

HK also has a very strong and good nightlife. Many natives there also cross the border into Shenzhen. Shenzhen is very chinese speaking for the places where the locals go, but there are fun clubs to go to. I much prefer Shanghai for nightlife over Shenzhen, though. Some of it depends on your age, the average age in Shenzhen is much younger.

My experience in Taipei says that if you are not Mandarin speaking, there really isn't that great a nightlife. If you are or have native guides (which I have had on occassion), then it is quite fun.

Michael

ps - I can give some reccomendation of places I like, but everyone has different tastes. I like live bands, so I like places like Insomnia and 1 night stand (and Impanema in Orchard Towers if you want to go to a "seedy" place). If you want most disco style clubs, Clarke Quay is the place to go. HK also has an Insomnia (owned by same company) in LKF (bar district) but I prefer the sister bar Dusk til Dawn in Wan Chai. LKF is better for bar hopping as they're all packed next to each other. With a name like farang, I'll let him give Thailand recommendations. I just went whereever my local friends took me there or relaxed on beaches in Krabi or Phuket.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Originally posted by: jai6638
Hmm as of now, we are planning to do the following: Singapore - Ko Samui - Japan - Singapore. We have a friend in Japan so gonna be living with her in Yokohoma (sp?). Gonna be there for 2 weeks. Anything places that are a must see? We are vegetarian ( no meat or fish ) so..

Thanks

Vegan? No Kobe beef for you...or crab.... no sushi...takoyaki... sashimi...whale meat...horse meat... you're going to miss alot in the way of food.

Anyway, Tokyo is a good palcfe to be around. Okinawa and Osaka are also great palces to visit. Akihabara to get in touch with your nerd side. Kobe mabye.

Don't mess around with asians and their drinking. You havn't seen a depressed Japanese guy down several bottles of sake in an hour. Asians drink ALOT.

 

[jai6638]

Seems like my friends friend in Japan might not be available. Is japan a good place to visit without a native guide who is fluent in Japanese?

THanks for the all the advice.. appreciate it! Have been to singapore and HK before but just did the touriste stuff. Will def check out clark quay,etc again

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: jai6638
Seems like my friends friend in Japan might not be available. Is japan a good place to visit without a native guide who is fluent in Japanese?

THanks for the all the advice.. appreciate it! Have been to singapore and HK before but just did the touriste stuff. Will def check out clark quay,etc again

I've never been outside to Tokyo airport so take this with a grain of salt, but Japan is farther away than you think so if you don't know anyone there you're probably better off sticking around the SE Asia region. It's like saying your going to go to Buenos Aires, but in the middle of your trip head up to Mexico City and then back to Buenos Aires and then back home..

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Farang

Hong Kong and Taipei aren't really Southeast Asia.. at least four hours and a few hundred dollars away.

I haven't been to Georgetown but I'd skip Malaysia in general for nightlife, booze is expensive and everything is a bit tamer due to Islam. In KL for example the cheapest beer you can get are $3 deuces at restaurants in Chinatown.

the italian lady who ran the b&b i stayed at in phuket said KL had awesome nightlife.

i never went looking for it while i was there, but i think there were lots of clubs in the golden triangle area of KL.

Hehe, you stayed in Phuket

 

[jai6638]

Hmmm my plans are really changing. I have scrapped Japan since my local friend in Japan will be busy so it wont be as pleasant. Hence, I will now be going alone to Korea instead of Japan and visiting a friend there who lives on Cheju island. I've heard that this is quite far from Seoul downtown which is where the partyin happens.. Is there anything of interest to do on the island? I will try to get in touch with my korean friend from seoul but if I cant, is 10 days a lot for touring the island?

Thanks

 

[middlehead]

Originally posted by: Nitemare

Originally posted by: Baked
If you're bi-curious, there's always Bangkok.

Well they say they all look alike in the dark...

They also say it's only gay if you look down.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: jai6638
Hmmm my plans are really changing. I have scrapped Japan since my local friend in Japan will be busy so it wont be as pleasant. Hence, I will now be going alone to Korea instead of Japan and visiting a friend there who lives on Cheju island. I've heard that this is quite far from Seoul downtown which is where the partyin happens.. Is there anything of interest to do on the island? I will try to get in touch with my korean friend from seoul but if I cant, is 10 days a lot for touring the island?

Thanks

Cheju island is a beautiful island but quite small. Many Koreans go there for honeymoon as it's only like 30 minute flight from Seoul. 10 days is way too long on the island. I wouldn't spend more than a weekend there as that will be plenty time to see and do everything.

 

[jai6638]

hmm dayem... How can you get from the island to Seoul? Checked google maps and it doesnt show any bridges or ferries.. So is seoul only reachable by flight the 30 min flight? How much does that cost?