1

There's nowhere there that you need to do a tour.......

19 days is pretty fast for all that though! But not impossible....

Depending on your interests...you can start with a couple of days in Singapore (or finish there-are you returning to the US from there as well ? )....then go up to KL for a couple of days (overland is cheap and easy-or you can get a cheap flight.

I'd then fly to Siem Reap from KL (do your Angkor stuff for 4 days)..then fly from SR down to Bangkok.

A few days in Bangkok and finish off with a relaxing beach for the last few days (Ko Samui if you want to-or there are many other less touristy and cheaper possibilites in Thailand).

Best food will be in Singapore,KL and Bangkok......

2

We are also flying out of Singapore. I can do without Siem Riep. Maybe for another trip when I do Vietnam. But from Bangkkok, do you suggest to fly to Ko Samui, or take the train? I wouldn't mind doing a hilltribe tour in the mainland, but I agree, I don't think I need tours for the rest. Maybe a beach hopping one?
Thanks

Edited by: amerimex

3

Air Asia fly to Surat Thani from Bangkok or else its Bangkok Airways direct to Koh Samui. You could otherwise buy a combo train/bus/boat in Bangkok. But really, which Islands would depend when you're travelling in relation to monsoon season.
For hill tribes, you'll need to go up to Chiang Mai but a lot of these trips are like visiting human zoos.

4

I think 19 days is more than enough time for the places on your itinerary. Angkor Wat is one of the great wonders of the world and you shouldn't skip it. 3 nights Singapore, 2 nights Kuala Lumpur, 4 nights Bangkok, 3 nights Siem Reap, 3 nights Koh Samui. That's only 15 nights, you'd still have about three extra days.

#1 gives you a good routing. Air Asia has cheap direct flights from KL to Siem Reap.

5

You CAN do your tour in the time frame involved but it will involve a lot of country-hopping, which you are already aware of, and of course you have already mentioned the buggaboo jet lag.

And you do NOT need to book a tour...IMHO. These places are all well-travelled, easy to get around, with lots of tourist infrastructure...a huge variety of hotels , restaurants, transportation, daily guides available if you need them which are bookable on a moment's notice, etc etc. A travel agent's job is to sell tours so it's quite understandable that they would recommend this. And it's also possible that they have never been to any of these places.

Personally, unless you need to use KL as a hub for Air Asia flights, I wouldn't spend more time there than you have to. Singapore and Bangkok have a huge range of amazing food, and Cambodian food in SR is great also. But it depends on your taste food, as I do have friends who love the food in KL.....

6

Agreed, NO TOURS needed for any of those places (except I have not been to Ko Samui so I don't know it). Big cities, just take public transit or taxis.

KL has a hop-on, hop-off bus you could ride for your initial orientation. Also, KL has awesome, awesome food everywhere, and you can definitely eat the street food (hawker fare) -- it is fantastic!