Jacqueline

Looking forward to meeting you in May.

Best wishes,

Bob

looking forward to meeting you and the other ten forum users ( that i've counted to date ) as well as those non forum users, next May, the hotel the night before could sound a good idea, any suggestions

all the best

Dave

I am not a regular poster but every now and then I do check it out and from this I see that there are many of the regular forum users going on this trip so I shall to look forward to meeting them and others that have booked.

My past 2 trips with JY - Spirit of India and Kerela were late evening departures and I was able to fly down from Manchester on the day of departure. For this trip I will be travelling down to Heathrow the day before and have an overnight stay in hotel. Any tips or advise to the best places to stay would be helpful.

Thanks and cheers for now

Sally

I'm planning to come down the night before and am looking at the Premier Inn on Bath Road. I have stayed there on previous JY holidays and its reasonably priced as well. Be nice to meet some others in the group before we fly out, if they are planning to stop at Heathrow the night before. Look forward to meeting you in May!

Regards Jacqueline

Hi Sally,

I'm planning to come down the night before and am looking at the Premier Inn on Bath Road. I have stayed there on previous JY holidays and its reasonably priced as well. Be nice to meet some others in the group before we fly out, if they are planning to stop at Heathrow the night before. Look forward to meeting you in May!

Regards Jacqueline

Hello Sally & Jacqueline

I always stay at the Premier Inn before morning flights from Heathrow (also the Premier Inn at Gatwick for flights from there). I have always enjoyed my stays there and I plan to do the same for the Borneo trip.

BTW, there appear to be several Premier Inns in Bath Road? Whatever, I normally stay at the one at 15 Bath Road, but would be happy to try any of the others, if they really exist.

Regards

Jim

Jaya

Just to comment on the hotels. I usually stay at Premier Inn T5 for flights from T5. However when I flew to Canada from Terminal 2, same as the Borneo trip, I stayed at Premier Inn 15 Bath Road. I used the Hoppa bus to get to the Terminal and it was a very short journey with the Central Bus Station for T2 the first stop - as always, a bit of a hike to the actual Terminal - grab a trolley as soon as you can - (I won't mention that I was overtaken by a fellow Forum member who had acquired buggy transport).

I agree with not making arrangements too early - in particular the hotel. I have paid £50 - £70 a night for PI T5 and my stay at PI 15 Bath Rd was £29. At the moment the web site prices are vey high for May - just keep on visiting til you reach a price you are happy with! Compare with other months for average prices too. Other forum users have favourite hotels or use the mystery hotel route to get real bargains. There are plenty of hints elsewhere on the forum.

Trying not to get too excited just yet! :shy:

regards

Dave

Really looking forward to this trip - a long time away but it will be upon us before we know it.

Regards

Sally

Wow I have just returned from my holiday, in Brazil and it looks like most of the forum is going to Borneo in May. Will there be any one left to book in June when I go?

At least I will get some good tips and reviews from you all.

It will be an amazing experience and I one I have been waiting a long time to reappear on the Just You list of adventures.

It will soon come around

Regards Julie

I agree it'll soon be here once xmas goes

regards Dave

Brazil was amazing. I travelled from Rio and the usual tourists spots down to the Pantenal. I was very lucky to see a Jaguar sitting on the side of the river and an anaconda slithering down the round. It was amazing but the highlight of the trip has to be Iguacu falls. We did both sides and they are the best falls I have ever seen. If you go make sure you do the Argentinan side as this was the best in my opinion.

Looking forward to Borneo it will be great seeing the orang-utans.

Regards Julie

Hello Dave,

Brazil was amazing. I travelled from Rio and the usual tourists spots down to the Pantenal. I was very lucky to see a Jaguar sitting on the side of the river and an anaconda slithering down the round. It was amazing but the highlight of the trip has to be Iguacu falls. We did both sides and they are the best falls I have ever seen. If you go make sure you do the Argentinan side as this was the best in my opinion.

Looking forward to Borneo it will be great seeing the orang-utans.

Regards Julie

Hi Calm Air Pal!

Welcome home - from yet another holiday!! I can't complain, I've just come back from Calabria - we did see a black squirrel!! I do hope we see the orangutans close up, and they don't all disappear like our polar bears last year!! I'm about to buy yet another long camera lens! Envious of you doing Brazil - that is definitely on my list. I'm in to doing the "B"s at the moment - Burma, Borneo!!

Cheers,

Hils

I hope Calabria was good. Brazil was amazing you must go especially to Iguacu Falls. It was a good holiday lots of interesting things to see and do.

You will have to let me know which camera you decide on there will be lots of clicking in Borneo.

Are you still going to Namibia?

Regards Julie

I also have a friend in Singapore (an ex-colleague). When I spoke with her a few days ago to inform her that I am coming to Singapore, she also mentioned that we must not miss the 'Gardens by the Bay' and also the aquarium. When I was in Singapore years ago, I did not visit Sentosa Island so if there is time then I would like to go there. I will find out from my friend if it is worth going. Jim has mentioned the river safari so there is a lot to do in the short time we are there. We are going to be very busy!

Jaya

That all sounds wonderful! From my point of view it is great that I'm travelling with some people who either know Singapore or know where to go while there. Yes we are going to be very busy but it should be a fantastic end to a great holiday. I can't wait!

Best wishes,

Bob

Me too - can't wait for this wonderful holiday. I know for sure we are going to have a fantastic time. I am looking forward to see how much Singapore has changed since I was last there quite a few years ago. My friend did tell me that the hotel we are meant to stay in is not near any Metro station. Apparently travelling by Metro is the best choice! We did travel on one whilst we were there.

Jaya

Hi Bob

I also have a friend in Singapore (an ex-colleague). When I spoke with her a few days ago to inform her that I am coming to Singapore, she also mentioned that we must not miss the 'Gardens by the Bay' and also the aquarium. When I was in Singapore years ago, I did not visit Sentosa Island so if there is time then I would like to go there. I will find out from my friend if it is worth going. Jim has mentioned the river safari so there is a lot to do in the short time we are there. We are going to be very busy!

Jaya

Hello Jaya,

Just back from an enjoyable week in Singapore.

Gardens by the Bay is marvellous, and worth at least half a day if not a whole day, as it is well worth seeing both by day and night (spectacular lighting).

The River Safari is a worthy addition to the main zoo and the Night Safari, probably half a day to see everything with the boat trips. Incidentally, the zoo has proboscis monkeys, sun bears and orang utans (all of which we'll see in Borneo), and the only white tiger which I have ever seen anywhere. The river safari has some red and giant pandas, for anyone who has not seen these in Chengdu or elsewhere.The Night Safari (with the Thumbuakar fire spitters) was a real "back to nature" experience,

Sentosa is interesting: Singapore's "Disneyland", with multiple attractions (including a Warner Bros studio with a Disneyland castle!), ideal for families with children. I found the "fun" parts rather irritating, with continuous piped music and repetitive announcements, but the "wild life and nature" bits were well worth a visit: there is an excellent "Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom" (great for nature photography), and some extensive hiking trails in the forest on Sentosa. Even if none of this appeals, it is still worth taking the cable car and the monorail for the views across the harbour area of mainland Singapore, especially at night.

Yes, we are really going to be busy there - I had six full days there and still didn't see everything I wanted to, so I am looking forward to another visit next May.

BTW, had the Marina Bay Sands hotel & resort been built when you were last year? If not, then you are in for a surprise!

Jim