Depending on where you are staying, it may actually take you longer to take the 'airport express' train than the coach. The coach takes from 70-90 minutes but saves you travelling to the train station (particularly during rush hour) and can often pick you up from the hotel.

Ask at your hotel

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Many people, when doing a south-east Asian tour on business, will find they have to travel between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and vice versa. My suggestion is to think about using the executive coach travel available between both of these cities. It is not a great deal longer than the process of flying between these two points and involves a far friendlier and easier mode of travel.

The executive coaches have seats similar to airline business class ones. They have power points for laptop usage and food and entertainment on board for individuals. I have made the journey by plane many times and this was a little longer (maybe an hour at the most) but a lot less hassle and lot more pleasurable.

www.odysseynow.com.sg

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

It’s a long one. A very, very long one. Don’t worry though, if you’re lucky you’ll sleep through most of it. Make sure you bring plenty of things to do and a travel pillow. We drove through a maze of badly planned roads (which seem to get more and more complicated the further south you go) and into the bowels of a humongous ferry. Onboard you’ll be allowed off the coach (thank God!) so you can get breakfast at one of the overpriced shops on the steadily rising and falling boat. Be careful, it can be quite hard to stay upright when the floor constantly drops and then comes back up again. It takes a bit of getting used to, but you will eventually. The ferry journey should take about an hour or two.

After this, you’ll be in France! Yay! And after another five hours of coach journeying you’ll be in Normandy! ………..yay. Make sure you bring sun cream, hats and sunglasses, because it’s very hot! The weather is fantastic there and you’ll get a real shock when you arrive from rainy old England.

There’s a lot to do in Normandy - we explored the gun batteries at Longue Sur Mer, saw the Bayeux Tapestry and cathedral, looked around three world war two cemeteries, visited two (yes two!) different museums and watched a cool 360 degree film on the 360 cinema in Arromanches.

The British cemetery is a nice understated but well-kept place, the German Cemetery is very small and cramped with at least two people to a grave and the American Cemetery is a massive and superbly decorated place, with immaculately laid-out gravestones, all facing America. It practically screams “We Won The War” at you. You’ll notice the difference right away.

Finally, the 360 cinema is an amazing thing to see. It’s literally all around you. It can make you feel a bit dizzy so make sure you don’t accidentally start leaning sideways when the camera starts to turn!

From Tom Billson (age 14).

Arromanches 360
chemin du calvaire
14117 Arromanches les Bains
Tel : +33 (0) 2 31 22 30 30

Normandy American Cemetery
'Omaha Beach'
14710 Colleville sur Mer
France
Tel: 0231516200
www.abmc.gov

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Malacca is a historic Malaysian town with a less sanitised atmosphere than Singapore. You can see it in a day on a fully escorted coach trip run by RMG Tours. Considering the distance, you get a reasonable flavour of the place as well as an excellent hotel lunch, for a very good price.

The same company do a tour to Kukup but this is comparatively disappointing, with three stops en route and inadequate time at the destination. They offer other tours within Singapore itself, which are less worthwhile as the public transport system is so good and taxis plentiful and cheap.

RMG's address is 109C Amoy Street, Singapore 069929. It has booking desks in the Orchard Road Visitors' Centre and various hotels, or see the website at www.rmgtours.com

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The road from Sorrento to Amalfi hugs the cliff as it curves around vertical rock faces with the tail of the bus swinging out over the edge and bringing visions of the Afterlife to those passengers sitting on the right hand side. Be thankful that this observation is from a large air-conditioned, soft-sprung, reclining seat in the front of a Mercedes coach and not from the small hire car that is between this coach and another in front.

Coach drivers consider it a matter of pride to be as close as possible to everything including the cliff edge. Every corner is blasted peremptorily by the wind-horn and coaches give way to nothing. It is small consolation that the casual manner of the driver comes from driving this coastline several times a day and that he sleeps soundly in his bed at night.

The final plunge into Amalfi some ninety minutes later leaves the traveller in a melee of coaches parking, baffled tourists and drivers arguing.

South of Sorrento

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends