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Depart 28 January 2023

Return 4 February 2023

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What 10915 DialAFlight clients thought of Asia

Very helpful all the way through

Ash, who helped me with everything, was an excellent travel agent - our 4 week holiday to Thailand was perfect

All went well thank you.

All worked really well. Special thanks to Calvin Ali who dd a great job!

Everything went very smoothly. Communication excellent at all times. Thanks to Russell Harrison for all his help. Would definitely use DialAFlight again.

Jerry Bushnell and team always go the extra mile and are ever helpful. Always there to reassure and help. BRILLIANT

So good to be able to talk plans through with a real person! Would definitely recommend

Great assistance whilst away travelling

Everything went like clockwork. Many thanks for everything!

Great service. Many thanks

KLM has too many delays - in the Philippines it was a two hour delay and same in Amsterdam on the way back to Scotland

Always a great service from Cody...been using them for over 20 years

Tony was brilliant as always with a “personal touch” you will struggle to get with other tour operators

All went according to plan. No fuss, no problems. Great job.

Excellent service from start to finish. Expert advice with excellent communication and updates.

Tara never fails in doing everything she can to help with a booking. I have used her many times and recommended her to others. She is professional, extremely helpful, knowledgeable and friendly

Brilliant service from DialAFlight

Very helpful when I booked my flight First class service

I have used DialAFlight for many years, Connie being my main point of contact and she is very good.

Extremely helpful - could not be happier with the service you provide. 10 out of 10

Vinnie is always helpful

All went like clockwork and my questions were answered promptly and were informative.

Ewan and his team are the best! We have worked with DialAFlight for close to two decades. Keep up the good work and customer focus.

I always use DialAFlight and find them very competitive and responsive

I have experience booking my own world travel but was recommended your company by a friend. Staff were polite, very helpful and efficient. The updates and tips on visas etc. for my flights were also very useful and could not be happier with the service I received

The accommodation at Centara Villas Samui was nice but not ideal for older people because it has lots of steps down to restaurants and the beach. But could not fault the food.

Great communication with Declan

All flights were as booked and I felt comfortable while travelling that Tammy was only a phone call away should any problem arise.

I dealt with Declan as I have done on many occasions, and as usual his advice and guidance was excellent. Plus the follow up phone call gives the service a personal touch.

Spencer was great from booking right through to contact when we ran into a problem. I would definitely recommend him for future holidays.

Super stopover

Singapore fling!

As a stopover or destination, this city-state is packed with excitement - let Will Hide give you the lowdown on how to explore it in 48 hours

Singapore's star is shining ever more brightly as a top tourist destination - it has a fantastic bar and foodie scene and a host of new design hotels. And of course it has a reputation for being a super-safe and super-clean city.

The island city-state off southern Malaysia is a melting pot of trade, tourism and cultures - it's a global financial centre with a tropical climate and multi-cultural population.

Its colonial core centres on the Padang, a cricket field since the 1830s and now flanked by grand buildings such as City Hall, with its 18 Corinthian columns. And in Chinatown, dating from about 1820, stands the red-and-gold Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, said to house one of Buddha's teeth.

Singapore is ideal either as a final destination or as a stopover en route to Australia or New Zealand. Here's how to get the best and most fun out of it in two days.

First evening
A selection of flights from Heathrow land round about 6pm local time.
A 30-minute or so drive from Changi airport will get you to your hotel - and shortly afterwards to the bar, with perhaps a Madame Butterfly cocktail in your hand (tequila, watermelon, rosé wine and soda water).

Singapore's famous Raffles is reopening this summer after a major refurbishment, so a revitalising Singapore Sling will be available there - or otherwise that particular cocktail can also be thoroughly enjoyed at the Loof bar in the Civic District.

The famous Long Bar at Raffles Hotel where the Singapore Sling was first created

Day One, morning
Download the Grab app - Singapore's version of Uber - then head to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, where you can pop up to the rooftop Lavo restaurant for brunch with a view. The ricotta pancakes with lemon and blueberries are divine. If you want something a little different, how about chicken and waffles?

Next door to the hotel is the lotus flower-shaped ArtScience Museum, which hosts exhibitions from design to technology. A short walk away, the Gardens By The Bay cover 250 acres and feature 220,000 plants.
The 18 futuristic, steel-clad 'trees' are actually giant exhausts for the turbines that cool the bio-dome greenhouses.

Afternoon
Head to one of Singapore's giant malls and you'll never be short of shopping and dining opportunities, but it's even better for a reviving blast of cool air in a city that often has high humidity levels.

At Ion on Orchard Road, there are plenty of designer stores to browse, although there are budget options too. As a tourist, you can claim back the seven per cent Goods & Services Tax.

When you're ready for a snack, go to the basement food court for toast with kaya, a caramel-like spread of sugar, coconut milk and eggs.

Evening
In Chinatown, chef Ivan Brehm, formerly of Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck, conjures up superb flavours at Nouri. A five-course tasting menu with wine pairings costs £155 per person. Dishes include Afro-Brazilian fritters with turmeric, coconut sauce, bread and salted prawn vatapa, and nasturtium marshmallow with candied orange.

A short walk away is Native, where Vijay Mudaliar crafts cocktails from weird and wonderful ingredients including pureed grasshoppers.

Day Two, morning
Escape the hustle and bustle and see a different side of Singapore by taking the North-South line of the metro to Kranji and the Kranji War Cemetery, where 4,000 Commonwealth soldiers killed in two world wars lie buried.

Before you head back, join the locals in the Kopitam cafe at Kranji station, where a bowl of laksa - spicy noodle soup - costs less than £2.50.

Afternoooon
Back in central Singapore, see places featured in the recent hit movie Crazy Rich Asians from the sidecar of a souped-up, chauffeur-driven Vespa. The two-hour tour includes a stop for food.

Hawker Chan is the only Michelin Star Hawker food outlet in Singapore

Evening
Hawker centres are an institution here - no-frills food courts where the prices are great and food is top-notch.

In Queenstown, Timbre+ provides a modern take on one, with outlets housed in shipping containers. Grab a bucket of ice for your beers, then choose a starter at one spot, a main somewhere else and dessert at a third.

Before you head to Changi Airport for your flight back to the UK, kick back at Timbre+'s rooftop pool - it's open until midnight.

First published in the Mail on Sunday - May 2019

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