Okay here I list some of my suggestions:
China - Beijing:
I`m sure you already know about the four themeparks that are possible to visit
Beijing Amusement Park
Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park
Happy Valley
Sun Park
I`ve done a big english trip report for themeparkreview (
Captain`s Big CHINA / THAILAND Tour - LAST PART: BANGKOK - Theme Park Review)
I would suggest at least two more days for cultural credits. The forbidden city is amazing, the summer palace is great and of course a trip to the great wall. Don`t visit the badaling part of the wall - I would recommend the Muntianyu part. It`s not that crowded and there`s a fun tobbagan slide.
Plus there are some more temples to visit in beijing and you can choose to do a fun rikscha ride through the hutong quarter.
We did all the stuff with taxis or the public transport. But we booked a private guide and a driver for the day with the great wall, summer palace and the hutong tour. This was really cheap and the guide was amazing. If you want I can give you the number and e-mail address from this guide!
China - Shanghai:
I know that our coasterfriends club member tsomts66 will visit shanghai in two months - he`ll sure bring some photos and suggestions back from his journey and will post it here!
Do you also want to visit Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hongkong?
Singapore:
This city is one of the greatest cities on earth! My last visit was ten years ago, but I`ll visit Singapore next april for the Universal Studios opening. You can do all the travelling with there great public transport. Singapore is a shoppers heaven, so be aware of your credit card. My most famous place is the Night Zoo - don`t miss that feeling. And of course for some great drinks and good food you`ll have to go to the clark quay.
Malaysia:
Kuala Lumpur is really a short jump from singapore. The city is nice, but not that cool. We only visited Sunway Lagoon, which we hit with a taxi ride.
All in all the above mentioned cities are easy to navigate and you don`t need a rental car. In all the cities public transport is easy and taxis are cheap. Singapore and Malaysia are an easy travel distance but there are a lot of non thrill airlines to choose from (f.ex. AirAsia).
Korea:
Okay, it`s only three weeks and I`ll visit korea. We`re staying five days in Seoul, travelling down to Daegu for one night and leave the country to Fukuoka with a last night in busan. I`ll report Live from korea/japan here at coasterfriends.de - so comeback for our photo stories beginning in april.
There`s a rail pass for the Korean Railway (similiar to the jr pass) and it`s really cheap. At the moment everything seems to be very cheap in korea (the won is so weak!). So we do our travel with public transport, train and taxis (they are not so expensive like in japan!).
I`ll let you know some insider tips after our homecoming end of april.
By the way - I did most of my research with tripadvisor.com
In Beijing we stayed at the penninsula, because we had a wonderful rate ( but I guess this hotel is now out of reach). In singapore are a lot of great hotels, but it`s not so cheap. For shoppers the best hotels are lined at there famous Orchard road. But I`ll look forward for a Sentosa Hotel for my next stay (if they don`t try to squeeze the last penny from me). Kuala Lumpur has real cheap five star hotels! In Korea we`re staying at the Ibis Myeong-Deong Hotel in Seoul, absolutely cheap and Nr. 1 at tripadvisor - a real bargain and good location for exploring Seoul!
In summary I don`t have any specific sources for hotels. Sometimes I use the hotel websites, expedia, booking.com or other reservation systems. But most of the time I prefer direct hotel and airline contact.
So keep asking questions and look forward to our reports in april and may (Shanghai).
Andy