SusanC

I just bought tickets to go to Hong Kong and Thailand - leaving tomorrow!

I have 7 days in Thailand and looking for advice. I am debating whether I stay just in Central Thailand or go up north to Chiang Mai. My thoughts for the central region are as follows:

Bangkok
Ko Samet for beaches (not a big beach person so 1-2 days is enough)
Ayutthaya for ruins
Chanthaburi / Kaho Khitchakut Nat’l Par
Kanchanaburi / River Kwai/ Jungle

Otherwise I would probably do just Bangkok, Chiang Mai, any maybe one of the above. In Chiang Mai I would want to go do some trekking and visit Doi Inthanon National Park and Wat Phra That Dio Suthep. I’m also interested in seeing elephants.

I leave on Monday so any suggestions would be helpful! Also hotel suggestions would be appreciated

Finally, I am also spending 2 days in Hong Kong – was there 10 years ago just before changeover. I just got out some guidebooks to read about new things to see but if you have anything you really think I shouldn’t miss, please suggest. Thanks!

Kathie

You have a week in Thailand. Choose two places. Otherwise, you'll spend all of your time going from place to pace and almost no time enjoying Thailand. Asia lends itself to slow travel. I'd choose Bangkok and one other place: either north (Chaing Mai or the Golden Triangle area) or a beach in the south. Which to choose depends on your interests. From your comments, I take it you aren't a beach person, so opt for northern Thailand. While you can take a day trip out of Bangkok if you want, a mere 4 days in Bangkok isn't much for a city with so much to offer. (By the way, your first plan, that you call central Thailand has you going to four differernt places, only two of which are day trips - it sounds exhausting and no fun.)

As far as hotels are concerned, give us a price range so we can be helpful.

landini

I responded to your Turkey post and asked you to consider Southeast Asia instead, so I feel compelled to offer you some advice here.

I think you should consider spending half of your time in Chiang Mai. You can take a 2 day trek which includes riding an elephant and a really fun river raft cruise. Make sure you pick a company that includes these, most do. Your hotel will book for you.

You could also take a Thai cooking class. I thought this was really fun and actually took the night class, which I thought was plenty of time and left my day free to do something else. I went to Baan Thai Cooking school in Chiang Mai, but there are others. Get one that includes a trip to the market. Again, the hotel will book for you and the school will pick you up at your hotel, same for the trek. See, it's so easy.

The other thing I would recommnend is a Thai massage. I splurged at the Oasis and it was definitely worth it. Again, they pick you up. Complement this with the $1.75 foot massages at the night market where you can buy your souveneirs. If you are there on a Sunday, go to the Sunday market which is more for locals, but get there early in the evening as it gets very crowded.

I just think it's such a nice trip for a single female. You will feel totally comfortable at night, eating alone in restaurants, etc. Besides, these activities give you a chance to interact with other people.

I stayed at Baan Orapin, which was fantastic, but they may be full. I've also stayed at the Riverside. Also, popular.

There's lots to do in Bangkok, but don't spend all your time there.

Good Luck. Have fun.

jlaughs

As far as I can tell, your transportation to/from Koh Samet from Bangkok would take up a good part of one day (i.e. 3 hrs bus, 30 mins ferry). Even by air, you have to take into account checking in early and flight delays. Please reconsider going to Koh Samet if you would only go for 1-2 days. We went to Koh Samui from Bangkok for 2 days and it is the one thing on my trip that I wish I'd done differently. We were tired all the time from having to get up so early for our flight and wasted HOURS coming back to Bangkok because of numerous flight delays. We didn't really get to do much on Koh Samui because the time was so short. I'm glad we got to see Koh Samui, but, it was not the enjoyable experience I was anticipating.

Have fun!

JamesA

You can't fly to Koh Samet, it's road/boat.
7 days is not much time, I agree a couple of places should be enough. If you are now really into beaches then perhaps Ayauthaya and other places easy reach from bangkok might be enough. If yuo want some beach, temples, elephant ride you can cab or bus down to Hua hin area easily. if you want an island as a must then Samet maybe but Samet is very quiet and unless you are really into lazing about beachwise there is little else.

You could go to Ayuthaya and then down to Kanchanaburi and River Kwai area and then cut thru south east ( avoiding bangkok ) to Hua Hin for some beach time and lazing if you wanted to avoid more flights, easy to get place to place by bus or with a car and driver, very easy.

SusanC

Thanks everyone. I think I will divide time between Bangkok (4 days) and Chiang Mai (3 days). No beach. If I want I can go to one of the other places near Bankok on a day trip.

Re hotels, I think I would like to go reasonably upscale/midrange and would like to have a place with private bath, A/C, a pool and to be centrally located. I don't care that much about other amenities or amenities (other than helping me arrange trips when in Chiang Mai). Although the prices on trip advisor look a bit inconsistent, hotels seem to be reasonably priced so I could get something very nice for under $100.

In Chiang Mai would you suggest guest house or hotel? I like to be very central (but not too noisy!) From my guidebook, the River View Lodge sounds nice. Other possibilities include: Lai Thai Guest House, Diamond Riverside, Yaang Come Village. Any comments on these?

Sounds like wherever I stay, will help me arrange an excursion/trek.

Landini - where are the hotels you mentioned? I didn't see them listed in either Bangkok or Chiang Mai.

I will do some more research on Bangkok hotels but now I need to run some errands since I leave tomorrow!

Chitown

Have stayed at the Century Park Hotel rates are around $50.00, it is very close to the sky train. Check out this site for low cost rates www.bangkok-hotel.ws/index.htm

Kathie

Baan Orapin is in Chaing Mai. Many people on this board have stayed there recently and it has gotten good reviews. Note that it does not have a pool, and it is not in the center of town (those might be either advantages or disadvantages for you) I've chosen Yaang Come Village for my trip to CM in November. Do a search on this board for many reviews.

In Bangkok, I'm an advocate of the river area. Of teh hotels right on the river, the Marriott Resort and Spa is the least expensive. Another options close to the river is the serviced apartments, Centerpointe Silom. You should be able to stay there for under US$100.

Take a look at www.sawasdee.com for hotel reservations. Their rates include tax and service (for a total of 17%) and often include breakfast,

landini

As listed above, Baan Orapin is in Chiang Mai. I think it is very centrally located. I walked everywhere from there. It's across the street from the Ping river. It's really charming, great service and only about 35/40 dollars US. I believe their website is under Baan Orapin. They may not respond to your e-mail right away, but you could have someone call once you're in Bangkok. Unless you must have a pool, you will not be disappointed. The other hotel was the Riverview Lodge, not Riverside sorry, in Chiang Mai. They have a pool, but I never used it. Nice also, but I didn't like it as much. It's on the river, if you get a reservation at this late date -take it. Yaang Come Village looked lovely, but I thought it wasn't that central, I could be wrong. Wherever you stay, bring earplugs. There is lots of street traffic almost everywhere.

Book your trek first thing, as it will take up two full days. I thought 2 days was plenty, but they offer 3 day treks, also. Treat yourself to a massage afterwards, you'll need it.

In Bangkok, I would splurge and try to stay on the river. The Marriott Spa gets raves on this forum. Make sure you book the one on the river, because there are two Marriotts. Take a Klong cruise. They have cooking classes in Bangkok, also. I took mine in Chiang Mai and thought the setting was intimate.

If you're there on a weekend, there is some huge market, forget the name, but the biggest in the world, supposedly. I found it a huge waste of time. It was big, but not very interesting. There are other small markets that are just as good.

If you go to the River Kwai, they have these jungle raft hotels that look fun. They have elephant crossings right in front of your raft/hotel, a floatel as they call them. I wanted to stay there, but never made it.

I'm jealous, I wish I was going back. Let us know how it turns out. I'll try to give you an update on Turkey for your next trip.

SusanC

RE Bangkok, most of you are recommending hotels on the river. My friend suggested that I stay close to the Grand Palace b/c it is convenient and if you get hot walking around the historic area you can go back and jump in the pool. However the hotel in which he stayed (Royal Bangkok) got poor reviews so I’m looking for another one in that area. Do any of you have suggestions in this area or do you really think I should stay on the river which looks to be less convenient?

Also it is going to be very HOT while I am there! Can I wear shorts most of the time? Will thrown in a sarong to carry around to wrap around me when entering temples.

althom1122

Strongly suggest booking Sergeant Kai in Chiang Mai. He can take you to whichever elephant camp you want to do (we did the Elephant Conservation Camp near Lampang) and combined it with Doi Suthep and a brief stop in Lamphun. We also used his company (with a different guide) for a day that included a short bamboo raft ride, a stop at a lovely waterfall, a local market, and a short trek (2-3 hours) in Doi Inthanon National Park. We had a wonderful time. That filled two days and we spent another full day on our own in Chiang Mai.

Here's Sergeant Kai's website:
http://www.chiangmaitours.com/index.html

Have a great trip!
Karen

althom1122

The short trek, by the way, ended at a totally untouristy hill tribe village. No electricity, not a tourist stand or even another tourist in sight.

Kathie

The hotels along the river are very convenient to the Grand Palace - you just take a water taxi. The Grand palace is easily accessible (perhaps a block away) from a water taxi stop.

I would also suggest that you not wear shorts most of the time in Bangkok. Shorts are, of course, not appropriate for visiting wats, and are frowned upon in nice restaurants. Long, light pants or skirts are actually cooler. You want something to keep the sun off of you. Also, no sleeveless tops for visiting wats.

SusanC

OK re Bangkok hotels, I have narrowed it down to the following 4:

Bossotel Inn for $35
Millenium Hilton for $120 (brand new so this is a deal)
Amari Boulevard for $85
Shangri-La for $135 (I know this does not include tax - can't remember if others did or not)

I realize this is a rather schizophrenic(sp) list but they all had pros and cons and seemed good for their respective prices. My issues with each are:

Bossotel - very mixed reviews.
Millenium - think it is on other side of river (near Pennisula) so might be inconvient. Also a few neg reviews.
Amari - seems out of way (I'm not going to any shopping malls!)
Shangri-La - expensive

Comments?

Re CM, I can't find the Baan Orapin listed in Trip Advisor. Yang looks great so I will probably do that one.

Bella_Bluebell

Here is the link for the Baan Orapin reviews on tripadvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...hiang_Mai.html

Gpanda

The Hilton is just across the river from the Roayal Orchid Sheraton and River City Mall. A quick hop on the cross river ferry and you're there. The S-la has the most convenient location of the river hotels. It's right by the Skytrain.

Kathie

Yes, you are looking at VERY different kinds of hotels in Bangkok. I'd stick with the Hilton or the Shangri-La from your list. The Amari will be inconvenient for you, the Bossotel is in a different class entirely, a budget place with the pluses and minuses that go along with that.

Guenmai

For your particular situation I would probably go with the Hilton or the Shangri-la in Bangkok..or Centre Point at Silom...a serviced apartment building. Then you'd have a kitchen and could save more money. As for what to do...I'd spend 5 days in Bangkok and two up in Changmai. I like Changmai, but it's small enough to easily do. If you get there early in the morning, then you can get a full day in and then the second day go trekking. I don't understand why you'd want to trek in that heat...I'm from a hot place and used to heat, but would never trek in Thai heat....but...good luck. It's hotter than imaginable in Thailand right now. Happy Travels!

SusanC

OK, just off the plane. I think I ignored most of your advice but here is what I did:

Stayed at the Bossotel Inn in BKK. One night had drink at Shangri La and another at Oriental with the idea of staying at one of them when I returned to BKK. Frankly didn't spend enough time in hotel to justify staying at a more expensive place. Never got back to hotel before 9, then swam, showered and went to dinner and got home around midnight and went to sleep. Re the convenience factor, I decided there is no convenient place to stay! I spent more on taxis/tuk-tuks in 2.5 days in Bangkok than I have spent in past 5 years in New York City! Ditto some of the other cities - was definitely the most annoying part of the trip was dealing with these people!

I did travel around Thailand and it was fine! Actually I found it a lot easier to move around the country then around BKK itself!

Day 1: BKK
Day 2: Morning flight to Chiang Mai - day there including the 15 K night pigrimage up to Doi Suthep for the Buddhist holiday (also walked 6k of the return)
Day 3-4: 2 day hiking trip which included bamboo rafting and elephant ride
Day 5: Morning flight to BKK - took train from airport to Ayutthaya. This worked brilliantly! Arrived before 11am and had rest of day to explore city by bike.
Day 6: early morning visit via tuk-tuk to 2 Wats which were too far to go on bike. Late morning van to Kanchanaburi - arrive at 12:45. Rented bike and rode to cemetaries, market, JEATH museum, bridge etc.
Day 7: Full day guided excursion to Erawan, Hellfire Pass, Death Railway. Evening van from Kanchanaburi to BKK (back to Bossotel).
Day 8: BKK
Day 9: Jim Thompson's house and then off to airport for 1:45 flight to Hong Kong. I was so happy to be in a city where I could walk and take the metro! NO TAXIS.

Thanks for all of your help!

Kathie

If you don't stay on the river or next to a Skytrain stop, you end up using taxis. That's why we suggested a hotel on the river (you take water taxis to Grand Palace and Wat Po, water taxis to Skytrain). I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Too bad you spent all that time in taxis!