Joanne

Hi. I have invited my parents to Asia this next year in January. I know that this is high season and will be very busy, but I think that Thailand is at least an easy place to get around. I have been there several times, mostly to beaches, but I did it on 150 baht a day and no sleep and crammed into mini-buses. I loved the exciting places I got to see, but my folks cannot do this, obviously. Anyone have any ideas about not AS touristy places which can be done on a budget ($40 USD-$70 USD) a day and that will not tax my parents. I do not think that they will want to take the pick-up trucks on the scary roads of Ko Tao or spend 20 hours in transit from North to South. Any 65 year olds with advice would be great (and obviously anyone else) They have also never been anywhere outside of Canada and the U.S., except for one cruise last year. Thanks a lot. Joanne

Rosy Girl

My parents had a stop over in Thailand and visited Chiang Mai, Bangkok, River Kwai and Huahin. It is ok as long as you plan. If they are flying with Thai then you can make arrangements with Royal Orchid Holidays. Not as cheap as the rest but at least you know they will be fine. Do check what they want to see, maybe they love beaches, maybe they would prefer to see places like the Grand Palace, Jim Thompson's house and the like.<BR>Just make sure they have reputable and well known hotels and that you sort their transfers out. A biggy is them arriving at an airport and having to deal with cab drivers etc. They will have a great time,.

Andrea

My best advice is to choose the time of year carefully; dealing with the heat and humidity can be one of the hardest parts of an Asian trip. My in-laws (60 and 55-ish?) went to Thailand a couple of years ago when it was very, very hot and humid, and had a hard time enjoying the trip (they DID enjoy it, but mentioned that the weather was really hard on them). When it's so hot here I'm absolutely melting, it's not very much fun for me, either! <BR><BR>I think fall or winter is generally the best time to go, since spring is often the rainy season (of course, it will vary by country).<BR><BR>I think Thailand is a pretty good choice - such a vibrant and interesting culture, a wide diversity of activities, a pretty well-established tourism industry, friendly service, a wide range of choices in all budgets.<BR><BR>The two websites I use for weather planning are:<BR><BR>weather.yahoo.com (no www in front) <BR><BR>and<BR><BR>www.weather.com<BR><BR>I have also heard that www.wunderground.com is very good - it's highly recommended on the Europe board. (Poor me - I can't get onto the English version since it's one of those annoying so-called "smart" websites that determines which languages are running on your computer and only displays the language it finds in the OS, which in my case is Chinese . . . only I can't read Chinese!)

Scotters

I am in the same age group as you parents and have been travelling to asia (Thailand etc) for the last 20 years. I would make the following Comments.<BR>Since your parents have not been out of North America they will be in for a culture shock. Explain to them (as you have been there) what to expect, the heat and hunidity (january is one of the cooler months), the traffic and polution, the ordor of street foods being cooked, the poverty (by our standards) that they will see and the mass of people on the streets especially in Bangkok.<BR>In Bangkok try to get a mid priced hotel that is within walking distance of a skytrain station. This will provide easy access to most of the shopping and restaurant areas and also will connect you to the river ferries. These can be used to get to the Grand Palace, Wat Pho etc. <BR>While in Bangkok consider a couple of day tours to the Bridge on the River Kwai and the ancient city of Ayuthaya. Maybe consider a dinner cruise one evening.<BR>Take them to Chiang Mai for a few days (either by overnight sleeper train or flying) Arrange a day tour to the Golden Triangle while there.<BR>For a beach consider Hua Hin about 3-4 hours by train from Bangkok. While the beach cannot be copared to those of Phuket or Ko Samai. it is less expensive and touristy and there are great seafood reataurants.<BR>Hope this helps

Veronica

USD40-70 is about Thai Baht 1,800-3,000, that is not bad. Agree with what everyone else has said. Do try and be sure that they see what they would like to see, also agree that Hua Hin is about the best beach town for them. If from the U.S you can book them at Marriots in Bangkok and Hua Hin ( if you book both I think they give a free car transfer between the 2, not sure though ). Are they flying from East coast or West coast ? If from East coast I would say they should take the opportunity/relief of a stop on the way. If you route them via London remember that Windsor Castle is very close to Heathrow Airport and is ideal for a stopover, even just for 1 night.

nancy1

You might check out Grand Circle tours for your parents. Really, it's not filled with old fogies. The great parts are the guides, easy transport (flight/bus) and you don't have to do everything within the tour. You really can't beat the price.

Marilyn

Going on my 2nd GCT Tour to Thailand in Jan. Went to Turkey in Nov. 01 with. Fabulous. Wonderful time. Agree bout tranportation and the guides.