Dianne

Last spring I happened to look at Cosmos' Asia brochure. I always assumed Asia was out of my price range, but there was a reasonably priced tour to Thailand. I looked up some stuff on the net and got some guidebooks from the library and decided I was interested. I booked the Oct. 28 - Nov. 7 tour and here's how it went.

Dianne

Itinerary: 3 days Bangkok, 3 days northern Thailand, 2 1/2 days Phuket. Overall, it was a good tour. It is relatively new, however, and does need some fine tuning. The amount of time spent in Bangkok and Phuket was about right, but the northern portion desperately needs another day. It was operationally impossible to do everything in the brochure in the time allotted. Also, because this part occurs in the middle of the tour, you can't add any extra days on your own. <BR>Our tour director, Monica from the US, was excellent. Organized, tireless, and friendly, she seemed to genuinely enjoy traveling with our group. Our local guides in Bangkok and northern Thailand were very good too. The hotels were above average for a low cost tour, I thought. Same goes for the included buffet breakfasts. Lots of food and variety, piles of fresh fruit, Asian and American choices. <BR>There were only 17 of us on the tour (11 USA, 6 Canadian). The tour before and the one after had been canceled due to lack of people. Apparently, I was told, people traveling to Asia prefer to see several countries rather than concentrate on just one. I prefer to focus on one country and see different regions. Anyway, it worked out well with 17 being a nice size. Six of the group (not me) took the optional 3 day add-on to Cambodia after Thailand. We were a younger than average bunch, and very unusual, there were no couples on this trip. Single travelers, mothers/daughters, and friends made up our group. Many were extremely well-traveled and a great source of info for my future travel plans.

Dianne

The Flight <BR> <BR>I live in Canada and flew Northwest to LA and stayed overnight thinking it would be an easier trip that way. Well, I don't think anything could have made that 19+ hour LA-Bangkok trip easy! There were times I thought I'd be on that plane for the rest of my life. Prior to this, my longest single flight had been 10 hours. In 12 hours, we finally landed in Tokyo for a 1 hour stop. At least we could get out and walk around, but then there were still 6 whole hours to go. I flew Thai air, by the way. The food was good (not great, but fine) although I could have done with 1 more meal on the LA-Tokyo leg. Two feedings in 12 hours was a little skimpy. It's not as if there's much else for us to do, but eat! That's about the most exciting part of a long flight, unwrapping those little dishes on the tray to see what you get. Yes, we were pretty desperate for entertainment. Is it just me or are airlines showing really bad movies lately? The woman next to me must have been a cat in a previous life. I swear, she slept 16 of the 19 hours. How do people do that? <BR> <BR>Bangkok <BR>We arrived in Bangkok 2 days (seriously) after leaving LA, shortly after midnight Oct. 30. There were 7 of us including the tour director on that flight. I think it took about an hour for us all to go thru immigration and get our luggage. Our local Bangkok guide met us and we were transferred to Sol Twin Towers, our hotel for the next 3 nights. We were checked in by 2am and were to meet at 9am for our included city tour. <BR>The hotel was nice enough. There's a large lobby, several restaurants, shops, a tour desk, etc. There was nothing of interest in walking distance, but tuk tuks and taxis are cheap. There seemed to be mainly groups staying there.

Dianne

Our little group met after breakfast and we were briefed on the tour. Shortly after, we left for our city sightseeing which would include the Grand Palace and Wat Arun. The Grand Palace with its Temple of the Emerald Buddha was very impressive. So many bright colors and gold everywhere. It's very easy to go thru a lot of film here. Our tour director aptly described it as Disneyland for Buddha. It's quite busy with tour groups. <BR>It was noticeably cooler on the river as we took our private ferry to the Temple of the Dawn, Wat Arun. There weren't many tourists here and we had time to look around. There were lots of souvenir stalls if anyone wanted to start shopping. Our tour director, Monica, had thoughtfully purchased some of the more exotic fruits for us to try. My favorite was the mangosteen. Before returning to the hotel, there was a stop at a jewelry store. Monica didn't believe in forced shopping though, so those who weren't interested could be transferred right back to the hotel. <BR>That night, there was an optional dinner cruise. I decided to go because I knew I'd probably end up going to sleep too early and waking up in the middle of the night if I stayed in. Also, I wanted to try a variety of Thai food and see the city at night. There was a thunderstorm which was kind of cool and we were completely protected from the rain on the boat. It was way overpriced at $31US, but the food was good and I was glad I went. There aren't really many buildings lit up on the riverbank in Bangkok, but the dinner was a good chance to get to know some of the group.

Dianne

The next day was free. Cosmos offered a day trip to the floating market and Rose Garden cultural show. I had my heart set on Ayutthaya and had booked a tour thru the hotel with some others in our group. Ayutthaya used to be the capital of Thailand (1300's - 1700's) and its many ruins are found 2 hours north of Bangkok mixed in with the modern town. We were transferred by minibus to another hotel and joined some other tourists and a guide. We traveled out by coach thru some unimpressive countryside, first stopping at the Bang Pa In, the Royal Summer Palace. This is a pretty site with gardens, royal residences, and a fish pond, though I think most of us would have opted to spend more time at Ayutthaya instead. On arriving at Ayutthaya, our first visit was Wat Yai Chai Mongkol. There is a large stone reclining Buddha and we were able to climb the chedi ( kind of a Thai pyramid). There is also a functioning Wat (temple) with a gold-colored Buddha and many offerings set out including a pig face. There was a monk under glass here which was kind of strange and, we decided, must be made of wax. At this point there was some confusion (our guide's English was hard to understand) and it sounded like we could ride elephants and then we were leaving. That would certainly have been a disappointing and short visit, but actually we were to have an included elephant ride, for whoever wanted, to the next site. The ride was extremely rocky and lots of fun. We ended up at Wat Phra Si Sanphet, a huge and beautiful site. It was the royal temple and palace of the time. I took many pictures here and we had time to wander around. Next to this site is Viharn Phra Mongkol Bophit, a more modern (1956) temple with one of the largest bronze (or was it brass?) Buddhas. The market across from it sells all kinds of souvenirs and food at reasonable prices. It's not just for tourists, so there's some interesting food choices if you're adventurous. I had wanted to see Wat Wattanaram too, but unfortunately it wasn't on our schedule. It was time for us to leave for the pier. We had a 3 hour lunch cruise back to Bangkok. I thought this cruise was fabulous. The buffet is good and you have the chance to see life on the Chao Phraya river from the rural areas on into Bangkok. It was one of the highlights of my trip. When we arrived in Bangkok, we were transferred from the River City pier back to the hotel, but first we got caught in one of those traffic jams and just sat for about 15 min. Just when the fumes were starting to choke us, we started to move. I must say, I really had no desire to ride in a tuk tuk in Bangkok. People on motorcycles and the poor traffic police were wearing large white masks. I hope it helps them. We arrived back about 4:30pm.

Dianne

At breakfast the next morning, I heard about the Rose Garden and floating market tour. The floating market was interesting, but tourists mostly get off the boat and shop at souvenir stalls on shore rather than from the boats. The Rose Garden is a culture center with traditional dancing, elephants, a mock wedding, etc. Then they sing songs for each visiting country (ex. Waltzing Matilda for Aussies, etc.). Yikes! Sounded way too touristy, but it's obviously meant to be. Ayutthaya and the cruise was definitely the right choice for me personally. <BR>I had booked a half day temple tour thru the hotel and ended up having my own private guide and driver. It began with a very modest temple (Wat Traimit) containing a most impressive 5 1/2 tonne solid gold Buddha. Next we walked thru the large flower market in Chinatown. My guide said a lot of the flowers end up in hotel lobbies and restaurants for decoration. Some of them were incredibly cheap, for example, 2 dozen mini roses for less than $1. We continued to Wat Pho, home of the giant reclining Buddha. If there's a bigger reclining Buddha in the world, I can hardly imagine it. It was simply awesome. Here I met a man from our group who was touring by tuk tuk. He wanted to see the National Museum as well, but the tuk tuk driver said it was closed (no doubt had some shopping and factory stops in mind). My guide told him not to believe it and get another driver if he refused to take him there. Sure enough, he insisted and found the museum open. Wat Pho was, without question, the most impressive temple complex I saw. There were no tour groups when I was there, so it was quiet and just so gorgeous. Next we drove to the pretty Marble Temple. Here some Thai men in red robes were taking pictures of each other. They had just graduated from University and apparently decided I was just what their grad photos needed! They gave me a basket of flowers to hold and I patiently posed with them for 5 or 6 photos. Puzzling, but funny. My guide asked if I wanted to have a factory stop. Not really, so they took me back to the hotel. We were leaving for the airport that afternoon for our flight to Chiang Mai. <BR> <BR>More later.

Dianne

Our 1 hour flight to Chiang Mai was uneventful and on arriving, we met our local guide, Pam. Pam was wonderful. She gave us much information about Thailand over the next couple of days as well as many hilarious personal stories. Unfortunately, this tour allowed no time to see the city of Chiang Mai (we'll just have to wait for Lynn to come back to hear about it). We arrived at the Empress hotel (very nice and comfortable) at about 8pm and would leave at 7am the next morning. An extra night here would greatly improve this tour. The Empress is 5 min. by tuk tuk to the large night market. I went with a couple of others to look around. There's lots of clothes, the usual souvenirs, and some very nice handicraft shops. There's a food court and fast food restaurants too. We went back by 11pm since we had to get up at 5:30am. <BR> <BR>Pam pointed out a few things on our way out of Chiang Mai, but we didn't even get to drive by the historical center. It's definitely cooler than in Bangkok, at least at night and early morning. Our first stop was the Mai Sa elephant camp. As soon as we arrived we were able to mingle with the elephants. There were cheap bananas for sale to feed them. Two elephants were trained to link trunks and lift you up in the air for a picture. It was great to be able to interact with them with no barriers and no one got stepped on! It was pretty exciting. Next, the elephants went down to the river for their bath. It was really funny, especially the way the little ones splashed and played in the water. There was a show which was OK, a bit long, and then the ride. At first, I wasn't going to bother since I'd ridden one in Ayutthaya, but it was totally worth it. It was a much longer ride up a hill (nice view) and then down thru the river. I highly recommend it. Happily, the elephants seemed to be completely well treated at this camp.

Dianne

Our next stop was an orchid farm, very pretty, and then the hot springs at Fang. I think we all agreed that the hot springs could be dropped from the tour. There wasn't much to see and the water appeared to be piped so it steamed up to look more impressive. We continued to the Thaton River View Resort for lunch in their outdoor restaurant on the banks of the Kok river. It was a gorgeous setting. The food was good (I had pad thai), but it took quite a while by the time we all got our food and paid our bill. I think it was 4:30pm when we were ready to leave. From here we were taking long-tail motor boats to Chiang Rai. It had turned out to be a hot day and our tour director had assured us we wouldn't need jackets for the ride. Not that we had any since most of our stuff went on with the coach to meet us at our hotel. The well intentioned boat ride started out fine. Soon, however, the sun dipped behind the hills and we were left in the shade on a fast, windy boat. Well, it's just a bit chilly, we commented. Maybe we'll be stopping soon. But, no such luck. Though the Cosmos brochure said we would stop and visit hill tribes along the river, there must not have been time. We speeded along as it kept getting colder. After about 30 min., we put on our life jackets for warmth! We kept asking the boat driver how much longer - 10 minutes, he kept saying. Maybe it was the only English he knew. Another hour or so later, I made a joke (I thought) about how we'd be out there in the dark soon. Half an hour later, we were out there in the dark. Who knew it was possible to be so cold in Thailand? We saw the occasional hotel lights on the riverbank and, at long last, the Rimkok Resort. As we staggered up the steps from the water, frozen, dazed, and disheveled, hotel guests glanced curiously at us. They must have thought we'd journeyed for days to reach the hotel. Monica kept repeating she was so sorry and she didn't know it would get so cold. We just kept laughing. Luckily, the hotel had no shortage of hot water and soon I felt much better. Having no desire to go anywhere, I had dinner in the hotel restaurant. They had many noodle dishes to choose from at just over $1 each. They must be small, I'd better get two, I thought. It turns out food is unbelievably cheap in northern Thailand, but I somehow managed to finish 1 1/2 of the large plates of tasty noodles.

Dianne

Today I came down with a cold. I had felt a bit of a sore throat yesterday and I guess the boat ride didn't do me any good. But hey, I'm on vacation, so I took a pill and ignored it as best I could. I went down for another big breakfast buffet (how can I be sick with all the fruit I'm eating?) and then took some pictures around the hotel. Monica said the Rimkok Resort was built in 1991, but it looked a bit worn around the edges. Still, the rooms were clean, the grounds attractive, and it was completely satisfactory as far as I was concerned. It was another full day of sightseeing today. First we were going up into the hills, so we would travel in minivans instead of our large coach. The Cosmos brochure isn't terribly correct regarding this day. It says we visit the city of Doi Mae Salong, but we actually just went to the Mae Salong Resort for tea. We stopped by the roadside for a picture of a distant Akha village and then stopped by some stalls to buy some trinkets. This must have been our hill tribe visit. Next, we drove to Mae Sai, a town which borders Myanmar (Burma). Here we had a chance to have a 1 hour tour across the border. I thought it was too expensive ($40 Canadian) because of high border fees and it didn't interest me anyway. Instead, I walked up 250 steps (a bit challenging when you're sick, but worth it) to Wat Phra That Doi Wao for a nice view of Myanmar. Later, I bought some super sweet little pineapples for 10 cents each. There's lots of tourist things to buy in Mae Sai and, unfortunately, lots of little kids begging. We continued to the Golden Triangle. The tour brochure said we'd go to Chiang Saen, but we really went to Sop Ruak, 15km away. Here, there was another temple to climb up to for a good look at the Golden Triangle (where Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos meet). There were some very cute kids in traditional hill tribe costume posing for pictures for a small donation. Then it was time to return to Chiang Rai. It was a nice day of sightseeing even if the itinerary wasn't too accurate. That evening, some people went to a show at the Dusit Island Resort, but I heard it was surprisingly amateur for a first class hotel. I wish we had had time to see the traditional hill tribe shows they have in Chiang Mai. I went to the night market in Chiang Rai with some others. It's much smaller than the one in Chiang Mai, but the prices were reasonable. The Rimkok Resort is quite a long tuk tuk ride from Chiang Rai or at least it seemed that way at night when it's cool. Tomorrow morning we were leaving on our flight to Phuket, an island in southern Thailand.

Dianne

We flew to Phuket via Bangkok. Shortly after we left Bangkok, it got very cloudy. When we landed in Phuket, it was heavily overcast with light rain. During the 40 min ride to our hotel, Monica commented on how sad and quiet we were. We arrived around 4pm at the Amari Coral Beach hotel at the south end of Patong beach. From the looks of things, we wouldn't be seeing any sunshine during the next 2 days. Nevertheless, several of us booked a tour to Phi Phi island for the next day. Better to see it in the rain than not at all. That evening we were on our own and had time to walk down to the main beach stretch for dinner and a look around. Patong beach has many shops where you can buy exactly the same things. Knock off clothes, wallets, purses, Buddha and elephant statues, CD's, etc. We ate at one of the several good seafood restaurants. After a little shopping, we got a tuk tuk back to the hotel.

Dianne

Well, it looked somewhat brighter this morning. A minivan picked us up at 7:20am and drove us to the pier to get the boat to Ko Phi Phi. Actually it was a not too attractive ferry carrying both day trippers and tourists with luggage who were going to stay on the island. The ride over was smooth (it can get rough I've heard) and it was looking very overcast once again. It was warm and humid and after 1 1/2 hours, Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Lei were visible in the gloomy, hazy distance. When we arrived in the bay at Phi Phi Don long-tail boats came to fetch us. By now it started to brighten again and within just a few minutes it was a beautiful, partly cloudy day. I had read on another forum that Phi Phi Don's main beach is crowded and there's garbage on the shore. This was not the case. Maybe the clouds earlier had discouraged day trippers or maybe high season wasn't quite under way, but it didn't seem overly busy at all and only sea shells littered the shore. It was a really nice stretch of beach with lots of colorful fish as we found when we picked up our included mask and snorkel. For those who wanted, the long-tail boats then took us out a short distance where there was more coral and more variety of fish. There were lots of sea urchins too so I was glad I'd worn my aqua shoes. The water was very warm and we snorkeled for about 45 min. After this, we had free time on the beach. It was very hot and sunny now. The sun is super strong here so be careful. There were a lot of bright red people walking around. Our trip included a buffet lunch which was good. There were no shops or vendors in sight, which was nice for a change. We were transferred back to the ferry for a ride around Phi Phi Lei. This is where they filmed "The Beach". It looks wonderful, really beautiful. Of course, our large ferry had nowhere to dock, but if you're staying on Phi Phi Don, you can take a long-tail boat over. It was another smooth trip back to Phuket and we arrived back at the hotel at 5:30pm

Dianne

I had time for a quick shower and to watch a lovely red sunset from my balcony. Then it was back to the lobby for the next activity. Three of us had decided to go to an elaborate show called Fantasea and they sent a van to collect us. It's called a cultural theme park and looks Disneyland-like. There's a lot of pricey theme shops and the place seems geared partly to Japanese tourists. We arrived around 7pm. The dinner buffet is open until 8:30pm and the show starts at 9pm. It's a typical buffet except there's a lot of good Japanese food as well. We had time to eat and walk around the shops before the show. Now, the van had actually showed up for us at 5pm and 2 of us weren't back from Phi Phi, so Monica told him to come back at 6:30pm. It seems they want to get you there extra, extra early so you'll spend a lot of time in the pricey stores. We had plenty of time to eat and see everything. The theater has an elaborate temple facade, brightly lit like a sound and light show. A smiling Thai swipes you with a metal detector, so don't even think of NOT relinquishing your camera at the entrance. Understandable because the show is quite fabulous and people would not be able to resist a few sneak shots. I guess it's best compared to a Las Vegas show. There's lots of flawlessly trained elephants in fantastic costumes, a clown act, some traditional Thai dancing and a kick box number. Outstanding was the Cirque de Soleil style trapeze act. Incredible lighting effects too. The show with dinner is $40US. This is expensive for Thailand, but I'm sure the same show in the US would be at least double, so it's worth it. By the time we got back, I was very tired and looking forward to just hanging around the hotel the next day. I still had a cold, making me have less energy than usual. We were to check out at noon, but would have a few courtesy rooms between us. Our hotel had 2 lovely pools and its own beautiful beach. It was quiet and peaceful here at the far south end of Patong. I spent part of the day reading under a coconut tree on the beach. Again, the sun was very hot, so a little shade was necessary. It was a bit too shallow and rocky to swim here though. It was a very pleasant day and at 4:30pm we all met in the lobby for our transfer back to the airport.

Dianne

We arrived back in Bangkok in the early evening and checked into the Amari Airport hotel. I had booked an extra night at $64 Canadian thru Cosmos which I thought must be some kind of mistake once I saw the place - very first class. Three of the group had stayed on in southern Thailand for an extra 2 nights on Phi Phi island and 6 people were heading off to Cambodia the next morning. I think everyone else was flying home. I considered taking a day trip somewhere on my extra day, but ended up just hanging around the very nice pool area, writing postcards, etc. It was wonderful to stay one more day. The Amari airport hotel couldn't be more convenient. When it's time to get your flight, they take your luggage from your room up to the skywalk and it's waiting for you on a cart after you check out. You walk across the skywalk and there you are, in the international terminal, no hassle, no traffic. Allow a good hour to check in and go thru customs. The flight home didn't seem so bad (it's actually about 3 hours shorter).

Dianne

Some personal opinions: <BR> <BR>Bangkok <BR> <BR>If I could only visit one temple, it would be Wat Pho. <BR>Unless you really hate ancient ruins, spend a day at Ayutthaya including the cruise. <BR>If it's hot and humid and you're still jet-lagged and short on time, there's no shame in taking a guided tour from the hotel instead of making your own way around! <BR> <BR>Northern Thailand <BR> <BR>2 days wasn't enough. <BR>Elephants are fun! Spend some time with them and on them. <BR>It's much cooler at night in the winter than you may expect. <BR> <BR>Phuket <BR> <BR>Too commercial. Though I thoroughly enjoyed our time there, I wouldn't go back. Too many identical shops, too many jet skis off the main, etc. I have nothing against touristy beaches (I'm going back to Honolulu in January), but I guess if I'm going all the way to Asia, I'd like it to be more exotic and special, you know? Ko Phi Phi, and other islands like that, would be my choice. <BR> <BR>Group tours <BR> <BR>Convenient and fun. I like to travel a lot more often than my friends and family, but don't like to travel alone. However, if you already have someone to go with, Thailand is a very easy country to see on your own too. <BR> <BR>Flights <BR> <BR>One of the Northwest flights was delayed about 20 min and all my other flights were on time. My luggage faithfully followed me wherever I went. Good job Northwest and Thai Air! <BR> <BR>

Dianne

A few other details: <BR> <BR>I took Canadian traveler's cheques. All the major currencies are widely accepted at banks and exchange kiosks. <BR>The rainy season officially ends in November, though it may hang on longer in the south. High season starts in November. I found this a great time to visit. It seemed the big crowds weren't quite there yet and everything was lush and green from the recent rains. <BR>Tap water is not drinkable. Bottled water is cheap, plus our hotels provided 2 bottles/day. The ice cubes they put in drinks are safe. I was told to beware of chipped ice, though. I was a little bit careful about what I ate. However, I did have salad, ice cream, raw bean sprouts in my pad thai, etc. and never had the slightest stomach upset. <BR> <BR>And, I think I'm finally done! <BR> <BR>

pat

Dianne <BR>I agree with you that the price for dinner cruise in bkk was indeed overpriced, 31USD, it should be around 20 at the maximum. <BR>Phuket, for me as a local, i don't like it, because they are too much for business, i was spoken to with english when i entered the local shops to buy things. Fantasea show, you can have the option not to have dinner with them, so that could save me some money to go forward to the performance. <BR>In the north, it can be chilly, and last winter was terribly cold, even complained by westerners who usually be there to enjoy warmer winter than home. <BR> <BR>

joanne

Dear Dianne, What a wonderful report. How much did the trip to Ayutthaya cost? We are going to Thailand for the third time next Dec., and never had time to go there(Ayutthaya). Thanks again for the report. J

Dianne

Hi Joanne, <BR> <BR>Ayutthaya cost 1600 baht. That included all transport, entrance fees, elephant ride, guide, and lunch (beverages were extra).

Pas

Hi there, <BR> <BR> I was wondering if you had any chance to compare the prices the various restaurants, shows and cruises charged directly with the price you paid through the tour company? <BR> <BR> It strikes me that many of them sound much higher than if you were to book directly. Presumably the tour company adds on its margin and if local guides and buses are included then they are also adding a profit for the local tour company with whom they work. <BR> <BR>Pas

Dianne

Hi Pas, <BR> <BR>The only tour booked thru Cosmos was the $31 dinner cruise. The others were thru the hotels. The temple tour I booked with the hotel in Bangkok was 500 Baht. Cosmos offered a similar tour that day for 1000 Baht, but it also included Jim Thompson's house. Of course, it's much cheaper to go on your own with a tuk tuk. The man I mentioned who went to Wat Pho and the National Museum paid only 40 Baht to the tuk tuk driver, although he had to pay his entrance fees and had no guide. Cosmos did not offer Ayutthaya this time, but it was 1900 Baht on the price list and 1600 Baht with the hotel.