Lucky you! I don't have any suggestions because I'm planning my first trip to Thailand in November. But I'll be watching this thread eagerly for good suggestions.

Obvious ones that come to mind; Chengmai, Phuket, Koh Samui.

Have you bought Eyewitness Thailand?

No...is that supposed to be the best travel guide?

Another question for the forum also. Is there an equivalent to Amazon in Thailand where one can order stuff...books, sheets, towels, whatever...and have it delivered without the obnoxious shipping charges and import fees you have to pay for something going through Amazon?

There aer lots of good guidebooks for Thailand: Fodors, Lonely Planet, Insight Guides...

If you can make the weekend a bit longer, a trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia would be a good trip. Likewise,a trip to Luang Prabang Laos. Also, Penang Malaysia (stay in Georgetown).

I prefer the Golden Triangle area to Chaing Mai - you fly into Chaing Rai. Hua Hin (a beach area) is a 2 hour drive from bangkok, so makes for a quick, inexpensive weekend trip.

You could also take a weekend to fly to Hong Kong or to Singapore. Bangkok is an ideal location for exploring SE Asia.

How long would you need to make the Cambodia/Laos/Malaysia trips worthwhile?

You could do Siem Reap in 3 days , 3 nights if you leave early in the morning on the first day. Luang Prabang - 3 days, 4 nights, minimum. Malaysia is a big country - we spent 2 weeks there and barely scratched the surface. Chiang Mai would be a great weekend trip (2 nights and you may never need to return). Northern Thailand has more to offer - you could do it in 2 or 3 nights. Hua Hin makes sense for a quick trip. Southern Thailand (Phuket or Koh Samui) works for longer weekends and where you go depends on the time of year...

Craig's guidelines are good. For Penang, I'd want 4 nights. There are planty of other places to visit in Malaysia as well.

Shopping in Bangkok is excellent - you don't need things like books, sheets, towels shipped to you - just go to one of the department stores. For book, Asia books has stores in many of the huge shopping malls. I'd advise you to go to Asia books when you get there and buy yourslf guidebooks for each of the surrounding countries.

vietnam---singapore...penang malaysia...yangon... all around thailand... luang pranamg laos... siem reap... bali and many more...you can be gone every weekend..

For trips outside of Thailand, if you have a six-month visa you'll most likely need to get a re-entry permit. Otherwise your visa is void as soon as you leave. The permit is 1900 for one trip, or 3800 for unlimited trips.

Within Thailand, I happen to think Ayutthaya is a nice weekend trip, as is Kanchanaburi. Lots of people do Khao Yai over the weekends, the main drawback being that lots of people do Khao Yai over the weekends.

A bit off topic, but I'd buy your guide books in the US off of Amazon or a book discounter. I am an expat living in Asia and the same lonely planet I can buy on Amazon for $16 is sometimes $36 or so here.

Interesting, tansmets. I've purchased guidebooks in Bangkok from Asia Books for about the same as the US price. Where are you located?

I have to agree with tansmets - books at Asia Books are at list price or above. If you're in the US you can probably get them cheaper at Amazon, esp. if you qualify for free shipping.

Michael, while I love the convenience of Amazon, I do try to buy my guidebooks at my local travel bookstore, as I want it to stay in business. So I pay list price for guidebooks. And when I've purchased at Asia Books, I've paid list price.

I've not seen guidebooks that list for $16 selling for $36, so I wondered where tansmets is located.

Well, Kathie, the cover price for the DK Eyewitness Thailand guide is $25 but Asia Books sells it for 1,200 Baht, or about $40.

I find that a lot of guidebooks sold in Thailand are comparable in prices to those sold in the US. The only exception are the foreign magazines that are sold at 2 - 3 times the price.

Couldn't find the example cited above on Asia Book's website but I did find the following comparison for DK Eyewitness Cambodia & Laos.

Asia Book = special price $18.99 list for $24.
https://www.asiabooks.com/Book_Detail/9781405349857/EYEWITNESS-TRAVEL-GUIDE-CAMBODIA-LAOS-1ST-ED/

Amazon = special price $15.62 list for $25.
http://www.amazon.com/Cambodia-Laos-EYEWITNESS-TRAVEL-GUIDE/dp/0756669774

To me that's the same.

Interesting.

The most recent book I looked for at Asia Books was the LP guide to Burma. The website says list price 850 baht, their price, 680 baht. US$21.52. I paid $23.99 (plus 9.5% tax) at Wide World Books in Seattle. Amazon $15.05 plus 9.5% tax.