Feb. 2007 trip report
Apr 3rd, 2007, 04:58 PM
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Feb. 2007 trip report
I read this forum for many months before I left and got great information. So, I thought I'd share our experiences. We (aged 71 and 56) were in Thailand from Feb. 5-25. We had a fantastic time and fell in love with the Thai people. My husband who isn’t that fond of traveling said he could have stayed longer. Believe me, this truly is a positive vote for Thailand. We went to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Koh Lanta. I decide to move as little as possible to make it easier on my husband.
We stayed in BKK at Arun Residence for 5 nights ----- I would not recommend Arun Residence for a long stay---it’s location. With that said----If you want to stay close to Wat Pho, Grand Palace, Wat Arun, and the River it’s a great place to stay for only one or two nights. It’s right across the street from Wat Pho, one block from the Grand Palace, and directly across the river from Wat Arun (a pretty sight especially at night) so it couldn’t be more convenient. At 6PM all the shops (and the few restaurants that there are in the area), all close. One night we went to the Oriental Hotel area, had dinner at Harmonique (very nice) and had a difficult time getting back to Arun. One taxi driver politely asked us to exit the taxi because it was too far to Arun. Another tuk-tuk driver misunderstood us and took us to Patpong!!! When he said we could get out, we informed him we wanted to go to Wat Pho, not Patpong. He hit his forehead and uttered a litany but did take us to Arun!!! He wasn’t very happy but we tipped him well!
There were special events going on at Saranrom Park (a few blocks from Arun) and we went there 1 night. Every evening they had a musical performance and a dance performance. There were also various booths with food, crafts, etc. Usually by 8PM we were exhausted so not having access to nightlife wasn’t a huge issue for us.
There is a very nice restaurant at Arun Residence specializing in French and Thai food. Most people eating here were not staying at Arun---they made the trip just for the food so that says something!
In BKK went to above-mentioned places, Jim Thompson’s, Klong tour, floating market, local temples on the way to the floating market, Chinatown, and had plenty of Thai massages, which I loved. I felt like we packed a lot in. The first day we just relaxed and had massages due to jet lag and then toured for the next 3 days. We used Jerry as a guide for 2 days (Tong referred us to him). Originally she said she could take us and then a few weeks before we were set to go, e-mailed and said she double-booked. She apologized and said she would find someone and she did. In retrospect, having stayed at Arun, I wouldn’t have used anyone for Wat Pho, Grand palace, and the klong tour. Jerry did this with us, but I feel we could have easily done Wat Pho and Grand Palace (with their guide) without him. We went to Wat Arun on our own. He arranged a klong tour for us ($30) and we were probably on the river15 minutes ---seeemed like a total waste of money. I saw more of the klong taking the river taxis up and down then I did on the official “tour”. That was the only negative of the day. After the wats, Jerry drove us to Jim Thompson’s—we could have taken a cab as he couldn’t really guide us at JT’s. But he did have some interesting information to share and did so throughout the day. Took us to a great restaurant for lunch-can’t remember the name—wouldn’t have found it on our own.
The next day with Jerry we went to the floating market, local temples and markets. We were supposed to spend the day meeting monks, giving alms, etc.—actual tour that Tong does, but we just bought food for the monks—turned out fine. The next day we were supposed to tour with Jerry but his car broke down so we didn’t---just as well---we went to Chinatown and had fun. Everyone was getting ready for Chinese New Year and it was so crowded you couldn’t move!!! We had fun looking around, went to the flower market which I loved, had more massages, and had a wonderful day.
We then headed to Chiang Mai and stayed at Joy’s House. Joy’s has been discussed on this forum and so we took a chance and booked. It is about a 10-15 minute taxi ride from the center of CM but wasn’t a problem. Transportation was always available for us when we wanted to go to town. Transportation to and from the airport, to town, breakfast, a 90 minute massage per person, 3 all day trips, room. 4 dinners for 2, learning to cook (and then eating it for dinner) was all included and we paid around $500-600 for the 2 of us for a week. Jumpee took us to the elephant camp and Doi Suthep one day. She showed us and described all of the Buddhist rituals and we partook in all of them. Learned a lot about Buddhism. Another day we went to the School for Life (orphanage run by Joy) and the CM Tribal Museum. The School for Life was really enjoyable---the kids are all so engaging. If you go and decide to stay for lunch be prepared for the 400 Baht price. A German couple was quite put out with the price---my feeling is that it’s a donation. The kids practice cooking and serving. But they should let the visitors know the price beforehand as to avoid surprised looks!
The third day we went to Chiang Dao to a tribal village, stopped at local markets, restaurant, etc. along the way. All the family members at Joy’s were extremely kind and friendly. Computers are available for use at all times and if you mentioned you wanted to try something for dinner, Jumpee made sure you could prepare that dish. The cooking was not like a cooking school but rather like cooking at home with your mom, copying down portion amounts as they are poured in the pot!
I went to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center for the 2 day Mahout program and my husband took cooking classes at Gap’s in CM. The Elephant Center was fantastic. I loved riding, swimming, feeding, and getting to know my elephant! It’s an easy 2 hour city bus ride from CM. The overnight stay was enjoyable and the mahouts were great fun. The conservation center really tries to take care of as many elephants as they can and they seem to do an excellent job. It’s definitely a worthwhile experience. Book early as they only had the 2 day program opened when I went.
My husband enjoyed his cooking class at Gap’s. There was one chef for every 3 people and 9 dishes were made each day. The day started by shopping at the local market. He even won the “best student” award.
Chiang Mai is a charming area ---we were there before the bad air alerts! It seems just as we were getting settled, we were off to Koh Lanta. Koh Lanta was my son’s choice. He and my daughter-in-law ( both 26 years old) teach in Shanghai and met us in Thailand for a week. We stayed at MarineParkview Resort (my son’s choice). Well, for $45 a night right on the beach it was great! The Pimilai resort was right down the beach but a bit too pricey for us at $400 a night!!! Now, MarineParkview isn’t the Ritz but for $45 peak season you wouldn’t expect it to be. Our room was adequate---clean and air conditioned (air conditioning not an option---it was HOT!!!). You have to be fit because there are stairs everywhere (from our house to the beach—about 100). But the views were wonderful, the staff very attentive, and the food was good. There are several restaurants on the beach within walking distance. Same but Different Restaurant was quite good! The Overview Restaurant, a short walk up the hill, from Marine Parkview was “the” place to be to watch sunsets. Just exquisite. We rented motor scooters for 2 days and had a blast. The island is small but riding around is safe and enjoyable. Did the 4-island tour, which is a must if just for going to Koh Mook and swimming through the cave. What an experience---you swim through a dark cave with not much headroom (about the length of an American. football field) and when you exit you truly are in paradise. You feel like you just discovered a private spot that no one has ever seen. I could have stayed all day---cliffs all around, with jungle, a beautiful lagoon to float in, and blue skies above. Wow! Also went on a day snorkeling trip to Koh Rok. We stopped 4 times to snorkel in different spots and then spent some time on Koh Rok---beautiful beach, LARGE monitor lizard, great lunch, very pleasant day. This is the only day on the entire trip that we went with a large group. For this activity it was OK, but I much preferred the private touring that we did.
On our way home we stopped in BKK for 2 more nights. Stayed at the Majestic Suites ($40). Again pretty inexpensive but just fine. Right on the skytrain and plenty of shopping near by. My son and daughter-in-law loved it. We actually only had one day in BKK so we went to Erawan Shrine, MBK, and Siam all close by.
I could have stayed in Thailand much longer---our 3 weeks went too quickly. I feel like I just touched the surface and now I’m ready to go back knowing a little more about where things are, how things work, etc.
We stayed in BKK at Arun Residence for 5 nights ----- I would not recommend Arun Residence for a long stay---it’s location. With that said----If you want to stay close to Wat Pho, Grand Palace, Wat Arun, and the River it’s a great place to stay for only one or two nights. It’s right across the street from Wat Pho, one block from the Grand Palace, and directly across the river from Wat Arun (a pretty sight especially at night) so it couldn’t be more convenient. At 6PM all the shops (and the few restaurants that there are in the area), all close. One night we went to the Oriental Hotel area, had dinner at Harmonique (very nice) and had a difficult time getting back to Arun. One taxi driver politely asked us to exit the taxi because it was too far to Arun. Another tuk-tuk driver misunderstood us and took us to Patpong!!! When he said we could get out, we informed him we wanted to go to Wat Pho, not Patpong. He hit his forehead and uttered a litany but did take us to Arun!!! He wasn’t very happy but we tipped him well!
There were special events going on at Saranrom Park (a few blocks from Arun) and we went there 1 night. Every evening they had a musical performance and a dance performance. There were also various booths with food, crafts, etc. Usually by 8PM we were exhausted so not having access to nightlife wasn’t a huge issue for us.
There is a very nice restaurant at Arun Residence specializing in French and Thai food. Most people eating here were not staying at Arun---they made the trip just for the food so that says something!
In BKK went to above-mentioned places, Jim Thompson’s, Klong tour, floating market, local temples on the way to the floating market, Chinatown, and had plenty of Thai massages, which I loved. I felt like we packed a lot in. The first day we just relaxed and had massages due to jet lag and then toured for the next 3 days. We used Jerry as a guide for 2 days (Tong referred us to him). Originally she said she could take us and then a few weeks before we were set to go, e-mailed and said she double-booked. She apologized and said she would find someone and she did. In retrospect, having stayed at Arun, I wouldn’t have used anyone for Wat Pho, Grand palace, and the klong tour. Jerry did this with us, but I feel we could have easily done Wat Pho and Grand Palace (with their guide) without him. We went to Wat Arun on our own. He arranged a klong tour for us ($30) and we were probably on the river15 minutes ---seeemed like a total waste of money. I saw more of the klong taking the river taxis up and down then I did on the official “tour”. That was the only negative of the day. After the wats, Jerry drove us to Jim Thompson’s—we could have taken a cab as he couldn’t really guide us at JT’s. But he did have some interesting information to share and did so throughout the day. Took us to a great restaurant for lunch-can’t remember the name—wouldn’t have found it on our own.
The next day with Jerry we went to the floating market, local temples and markets. We were supposed to spend the day meeting monks, giving alms, etc.—actual tour that Tong does, but we just bought food for the monks—turned out fine. The next day we were supposed to tour with Jerry but his car broke down so we didn’t---just as well---we went to Chinatown and had fun. Everyone was getting ready for Chinese New Year and it was so crowded you couldn’t move!!! We had fun looking around, went to the flower market which I loved, had more massages, and had a wonderful day.
We then headed to Chiang Mai and stayed at Joy’s House. Joy’s has been discussed on this forum and so we took a chance and booked. It is about a 10-15 minute taxi ride from the center of CM but wasn’t a problem. Transportation was always available for us when we wanted to go to town. Transportation to and from the airport, to town, breakfast, a 90 minute massage per person, 3 all day trips, room. 4 dinners for 2, learning to cook (and then eating it for dinner) was all included and we paid around $500-600 for the 2 of us for a week. Jumpee took us to the elephant camp and Doi Suthep one day. She showed us and described all of the Buddhist rituals and we partook in all of them. Learned a lot about Buddhism. Another day we went to the School for Life (orphanage run by Joy) and the CM Tribal Museum. The School for Life was really enjoyable---the kids are all so engaging. If you go and decide to stay for lunch be prepared for the 400 Baht price. A German couple was quite put out with the price---my feeling is that it’s a donation. The kids practice cooking and serving. But they should let the visitors know the price beforehand as to avoid surprised looks!
The third day we went to Chiang Dao to a tribal village, stopped at local markets, restaurant, etc. along the way. All the family members at Joy’s were extremely kind and friendly. Computers are available for use at all times and if you mentioned you wanted to try something for dinner, Jumpee made sure you could prepare that dish. The cooking was not like a cooking school but rather like cooking at home with your mom, copying down portion amounts as they are poured in the pot!
I went to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center for the 2 day Mahout program and my husband took cooking classes at Gap’s in CM. The Elephant Center was fantastic. I loved riding, swimming, feeding, and getting to know my elephant! It’s an easy 2 hour city bus ride from CM. The overnight stay was enjoyable and the mahouts were great fun. The conservation center really tries to take care of as many elephants as they can and they seem to do an excellent job. It’s definitely a worthwhile experience. Book early as they only had the 2 day program opened when I went.
My husband enjoyed his cooking class at Gap’s. There was one chef for every 3 people and 9 dishes were made each day. The day started by shopping at the local market. He even won the “best student” award.
Chiang Mai is a charming area ---we were there before the bad air alerts! It seems just as we were getting settled, we were off to Koh Lanta. Koh Lanta was my son’s choice. He and my daughter-in-law ( both 26 years old) teach in Shanghai and met us in Thailand for a week. We stayed at MarineParkview Resort (my son’s choice). Well, for $45 a night right on the beach it was great! The Pimilai resort was right down the beach but a bit too pricey for us at $400 a night!!! Now, MarineParkview isn’t the Ritz but for $45 peak season you wouldn’t expect it to be. Our room was adequate---clean and air conditioned (air conditioning not an option---it was HOT!!!). You have to be fit because there are stairs everywhere (from our house to the beach—about 100). But the views were wonderful, the staff very attentive, and the food was good. There are several restaurants on the beach within walking distance. Same but Different Restaurant was quite good! The Overview Restaurant, a short walk up the hill, from Marine Parkview was “the” place to be to watch sunsets. Just exquisite. We rented motor scooters for 2 days and had a blast. The island is small but riding around is safe and enjoyable. Did the 4-island tour, which is a must if just for going to Koh Mook and swimming through the cave. What an experience---you swim through a dark cave with not much headroom (about the length of an American. football field) and when you exit you truly are in paradise. You feel like you just discovered a private spot that no one has ever seen. I could have stayed all day---cliffs all around, with jungle, a beautiful lagoon to float in, and blue skies above. Wow! Also went on a day snorkeling trip to Koh Rok. We stopped 4 times to snorkel in different spots and then spent some time on Koh Rok---beautiful beach, LARGE monitor lizard, great lunch, very pleasant day. This is the only day on the entire trip that we went with a large group. For this activity it was OK, but I much preferred the private touring that we did.
On our way home we stopped in BKK for 2 more nights. Stayed at the Majestic Suites ($40). Again pretty inexpensive but just fine. Right on the skytrain and plenty of shopping near by. My son and daughter-in-law loved it. We actually only had one day in BKK so we went to Erawan Shrine, MBK, and Siam all close by.
I could have stayed in Thailand much longer---our 3 weeks went too quickly. I feel like I just touched the surface and now I’m ready to go back knowing a little more about where things are, how things work, etc.
Apr 3rd, 2007, 05:26 PM
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Thanks for the report. The critique of the Arun residence and environs was particularly informative. Sounds like your husband and you have been bitten by the Thai bug. Join the club. While the report is more than a month subsequent to your return, there was lots of interesting detail and you were kind not to complain about Tong switching you, no penalty whatsoever.
Apr 3rd, 2007, 05:50 PM
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great report....i am disappointed by your treatment by tong....and i think the driver you got was not all that great...most drivers would just rent a car if theirs broke down....do you mean that your klong tour lasted only 15 minutes?? for that price it should have lasted at least 2 hours....
Apr 8th, 2007, 04:26 PM
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yes, the klong trip was truly only about 15-20 minutes down the main part of the river----not down any little side canals. I was really a bit disappointed, but I should have asked what I was getting when Jerry, the guide, said it would be $30! I figure that in 3 weeks if this was the only negative incident that was wonderful! I guess it pays to predetermine exactly what you'll be doing with a driver for the day and about how long you might spend somewhere. I think Jerry was just trying to fit in everything we had suggested for the day. Maybe with more experience he might have told us to skip the klong tour and save it for another day. hard to say.
Apr 8th, 2007, 05:49 PM
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betty, that is not a klong tour at all...klongs, as you know, are canals, not rivers...i think your time suggestion is probably correct...
tong e mailed me about my comments above based upon an e mail she received from some other reader about my comments... i am glad you have spoken more clearly about the boat ride...
tong e mailed me about my comments above based upon an e mail she received from some other reader about my comments... i am glad you have spoken more clearly about the boat ride...
