Three Week Trip Report by 1st Timers...

Old Dec 28th, 2009, 07:43 AM
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Three Week Trip Report by 1st Timers...

Although we originally thought we’d hook up with a tour company to make the whole planning process easier... we planned everything ourselves. We wanted to see as much and do as much as we could in our three weeks there. This was the longest trip we’d ever taken, so the planning was a big undertaking! We think by going it alone... we had a better opportunity to stay in places we wanted to see longer, and choose our own hotels and transportation. Thanks to those who posted comments on the various forums we used in our planning. Here is our report to help others planning a similar trip to Thailand.

Our original flight from Denver to Los Angeles was delayed, and delayed and eventually cancelled... not because of snow which was falling that morning... but some water leak on the plane. We scrambled and found another flight to LAX. When landing, we saw the connecting flight to Tokyo we were supposed to be on... loading luggage and about to take off. By the time we got to the check in - the gate was closed, although the flight had not left. We missed our connection by moments! What a way to begin our trip! Eventually, we were rebooked on a night flight on Thai Airways direct to Bangkok, arriving 9am versus midnight the night before. Not too bad.

Bangkok: We planned 5 nights in Bangkok to explore the city before heading north. We lost one night but arrive early enough to shower, clean up and head out. We loved staying in the Riverside area. Our hotel was beyond great - Chatrium Suites. The room and bath were huge, breakfast was incredible and they had their own boat that took us to the river taxi. Highly recommend this hotel! (We booked on hotels.com; $85 or so per night)

We were in Bangkok for Kings Birthday - how amazing to see how the citizens love their and respect their King. We headed to the Grand Palace, but was closed due to the celebrations. We did sit right across the entrance at a coffee shop and watched the festivities and parades. Our hotel had a little candlelight ceremony in the evening with the King televised. Among the other sites we saw were the Emerald Buddha, Wat Pho, the flower market. We intended - but never got to - River Kwai. Next time.

Our next stop was Chiang Rai - we took an early flight on Thai Airways to Chiang Rai. Arriving at Laluna Hotel. This hotel was one we regretted booking in advance (and pre-paying.) We booked on Agoda. It looked pleasant enough, however the room was infested with mosquitos... so much so that we checked out hours after checking in. We just could not sleep there. We hoped to have our money refunded but so far the hotel has refused. We moved to Wiang Inn and were ok with that hotel and location was great next to the night bazaar and restaurants.
We booked three one-day tours which were fantastic. The first day we had a guide and driver in a nice new Toyota SUV... we went to the Golden Triangle, heroin museum, Mae Sai, and other stops. Day 2 was a trekking/hilltribe tour which started with a longboat ride with a stop at a Karen village (for shopping). The trek was 4+ hours of trekking to 3-4 different hilltribes. Fascinating! Day 3 was a road trip tour to Mae Salong and drive through other hilltribes. The drive was long and curvy which almost resulted in car-sickness. We stopped at a few tea plantations. Would have liked to spend time shopping in the town, but we did not. At our request on the way back our guide stopped for us at the White Temple just before taking us to the bus to Chiang Mai. Glad we stopped. Its a little out of the way from main Chiang Rai town, but well worth a look. It is amazing that these incredible buildings are free to tourists.

We took a night bus to Chiang Mai, arriving about 9pm. Glad we did that so we didn’t spend half a day traveling. Although we missed the views, we had three full days in Chiang Rai, and four full days in Chiang Mai.
Our hotel in Chiang Mai was Pak Chiang Mai guest house... great location, and a lovely place. Not a buffet breakfast like most others, but very good. Nice inner courtyard with a calm feeling, helpful staff and thai massage right there. We explored on our own by foot day and night. The Sunday walking street was amazing, although very crowded and hard to shop. Two nights we ate at Jerusalem Falafel, as well as the street carts. We did a one-day cycling tour with Chiang Mai Cycling... which was a highlight of our trip. This was a very well-planned, interesting day... we had a great guide and the trip took us outside the main city to see real life... towns, farms, rice fields, and a few stops at various “factories”... one making ceramic “happy dolls”, rice crackers, sticky rice in bamboo and a great lunch along the river. Highly recommend this if you enjoy cycling... all flat and easy. We managed to get ourselves to Doi Tung on the local songthews. Prepare for another long, windy drive and another chance to get car sick! Maybe I’m just susceptible to it! Anyway... glad we went... it was quite beautiful and interesting.

After a great week in northern Thailand, we flew on another early morning flight to Surat Thani, connecting in Bangkok. The plan was to spend two nights at Khao Sok National Park. Arriving at the airport... we opted for a private taxi to our hotel; Las Orquideas. We found this hotel by comments on the forums... and very glad we did. The hosts Sisco and Nee are fantastic... the hotel is new and beautiful. Rooms were phenomenal with an entire floor to ceiling window wall overlooking the jungle. Private and gorgeous. There are only 5 or 6 units, so book as once word gets out it will be hard to beat this place versus the others in the area. We hiked for a few hours by ourselves the day we arrived spotting no lions or tigers or bears. The next day, we booked the one day tour of Cheow Lan Lake. Another great day in Thailand! It was an hour drive from the hotel to the dock where we and a few others took a one-hour longboat ride to the “raft house village”. this is the spot where you can sleep in the raft houses right smack on the lake. We originally considered it... and glad we didn’t! Very rustic. For us... it worked better to experience the lake, see the gorgeous limestone hike and kayak in the area and go back to our air conditioned room. Spending a day there was wonderful and would recommend it. The trek involved crossing a few rivers in the jungle, in water up to our elbows. Again, no animal spottings. We had a great lunch... one of the best ... at the raft village. You can easily book this tour when you arrive.

Next stop Krabi. We left Khao Sok via mini van to Krabi Town. Our hotel in Krabi; Nakamanda Resort and Spa... this was probably our favorite hotel of the entire trip. It is small (39 rooms); each had a very large room, with sofa, huge outdoor deck and the biggest most beautiful bathroom ever seen. It is right on the beach, also having a beautiful pool. The staff was great and friendly. There are kayaks available, complimentary. We’d found a decent deal for this hotel on gtahotels.com, about $150ish a night. We decided to splurge on hotels for the beach portion of our trip as this was our honeymoon! We were pretty tired by the time we arrived, after two solid weeks of touring and being on the go. We were ready to crash and what a great spot to do so. The only outing was a walk down the road for lunch and poke around the few shops nearby. We passed up the many wonderful sounding day trips and never made it to Kho Phi Phi or any other places. We had great views and were very happy staying in one place for a few days. Breakfasts here were great too! The only down side of this hotel is the tide at the beach... the tide goes out for a few hours during the day, leaving no beach! Beach swimming is better around the bend and walking distance to the Sheraton Krabi. We had to kayak early in the morning and be back by noon before the tide went out.

After three restful days, we took the daily ferry to Phukett. All very easy and well organized transfer... mini van picks you up at your hotel, to the ferry. Arriving in Phukett, you are assigned to another mini van to your town/hotel in Phukett. Our hotel in Phukett was in Surin Beach; Ayara Hilltops. We originally found this one on Luxury Link, booked it on Hotels.com. We found a stay 2; get 1 night free - so this hotel was about $130. This hotel is another beauty. It is built on a very steep cliff, with a quick and efficient system of golf-carts to drive you up and down to the lobby, or across the street to the beach. This hotel is not for everyone... many steps, even after the ride. We had a fabulous room... beautiful deck, outdoor whirlpool. The water in the whirlpool was not hot enough to use it. Oh well. Surin Beach was different than our minds-eye pictured. The beach is lined with beach lounge chairs... there are more of them than sand. So although it wasn’t full of people it had the appearance of being busy. Lots of bars and restaurants line the beach. We loved it there. The water was full of plankton... rather prickly when you’re in the water in the afternoon. The hotel had its own section of beach and complimentary lounges. Wonderful spots for candlelight dinners on the beach. We stayed three nights; had an afternoon flight from Phukett to Bangkok for our last two nights.

Back to Bangkok... we initially booked an airport hotel for the last night... and changed that plan to opt for another day and night of shopping in Bangkok. Since we travel with carry on luggage only... we saved the bulk of our shopping and gift buying for the end. I pack a Baggalini for gifts and check bags on the way home, carrying gifts on board the flight. Our hotel in Bangkok was On8 Sukhamvit($55-60). This is a new hotel, great location right in from of the Nana skytrain station. Great location for shopping, and closer to the airport than Riverside. We extended from one to two nights. The hotel is nice... because of our last minute change to stay an extra day... we had to move rooms. No big deal; but the rooms are rather small and did not have windows. Maybe that is good as it was very quiet. Breakfast was in their cafe. Adequate; not nearly as good as many others.

An early morning taxi to the airport ended our trip... a few flight delays but no cancelled flights.
This was a trip of a lifetime! The Thai people are so friendly, warm and happy. It is a beautiful country filled with interesting sites, culture and adventure. We could have stayed longer, and seen much more.

The weather in December was fantastic! We had one hour of rain the entire time... in Krabi. Every other day was warm but never too hot... and never very humid. Great weather for walking, sightseeing and warmer in the beaches. Perfect!

Hope you find this report helpful for your planning.
changemaven is offline  
Old Dec 28th, 2009, 10:21 AM
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Thanks for your report. Glad you had a nice honeymoon and It's always nice to hear reviews of new hotels.
lcuy is offline  
Old Dec 28th, 2009, 10:47 AM
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Thanks so much for taking the time to write your report! We are flying to Bangkok in two weeks. It's nice to hear that you liked Chatrium.
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Old Dec 28th, 2009, 12:27 PM
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great report, thanks for sharing it with us
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Old Dec 28th, 2009, 01:07 PM
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Thank you so much for your report and taking the time for detail. There were a few new things to consider on our return to Thailand. The Chiang Mai Bike Trip sounds fantastic. The National Park sounds like fun, but I'd never get Mrs Panda on board. Not with the part about wading up to your elbows.
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Old Dec 28th, 2009, 01:21 PM
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It sounds like you had a wonderful trip! I'm so glad.
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Old Dec 28th, 2009, 05:38 PM
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Superb report! Glad you had such a great time. I've eaten at few times at the On8 Cafe.
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Old Dec 28th, 2009, 05:56 PM
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Sounds like you had a great trip. On8 has no windows??? That is surely bizaar, isn't it? I'd feel claustrophobic, I think. But, as degas said, the On8 Cafe is not bad.
Carol
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Old Dec 31st, 2009, 07:29 AM
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Congratulations and thanks for posting this cheering account of your trip.
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