Kathie- do you bargain at your jeweler?
Also do you know of any places in Bangkok where one can purchase tapestries?
Thanks!

I don't bargain with my jeweler, as I've been buying there for 20 years and they give me the "wholesale" price. They'll always give you a better price if you've been referred by a friend. Feel free (anyone) to say they were referred by me.

I'm not sure what you mean by tapestries... I think of the beautiful handwoven silk wallhangings from Laos or the sequined "bas relief" fabrics from Northern Thailand. You can buy either at shops specializing in local textiles. There are a couple of shops at River City that I've used (bargain hard), one called Maya. Ask at your hotel for recommendations as well.

Another note on Bangkok shopping: There have been rumors on this board of a Jim Thompson outlet store. Indeed, there are two of them! One, which has only yard goods, is located just two blocks from the main Jim Thompson store at 149/4-6 Surawong Road. The other outlet has yard goods plus other Jim Thompson items like T-shirts, purses, jewelry boxes, stuffed animals, etc like the main store has. Prices about half of retail. Any Jim Thompson store will have a card showing the location of the two outlets with a map and directions in Thai.

Kathie - Upon your recommendation and other I have seen (although there are also many negative comments), I am leaning toward staying at the Royal Orchid Sheraton on our trip to Bangkok next year. Please advise what is in River City. We aren't into eating at expensive restaurants, so are there some moderately priced Thai restaurants and fast food places in the vicinity? Also, what about grocery stores to buy snacks, beer, etc?

River City is a large shopping center, renowned for it's arts & antiques stores. It also has many other kinds of stores, tailoring, a drug store, etc. There are a few restuartants. I haven't eaten in them so can't tell you much about them. I really can't say if there are fast food restaurants in the vicinity, as I don't eat fast food, so don't even notice the places. There are certainly restaurants within walking distance of The Royal Orchid (Harmonique, for instance). If you stay in the Towers, you may not need to eat dinner as the drinks and hors d'ouvres are plenty for me, anyway.

Thanks Kathie. I will see about getting a Towers room if we decide to stay there. One last question - how easy is it to get to the skytrain from the ROS?

The skytrain is some distance. I can't tell you exactly where the nearest station is, as I don't use the skytrain when I'm in Bangkok, I use the river boats or taxis.

The skytrain station is about a 2km walk from the hotel. If you don't want to walk then just take a river ferry to the Sathorn pier and the station is right there.

Kathie: How does SI do on pearls? TU

Hi Kathie - I really enjoyed your trip discussion and am looking forward to hearing more about it. We are leaving in early January for a 3 week trip. We are also staying at the Royal Orchid and were glad to hear how much you liked it.

I do have a couple of questions. What should I pack for a 3 week trip? We'll be in Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. Should I expect to wear shorts in the city - except for the temples of course. What about evening wear? Is it generally casual?

Also, since we're getting in at 11:30 at night, we decided to let the hotel arrange limosine tranfer for us. How much should we tip the limo driver?

Thanks.

Skaye, you'll find good deals on pearls at SJ.

Joanh, I'd suggest that you'll want light long pants or long skrts or dresses more than shorts everywhere except Phuket. Long, light and loose will be the coolest clothing. Evenings in Chaing Mai can even be a bit chilly (relatively) in January. Evening waer is generally casual, though there are certainly places in Bangkok where you would dress very well. I take along something like a light black dress that I can dress up for evenings if I want to.

I always just hire a limo from the airport to take me to the hotel. There are stands just outside customs as you arrive. The "limos" are fixed price, and are usually large Mercedes sedans. You can have the hotel send a car for you, but it is much more expensive. However, if it makes you feel better, do it. There is no need to tip the driver (really) as the hotel will have added a service charge.

Enjoy your trip!

We stayed at the Royal Orchid in January and loved it. We were on the 25th floor and looked DOWN on the fireworks displays outside our window at night!

Kathie - Thanks for your response on what to bring and tipping. I'm hoping to visit your jewelry store and probably the Jim Thompson outlets as well. We've also upgraded to a Tower room at the Royal Orchid. I've been reading your responses on a number of other threads and got lots of useful information Thanks for being so helpful.

Now if we can get through 22 hours of flying to get there , I think we'll really have a good time.

kathie---great report --can't wait for the rest....

richard1148--restaurants in river city---there are several...on the roof there is a nice place that is reasonable--thai...there is a korean style one on 2 or 3...i can't think of any fast food in the immediate area, but there is plenty all around bkk..

take the sheraton boat to the skytrain/taskim stop (end of line)--less than 5 minutes....tons of taxis in back of river city all the time also...

there is a small grocery store in the back (street side) of river city on the ground level....enter from the street

Thanks rhkkmk, that's the info I needed. I am now 99% sure that we will stay at the Royal Orchid Sheraton if I can get the Towers room.

richard---i remembered later that there is a mcdonalds and maybe some other fast food on new road at robinson's department store, which is next to the taskin sky train station in back of the shangra-la hotel....that's a 15 minute walk from the sheraton or a short boat ride....also along silom road there are a number of restaurants, especially near silom village

FYI, behind that MacDonald's and connected to that Robinson's is the Centre Point Silom, the hotel we like. You can see why it's a great location!

Kathie: You were kind enough to say we could use your name at SJ.. Is there anyone in particular you like to deal with or do they all know you? Thank you -

I've used a number of the sales people at SJ, The person I worked with last month was "Linda," but the person I've worked with most often over the last 20 years is Lily. Nonetheless, if you simply say you were referred, they will give you better prices even if they don't have a clue as to who referred you!

Thank you very much.. it must be the innate politeness that stops them from saying "Who?" I know I will not return to the Gem Gallery. My own fault because I bought for the sake of buying - didn't feel good and it was last minute. Looking forward to being sensible and taking my time.

Kathie -- Can you offer your last name to use for referral at SJ or do they simply know you as Kathie? Also, the Anantara charges $50 for limo one-way from airport (I assume this is not per person), does that seem about right or would I be better off hiring from the airport? Thanks.

Virgo, You are welcome to use my full name at SJ, Kathie Larsen. Like I say, I don't know that they will remember who I am, but they do always recognize me when I arrive!

US$50 was what I paid for a transfer (2 people) from the CR airport to the Anantara. I'd do it again. It's a long drive, and they had large, comfortable cars and knew where they were going!

Kathie, thanks for the grat info. A friend had recommended SJ Jewelers to us. We plan to stop there. Did you have to match stones for the earing jacket? That was a big difference. Also do you know the address of the discount Jim Thompson House that carries the clothing?

Kathie -- Thanks for the info. I'll post back when I return.

cwn, Yes, SJ did match the stones in the earring jacket. They really did a great job... and for such a good price.

I don't have the address of the Jim Thompson Outlet with the clothing. All of the Jim Thompson stores have cards with all of the addresses on them. Also, if you do a search on this site, you'll probably find the address.

The JT outlet which carries clothes is Sukhumvit Soi 93. Closest BTS stop is On Nut, from there u will prob have to cab i tho is not far. No good trial room facilities so one option is go to the big JT at Silom, figure out your size in various things then go to the outlet.

I noticed that SJ International Jewelers has a website. It is http://www.sjjewelry.com/.

Best Regards,

Vic

Kathie, the jewelry on the SJ Jewelers website looked really beautiful and well-designed. I don't know very much about jewelry but the prices seemed high - close to $1000 or more for a lovely 18K gold bangle braceletwith just a few small rubies. Are the prices at the store in BKK much better than on their website?

I tried to find the 18k bangle "with just a few rubies" on the website. I found an 18K bangle with over 6 carats of rubies (about $1000), and another bracelet with 3 carats of rubies for $800, so I'm not sure what you are looking at. I would say from my experience that the prices are lower at the store (and you can bargain). Nonetheless, do some price comparisons between the US and the SJ site. I would think you would be hard pressed to find a bracelet comparable to the 18k bangle with over 6 carats of rubies for less than 2-3x the listed SJ price. I can usually buy jewelry at SJ for about one fourth of the US retail price.

I always recommend that people price shop in the US before buying jewelry in Bangkok (or anywhere else, for that matter). You also need to learn how to recognize high quality stones. Ask your jeweler to show you really good rubies and sapphires (the best buys in Bangkok).

Kathie:
When you say you can buy at 1/4 the US price in Bangkok are you talking about the full retail US price or the usual 50-75% discount that one should expect to pay at most stores in the US.

TTTTTT

Bill, I am talking about a "real" retail price, as opposed to the huge markups the mall jewelry stores make in order to have their "sales." The comparison I make is actually with the US wholesale price (I know some people in the jewelry business), and I can get things for half of the US wholesale price. "Real" retail price is typically double the wholesale price.

Is that thoroughly confusing?