Ash2012

I am a 24 year old female and will be traveling solo to Thailand the first week of September. This will be my first trip to Asia and I am open to other places and ideas. With all the flights I have found, I would be leaving on the morning of the 1st and arriving in Bangkok around 10pm on the 2nd and I would fly out of Thailand around 11:30pm on Saturday the 8th so that I could be back at work on Monday. This leaves me 6 days (including the day I leave Thailand since it is a very late flight).

I have done some research and my wish list for this trip includes seeing the temples and things like the giant reclining Buddha and night markets. Possibly visit a clear beach with white sand and bright blue waters. I would love to ride an elephant bareback in the jungle. I have come across Patara Elephant Farms where they have an elephant owner for a day program that lasts about 5-6 hours. I have also found the Tiger Kingdom where you can pet and interact with tigers; this would only be a few hours. Both of these are in Chiang Mai. I would also like to get a Thai massage and maybe attend a cooking class, but that is towards the bottom of my list.

So, right now my plans are to do a multi-city ticket, either flying into Bangkok and out of Chaing Mai or some other cities. I figured I could spend 3 days in Bangkok take a 1day trip to the beach then two days in Chiang Mai. Or I could do 2 days for each stop. With the elephants on my second to last day and tigers on the morning of my last day then lunch maybe a day at the markets picking up some gifts.

I know this sounds very fast paced, but that’s how I usually do things. I recently went to London, Paris, Rome, Athens, and Cairo in 13 days which included my main travel days and flying between each place. I never felt rushed or like I was missing out on things and I had a fantastic time. I don’t think I really had any jet lag, but that might be different with the longer flights.

So with all this what are your thoughts? Any input on how I should arrange things? Should I change my stops? As for the beach, I really wanted to attend the full moon party but will not arrive in time, so what/where would you recommend? What do you think of saving the animals for the end? Would you suggest doing that portion at the beginning of my trip then flying out of bangkok? My concern is that something will happen towards the end and cause me to miss this since I wouldn't have any days left to work things around. Also I know this is the rainy season, do you think that will cause major issues with my vacation plans?

I have received some great advice in the past from this website, so thank you in advance for your help!

Kathie

Are you an animal lover? If so, seriously reconsider your plans for elephants and tigers. There are a couple of reputable places to interact with elephants in the Chiang Mai area, the Elephant Nature Park and the Thai Elephant Conservation Center.

I think the idea of going to a beach for one day makes little sense. The prettiest beaches are on islands that are a flights away from Bangkok. It will take you half a day to get there and half a day to get back. It would be an expensive way to get 24 hours at a beach where it will probably be raining.

Most of the things you are interested in are readily accessible in Bangkok. There are plenty of Wats to visit including Wat Po (Reclining Buddha), the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha and Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn. There are cooking classes in Bangkok, and hundreds of places to get Thai massage.

If it were me (and it isn't) I'd spend all of my time in Bangkok.

rhkkmk

the weather can not be as nice as you might like in sept, so be prepared..

spend the whole wk in bkk

the zoo is decent in bkk

StanKase

I agree to some extent but if you are spending $1500-$2000 in airfare to come to Thailand I would urge you to consider to consider to stretch it to 9 days and go to up to ChChiangi Mai for 2 days via Bankok Airways for $150Rt. You can go to the Elephant Conservancy and go on a 1 day (4-5 hour) mini safari-like trip on an elephant. You can contact Lampang to find out cost. There is a very interesting Temple Suthop (I just murdered the spelling) that is quite different than those you will experience in BK. If you contact a guide in BK her sister is in CM and she is very good to take you around though she was not cheap. About $85-$90 for a 10-11 hour day baxck a few years ago. She even took us on a long drive to see some locals of the Karon Tribe. If you did the above it would be 2.5 days and 3 nights in CM to accomplish it. We used Sawadee.com for hotel booking and found their rates to be as good or better in Thailand than Agoda.com plus we did not have to pay until 3 weeks prior to arrival.If you are in CM on a Sunday and not in BK for their Sunday market they have one but that is interesting though not as big but cleaner.
Enjoy whatever you do.

geno1

we took a friend for 2 weeks he bought a condo and nev er came back.