A brief introduction. DH and I are 28,from Houston and this was our first trip to SE Asia. This was my graduation from grad school/our second year anniversary trip. We were initially going back to Italy, France and Spain. Hotels were booked and itinerary planned....then I had a conversation with a patient at work about Phi Phi island and Thailand and became interested. I googled Phi Phi and Bangkok and was so intrigued and excited about Thailand, I told Dh "Hey how about we go to Thailand instead?" The rest was history, and I began planning our trip back in Feb. We decided to do 3 days in BKK, 6 days in Phuket, then 3 more days in BKK. Needless to say we do not regret changing our plans (even though I love Rome). We had a wonderful experience and LOVED Thailand!

I'm not an expert nor hav I ever written a trip report, but I thought I'd share our experiences, including a traumatic and sad experience at the Andaman White Beach resort.

We flew on sunday 5/14 on China airlines, it was an uneventful -with turbulence at times- flight. The staff was wonderful. Food was average, free wine with meals, personal video screen. Movies available were top blockbusters like Broke back mountain, King Kong, Match Point, Syrianan, etc. Music ranging from my favorites Andrea Bocelli to Shakira.

Flight from IAH to SEA was empty, we thought this was a direct flight with a layover in Taipei, but we stopped in SEA and the flight was suddenly no longer empty. So on to TPE we go, layover of about 3 hours. Arriving in BKK at noon on 5/16. Ratt was waiting for us at the airport (this was well worth it, since we were exhausted),we needed money exchanged and she stopped at a currency exchange place, we then headed straight to the Marriott resort and spa.

Marriott R&S- I was beyond impressed upon arrival. The MR&S is truly an amazing place(thanks Bob). The staff is wonderful! We had requested a king and wasn't available, but they quickly granted our request later on. The bed was wonderful and felt like heaven! We slept for a while and woke up late.

We headed to Yok Yor on the river for dinner, concierge said this was a place frequented mainly by locals. No kidding! The food was great and they specialize in seafood! Our first thai meal. We had 2 dishes and drinks for B205. DH had cashew chicken and it was the best I've ever had and I don't like cashew chicken! No english spoken and only locals eating and singing karaoke. We were exhausted and this was definitely our first experience trying to communicate. We definitely enjoyed it. It is about a 5 minute taxi ride from the Marriott.

Breakfast at the Marriott was wonderful! Yummy! Huge selection, delicious waffles! Marriott is far from the other areas, but the shuttle is very convenient with easy access to the BTS. This was not a problem to us, we enjoyed riding the boat shuttle and river life.

We had reserved the Millenium Hilton for our last 3 days in BKK, however we loved the Marriott so much we decided we would cancel our reservation at the Hilton and stay here. So I emailed http://latestays.com">latestays.com and hotel travel (we used them to book marriott) and requested the dates, BUT little did we know that the Marriott was sold out. We were very dissapointed and had no choice but to keep our Hilton reservation...but later would realize that things happen for a reason and enjoyed the hilton even more!

Our first three days in BKK we did the usual tourist attractions: Wat's, Grand palace, silom, sukhumvit, etc. So I won't bother you with details. We did this on our own and decided not to hire Ratt. We found it very easy to do, got on the boat shuttle and got off at the piers, ferry across to Wat Arun, etc. Very convenient! We were surrounded by tuk tuk's telling us the palace was closed..blah blah blah...but we ignored and continued walking. It was very frustrating having to hear them! There was a woman that came up to us and said she was told that the palace was closed by a taxi driver and didn't know how to get back, I told her "it's a scam follow us". Ha!The blind leading the blind. I didn't even know where we were going, but we followed the crowds and got there fine. =)

It rained our first 2 nts. and then one day it rained all day. We decided to make that our shopping day and went shopping at all the malls. we really enjoyed it. We enjoyed the rain at night, it put us to sleep...

On to Phuket: we flew with Bangkok airways, they were having an internet special. Flew out at 7am. Fastest check in I've ever experienced. They also have a lounge with complimentary internet and pastries and coffee. In flight meal served. Arrived in Phuket, and driver from karona resort and spa was waiting for us. Phuket looked like a ghost town compared to BKK. We checked in to the Karona resort & Spa.

Karona R&S is not on the beach, but it was a cute small hotel, definitely not the marriott. We got a great package at this hotel, and that was the main reason why we booked it. We payed $207 for 3 nts., full day tour to phi phi island, 40% discount at spa, and 1 free thai set dinner. The dinner was delicious with a lot of food. I wasn't very impressed with the beach, very rough (red flags up) and tons of huge jelly fish.
There are tons of shops and restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. Shopping here was very expensive.

Things we loved at Karon beach:
* The massage at the hotel. Body scrub and massage-2 hours-$60. It was amazing. wonderful tea made from bell flower. It was soo good I asked where I could find. They said in Phuket town, but I convinced them to sell me some. It is delicious. The best tea I've ever had.

* Andaman Coffee shop- delicious coffee with free 15 minute internet access.

*Body and mind spa on Karon. Wonderful and affordable prices. I had a foot massage ($11) and body scrub ($26) with tip, for 2 hrs. This is a very nice spa, great decor, and environment. I couldn't believe the prices.

Phi Phi tour and rain: It rained at night while in Karon beach, but cleared up during the day. We enjoyed our day trip to phi phi. The snorkeling was fantastic with many wonderful colorful fish. We had a blast. It started raining however when we arrived in Phi Phi and we got soaking wet, not that it mattered we had been snorkeling. I enjoyed walking in the rain. I really loved phi phi and hope to return there one day.

Next andaman beauty and sadness......

Hi Belle

I love your report - we are staying at the Marriott in less than 2 months (yippee!) at the start of our 5 week trip to Thailand. I've added the restaurant Yok Yor to our list - is it near the Marriott?

Looking forward to the next part of your report - although I am slightly apprehensive of your traumatic and sad experience.
BB

loving the report, can't wait for more....ISN'T THE MARRIOTT FANTASTIC!!!?? told you so...i arrive on oct 29th and can't wait....
i have cancelled my hilton stay in exchange for the penninsula, but will be anxious to read your report on it...be very specific please as not many have stayed there yet....

i have ridden by yok yor (there are several by the way), but never been there...glad it was a good experience...

awaiting more...

bob

bella...its just up the river a short distance from the marriott on the same side of the river---you will pass it everyday on the marriott boat....there is also one across from river city shopping center...the boat might even stop there for you if you asked and of course gave them a tip....

Forgot to post about our dinner at Rice mill at the Marriott. The food was delicious. We had beef with vegetables and fried rice. This was the best fried rice and the softest beef we had ever eaten! About $20. The hotel also gives out a small pack of coupons for discounts at their restaurants, bar and spa. Anywhere from 15-20% off.

Monday the 22nd we arrived at the Andaman white beach resort. Beautiful place! The beach was amazing and wonderful rooms. The room we got was seaview, right behind the pool. The door to the room is a sliding door,the bed faces this door and the ocean. It was lovely. Great bathroom, robes, slippers, CD player in room, HBO and cinemax.
We immediately went downstairs and hung out on the beach-weather was perfect. Sunny and hot! Happy hour is from 2-3 at the beach, and from 6-7 at the bar,with buy one get one free specials. Definitely try the mango margarita! WOW! It was delicious. It began raining about 5pm and stopped at about 7pm. We ate dinner that night at the thai restaurant. The food was great and it was about $25 for 2 with drinks, 2 dishes and appetizer.

Siam safari: the next day we had booked an elephant trekking tour with Siam safari-1hour tour-$25 per person. We awoke to a beautiful and sunny day. I was like a kid, beyond excited about the tour, I love elephants! The elephant trekk can be done at 8am,10am, 1pm or 3pm. Driver picked us up at the Andaman, and he was a heck of a driver. I thought I would never make it to the tour, he drove like a maniac. I think that's pretty common in Thailand anyways. =) Our tour group was pretty small-only five of us and a small child.
We arrived and got on a jeep which drove us to the safari. There we saw an elephant show, and I feed the elephants. We then got on the elephants and on with the trekk.The trekk goes uphill and we stopped at the top where we saw a spectacular view of chalong bay and you can also see phi phi island from here. It was beautiful! We really enjoyed the trekk it was quite fun and a wonderful experience. We then went back to the hotel. We also bought the picture souvenir-had to- for B150.

Ah! I accidentally pressed post before I finished ........

Ok, So far so good right? Great sunny day, no rain, perfect! we arrive at the hotel from elephant trekk at about 1pm (we were dropped off last). It was a beautiful day we decided to hurry up change and hang out at the beach. So we're changing into our swim wear and I hear some commotion, but I thought people were just being rowdy and having a great time. I did think it was odd though because it is a pretty quiet hotel, and there were about 20 of us staying there at the time.So we are finally going down to the beach and DH says I think something happened, there's a huge crowd on the beach. So we are heading down the stairs by the pool when this woman runs up to me franctic and says did you call a doctor (obviously confusing me) I said no what's going on , she says there's a man dying on the beach. So we immediately head to the beach and I see the crowd, a man on the ground, and people administering CPR. Life vests on the floor,obviously he had been swimming and had been drowning.

So there's all this commotion going on, no doctor, people administering CPR. At this point I didn't want to get near, I was shocked and didn't know what to do. We were all just standing around, waiting on the ambulance or a doctor. A French man tells me he was swimming far away (red flags were up) and I guess an undercurrent caught him and staff and others had jumped in to save him. So time is passing, 10, 15, 20 minutes..nothing. No doctor, no ambulance, man is not conscious. So I ask a staff member if someone is on their way, someone is, but the problem? We are so far away, we are isolated, and the nearest hospital is at least 30 minutes away. By the time someone arrives this man has been unconscious for at least 20 minutes, CPR is not helping. So the staff finally picks him up and takes him to lobby where someone finally arrives. By this time I'm hoping he is still alive but I know deep inside he has passed.

This was the worst experience I've ever encountered. I had never seen anyone die right before me. A woman began crying, she didn't know him, but the experience was just stressful. So we all went to the pool away from the beach and sat there in shock. Not knowing what to say or what to do. Some took a drink others simply went back to their room. This was the last time we went to the beach. I just couldnt make myself go back to that place. It didnt ruin my vacation, but I just couldnt help but think about him, I wanted time to go back so that he would be alive, and I didn't even know him. I wish I would have never seen it. I kept thinking about his wife and being in a country where noone knows your language. It was very surreal. Definitely an eye opener.

I apologize for including this in my report, but for anyone out there, please, if you see a red flag, if there isnt a life guard, if it say no swimming don't swim. Don't put your self at risk.I think we sometimes think hey we're on vacation nothing wrong can ever occur and we forget about things we would never do at home.Be careful where ever you go, this is not something anyone should have to ever experience.......

The next day we awoke feeling better. Breakfast here was delicous, with waffles, omelettes, juice,etc.We ate the either at the thai restaurant or the pool bar. The bar had pizza, burgers, thai food, and pasta. That one is cheaper and great food as well. On this day I decided to get a massage package. I got a 1 hour massage, 30 minute body scrub, and 30 minute facial. The massage was nice, but I really liked the one at the Karona resort better.

Overall we enjoyed our stay, except for that one event. We ate at the hotel. The Thai resturaunt food is great and great drinks. The staff is wonderful and willing to assist. We got an awesome rate of $70 a nt. being that it was low season. The total for room, massage package, 3 dinners, 1 lunch, and drinks at happy hour were......$390. Talk about a deal!

Next....Grand opening party at the Millenium Hilton....

Sorry to hear about the man at the beach. Bad things can certainly happen anywhere but there's something so particularly tragic about it happening somewhere where you can't get prompt medical care.

This first-hand knowledge of what can happen will stay with you I'm sure.

My traveling companion and I have often contemplated doing things that are a bit risky on vacation and one always says to the other "I got 6 words for ya"

And the other one says "How. Far. To. The. Nearest. Doctor."

That's usually the end of the discussion.

now i am sad and i wasn't even there....i remember the time karen and i were walking in boston---NO I'M not taking your nice trip report and report another sad tale...forget it!!

anyways, wonderful report...looking for more..

bob

Belle - you shouldn't apologise for including this story, it is very sad but a very good lesson for us all. Phuket has a red flag system - and obviously for good reason - but visitors to Thailand should be aware that some of the more remote islands don't have a red flag system in place and you need to listen to the locals and check about riptides etc. I read a story around New Year time about two girls who died on Haad Rin in Ko Pha Ngan - some of the diveshops there are now trying to get a system in place to warn people when the sea is not safe.

Looking forward to hearing about the Hilton!
BB

I'm enjoying your report (other than the tragic event) and look forward to your take on the new Hilton. I've seen it many times over the years, and am so delighted that something has been done with the building. I was in BKK in January, so Hilton was nearing completion at that time.

Phi Phi is really beautiful. I, like you, took a day trip there. I have also heeded the red flag warnings on Phuket a few times when I've been there. It's not good to ignore them.

Carol

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read.

Ok so we arrived back in BKK at 11am on 5/25. This time we took a taxi back to the marriott. Yes, the marriott! we had left some of our luggage there thinking we would be coming back. However, it wasn't until we were in Phuket that we found out the marriott was sold out. So we pick up our luggage at the marriott which by the way was very busy. Then we take another taxi to the Hilton,arriving at noon.We didn't ask for a metered taxi, so payed B80, I swear I heard the taxi driver say B18. Argh! You learn!

My jaw dropped when I entered the lobby. Very fancy schmancy! Very modern/contemporary looking. Lounge music playing, the hotel staff dressess very cute and hip in brown/tan tones.The entire hotel is decorated in different shades of brown.Very simple, yet elegant.

We check in, but room is not ready. So we decide to check the hotel out, and we go to the spa. Again very contemporary. The spa has a fountain a the entrance with water lilies, just beautiful! Spa prices were expensive, and I had had many massages in Phuket, so I opted not to get one. We head outside & head to rivercity.

So the room is ready and we are on the 17th floor. WOW! I was speechless. The room with river view. All I could say was WOW! Again the room has a very contemporary look, same brown pattern/scheme going. As you enter there is a huge mirror covering the right wall (only in entrance area). To the left is a closet with robes and slippers and safe box. Bathroom is also to the left and has a separate shower and bath area. Huge mirror behind toilet (that I found weird). The room had a small couch, bed, and table. The bed was heaven..ahh.But the view is just phenomenal.The room has dim lights and one of the outlets in the room is a worldwide adapter, which came in handy for our digi camera, since we forgot ours. You are also able to hear the TV in the bathroom, by turning on a switch in the bathroom. The view from the room at night is spectacular!

The hotel has 3 restaurants, Flow on the first floor where breakfast is served. Breakfast is served outside or inside.Breakfast was inlcuded in the rate. Brekfast was delicious with a huge selection of pastries, juices, yogurt cereal, waffles, eggs, sausage, soup, thai food, etc. The other restaurants are Prime for steak, and Yuan for dim sum. There is also a Zeta bar on the third floor and a bar/lounge (360)on the 32nd floor that has stunning 360 degree views of BKK. There's also Lantern for tea, cocktails and pastries, it has a nice outside area on the river. Finally, the pool and gym are on the 4th floor. I loved the infiniti pool, with floating chairs, and the views from here are also wonderful. DH loved the gym, the equipment was brand new and he just couldn't stop talking about it. There are many aerobic, yoga and pilates classes throughout the week.

So, we went out and did regular tourist things.I also decided to get a haircut, and got one at Hair world in siam center, for B400. Great haircut. I had a blast.Dh said I had a very Thai haircut. We then headed off and had dinner at Fuji, a sushi restaurant. Other locations in siam discovery and MBK. There was a small wait since it was dinner time, also mainly locals here. I read about this place in the Bangkok airways inflight magazine. The sushi was the best I've had (can only compare it to Houston). We had 2 dinner sets, sushi, and beer and tip all for B550. That was a bargain for sushi and great sushi at that.

Friday- Hotel inauguration, flower market, and grand opening party!

So we hired Ratt to take us to the floating market today. We woke up early, she would be picking us up at 6:30am. We go outside to check if she's here,and notice many tables set up along the drive way, we think maybe there's a huge convention/group checking in? The concierge asks us if we will be in tonight, we say yes and invites us to the grand opening party! Said he would leave me an invitation in the room.

We see Ratt and she says you have to check this out, not many tourists get to see this. At 7am there would be a procession by monks were the hotel is blessed (for lack of a better word)on it's inauguration day.

There are 99 monks(lucky #)seated at the front of the hotel. They line up, head monk/master leading,and head towards the tables we had previously seen. They go around and the staff hands them food. The hotel donates food to the monks. There are about 20 tables set around. Hotel staff takes their shoes off, and gives each monk food. It was an awesome sight to see, 99 saffron colored robed monks. Beautiful! So I'm following them around, there are no other hotel guests around, just Ratt and us. Hotel staff is taking pictures and video. Huge event for them. So I'm following them,taking pics and a hotel manager tells me would you like to do it? I jumped on it. I was not going to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity. So I start giving food away to the monks, thinking I would only be giving 1 item away, next thing you know staff is handing me over item after item to give away. I was tired of kneeling and standing over and over. I enjoyed the experience. We were so lucky we had Ratt to inform us of what was going on, otherwise we would have slept through. Ratt said at 9am, they would have a ceremony, but we wouldn't be able to see this, since we had to leave. There was an erawan shrine (?) at front of hotel, that was being decorated with flowers and incense.It would be used in the ceremony.

We then headed off to the floating market......and grand opening party at night.......

(I will try to post pics-next posting- of the Hilton for those wanting to see them.)

That is awesome that you got to help with the donation to the monks! Lucky you. Really enjoying your report - can't wait to hear more.

wow were you lucky....ratt is on top of things...!!

by the way that ceremony was for you not for the hotel and that is why no one else was there....

looking forward to me

bob

B0516-Very nice report. Just the right amount of detail with the "action" moving forward. Penalty avoided. Aren't you glad you switched from Southern Europe to Southeast Asia?

Wonderful report! Glad to hear you had a good time. I'm interested in the sushi restaurant called Fuji that you went to. Is it in the Siam Center?

Bob-you're right the ceremony was for me!

Gpanda- I'm very happy we decided to change our trip. Thailand is fabulous! We had an amazing time.

rsidhu- yes it is in siam center, I believe it's on the 3rd floor. It's at the end of the hallway. Almost in the corner I would say. It was real good. There are other locations in siam discovery and MBK.

Floating market- so on to the floating market. We didn't want to do any other
sight seeing, hopefully we didn't miss out on much. we just wanted to see the floating market, we were also tired.

We finally arrive and get on that small boat, I was scared the entire time, thinking we would flip over. We got there on time, but as we were leaving there was so much traffic! We were bumping into other boats. Ratt kept buying food from the vendors and handing it to us.We ate fried bananas-yummy, peanuts with sugar, pomelos-delicious! and some thai desserts wrapped in a banana leaf-one made out of coconut and one out of starfruit. I liked the starfruit dessert but since I don't like coconut I didn't like the other one. We also had a bowl of noodle soup that was delicious for B15! I still crave that noodle soup......

Ratt took us to different places for souvenirs (within floating market), but we didn't buy but 2 things. We thought the prices there were expensive and had seen the same items at the night bazzar for cheaper. She kept insisting we buy something making me think she gets a commission?hmmm....

We came back early and asked Ratt if she knew where Thai Home industries was, she drove us there. My sister is in culinary school and I wanted to get her some cooking knives, silverware.You can find hand made silverware and knives. It was afordable, I bought 2 things. Then we realized there was a catholic church across the street, so we went to the gift shop there. My mother-in-law had requested a rosary from Thailand-Huh? That was beyond me, Dh and I thought it was funny. But hey we found them (even thought they come from Rome-ha!). Back to hotel to get some rest and lay out on the pool.

We decided to head out to Lumpini Park for the night baazar for 2 hrs. It's fun getting there. We didn't take a taxi. So we would get on the boat shuttle, take the sky train, then take the MRT, and finally arrive. we always laughed at how many means of transportation we needed in order to get there. So it's 7:30 and we decide to head back to the hotel for the party. As we're waiting for the boat shuttle we see all these people dressed to the 9's. Some formal, others semi, other bussiness casual. We are very underdressed. So we arrive and the party is going on. As we enter the lobby is packed with some cirque du soleil type show going on, drinks everywhere. We squeeze through the crowd-not before getting a shot- and head to the room to change.
We make it back about 8:45,we decide to get some food and drinks. Free food, open bar-perfect! They had different kinds of h'ordourves, sushi, seafood. Drinks being poured- White wine, red wine, champagne, and beer. And this was just the 1st floor(Flow restaurant). So we hang out outside waiting for the fireworks show at 9:45 pm. We're mingling, people watching. There were many other people from outside the hotel. I noticed some people looked like the socialites of Bkk. The inivitation said there would be some "exclusive guests" whatever! If there was anyone famous there, I didn't know...well I did recognize the girl from Bkk-MTV.

The fireworks show was spectacular. Music was great. Body painting,more cirque du soleil type shows. We headed to the other restaurants and bars. Each bar had a separate party. Elevators were full and there was a wait. Zeta bar had a Dj,more drinks, people dancing. The pool area had a band and more drinks, people in the pool and more models with body paint. Three-sixty had more drinks and jazz. We had a great time, it felt like a new year's eve party. Hilton knows how to throw a party! It was over at 1am....

more to come.....

Here are some pics from hilton and party.

http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=342...=SYE/otsi=SALB

or http://tinyurl.com/r5rtm

please let me know if you have difficulty viewing. Don't know what other website to download them to.

i could not get the first one to work but i could see the pics on the 2nd one after i signed in....i have a snap account..

the pics are very good...

looks like fun