If you get a serviced apartment you won't be on the river and on such a short vacation you won't want to be cooking meals.

Save Singapore for another time.

Re: Singapore Air route.

Anything that gets me another vacation day would be great but....

I checked the Singapore Air fares. Out of Newark, with a stop in Singapore, the fare is about $2,000+ more than Thai Air. Out of JFK the fare is only $800 more but, it is 2 stops, Frankfurt, then Singapore then BKK.

Craig...I wasn't referring to them cooking some huge meals...but they do have kids...and kids get hungry at weird hours and especially with the jetlag and all. When my best friend and her teenage daughter met me in Bangkok, I remember she said that her daughter would wake up in the middle of the night...due to jet lag...and be wide awake and hungry and order room service. It would have been a lot cheaper to have had a kitchen where she could have gone in and maybe made a cheese sandwich or something else light....like all of the varieties of cup a soup. Her room service bill was quite high. Plus, if the kids get stomach upset, it's nice to have a kitchen. Of all of the serviced buildings on moveandstay.com, there must be a few on or near the river. Isn't Centre Point Silom on the river? Happy Travels!

sheraton is a possibility and the pool is the 2nd best to the marriott, but i repeat my marriott suggestion as i think the kids will feel more at home there....the pool, the staff, the mini-mall....

the sh-la is more upscale and very grand, and also huge....the pool area is not well situated really and not good for kids....i would not take my grandchildren there...not relaxed enough....

penn is very nice, but i feel the same way about it....both of these hotels are adult style hotels, imo....some fodorites, like kim japan, have had good luck with the penn with a kid, but generally it is not the kind of place that kids could relax in....

a regular room at the marriott or sheraton or sh-la would work with kids with a rollaway situation or a fold out sofa, but the room will be cramped....a suite might be a better option....full suite, not junior

Ok, just a few more questions please:

The more I read the more people write about the smog, heat and humidity in Bangkok. I live in NYC so I am ok with general city life, and love cities but, does this make it "crazy" to travel to BKK in February and stay in the city for an entire week with the intent of seeing and doing much but also spending serious time pool side with the kids?

Can we eat most places without getting sick? Bottled water is fine but, must we be on guard and avoid salads, etc., at most restaurants? We are very into food. Are the night markets off limits for eating?

And, Thai Air non stop is now pricing at about $1050 per adult. Is that a good fare? Premium economy is almost $600 more, ouch. Anyone know a great consolidator? Alternatively, Thai Air told me the tkts are fully refundable for a $75 cancellation fee. That seems pretty amazing to me, since my job can mean I have to cancel on a couple weeks notice. Thanks again for taking the time with me.

I really don't think the smog is that bad in Bangkok compared to some other third world cities. The main concern is the heat, which means you will have to do things at a slower pace than you are accustomed - no big deal really. Just know that you need to allow more time than you think to get around Bangkok. Staying there for a full week will allow you to do that without feeling rushed.

Bangkok has reasonably priced great restaurants of all types - a foodie's dream really. While we generally stay away from salads, it is not a hard and fast rule with us. We had an awesome soft shell crab lettuce salad at Biscotti, an Italian restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel. The standards at the better restaurants are high. The main concern is how the lettuce is washed. I have never gotten sick in Thailand. I do avoid street food i.e. any food that is sold where employees can not wash their hands. I am not certain whether such conditions exist at the Suan Lum night market but if they did, I would avoid eating there. I don't know of any other night markets worth visiting with children.

Bottled water is a must. Many on this forum also brush their teeth with it. You generally get a couple of bottles in your hotel room. Ice is manufactured with purified water so you don't usually have to worry about ice in drinks.

$1050 sounds like the average price for the direct flight. If PE seats are available on the day of your flight, you may be able to upgrade then for less than $600. I don't know that I'd take that risk - it seems that this flight is becoming pretty popular. As far as the $75 cancellation charge goes, Thai's ticket policies have always been quite flexible.

I don't know if it would be any use but you might want to check out Emirates, they have 3 flights per day from JFK to Dubai, 2 of them are non stop, the other stops in Hamburg, so the 2 non stops to Dubai ( great airport to transit thru ) and then they have 3 to 4 onwards to Bangkok, from Dubai to Bangkok is about 5 hrs 45, so JFK-Dubai-BKK is quite fast, might be worth thinking about.

That's at least 3 per day Dubai-BKK.
Etihad start non stop JFK to Abu Dhabi from end October and they also fly onwards to Bangkok ( about same flying time as from Dubai ) but not as many flights as Emirates, but it's 2 per day from Sbu Dhabi I think from about November time.

we are very strict with our eating and thus have never had any issues....we never eat at the markets nor at food places along the street and thus have never in 9 trips had any food problems...

a few general rules are: only bottled water, except maybe in upscale restaurants, although we never did this (table water) until the last two trips....this includes brushing your teeth...no problem with showers however, although we keep our mouths shut....general rule: "if it not cooked especially for you, or peeled by you, don't eat it"... we shy away from buffets for this very reason, except at breakfast...karen is leery of how long things might have been sitting around, etc...
we avoid all ice, regardless of what they tell you....

we rarely take salads for the reasons craig has listed, but that crab salad he speaks of is karen's very favorite...a regular green salad we never order...we can have all the salads we want at home....

i have never seen any smog in bkk....it is exhaust pollution and that kind of uncomfortable air you have in nyc during those hot and humid july/august days---those unbearable days you will remember from this past july....personally it is the humidity that bothers me rather than the heat, although that is not far behind....for this reason it is mandatory that we have a nice pool with plenty of shade (many hotel pools have little or no shade, especially the ones with roof top pools)

you will be fine in bkk and so will the kids....you just have to take things slowly....plan to do one major thing or maybe two per day and then go back to the pool or to some a/c place like the aquarium for the other part of the day....

we sometimes do something in the AM after our swim, then go out to lunch and then return and spend the rest of the afternoon at the pool ....this will accomodate the kids well too....for this reason i think the full 8 days in and around bkk would work well for you rather than going off someplace else...take it slow and see lots but in a leisurely fashion...

btw....there will be a fodors GTG in boston on oct 7 if you have any interest....lots of the regulars from this board will be in attendance....let me know if you would like to come: [email protected]

bob

As for smog, heat, and humidity...although I'm from L.A., I have been in N.Y. during the heat of the summer and don't see any difference in the weather situation in Bangkok as compared to N.Y. in August. Now, sometimes the smog can be stronger than other times as in any major city. I just got back three days ago and the air was very clean. However, while in Bangkok for three weeks in Dec/Jan there was definitely more smog although I have been there many times before, the same months, when there was hardly any. So, I wouldn't worry about that at all.

As for food and water...some folks are really strict. I'm strict to a certain point, but not obsessed with it. I brush my teeth everyday in tap water and although I drink bottled water...as I do a lot at home,too, I have drunk tap water, on occasion at restaurants...and have been fine. If you're nervous about it, then drink only bottled water.

As for food, I eat uncooked vegetables all of the time...lettuce,tomatoes, etc and rinse them off under the tap water in my apartment...But, again if that makes you nervous, then stay away from uncooked vegetables and peel fruit...like the old rules of traveling within Europe.

I always get some kind of stomach quiezziness upon arrival...but it doesn't last that long and has never slowed me down too much. The system just has to adjust and then I'm fine. Usually the stomach problems come from eating too much...as the food in Bangkok is great.

As I mentioned before...with 8 days, I would stay in Bangkok the whole time. Why run around? It's a vacation. Plus, moving around alot exhausts one's system and your system might end up down and then you might end up sick. Southeast Asia is not Europe. It can't be done on some,"If it's Tuesday it must be Belgium" type of schedule.... I vacation in BK twice a year and have been going there since the 90s and nothing major has happened to me. Plus, there's always Bumrungrad hospital...the number 1 international hospital in the world. So, by staying in BK, at least you will have excellent medical care if it's needed. Happy Travels!

Sounds like a fun trip you are planning. You have already gotten some great advice, but I will chime in too.

- Flights from NY: The Thai non-stop is a great flight at a great price. The standard economy seats are MUCH better than economy seats on a regular flight. The kids will be very happy with the video games and movies on demand system.
I wouldn't bother springing for the premium economy.

- Jet lag: not bad at all on this Thai non-stop. My husband is usually a cranky traveller, but neither of us was effected by jetlag on either leg.

- 8 days in Bangkok: I will be the dissenter here and say that is too much. I like BKK very much, but that is too many days, especially when there are other areas (North or Beach) to exlpore. I work in NYC and would not want to spend my entire vacation in another big city.

There are plenty of day trips to take outside of Bangkok. But, I still think it would be good to use Bangkok as the base. HAppy Travels!

There are plenty of day trips to take outside of Bangkok.I still think it would be good to use Bangkok as the base. HAppy Travels!

Forget the negatives about BKK. A New Yorker will love it. A few simple precautions and the food is as safe as NYC. Avoid street food (we always eat it without problems, but with kids, better safe than sorry), bottled water and skip raw food (we always eat this too, but BSTS).

Put your anxieties aside. This will be a great trip. Just go ahead and book the Thai Air flights. Agonizing over the small details, i.e., saving $50-100 per ticket, will drive you crazy. $1050 per is a good price. You might be able to find a lesser price, but it will undoubtedly involve one or two stops. This will subtract from your time on the ground. The small savings are not worth the missed time.

First-- the thai flight is fabulous. Definitely the way to go. Not only is it much shorter but you get in at a great time which reduces jet lag. I would spend the entire time in Bangkok. If you get there and discover you hate it (I love it but I do know those who don't) you can easily get on a flight to Chiang Mai -- Feb. is not low season but it isn't high high season.

Yes be careful about food. Do NOT eat street food (but then I wouldn't eat street food in NY either) and avoid salads or anything not peeled unless you're in a 5 star hotel or restaurant. Even then I'd avoid it. Why take a risk. That said I have been to thailand 19 times and have never gotten sick. It will be hot -- if heat bothers you hire a driver. Best money you can spend if you want to avoid the heat.

As for shangrila vs Marriott. There is nothing thai about the Shangrila. It is a huge international style hotel. Better located and more deluxe than the Marriott. Probably less personal. I dislike it -- but I dislike big hotels. It feels very cold to me. Others love it. Depends on what you're looking for.

I totally agree with Gpanda. I understand your concerns however I think you're stressing out over this too much. Go...have a great time... Happy Travels!

Some additional feedback please....

As I continue to think about a full week in BKK, I am wondering if I can easily add Hua Hin to the trip. (My other choice, Hawaii, is all beach, which might drive me crazy.) Hua Hin seems to have good/great hotels and a nice beach. Are they about same price as Bangkok deluxe properties? Some hotel websites say it is only "2 hours" by car from BKK. Others say around 4. Is it somewhere in between?

Perhaps we could do 4 nights in BKK and 4 nights or so in Hua Hin, heading from Hua Hin back to airport on Saturday later afternoon. Of course, that adds "time in a seat" to our return leg. If I budget about 4 hours for that return drive on a Saturday night is that fine? Thanks again.

none of us know how long the trip to the new airport will be but certainly 4 hours would be plenty of time.....we drove from the jw marriott on sukhumvit to the marriott in central hua hin in about 2.5 hours.....the limo drove very fast and he stopped once for about 10 minutes 1/2 way down...

its an easy drive once you get out of bkk....

price: sea side resorts are a bit more expensive than bkk hotels i find....but in the case of the marriott they are about the same price as i remember...
the hyatt for instance is about $140 in HH after nov 1 and about the same in bkk....there are many less expensive offerings in HH that are a higher quality than the same priced options in bkk...

take a look at this site which has all the major areas in thailand:

www.huahin.20m.com

the only place i do not suggest that you consider in HH is the hilton....i just find it ghastly, although reports are that the rooms are quite nice....