Kathie...I had on Capris and sandles the last time we ate at the O. No problen,but I had on a nice blouse and not a halter or tee shirt. Maybe it is the whole outfit that counts?
I do not remember the elephant area at the anatara being too muddy. Having said that, if you are going into the water with the elephants to bath them your tevas might be good. OR, buy a cheap pair of sneakers in Thailand, and throw them out. Shoes are every where there. I always bring home several pairs.

Hi, Karen, I think that the Oriental's dress code must be changing, since you are the second person I've heard that from. No doubt the whole outfit counts, but the Oriental used to be very rigid about it!

kmkrnn- just found some fake crocs for 9.99. Do you think those would work or just get sneakers in BKK. (oh why do we obsess over these minor details with 48 hrs. to go??!!)

Don't think crocs - faux or real - would work on the elephants. You can email the mahout at the Anantara to ask, but I seem to remember they required closed shoes.

Closed shoes weren't required when we were there. In fact, there was no mention of shoes at all, or any advice about what to wear. We each wore Teva style sandals. One child who did it the last day with us wore flip flops. I don't recommend sneakers, because when you bathe the elephants first thing in the AM, you get wet, then you'd spend the rest of the day in wet sneakers - unpleasant.

Kim - It was chillier when we were there, so that might be why everyone was more covered up, shoewise and otherwise. I think my boys wore trailrunnner-type sneakers, so it didn't matter when they got wet (and the shoes getting wet was the least of our worries)....but they did have tevas with them as well, so it's possible that's what they wore. All of this sounds as if Keens would be perfect.