After reading through all the posts, I am longing for more time but we will be on a spring break trip and eventually have to get kids back to school.

So far our plan is to fly through Hongkong spending 1 1/2 days there on our way to Phuket. We have a timeshare week reserved at the Marriott there.

We'd like to spend some time in Bangkok on the way home. Any time we plan for Bangkok would take away from our week in Phuket. I'm thinking this is OK.

So... what can we see/do in one or two days in Bangkok? What are the highlights?

Besides the beach in Phuket, what type of cultural sites are there? Any good day trips?

Thanks!

Deb

cultural in phuket...lets see there is the phuket symphony and the world class art museum....i'm just kidding...phuket and culture are not in the same sentence usually...its a fun sun related place, not generally known for culture.... i had to pull your leg on this one, sorry...

bangkok in a day or two.,..major sites:

grand palace is worth 2 hours if you rush...

jim thompson house
V-mark palace
ride on the river and stop at wat arun
a couple of other wats: marble, wat pho
suan packard palace--30 minutes

shopping: MBK

if two days then i would add a klong tour in thornburi

the museum is not all that good so i would skip

try the marriott resort and spa on the river for a hotel...

In Phuket, try a tour of Phang Nga Bay. You can look at seacanoe.net. We had a great time.

In BKK, make sure you ride the river ferry. Try the flower market in the morning and then walk over to Chinatown. These will give a good feel for the pulse of the city.

like I've said before I don't think the mariot spa is the best place for those spending 1-2 days in bkk becouse of the commute....

stay in the city and maybe set yourself up with a half or full day city tour too get the most of what litle time you have..

Definately Phang Nha Bay in Phuket!!

LOL! OK... maybe "cultural" wasn't the right word. I meant historical sites, interesting architecture, etc. I'm not really sure what to expect in Phuket.

Back to Bangkok... would it make sense to hire a guide? How does that work? We'd have four people in our party and we'd like to see as much as possible/reasonable in a day or two.

Deb

A guide would be a good idea. The first time we went we only had 2 days and thought organised trips would be best. You just don't have the time to do things on your own properly! However, we just used our hotel tour programme. Only thing about that is that you do end up in the usual gem factory at some point in the tour!

Rather than going with a tour group, hire a driver for the day. There are many recommendations on this board for drivers for Bangkok, such as Rat or Tan. Do a search and you'll find how to contact them. A tour will take you to shopping venues that are a total waste of your very limited time.

either tan or ratt would be perfect for you....they will not take you shopping unless you want to and then only for the items that you tell them...you tell them which sites you would like and they will arrange the order for visiting....you will need a van for 4 people unfortunately as most people use toyota corollas which are too small for 4 plus driver...

rat: [email protected]

she charges 225 B per hour around town...its worth every penny...

In Phuket, we loved our boat trip to Phang Nga Bay, the scenery is awesome.

In Bangkok, we hired Tan, and she was very accomodating to customizing our day to what we wanted to see. A guide helps you see more things more quickly, and you gain a much better understanding than by just looking around yourself. I have Tan's email address if you want it.

I agree with Orgy 7...stay in a hotel in town and not way over where the Marriot is. Happy Travels!

Thank you all for the suggestions about the guides. We will definitely look into this.

Just to clarify, we are staying at the Marriott resort in Phuket, not Bangkok. We will be looking for a hotel in the river area. Any suggestions? We do not need extravagance, fancy pools, etc., just convenience.

Deb

Deb, I always stay at the Sheraton Royal Orchid in the Towers section. The location is perfect for me, a connecting walkway to River City shopping center, next to a pier where you can catch a water taxi to the temples on the river. The Oriental, Shangri-La and Royal Orchid are all on the city side of the river so ar eually convenient. There are also some lower range paces near the river, sorry, don't remember the names, but a search on this board will turn up a discussion of those options.