progol

No, worries Bob, I hear your concerns and am taking them to heart. As we do have time, I'll discuss with my husband and see what feels like it makes most sense to us. It's clear that there are at least / very different approaches to traveling within Bangkok, and I don't yet know what works best for us. Both you, Bob, and you, Kathie, have the advantage of multiple visits to Bangkok to know what works best for each of you, while I, a virgin Bangkok traveler, have yet to learn. But I really do appreciate everyone's input (have I made that clear?). It's incredibly helpful to have different perspectives to make a decision.

Paule

progol

Oops, "at least 2 very different approaches"

Sorry about that

rhkkmk

btw, its not too early to book your next flts to bkk...

progol

Lol!

hawaiiantraveler

We have been to Bangkok a few times and we like the driver with no guide approach like Ratt. I can't believe I am siding with rhkkmk on this but the heat and humidity in Bangkok are killers and I live in a place with heat and humidity.

Walking up and down lots of stairs in the heat to get to the sky train is not my idea of user friendly public transport. You enter a freezing sky train car dripping wet with sweat and exit to a wall of heat again not my idea of riding in comfort. And the river boats.....well don't open your mouth while riding. You are riding over an open sewer.... nuff said.

There is the traffic factor to consider when hiring a driver but the comfort,the unlimited access to everywhere in Bangkok not only where the rail or river lines go, the pampering, the cold towels and ice cold drinks all outweigh the traffic problems to me. A good driver allows you to accomplish more in a day than you could without one especially if you have a lot you want to do versus using the public transport systems.

Use a driver when you have a lot that you want to accomplish and the public transport if you aren't doing much that day is how we usually do it.

Aloha!

dgunbug

Paule - we concur with kathie. Due to the time change, we are up early on the first day rearing to go. It's a great idea to get out as early as you can to try to avoid the mid day heat. We like to wander without a driver. Like you, we stayed at the center point silom and we loved the location and hotel. The breakfast was especially good. You are only a five minute walk to the river and the monorail. While it can get unbearably hot, part of the fun is wandering the streets to see the local sites. I would definitely do the grand palace on day one. There was a free English tour when we were there - you'll have to check out the times. We also wanted time to just wander the grounds ourselves to take pictures and marvel at our leisure. Wat pho, famous for the reclining Buddha is walking distance away. After visiting both, grab a quick lunch and return to the river to take the ferry across to wat arun. All are incredible and you don't want to miss these highlights. If you are still up to it, hire a boat and take a kong tour in the late afternoon or return to the hotel to rest - or get a massage.

The food tour sounds like a blast and we would love to do that if we return to Bangkok. I personally really enjoyed the day out with tong and loved going to the floating market and railroad market. But one of the things I enjoyed most about the floating market, was the opportunity to try foods that tong bought us. If you do the food tour, you will get that opportunity.

I like the idea of the food tour followed by the Jim Thomson house. Not far from there is the modern mall area which you should see because of the great contrast between old and new. You may welcome a short reprieve from the heat. We are not shoppers so we spent very little time there.

One of the places I really enjoyed spending time in was lampini park where you can watch the local Thai people exercising either early in the morning or late afternoon. You may consider going there early in the morning and then return to the room to get cleaned up. A nice treat and splurge would be to do the buffet lunch at the manderin oriental hotel which is nearby to your hotel. Go to the hotel and take their free water taxi to the opposite bank where they also have a spa (we did not try that out, it i imagine I is quite expensive by Thai standards.

dgunbug

By the way - one of the things we love best is hopping in a tuk tuk and breezing in and out of traffic when we are totally exhausted and no longer want to walk. Hate to be contrary, but you've gotta experience being on the river and seeing the sites along the way! Don't worry - you're not going to drink the water.

progol

Thank you, thank you, thank you all for your input and suggestions!

Current thoughts - yes, a driver for the first day. Hot, sticky and jet lagged does not promise a good first day, so cool & comfortable & air conditioning sound just right. I lean toward doing the Grand Palace + wats on day 1, so I'll see about Ratt for that day.

Day 2 will be the food tour and Jim Thompson house.

I would like to do a Khlong tour. When or how does one do this? Worthwhile? Or are there other boat rides you recommend?

virginiafish

Chri45ny said "On Day 3 since it's your anniversary maybe think about a drink in the evening at one of the rooftop bars where you have awesome views." If you consider this, remember to bring attractive, closed toe shoes. We tried to do this, my daughter and I were wearing nice skirts and tops, but had on basic sandals and they would not let us up.

rhkkmk

perfect...

klong tour.... best to go early afternoon... go to taskin pier and there will be people selling rides... ask here about current pricing... you also can go riverside at river city shopping center, next to the Sheraton at the kiosk... take the Sheraton boat from taskin to get there.. easy and perfect to do on your own... only have them stop at the royal barge museum, other stops are a waste.. you want the tour of the thornburi klongs..

progol

Thanks for the advice. Not something I would normally wear on this trip, but I'll bring a pair just for this reason.
Paule

WWanderer

Bookmarking.

virginiafish

re klong tour-we were told the Barge Museum was closed when we got to the pier and it was not true... they were apparently trying to sell something else. beware.

progol

What exactly is a klong tour and where does one find it?

I've been intrigued by this but can't quite get a real picture of what it is. Where does one get it? Where does it go? How long is it? Are there different routes?

Many thanks for the advice!

BillT

I'm with Bob on using Ratt as your driver. The energy you save by riding from one venue to the next in an air conditioned taxi with cold towels is well worth it. You will see more, do more and last longer. People who live in ASIA and have the means, use drivers a lot in their day to day affairs.

progol

I've been convinced! I will contact her when I finalize my plans and figure out which day we're doing what.

These hot, humid days in NYC have taught me that the less I walk around on the hot, humid streets, the happier I am!

Hanuman

There are two famous klong tours, one very popular with foreign tourists the other popular with locals. The first link below is the one that most foreign tourist go on as it is near to the city centre where all the river hotels are located. The second one, ot Koh Kret, is very popular with the locals on weekends but require a longer taxi raids to reach the pier.

http://www.bangkok.com/city---cultur...klongstour.htm

http://wikitravel.org/en/Ko_Kret#b

progol

Thanks, Hanuman, it's very helpful to get an idea of what the tours are about.

The second looks fascinating, but we arrive Sunday afternoon. I think the first looks just fine, though for a newbie to Bangkok, and will fit easily into our short visit.

Paule

progol

So the trip is now just over 3 months away and I've been mulling over the Bangkok itinerary, as most of the other pieces of the trip are in place. Here's my current thinking:

Arrival day: Sunday, Jan 19 - midafternoon. We chill out at our hotel, Centre Point, maybe explore the immediate area. Dinner at Tongue Thai.

Day 1 (full day) Monday, Jan 20th. I think we'll probably hire a guide just to orient us and get us around -- not to have detailed explanations of everything, which we can do on our own. We will do the "big sights" on our own, but I thought we would take in the "flavor" of the first day and visit some of the "secondary" sights. My hope is to get a sense of the city without spending a lot of time at any one spot. These are the places I'm thinking of:
-Chinatown/Wat Traimit
-Erawan Shrine
-Golden Mount
-Giant Swing & Temple
-Bowl-making street
-Any good street food or local place
-Khlong tour to artist village/artists house & shadow puppet show at 2PM
-Wat Arun (stop on way back) -- if not too tired

Evening: Depending upon energy, I thought we might go to one of the street markets for dinner (Chinatown or Soi 38) or else go to Soul Food for dinner.
Question: Are there any good evening markets near Centre point Silom?
---------------

Day 2/Tues, Jan 21 (on our own - no guide or driver)
The major sights:
-Grand Palace/Wat Po/Wat Phra Kaew. (travel by ferry)
- Probably a massage (Wat Po or other place)

The rest of the afternoon is unplanned at this point -- suggestions welcome!

Evening: Dinner with Fodorites YT/GT
-------
Day 3: Wed Jan 22 - Big Wedding anniversary!
-BKK Food tour
-Jim Thompson House

Dinner: Gaggan
Sky Bar

Day 4 - We will have morning before we fly out at 3pm to go to Chiang Mai. Not sure what we'll do - probably go to one of the malls to experience it.

Any thoughts of this itinerary?

Thanks,
Paule

Kathie

Day 1 you should mostly be traveling by water taxi. There is a Chinatown stop. The Erawan Shire is not in the same area as the other places, so cut it - you can see it another day. You'll probably want to take a taxi from Chinatown to the Golden Mount, then on to Wat Suthat and the Giant Swing. Rumor has it that Chote Chitr has re-opened, a hole in the wall place nearby. If you are interested, I'll find a link to my walking directions (it is very hard to find). The bowl-making street is on the other side of the river, so you'll need to take a foot ferry across. You may want to take the foot ferry to Wat Arun (from the Wat Po stop) and take a taxi to the bowl-making street from there.

more later