If the Calypso show is anything like the one in Pattaya, it is worthwhile if that type of thing intrigues you.

mike, i think the citadines is past the grand president, so its a walk to suk, but its an interesting walk. about 5-8min.

the hotel across from maengs place is the ambassador.

simpsonc510 your insights are invaluable, I have limited 1-2 day shopping this coming May, if I like to look at local thai products like handicraft, souvenirs, some clothes that are good quality but not high end branded what 2 or 3 best shopping areas will you strongly suggest. We will be staying at Novotel Siam Square. Thanks in advance.

the show is a complete hoot....go and enjoy...its only 1.5 hours long....skytrain goes right to asia hotel also

mikety
Where you shop will depend on your size. If you are a size 14 and up, it will be difficult. If you are petite, you will LOVE shopping in Bangkok! For nice souvenirs, I'd check out Nariphand, which is a Thai craft place. Its location is inside the back half of the ground floor of the Intercontinental Hotel. Right across the street from there is the Amarin building. There are a few places in here with Thai craft items. Take a look.

For clothes, if they will fit you, there are some very nice Thai designers that are reasonable. Check out Siam Center (which will be right across from your hotel, basically). Also, take a look at MBK, which is just a block down from Siam Center, at the National Stadium skytrain station. No need to take the skytrain. You can easily walk it. Cross the street using the overhead walkways rather than fighting the traffic on the ground!!! You'll see what I mean when you get to BKK.

Another nice place for souvenirs is Exitic Thai, a really nice store in Paragon mall. I think it's on the 4th floor, in the back area of the mall. Nice quality goods here.

I'll be in BKK the first week of May, if you happen to be in the city at the same time........

Carol

regarding BED SUPPERCLUB--the menu for fri-sat is different from sun-thurs.

what are your thoughts on the 2 menus? should i fit bed supperclub for a saturday night where the menu consists of a 4 course meal?

thank you everyone for your feedback!! with that said, here is my updated itinerary. please let me know what places vs. days i should change (if any) to make things more convenient.

March 21. Saturday
• Arrive in BKK @ 11am
• Check into hotel
• MBK mall and surroundings
• Dinner, drinks and dancing at Bed Supperclub

March 22. Sunday.
• Chatuchak weekend market.
• Return back to hotel.
• Klong tour from one of the piers
• Jim Thompson house

March 23. Monday.
• Floating Market tour with Tong.
• Dinner at Kinnaree (soi 8)
• Calypso Cabaret


March 24. Tuesday.
• Grand Palace et Wat Phra Kaew
• Lunch at Chote Chitr
• Wat Po
• Massage at Wat Po
• Secret Garden for dinner
• Sky bar at the State Tower for drinks

I think this looks good. Have a wonderful time!

This looks good. Are you going to the fishing village with Tong? You should definitely include this in your day going to the floating market.

One note, the Grand palace and War Pho are next to each other. It makes little sense to traipse off to Chote Chitr for lunch in between seeing these. There is a place near there called Coconut Palm (something like this. do a search on this forum and you can get the name and location). This would be much simpler.

Actually, if you arrive at the Grand Palace/Emerald Buddha right when it opens you can visit both of those plus Wat Po in the morning, then go to lunch anywhere you'd like. You really want your massage at Wat Po before lunch.

timing of kineree dinner and show might be problomatic?? early dinner with show at 8ish...

visit to JT house might be better on sunday after return to hotel....have lunch there....early visit to market

gpanda and kathie-we'll probably visit wat po then massage then lunch. i've been reading many many great things about chote chitr and from looking at the map, chote chitr looks close to the temples?

khkkmk-so chatuchak market->return to hotel->jt house->klong tour? is there a pier near jt house? and will it drop us back off where we started or can we get dropped off at any other pier?

and unfortunately we will not be going on the fishing village tour with tong. not all in our group has the enegery for a full days' tour :(

but our itinery seems to be looking pretty good! and i am super excited. could not have done this without you all. many many thanks.

I love Chote Chitr and have eaten there several times. Bob (rhkkmk) and Andy (Gpanda) weren't impressed and Bob apparently had a run-in with the owner. Chote Chitr isn't terribly far from the temples, but really not walkable. It's also exceptionally difficult to find. I go to Wat Suthat and walk from there. My walking directions are in a number of threads about CC. I don't know that anyone has found a taxi driver who can find it. So all of that is to say that getting to CC may well be an expedition, so consider whether you have time for that.

In any case, you'll need to be flexible, as you have quite a bit scheduled.

SimpsonC510......we will be there May 1-4........where is good place to have thai massage......clean, good and not so pricey.........thanks again.........hope to see you!

We loved Chote Chitr. The food was scruptious. Naturally, Bob was the one that had the "issue".

Getting a massage before lunch is a good idea.

Thanks for clarifying that, Andy. I didn't mean to misrepresent your opinion.

the woman was rude to us....i did not have an issue with her, but tong had warned us that she can be very rude and that is substantiated by many other visitors....she lived up to her billing...

food was just ok, nothing special imo....not worth the effort..

there is a pier near to jim thompson house but it is for a special klong boat for locals...usually the klong tours are in the thornburi area of bkk on the other side of the river...

best bet would be to walk to the end of the soi that JT house is on and take the skytrain to taskim pier---end of the line....go down under the station and walk to the river...a booth there will get you a long tail boat

mikety
I'm not the one to ask about massages, as I don't do the spa thing. It just isn't for me.
I hope we can arrange to meet in BKK. That'd be great!
Carol

HALF-DAY FLOATING MARKET TOUR WITH TONG--

what other places/interests should we add into our half-day itinerary with tong? i really want to do an elephant ride but some suggest that the one included in this tour is not a good one.

any suggestions would be great.

Hi Sophia,
I live near you :) I live less than a mile from Cypress, the orange county border, and I am right behind you going to Asia. I leave March 26th and start in Beijing and will end with 3 days in Bangkok. This thread is very helpful for me too. I have booked a full day with Tong. (I hope she still has me down, it has been months since I booked) I need to contact her, but as you find it is hard to get a reply as she is very busy.