Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Bangkok Trip report- 1

We took our trip during the last week of April and the first week of May in 2006. We were coming from Denver, Colorado, so the trip took three flights through LA, and Hong Kong, totaling about 26 hours of travel time. Then add that to the 14 hours we were already awake before we left and that makes for an exhausting trip. We flew on Cathay Pacific as we got a promotional deal from LA that cost 770 USD per person, and then we had to pay an additional 220 for the flight from Denver to LA. Considering I paid 300 more than this to fly from Detroit to Barcelona last year, I thought this was a great deal. We were very happy with the service in coach, and were lucky enough to get the bulkhead seats on the long segments out and back. The attendants were very nice and all smiles compared to the ones you encounter on many of the airline in the US. Plus I thought it was interesting to get a choice of an American style meal vs. a Chinese meal, and often tried the Chinese meals which were pretty good.

I had contacted Ratt to have someone pick us up from the airport, and was surprised that she herself came to get us. She was a very nice lady, but a bit hard to understand. We had hired a guide Ton (Tony) through her for our last half day in Bangkok, who you will hear about later, and we also ended up hiring Tong for a day trip to the Damnoen Saduak floating market area (although directly as we didn’t realize she had a connection with Ratt.

We stayed at the Marriott Resort and Spa on the Chao Phraya River, which was wonderful from the second we walked in. The staff was so helpful, and we ended up with better rooms than I reserved online using my husbands Marriott points. Our last two nights at the end of our trip in Thailand, they upgraded us to a junior suite with a huge wraparound corner balcony and a good view of the pool and river. Wow! Their pool is huge too. Overall loved the decor of the resort, the variety of restaurants, was nice but we mostly ate elsewhere because it was a bit pricey. Loved the pastries at their Numero Uno cafe, and ate there most mornings. One morning I ate the traditional Thai breakfast of Boiled rice and pork soup, with a glass of pureed watermelon juice. To get to the sights I found the free Marriott ferry to the main pier and skytrain station very convenient. These were definitely the most comfortable beds we slept on the whole time in Thailand too. If I were to go back to Bangkok I would definitely stay there again.

The first night there we went to China House and checked out the Oriental Hotel. Personally, I think the decor at the Marriott is more interesting than the Oriental. We did get Peking duck, and it was good, but I think it had been built up so much that I didn’t think it was extra special. I have had one that is comparable if not better at Hung Hua in Detroit. We were soooo tired from the flight in that day, that by the time dinner was over, we could barely make our way back to the ferry. Can’t remember the last time I was ever that tired. Boy was that Marriott bed good!

The next day we went on our own to catch a water-taxi, which was a little confusing, because the people at the info booth didn’t want to give you information about the regular water-taxies, they only wanted to sell you a day pass on the tourist water-taxi. But we had met a British guy on the Marriott who bought the day pass, and we decided to take that boat, but just pay the one ride fare which was 18b rather than 100b for the day pass (FYI- 100baht= $2.50 USD). Later when coming home we jumped on a regular water-taxi that the commuters use and it cost 13b one way. I was so proud of myself for making the smart move, not knowing later I would get bamboozled big time by a klong tour operator. We took the water taxi up to the place to get off for the Grand Palace, and thankfully I heeded the warnings on this forum about locals who tried to tell me that it was closed for a local celebration. I followed the walls of the complex until I found the true entrance where there were huge signs saying “the palace is open every day!” We aren’t much for guided tours, so we opted to go inside without hiring a guide, but in retrospect we would have learned a lot more if we did. Luckily our guide Tony a couple days later filled in a lot of the gaps in our knowledge. We grabbed a quick bite from a local café, and then we proceeded to Wat Po next door and saw the reclining Buddha. We stopped for a half hour thai massage there which I thought was really good, and the price was a little over 300b for two of us. I really didn’t mind being in a large room with other people, the atmosphere was still relaxing and was a unique experience. Next was Wat Arun followed by a klong tour.
The sign for the klong tour said 1200b per person, which I though sounded steep for an hour ride. We hesitated, then the operator said OK, 1200b for two people, which was reasonable I thought although not cheap, so I agreed. Later I found out from other people that it usually costs around 400-500b. Duped! It was interesting, and I was amazed how many wats are scattered everywhere. They stopped at one local wat, but it cost an additional 200b per person, so we opted not to get out. The Royal Barge museum was closed, so we just saw some smaller model like boats out front of the warehouse. It was still a nice hour ride seeing how locals live and travel by boat. That night we took the skytrain to Sukumvit road to eat at Cabbages and Condoms. The food was good, but tame. Instead of after dinner mints they give you free condoms, and they donate some of their profits to AIDS charities in the Bangkok area.

Day 3- Woke up and ate awesome pastry at Numero Uno Café again before being picked up by Tong for our day trip outside Bangkok to the Damnoen Saduak Floating market. She brought us a box of Chinese pork rolls that her sister-in-law had made for breakfast as she wasn’t sure we would have had time to eat. They were beautiful and delicious. First thing we saw that morning was Wat Bankanoi that was covered in carved panels of teak wood inside, including a three dimensional tree with individually carved leaves. The local monk opened up the chapel for us to see inside. Then she took us to see “The Unseen Wat” one that was found only a few years ago covered by jungle brush and trees. Then we went to a local animal farm and fed the fish. Then we stopped by a porcelain factory. Finally we made it to the floating market. It was really enjoyable seeing all the vendors of food and goods, boats full of monks, and trying noodle soups, pomelo, and sticky rice with mango. Tong also had some snacks in the car for us when we were done including the dried fish snacks, interesting, but wouldn’t replace potato chips for me. She also provided beverages and ice cold towels for cooling off. Then we went to watch a Cobra show, which was quite an eye opener. They had other reptiles there too. Next we went to a teak carving factory where we saw people at work and in the showroom we saw a 12 piece dining set for $24,000 US. Next we went to a place called The Rose Garden, ate a nice lunch overlooking the river, watched and elaborate Thai cultural show, and an elephant show for the rest of the afternoon. When we arrived back at the Marriott we were pretty worn out to say the least, so we stayed there that night and ate at the Longtail bar out on the dock. Food was good, and I splurged on a fancy rum drink served inside a pineapple.

Day 4- again up early, this time arranged to have Ton (Tony) pick us up to go make merit with the monks. This was a very unique experience. We waited until a monk would be coming in our out of one of the local wats (forgot the name), then we would take our shoes off and wai, while the monk said a little speech, the we’d put the food into his bowl, and give him flowers and a candle. Tony spend lots of time explaining the custom to us and telling us about Buddhist culture. Then he took us to a foundation next door where we donated money to help bury victims of car accidents that had no family and thus no money for burial. They had pictures of car accidents on the wall outside that were really graphic. Funny thing is I never saw any car accidents the whole time in Bangkok. Then we drove through Chinatown to the Temple of the Solid Golden buddah that weighs 10,000 pounds. Next we went to Vanemanek mansion (teak mansion), took a tour of the inside, seeing the various collections and rooms. Lastly we went to Wat Ben (marble temple) which was beautiful, and they had several statues of Buddha from different cultures and in different positions lining the walls outside. Tony spoke great English, was very informative and we really enjoyed spending the morning with him. Then we were off flying to Chiang Mai.
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