Decisions on flight are fuzzy. The Wash DC to anything on SQ (I hope I am getting the lingo right) adds about $2k, 1 stop and about 9 hrs to the trip. I am having a hard time doing the "return on investment" on that effort.

Really Discretion? Not sure I am good with that. Kind of an open book, or Tabla Rasa, not sure which yet.

Hi,

I just have to give you a recomendation to a hotel in BKK that we stayed at a few times.
It is right by the river but a boutique hotel with only 6 rooms.
www.arunresidence.com
No pool, but a great restaurant with direct wiev over Wat Arun.
5 minutes walk on the other side of the street of the hotel is Wat Pho with the best massage in the whole of Thailand. It is the school where they teach Thaimassage. You get 1 hour for 360 Baht.
And a few minutes more you end up at Grand Palace (Wat Phra Kaew) with the Emerald Buddah.
Since the hotel is situated right on the river there is a ferry a few minutes walk away that takes you to other parts of Bangkok or the Skytrain for further transportation.

I think this hotel is a great choise because of the closeness to the sights and it is also only a few minutes by Tuk tuk from Khao San Road.
The place is really friendly and all the rooms different all with great wievs over Wat Arun.

I think it´s nice to have a relaxing place to return to after sightseeing and shopping for a whole day, it´s also great to walk over to Wat Pho for a massage after a hard day on the town...


I also have to give you a tip about one of our favourite Islands and beaches.
Koh Phagnan and the beach Thong Nai Pan Noi in the north east corner of the Island.
If you go there stay at Baan Pan Buri Bungalows, and pre book a transfer from the ferry with them.

The beach is great for swimming and hanging out all year around and there is great snorkeling just a longtail boatride away.
In that case go with Chom tour the best boat service in Thailand ;-)

The village is great and there is a few bars and restaurants with great music and food there aswell.

Hope you get a really nice vacation in Thailand.
I just came back and is already planning for the next time in Asia.....

I am intreagued by staying one night near the river and the rest of the time at Siam@Siam or S15. I am thinking 4 days in BKK in hte front end and 2 in the back end. If I do that I would like to get out and see the countryside. Is a day trip somethign I can do myself or do I need a guide.

Still juggeling the middle part of the trip.

I think S15 would be located a little bit more conveniently, for food and meeting interesting people. That said, Siam@Siam is a really cool hotel. I've seen a couple of rooms, and I've eaten in a casual restaurant in the lobby. The location is very close to MBK (shopping mall) and the Jim Thompson House (which is something you may want to see). It just isn't that close (IMO) to other eating places that I frequent. S15 is in the Sukhumvit area, which is my home away from home when in Bangkok.

(what about trying out both S15 and Siam@Siam)

One night on the river is a good idea! I also like that you are splitting up BKK to have some time up front and some time at the end of your trip. There may be some last minute things you want to do/buy in BKK (maybe tailoring to re-fit and take home) so it's good to have a little bit of time to do that.

I'm not one who wants to change hotels a lot. I'd opt for one hotel for your two night stay, one for your four night stay. I'm of the opinion that if you are close to a skytrain station, you can get to hundreds of great restaurants easily.

When you say you want to get out and see the countryside, what are you looking for? I'm not sure if a day trip is what you want or a trip to somewhere else in Thailand that would give you a different feel - like Pai or Mae Hong Son, small towns in the northern Thai hills.

As far as changing hotels ofter, I am cultivating my nomadic nature. There are many ancient temples, I am still thinking about seeing tigers and ... well, I feel that I should see somethign other than good food and in BKK sights. Just on general principal. I almost feel like a flight to Phnom Penh just for the adventure of it.

quite honestly the 'countryside' itself around bkk is not all that interesting....there are individual places to visit but the countryside is way less interesting than say any area outside of a major european capital for instance...

If you want a concentration of ancient temples, you want Siem Reap, Cambodia for Angkor.

Tigers? Alas, the only place you will see them in Thailand is in captivity, like the Tiger Temple.

A day trip to the countryside to see ancient temples - how about Ayutthaya? See if you can take a boat one direction. I assume there are still half-day oat rides to/from.