First, I'd like to thank everyone for the tremendous amount of useful, lively information in previous posts. I've been poring through them for the past several days while planning our upcoming trip to Thailand (our first trip to Asia).

We'll be staying four nights in Bangkok at the Peninsula, four nights at the Dhara Dhevi outside Chiang Mai, then one final night in Bangkok before flying home.

I'd like to ask for general recommendations and advice for each place: where to eat, get a drink, shop, what to do and see, what to not do and see. I've pulled a lot from previous posts, but some of that information is quite dated, so I thought I'd ask -- I hope this is not impolite.

Thanks to advice in previous posts, we've booked two full days with Tong in Bangkok (a city tour and the floating market/fishing village).

In addition to general advice, I also have a couple of specific questions:

(1) My wife and I are both writers (and big fans of John Burdett's novels), and we'd like to get a glimpse for future projects of what I guess I'd call the more lurid side of Bangkok. Should we try Patpong or Soi Cowboy or...? Go alone or is there a good guide for this sort of thing?

(2) We're interested in doing the one-day mahout training at the Elephant Conservation Center near Lampang, but wonder – with only three full days in the area – if we should do a shorter visit to an elephant camp combined with a tour of other sites. Also, what guides are recommended for this area?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Your trip sounds great! I will let others tell you about their favorite sights/elephant camps/etc. Me... I'm a shopper!

You will enjoy the Peninsula very much, I'm sure. I don't have experience w/your Chiang Mai hotel choice so will not comment. Are you going back to the Pen for that final night in BKK before flying home?

I would suggest soi 4, Sukhumvit, for some people watching. You will see what I mean when you get there. No guide is necessary. Patpong and soi Cowboy are also very interesting for people watching. Soi Cowboy and soi 4 are within walking distance of one another and Patpong is in a different part of the city. Patpong also has a large night market which draws a big crowd. Soi 4 and Cowboy are "markets" of another sort... lol

One night while in Bangkok, you really should go to the top of State Tower (it's just across the river from the Pen... the building with the golden dome... you can't miss it). Go to the top (64 floors I believe) and have a drink at SKY BAR. Expensive, and a dress code is strongly upheld, but for one cocktail or glass of wine or cold beer, sipped very slowly, you will LOVE the view of the city. Go at night, or at dusk and watch the lights come on. The weather is always cooler up there. The bar is outside, with a glass wall all around. It has been rated one of the most beautiful bars in the world... I forget which magazine. I completely agree!!! There are restaurants on State Tower as well, but they are quite expensive and not all that great IMO.

For a dinner with a view, the Long Table, on Sukhumvit soi 16 is very nice. I would recommend dining outside. This one is about 25-30 floors up... can't remember the name of the building. Another outside experience would be at the top of the Centara Grande Hotel at the Central World Plaza shopping mall (by Chitlom skytrain station). I just ate there a few weeks ago. It was quite pleasant. Not a lot of choices on the menu, but I enjoyed my meal.

For great Thai food, in a Thai "house" setting, you might enjoy Kinnaree on Sukhumvit soi 8. I've eaten there a number of times. No great view, but a nice setting anyway. You can dine inside or out. Lots of items on the menu.

Shopping depends on what kind of shopping you mean. For high end, you can't beat the area around Chitlom skytrain station and Siam skytrain station. There are a number of large shopping malls, and all are within walking distance of one another. If you want to shop in a market, then Chatuchak (the Weekend Market) is amazing!! Hot, crowded, very few places with air conditioning, but a truly Thai market experience. Take the skytrain to the other end of the line from where you get on at the river. The stop is MO CHIT. For mall shopping, just hop off at the Siam station and start your walking "tour" there. Get a Nancy Chandler map and you will see what all is in that area. I can think of 6 malls off the top of my head... one right after the other! Some more expensive than others. MBK (Maboonkrong) is more of a Thai-style mall. No big stores like you typically see, other than Tokyu store. All the rest are more like market stalls/shops where you can often bargain for a good price.

Have a great trip! I was just in BKK a few weeks ago, and I'm already missing it!

Carol

A Nancy Chandler Map will prove invaluable. There's an unbelievable amount of information. If you're going to the weekend market, Chatachuk, the NC Map will really help make sense of the chaos.

For restauarnts, three that are very good and relatively cheap are Tongue Thai (behind Oriental Place which is adjacent to the Oriental Hotel), Gallery Cafe (near the Royal Orchid Sheraton) and Harmonique (off of Charon Kreung Road about 1/2 way between the Oriental and the ROS).

Say hi to Tong from Panda. You will have a delightful time with her. She's more energetic than you could ever imagine.

i have a restaurant listing if you are interested ask at:
[email protected]
and i will send it right along

you will love the penn...

nite life, a la burdett....visit soi 4 sukhumvit and the adjacent nana center....afternoons and nites
soi cowboy at nite
patpong I & II at nite only
they are "colorful"

don't expect to see the detective however

tongue thai and harmonique are very accessible from the penn...just take the penn boat to the oriental, walk through the hotel and go out towards new road...on new road harmonique is just before the huge postoffice, down the soi with the fancy archway...closed sundays

like dim sum go to liu restaurant for lunch at the conrad hotel on wireless rd--3rd floor....also the chinese restaurant at the penn for unusual dim sum--limited choice but all are excellent...

stay in town your last nite, its worth it...

with so few days i would not go to the weekend market...

buy your wife at least one set of sapphire something...

Another popular activity with elephants in Chiang Mai is Patara Elephant Farm.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...hiang_Mai.html

A good forum for Chiang Mai is Trip Adviser Chiang Mai forum. There are many Chiang Mai specialists there.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum...hiang_Mai.html

Things to do in Chiang Mai

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...hiang_Mai.html

If I were you. I will do the following

- day1: arrive in Chiang Mai. Enjoy the resort.

- day2: visit Doi Suthep Temple - eat lunch at Palaad Tawanron - visit Handicrafts villages (include Baan Tawai handicraft and antiques village, umbrella, paper village, and so on)

- day3: visit hill tribes and go other places with a good guide

- day4: play with elephants (Patara Elephant Farm or Elephant Conservation Center near Lampang)

- do an evening cooking class (a lot of Thai).

- go to Sunday market if you were in Chiang Mai on Sunday. I like to go there before it is crowded.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...hiang_Mai.html

July is the middle of rainy season in Chiang Mai. So, some of activities may not suit on rainy days.

For some tips on the more practical side of visiting Thailand, click on this post.

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...g-thailand.cfm

Thanks so much to everyone for the helpful replies!

Carol – We will definitely take lots of your recommendations, especially the one about the Sky Bar, which sounds like a great place to get a drink.

Gpanda – We will say hello to Tong for you, and just received our Nancy Chandler map in the mail today. Glad to know that you (and Carol) recommend it.

rhkkmk – I guess it's too much to ask to run into Burdett's detective, but you never know. I plan on re-reading all three books before I go, and trying A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART.

wiee – Thanks for the advice on Chiang Mai. We know about the weather in July, but hopefully the rain won't be too much in the way. Either way, we plan to have a good time.

khunwilko – Thanks for the link!

For the Dhara Dhevi try to get a villa instead of the plantation rooms. The villas are much nicer IMO. Also the DD is only 10 - 15 minutes to the centre of Chiang Mai so you're not that far away.

I would add to comments to the above.

Firstly if you can, time your visit to Doi Suthep for sunset or just before. There are far fewer people there, the setting is magical and the Monks are chanting.

Secondly, unless you are mad keen to see the factory shows, avoid the heat and the travel involved and instead spend an hour or so looking at the handicrafts in "Northern Village" in the Airport Plaza.

Hi johnny99

We had seven days in Chiang Mai & had a great time we ate in the night markets where food & beer were cheap, try this site for info I found it helpful

http://www.chiangmainews.com/

My wife & I had Tong for floating markets tiger temple & river Kwai on the sunday of the riots in April.you will have a great time with her she is a beautiful person we had a fantastic day with her nothing is a problem to her,a bundle of energy it was that hot in the canyon of the tiger temple that she had a fan in each hand fanning the both of us & never slowed down until I told her to stop & have a rest which she done under protest.
Tell her Peter & Dianne said hello

Yes, do take a look at "Northern Village" store at the mall by the CM airport. It is a lovely store. Check out the food court there also. You will see many interesting food items.

I take my friend, Maeng, with me when I go to Chiang Mai on day trips from Bangkok. She always brings special CM food items back to BKK. We go to a food market in the center of the city... I could not begin to tell you WHERE it is... but trust me... it's VERY interesting!!

It can get extremely hot in July at the markets near CM. I go to Hang Dong (Bantawai) and Bosong. Northern Village sells any number of the items I see in the markets... BUT for a much higher price. But it is still a good place to get a look at the many products that come out of northern Thailand.

Thanks again, everyone. Your suggestions are invaluable.

Tangata – I have a dumb question. Doi Suthep sounds fantastic at sunset, but I read that it's only open till 5 p.m., which will be well before sunset. Can you still walk around the grounds?

Also (for anyone who might know) how does one go about hiring a driver for the day to get around town and/or take a day trip to Lamphun or Lampang?

Here's a paragraph from my CM report of several years ago: One of the problems in CM is the lack of public transport. Basically, your options are songthews, tuk-tuks and taxis. CM is spread out, and if you have a number of things you want to do in a day, you’ll need a car and driver. We found an excellent driver, Mr. Nakron Buthluang, who drives Taxi No. 75. You can reach him on his cell phone at 08-1884-5649. He charges 250 baht an hour. The trip to Doi Suthep is 800 baht. He drove us to Royal Flora and picked us up as well for 250 baht each way. He was great. His English was pretty good, we had no problems communicating. He was persistent in tracking down the little shops we wanted to visit. One was especially hard to find, but he persisted and did find it. He was born and raised in CM and he couldn’t stand the idea that there was a place he couldn’t find. I recommend him highly.

If uou love Indian Food try Himali Cha Cha on Chareonkrung 47/1. You can take the Peninsula boat to Oriental Pier takes 3 minutes walk from to this restaurant. After a good meal at Himali you can walk to the State Tower for drinks. Start walking from Silom side for Patpong it will go through Surawonge Road where all the gay bars and shows are. The gay bars are very interesting some have shows that will amaze you, The Silom side of Patpong will be all the girls show, there is no entrance fee for these shows. You just have to buy a drink for US 5 dollars and watch the show. Along the street of Patpong is also a shopping street which you can bargain. Lots of imitation bags and watches. If you are looking for Thai food try the Mango tree which is not far from Patpong, you can ask the conceirge at Peninsula for the location. Hope this info is not too late. You will love Bangkok.

It is obvious to me that drivers charge prices all over the ballpark! I pay my driver 2000 baht per day. He is a driver, not a guide. He has all types of "tour" papers in the seat pockets of his car (which manages to hold 3 people and all of our purchases on a day at the many CM markets).

Jit does not have a taxi number. We met him (rather DS met him) the first time he went to CM for shopping the markets. Jit was sitting outside the (then) Westin Riverside (?). It has changed names a number of times and is now a Crowne Plaza I think...

Anyway, keep that in mind when hiring a driver!

Carol, I'm sure that drivers charge rates all over the map. The rate I paid is the standard rate posted in taxis. For an 8 hour day, it would work out to the 2000 baht you paid. I know I could have bargained for a lower rate, but this guy was worth every baht!

You find your drivers the same way I find mine... look for a taxi driver you like.

Put two passport size photos in your suitcase.
In Thailand, you need to go to Tourist Police Station to make reports.

Cat, I'm not sure what you think johnny needs to report to the tourist police... Did I miss something?

While it's always handy to have a couple of passport-sized photos (you need them in many places to get your visa) you do not need them for Thailand.

Kathie: Your post was terrific.
I was just giving a pickpocket alert for the first timers in Bangkok.
In Thailand, crimes may be reported but only few records are kept.
Pick pockets work out in Sukumvit soi 18 and soi 23 everyday.
I saw people pick pocketed and had almost been pick pocketed.
Pickpockets can take place in any of the streets and markets of the world.
In Bangkok, most people including taxi drivers or tuk tuk drivers do not speak much English.
Victims have to make their way to the local Tourist Police Station or US Embassy.
Even reports were made to the police, including the tourist police.
Pick pockets are still out there with no sign of the police.
Its not just ‘mai bpen rai’.
Petty crime in Thailand is by far the highest in Asia, don’t be fooled.

"Petty crime in Thailand is by far the highest in Asia, don’t be fooled." Where are you getting your data? I'd be interested in knowing.

While petty crime does exists everywhere, neither I nor anyone I know have been pickpocketed in Thailand. On the other hand, I know plenty of people who have been pickpocketed in Italy, for instance. It is always wise to be alert.