Gloria
Ann's birthday sounds very special! I'm sure she was most pleased. And I'm glad she is obviously feeling much better, if you took a walking tour of China Town.
See you in about a week...hopefully? On the 20th...
Carol

remember gloria you are the queen of the oriental and ann is not to take away from that!!!! she can be a princess (literally), but never the queen....

Tell me more about the walking trip thru Chinatown with Ratt. I have her booked in Feb. What kinds of things did you do and see? How long did it take?
Thanks

We only walked around in Chinatown for about an hour and a half because of the heat and because ann still isn't 100%. But the area is huge so you can spend much longer. We weren't interested in buying anything but if you are you will find a lot of the stuff you see in the night market for a third the price. Not the high quality stuff but a huge amount of the touristy stuff.

Gloria, What are your recommendations for shops (or malls) in BKK for Thai handcrafts. Carved items(wood or stone), bells, boxes interest us especially. Nice things but can't afford true antiques or collector quality.

I know Gloria will have an answer, but for me it would be Nari Phand, which is a craft center right behind Gaysorn Plaza, and across the street from Central World Plaza. Good location, easy to navigate. Lots to see.

Gloria, it sounds like the Orienal staff really helped Ann celebrate her birthday!

I'm glad you enjoyed Lemongrass. We usually eat lunch there once during our stays.

CFW- I'm much less of a shopper and definitely less of a mall shopper than most requlars on this list. And I tend to buy crafts in chiang Mai -- probably because they have more individual shops than malls. However,from what I've seen I'd tend to agree with Carol that Nai Phand is a good option.

gloria---are you finding anything like serviced apartments in CM or is the choice apartments and small houses??

bob

Bob-- I did look at a couple of serviced apartments in Chiang Mai but none of them are places I would be happy in. However, the point at which I would be spending 2-3 months there is still at least 6 years away. For now I feel like Baan Orapin will be my home in Chiang Mai. I also spent some time with a thai woman who invited me to stay in her home when I return which I might do for a couple of days if we continue contact.

Am now in my last day in Yangon which has been a fascinating experience -- saw virtually no sights but learned a HUGE amount. Will post in a separate thread when I get back to bangkok.

we are all looking forward to your report...

bob