Gpanda....an artifact from the Oriental? I want to get to the GTG and not end up in jail! Ha...ha...ha..., but if I would end up in jail, I would hope that you all would come and rescue me from the grips of cellblock # whatever! I don't think they do 5-star jailhouses in Bangkok! Happy Travels!

Ok how about you walk thru the lobby of the Oriental in shorts carrying an open can of coke- and if you make it thru without being approached by security then you can wear those same shorts, carrying the now empty can of coke, to the Boston GTG!

guenmai; when in jail, you will have one comfort, orgy will be able to visit you, and tell you whats happening on the fodors asia board, and i most certainly will drop by to see you when i'm in town. :-)

jail and Oriental, both have a strict dress code so the a cant be too bad.

orgy---stolen soap...you are sooooo funny...must have learned that in hartford....are you coming the the GTG...its a holiday in hartford so you should come home for that at least....

Does KATHIE ("Do a SEARCH on this topic.") know EVERYTHING about EVERY TOPIC relating to SE Asia? One begins to get this feeling.

RhkNK. I don't much care for going back too dump town, but Boston sounds cool. As of now I will keep a vigil on Guen while she's here.. but I'd like to meet ya next time. NOTE im not funny in real life, I cansolt many starving humorists before typing my noncence.

kathie is one of our most respected contributors and we find that her information is both informative and accurate....
haven't seen much that you have contributed!!!

roberto; well said!! keep them coming, kathie, and see you soon.

OK, now for my two cents. I've been on the road for a day+ and not able to join in on the discussion, but I'm back on line today.

I've stayed at both the Oriental and the Peninsula and on the same BKK trip. I happen to prefer the Peninsula. That said, I did a + - chart immediately after my visit, and the two compare almost evenly. There are things that the Pen does better, and things that the Oriental does better. It just depends on what you prefer in a hotel. Old World versus new luxury (some would say high tech). I LIKE the TV recessed in the wall over the bathtub. I LIKE the full wall of windows overlooking the river, from EVERY room at the Pen. I have also stayed in a balcony room there, and I like the fresh air (not too bad up 26 floors).

But, I also like the floor butler who came to our room (after being called) and apologized for knocking on our door, and bringing us this or that, at the Oriental. I also enjoyed the BI-Level room we had with the bedroom "upstairs" from the living area. We pryed the window open for some fresh air... the view is not quite the same as from the Pen though.

It's a toss-up. You will most likely enjoy either hotel immensely.

We've also done airport pick-up and delivery in the Rolls at both places. No one could do a pick up any slicker than the Pen did. But the Oriental did a most helpful delivery back to the airport, and even helped us get the upgraded seats we were trying to get, for our trip home. (No, they didn't arrange for the upgrades, they just knew "who" to talk to to make it a reality for us. We probably could have done it ourselves but it would have required much more leg work)

Enjoy your trip, whichever hotel you opt for.

Carol

Usually the Penn costs a lot less- thus the better value.

Dear Kathie, Carol & All--thanks for all of your input--sorry to ask a redundat questions--i have put Oriental and Penninsula in search & read allllll the opinions--this will be our first trip to Bangkok so we are novices about Bangkok-we do love to travel a lot--and I must admit I loved being spoiled by the hotels--so now our only decision is which one to stay at first--we wil stay 3 nights in Bangkok at the beginning of the trip and one at the end--we are not exactly the short wearing type--but I am addicted to diet coke--not sure about walking around the lobby with a coke tho-both sound wonderful thanks again jan

To the above who will either visit me in cellblock # whatever....or try to bust me out....well...it's so great to know that there are those out there who will come to my rescue...Ha...Ha...Ha... If any of you regulars will be in BK in mid Dec to early Jan, let me know. Maybe we can get together. I'll have three weeks then. The trip I'm taking in a few weeks from now will only be a 5-day BK stay and I'll be VERY busy since I have specific things to do...like 15 restaurants on my restaurant list...and running around looking at the serviced apartments to see which one I'll be staying in in Dec and also trying to contact some realtors about condos. I'll spend 5 days down in Singapore,too so this trip will be a very intense one...not a real vacation. Happy Travels!

Guenmai
I just booked Sept 20- Oct 4. Is that when you will be there? I may very well be staying at Omni (if available) apartment during that time. Son will see what we can get.

I will also return to BKK sometime around the 17-18th of Jan until 3-4th of Feb if that happens to be a similar time...
Carol

Simpson...No...I'll be there mid Dec- to the beginning of January. See you at the GTG though! Happy Travels!