I heard that the Sukhumvit area in BKK is good of you want attractions like shops and restaurants close by. Can anyone tell me more about this area. I do want to be near attractions we can walk to, sort of like staying in the Grand Via area in Madrid, the Ramblas in Barcelona and so on. Thank you. Larry

larry--- sukhumvit becomes plenochit at one point and this is a street combo that is miles long... off of it are many sois, smaller street, which contain most of the shops and restaurants, although there are some on the main streets as well... it really is not an area where you would spend hours just poking around...reason: heat and humidity.... much of it is served by the overhead shytrain rapid transit...

many large separtment stores and malls are located along its length...

i think your are of interest would stretch from the national stadium area along plenochit to roughly soi 55 on sukhumvit... this might be 4-5 miles...

some sois are more interesting than others.. soi 4 sukhumvit (nana) for instance is an adult entertainment area--think girly bars and prostitutes, but there are also high end hotels nearby too--JW Marriott... soi 23 has some nice shops and restaurants... soi 55 is jammed with restaurants and shops... soi 24 is a nice street with emporium mall at the corner... soi langsuan is an upscale street with great shops and restaurants... wireless rd has upscale hotels and shops---that whole area is very nice--- USA embassy and residence is in this area...

almost any place you stay in bangkok will require skytrain or taxi (cheap) trips to where you want to go...

tell us more of your interests and buy a guidebook to help you

Well as a BKK newbie I must ask what is a soi? Thats a start.

A soi is a side street. In the Sukhumvit area, there are bars and restaurants you can walk to, but don't confine your restaurant choices to those you can walk to. The Skytrain is very convenient (and air-conditioned) and means you can choose of an almost unlimited list of places to go.

I prefer to stay along the river where I can use the water taxis (more like water-buses) to get to major attractions like wats. It is also marginally less hot along the river.

as kathie says sois are smaller streets or side streets off of more main roads... there are also sub-sois off of sois and sometimes sub-sub-sois off of them

expect to get lost..

for instance for this address--- 53 sukhumvit, soi 23---means street number 53 (not always in order) on soi 23 off of sukhumvit

so larry tell us a little more... what kind of budget do you have daily for hotels... how many people travelling... how many days...

general interests

i think you may have another thread??

just looked at some of your cruise pics---nice

consider celebrity next time---really nice

I did but now we have begun to narrow it down. It will be my wife and me and we have 6 nights. We are considering the Grand Millennium hotel which seems to be well regarded. I also looked at the Sheraton Royal Orchid though I was told easy walking access to shops and so on is not its forte.

We do plan to do some touring which most probably can be arranged by the hotel but as this trip is on the way home from seeing my wife's family in India and attending a wedding we sort of want some days to relax so being in an area for an evening stroll to shop and eat is what we are looking for.

Please keep those thoughts coming. Larry

That ship was the nicest we've ever been on. It gets the best rating of all the Celebrity ships for customer satisfaction.

Larry, Bangkok is not really a place to "stroll", no matter where in the city you stay. The Sukhumvit area is good because there is easy access to restaurants and shopping but you still are better off using the Skytrain or taxi.

Hi Larry,
we are staying at the Pathumawan Princess in Bangkok which is attached to MBK department and very close to Siam Square and other big shopping areas. We are going at the end of June. Also very close to a station apparently.It has excellent reviews on trip advisor and when I was in Bangkok a few years agao I thought it had a good position. Have a look on the hotel web site.
You must also do a day trip to Kanchanburi ( Not correct spelling ) and see the River Kwai, War Memorial etc. It is well worth the visit.
We have also been on the Equinox and Silhouette recently and had a great time too. Beautifull ships.
Donna
Australia

So where do you suggest we go to from there to visit or see?

What I mean by "stroll" is just a casual walk out for dinner, to a decent selection of places close by and some shops to see.

Thanks for the help!

Wow Donna! That hotel, the Pathhumawan Princess is the other one we are considering. Glad to hear you liked it.

I am a WW II history buff so how long does in take to go there?

Getting really good stuff here!

We stay at the Royal Orchid, and can walk to quite a number of restaurants from there. We walk more in Bangkok than Bob does, but he is right it is not a walking city. We also walk to Chinatown from the ROS, and with a water taxi stop right next to it, we can catch a water taxi to many places.

Awesome info Kathie. I actually get bonus points or miles too if we stay at the ROS. I do like the water view as well.

We are certainly narrowing down our search. Thanks!

Any hotel on the river is great to getting many of the main tourist attractions by boat. It is also very pleasant along the river.

there is shopping to walk to from ROS---all along new rd..

ROS is however not a favorite of mine...

grand millennium is a nice newish hotel---decent location... fodorites never talk about it...

as you are indian, you might consider the indian owned rembrandt hotel---on soi 16 or 18 sukhumvit.. free tuk tuk to skytrain

Actually my wife is Indian. Me, I'm from Chicago. Go Cubs.

Yeah Cubs!!! I am a downstater.

I have stayed along the river and I have stayed in Sukhumvit area. For me, the river is great but way
too far away from the places I want to be. I was just in Bangkok for 3 weeks for the holidays, and not once did I venture down to the river. Sukhumvit soi 8 is my current favorite hotel location. You absolutely can stroll down some of the sois off of Sukhumvit.

The numbering of the sois is easy. Odd streets are on one side of Sukhumvit and even numbered sois are on the other side. There is some minor confusion though because numbers do not line up across from each other. For example, across from soi 8 is soi 11; across from soi 16 is soi 21!

Carol

Hi again,
when we did the day trip to Kanchanburri(???) we were on a tour. We got picked up by bus and did a train ride through the country side whcih was met by bus at end . We did river Kwai area, War Memorial, history of Burma Railway etc ( as there were many Australians POW's , it was very interesting and moving ) and had the chance to go on the river and have a drink/ snack overlooking. It was a whole day trip but well worth it. ( came back on bus )
You could also hire a driver to take you too.
When are you planning to travel?
Donna