Thank you all (Kathy, Gloria, Bob, et al) for your invaluable help and suggestions. This was my first trip to Asia, and I LOVED Thailand. Every moment of every day I was completely engaged in where I was. Although travelling alone, I never once felt lonely or uncomfortable.This was one of the most incredible trips of my life and I'm already planning when I'll go back.

I had originally planned on spending my last 5 days in Hong Kong, but changed my ticket so that I could stay in Thailand because I just wasn't ready to leave.

Bangkok

I was in Bangkok during an unusually cold period (December 19 -23). Temperatures were only in the low to mid 70s except for one uncomfortably hot and humid day. For me it was perfect - for many Thais, it was time to unpack the scarfs and mittens.

Christmas music was constantly playing EVERYWHERE, and often made the experience rather surreal, like the day I threw myself into the throngs on Sampeng Lane in Chinatown and was surrounded by fish heads, sea cucumbers, and Alvin and the Chipmunks singing the Christmas Album.

Stayed 4 nights at the Peninsula. Loved the way the taxi was suddenly surrounded by men in white as it pulled into the driveway and me and my baggage were whisked away.

I really enjoyed taking the boat across the river, especially because the staff on the boats was always so friendly. They were always curious about what I was doing that day or where I had been. Particularly enjoyed the boat captain's salute every morning!

Yes, the breakfast buffet was amazing! I also had 2 very good meals at Thiptara, the Thai restaurant (with great ambience). Soft shell crabs were excellent. Prices were very reasonable for a 5-star hotel.

Room was very comfortable and service quite good. My only complaint was the charge of 400 baht an hour to use the internet in the business center seemed really high.

Grand Palace/Wat Phra Kaew
No pictures or books prepared me for my first sight of these buildings from the boat heading up the river. I actually got tears in my eyes. I made it to the entrance without anyone trying to sell me anything or convince me it was closed. I used the self-guided audio tour, which I thought was a little dry, and regretted not hiring one of the tour guides waiting at the entrance.

Did some amulet shopping (how cool!) and had lunch at S&P (thanks Fodors). Prawns in chili and garlic sauce were SO GOOD! But would have been more enjoyable if the heads and feet were removed first... (was I supposed to eat them too?).

Wat Po
I actually enjoyed exploring Wat Po more than Grand Palace because it was much less crowded with tourists, and more of a working environment (schools, monks, etc.).

Being a huge Amazing Race fan, I was very excited putting the 108 coins in the bowls at the Reclining Buddha.

I had a one-hour Thai massage which was surprisingly good. I was also surprised that I enjoyed the ambience of being in the public massage building (obviously it is not a spa or anything even close), with all the sounds coming from inside and outside. I went back on my last day for another one-hour massage, which was absolutely the best massage I have ever had anywhere. I kept thanking the girl and I think she started getting embarrassed.

Thonburi Canals
This was one of the highlights of my trip, and something I probably wouldn't have even done were it not for reading about it here. The boat guy at the Peninsula hired a longtail boat for me - cost was 1200 baht for 2 hours.

I had a great driver - he saw that I was interested in getting some unusual photographs and could actually sense when I was going to want to take one and always managed to slow the boat down just in advance at exactly the right time.

This is when I started comparing Bangkok to Venice (I know, it's been done before...). Not that they look at all alike architecturally, but the mood and feeling of decay and the structures right at the edges of the canals, often sinking into them. And the importance of religious architecture - the way temples are in every neighborhood of the city, around every corner.

Downtown Bangkok
This was the only area I found to be irritating and disappointing, with the exception of the Jim Thomson House, which I actually enjoyed even more than I expected to. I'm ready to move in anytime...

This area reminded me a lot of TImes Square in the late 80s (before the facelift). Seedy, dirty, crowded, and lots of hucksters. I coudn't walk a block without being offered DVDs, CDs, taxi, massage... Maybe it was worse because I was a single guy. But this got VERY annoying.

I also found the malls to be..well, malls. I live in Los Angeles. It takes a lot for a mall to excite me. Went to Paragon (new and still under construction) and Central Chidlom. High point was my first mango sticky rice at the Paragon food court. Yum!

Shops on the Sois around Siam Square didn't seem nearly as interesting as I expected.

Erewan Shrine was also really cool (but could those dancers look any more uninterested??). Just before I got there, a woman came up to me and started giving me candles, then incense, then flowers, then more flowers. I thought , wow this is cool, and then she pointed to a sign and wanted 200 baht for it all. So I just bought some candles.

This was the day that was hot and humid, so after all this I went to Suan Pakkard Palace (walked there form the nearest skytrain station). By the time I got there I was just wiped out so really didn't enjoy it too much. A man (who may have been the curator) greeted me at the gate - I asked where I could get some water, so he took me to the vending machines, then kept reappearing throughout my visit making sure I hadn't missed any of the buildings or exhibits, and pointing out various details to me.

After this I had a second burst of energy so thought I would walk over to the Baiyoke Sky Hotel and go up to the observatory (well it LOOKED like it was right down the street). I do NOT recommend this - the windows are all covered with some type of anti-glare material that makes it difficult to even see outside - how dumb - it is called an OBSERVATORY, silly me, I expected to be able to actually look outside.

Then (since by now I was already sweaty and smelly so why stop) I walked through the nearby Pratunam Market (more Christmas Carols, AND it's the Chipmunks again - what is up with that??).

john---i love the report and look forward to more...the next time you go back you will like the downtown area a bit more....try staying there for a couple of nites and it will feel better to you...

take taxis more, even though you miss things...cooler...

the klongs are so interesting and i think you miss something about bkk if you do not take this trip....1200 was too much BBB but who cares...you loved it...and so do i...

next time take the trip out to the floating market...great pics...

can we ask that you post your pictures?? like on shutterfly or one of them if they are digital>> please..

isn't the penn fantastic...its expensive for bkk but worth every cent...great refuge amidst chaos...

did you get to the flower market near sanpan lane??

bob

John, I laughed at your comments about the Chipmunks singing Christmas Carols! When I was in Chaing Mai something like 20 years ago, it was Christmas time and the hotel had one Christmas record - the Chipmunks singing Christmas Carols in English and German!!

Glad you enjoyed Thailand - you'll become as addicted as the rest of the regulars here!

Enjoying your trip report. So glad you liked S&P. It's great for lunch (with nice cool air con) after visiting Wat Po & Grand Palace. My husband also had the prawns with chili & garlic and they were delicious! Did you visit any other areas of Thailand? Looking forward to more...

I made some edits to this that for some reason didn't show up.

I was in Bangkok for 4 nights and Chiang Mai for 7 nights.

I'll post more later...

rhkkmk- what are klongs? I'm headed for BKK (first time) and you've got me curious.

That night I had a massage booked at Chi Spa at the Shangri-La Hotel. I chose Chi Spa mainly because I loved the photos on the website, even though it is quite expensive (Los Angles spa prices).

I was going to go to Harmonique for dinner, but it was closed until early January. so instead went to Tongue Thai, which I liked but wasn't really overwhelmed by. The food and ambience reminded me of Thai restaurants back here in the US.

I know you'll all want to know what I ate...but I can't remember! (except for Tom Yum soup which was so spicy - even for me - I couldn't eat it). Guess it was a truly unmemorable meal. The restaurant was completely empty, so at least I had a nice talk with the staff.

Chi Spa looked even better than it does in photos, but the massage was just average and the masseuse (young woman) seemed slightly inexperienced. I didn't feel it was worth the money and I would not go back there.

Wat Arun
Absolutely awesome. And so much more to explore than just the large structure you see from the river. Like Wat Po, this seemed like a busy place with lots of activity, in spite of lots of tourists, which made it particularly interesting. You can only climb up to the first level - not sure how long that has been in effect, but I was hoping to be able to go up higher.

This is when I noticed that most of the stray cats in Bangkok (and there are many) have no tails - or else very short stubby tails. Is this genetic? Fights with stray dogs?? And what were those long furry things floating in buckets in the Chinatown market???

That afternoon I did a walking tour of "Old Bangkok" through the Banglampu area. I wasn't really sure what to expect because of this neighborhood's mixed reputation, but this was actually a really enjoyable day and something I would highly recommend. The walk went from the waterfront park where the fort is and looped around to the Democracy Monument and back again. I found it either in Frommers or Lonely Planet. This neighborhood has a quieter, village feeling than other parts of Bangkok, and is really enjoyable for strolling around. Interesting shops, lots of little coffee places and restaurants. The backpacker scene was a non-issue, not really sure what I was imagining - drunken college kids throwing beer bottles out of windows or something like that (although it was mid-afternoon).

Wat Bowoniwet was quite interesting, and where I had my first of several conversations with monks (some MUCH stranger than others, but more on that later...)

To back up a little and answer Bob's question about the flower market - I had a walk through Chinatown all mapped out, which I did on my first afternoon in Bangkok. However, once you step into some of those narrow jam-packed lanes, all bets are off, I lost all sense of direction, and there really is no way out until you finally see a light ahead at the end of the tunnel of people you are crammed in this tiny alley with. So I'm not quite sure where I went or what I saw, but I don't think I made it to the flower market... This is one place where my map was virtually useless. It's more like you see an interesting alley, throw yourself into it, walk until you can't stand it anymore, then look for a way out...

The next day I left for Chiang Mai.

sammie--klongs are the canals of bkk

you would remember the flower market if you had been there...

i have done that sampan lane walk and you think it will never end...but interesting....

Great report! I'm leaving on Friday for the first time, so am trying to get any last minute tips. I am interested in hearing about Chiang Mai. Will be there next week as well as Pai.

Glad you had a great time. I've been here, in Bangkok, almost three weeks and I always love coming here as I've been coming here for years. It's always great to see Bangkok continue to evolve over the many years and there have been LOTS of changes...mostly for the best...over the years. It's going to be difficult for me to leave once again and I'm already re-booked into my apartment here for my August trip. I actually already have the plane ticket for that trip...had it before I started this trip...since that one will be on frequent flyer miles. So, back to L.A. in two days to get back into the rat race of it all! Happy Travels!

John, LOVE your report and can't wait for the rest. I'm taking notes..
PS Just curious, why did you opt to not visit beaches? I know it's usually personal preference, but I'm just curious..
Also, what is the best map to have for BKK..Nancy Chandler ones?

there is not a real good map of bkk...

nancy chandler is good but not realistic or to scale...it is also broken down into segments...

Bob, many guidebooks come with a good (detachable, full-sized) street map of Bangkok, I think mine was an Insight guide. But, being a full-sized map, it's not something I tend to pull out on the street, but rather to use for plotting a route before I go out.

The Nancy Chandler map is a nice resource for giving you a rough idea of what things are in the same area, etc. Note that things are not to scale, so don't try to walk from point A to point B just beacuse they look close on the map!

Jacqui, it occurs to me that for people unfamiliar with the Nancy Chandler map, they must think it's just a map when we talk about it here. It is a large, multi-color map showing the locations of many restaurants, shopping centers, Wats, etc, etc, and it comes with a small book that allows you to look up categories and find recommendations and the map locations. It is likely to seem pretty overwhelming at first to the new visitor to Bangkok, but I find it invaluable.

thank you kathie--that helps explain it!

to amplify on nancy chandler map a bit...at first glance it is very confusing....it has literally thousands of notes written on it...not printed but some are written like notes and in different fonts and sizes...it takes study, imo!!!

it grows on you and you better understand it once you have been in bkk...it breaks things down by some frequented neighborhoods, like sukhumvit and the weekend market in seperate sub maps...even its overall map of bkk is limited and anything but inclusive...

kathie---i do have some seperate maps of bkk, but i do not find any of them to be either complete or accurate...it may almost be impossible to do that....one expects maps to be reasonable to use like a paris or london map and to be inclusive, but experts have acknowledged that that does not really exist for bkk...

add to that that most thais and especially taxi drivers do not have a nack to deal with maps...so using them in conjunction with assistance is not great...i find it is best to have some sort of idea about where you are going and how to get there...

thais tend to use landmarks for directions...like go to emporium and turn right and then take the left at the pizza parlor....at least that is my experience...

jacqui - I chose not to visit beaches beacuse I live in Southern Claifornia and spend lots of time at the beach - wanted to see something new, although I realize Thailand's beaches are much different than ours... maybe next trip.

I used the Nancy Chandler maps for Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is to scale, by the way. (However, it is also in serious need of updating). Bangkok is not at all to scale, which, before I got there, created lots of confusion for me because I had no idea of distances between places (they are WAY FURTHER than they appear on that map).

A few other misc. things before I get to Chiang Mai:

I flew from LA at night and arrived in Bangkok in the morning. I was able to sleep well on the flights (Singapore Airlines to Tapei, EVA Air to Bangkok) and had virtually no jet lag. I can't imagine taking a daytime flight...or walking around Bangkok with jet lag.

I was very concerned about drinking the water and eating street food. In fact (this is so neurotic) I practiced showering with my mouth closed for a few days before I left...yes, really...). Bottled water is available EVERYWHERE. And after my first shower I kind of forgot about whether my mouth was open or closed and survived with no problems

I also carried Power Bars with me on the streets because I didn't want to find myself suddenly really hungry and smelling some fabulous street food and being tempted to eat it. There were a few times when taking a few bites of a Power Bar got me through the next hour or so until I got to a restaurant.

Street food is being cooked (or is sitting around) everywhere. The only place I really noticed tourists eating it was Banglampoo. I'm sure a lot of it is fine, i just didn't want to take that chance.

Bob, thanks for your clarification. The map I have is pretty good, but let's face it, Bangkok is confusing! You are so right that taxi drivers often don't read maps.

(Though I remember one notable exception in which I had carefully written instructions in Thai for a place I wanted to go, and the taxi driver was having trouble finding it. I realized we were going to wrong way, and discoverd that the man spoke perfect English! With some verbal instructions and the map, he had us turned around and to my destination in no time!)