Itinerary for Thailand ...

Old Nov 6th, 2004, 07:06 PM
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Itinerary for Thailand ...


I booked flights for Chiang Mai and Siem Reap today, so I have the air transport part of my itinerary defined. It involves 11 flight segments and 6 destinations in 21 days.

Dec 26 - fly first class Washington D.C. to Beijing via Chicago. Connecting in Beijing to Thai flight, business class, arriving BKK Dec 27 at 10PM

Dec 27 - Jan 1, staying at Holiday Inn Silom.

Jan 1 - 4, Fly to Chiang Mai and staying at Sheraton or River View Inn. Vimonrat is busy in Bangkok but am trying to arrange hiring her DS or BIL in CM.

Jan 4, Fly CNX to BKK, have 2 hr 45 min to connect to Bangkok air flight to Siem Reap

Jan 4 - 7, probably will stay at Angkor Village. Is it worth it to upgrade from budget room ($89, 20 sq. m.) to deluxe ($145, 40 sq m). I'll have two full days (5-6th) to see the sights. I suppose I should arrange to hire a car & driver for both days. Should I also hire a guide? for both days?

Jan 7, back to Bangkok for 1 night at Marriott R&S for $50 (priceline).

Jan 8, business class on Thai Air to Tokyo, connecting to a UA flight to Seoul

Jan 8-10, have reservations at Renaissance hotel, but would like other recommendations.

Jan 10 (or 11), fly Asiana to Osaka. Sightseeing in Kyoto, an onsen visit, and sumo in Tokyo.

Jan 15, flying ANA first class from Tokyo to D.C.
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Old Nov 6th, 2004, 07:26 PM
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I'd appreciate any comments on the above. In Seoul, I will be visiting my nephew who is in the US Army. Just want a comfortable place where we can spend a couple of days together. We've got a couple of years to catch up on.

I just sent off an e-mail to Panha Ou to see if he is available.
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Old Nov 6th, 2004, 07:40 PM
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i was just going to suggest panha to you....in bkk i have also used mr somphet gunthon...he is a yellow and green taxi driver who stations himself outside the marriott...his wife is a maid at the hotel...he is great and has good english...unfortunately he only has a cell phone not other communication..the number is: 0-6040-9893...i don't have the lead in numbers...we used him for 8 hours and he was perfect...we did not do sighseeing just errands around town...his car is new...in some ways we liked him better than ratt...

you definately need a driver/guide in angkor to save time.... you can ask angkor village to get one for you that is where i got panha...
we did not have the best experience at angkor village...rooms were only ok...we had the middle price room...my bed was so hard that i hurt my back and had to take medicine even to walk...AV is very attractive however...the french owners are quite nice...you have only enough tourist time to see the main places...usually the guides take you back to the hotel at mid day for 3 hours...it rained one afternoon when we were there also in dec...

i have bkk rest. if you are interested...
bob

try red piano for drinks and meals in town...also a really good meal at La Noria...just across the river from the grand hotel...
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Old Nov 6th, 2004, 07:51 PM
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We thought the higher priced rooms at the Angkor Village were well worth it. They are on the upper floors with soaring roofs, so feel very spacious. The beds are traditional types, so very hard (Bob, it helped me get up early each morning! lol) You can arrange a car and driver, and guide if you wish, at the hotel. Personally, I preferred to use a guidebook and no guide, but I had been reading about Angkor for years. The best food I ate was at Angkor Village. They have a set meal each night, which I never ordered (it's a large amount of food). I always asked for the menu and ordered Cambodian food from the menu. Lots of people recommend La Noria, but our meal there was mediocre. We didn't try the Red Piano.

Bob is also right that it makes sense to tour in the morning, dawn until noonish, then again in the afternoon, 3 pm until dusk. Rest, eat relax, swim, cool off at mid day. You don't have a lot of time at Angkor, so you may benefit from doing some reading ahead of time to decide which temples you want to see most. (You can view photos of our trip at www.marlandc.com)

I'm sure you're well aware that you are covering a lot of ground in a very short amount of time. You must enjoy that kind of travel. It would make me very grouchy!
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Old Nov 7th, 2004, 05:26 AM
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Got a reply from AV and they only have budget twin rooms available but will put me on a waiting list for a double. So, the beds are hard and it would be single-size. This is not good.
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Old Nov 7th, 2004, 05:50 PM
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have you done a search on here for hotels...?? within the last week or two, someone mentioned a new hotel...there are many...AV has a good location, but actually location really doesn't matter in SR...
how about one of the bigger group tour hotels?? sorry the names escape me...century hotel comes to mind but that may not be correct...there are a couple of other ones with angkor in the name??

have you checked out sofitel for any specials?? probably not but it is really a nice hotel...

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Old Nov 7th, 2004, 05:58 PM
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I made reservations at the Sofitel just 6 minutes ago, as a matter of fact. Got an internet rate of $220 for a deluxe king, Jan 4-7. Signed up for their loyalty program but they didn't e-mail the account number to use in the res. I did read about it here and at frommers. The other, new, place that you mention may be Le Meridien.
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Old Nov 7th, 2004, 06:05 PM
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also consider Shinta Mani, with a nice spa and pool, and excellent restaurant (think it was written up in Bon Appetit)
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Old Nov 7th, 2004, 06:37 PM
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meridien was one but there was another moderate priced place...

you will love sofitel...up there with bali conrad, without the view and sea...modern quality....
excellent choice...much superior to AV...Av has the look but it ends there, imho...kathie liked the food, even my wife who never complains did not like their food at AV.....

you are paying a lot but it will be worth it...great location too...on the road to the temples...much closer than AV
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Old Nov 8th, 2004, 01:18 PM
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bill; looks like a great trip. watch for my post on restaurants in tokyo. hopefully if you have time, you might be able to check a few of them out.
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Old Nov 13th, 2004, 07:57 PM
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Angkor Century was very good. We got it a for a lot less by booking through Panha than going on the internet. Our accommodation at AC included an international breakfast buffet.
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