Tenit

Just back from Thailand and wanted to thank all the people here for the information I have gathered over the last couple years that went into my planning!. I can’t name everyone because so many gave great advice.

A quick summary of the trip

Bangkok – We stayed at the Marriott Resort and Spa and absolutely loved it. It’s like an oasis in the middle of the city. We did the tourist things, Wat’s, weekend market, Jim Thompson, shopping and eating etc. Loved the city!! And we really didn’t expect to.

Got taken in on a scam at the Grand Palace. I should have caught on right away but I was tired. A guy met us at the gates and assured us it was closed to non-thais for the morning. A green shirt tuk tuk driver conveniently pulls in and this guy explains we can go to three other places nearby and return for the afternoon. We tell him we are not interested as my wife is feeling ill anyways and we would like to go to the Oriental and return later. He talks to the driver and we are off on the original adventure he planned. When we arrived at the first Wat I got out and we hopped a cab back to the Oriental. We ran into some Brits who got caught by the same scam and ended up being taken to a variety of shops. My stupidity. (tip I paid 700 baht plus tolls to get to the hotel and both times we left the Marriott and the doormen arrange a taxi we paid 400 tolls included)

It was rhkkmk that described Harmonique as eclectic, good food, mediocre service, run by old people who are a hoot, and you were absolutely right on all accounts.

Manohra Song – Simply amazing cruise. What can I say. The only thing better would be the Manohra Dream that they are launching later this year with only 2 rooms. But I can’t think of a way to top this Valentine’s day. All downhill from here…..

Chiang Rai – Stayed at the Anantara in Chiang Saen. The place was incredible with great views of Laos and Burma (Myanmar). Unfortunately developers have built a large casino in Burma which kind of stands out in an otherwise serene landscape. Elephant riding, trekking, ear infection, two trips to hospitals…. It was still great

Railay – We had booked at the beach club, but ended up changing to Sand Sea. Our first experience was not a good one here although I was really looking forward to it. First we booked late last year and a week before we left I sent an email wishing to add a day to our stay. They replied that the owners were going to stay longer to help the locals after the Tsunami and they couldn’t offer us that place anymore but they had a smaller one and one the equivalent size available. They only sent us the house number for the smaller and I didn’t have time before we left to discuss it so we took it. (emails were generally a couple days between responses) Well it was far back from the water and it turned out to be pretty hot even at night. There was also something giving us bites during the night (yes with the mosquito net up and our legs were looking nasty) so we checked out and went to Sand Sea. Railay BC people asked my wife if we had requested to have the bed sprayed but I didn’t really want to sleep in insecticide.

There isn’t much evidence of the Tsunami in Railay. A destroyed sailboat on the beach and the Railay Bay Resort’s pool under construction are the only real eye catchers.

We went to the Phi Phi islands snorkeling. The beaches were not crowded at all and apparently Maya bay is the best it’s been since they wrecked it filming The Beach. We were there early afternoon and hardly anyone was there. The coral in shallow areas is destroyed, it litters the bottom. When we saw what was left of the town on Phi Phi is was very sobering. Total destruction, they estimate 2-3000 dead. There are barges and construction equipment everywhere. The occupancy is so bad that the paper said the Holiday Inn was offering $37 per night. You couldn’t give me a room out there, it just wouldn’t feel right.

We also spent a few days out relaxing on Poda and Chicken Islands. I’ve got pictures where we are the only longtail and have a whole side of Poda to ourselves.

Anyways, we had a great time. If anyone has any questions fire away.

rhkkmk

glad it all worked out so well...i can't wait to arrive and marriott again in may....

and also to eat at harmonique and others...

JamesA

Sounds good. Phi Phi and Khao Lak are a different case to Phuket and Krabi. But good time to visit the other places whilst relatively quiet.

travelmom13

Thanks for the post. We leave for BKK, Phuket, Ko Lanta etc. in two weeks. We can't wait!

travelmom13

We love snorkeling and are planning on spending a day in Phi Phi looking at beaches (such as Maya) and snorkeling. Was the snorkeling any good there? You mentioned that the shallow coral was destroyed. Was there alot of debri in the water/on the ocean floor? How did it compare to any other snorkeling you did there in Thailand, if any? Also, did you go to the Holiday Inn side of the island? We were thinking of staying there one night after we spent the day around those islands en route from Phuket to Koh Lanta. It sounds like you don't think that is a good idea though?

Tenit

travelmom13

As for the snorkeling, we went on a boat trip that took in about 5 sites. They were all roughly the same. While I never snorkeled in Thailand before the Tsunami I would guess the debris we saw was as a result. (broken coral that is)

The only place I saw real debris was on the back side of Chicken Island. There was a longtail wrecked on the shore, it's canopy in the water and lots of other debris washed up. A couple pieces of clothing etc.

In most areas the sand was littered with pieces of coral, litterly covering the bottom. Any reefs we were on were covered with silt and sand. There were still alot of fish to see but the only coral we really saw was when we swam to the edge of the reefs closest to deep water. As for Maya bay I didn't see much there when close to the beach but it looks like there are buoys out further in the bay where the snorkeling may be better. I was snorkeled out by then so didn't swim out.

As for the Holiday Inn, I think it came away relatively unscathed. And you would be somewhat isolated from the destruction in the "town". The damage there was pretty amazing, they say that waves came from both sides and towered over the palms. Being stuck on the sandbar in the middle, not much survived.

I can't speak for you but once we saw the destruction it really opens your eyes to the loss that happened there. While the area needs the business we kind of felt like we would be profiting from the loss there in taking a cheap rate and it would cast a shadow over our trip.