We are planning a trip in December and are down to the last bit of planning (yay!).

Right now we are planning on 7 nights in Hua Hin with an open 3 days followed by 4 nights in Siem Reap and 3 nights in Pnom Phenn.

The open days are where we have a difference of opinion. I'd like to take a boat up the river to Luang Prabang while my SO is voting for Chiang Mai. I am still trying to research both areas but it looks like Chiang Mai is a larger city and Luang Prabang a bit laid back. With 2 full days to spend in one of those locations, which would Fodorites chose?

TIA!

Two full days is plenty IMO for CM. Two full days is not enough for LP. If you were willing to cut back your Hua Hin time to 5 days, 4 days for LP would be fine.

People either love CM or not. I'm in the or not camp. It's a huge, sprawling city with no public transport. I love Bangkok, but I'm quickly bored in CM. photos (though most are of Royal Flora) www.marlandc.com/Bangkok2006/ChiangMai/index.htm

LP is laid back. It's the kind of place where you want to slow down and soak up the atmosphere. It's full of working wats, very different from the ruins of Angkor.
laos-thailand.marlandc.com/index.html will get you photos of LP and Hua Hin
AngkorWat.marlandc.com/index.html for Angkor photos

Awesome Kathie! Thanks for the speedy response. Sadly, I am not willing to cut back on my beach time. I haven't had a vacation in a year (despite having my SO promise various long weekend trips that just fell apart into nothing!)and need some down time.

As for CM, that was my impression as well (that it was a large sprawling city). That's not my cup of tea at all.

I think we will go with LP and just make our time there work even if it's an abbreviated trip (or knock a day of PP and move Siem Reap down a day) although it would mean traveling on Xmas day which is always a drag and which I always try to prevent but we've now done it for 3 Xmas's in a row. And I booked the tickets so I'm the one to blame on this!

...and I just realized the boat takes 1.5 days so I'll nix that part of it although it sounded interesting.

Sigh. How can close to 3 weeks not be enough time?!

Hi Minooka,
I'm not quite objective, ;~)), and I do agree with Kathie that it's best to have more time if visiting Luang Prabang because it's more of a town than Chiang Mai which is a large city (probably larger than LP by a factor of at least 20 times). Still we go to Chiang Mai for shopping, good food, and a break too.
Just a suggestion but if you were to cut back Hua Hin to 3 nights and Phnom Penh to 2 full days, you might be able to squeeze in both and meet both yours and your SO's preferences. Might be a bit more rushed but it is an option.

I really liked CM it had loads to offer (great scenery, fab cooking classes less chaotic than Bangkok, great shopping. BUT i haven't yet been to LP. Personally (and i have been to HH which i loved) i would cut a day there, 6 really is plenty. (there are some great restaurants in HH notably Supatra by the sea, La Mer and Choa Lay)and at least yo will give a bit more time to whichever town you choose but don't rule CM out.

LP is a wonderful place. Fly in and spend a couple of days and you will have a great time. I am not a fan of Chiang Mai. I would definitely choose LP over CM.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

LP it is and CM will just have to wait for another trip. Like I said: My beach time is non-negotiable on this trip! Nope, no way, uh uh. I can honestly do nothing for a week and be totally content. We are looking forward to doing nothing except maybe some snorkeling and diving with much reading in between. I will look over the schedule one more time though before we commit to any rooms.

PP is going to be a challenge since it will be Xmas but we'll make it work. It's impossible to do it all, especially since this is my first trip there (SO has been to Asia on business which is entirely another scenario).

Smeagol, thanks for the restaurant recommendations. I've made a note (amongst my many other notes on vaccines, visas and clothing).

We are both looking forward to this trip!

Hello again Smeagol,

OK, OK, don't touch that beach time! It's written in stone, LOL! ;~))
From the sounds of it, you'd prefer to decompress at the beach/island first before your other travels?

However, since you mentioned maybe 'doing' some snorkeling and diving, is Hua Hin written in stone, too?
The reason why I'm asking is because while Hua Hin is famous as a beach resort area, it doesn't offer much in the way of snorkeling nor diving, as far as I know, which is limited since I've only visited the area once.
If you're seeking some snorkeling or diving, then you may have to head over to the Andaman Coast to such areas as Krabi, Trang or the Similans. And if you're seeking aqua blue waters such as the Yucatan area, then Ao Nang or more quiet West Railay would better suit those needs. Air Asia offers budget flights to both Krabi and Phuket airports while Nok Air covers Trang airport.

Also if you're concerned about running short on time, then I really do think that one full day is enough to see the main sights of Phnom Penh. No shopping time at the markets but enough to see the Silver Palace, the National Museum, Toul Sleng and the most famous 'Killing Fields'. You can shop in Siem Reap in the evenings.
One logistical option is to fly Air Asia from Bangkok to Phnom Penh and then travel overland to Siem Reap as a way to see the countryside en route via a VIP bus, visit Siem Reap/Angkor then fly Lao Airlines up to Luang Prabang, then fly either Lao Airlines or Bangkok Airways back to Bangkok.

Anyways, hope this helps and enjoy The Beach!

OK, ok, Seagypsy. My SO apparently read your post so we are down a day at the beach (just 4 full days down from 7). Sigh. I'm going to plan my own get away for February where I can be a sloth for a week (I'm telling you, I am really good at that).

So no good snorkeling at Hua Hin? That's ok. Gives me more time to sloth out. I can move from the bed, to breakfast, to the hammock, to dinner, to bed. Repeat X4 ;-).

I think I'll be ok not shopping much and just wandering around before dinner.

Hi Minooka,

Sorry, LOL!
I didn't mean for you to reduce your beach days. I thought that was already in stone.
I posted my last post to advise you about Hua Hin not being a great beach for snorkeling. I was suggesting the Andaman Coast and more specifically Krabi Province for a week since it's more stunningly beautiful than Hua Hin and is a great destination for a week's relaxation.
Oh well, like you said, you're gonna have to get your SO to promise more beach time on your next visit.
Or, have the SO visit Chiang Mai while you continue to relax on the beach and rendezvous again somewhere else! ;~))