My Bangkok,Siem Riep,Golden Triangle, Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara Trip Report
May 28th, 2006, 01:10 PM
#45
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Golden Triangle:
Sorry it took so long for this part:
We arrived in Chiang Rai from bkk on a Thai Air flt. I was glad we took Kathie’s advice and booked business class seats on the r/t Bangkok to Chiang Rai flights. The price difference was minimal and entitled us to a few perks (meal, free internet access in airport lounge with free snacks and drinks, etc.).
We were greeted by our limo driver sent by The Anantara Resort which was the place that we stayed for three nights. He stowed our luggage in the trunk and we were off to the hotel which is about a one hour drive away. The scenery was beautiful along the way with some spots reminding me of the drive along the North Shore of Oahu. The Anantara is a beautiful 5 star boutique hotel and resort property situated in the right where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand intersect on the Mekong River.
Check in was painless and quick as we had reserved the Spa Romance Package that I had seen on the Anantara website. It is still available until 10-31-06. I noticed that the package has changed since we booked there. Our package included round trip to and from the airport, 1 free dinner complete with a bottle of wine at any of their restaurants, free breakfast daily, free 4 hour spa session for 2, 2 free Opium Museum tickets for US 325.00 per day. It was a great deal and we think worth it.
There is a lot to do at the Anantara or you can simply relax and do nothing. We did a little of both. I won’t describe the grounds as they have been reported by a few Fodorites before me. We did have a beautiful room overlooking the pool with a view of both rivers and the casino on the Myanmar side of the border that kinds of blows the whole atmosphere of the place.
The Anantara has an elephant program which is better explained on their website;
http://www.anantara.com/
In the three days we were there we took a two hour ele ride thru the fields, forests and down to the river.
Rode an water buffalo cart
Hired a driver and guide for a day and visited Myanmar (Tchilick)sp
Visited Mae Sai, where we bought jewelry
Visited the Karen tribe along with visiting a Shan village and bought some interesting woven kalagas(sp)
Took a long tail boat over to Laos and shopped at a funky little village (
Dao Sao)sp . where they sell lots tourist junk.
The dinner that came with the Romance Package was nicely done as we picked the Italian restaurant (of course) for our dinner and was surprised to find our reserved table was covered with flowers and candles and set up beautifully with our bottle of wine that we ordered chilled in a bucket waiting for us when we arrived. Checking the website I see that they are now having a set menu for this package but when we reserved the package it included anything on the menu, which was great for us
.
The spa part of the deal has also changed as we were allotted a four hour package each as compared to what they are now offering. I guess it got a little too much for them to bear .
All in all I am glad that we went to the Anantara as we had a peaceful yet eye-opening experience in northern Thailand. We plan on returning for a visit in the near future.
Aloha!
Sorry it took so long for this part:
We arrived in Chiang Rai from bkk on a Thai Air flt. I was glad we took Kathie’s advice and booked business class seats on the r/t Bangkok to Chiang Rai flights. The price difference was minimal and entitled us to a few perks (meal, free internet access in airport lounge with free snacks and drinks, etc.).
We were greeted by our limo driver sent by The Anantara Resort which was the place that we stayed for three nights. He stowed our luggage in the trunk and we were off to the hotel which is about a one hour drive away. The scenery was beautiful along the way with some spots reminding me of the drive along the North Shore of Oahu. The Anantara is a beautiful 5 star boutique hotel and resort property situated in the right where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand intersect on the Mekong River.
Check in was painless and quick as we had reserved the Spa Romance Package that I had seen on the Anantara website. It is still available until 10-31-06. I noticed that the package has changed since we booked there. Our package included round trip to and from the airport, 1 free dinner complete with a bottle of wine at any of their restaurants, free breakfast daily, free 4 hour spa session for 2, 2 free Opium Museum tickets for US 325.00 per day. It was a great deal and we think worth it.
There is a lot to do at the Anantara or you can simply relax and do nothing. We did a little of both. I won’t describe the grounds as they have been reported by a few Fodorites before me. We did have a beautiful room overlooking the pool with a view of both rivers and the casino on the Myanmar side of the border that kinds of blows the whole atmosphere of the place.
The Anantara has an elephant program which is better explained on their website;
http://www.anantara.com/
In the three days we were there we took a two hour ele ride thru the fields, forests and down to the river.
Rode an water buffalo cart
Hired a driver and guide for a day and visited Myanmar (Tchilick)sp
Visited Mae Sai, where we bought jewelry
Visited the Karen tribe along with visiting a Shan village and bought some interesting woven kalagas(sp)
Took a long tail boat over to Laos and shopped at a funky little village (
Dao Sao)sp . where they sell lots tourist junk.
The dinner that came with the Romance Package was nicely done as we picked the Italian restaurant (of course) for our dinner and was surprised to find our reserved table was covered with flowers and candles and set up beautifully with our bottle of wine that we ordered chilled in a bucket waiting for us when we arrived. Checking the website I see that they are now having a set menu for this package but when we reserved the package it included anything on the menu, which was great for us
.The spa part of the deal has also changed as we were allotted a four hour package each as compared to what they are now offering. I guess it got a little too much for them to bear .
All in all I am glad that we went to the Anantara as we had a peaceful yet eye-opening experience in northern Thailand. We plan on returning for a visit in the near future.
Aloha!
Jul 27th, 2006, 01:29 PM
#52
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We hired a very good guide thru the front desk....her name was Sandy(short for a very long thai first name). I would highly recommend her. She lives in Mae Sai and works in the Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai area. She is very knowledgable about the hilltribes of the region as she has grown up there and is just a nice, caring guide.
I have lost her business card so if you do get her please post her info here for me. Ask for her, everyone there at the Anantara tour dest(front desk) knows her.
Sandy has a very good command of the English language with a thai accent.
We also took one of their tours offered on their site (three modes of transportation)and then the next day we just hired the guide(Sandy) and driver(Tom) and basically did what we wanted to do. Lots more freedom.
Aloha!
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