Of course it's differnt ! My point is that those ruins are preferable to another day in a sea of concrete, deluxe shopping malls and terrible traffic

As for "where to go in the North", it's easy to choose : Halong Bay, Tam Coc and Sapa/Bac Ha for the amazing Northern mountains, their minorities and weekly big markets, generally on Sunday morning.

Not much anyone can do about the traffic in Bangkok, Hanoi or anywhere other large Asian city, but if you are wandering around in a "sea of concrete, deluxe shopping malls" then just maybe you are visiting the wrong places?

Thanks for the discussion. Sukhothai would take more than a day. You can't fly there, see a few temples, and fly on all in a day. At least not with a slow walker in tow. So at least one overnight. Maybe two.

I will keep it in mind. If after our first stay we've had enough of Bangkok, we could substitute Sukhothai for the second stop in Bangkok. It might even be a good plan up front.

Does our "after KL" basic itinerary look like a good way to split our time? I'll figure out what to do in Hanoi & surrounds after we figure out how many days we will have.

If it were my trip ( and of course it is not) I would drop Luang Prabang and add the days either to Hanoi and the north of Vietnam or to Cambodia and include time in either Kampot or Battambang. For a "slow walker" Kampot is a little more laid back. The trains are now running between PP and Kampot which would make and interesting trip.

Including Luang Prabang or not, I think that In order to avoid entering Cambodia twice and to cut down on transit time, I would consider putting Hanoi at the start of the post KL trip.

If you do tire of Bangkok, Kanchanaburi ( of Bridge over the River Kwai fame) would make an easier and trip. Very different to Sukhothai which may seem pretty insignificant when compared to Angkor.

crellston,
At start of trip planning I assumed we would fly from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. That didn't work out. I have a few "no worse than" airline standards. And we need to travel with some extra medical supplies thanks to side effects of a spinal cord injury.

It turns out that our best way between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh is NOT a direct flight. Sometimes you bend the itinerary to meet your needs - or "my airline will meet XXX standards or I'm buying my ticket elsewhere...."

Sukhothai - does this work?
 

I took a look at how we could include Sukhothai. Best plan on paper - does it sound reasonable?
Ayutthaya - Sukhothai: Saturday or Sunday Train Ayutthaya-Phitsanulok. Mini-bus to Sukhothai. Sukthothai 2 or 3 nights (1 or 2 days).
Tuesday - Plane Sukothai-BKK-Phuket.

Does one or two days in Sukhothai? I'm guessing two days may be fine. If it's horribly hot we may take refuge in AC mid-day to escape the heat.

Is there a better way to arrange transport? I considered flying to Sukothai. Then read reports that trains between Ayutthaya and Bangkok are often late. Plus we have to get from train station to BKK airport. It sounds like taking the train may work just as well.

Two full days in Sukhothai should be enough. Bangkok Air used to fly into/out of Sukhothai several days a week.

Thanks for the feedback. It looks like Bangkok Air still flies 3 flights a day.

I would say 1 night + 1 day are OK. It is no huge Angkor and you can easily be back in Bangkok end of the day of visit. 2 days if you add the less tourity Sri Satchanali, which I liked a lot

Dawn Rooney has a guide to Sukhothai. Consult that to decide how much time you want in Sukhothai. In any case, one night is generally just that - one night. You need two nights in a place to yield one full day for sightseeing.

Kathie, Thanks for the Dawn Rooney guide suggestion. I'll try to find one.

I totally agree 2 nights means one full day. And 3 nights means 2 full days. I try to schedule as few one night stays as possible. It looks like we could plan 3 nights in Sukhothai, then fly from Sukhothai to Bangkok and on to Phuket.

Time to do some reading.