Suggestions for Thailand trip please!
 

Hello, all. I've now booked our flights to BKK (great deal from London with THAI). We've got 12 nights in May/June and hoping to do the following:

5 nights Anantara Golden Triangle
3 nights Bangkok Shangri La
4 nights Four Seasons Chiang Mai

The plan really is to look at lovely scenery, eat well and cheaply where possible (but obviously not at FSCM!) and rest. So my questions are:

1. Golden Triangle: Are there any really recommended tours?

2. GT: Is the Imperial GT resort near the Anantara and is it worth eating there one night?

3. BKK: Been there before and went to Damnoen Saduak, River Kwai and Grand palace. What should we do with our two full days this time? We are there over a weekend so is Chatuchak Weekend market worth it? Is Ayuthaya worth it or should I wait for "next time"? I'd liketo have a good wander around Bangkok this time really as we were pretty "toured out" last time.

4. Best Thai restaurant in BKK (any price)?

5. BKK: Is Salathip at the Shangri la worth a visit or does Sala Rim Naam really beat it?

6. Chiang Mai: Again, food orientated - best Thai restuarant in CM?

7. We like really hot hot spicy food. How do we persuade the hotel restaurants not to "westernise" the food?

Looking forward to your responses!

It sounds like a wonderful trip.

You'll love the Anantara at the Golden Triangle. It's a beautiful hotel and a beautiful setting. They have a great cooking school, so if you are interested, do at least one cooking class. I think it's worth getting a car and driver one day while in the Golden Triangle. You'll want to see Doi Tung, the Queen Mother's estate and hill tribes project. Depending on your interests, you may want to visit wats and ruins in the surrounding area. There is an interesting museum in Chiang Sean. Do visit the Opium Museum across the road from the entrance of the Anantara. There is plenty to do at the Anantara, the spa is wonderful, there is a lovely pool, and there is an elephant conservation camp on the grounds. Don't spend too much time away from the resort!

Please post a report on the Four Seasons Chiang Mai, we are staying there in November. I had the Four Seasons email me all their food menus, spa menus, etc. if you want a copy email me at [email protected] Prices don't look to crazy but are a bit high.

For bangkok-- go to Jim Thompson House, Vianamek Mansion, Prasart Museum. Ayuthya if you are interested in ruins. I'd skip the weekend market especially since you are there when it is even hotter than usual.

Sala Rim has two options -- one is the very touristy dinner with dancing. The other option is ala carte outside. I would say neither is the best thai food in town but the food is definitely better in the ala carte version.

However, there are a couple of fabulous but NOT Thai restaurants in the Oriental -- Lord Jim for fabulous seafood, China House for wonderful Chinese -- try the Peking Duck and Normadie for a "perfect" experience. I would also definitely try the Bed Supper Club for terrific food and a wonderful experience.

As for Chiang Mai -- there are a lot of good restaurants but I have not yet had a "great" meal there. And remember, the Four Seasons is a good 45-minute drive to the heart of Chiang Mai.

Sounds like a wonderful trip.

Hi CAJ, I have not been to the Golden Triangle, but after looking at this website, I will be. I think this is a fabulous way to see it. Check it out. www.homestaytravelchiangrai.com
You can't go wrong staying with a local, (personal tour guide) who loves to share his country and his home with travellers. You will save a lot of money too.

If you stay with him, could you tell him that Tina-Perth from Virtual Tourist sent you, then he can reply to me about how your stay went. Actually, we will be back in Thailand around the same time as you.

My advice on non-Westernised food (I hate it too) is eat at small restaurants with few foreigners in it. The best Thai food we've ever eaten is at tiny kitchens that don't look really great. They are also incredibly cheap.

Just came back from Thailand and stayed at the Four Seasons in Chiang Mai. It truly was a wonderful place. It was far from the city but if you are looking for a relaxing place in Chiang Mai, this is the place to be. They have regular shuttles to the city so it wasn't so bad. The Thai food at the hotel was excellent. We also had dinner at The Gallery. The view and ambience was great but the taste of the food was a bit disappointing.Other people might be able to recommend a different riverside restaurant. The shops near the Gallery restaurant had beautiful things. Try to make time to check out these shops they have things you won't find in the night market.
If you are going to the elephant/rafting tour from the hotel, avail of the packed lunch that they offer during the rafting trip. We really enjoyed this part. They lay out a mat on the raft and you have your picnic basket with your meal complete with cloth napkins,plates, glasses, untensils etc. It was relaxing eating on the raft while enjoying the view and listening to the sound of the water as you drift by. It also saved us time by eating and rafting at the same time. This enabled us to return to the hotel early to be able to relax in our "sala" and squeeze in a spa treatment before dinner. Enjoy your trip!

Sounds like a wonderful trip. For a restaurant in Chiang Mai we loved the Grand Lanna, which is on San Kampaeng Rd just outside of Chiang Mai. It is now part of the Mandarin Oriental. The design and decor are stunning indoors and out, and we thought the food was delicious. It was actually one of our favorite restaurants in Thailand.

Agree with Gloria's suggestion to visit Vinmanmek Palace in BKK, and also suggest you try to get there at 10:30 a.m. for the Thai dancing in one of the outdoor pavilions.

anantara...there are no restaurants close by really...we ate one nite at the thai kitchen on the way to ching saen...it was ok and very local... did not really see other restaurants...unless you have a car, plan to stay in at nite...the italian restaurant is quite good at the hotel as is the regular restaurant...

take a cooking class they are a blast..


bangkok restaurants: thai

harmonique is very near shargri-la: soi 34 or 36 new road, next to general post office...

tongue thai opposite oriental place

gallery cafe, near sheraton

the salitip is very good..

the newish thai al fresco restaurant at the peninsula is very nice with set dinners for 2

i did not like sala rim and the food is only so so....the show is boring..

baan khanitha, soi 23 sukhumvit road is excellent in a lovely setting

thai lunch on 5th floor of hyatt hotel is good so i am told

bkk sightseeing: v-mark teak palace, suan packard palace...jim thompson house is fabulous and if you haven't been there recently some changes have been made....shopping of course..i find the weekend market a waste of time except for the experience...you might try the nite market instead---7-9PM is the best time i guess...lots of good eating, especially harmonique...

dim sum lunch daily on 3rd floor of the conrad hotel is excellent...

Thanks for all your help so far. What about the Imperial Golden Triangle - is it worth going to for a change (don't really want to eat every night in the Anantara)? And how do we try to make sure that the restaurants do not westernise the food? Is there an (easy) Thai phrase to learn?

At restaurants, just tell them you want your food "hot" or "spicy." They will know what you mean. I've really never had a problem with that.

The food at the Anantara is excellent. They have a wide range of Thai foods, including Lanna (No. Thai)specialities. Between that and the Italian restaurant, I don't think you'll be bored.

its not all that easy to just go elsewhare to eat....distances are significant and it is expensive to get there as there is no readily available transportation and you cannot really walk, esp. at nite...

we looked at the imperial but did not eat there...

We also looked at the Imperial and it did not look appetising to me!