We are visting Bangkok Landmark Hotel for five nights and Marriott Hua Hin for nine nights in August. We are a family of two adults and two children aged seven and three.

Any ideas of must sees whilst there with the kids and also any further info. on the Landmark/Marriott would be great.

Thanks

I can't really help ya on anyhting touristy. for the kids.. But here are som places that may be fun for the them.

Lumpini park.. has big playground and a lake with padle boats..

Emporium mall.. on last or second too last floor. it has an arcade and childrens play area.

Siam swim.. water amusment park.

Dream world amusment park.

dusit zoo.

inside discovery mall there are a couple of good toy stores...

Isitan dept store (world central mall). has one of the best toy department in town.. tons of new japanees toys. and in the mall you can go bowling, Ice skating, and/or catch a rated G movie.

MK restarounts.. the whole famaly. kids too. hand shred and dump all the suki ingredients into a bowling pot in midle of the table and make there own dinner.


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I'm just a kid at heart so I spend way too much time in some of these places..

the landmark is located right in the thick of everything both good and bad about bangkok...it is on sukhumvit rd which is one of the major roads in bkk...it is very convenient and the skytrain is near-by...i can't remember if there is a stop just at the hotel, but if not it is not far...
there is plenty of street market activity along sukhumvit so this is fun...taxis are plentiful 24 hours per day....they are cheap too...
i have not stayed there but have been in the lobby a couple of times....the american women's club of thailand used to hold semi-annual fairs there to sell thai merchandise, so we went there to buy and good buys they were!!!! they no longer do this i am told...

the hua hin marriott is fabulous...great for the kids...lovely pool and the widest section of beach in HH.. the food is a bit expensive at the hotel but it is very nice....make sure you try the La Mer Restaurant up on the hill down the beach above the hyatt hotel---take a taxi there, not a tuk tuk...there is a childrens program at the hotel....the children's play area, inside, is very near to the beach....there is a jungle jim out in back of the buildings to the left of the lobby for kids to play on and there is a children's pool adajacent to the main pool....there is a fabulous spa for mom also...
we thought the steak house was too formal and a bit over priced but it was a good meal...the iatlien restaurant hanging over the beach was great (make a reservation for the best table)...ed thompson, the head food guy is an american from texas...
we only ate breakfast in the inside/outside cafe...it was pricy and we choose most days to buy pastry in town ahead and eat quickly in our room...
stake out you seats early to get the best place at the pool...tip the pool boy extra the first day for better service....
you can walk to town in about 5-10 minutes...we did not find town too interesting, but there are lots of restaurants...the nite-market was boring...
a tuk tuk to town costs 50B as i remember

we got our cab to la mer from a street vendor in town...on one occasion he waited for us while we ate...

we had breakfast one morning on the main road on the way into town (eggs and bacon) and it was the only time we were sick the whole 30 day vacation...

there is an elephant camp up in the hills overlooking the town which the kids would like....you can feed the baby elepphant for a fee of course and see other elephant related things...

we rented a car from avis for a couple of days and drove around...there is not a lot to see....primarily i think you will hang around the hotel and relax..

ask any specific questions if you want and i will try to answer them...i will check back

Well Ory and Bob have told you most things, the Night Market (Wed to Sunday) at the Grand Plaza, other side of the road from the HH Marriott, short walk is far far better than the one actually in town, it is aimed at the local market so in addition to getting absolute bargain(Pineapple paper books/frames etc for around $1-2), cheap clothes, shoes, beautiful wood carving etc it is a great place to absord the atmosphere of a 'real' Thai local market. Food, interesting characters, and so so cheap! I send La Mer (1st gear hill so taxi essential), take the kids to Elephant ride on the hills overlooking the town. If you are up for an early start a 1 day trip to bang Saphan (2.5hrs by road south) takes you to a small island(Koh Talu) for snorkeling(gear provided) and they take you around rocky outcrops and stuff, good day trip. The kids will love the BKK malls, Lumpini Park, and Orgy is right, toys and stuff is amazing. There's a new Crocodile Place near Hua hin but we haven't been. If you take a 20 minute trip to Cha Am you can ride along the beach on 'tandem bikes' (adult and kid size), makes a change, go weekdays at quiet, w/ends packed.

Have been to both hotels. Both have great facilities. The Landmark is a minutes walk from the skytrain. We had a deluxe room and it was beautiful. A family of four could live in the bathroom! We did not eat in the hotel so I cannot comment on the food. There are many great restaurants around the hotel. One comment, if you take any organised tours find out where the last "pick up" is and if it is on the skytrain route. If it is, make your way there! Because of traffic problems we spent over an hour one time picking up from other hotels. The skytrain could have got us to the last hotel in 10 mins. A trip to the Grand Palace is a must, but make it as early morning as you can to avoid the worst of the heat. Make sure you go on the river taxis a few times- the kids will love that. You already have quite a lot of info on the Marriott. There isn't really a great deal to do in Hua Hin. The children will enjoy the pool though. It is a long drive to Hua Hin- about two and a half hours- there is usually one stop. Take plenty of water with you and snacks to keep them going!

Thanks very much for all your help. Seeing that you are all a hive of information, I know that orgy7 gave me info on one restaurant anybody got any other ideas to go to with the kids to eat please.

Thanks all again.

what kind of food are you looking for and what type of experience..

you have many fast food chains, burger king, mcdonalds. KFC. pizza hut. subway. and many others.
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jeez it too me this long too notice I typed bowling pot. oh well.. I an the king of spelling butchers.

In Hau Hin we tried the Bali Thai restaurant which was OK but our favourite was the Chao Lay (spelling?) which was on one of the jetties in town, we went there 4 times during our stay and loved it every time. We devoured plates of Tempura Prawns! We had teenagers with us and they did enjoy the markets in town for a walk around after dinner. We went to Kao Sam Roi Yod National Park for a day and an trip to Pa-Lao-U waterfall which our kids had a ball at, swimming with the fish, though probably not for a 6 year old. Have a great time - I am jealous!!!!

In Hua Hin, when dining outdoors near the water, I suggest that you have insect repellent available. Depending upon the breeze, the bugs can be hungry as well.

The Bali Thai in Hua Hin closed some time ago and moved to Patong Beach ( I had the pleasure of going to their new place in Phuket and it was packed, great!). Over the fishing pier the most popular is Chaoy Lay, it gets packed at weekends, walk a little further and you find the 'Windy Restaurant', food just as good but not so packed out. La Mer as said amazing.

Hello Bernice - if I were you, I would spend 2 weeks in Bognor!!