Thailand Itinerary -- suggestions?
 

We are planning on spending our honeymoon in Thaialnd and have made the following itinerary:

2 and 1/2 days in Bangkok: Peninsula Hotel
3 days Chiang Mai: Tamarind Village
4 days Phuket: Chedi
2 days Ko Samui: Tong Sai Bay (grand villa)

Does anyone have suggestions of "must see"/ "must go" places. I'm not really referring to the sites, but more to the local scene -- restaurants, clubs, bars, etc. . .? Or other things to do other then visiting the requisite tourist sites, for example, cooking schools, great massages, elephant tours, boat cruises, etc . . .?

You might choose to modify your beach portions depending on when you're going. There are different rainy seasons to take into consideration.

As an offbeat suggestion, in BKK visit Wat Prayoon, in Thonburi across the Memorial Bridge from the flower market. Not a single tourist when we were there in November. If you go, take time to pay 20 baht at the booth and feed the turtles.

While in Bkk go to Bed Supperclub for a meal. It is pricey (approx 2000 baht including wine) but very diff and has even got a write up in Time Asia. Sure u plan to get a Thai massage - u can go to Wat Pho (in which case def go to the a/c room), call a Wat Pho masseuse to your hotel, use your hotel spa (exp) or go to one of the independent spas. I would reco Ruen Nuad in Silom. Lots of options on cooking classes depending on your budget - most exp is Oriental Hotel at US$120. Pl advise budgets and will revert.

You are doing a lot of moving around. You'll lose a day of relaxation each time you change locations. You may want to consolidate your beach time in one place so you can have some time to enjoy.

To the person who recommended the Bed Supperclub, while our budget is not completely limitless, it is our honeymoon and we are in a bit of a mood to splurge. Also, given the exchange rate (we are from the US), dinner for 2000 baht (about $50 USD) is not unreasonable. Let me know if you any other suggestions.

bkk eating: some upscale places to consider: normandie at the oriental/french and very expensive..top floor of the hotel
jesters in the peninsula/ asian fusion..very NOW..delicious... great view of river
biscotti in the regent/four seasons...italien modern...very very good...$50-60....

any of these would meet your expectations....might need a jacket (men) for the nromandie, but not for the others...


lord jim in the oriental, esp. for the lunch buffet....

Go to the website chicasia.com. It has mini reviews for a number of Bkk restaurants including Bed and some of the ones suggested by Bob. Go to the site www.luxecityguides.com and see if u are interested in ordering a Luxe Guide for Bkk. I have one and find it very useful.

Hi

I agree with Kathie. If you move around to much then you won't be able to relax. I would go for more days in Bangkok and more days at Samui and maybe skip Phuket. Bangkok is a great city that has lots to offer when it comes to sightseeing, food, shopping etc. If you want a nice place to have dinner or a drink I can recommend Vertigo on top of the Banyan Tree building in Bangkok. You have a great view at the top of this building :-) I have posted my experiences from trips to Thailand on my personal homepage www.gardkarlsen.com :-) Maybe you can find some useful information there. Have a great trip.

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

why not just check out www.whatonwhen.com durring your time in thailand and see if there are any special events going on at the time.

also check out http://www.bangkokgigguide.com/

sorry cant help with the honeymoon part, my suggestions would be taking a dinner cruise up the chao praya river. then going too lumpini too see two men kick and punch the heck out of eachother..