Thailand (March) Itinerary: Comments, recommendations, anyone else traveling?
 

First of all, I want to thank all of you on this site who have posted, answered and emailed me with information for this trip. I have found this forum so informative and honest (not to mention addicting). I am going to be so bummed when my trip is over and I won’t have a reason to scour this forum everyday for travel tips. It was planned in a last minute sort of way (since I only decided to do this trip about a month ago if not less), so I want to make sure I am not missing anything for this trip. Any comments or further recommendations would be greatly appreciated, especially restaurants. Or if you’ll be in the same cities, I would love to meet up with fellow fodorites. I love meeting new people young and old, so please contact me if you’ll be traveling at the same time. I leave on Tuesday! So exciting!

Some background info: I am traveling with one of my best friends and coworkers, so we’re two females in our late twenties who live in Los Angeles, CA. This is the first trip to Asia for both of us. We like being active and doing outdoor stuff, but we appreciate a lazy day of nothing but sleeping on a beach. We have tried to incorporate both in this trip, and we (or at least I) can survive on very little sleep – it’s hereditary, no pills here. So any trips or places you think we might like or things we might want to skip, let me know! I love feedback and recommendations. Thanks again to everyone! –Michelle

So here goes….


March 14 – Leave LAX to Narita on UA-you gotta love FF miles
March 15 – Narita to BKK on UA
March 16 – AM flight BKK to Chiang Mai on Thai (Tamarind Village)
Rest from jet lag and maybe a night market stroll
March 17-18 - Doi Inthanon overnight trek (Pom from Chiangmaitic)
March 19 – Hill tribe day trek and weekend market
Any restaurant recommendations?

March 20 – AM Flight from Chiang Mai to BKK (Peninsula Hotel 1 night)
Klong tour, Wat Arun, Royal Barges, shopping
March 21 – (Switch to Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel for 2 nights – using points)
Flower market, Wat Pho, Reclining Buddha, Grand Palace, Emerald Buddha, Vimanmek and Jim Thomson through Tan’s friend (who was recommended on this site)
March 22 – Floating market and Wat Trimit, possibly Chinatown
Any thoughts on when I should eat at Bed or Face?

March 23 – AM flight BKK to Koh Sumai on Bangkok Airways. Boat to Koh Tao. (Haven’t picked a hotel yet- help?)
Dive dive dive!! Lay on beach, hike, snorkel.
March 24-26 - Dive Dive Dive!

March 27 - Boat from Koh Tao to Koh Samui, PM flight to Phuket on Bangkok Airways. (JW Marriott Phuket 4 nights – points come in handy again)
March 28-30 – Hang out around hotel. Possible trips to town/Krabi/Phi Phi. Rockcliming?
March 31-April 1 – John Gray canoe overnight trip?
April 1 – Head to Khao Lak (Merlin Resort)
April 2 – Trip to Similan Islands

April 3 – Leave HKT for BKK to Tokyo/Narita on Thai
21 hour overnight layover – head to Tokyo
April 4 – ½ Day sightseeing in Tokyo before heading to catch PM flight to LAX on UA

Sounds like a wonderfull plan,,Check however your itinerary for the 2nd day in Bangkok as the reclining Buddha is in Wat Po and the Emerald Buddha is in the GP. These are not seperate sites.

Your trip sounds great!

A restaurant recommendation in Chiang Mai. Try Dalaabaa. It's in a house. Great ambiance, great Thai food. Only drawback is the ONE restroom in the place is both his and hers (but the door locks). We had a great meal here in January of this year.

We also like to eat at Nuan Nual (sp) ... it is pronounced nong new-on... which is a riverside fish place. You can eat outside and enjoy the Ping River view. It's not at all touristy, but the local Thais love to eat here.

The Good View is also good for fish and seafood served Thai style, but I did not enjoy the loud music played by the band. As younger gals, you might like this though. Reservations a good idea (same with Dalaabaa).

Carol

We didn't get to go, but we also heard that Dalaabaa (Chiang Mai) is great from a Belgian couple we ran into.

Thanks for the restaurant suggestions. Any recommendations for Phuket?

Hello fellow, Angeleno. Happy Travels!

We spent two weeks (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket at the JW Marriott) this January. Comments:
Chiang Mai restaurants - we enjoyed the Antique House and the Riverside.
Bangkok itinerary: your day 2 is very ambitious - in the heat, don't be surprised if you don't get as much done as you plan, But don't miss the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha.
We ate at Bed - certainly a different experience that we were glad we did, though the food was nothing special. Best to go on a Friday or Saturday night.
Marriott Phuket - maybe the nicest resort I've ever stayed at, but very isolated. There are a few family run restaurants down the beach from the resort, a long walk, that have good inexpensive Thai food. Otherwise, it's a 45 minute taxi to Phuket Town or the larger beach towns. The food at the resort was great, especially the Italian restaurant. The prices were cheaper than what you would pay at a US fancy hotel, but expensive for Thailand. We did a few excursions that we booked at the hotel - the Similan islands were great (absolutely fabulous snorkeling - I wish I had sone the dive trip as well) and a trip to "James Bond Island" in Phangma (?sp) Bay was great. My wife took a Thai cooking class that she raved about - it included a trip to a local market. I would not recommend FantaSea - lousy food, junky shops, though the show was good if you like Las Vegas extravaganza's.

Restaurant suggestions for Phuket:

Both are in the Kata Beach area... on the southwest corner area of the island

Mom Tri's Boathouse Grill, wonderful food, attractive presentation, fantastic wine list. One of the best on Phuket!

Mom Tri's Kitchen, located at the Villa Royale property overlooking Kata Noi beach. Again, very nice place, a bit smaller than the grill, still a fabulous wine list and fresh tasty food. If I recall correctly, there is more fist on the menu here than at the grill. I love the ambiance here. Reservations necessary... even in "low season" this small place gets filled up.