A year and a half of business and personal expenses on my skymiles amex and an early morning call into the Delta awards desk, yeilded 2 free business class tix into Bangkok on Korean Air, so our Thailand trip is off to a good start. We will have 10 full days on the ground in Mid November and were planning:
Bangkok 3 days/3 nights- may try a go with priceline for Marriot resort or Shangri La.
Siem Reap/Angkor - 2 nights - FCC
Krabi - 4 nights - Tubkaak resort sounds great although a little more than we wanted to spend.
This is what we are thinking although not necessarily in that order. Flying from Siem Reap to Krabi seems to only connect in the evening. The wife would like to spend as much time on the beach exploring the islands area as possible and since I got her to jet halfway round the world this seems like a reasonable compromise.
Staying at the Tubkaak would it be necessary to rent a car? Bangkok will be Saturday, Sunday & Monday; Are any of the obvious sites better to visit on certain days? Would 2 days/1 night in Siem Reap be worth it or should we have 2 nights on the ground in Cambodia?
Thank you to all the forum regulars as this site has been invaluable to planning our first taste/trip to asia. Any help or comments on this itinerary are greatly appreciated!

Sounds good! Bangkok Airways has I think 4-5 flights Siem Reap to Bangkok and then they have at ;east 12 flights from Bangkok to Samui so connections really shouldn't be a problem any time of day I would have thought.
How 'class' do you want your accommodation, I think Tubkaak is great but remember in Thailand you can get the chance of 'downgrading' to cheaper accommodation in the $50-60 region yet still get those basics of a/con etc.
Car Rental - Forget it! Just use a car and driver from your hotel, please don't rent a car, if you get any type of problem...well..enough said, I just wouldn't recommend renting at all.

The never-ending debate is about how much time to spend in Siem Reap. I think the consensus is that two nights is the bare minimum. Many people spend the bulk of a morning or afternoon just getting to and enjoying Angkor Wat. And that's just one of the major sites you'll want to see.

One way to look at it: if you enjoy seeing temples in various states of ruin and reconstruction, there is no chance that you will have a minute of dead time to kill if you spend two nights there.

A second way to look at it: Considering the normal hassle of transferring to and from Bangkok airport and negotiating the airport itself (not that it's any worse than any other major-city airport), most people can't justify the trip to Siem reap for only 1 night.

I think two nights in Siem Reap is a minimum. Remember that the "standard" stay to see the major temples is three days and the time it takes to see more of the outlying and "minor" temples is 6 days. Do your homework before you go - read Dawn Rooney's book "Angkor."

And listen to James, - no car rental. (You really don't rent cars in Asia - you hire a car and driver - much better for everyone!)

<i>(You really don't rent cars in Asia - you hire a car and driver - much better for everyone!)</i>

Except the people in the rental car business.

At minimum 2-nts, which should give you about a 1-1/2 days to see temples. Unless you can make the first flight from BKK to REP and return the first flight third morning REP/BKK, then you'd have 2-full days.

Of course, this isn't enough time to see everything, but you can get to see the major temples. Also, bear in mind that because of the extreme heat, most (not all) people break after morning touring for a few hours mid-day and then go out again about 3pm.

You can definitely push thru the entire days there, but be aware of the heat and humidity - it's brutal!

Atlanta in the summer can be quite intense 90 degrees plus 90 percent humidity is not at all uncommon. Is it that much hotter in SR in November? I think I will take the advice and do as much justice as I can with 2 nights on the ground in SR.

You're right that Siem Reap's weather typically is no worse in November than in Atlanta during the summer. http://www.worldweather.org/145/c00347f.htm#wxforecast

I think the wear and tear perceived while wandering all day through temples in such weather is at least psychologically different, if not truly different otherwise, than we perceive at home in similar weather conditions.

I was there in March when the average high is 94 degrees. I never checked the temperature but it sure felt like it was that hot. Though I've been in weather like that before, I don't remember being outside in it all day long. And I sure don't remember ever being burned through my tee shirt, as happened at Siem Reap. Go figure.

I'm confident that when you return from your trip and look back on your decision to stay two nights rather than one, you'll consider it a good one.

I stayed three nights, saw all the major sites, and determined at the time that rather than return for a second visit, other places in the world I haven't seen are more compelling. Now that I've been home a month and have perused my favorite guide book of Angkor, I wonder if a return trip to spend time at the minor sites isn't the right decision for me. Man oh man, isn't travelling great?!

Mike Buckley