Thailand Trip Report - Our Honeymoon
Nov 19th, 2006, 02:57 AM
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Thailand Trip Report - Our Honeymoon
We just returned back from our honeymoon in Thailand. We are very grateful for your assistance in planning our trip. It was so spectacular that we did not want to come home! For reference, we are a 29 y/o couple, and this was our first time to Thailand.
LAX – BKK on Thai Airways TG795
We arrived at LAX roughly 2 ½ hours before our scheduled 10:30pm flight. The international terminal was crazy. There were hundreds or thousands of people looking around in one big pool of disorganization. There was a lot of confusion regarding where to check your bags and where to check in. For some reason, LAX has the policy of x-raying your bags before you check-in for international flights which is the opposite of every other airport I have ever experienced.
When we finally made it up to the gate agents to check in, they asked us for the credit card we used to book the flight. I informed them that the credit card that I had used had been lost some time ago, and provided them with the replacement card. I had booked the flights about 12 months in advance, so I didn’t think this would be an issue, especially since we had a million other forms of identification, but apparently it was. The agent had to call in her manager who informed me that without the old credit card, or at least the old credit card #, we would not be able to fly. The manager was quite rude, and offered no assistance in finding an alternate solution. Fortunately, I have a strange ability to remember numbers, so after concentrating for awhile, I was able to provide them with the old credit card number.
At this point we also requested the upgrade to premium economy (PE) for $199. We had to pay in cash since their credit card processing systems weren’t working – their systems belong in a museum, not in a modern day airport! We were assigned the bulkhead in PE.
The flight was pretty good overall. The meals and flight attendants were much better than what we’ve come to expect from our domestic airlines. Premium economy was ok, but I walked back to regular economy and could not tell much of a difference in overall comfort and space. In fact, I noticed that the regular economy bulkhead seats had much more leg room than those in PE. At this point I decided to book bulkhead seats in regular economy for the return trip home, which I ultimately found more comfortable than PE, more on that later.
Bangkok – Day 1
After landing in the early AM, we met the AAC limo representative after clearing customs. He quickly summoned our car (E-Class Mercedes) which arrived minutes later. The driver was professional and 45 minutes later we were pulling up to the Oriental.
We were greeted by a swarm of polite staff at the Oriental, and quickly taken to the front desk, and then our room to complete the check-in process. We were given orchid flowers to wear as bracelets. The room (Deluxe) itself was small, but very well appointed. The soaking tub was a nice size, and we really enjoyed being able to summon a butler by the touch of a button which we used a few times. They provided fruit on a daily basis. The Oriental really shines in terms of service. Every where you went there was an army of staff, ready to tend to your needs. Most of the time, we did not even need to press the elevator button for our floor, they would do it for us. They really make you feel like royalty during your stay.
We had planned to take it easy on our first day so we went across the river to check out the Peninsula. The Penn was very nice though Erica and I were divided on it. It felt like more my type of hotel – rich, upscale, and modern. Erica felt it was a bit cold and less welcoming, especially when compared to the Oriental.
Next we went to check email at Jimmy’s which is a few blocks away from the Oriental. We visited Jimmy’s a few times and found Jimmy’s to be a convenient and affordable place to check your email and grab a quick bite to eat.
We then returned to the hotel in time for our massage appointment that we had scheduled with the masseuses from Wat Pho. Unfortunately there was a note from the Oriental indicating that they do not allow outside masseuses in to the hotel and recommended that we use the hotel’s spa services. Unfortunately their spa prices were roughly 10x the price of the outside services so we declined.
Next, we had lunch at the Blue Elephant which was very good, and had a reasonably priced lunch special. It’s a very nice restaurant, so we would definitely recommend it for a nice lunch or dinner. They also offer cooking lessons.
After returning to the Oriental, we asked for tailor recommendations. They recommended Chinese Tailors near Siam Square. 30 minutes later the tailor’s van was there to pick us up. Erica ordered two suits and I ordered one. We both ordered 5 shirts. Overall, the level of service at the Chinese Tailors was pretty good, though they did try to up-sell us quite a bit and they could have been more thorough in explaining our style options. We returned for a second fitting a few days later, and the final items were delivered on our last day in Bangkok. Overall I think the work was pretty good, but it wasn’t cheap. I think we paid around $900 for the three suits and ten shirts.
That night we had dinner at Tongue Thai. It was ok but not that great. After dinner we returned to the Oriental to have a few drinks on the river (Expensive!). The river is really nice at night.
Bangkok – Day 2
Our package did not include breakfast buffet but we decided to try it nonetheless. We were a bit surprised by the price (950 baht/person = $27USD). It was good, but it was no better than any of the other hotels that we stayed at in Thailand, and was more than twice the price. Pricing, was one of our few disappointments with the Oriental. Although we had a great rate on the room, we found all of its optional offerings to be ridiculously expensive by Thailand standards. One other small disappointment was its main pool. Though there was noting wrong with it per se, it was a bit plain for a hotel of the Oriental’s stature.
After breakfast we met up with Tong to begin our one day sightseeing tour of BKK. She picked us up in her new Toyota Wish. She is very fun with a great personality. You can tell that she is knowledgeable and enjoys teaching others about her culture. We visited the Grand Palace, Emerald Buddha, Reclining Buddha, Wat Pho, Jim Thompson House, and did the Khlong tour. She also took us to a tasty restaurant for lunch that was incredibly cheap. She always had cold water and UV umbrellas to help us cope with the heat. One note on the Jim Thompson house - We felt it was very nice, but after seeing the palace and other sites first, we were a bit underwhelmed. After the JT house, Tong dropped us off at the Oriental and we took a nap.
A few hours later we woke up to make it to Bed Supperclub for our 9pm reservation. Bed was nice, and the food was good, but I am not sure I could recommend it. At the price we paid (1250 baht/person + drinks) we could have had much better experiences elsewhere. After dinner we stopped by Bed’s club next door and it was packed, barely room to stand.
We jumped in a Tuk Tuk to Patpong. It was everything that we had heard about. Noisy, colorful, and eye opening. It was a decent experience, but next time I’d like to have a shirt that says “No, we don’t want to see a ping-pong show” – the touts were way too obnoxious and aggressive.
Bangkok - Day 3
We went to breakfast at Jimmy’s and checked our email. Next we went back to the Chinese Tailor for our second fitting. After the fitting we went to MBK for lunch. We had heard that the food court was a good lunch spot. Apparently there is more than one food court at MBK. We ate at one where there was about 8-10 restaurants and you get a pre-loaded card to scan at each place where you want food from. After eating we came across another food court that was a lot bigger and had many more food stalls. We assumed that this was probably the food court that everyone had been talking about. Maybe next time we’ll get a chance to try it…..
That night we did the Oriental’s dinner cruise. The staff was great, and it was a pretty intimate setting, with only seven or eight tables on the boat. The meal was quite good. Overall I would give the cruise an 8.5 out of 10.
After the dinner cruise we headed over to the State Tower Building for drinks on the roof. The view from the top was amazing and the service was good, though the drinks were a bit pricey for Thailand ~$8USD.
Next….. Bangkok to Chiang Rai
LAX – BKK on Thai Airways TG795
We arrived at LAX roughly 2 ½ hours before our scheduled 10:30pm flight. The international terminal was crazy. There were hundreds or thousands of people looking around in one big pool of disorganization. There was a lot of confusion regarding where to check your bags and where to check in. For some reason, LAX has the policy of x-raying your bags before you check-in for international flights which is the opposite of every other airport I have ever experienced.
When we finally made it up to the gate agents to check in, they asked us for the credit card we used to book the flight. I informed them that the credit card that I had used had been lost some time ago, and provided them with the replacement card. I had booked the flights about 12 months in advance, so I didn’t think this would be an issue, especially since we had a million other forms of identification, but apparently it was. The agent had to call in her manager who informed me that without the old credit card, or at least the old credit card #, we would not be able to fly. The manager was quite rude, and offered no assistance in finding an alternate solution. Fortunately, I have a strange ability to remember numbers, so after concentrating for awhile, I was able to provide them with the old credit card number.
At this point we also requested the upgrade to premium economy (PE) for $199. We had to pay in cash since their credit card processing systems weren’t working – their systems belong in a museum, not in a modern day airport! We were assigned the bulkhead in PE.
The flight was pretty good overall. The meals and flight attendants were much better than what we’ve come to expect from our domestic airlines. Premium economy was ok, but I walked back to regular economy and could not tell much of a difference in overall comfort and space. In fact, I noticed that the regular economy bulkhead seats had much more leg room than those in PE. At this point I decided to book bulkhead seats in regular economy for the return trip home, which I ultimately found more comfortable than PE, more on that later.
Bangkok – Day 1
After landing in the early AM, we met the AAC limo representative after clearing customs. He quickly summoned our car (E-Class Mercedes) which arrived minutes later. The driver was professional and 45 minutes later we were pulling up to the Oriental.
We were greeted by a swarm of polite staff at the Oriental, and quickly taken to the front desk, and then our room to complete the check-in process. We were given orchid flowers to wear as bracelets. The room (Deluxe) itself was small, but very well appointed. The soaking tub was a nice size, and we really enjoyed being able to summon a butler by the touch of a button which we used a few times. They provided fruit on a daily basis. The Oriental really shines in terms of service. Every where you went there was an army of staff, ready to tend to your needs. Most of the time, we did not even need to press the elevator button for our floor, they would do it for us. They really make you feel like royalty during your stay.
We had planned to take it easy on our first day so we went across the river to check out the Peninsula. The Penn was very nice though Erica and I were divided on it. It felt like more my type of hotel – rich, upscale, and modern. Erica felt it was a bit cold and less welcoming, especially when compared to the Oriental.
Next we went to check email at Jimmy’s which is a few blocks away from the Oriental. We visited Jimmy’s a few times and found Jimmy’s to be a convenient and affordable place to check your email and grab a quick bite to eat.
We then returned to the hotel in time for our massage appointment that we had scheduled with the masseuses from Wat Pho. Unfortunately there was a note from the Oriental indicating that they do not allow outside masseuses in to the hotel and recommended that we use the hotel’s spa services. Unfortunately their spa prices were roughly 10x the price of the outside services so we declined.
Next, we had lunch at the Blue Elephant which was very good, and had a reasonably priced lunch special. It’s a very nice restaurant, so we would definitely recommend it for a nice lunch or dinner. They also offer cooking lessons.
After returning to the Oriental, we asked for tailor recommendations. They recommended Chinese Tailors near Siam Square. 30 minutes later the tailor’s van was there to pick us up. Erica ordered two suits and I ordered one. We both ordered 5 shirts. Overall, the level of service at the Chinese Tailors was pretty good, though they did try to up-sell us quite a bit and they could have been more thorough in explaining our style options. We returned for a second fitting a few days later, and the final items were delivered on our last day in Bangkok. Overall I think the work was pretty good, but it wasn’t cheap. I think we paid around $900 for the three suits and ten shirts.
That night we had dinner at Tongue Thai. It was ok but not that great. After dinner we returned to the Oriental to have a few drinks on the river (Expensive!). The river is really nice at night.
Bangkok – Day 2
Our package did not include breakfast buffet but we decided to try it nonetheless. We were a bit surprised by the price (950 baht/person = $27USD). It was good, but it was no better than any of the other hotels that we stayed at in Thailand, and was more than twice the price. Pricing, was one of our few disappointments with the Oriental. Although we had a great rate on the room, we found all of its optional offerings to be ridiculously expensive by Thailand standards. One other small disappointment was its main pool. Though there was noting wrong with it per se, it was a bit plain for a hotel of the Oriental’s stature.
After breakfast we met up with Tong to begin our one day sightseeing tour of BKK. She picked us up in her new Toyota Wish. She is very fun with a great personality. You can tell that she is knowledgeable and enjoys teaching others about her culture. We visited the Grand Palace, Emerald Buddha, Reclining Buddha, Wat Pho, Jim Thompson House, and did the Khlong tour. She also took us to a tasty restaurant for lunch that was incredibly cheap. She always had cold water and UV umbrellas to help us cope with the heat. One note on the Jim Thompson house - We felt it was very nice, but after seeing the palace and other sites first, we were a bit underwhelmed. After the JT house, Tong dropped us off at the Oriental and we took a nap.
A few hours later we woke up to make it to Bed Supperclub for our 9pm reservation. Bed was nice, and the food was good, but I am not sure I could recommend it. At the price we paid (1250 baht/person + drinks) we could have had much better experiences elsewhere. After dinner we stopped by Bed’s club next door and it was packed, barely room to stand.
We jumped in a Tuk Tuk to Patpong. It was everything that we had heard about. Noisy, colorful, and eye opening. It was a decent experience, but next time I’d like to have a shirt that says “No, we don’t want to see a ping-pong show” – the touts were way too obnoxious and aggressive.
Bangkok - Day 3
We went to breakfast at Jimmy’s and checked our email. Next we went back to the Chinese Tailor for our second fitting. After the fitting we went to MBK for lunch. We had heard that the food court was a good lunch spot. Apparently there is more than one food court at MBK. We ate at one where there was about 8-10 restaurants and you get a pre-loaded card to scan at each place where you want food from. After eating we came across another food court that was a lot bigger and had many more food stalls. We assumed that this was probably the food court that everyone had been talking about. Maybe next time we’ll get a chance to try it…..
That night we did the Oriental’s dinner cruise. The staff was great, and it was a pretty intimate setting, with only seven or eight tables on the boat. The meal was quite good. Overall I would give the cruise an 8.5 out of 10.
After the dinner cruise we headed over to the State Tower Building for drinks on the roof. The view from the top was amazing and the service was good, though the drinks were a bit pricey for Thailand ~$8USD.
Next….. Bangkok to Chiang Rai
Nov 19th, 2006, 04:16 AM
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Obviously on a honeymoon you want everything just right but for a place as cheap as Bangkok, you had a rather expensive stay. If a future visit, maybe something like the centrally located Baiyoke Suite hotel which has a free buffet breakfast on the 46th floor, with a great view over all of the city. Prices start from $26 a night for a large double or twin room (available till Oct 07), which is less than you paid for your breakfast. Meals sent up to your room cost very little too.
I stayed there a number of times but now stay 10 minutes walk away for as little as 9,600 baht per month for a deluxe room. As I said, a cheap city.
I stayed there a number of times but now stay 10 minutes walk away for as little as 9,600 baht per month for a deluxe room. As I said, a cheap city.
Nov 19th, 2006, 03:24 PM
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Great start to your trip! I'm looking forward to more.
Kaneda, do note that this is a trip report, and no one has asked for advice on how much to spend on a hotel. How much one spends on hotels is highly individual, and there is no reason at all to be critical of someone who chooses to spend more than you do. Your way of travel is not the only way of travel....and no one here has criticized you for where you stay and how much you spend.
Kaneda, do note that this is a trip report, and no one has asked for advice on how much to spend on a hotel. How much one spends on hotels is highly individual, and there is no reason at all to be critical of someone who chooses to spend more than you do. Your way of travel is not the only way of travel....and no one here has criticized you for where you stay and how much you spend.
Nov 19th, 2006, 05:13 PM
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i hate when that happens.....let's try this again
Congratulations bsp8181!
I felt the same way about our stay at the Oriental, everything was overpriced but I guess that's expected at a five star resort. Can't wait for more....great start!
Aloha!
Congratulations bsp8181!
I felt the same way about our stay at the Oriental, everything was overpriced but I guess that's expected at a five star resort. Can't wait for more....great start!
Aloha!
Nov 20th, 2006, 11:46 PM
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nice start....i think you have hit upon a few things about the oriental that some of us have felt about them...i will say however that the lord jim luncheon buffet is quality all the way as is the price, but well worth the experience and food enjoyment..
we were a bit disappointed in tongue thai the two times we have eatent there so far....not what it was last year, but still quite good...
we were a bit disappointed in tongue thai the two times we have eatent there so far....not what it was last year, but still quite good...
Nov 22nd, 2006, 08:53 PM
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Kim, I think your comment was extremely rude.... I dont think Kaneda meant anything by it... the trip report was speaking about how expensive everything was and they merely made a suggestion for next time... Gross over-reaction!
Nov 22nd, 2006, 10:09 PM
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Yes isn't the river fantastic at night.Do you have a view of it from your room? We stayed at ROS on one occassion and all rooms have a view of the river.We were on floor 24 and spent lots of time just observing the activity on the river. Isn't it an amazing city.
Nov 23rd, 2006, 04:11 AM
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On our honeymoon, many, many moons ago, we went on our first trip to Europe. We alternated between inexpensive and very expensive accomodations. I still remember the expensive ones...the others have faded unless they were horrible. Bsp8181 will have lots of great memories. Fyi..with the change in prices, tho we travel a lot (sometimes on an expense account) we have never wanted to spend the money to go back to some of the places we went on our honeymoon. I can't wait to hear more of your adventures.
Nov 23rd, 2006, 08:47 AM
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KimJapan. Thanks for your unasked for criticism.
I noted that the couple were on honeymoon so everything has to be special. However, other times why pay maybe $200-300 a night for a room when you can get similar for $50 or less? Maybe you feel that you are not having a good holiday unless you have paid a fortune for it? Or does your butler tell you that when drawing your bath?
My room for 9,600 baht ($262) per month was a deluxe room. Not something on Khao San Road, and it was in the centre of Bangkok rather than a taxi ride to anywhere.
I noted that the couple were on honeymoon so everything has to be special. However, other times why pay maybe $200-300 a night for a room when you can get similar for $50 or less? Maybe you feel that you are not having a good holiday unless you have paid a fortune for it? Or does your butler tell you that when drawing your bath?
My room for 9,600 baht ($262) per month was a deluxe room. Not something on Khao San Road, and it was in the centre of Bangkok rather than a taxi ride to anywhere.
Nov 23rd, 2006, 01:21 PM
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I do hope that bsp8181 will not be put off by the discussion of their choice of accomodation and will continue their trip report.
bsp8181-Congratulations on your wedding! I agree with a lot of what you've said so far and appreciate the details. Keep it coming!
bsp8181-Congratulations on your wedding! I agree with a lot of what you've said so far and appreciate the details. Keep it coming!
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