patricia---you are going to have such fun....anxious to hear all about it...lunch is a date!!

Gpanda (and others) -- I am having tong for 3 days. One day we will go to the fishing village; one day to Kanchanaburi and the orphanage and one day to the floating market and the vineyard with a few other stops along the way. I'm trying to avoid the 12 hour days. Question is -- tiger temple. I am a real animal lover and won't even go to zoos because they upset me so I have avoided this. Am I making a mistake?

i think if you look at it positively as a rescue effort and a rehabilitive effort you will be pleased.....

but of course it really is just another zoo...so if you can't get by that then i might skip it...

makes sense to combine tigers and kantchuburi doesn't it....??

tong's making merit and releasing fish in bkk is fun also...

Gloria, are you doing the overnight tour with Ting or is it 3 different days? Whenever I talk to her she always tells me about how much fun the overnight trips are. I guess she is taking people to stay overnight at Reeds house on stilts.

no not doing overnight. I don't want to have to pack and unpack -- nor do I want to pay for a night at the oriental that I don't use. Plus I'm not sure I want to rough it any longer -- been there and done that in my younger years but now I like my creature comforts.

After the Tiger Temple, we drove for another 1 1/2 hours to get to a forest orphanage. It's past Kachanaburi, through which one drives. Tong's car was followed by the car containing Laurencarl and Nui. They were going to the orphanage as well and Nui had never been there and did not know the way.

The orphanage was very moving. There are about 120 kids. I was my childish self and played with the kids. We served them Ice cream and watched them swim in the River Kwai. They were all in high spirits. We toured the grounds and classroom with a bunch of kids, who were proud of their home.

Visiting an orphanage as we did with Tong last year as well is both uplifting and slightly troubling. It is great to see kids being cared for, but difficult to realize the great need. We think it's an important part of our trip.

Laurencarl and Nui rode with us back to BKK. There was an ugly incident where LC put on a Yankee hat, but this soon ended when I induced a number of the kids to start chanting "Go Red Sox". We chatted on the very long ride back.

Dinner at the Gallery Cafe and collapsed into bed.

Did you do anything else at the RiverKwai -- Jeath Museum or railroad?

No we skipped the River Kwai stuff entirely. The day was too full.

Last day in BKK. How sad.

We decided we were going to follow the walking/eating tour listed from Chowhounds website. The exact URL has been listed on this forum. The tour begins around the Giant Swing and involves popping into many eating establishments. No street food per se.

Started off at several shops to the left of City Hall. Had some coconut pastries that were just all right. A Bao-like pork bun was very good.Took a right on the next street and had some noodle soup with pork. Quite good. Across the street was a place on the corner that had super round Udon-like noodles with chicken. When we showed them the print out from the website along with a picture of the shop, they went crazy. Very good.

Walked down the street to the Chinese temple and took a left on Thanon Tanao. The next two steets to the right have a very European look to them. We wandered and found exactly where Chote Chitr was located. We intendeed to return for dinner.

Went to an renowned ice cream place, Koi Pornchipta on the corner. Very difficult to determine it was the place. The coconut ice cream was good, but not as good as at the Gallery Cafe.

Stuffed, we staggered over to the Mango with sticky rice place on Thanon Tanao. We got two orders to go. These cost more than everything we had previuosly purchased.

Taxi back to the ROS. Pool and cigar and a snack of M with SR. delicious.

Hay Andy!
So glad you did that walking tour (I was one who posted it). We walked down to Chote Chitr but were too interested in having lunch to do the "tour". Glad at least someone did it.

BTW, the ROS says "hi!". Greetings from LINK lounge.

K-are you there now?

We had packing issues. So we spent some time sorting items into our four pieces. The last leg was a connection on Jet Blue with a 50 pound limit on each piece to To assist, I got a large scale from the concierge. Several pieces were packed to 49 pounds. The scale was invaluable.

We had dinner at Chote Chitr. Using Thanon Tanao as our destination helped get us there in a taxi.

The food was superb. The Mee grob and the Eggplant salad were absolutely perfect. The other dishes were top of the line. This place is well worth searching out.o the ROS for an early wake up.

AAC managed to get us there without incident. Cathay Pacific flights were only about 3/4 full so we had lots of room. A bonus was that the HK-JFK flight stopped in Vancouver for a layover. No plane change, but we did de-plane. Simple switch to Jet Blue at JFK and home smoothly.

Bac

Andy-Yes, here now at ROS. Spending some time online since access in Cambodia was spotty.

Trying to figure out where to go for dinner. Where is Harmonique? And if we go there, will it be a sea of Farang faces? Decided against eating at the Gallery cafe for that reason; it just felt too much like a Thai place in LA.

K-Harmonique is a simple walk from the ROS. You walk out take a right, follow the soi around to the left and get to Charon Kreung. take a right, after you go by the post office on your right (the very large building), look down the soi and you will se a green sign for Harmonique.

Yes, it will be almost all farangs., If you want a unique meal, go to Chote Chitr. Get the concierge to write down the address. If you and the concierge don't know the address. Get him to writhe Thanon Tanao, near the Chinese temple. Chote Chitr is down two streets from the Chinese temple off of Thanon Tanao. Many Thais and unique dishes.

Andy-
We ate at Chote earlier in the week (and last year). Food was good, though I'm starting to wonder if they are resting on their 5 famous dishes. Next time ask Tong what she thinks about the place (she's not enamoured).
Think we may go to Harmonique anyway. Don't feel like going too far tonight.

Panda, did you use Gregg at Innovasian for a previous trip? Opinion, please?

ekscrunchy-yes, we used Gregg at innovasian for our first trip.

For an Asian novice, his organization and coordination were very comforting. He planned a basic trip to BKK, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Phuket. We saw all the major sights and did an elephant ride in CR and a kayak trip in Phuket. His hotel choices were OK. They tended to be ones used by tour groups. However, in BKK we switched from his choice of the Landmark to the Royal Orchid Sheraton after reading this forum. He made the switch easily. I suggest that if you're going to use him that you pick your own hotels.

Also, in country, he uses East-West Siam for guides and transfers. They are good, solid guides, but not extraordinary as is Tong and others cited on this forum.

In summary, I recommend Innovasian. Gregg will plan and execute an excellent trip. All reports on this forum have been positive.

Andy- Walked down to Harmonique. It's closed until Jan 9th for New Year's holiday. Will have to try another time.

Back to ROS and taxi to a place I read about on Chowhound called Le Lys. Very good Thai food owned by French expat and his Thai wife. In a house/courtyard setting. Seems to be a hang out for other French expats who like to play the French version of Bacci Ball (they have a court). I recommend it for your next trip.

We;ll have to try it.

The game is called Pelanque. We saw some people in Luang Prabang playing.

When we were in BKK over X-mas, harmonique was also closed. Must be a yearly thing.

Thank you, Panda. I am using him for the Vietnam part of my trip and to book the hotels (of my own chooosing) in BKK and LP (Peninsula and Phou Vau). The only tours I have booked in those two cities are with Tong, two days, and with Ta, recommended here, for 2 days in LP. I have been to BKK before but not to LP.

In Hanoi, Gregg booked the Hilton Opera for me (my choice...much less than the Sofitel M) and I am using the tour company for one of the 5 days in Hanoi..he also booked the Halong Bay cruise for me, and then hotels in Hue and Hoi Ann (again, I chose these) ..in that last part of the trip I will have the guides that he arranged..then I go to Saigon and stay on my own for a couple of nights (no tour; been there before).

I got his name here, probably from you. The reason I am asking is that I have not really clicked with him; perhaps he deals with many first timers and finds that I ask too many questions and have my own ideas about things like hotels and day trips...

Anyway, it is pretty set now so I am hoping for the best..it makes me nervous to pre-pay like that and I had never done this before in Asia....I leave right after New Years...so your comments are music to my ears, so to speak...