thailand vist, how to allocate time?
 

my wife and i are visiting bangkok for the first time. we have 6 days including our day of arrival in the morning. the biggest piece of advice i need is how much time to allocate to the city of bangkok and do we have enought time to go somewhere else for a day or two. if so, what would be the ideal pkace to go. once we have figures that out, the next pressing thing is to find hotels in these respective areas. any input would be greatly appreciated.
michael c

If you like cities, I'd suggest you spend all 6 days in Bangkok. There is so much to do and see and buy!

I'd recommend that you stay at one of the lovely hotels on the river.

yes, I would agree. Pick somewhere with a nice pool area. I think you need at least 4 days so it really wouldn't be worth travelling elsewhere. Bangkok is a fabulous city.

i agree with the ladies above....if you feel that you must get outside the city for a day or two, i would reccomend hua hin...a small thai seaside town 2.5 hours drive south of bkk....in both places i recomend (my spelling is worse than ever tonight--i've taken a pain pill) the marriott resort and spa....the peninsula in bangkok is also very lovely...look at their web site for specials....
there is a sheraton on the river and the oriental and the shangra-la...all are top notch hotels... all the hotels mentioned above are on the river

the first day is shot---you will be tired...lay about the pool...

Stay on the river in BKK. While I agree you will be exhausted on the first day, I suggest that you get out for at least 1/2 day. We found that a Thai massage back at the hotel (arranged through the school at Wat Pho) was the perfect way to get rid of the soreness from the long flight. Any of the hotels mentioned above will also be able to provide massage services.

You are very lucky to have so much time to spend in a fascinating city. You will have the opportunity to see sights that most people don't as they blow through in 2-3 days. I am not sure what your interests are, but the National Museum is excellent and has tours in English twice a week. There are also out-of-the way temples like the Golden Mount that are worth a trip. Jim Thompson's house (as opposed to just going to one of his many shops) is beautiful and may inspire you to redo your own home in Thai style. You can take Thai cooking lessons. The Oriental Hotel's are the best but last for 4-5 days; but several hotels and restaurants offer 3 hour courses, as does Jim Thompson's house, take a look at www.jimthompsonhouse.com) You should spend at least a day just chilling by your hotel pool and/or getting a massage or spa treatment. You could easily spend the better part of a day at the Weekend market shopping for virtually everything under the sun. You could take day trips to Sukothai or Ayyuthia, two ancient capital cities (see below). You could go to one of the floating markets, like the traditional floating market in Ratchburi Province, which is about 100 km from Bangkok. Your hotel would have info on day trips, also run a search here at take a look at the "Destinations" guide put together by Fodors, click on Destinations above. Get a good guidebook for other suggestions.

I guess you may be thinking that as you are travelling so far, should you try to see other things. However, there is so much to do in Bangkok itself that you may enjoy just staying in town. I am not such a fan of Hua Hin mentioned above, as I think there are prettier beaches in Thailand (like around Phuket, although Phuket is out of your way with your limited time). Time of year is a factor too; I would not bother with beaches in Hua Hin during the rainy season, roughly from September through November (late spring and summer can be a bit rainy as well). Alternatively, you could fly north to the "Golden Triangle" area around Chiang Mai for a day or to. (July through October are rainy here.)

My personal suggestion would be that you take a 1 or 2 night cruise on one of the converted rice barges up or down river from Bangkok. This will give you an opportunity to see the river which is the life blood of Thailand, and see a bit of nature as well. I did this a few years ago, but the company I used is no longer in business, you might run a search here, post a question or try on the internet. If you don't want to commit to an overnight trip, there are several days trips offered by tour companies which will take which go by bus first to Ayyuthia, and the summer palace of the King, and then you head back to Bangkok by the river, a very pleasant 3-4 hour journey. The Oriental Hotel used to run a great trip, but I understand they discontinued this about 18 months ago; I believe the Shangri-La hotel offers one how, others on this site may have more other suggestions.

I suggest you buy - very quickly - a Luxe Bangkok City Guide. You can order it online from www.luxecityguides.com. I have one and have not been disappointed with anything I have done from it. Unlike other guides it is just 8-10 pages so each piece of info is a treasure! It also recommends places to stay on various budgets.