Hello guenmai! Glad you could drop by the Asia boards for a visit. I think I recall that you are headed to Paris this month. When will you return to Bangkok!!?? Your favorite people and places miss you!!! And of course all your fodors friends on the Asia boards miss you as well!!! Come back and see us regularly. Don't be a stranger! Come back to BKK in December this year!!!

Jim, I doubt I get to check out new places on this trip, as my time is so short; and I'm heading off to Samui in two days, and will also make a day trip to Chiang Mai before heading back home. Wish I could help you out, but not this time. Hopefully I will squeeze in a visit to Kinnaree to ask about a space for Bob and panda's GTG in November. Kinnaree is just about 2 minutes walk down soi 3, so it is very close by.

I'm up early this morning, after another good sleep. I'm doing some washing in my machine here in my kitchen. It does a good job of washing, but the drying feature isn't like it is back home in the USA. I hang things all around my apartment for drying! Doesn't take long though. I bring hangers from home (actually I pack my clothes on hangers and put into dry cleaning bags) and then I need to use those hangers to hang clothes to dry. The hangers in the closets are the type that you cannot remove.

Maeng gave me two t-shirts that advertise the Pickled Liver. I think I'll wear one today, since a number of the tops I brought from home will be hanging to dry for a good part of the day!

Today we visit the travel agent to buy tickets for Samui and Chiang Mai. The Samui trip is flexible, timewise; we just know we are going on Wednesday and coming back on Friday. We will stay at a resort owned by DS Brad's friend. It is a basic 3*, but clean and comfortable, and well located at a quieter end of Chaweng Beach. And it is located right ON the beach, which is always good. Just hoping for good weather on our one full day on the island. I think we will probably hire a driver for the day, and just tour around. I really don't want to try my hand at driving on the "wrong side of the road" although I've done it in New Zealand and Tasmania.

The day trip to Chiang mai can be either the following Monday or Tuesday. I head back home on Wednesday, so Monday is probably preferred over Tuesday, but we'll see. I need to make sure a friend is available to take care of shipping for me. I'm taking one big suitcase of purchases (so far) to ship, and will be doing more buying in Chiang mai, at Hang Dong and Bosang Markets. Since I have this opportunity to ship things home (with DS's shipment), I'm not holding back on buying!! lol

Today looks overcast. I think we may get a shower. I have not seen much sun since arriving in Bangkok, but I have not had any rainy days yet either, so maybe to day will just be cloudy and humid once again!! Temps are quite hot.

I hope you enjoy your Sunday evening. My Monday morning is getting off to a good start, and should be yet another busy day in Bangkok. I need to stop by the printing company to drop off some chocolates to my friends in the office there.

We'll be in touch!!

Carol

Hi Carol,

A belated welcome back! For your Chiang Mai trip check out the TG flights as they are having a low fare promotion. My wife and I just bought return tickets for 3,055 Baht and we are flying today.

Have fun!

Thanks for that tip, Hanuman. I do plan to fly on Thai because I earn miles on my UA FF acct.

Enjoy CM!

don't look for kineree on "soi 3" or you will be disappointed..

>>>AO... your idea of a day-jaunt to Singapore really sounds appealing. But I don't think I'll make it on this trip. I'll see how it goes. That would add some miles to my "almost 1k" status this year w/Star Alliance. I doubt it would be enough to put me over the top though. But I really appreciate the suggestion.<<<


You're welcome, Khun Carol! And should you change your mind, those precious Girls are waiting to serve you. (As well as the fine staff at SIA's BKK Silver Kris Lounge; always a must visit for this life-long SQ loyalist, no matter 'how far' from certain gates -- the 'better half' would expect nothing less.)


>>>So, AO, if you used to frequent Annie's, did you also frequent the Tequila Pub, by any chance? My dear friend, Dr Jack, used to be a co-owner. Maybe you two know each other???<<<

('Years ago', I the honour of some rather brief conversations with the fine 'Dr. J', though, was always much more partial to 'conversing' with 'his' lovely females.)

And, as far as various 'pubs', well, I have never been into the Bangkok 'bar scene', neither during my first few tourist visits as a young, 'wild-eyed' mountaineer, fresh in from Kathmandu with various crazed climbing buddies, nor for the past several years as a most-proper Bangkok business traveller. (But I always make an exception for champagne at 36,000 feet with those sensational Singapore Girls. Oh yeah, now we're flying.) Before becoming a 'one-woman' man, I was always much more partial to the quiet delights of post-work Bangkok hotel room evenings with lovely Thai women (thanks forever, Khun 'A'), as opposed to that 'bar hopping'. 'To each their own', suppose.

Have fun, Carol! (And don't forget those Girls.)

robert


... gentle hostess, in your sarong ...

Sawasdee kah, everyone. Internet is hit and miss tonight for some reason. I hope I can "enter" my report.

Oh, how plans can change!!!! Maeng and I went to visit the travel agent today to make our plans for Koh Samui and Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is booked, no problems, for next Monday. Up and back same day. Early out, late flt back.

Samui, it turns out, is NOT a possibility at this time. First of all, most flights are booked already. Secondly, the price on BKK Airways is well over 10,000 baht per ticket!! Yikes!!! Crazy prices!!!!!! Even though we had a nice room waiting, and at a discounted price, this was just too much to handle. I asked Maeng if she had her heart set on Samui. She said she wants to walk on a beach. Well..... after that response, I had the travel agent check into flts to other locations. Long story short, we are heading to Krabi on Wednesday morning on Thai, 8am, returning friday afternoon around 4pm. Neither of us has been to Krabi. Maeng has been to Samui and Phuket before, but a long time ago. So Krabi it is!! I hope we have nice weather.

Any suggestions? Nothing fancy, we just want to relax and maybe see some sights and eat good Thai food.

I have not booked the hotel, but will probably go with the Krabi Resort at Au Nang. Anyone w/experience there?

I had dinner at a Danish restaurant on soi 8 tonight, with my Danish-Thai friends and a couple of other Danes who are in town right now. The name of the place is the Stable Lodge, if anyone is interested in a nice Danish meal. It was a fun evening, in any case. The food, the beer, the schnapps, those were all "extras" because the best part was seeing good friends once again. We called DS from the dinner table so that he could say hello to everyone (whom he knows as well)

I went shopping at Silom noon market today and bought nothing! Can you believe that? Oh well, there are still a few more shopping days left before I head back home!! It was still a very busy day today, and I enjoyed every bit of it.

I need to post this while the internet is working!

I'm off to sleep very shortly, as it's after 11pm, which is late for me.

Carol

Carol... When we were at krabi in the Sheraton, we went into Ao Nang for dinner several times. We found the Blue Mango on the main drag had good reasonable thai and western food. There are several internet places if you don't have access at the resort. views from the beach there should all be fanntastic. The sheraton is quite aways out of town, but good value with points and miles if you have any. There are resturants across the street, so you don't have to eat in the hotel all the time.

you could look at the sheraton, especially if you have some points....they are doing points and miles....like 2800 pts plus $45 per nite....its way away from the town however in a whole different area, but the beach is beautiful....

the town itself is not all that great...

the regular price currently available is 3800 B on www.spg.com

You bought NOTHING at the Silom noon market? Was there nothing to buy or were you ill? lol

"I had dinner at a Danish restaurant on soi 8 tonight, with my Danish-Thai friends and a couple of other Danes who are in town right now. The name of the place is the Stable Lodge, if anyone is interested in a nice Danish meal.'

I have passed by there many times - often tempted to check it out, but never did.

Kathie... haha..."was there nothing to buy or were you ill?"
I was looking for a specific request from home (dare I say it, a copy bag) and this is the highest quality selection, but the desired bag is not to be found. It's too new.

You should see the two very large suitcases that are filled already, and will be stored here at Adelphi while Maeng and I go to Krabi tomorrow morning until Friday evening. I don't dare buy too much more until after our return. The kindly folks at the front desk all know that I'm here for the shopping (and good friends) but I hate to ask them to store tooooo much stuff for me. I'll be able to shop a lot more after this beach break, and then carry bags to CM for shipping on Monday.

Degas, the Stable Lodge is a very friendly place. Nothing fancy or hi-brow about it. What we had was a selection of open face sandwiches. Everyone was happy with their selections. My Danish friends eat here quite often. If it sounds at all interesting to you, you should stop by there.

Bob and Karen, thanks for the suggestion of the Sheraton. I have been trying to decide which resort will be our home away from home for this short visit. The travel agent was suggesting the Krabi Resort. I've looked on the internet, and it looks quite nice. Maybe this location is better than Sheraton, which you both say is rather isolated. I don't really want isolation all that much. I'd like to walk out the front door of the resort and find a selection of shops and places to eat.

I think I see the sun today! I don't have any specific plans, other than to get our resort booked for Krabi. I will go to the TA and ask for her help, even though I could probably book on line. She might get on the phone and talk directly to the resort, telling them exactly what we would like.

Carol

Carol-make sure you warn them in Krabi that Bob will be visiting in November.

If you find any other good places to eat in Ao Nang let us know. Funny you should mention that you couldn't find "recent" style purses. I had a request from one of our daughters last year and found the same problem.

Jinnys in Silom has some very nice bags (copies and own designs) when we were there last they had the latest IT bags (very very good Chloe paddington copy for £80). However as i am not into copy bags i passsed them up for there own design bags. I will probably check if they are still there when we go in November.

smeagol, where is Jinnys? I'd certainly give it a look next Tuesday, if I find the time.

Had dinner at Maeng's tonight and sat and visited with some good friends.

I have noted that a number of Thais are wearing face masks to keep from catching the flu. It's not as many as 10%, maybe only 3-4% of the people I see out and about in my daily running around.

There are new signs for the skytrain that sort of
threw me off. I am used to seeing Saphan Taksin listed, as it used to be the last stop on the Silom line. Now, there are two more stops past Saphan Taksin. I wrote down the name of the new last station, for those of you who stay on the river. It's packed away in one of 3 bags I'm leaving here at Adelphi while away at Krabi.

Early wake up call, since our flght is at 8am. Gotta catch some zzzzzz's! We'll chat again later... it might be after Krabi, unless I can connect at the hotel, or there is an internet place nearby.

Bangkok is still bustling! Skytrains have been very crowded!

Carol

Carol
Its in Silom village about 3 or 4 shops in on the left hand side (as you enter from the main road past the restaurant- was opposite a craft type shop) I also heard that they sell a lot to Air stewardesses and that they keep the actual copy labels out the back. We bought some LOVELY leather luggage for about £180 which would have easily been 3* that at home. Jinnys isnt super cheap but the quality is good, however it was nearly 3 years since we went there but i read on TA that someone went there a little while ago.

http://www.jinnyleather.net/about.php
dont think the web does the shop justice. just remembered Muffin did have to bargain (i am RUBBISH) but we reached a fair price in the end i think. we bought two leather holdalls - one i would say is an overnighter and one is a weekender very Mullberry like and 2 lovely slouchy handbags (one was a pressent honest) think we paid about £260 all in. This was though Nov 06.

i just sent kinnaree a request...

carol....the skytrain now passes over the river into thornburi, so that must be where the two additional stations are located...

oh gawd, now the ladies will have to go to Jinnys also...

Bob - i am going to show Karen my lovely bag and luggage from Jinnys when you come here in Oct..........(i can be silenced for a price!)

just so you are prepared its not a big shop, quite small really.

No way! They're not going. Not unless I can find a place to play poker in BKK. Then, all bets are off. Any suggestions for poker in BKK?

Oh, come on, Andy. Give the girls a break. You want time for cigar smoking, and now poker too???? (by the way, instead of warning Krabi that Bob is coming, I warned them that a speedo-wearing panda is on his way!!! lol)

Smeagol, Jinny's sounds great! Must try to find it. I'm not sure if I'll get there this trip or not though. Maeng is talking about the island in the Chao Phrya (sp) river, where it is all local crafts. I think I have read about it on fodors before. Sounds interesting. It's at the end of the line on the river taxi.

Hello from Krabi. Our flight on Thai was uneventful, just the way I like them. We arrived on time. Krabi airport is quite new, I think. Nice. Busy! The ride to Ao Nang took about 30-40 minutes, and cost a set price (by taxi) of 600bt. I also tipped the driver 100bt.

I like the AoNang Princeville Resort. Very nice Thai style rooms in a new wing. I was advised to ask for the new bldg, and I'm glad I did. Very lovely room, really. But no sea view. We overlook a tropical garden setting. Beds are very comfortable. There is also a daybed sort of thing... Maeng said she would like to sleep there! Anyway, a long walk after checking in, then some Haagen Dazs (right next door to the hotel) and another walk, and then our "batteries" were drained and we took a nice snoozy nap. Maeng had not slept since leaving the Pickled Liver around 4am. I woke up about 4am this morning, so was pretty tired as well. The nap felt good.

The scenery here is really lovely, with limestone rocks jutting out of the water. The beach is nice, but maybe not the same soft white sand that I enjoyed on Phuket at Kata and Kata Noi beaches.

Not sure what we will do for dinner tonight, but there are many options along the beach road. The hotel is located right along the beach road (across the street is the water) and there is plenty of activity, just the way I like it. You walk right out to the street and there is shopping, food, cold beer... it's great!

WiFi is rather hit and miss here, so I may not be posting everyday. I'm still having a good time though.... trust me.

Carol

have fun

Carol-
I think what Meang is talking about is Koh Kred in Bangkok. Make sure you go on a weekend. David and I did this last month when we were there. Not so many "crafts", but still interesting if you've never been. It's very much a "locals only" type of thing. The island is originally known for its pottery, but we found most of what's for sale no longer hand made (except in the "pottery village" area).

Ko Kred is fun. You get there by longtail boat from the last stop on the river ferry. We hired two motocycles to take us around the island, stopping at places that seemed interesting.

Andy,
I play poker in Bangkok too. There are house games around, the stakes can be from cheap up to thousands US$.

It is strictly illegal, so I won't post any locations on here. You know how to get a hold of me.

Good morning, from Krabi!

Maeng and I had a fun time yesterday afternoon. We took a side car taxi around the area for about 1 1/2 hours (500bt). The fresh air and the view were wonderful! Very enjoyable. A nice Thai dinner along the beach road, and back to our hotel for a 12 HOUR sleep!!! Yes, 12 hours. We were tired!

This morning we had the breakfast buffet at the hotel, and we are now talking with a travel agent about a private 4-island tour for about 4 hours. We shall see. We also thought about going by ferry to one of the other islands. I will let you know what we decide to do.

Weather is lovely. It is hot (isn't it always hot in Thailand) but we have plenty of sun (trying to avoid it as much as possible).

Andy, Maeng also told me about poker games... you know how to get in touch with me as well.....

Have a nice evening!

Carol

sounds like fun....we also want to take one of those boats in november, so we will be interested in your experiences...

Hi Carol. Sawadee krup. I read your post while sipping　my iced　coffee at "Coffee Society” on Soi Silom　next　to　Sala Deang BTS. Very hot here but great as always.　Time for my foot massage next door.

Chook dee krup.

This is good. Beth and Bob and Karen can wander BKK, while I lock myself up in a smoky room playing poker in a foreign language. What could go wrong? I'm not sure even I could convince beth that this is a good idea.

What could go wrong???? A panda comming beck to us minus his paw could go wrong!!!!Not sure the world is ready for pawless pandas.

Just time to type a short report before Maeng and I head out on another adventure. I really am enjoying Krabi!! I will report on what we have been doing here once I get back to BKK and can use my own laptop, in the comfort of my livingroom at Adelphi.

Weather is a bit more humid today, but yesterday's weather was perfect for a boatride! I'll tell you more about it, and our side car taxi rides, later!

See ya....

Carol

i'm on pins and needles waiting....

i was at the kennedy compound this PM and passed along your condolences...

I'm back in my apartment at Adelphi since just before 7pm. Laundry is now in the machine (first load of two) and I am unpacked. I've had dinner inroom... I'm tired.... so a quick cup of rice w/pork and a sandwich from the Krabi flight on Thai is in the fridge if I want it. I think it is probably still good.

Wow... Krabi was a real blast! I really enjoyed all w nights, 3 days. I think Maeng did too.

The hotel: We stayed two nights at the Ao Nang Princeville Resort. The location is right along the beach road in Ao Nang. Step out the front "gate" of the hotel and you have plenty of dining and souvenir options, plus Haagen Dazs is right next door!! (we indulged once everyday) The room we had did not have a sea view. I don't think any rooms at this resort have a sea view. I actually liked not having a view, because we had big plants right off our balcony, which allowed a lot of quiet and privacy! It was great. A well appointed room with two dbl (comfy) beds with nice linens.

We had a sort of day bed in a windowbox sort of area. It was a private setting... no need to close curtains at all, thanks to the plants. A nice place to sit and work a crossword puzzle or write in my travel journal.

We also had another sort of Thai style sitting bench, in yet another window area with privacy. Not quite as light and open as the day bed sort of thing.

The bath had a soaking tub as well as a walk in shower with rainbath shower head. I enjoyed both. It was a bit of a challenge trying to get the right water temp sometimes. Too hot or too cold. After a few days, one would no doubt figure it all out... haha

Internet was available at the resort, but for a fee. I opted to use an internet cafe which was very close to the front "gate" of the hotel. Must have cost 1 baht per minute. My biggest bill was maybe 23 baht? Good high speed computers. No problems logging on.

The internet cafe was also a travel agency and laundry! We used the travel agency for booking the boat trip. More on that later. Never used the laundry, as we only had 2 nights at Krabi, so not that much laundry to worry about.

Day One: We arrived at 10:30 in the morning. Our room (in the "new part" of the hotel) was ready. We settled in, and then took a walk to have a look at the beach area. A late afternoon nap felt good, for about 2 hours, followed by Haagen Dazs ice cream.

Around 5pm we caught a "side car taxi" (my favorite form of transportation in Krabi!!) to a shell fossil tourist site. OK to have a look, but not worth spending much time there. The driver said he would take us "around the area" for one hour for 400 baht. We actually rode for 1 hr 15 minutes, so I added on a tip. Very friendly driver. We looked for him again on day 2, but did not see him in time to let him take us around again.

After our 1hr 15 minute side car taxi ride to the shell fossil site, and along the beach road a bit, we walked down to a restaurant for a Thai dinner. Can't recall the name of the place, but it is one of the oldest on Ao Nang Beach. Food was OK. Maeng notices differences in the way Thai food is prepared from one area of the country to another. (I think she likes BKK style the best)

We hit the sack around 8pm that night, and slept for 12 hours!

Day 2: It was 10am by the time we had gotten up, showered, and had breakfast. We decided we wanted an adventure, so we went to the travel agency (at the internet place) to ask about something to do. Maeng and I, neither one of us, are swimmers so the idea of an organized boat trip that includes a lot of time on any one beach area was not something we wanted to do. But we wanted to SEE different beaches and different islands. No swimming, no wading, no sun bathing.

What we ended up doing was, renting a private speed boat to take us around, for about 3 hours, to see and walk on 4 different islands. Maeng thought this was a real hi-so boat trip. Not like the much cheaper longtail boats. I told her I wanted the speed boat because of the comfortable seating, and the ability to get up and move around on the boat, to take photos, move in and out of the sun/wind, etc. It was a great boatride, though pretty expensive. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Lunch was included, and was served on Chicken Island.

While we were on this boat trip, we saw Railay Beach... only accessible by boat. Pretty nice! Very quiet! Secluded, if that's what you want. But I think it would get old having to take a longtail back and forth to Ao Nang if you wanted any activity other than beaching it. Longtail ride to Ao Nang would only take about 15 minutes or less.

The geography of this part of Thailand is really awesome. We saw soooo many limestone "mountains" rising out of the water, but also rising up on the land, all along the visible coastline. Lots of tropical trees, but also up in the higher elevations there were taller trees of different types, and the air was probably 10 degrees cooler (or it felt like it anyway).

OK, so the boat trip was great! Afterwards, we went back to Haagen Dazs and then to the hotel to shower, as we felt salty and sweaty. Maeng wanted to go to a souvenir type of place that sells different curry pastes and spices and sauces from the south of Thailand. We tried to find the same side car taxi driver who had taken us around yesterday, but he was no where to be found. Instead, we found a very pleasant young Thai man (of early to mid 20s age) who took us on another side car taxi ride. The souvenir place must have been about 10 km away. The ride was great! Fresh air... higher elevations... the wind in our hair.

Maeng found a basket full of spices and sauces and such, and it was packed and strapped in a box, for the flight back to Bangkok. I bought a Krabi coffee mug... which proceded to get broken :( on the way back to BKK today!! I'm so sad.

After the souvenir market, we stopped at a local market selling food and clothing and hand made goods. I bought a few items there. It was interesting looking around. This market was near to Krabi Town.

Back to Ao Nang, and we had our young driver drop us at a seafood restaurant for dinner. Again, Maeng noticed the differences in the taste of the seasonings, etc. We did not eat even half of what we ordered. We found our young driver, still sitting outside the restaurant, and gave him our bags of left over seafood. He was quite happy to get it. We then walked back to our hotel. A short walk. No need for a taxi.

Day 3: Our young driver agreed to pick us up at 9am to go sight seeing. Our taxi to Krabi airport was not until 2pm, so we had quite a bit of time to see something. Maeng and I both assumed we'd be going on the side car taxi again, and were a bit disppointed when our drive showed up in his car instead. The sights we would be seeing would be an hour away (by car) and side car taxis are for local driving only.

First, we visited the Tiger Cave/Temple near Krabi Town. It was filled with busloads of school kids. You can climb about 1200 stairs (if you want to) to go to the top of a mountain for a view of all of Krabi province. We did NOT do this. The area has a Chinese style temple, and lots of monks around, and lots of MONKEYS too. Beware... they try to steal things from you! Funny....

Second stop was at a hot springs. There were a few people in the water. We had to walk a short distance (maybe 200m)to get to the hot springs pool/waterfall. A well-defined path led the way. The walk back to the parking lot was shorter. Interesting plants to view along the walk.

Third (and final) stop on this tour was at the Emerald Pool. This one is close to the hot springs, and the two are about one hour away from Ao Nang.

The Emerand Pool is just that... a natural pool with a green color, due to the minerals I suppose. Many people were swimming in the pool. Maybe therapeutic?? Maybe just FUN.

Now, this is where it got interesting. The walk TO the pool was 800m, and on a well defined path. The walk BACK from the pool, a shortcut...., was 400m, but only parts of it were what I'd call a path!!!

I wish I could show you what we had to traverse... OMG... there were stepping stones (not stones, but tree stumps) that you had to step along, and they were only maybe 10" in diameter each, and they sometimes went across a bit of water (not deep, just wet) and sometimes across patches of mud.

Maeng took a picture of me as I'm trying to make it along this obstacle course. I'm complaining... "Maeng, I'm not liking this... Maeng, slow down.... Maeng, I can't balance on these stepping stones the way you can...." You get the picture. "Maeng, I'm too old for this sort of thing!"

But I survived!

Would I go back to Emerald Pool? Probably not. The hot springs? Probably not. But it was an exciting adventure the first time going there!!!

We made it back to the hotel at 1:30, just in time for our final Haagen Dazs treat, and 2:00 taxi back to the airport! Krabi airport is quite new and quite nice. Not a lot of options for things to do/see if you have too much time to wait for a flight. Best to arrive 45-60 minutes before a flight, as suggested, rather than 2 hours...

Flight to BKK was a little bit delayed, but smooth flying once we got off the ground. Traffic getting into the city of Bangkok was stop and go. It took over an hour to get to the Adelphi.

But now I'm "home" and I can relax after an exciting vacation in Krabi for a couple of days!

Now back to my laundry. My first load is ready to hang to dry. Hope I didn't bore you with this long report.

Carol

That was a lot of Haagen Dazs.

You slept for 12 hours? How can this be? I'm always so excited to be in Thailand that I sleep very little. I've spent many wee hours reading in the ROS lobby.

I remember once when we went to California we were so tired that on about the 4th day we had driven to Napa valley had lunch, gone for a cheeky afternoon nap at 4pm and woke up at 7am the next morning!!!