redrover

My husband and I are thinking of traveling to Thailand in February 2005. We have never been to Asia. We are in our late 50's, like luxury accommodations, love to wander new cities, shop for local crafts, go to museums, see the country. We do not like guided bus tours but would enjoy private guided tours for day trips outside of the city. Any suggestions for us about the weather that time of year, accommodations that would qualify as luxury (London Intercontinental is our speed), availability of private guides and feasability of seeing much using Bankok as a base? Also, is Bankok a "hilly" city or is it flat to walk around in? (I have bad knees)!
Any suggestions about web sites, literature would be greatly appreciated.
Sheila

MikeBuckley

Thailand is <i>perfect</i> for you and you're thinking of going at the ideal time of year. Scan through the messages here at Fodors and you'll find lots of messages about the 5-star hotels. Not a lot has been mentioned about hiring guides, as opposed to drivers, but certainly the latter is easy to do through any hotel. You'll certainly want to spend time in Bangkok but important parts of the country are further away than a day trip. Bangkok as well as most of Thailand is flat (except the mountains of course) and will be easy on your knees.

Since you're planning a February trip, I'll mention one special possibility for that time of year -- the Chiang Mai Flower Festival held in the first weekend of the month. There are at least two parades, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The floats are decorated exclusively using plant parts (mostly flowers) and the parades present a fabulous opportunity to mingle intimately with the locals. You'll walk into the middle of the parade to get your pictures and if you're not careful you'll fail to realize the bass drum is coming right toward you. The parade is one of the best cultural travel experiences my wife and I have had.

2005 will be only the fifth year of the festival so it's not yet well known. THe hotels don't even raise their prices that weekend. It can be a little difficult finding out about the parades but well worth the perseverance. In fact, while we were there my wife picked up one of the free magazines in the hotel about touristy things to do and it advertised incorrect dates (the wrong weekend) of the festival. We never were able to find anything published about the actual day or time of the parades and managed to be at a good spot at a good time by asking around a lot.

Though Chiang Mai is at the foot of the mountains, the city itself is flat.

Have a great trip and enjoy planning it!

Gpanda

You will have a great time. The first time we went to Thailand, we knew nothing and let a stateside travel agent specializing in Asia arrange everything for us. We got his name from a NYT Travel section ad. He's Gregg at Innovasian.com. We had a guide, and driver every day except for some beach time. We upgraded hotels in accord with recommendations from this forum. We went back last year and did everything on our own. We really enjoyed both times and are returning this year with some friends/victims.

rhkkmk

there are no hills in bangkok...it is flat, but it is so hot that you will think that you are climbing a mountain...that's why you use publice transportation, taxis or other private cars as often as possible...they are all very inexpensive...a 30 minute taxi ride can be $4....
the skytrain starts at 45B or $1.15....

look at the hotels along the river...they offer the most for tourist ammenities: the oriental, of course; the peninsula (our favorite), sheraton orchid, shangri-la, and our other favoirite the marriott resort and spa (they have the best pool area in bkk and you will use it to cool off frequently....the marriott is further away from the center of things, but that is a good thing...they have a free shuttle boat that takes you to the sky train and to river city shopping center, a hub of tourist activity....

the restaurants are fabulous...any kind of food you would want, at unbelievable prices...

the shopping is famous and outstanding...custom made clothing and jewerly are our favorite items...

i suggest that you get the book by ron krannich: the treasurers and pleasurers of thailand...it has lots about shopping and upscale living in bkk...a new edition is available may, '04....i have mine on order from amazon now....

allow a day or two after arrival to unwind...you will need it after the long trans pacific flight....go for at least 2 weeks....we go for one month...

you might look at trips to outside bkk as well: hua hin is a laid back sea resort south of bkk....koh samui is a tropical island off the east coast in the south of thailand; chiang mai is in the north (not our favorite, but almost everyone visits there) and chiang rai further north is a place we shall visit in june (look at the anantara resort north of chiang rai)....flights are cheap from bangkok to regional places, usually $100-150 r.t. on thai air or bangkok air...

one last excursion you might consider is 3 days to siem reap cambodia to visit the angkor wat complex...

MikeBuckley

For someone with sensitive knees, I'd add the caveat that many of the major temples involve steps. Even if you stay on the lowest level, awkward steps are involved. They're not the sort of uniformly sized steps we're used to; they're sometimes quite high. So, it depends on how sensitive the knees are, but it's worth checking into the details before planning a trip there.

Those who have been to Ankgor Wat will appreciate this anecdote. My wife and I couldn't believe it when we came out of the temple proper and saw an old woman with the kind of cane on each arm that indicates a serious physical disability. This woman was so determined to see Angkor Wat that she had already walked the entire causeway in that heat and humidity. I was so moved and inspired by her that, had she not been with a group of several men, I would have picked her up and carried her anywhere she wanted to go.

MikeBuckley

When I wrote the above post about steps at the temples, I was referring to Angkor, not Thailand. Now that I think of it, though, many of the Thai structures that house the primary Buddha at a temple complex have four to six steps. However, even if you can't go inside a building to see its interior and the Buddha, it's well worth going to the temple complex to see all the great stuff that requires absolutely no stairs.

rhkkmk

the bkk wat that is exactly as mike describes angkor is wat arun...a marvelous place but unbelievable to climb at all... we wear either strong sandles with ankle socks or leather SAS walking shoes most of the time...we never wear sneakers--too hot

mzblizz

If you consider going to Chiang Mai, I can highly recommend Chiang Mai in Action Tour &amp; Travel Services. We were there last year and spent a week with Sergeant Kai, of this company. We traveled in a roomy van and had a wonderful driver and lovely, lovely assistant. They arranged everything exactly as we wished, included many, many extras, and treated us like royalty -- for a MOST reasonable price. We did the elephant ride, raft ride, ox-cart ride, went to the Golden Triangle, tribal villages, etc. All the usual sites, but done with such love and humor, and timed so we never ran into tour buses. Also, Sergeant Kai speaks English very well.

mzblizz

If you consider going to Chiang Mai, I can highly recommend Chiang Mai in Action Tour &amp; Travel Services. We were there last year and spent a week with Sergeant Kai, of this company. We traveled in a roomy van and had a wonderful driver and lovely, lovely assistant. They arranged everything exactly as we wished, included many, many extras, and treated us like royalty -- for a MOST reasonable price. We did the elephant ride, raft ride, ox-cart ride, went to the Golden Triangle, tribal villages, etc. All the usual sites, but done with such love and humor, and timed so we never ran into tour buses. Also, Sergeant Kai speaks English very well. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can also find them at Chiang Mai Tours on the internet.

citiboy50

Redrover-We just got back on Sunday.B-k is flat. I highly recommend the Oriental. The service and amenities surpass Europe.I suggest that you hire a private guide in Chiang Mai. Nippon drove a Mercedes.He cost $65 to 70 per day. He had a great sense of humor and even treated us to things. Make sure he takes you to some Thai restaurants-the prices are incredibly cheap.There is nothing wrong with the Sheraton in Chaing Mai but upgrade to Executive deluxe. For $90 you get a large room and bath,buffet breakfast and entertainment at night.

orgy7

the skytrain starts at 10 baht and the highest fare is 45baht or so.

sorry cant get it on the money I cant seem too remember too many numbers at one time.

you can pic up a 3 day tourist pass for 280baht.