We are two adults with experience travelling to Asia, but this was our first time to Thailand. Overall, the trip was great, a perfect mix of relaxation and introduction to a new culture. However, with hindsight being 20/20, I would have spent an extra day in BKK or GT, and one less day in Phuket.

I am extremely grateful for all the wonderful advice given on this forum. Your experience and knowledge made the trip memorable and trouble-free.

ITINERARY:
4 nights Peninsula BKK
1 night Royal Orchid Sheraton Towers BKK
3 nights Anantara Golden Triangle
4 nights The Boathouse Phuket
1 night Sheraton Saigon

TRAVEL:
Husband was in Sinapore on business prior, so his company paid for his entire ticket. I booked my ticket on Orbitz 2.5 weeks before leaving for around $1200.

Booked the Thai Air Pass for all our Thai domestic flights (4 segements total) via phone 3 days prior to leaving. Have the flights you want in advance, it makes booking go faster and more smoothly. The Thai Air rep however, was very nice and helpful. Check-in was easy via electronic ticket; you just need to have the credit card you used to book. Thai uses 747s, which looked new and were comfortable. A tasty little snack box was provided on all our flights.

Contacted Mr. Eddie based on recs from this forum to assit with our BKK to SGN flight. Despite multiple emails, never heard from him. Ended up booking an Air France flight ourselves, which was quite expensive.

On the way back, our 5 hour layover in Narita was alleviated by the brand new AA Admiral's Club. The place is huge with sweeping views of the airport, furnished with comfy leather seating, WiFi, 15 computers with high-speed internet, and a well-stocked food service area. The best part of the lounge are the showers. Modern and complete with Japanese heated/musical/self-cleaning toilets!

HOTELS:
Peninsula - So glad we stayed on the river and so glad we booked the Pen. The service was impeccable, and the staff were really friendly, always greeting you with a smile and asking you what plans you had for the day or what you had done that day. Our grand deluxe room was fabulous, complete with a balcony overlooking the river. Rooms ending in 06-07 have the balcony and I think it really adds to the experience, being able to sit outside and take in the views of BKK. The breakfast buffet included in the rate was excellent(Asian and Western fare) and provided a beautiful atmosphere to enjoy the river. With the Pen's boat service, we never felt that we were on the "wrong side" of the river. It was easy to get to the Skytrain and the Oriental public piers. They will even take you to River City Mall. We never had to wait more than 10 min for a boat and my husband and I found the short ride to be extremely enjoyable. I can't say the same about the Oriental. We went over one day to compare, and although I feel it may "win" on aesthetics, I found the staff to be too formal/stiff for my liking. Not as warm as the Pen. Also, they told us we had to take their boat back down to the Skytrain pier and then pick up the Pen's boat to get back up to the Pen. They neglected to tell us that there is a public and Pen pier on the east side of the river that the Pen will pick up from and take you back to the hotel. My only complaint of the Pen is that the shower leaked during every use becuase there was no strip between the glass door and floor. I would think they would have a better designed showers.

Thanks for the report. Sound like you're off to a wonderful start.

Foiled again. No penalty for either the FCPA or the PPS. Drat!

Continued from above...

ROS Towers - Maybe it was becasue we'd spent 4 nights at the Pen, but our experience was just okay. The change in hotel was due to the Pen being full, except for suites, our last night, so we booked the ROS on points. Although, the room was great and newly renovated, I found the staff to be not as friendly/warm as the Pen and the location to be somewhat inconvienent. Their boat only runs every 30 min and the breakfast buffet was a feeding frenzy.

Anantara - Beautiful, and so peaceful/relaxing. My husband's favorite of all the hotels we stayed. The entrance is awesome, especially at night when they light all the candles. The staff are really friendly and warm. They even noticed it was my husband's birthday on check in and had a birthday cake and sang to him without me even asking at dinner. We were upgraded to a suite on the Laos side based on SLH membership. The room was great with a huge tub and ingenious division between living area and bedroom via a rotating tv stand. The walk was a little far and the room a little dark, so I requested a change to the Burma side, overlooking the rice paddies. That was not a problem. The food at the resort is very good, if not a bit expensive. We stuck with Thai dishes and were pleased. The breakfast buffet was good (not as good as the Pen) and was included in the rate. A word of warning, although the pool is stunning, as stated before on this forum, it is cold. Even on a sunny morning/afternoon, with temps in the 80s, we found the water too cold to swim in and were stuck either taking a quick dip or hanging out in the hot tub (which was not hot, but cool). The GM is quite aware of this problem, and has put in a request for a heater.

Sheraton Saigon - Our second stay at this hotel and really love it. It's conveniently located, the rooms are great, the staff friendly and helpful. The breakfast buffet is wonderful (on par with the Pen). Will stay here on all future trips to HCMC.

Okay, on to the real deal...

First Full Day (Sun): BANGKOK's JJ MARKET and BED SUPPERCLUB

Woke up around 8AM after getting in around midnight after a long flight from DFW. Got ready for breakfast and noticed the leaky shower. Thought it was a fluke; maybe the shower head was pointed wrongly. Had a wonderful breakfast including some of the best bacon I've ever had. Bought Nancy Chandler's map in the gift shop and got directions to the weekend market. Took the Pen's boat to the Skytrain pier, and rode the Skytrain all the way to Chatuchak. Note about the Skytrain: if you're going to use it more than three times in a day, it makes more sense to buy a daypass. It will save time and money.

Got to the market around 11AM, a little later than planned, but still not overly crowded or oppressively hot. Used the map to try and find handicrafts, unique home decor items/souvenirs and found the map to be hit or miss regarding location of items. Maybe we just weren't reading it correctly. Logically speaking, I knew the market was going to be huge, but I was not prepared for how large it really was. Combined with the jet lag and not really knowing what I wanted to buy, the market was completely overwhelming. After about four hours of walking around and just a yellow polo shirt in honor of the king to show for it, my husband was getting tired, hot, and hungry so we left. So glad we did. As we were leaving, throngs of people were showing up. Overall, glad we did it, but next time we may skip it. Took the Skytrain back to Siam Paragon to get lunch and look at glasses.

|Looking forward to the rest of your report-my husband & I will be there in October

Thank, interesting report, we are staying at The Boathouse and would love to hear your experiences soon please, we leave in 10 days.

Welcome back. Great start. Can't wait to hear how things worked out at the Anantara.

Looking forward to your report. I stayed at the Boathouse back in the summer of 2001, on my first trip of many, to Phuket. I enjoyed it, but thought rooms were pretty basic. A suite might be nicer. But the Boathouse has a wonderful restaurant.

Did you go to Mom Tri's other property, by chance? The Villa Royale is just up the hill from the Boathouse, by hotel van (free). It's a fabulous place to stay IMO. I've been there twice. Also, a great restaurant there, Mom Tri's Kitchen.

I also prefer the Pen to the Oreintal, and I have stayed in both.

Keep the report coming.

Carol

I was surprised by all luxe shops at Siam Paragon and the food court was unique. Not quite the fast food we're used to in the states, but made to order dishes of all kinds. You buy a prepaid card and order your food at a number of stalls specializing in Thai, Japanese, etc. food. They then scan your card, deducting the right amount for the dish. Pretty cool. After lunch, we headed to Mikki Paris for some eyeglass shopping. We worked with the manger to pick out frames for my husband (I had brought his prescription from home). He was really helpful and we ended up spending about half to one third of what we would have in the US. After browsing around the mall a bit, including a stop at the Maserati dealership to browse (not really), we headed back to the hotel via Skytrain. We put our feet up for a bit before getting ready for our 7:30 PM reservation at Bed Supperclub. By the way, you must confirm your reservation the day of to ensure that it doesn’t get cancelled. After reading about this place on this forum and visiting the restaurant’s website, I was intrigued. We took a taxi, and thankfully didn’t experience any of the famous BKK traffic. We were met by two scantily clad hostesses dressed in white, who led us to our “table.” There were only about two other couples there and I felt a bit awkward taking my shoes off and climbing into a bed for dinner to the tunes of a DJ. My husband kept commenting that he didn’t know what the big deals was since he ate dinner in bed the whole time he was in residency and a bachelor. I ordered one of their specialty drinks, something with lychee and vodka. It was okay and a little too strong for me. Because it was Sunday, dinner was a set a menu, with a choice of starters, entrée, and dessert. I don’t remember exactly what we had, but I remember the food being creative and good, but not great. The big surprise for the evening was the so called entertainment. All through dinner we had noticed a conference table with computer set up in the middle of the space. Then an American ladyboy showed up dressed in a business suit and glasses. The theme song from 9 to 5 started playing, and she proceeded to lip synch to Dolly Parton. It was kind of entertaining and certainly unexpected. She then started going around to the different tables and interviewing everyone in a talk show format. By this time the place was pretty full. I enjoyed the impromptu performance, but I don’t think my husband did. Overall, Bed was an experience and I’m glad we went. However, I don’t think we’d go again; just not our scene. Then back to the Pen for bed, literally.

great start...looking forward to much more....i love your comparion of the penn and oriental...very well said....and i totally agree with you about ROS.....its good for the money but its not in the class of many of the other river hotels and i too find the location not all that great...

DAY 2 (Mon): DOWNTOWN BKK and CHINA HOUSE

Woke up, had another great breakfast at the Pen, and then headed to the Vietnam embassy to get our visas. I didn’t have time to apply for them before we left, so we ended up needing to get the one day processing for about 3000 THB. It was easy: fill out the application with one photo, drop off your passport and pay the fee by 11:30 AM and your 30 day visa is ready by 4 PM. It’s a lot cheaper if you can wait a few days before getting your visa, but we weren’t coming back to area again so we needed them then.

Next, took the Skytrain to Suan Pakkad Palace. We had to walk a bit from the station, but it wasn’t bad. Because most of the site is non-AC, they provide you with a souvenir fan with purchase of your ticket. We opted for the self-guided tour and enjoyed walking around the garden and viewing different Thai objects from all periods. The highlight was the Lacquer Pavillion. From there, we took the Skytrain to JT’s House. Although we really enjoyed the house, we were surprised by the complete commercialization and branding of Jim Thompson. Everywhere you went the name appeared on everything. Despite that, the man collected beautiful things and really knew how to decorate. We had lunch at the JT Café and had a great meal. After schlepping around all day, this place was a nice respite from the heat. It is modernly decorated with stone, which contrasts nicely with the surrounding house. I had a great deep fried morning glory salad with spicy minced pork dressing and a lime cooler, which was very refreshing and hit the spot. Hubby had the shrimp fried rice with pineapple, which came in a hollowed out pineapple. Great meal, great atmosphere, and not the sky-high prices you’d expect at an attraction.

Next, it was back to the VN embassy for our visas via Skytrain. They were ready as promised. The sightseeing ended with a stop at the Erawan Shrine, which was beautiful and chaotic at the same time. We got there at the end of the day so there were a lot of Thais praying and burning incense and tourists taking it all in as traffic whizzed by. I had an opportunity to buy some incense and flowers to pray for my grandmother who had just passed away in December. We then headed back to the hotel, tired from the days activities, and deciding we’d forgo our plans for the Joe Louis Puppet Theatre and Suan Lum Night Bazaar, for a quiet dinner at China House.

We made reservations on our way back from sightseeing, and this is when we found out that the Oriental’s boat would take you only to the Oriental, while the Pen’s boat would pretty much take you anywhere.

I must preface dinner at China House with this: I have never had Peking duck before so I can’t compare. That being said, I thought theirs was excellent. The meat was not greasy and the skin was thin and crispy. The pancakes were light and the veggies fresh. It was a treat to watch the waiter prepare the duck in front of us. The only problem was that we ordered too much. The waiter had recommended we order #99, which was Peking duck for two, although it didn’t out rightly state “Peking duck,” instead of #97, which did. We told him that #99 was fine, as long as it was Peking duck. There must have been miscommunication, because when it came out, it was a whole bird, #97 instead of the smaller portion, #99. It was way too much duck, so we cancelled the sautéed snow pea leaves we’d ordered. We started out with the pork/shrimp dumplings which were delish, and could have been a meal themselves. Due to the abundance of duck, we didn’t order dessert, but enjoyed the individually boxed fortune cookies with a hint a jasmine. Very different than your average cookie! Despite the duck fiasco, we found the service to be attentive and informative. Finally, about the décor and restaurant set up. I liked all the red and the little eating niches, but could see how some could see that as impractical. The only thing I would warn others about is the restrooms. There are no overt signs stating which is the men’s and which is the women’s. The only indication are the letters “M” or “W” which are strategically placed so that the user will see the reflection in the mirror while walking up to the rooms. This could be easily missed in a dark restaurant such as China House. By the say the women’s is on your right and the men’s in on your left as you walk up. Overall, we enjoyed our dinner and would go again. Much more sour scene than Bed.

Next up, touring with Tong!

I always enjoy the unique entertainment at the Bed Restaurant. I'm glad you went, even though it was not your type of place. Gotta' admit, it's different!

Am enjoying your report. We did the market jetlagged but early in the day, bought a burmese embroidered "buddha's footprint" and some loofah elephants - but early in your stay I think it really does feel overwhelming, happened on the hippie/latte cafe in the middle of the handicrafts section and gratefully had a drink.
The Bed entertainment our night was a very sleazy american guy wearing a rhinesone $ sign medallion who kept chatting up my husband about his work as a casting agent/rehabilitator of working girls. Say what? I just kept scooting further away on the bed dragging my purse with me !
Do want to hear more about Anantara.

Nice report, MPT. I'm enjoying your account.

About Jim Thompson and "branding," you may not know that JT basically created the Thai silk industry. He developed the methods for refining and weaving the silk that are used today (prior to that almost all Thai silk was what we call "raw" silk). He also pioneered fabulous designs. Many of his "heritage" designs are still in use. So while you may think of him as the collector of wonderful Asian antiques, he was able to create that collection because of his Jim Thompson Silk enterprise. Despite his disappearance, the Jim Thompson Company goes on, continuing to make goegeous silk goods.

your comments about the commercialization at JT are interesting...i have just the opposite impression in my many visits there...until last year there was not a shop there (many often commented that it would be a perfect place) and the restaurant was just a very small cafe...
there also was no special display area....there was only the house, the cafe and the garden...

i think the additions are great enhancements personally...

bed is probably not for everyone...it is different that is for sure...
the nite we were there there was a fantastic ice sculpture demo....it just started no intro...

anxiously awaiting your next installments...

Enjoying this and reading with an eye to detail as I go back to Bangkok this May / June to and from Europe after an absence of 6 years .I first went to JT House about 15 and maybe 20 years ago so I will be interested to go back and take my partner for the first time and see what everyone is talking about . I used to think of it as one of the loveliest places in BK .
Hurry MPT with the next instalment please .

I really did enjoy the JT House and think it a must due in BKK. I thnk having the store and cafe on premise is a great idea. I just thought it was a bit much putting his name on everything, from the glasses you drink out of, to the coasters, to the straw wrapper.

Will have next installments tonight. Too busy with mundane stuff right now like work.

Enjoying your report... Looking forward to hearing about your day with Tong.

DAY 3 (TUE): TOUR with TONG

Despite booking her a week before leaving, we were lucky Tong was available when we needed her (in fact, it was the only free day she had left). I had emailed her with what sights / activities I was interested in, and she responded right away. After reading all the wonderful Tong stories on Fodors, I was really looking forward to my time with her. I was not disappointed. Tong met us in the lobby of the Pen at 6:30 AM with a huge smile and delightful laugh. From there I knew it was going to be a good day. Her husband drove their Toyota SUV (a Matrix in the US), which was new and well air-conditioned. I had not specifically asked for a driver, but Tong’s husband just happened to be free that morning, so it was nice to not have her distracted from explaining Thai culture. Our first stop was merit making at Wat Ben (Marble Temple). Tong asked me prior how many offerings I wished to make, and she purchased the necessary supplies. It seemed like we were the first merit-makers that day and as soon as we parked the car and opened the trunk, a group of monks lined up with their bowls ready to receive the food we brought. I was a bit taken aback by this, expecting something a bit more ceremonial or formal. However, the kneeling / bowing, placing the food in the bowl, and receiving a blessing was an unforgettable experience. Afterwards, we walked inside and around the Wat with Tong as she described its history. Next, we went to a local market where we purchased some catfish and frogs “to save” and release into the Chao Phraya. It was fun and somewhat gratifying trying to coax the frogs to jump away to freedom. Our next destination was the main attraction: the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha.

We arrived with what seemed like all the other tourists in BKK a little before the Palace opened. As soon as the gates opened, we all rushed in. Having read up ahead of time, neither my husband nor I were stopped by the fashion police. I did see some ladies having to rent sarongs because of their shorts / short skirts. We visited the Royal Decorations and Coins Pavilion first, getting an in-depth history of the kings of Thailand. Next was Wat Phra Kaeo. Entering the temple was a bit surreal. The gold, the tall demons from the Ramayana, and the tourists clamoring for photos made an awesome first impression. Not only was Tong really good at explaining the history and significance for what we were seeing, she also made a good photographer as well, making sure we didn’t miss any shots. I was surprised by how small the Emerald Buddha was and how high it was displayed. I wondered aloud how the King was able to change its costumes. Overall, pretty impressive. We then went on to visit the other less well-known sights of the Palace.

great info, thanks...isn't tong special!!