Thanks for all the help we received from Fodor’s for our trip to Thailand. I’m posting a report to help future travelers. We arrived in Bangkok from the first part of our trip to Tokyo and transferred from Thai Airways to Bangkok Airways for a short flight to Samui. They were great at getting us on an earlier flight once we cleared customs.
Airport taxi from Samui airport cost B400 for 2 people if you walk up the hill or take the tram. It’s B500 if you take the taxi from the terminal. They do not use meters here.
It was about 15 minutes for Airport to Sala Samui on CheongMon Beach. We had a fresh pineapple juice as we checked in and a little tour of the pool villa before we went for a swim in our private pool! The beach is just a short walk away. Get the breakfast included if you stay there. It’s a huge buffet, plus you can order off the menu. Great coffees, lattes etc.. Don’t miss the yummy sticky rice. The staff are all very attentive and nice.
For dinner we tried not to go too far and ate one night at Pangea, the hotel’s restaurant. No atmosphere, decent food, but not Thai. The second and third nights we wondered just off the resort to the strip mall to the left and ate at Masala’s. Owned by an English guy whose Thai wife does the cooking. This was the best Thai food we had the whole trip. Also the cheapest! The last night we took the van to Chaweng Beach. Much more touristy and full of hotels, shops, and restaurants. We ate at both Will Wait and Ninja’s recommended by the driver and guidebooks respectively. Both were good, but not great Thai places. We drove through rain and flooded streets on the way back to the airport. October is definitely rainy season and it rained at least once a day for a few hours. It didn’t kill the vacation since we had a private hut by our private pool to sit and read and relax, but consider this in the future.
Next, off to Bangkok.

Arrived in Bangkok around 3 in the afternoon. As many have posted the airport Taxis don’t like to use the meter. The staff at the airport wrote The Peninsula and cost in Thai, but told us the flat rate of B450, including tolls. They give you a slip in case you get further cheated. Our luggage isn’t huge, but we had to put one in the trunk and one in the passenger seat next to the driver. So, if you have a lot of luggage, consider hiring a private driver rather than the public Taxi. Arrived at the Peninsula and they made change for the taxi driver for us. Check in was lovely and we promptly left to take the shuttle boat to the Skytrain (BTS) station. Bought a 20 trip pass to make it easy to take the Skytrain without dealing with paper tickets. After 3 days, we still had 11 trips left.
Got off at Siam station and shopped and ate around Siam square. We had bought Nancy Chandler’s Map in Samui and it was a great resource! Ate at a touristy thai place (Ban khun mae) followed by dessert at Mango Tango on Soi 3. We can’t get enough sticky rice with mango!!! Then went over to the malls, Central World, Siam Center. Lots of nice shopping in Siam square, too. But it’s outdoor and gets hot and sticky.
Day 2 was Sunday and if you are in Bangkok during the weekend, do not miss the Chatuchak market. Bought silk bags, paper products and thai spices. Look out for the dressed up bunnies and animals section. That evening went to Hazara, a highly recommended Indian place. It was kind of empty, but a nice teak house setting. Good but not great Indian food. (By this time, I realize how lucky I am to live in Toronto with so many great international foods.)
Monday went to the Palace and Wat Pho. We took the Public water taxi up from the Oriental pier to stop #9 for B16 per person. Only 1 guy tried to tell us it was closed until 2pm. Both were great and not to be missed. Ate lunch at The Deck at Arun Residence. Again, good but not great Thai food. But, the view made up for it. Decided to walk around Chinatown, but this turned out to be a bad idea. Unless you have a burning desire to be covered in soot and buy a lot of gold, I would not recommend it. We also decided not to go to Khao San Road after this experience. Went for a swim back at the Pen’s pool. That was lovely. Ate dinner at Harmonique, a restaurant recommended in Nancy Chandler’s Guide. This was my favorite meal of the trip. Red curry fish with sticky rice. More sticky rice with mango for dessert.
Tuesday went to the Mulberry Spa for a 2 hour treatment. This is on Si Lom a 5 min walk from the Oriental pier. Nice, not to costly, but the sound from the street was distracting during the massage. Ate dinner again at Harmonique before we went back to the Pen. Our overnight flight left at 10pm, and the Peninsula offered to let us use their showers in the exercise room. They were really nice and I felt prepared for the 36 hours of flying ahead!
Taxi from Pen back to Airport cost B340 including tolls. So, don’t go for their flat rate offers, use the Meter!

Thanks for reporting. We loved Harmonique as well and also found Hazara underwhelming. I never understood what the appeal of Chinatown was - perhaps others will chime in with positive experiences.

Thanks for the report. Harmonique is truly a treasure.

We really liked Chinatown. We got there early in the morning, walking up from the River Ferry. We saw the Way with the alligator statue and then wandered through the cloth market street. We took a left and wandered up the food market alley. there were many stalls selling Chinese funeral goods. We ended up at a Wat near the NE corner of Chinatown and observed many making merit. A Dim Sum lunch at a spot on the Nancy Chandler Map was very good.

Great report Kat. Glad you had a good time despite not great weather.

The Thai restaurant at Face, LaNa Thai, is much better than the Indian place, Hazara, IMO.

By the way, the taxi rate from the airport includes an airport surcharge, so you really did fine on the taxis. In the city, always ask for the meter.

Thanks for the report!