Trip report-Thailand and Cambodia
 

We returned from our 17 day trip to Thailand and Cambodia about a week ago. Since our jet lag has partially subsided, I have decided to begin our trip report as I do not want to incur a late penalty. I hope I get some credit for starting the report in a timely way, even though it may take a few days to complete it.
We flew Korean Air from JFK at 12:40 pm. We flew economy, but were very pleased with the leg rooom, size of the seats and personal video devices at each seat with a choice of many first run movies. The flight went smoothly and we arrived at the Majestic Grande Hotel in Bangkok at 2am. We followed Kathy's advice, took a small dose of Melatonin and quickly fell asleep. We awoke early feeling refreshed and ready to start our sightseeing. (We took the Melatonin for the next 2 nights with great results and did not need it after that).
The room at the Majestic Grande was fine with a modern bathroom and a nice view of the city. Ask for a high floor. The breakfast buffet was very good with a selection of western and Thai foods. We chose to eat outside overlooking the pool, but you could eat inside if you prefer air conditioning. The service at breakfast was very good and the waitstaff is very friendly and was very amused and appreciative of our attempts to say please and thank you in Thai. We always try to learn a few key words in the language of the country we are visiting and find that this goes a long way in getting a positive response from people. By the end of the trip, we think we actully were pronouncing some of the words correctly.
We left the hotel to begin our sightseeing at 10am. We went to Wat Pho, Wat Trimitrat and Wat Benchapat, all recommended (stars) in our guidebook. In addition, we walked through the flower market and a food market in Chinatown. At about 1pm we took a cab to Vinimek Palace where we took an English tour of the teak palace. The admission was 100 baht and well worth it. We only understood about 70% of what the tour guide was saying, but it was enough to give us a good idea of what we were seeing. The inside of the teak palace is now air conditioned which made the tour that much more comfortable. After the tour we went to the throne room were there is a stunning display of handicrafts made by Thai students of the arts (jewelry, sculpture, woven material,etc). If you visit Vinimek Palace after buying a ticket to the Grande Palace, admission is free as it is include in the price of admission for the Grande Palace, but this was not an option for us as we were not going to the Grande Palace until our 3rd day in Bangkok. After we left Vinimek Palace we had a little trouble getting a cab to take us back to the Majestic Grande as it was 4:30 on a Friday afternoon. Finally got a cab to take us, but he would not use the meter. We were tired and had had such a nice day that we agreed to a flat rate of what amounted to about $7. I know that this is high by Thai standards, but it took us almost an hour to get back to the hotel and we felt it was worth it. As this was our first day of touring, we decided to eat dinner at a small Thai restaurant near our hotel. The restaurant was on the 2nd floor of the Ploenchit shopping center which is about a block from the hotel. The food was very good. The service was ok and the ambience was non existant, but it was a perfect way for us to end our first day in Bangkok. Our 2nd day in Bangkok with Ratt will be continued tomorrow.

Thanks for the start of your report. The three Wat beginning is a good way to get into Thailand. The flower market and Chinatown are two of our favorites. We found in November that there was never a problem getting a taxi to use the meter. Your difficulty may have occurred because of high tourist season. Oh BTW, penalty avoided. One week is definitely within the acceptable limits.

great start shelly....was wondering how you did...

understand about the taxi...they are very difficult near any tourist attraction...you only paid about a 100% premium, so that is not too bad and who want to argue over $3.50..

i can't believe that you did that much on your first day and without assistance of a guide...congrats!!

anxiously awaiting more

bob

I'm enjoying your report. So glad the melatonin was helpful for you.

For our second day in Bangkok I wanted to have a driver because I wanted to fit in as much as possible I am a Type A personality when it comes to sightseeing, a trait my husband doesn't always appreciate on our vacations, but which he did not seem to mind on this trip, perhaps because everything was so new to us and very interesting. I wanted a driver rather than a guide as I had done extensive research before the trip and knew exactly what I wanted to see. Because of recommendations on this site, we chose Ratt as our driver and I booked her about 3 months before our trip. It turned out to be a good choice. She is a good driver, is pleasant to be with, and has boundless energy, a trait that helped both of us on this day. I had booked her for a whole day which she said was 8-10 hours, but we wound up being out for 12 hours. It wasn't planned that way, but at the end of our planned itinerary for the day she kept asking, "Do you want to do more?" and I kept saying , "Yes". We both were happy with this extended day as I got to see more and she got to make more.
Ratt picked us up at 8am and we drove to the floating market, about 1 hour and 15 minutes from Bangkok. We hired a boat and were paddled through the canals of the floating market, both very busy canals and quiet residential canals. The boat ride was fun, and informative as I always like to see how people make a living in the countries we are visiting. If you go to the floating market not to shop, but to take some photos, have a fun boat ride, and to see something interesting although touristy , I think you won't be disappointed. We were happy we went.
After the floating market, Ratt wanted us to stop at the Benjaring pottery factory to see the work in progress, but when we got there we found that the workers had the day off. However, someone walked us through the different stations and explained the process of creating the handpainted multicolored pieces of potttery. By this time it was 11:45 and we had a 2:00 appointment at the Prasart Museum.
Ratt decided to take a new "short cut" that she had heard about so we took a different route back to Bangkok through a rural area which was very interesting to see. The trip was a little unnerving though as Ratt kept saying that she had never taken this route before and hoped it was right. She had to stop to ask for directions several times but finally we made it back to Bangkok. It took us one hour longer than going to the floating market, but it was a more interesting drive, and we made it to the Prasart museum with 10 minutes to spare.
The tour of the Prasart Museum was one of the highlights of our trip. The guide was lovely and very informative, not only about the art and architecture we were seeing, but also about the Buddist religion and customs. The tour lasted almost 2 hours and we were the only tourists we saw during this time. It is really a very special place and I am so glad we got to see it. Thanks to all you Fodorites who recommended the Prasart.
For those that have not been there, you need to make a reservation in advance for a specific day and time. Ratt did this for us. It was $25 for the two of us and you pay when you get there. It is about 45 minutes from downtown Bangkok and you will need a driver to get you there. It is not easy to find as it is down a small non descript street which is easy to miss.
We left the Prasart at 4 and arrived at the Jim Thompson House for the last English tour of the day. We enjoyed seeing the house and browsed through the store after the tour. This was to be the end of what I had sceduled for the day, but Ratt asked me if I wanted to do more. I asked her if we had enough time for a klong tour and she said yes. We drove to the river, she arranged for a boat, (we had to pay a liitle more than the going rate because they said we would be coming back in the dark). This was agreeable to us, so we left with enough daylight to see the neighborhoods going out and to see everything lit up on our return-2 views for little more than the price of one.
On the way back to the hotel, Ratt drove us around the Grand Palace area which was lit up, and drove us past the Erawan Shrine. She asked if we wanted to stop there, but it was 8:00pm and I was tired and hungry. Time to end this very full and interesting day.
Day 3-to be continued.

Keep it coming.

Thanks for the report......enjoying the read. You really did a lot on day 2, lucky you had a driver.

Aloha!

glad you liked prasart...it is really special...most first timers do not find time for it so you lucked out...

also glad that you liked the floating market....it you go there with the idea of seeing something interesting and fun, rather than any shopping, it is worth the effort, imo...

you packed a lot into your day...ratt is a gem...

she has been almost absent from our pages for months so it is nice to see that you used her successfully..

bob

Yes, the Prasart is lovely, isn't it? They make reservations for just one party at a time to visit, so you will never see other visitors there.

Day 3-We were up early and took the skytrain and river boat to the Grand Palace. We arrived at 8:45, well before the crowds and tour buses. We spent about 3 hours there, mesmerized by the glitz and beauty surrounding us. The craftsmanship is just amazing, truly befitting the king who lived and worshipped here. The mirrored tiles sparkling in the sun are just beautiful.
We spent about 2.5 hours here and left as it was getting very crowded. Before going, we spent some time observing the religious rituals going on at the wat. Because of the guided tour at the Prasart Museum the day before, we understood much of what the people were doing, and this added to our experience of being there.
After leaving, we wandered the streets near the Grand Palace for a while and then walked to the cross the river boat stop opposite Wat Pho. We took the boat to Wat Arun, on the other side of the river. We went inside the wat, and thought we would walk up the steps to the top to have an overview of the river. However, as it was now past noon and getting rather hot, we decided to pass up the 200 step climb in favor of just wandering around for while. We then took the river boat back to the skytrain and headed for Suan Paccard Palace where we arrived at 2:45.
My guidebook said it closed at 4:00, but the person at the admission desk said that we could stay a little later if necessary. Since we and another party were the only ones there, we had a private guided tour by one of the docents who worked there.
The owner of the Palace was a collector of various things from across Thailand from pre historic to contemporary. The artifacts are arranged in various houses moved to their present location from other places in Thailand. The guided tour was excellent in helping us understand some things, but most things are well marked and grouped well enough so that you could probably get alot out of being there on your own. The gardens of the Suan Paccard Palace are like an oasis in the middle of busy Bangkok. We enjoyed our time here and found it very informative.
After we left, we took the skytrain to Cental Paragon and Central Chitlom not to shop but to see the food courts that I had read so much about. They are really quite amazing. I have never seen anything so extensive in the US. We chose not to eat here, not because the food did not look good, but because it was very busy and we wanted a more quiet setting for dinner. (I think the food courts would be great for lunch.)

loving the report...keep it coming

Thanks for the positive strokes for my report. I wanted to make the Bangkok part of the report as detailed as possible as I thought the info might be helpful to other first timers to Bangkok. I really feel indebted to all the fodorites who gave me such detailed information on Bangkok that when I actually got there I had a good feel of what it was possible to do in 3 days, and how to best do it. The recommendation to use a driver for one of the days enabled me to do so much that day. The information regarding the skytrain and river boat enabled me to get around Bangkok faster and in a more interesting way than by simply using taxis. And the recommendation on what clothes to bring and how to try to eliminate jet lag added to the enjoyment we had on our trip. Thanks to everyone who offered such great information. We had a great time in Bangkok. We really loved the city-such nice people, and so much to do. The next part of my report will be on our experiences after leaving Bangkok. Again, thanks to everyone who helped make our trip such a success.

Thanks shelley, the description of the Prasart definitely made me want to take the time to go -- I'd say you packed alot in !! And your description of the Grand Palace goes a long way in a few words to showing why it's a must see for any trip to BKK. Looking forward to your time in Cambodia.

We left Bangkok to spend some time in Northern Thailand-2 days in Chiang Rai and 3 days in Chiang Mai. The scenery in this part of the country is very beautiful, with high mountains and deep valleys. Part of the drive through this area reminded me of what I envision the Hawaiian islands looking like before being overdeveloped (especially some of the landscape on the road to Hana).
Chiang Rai is a small city. It has a small night market. The Kok River runs through it, and you can take a boat ride down the Kok River to visit a hill tribe village at the base of a mountain. We passed on this in favor of taking a road trip to see a hill tribe village, as we were told that the village seen on the road trip was more authentic (not authentic, just more authentic)than that seen on the boat trip.
We went by truck (? samilor) about one hour from our hotel to the top of a mountain, and then had to walk down into a valley for a while. There were many other tourists there, so this was not a hidden gem, untouched by civilization, but then it was not advertised as such. It did give us a good idea of how the hilltribes used to dress and what they do now to earn money. There were many stalls selling things, some of the things ostensibly made in the vilage. I viewed the experience more as a trip to Epcot than as an authentic experience, but it was interesting.
We had to pay extra to enter the village where the long neck Karen tribe lives, but the money is paid directly to the head of the village, ostensibly for the betterment of the people. If it is not used for this purpose, it is definately used for the ease of tourist access to the village. Someone who had been to this village 4.5 years ago said that the access to the village was much more difficult then. . They had to walk down a muddy, narrow path. Instead, we had a wider, semi paved path. Who knows, in 10 years, maybe there will be a gondola.
While in Chiang Rai we stayed at the Rimkok Resort. It was about 10 minutes outside of town. The hotel room was large, but the bathroom needed updating. The hotel has beautiful, landscaped grounds and a large swimming pool. Areas of the hotel overlook the river. The breakfast buffet was adequate, nothing special, but plentiful and varied. We ate dinner at the hotel both nights and it was good.
We enjoyed our time in Chiang Rai, except for the pollution, which only got worse as our trip progressed to Chiang Mai and then Cambodia. I developed a respiratory inflammation that I did not get rid of until one week after I arrived home. The pollution up north is much worse than in Bangkok and I would advise people with respiratory problems to take meds with them to possibly counter the effects of the pollution.

Shelley, your trip sounds much like our planned tour in 2 weeks. I'm finding your experiences very helpful! Please continue--are you per chance on an Amazing Thailand tour?

walker26- Yes we were and it truly was an amazing trip. We used the tour to get us from one place to another, but customized the experience by hiring private drivers and going off on our own along the way. Interestingly, we were not the only ones on the tour to do this. Some of the people on the tour had actually been on this tour several years before and were repeating it to see sights they could not get to the first time around. If you have any questions or concerns I can help you with, please let me know. Hope you have a great trip.

I am so glad to "meet" someone that has been on this trip recently. I do have a lot of questions and the tour company in New York is not very helpful. We have also hired Tong for 2 days and are still planning our tours. We are just using the tour to travel from place to place and plan on doing much on our own. We thought we would do the few included tours and then go from there. What are the included tours like, especially the one in Bangkok, so we don't cover any of the same with Tong. Also, what did you do/hire in Chiang Mai?

i would bag any tours and spend the time with tong....she will be much more informative and will take you only where you want to go....NO SHOPPING DETORUS where you spend more time than at the sites!!!

her husband has an optical shop so if you need glasses it would be a good time to do it cheaply....bring your prescription...

We did not do any included tours in Bangkok with our tour guide and neither did about one half the group. That is because some of us had signed up for a cooking course, some were visiting friends and some were sightseeing on their own. However, I heard from the people who did go on the tour that it was outstanding, so I would recommend going if it fits in with your schedule.
I should say that part of the reason that this tour was so outstanding is because we had the most outstanding tour guide for the entire trip. Her name is Nee. Consider yourself lucky if you get her. Our group agreed that she was one of the best guides we have ever had, and we have all travelled a lot.
In Bangkok, I hired a car and driver for one very full day and did sightseeing on my own via skytrain, river boat and taxi the other two days. One caveat when making your decision about hiring a guide-you will be in Bangkok during the hottest time of the year, and it would probably be more comfortable to see a sight and then immediately get into an air conditioned vehicle. BTW, this is what made the bus tour so comfortable: we went from one sight to the next in an air conditioned bus, and after seeing each sight someone was waiting at the bus to give us refreshing cold wipes and cold water.
Anyway, to answer your question about Chang Mai, we hired a car and driver on arrival for one day, and took tuk tuks and taxis the rest of the time.
We did not do any of the optional tours on the trip except for the one to the hill tribe village which is described above. We did all of the included tours once we left Bangkok, and they were well done and interesting. I will go into more detail about our time in Chang Mai. When are you leaving on your trip? I wish I could go with you. Please post your impressions on your return.
Bob, I do not know if it was our guide or the tour company, but there was very liitle time spent on shopping on this tour. When we did go into a store, it was to see a demonstration of something, ie Celadon and the guide set a very limited time-like 15 minutes for shopping. I am not a shopper and was disuaded from going to China on a tour because of all the wasted time on obligatory shopping stops. This tour did not waste much time shopping and in fact if anyone went on this tour thinking it would be a shopping trip through Thailand, they would be very dissapointed.

shelly---i think you were very lucky...it the most oft complaint that i hear...but some love the stops because they think they are going to "authorized" or "official" shopping areas where they will be treated fairly....now that is a joke!!