Hi Margaret-I would be happy to answer your questions.
1-We hired our driver in Bangkok in advance of our trip, and in Chang Mai after we arrived. The hotel could probably book a driver for you, but this would probably cost more than the way we did it in Chang Mai. We were out walking and I saw a taxi parked with the driver standing outside of it. I asked him if I could hire him for a half day and of course he said yes. His English wasn't great, but his wife who drives a tuk tuk spoke perfect English. I asked her how much for 5 hours. She told me 700 baht and we agreed on the price. I did not bargain because I thought that this was really cheap. In fact at the end of the day I gave him more than what we agreed on because I think he deserved it. In Bangkok, I paid 3000 baht plus 600 baht for gasoline for a 12 hour day and about 150 miles of driving. This should give you a good ballpark figure for prices. Just be aware that what I hired were drivers, not tour guides. I knew where I wanted to go and how long I wanted to stay at each stop. Also, I had a good guide book with me for reference at each stop.
2-I had read that tipping is not expected in Thailand, but we tipped for good service anyway. Usually we got good service. I would not leave anything for bad service. We did not tip what would be expected in the US, but I wanted to leave something. I left 1 or 2 dollars a day for the maid, and 10% for the waiter. I tipped the driver of the bus and the tour guide what was suggested by the tour company as I felt that that they deserved it. Our tour guide was exceptional and deserved the $6 dollars a day per person that was suggested. If she were not so good, I would have tipped less.
3-I changed money into bahts at the airport so never used American money in Thailand. I do not know whether you can use American money as I only saw prices in bahts. In Cambodia you can use Thai bahts or American and this is where my $1 bills came in handy.
4-When touring with the group, we stopped at many places that had western toilets, especially at the lunch stops. Our guide knew the good stops and tried to avoid the not so good ones. There were a few stops though that had Asian toilets. Make sure to have tissues or toilet paper with you at all times.
I know you will have a great time on this trip. Thailand is such an interesting and diverse country. The weather will be hot though, so make sure you stay well hydrated. Have a wonderful trip.

Shelly is quite right - use baht in Thailand, not US$. In Cambodia you need US$, as it's the de facto currency there, not true in Thailand.

Thank you both Shelley and Kathie. I greatly appreciate the info. This website is everything the joy of travel is about. The best of everything to you.

I found the contact information for the driver we used in Chang Mai. The drivers wife's name is Ting and I dealt with her by phone (to change the pick up time) and in person. The phone number is 0898533544 and the email address is tingtuktuk@hotmail. The car was not new, but the A/c worked.

Great report, Shelley. I'm sorry we missed the elephants playing soccer. Will have to go back!

I am going to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Chiang Rai the end of March and have loved reading everyone's input. I would love to know how to get a hold of Ratt or one of the other recommended tour guides to drive us to the Prasart Museum and the MR Kukrit House that I just found out about thanks to your suggestions.

I have been to Bangkok several times, but it has been around 8 years since I was there. I am a foodie and would love some suggestions about great/authentic restaurants (loved Harmonique when I was there before).

I also love to shop for antiques. Any suggestions of reputable dealers or great shops with interesting, unique, and good quality Thai crafts?

I have never been to Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai, so any restaurant and shopping suggestions would be appreciated. We are staying at the Rachamankha Hotel and the Anantara Resort Golden Triangle if anyone has any feedback.

I am thinking about skipping the tour to the Elepant Center in Chiang Mai to shop. Is this a mistake? (I rode elephants in India which was wonderful.)

Sally, for high-end antiques (especially Tibetan), visit Amantee www.amantee.com in Bangkok. I've made several purchases there.

For info on crafts in Chiang Mai, you might want to read my report from November, 2006, called something like Penang, Chiang Mai, Bangkok: Kathie's 2006 trip report.

The Rachamankha Hotel has an excellent restaurant, but I wouldn't stay there. The rooms were spartan, at best, and the bathrooms had a lot of mildew. We liked Yaang Come Village, you can read my detailed review in my trip report.

The Anantara at the Golden Triangle is a fabulous place. We loved it! (we were there right after they opened a few years ago) The coooking class is great. You could spend your time there just relaxing, but we very much enjoyed a day trip to Chiang Sean and Doi Tong.

Sally-You can email Ratt at [email protected]. You need a timed reservation at the Prasart which Ratt can make for you if you use her as a driver.

sally i have a restaurant list if you are interested:

[email protected]

The last 3 days of our trip were spent in SR. We spent the first two days viewing temples from 8am until 6pm with about a 1.5 to 2 hour break for lunch. We seemed to have hit all of the starred temples in the guidebook and then some-about 5 temples each day. . The carvings are beautiful (our guide interpreted the carvings for us) and the temples themselves are awesome. I enjoyed climbing to the tops of several temples via very steep and narrow staircases. This was a new experience for me. My husband did not enjoy the heights as much as I, but he did it. I loved seeing the temples the first day, but felt I had seen enough by the end of the second day.
On our third and final day in Cambodia, we drove to Tonle Sap Lake and took a boat tour of the floating villages which I found extremely interesting. Some of the sights were really strange such as a pig pen with three pigs in it floating on the water. On the way back to town we made 2 stops that were particularly memorable.
One was at a village near the lake where we engaged with some of the kids who were just getting home from their half day of school. We had simple conversations with them as they wanted to practice their English. Our guide encouraged us to bring toiletries to give to the adults and pens to give to the kids. Everyone seemed to appreciate what they got.
The other stop was at a school/shop where children made "artwork" (leather shapes of animals, dancers,etc.) that were being sold for $1-$10 dollars. We were told by our guide that the money was used to benefit the kids. Each piece identified the name of the child who made it. As the piece was being paid for, the teacher called out the name of the child, and the child came to the front of the room to present it to the purchaser and have a picture taken of him with the purchaser. The smiles on the kids' faces as their names was being called was absolutely priceless.
We also stopped at Artisan's D'Angkor for a short demonstration and ate a quick lunch in town before returning to our hotel to finish packing. At about 5:30 we left for the airport to make our 7:30 flight to Bangkok. We connected with our 2am Korean Air flight and after flying for what seemed like forever we arrived at JFK at 10:30am. We spent the night in NY and drove back to MA. the next day, very tired but happy to have seen so much.
Thanks again to everyone who helped make our trip such a successful one.

Hi Shelleyk,
What hotel did you stay at in Siem Reap? I was just there as well, I stayed at Hotel De La Paix. So many hotels there, I am curious to hear an opinion of another one, thanks!

Cookiepuss-We stayed at the Princess Angkor. All of the hotels we stayed at are sort of blending together, but from what I can recall the hotel was fine, not the caliber of Hotel de la Paix, but fine for our purposes. As you can see from our touring schedule, we were in the hotel for a very short time each day. The hotel had a pool that we just took a quick look at as we had no time to swim. The dining room was ok. We ate there 2 nights as we were too tired to go back into SR. I know the beds were ok because we had no trouble sleeping.
Thanks for your answer to my other post concerning the weather in Vietnam. Was your stay in SR an extension of your Vietnam trip? I think I will take your advise and go to Viet Nam late Feb into March. Any other comments on what you liked or disliked about your Vietnam trip would be appreciated.

Yes we flew in and out of Thailand, visiting Luang Prabang, Siem Reap, and then Vietnam - Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, and then Nha Trang for the beach. My trip was busy, so it was great to hit the beach at the end for a few days of R&R. I think this really added to my enjoyment of Vietnam. For me, a great vacation means very nice hotels and amazing architecture. Ergo, Angkor Temple complex was my favorite part of the trip. Vietnam does not have as much cool stuff at that, but the culture, food, and some smaller sites to see like temples, shrines and ancient ruins can keep you busy for a while. We moved around a lot but honestly we didn't feel we needed anymore time in any places.
Hoi An was a very enjoyable place, we stayed at the Nam Hai outside of town. It may not be for everyone since it is pretty expensive (we got a lower rate than now, I heard it has or is going up to $500+)but it was a fabulous place. We then went down to Nha Trang and stayed at Evason Hideaway, also pretty pricey but I loved it!!!! I think if I did not have this part of my trip, I would not look at it as fondly. We did not do Saigon at all, I heard from many people there is just nothing much to see there.
My husband and I did India last year - and I have decided that I want to go back there, maybe do Southern India next. It was such a magical place for me, exotic and the mosques, shrines and sites to see were truly spectacular. Maybe I would like Egypt, I think these types of trips are really what I love. Just trying to say I don't want to fault Vietnam for my personal preference.

cookiepuss-Interestingly, I am planning a trip to India for late January of 2008. I am sure that India will be more inpressive to me than Viet Nam. We went to Egypt last year-6 nights in Cairo and 7 nights on a Nile Cruise. This was one of the best trips we have ever taken. Besides seeing the more well known temples and pyramids, I hired a driver in Cairo to take me to some off the beaten path, lesser visited temples and pyramids that I had read about. It was an amazing and memorable trip. I hope you decide to go.

Kathie ~ the Amantee looks beautiful and my kind of place! I think we will go to lunch there as well. It says it's 20 minutes from downtown. We are staying at the Oriental, so it should be easy to get there. Any other places like that you can think of? What are your favorite restaurants?

Thank you everyone for your great info and input. It is very much appreciated.

Sally, for antiques and arts, I always check the stores at River City as well. Do print out the driving directions to teh Amantee for your taxi driver (note that they are on teh website in Thai).

Some favorite restuarants: LaNa Thai at Face, Lemongrass is an old favorite, Harmonique is good (though the service is not). We loved Chote Chitr, but getting there is an ordeal. I gave fairly detailed reviews of restaurants in my November trip report.

Shelley, sorry to hijack your excellent trip report!

Hi--I'm planning to go to Siem Riep from Thailand in early April and would be interested to hear how you got to Cambodia. Did you fly?

Kathie-No problem. Happy to share the thread with you.

Raquel101-Yes, we flew Bangkok Air. The flight took less than 1 hour.

I have tried to contact Ratt, Tong, and Cherry to see if they are available when I'm in Bangkok, and they aren't! Any suggestions for other good tour guides with cars? Ratt replied back that I could book with someone else in her company, so I am wondering if anyone has any other tour guides they could recommend before I just book someone with no references from this great group of Fodorites!

Sally J-I do not have any other names to recommend. More people will see your question if you start a new thread and ask this question on a post seperate from my trip report. ( I think your question might be lost here). Good luck in finding a driver. If all else fails, I would go with someone recommended by Ratt.

btw, the tibetan shop is more than 20 minutes from downtown...it is just past the old airport so i would plan on 40 minutes....i wish we had visited there but had to cancel...

Hi Shelley, I just read your interesting notes. I hope you can help us. We are flying into Bangkok in October, arriving at 11:05PM. What is the best way at that hour of the night to get to the Royal Orchid Sheraton? Also, we need transportation to Laem Chabang (cruise port) on the 17th. Unfortunately we do not have much time in Bangkok--what is the name of the driver you had? How do I reach her--Thanks for all your help--BRIALL

It will be a 25 minute taxi ride to the Royal Orchid form the airport. You can take a taxi, just follow the signs, or take a "limo" really a large sedan. AOT is one company, right outisde the door you pass through from customs.

You can use one of the drivers often discussed on this board (like Ratt or Julie Taxi to get to the port, or teh Royal Orchid can set it up for you, or you can use a limo service like AAC. The hotel car will always be the most expensive option.

You can contact Ratt at: [email protected]

Thank you for the info--I will try and contact her via email--BRIALL

I am getting returned mail trying to arrange transportation/guide. I think I am using the correct address for ratt.
[email protected] If this is wrong please help me out--Thank You--BRIALL

The address is rat with 1 t

shelleyk, the report is great. In addition to your report I would like add few photos of Cambodia.
http://world.50x60.com/world.php?cha...ng=2&size=

Thank you Shelleyk. I sent another email to Ratt
[email protected]
Hope she responds--Thanks for your help--I'll let you know if it goes through--BRIALL

Shelleyk--Thanks--got through to ratt--sounds very nice and professional--BRIALL

Hi Shelleyk--We used to live in N.R., MASS--loved it--now live in NH and love it here too. If given a choice would you take an elephant ride or the Floating Market. It appears that both on the same day and getting to Laem Chabang at 1:30 (Sapphire Princess in Oct.)or so is pushing it unless we leave the hotel around 5:30 A.M. They are both 2 totally different things--problem is I don't want to give up ether as they seem very interesting--don't know which to choose--Thanks for your input ahead of time--BIALL

Guess I can't spell my Fodorian name--it is BRIALL not BIALL

personally i would do the floating market, but your time constraints are tight....the pier is almost to pattaya i think which is in the opposite direction??

brianl----why don't you join the large fodors asia group which will meet in cambridge on oct 13 at the hotel @ MIT about 11AM...its tons of fun....watch for our posting....

I will be interested in learning more about the posting in Cambridge--plz advise--thanks--BRIALL

You can find information at http://travelbackpacker.blogspot.com

Hi Briall,
The floating market and the elephant ride were great fun and very memorable. We did the elephant ride at an elephant camp outside of Chang Mai. The one hour ride was through jungle- like woods and through a river, so that made it very interesting. I do not know where you would go to ride an elephant near Bangkok, so I can't comment on that. Whichever you decide to do, I am sure it will be very worthwhile. Sorry for the late response. I have not checked this site for a while.

shelleyk - I know this is an old trip report but just wanted to thank you for posting all the details of your trip with Smartours. My boyfriend and I are leaving for the Amazing Thailand tour on Sunday and it was your experience that convinced us we would enjoy traveling with the tour group (something we have not done before) because we could go off and do plenty of things on our own. So thanks for sharing your experience!

jclizzard-You are welcome. I hope you have a great trip. Please post a trip report on your return, as I am sure others would like to know if things (hotels, itinerary, etc.) have remained the same or changed, since I travelled to Thailand and Cambodia with Smartours more than a year ago.