I've just returned from three weeks in SE Asia, and will post reports on my experiences as I can over the next week or so. I'll start with some updates on Bangkok.

I stayed at the Royal Orchid Sheraton, as I have for the last 20 years. I love the location on the river and being next door to River City is convenient. I always stay in the Towers, which offers upgraded amenities, full breakfast, drinks and hors d'ouvres in the evening and free laundry service (6 pieces per person per day). The service in the Towers is excellent, and a new (since last year) manager of the Towers appears to have recommitted the Towers to the excellent service I experienced for so many years. (Last year, as I mentioned in my report then, the service was only good.) We had a huge suite for US$195 a night. The lobbies in the Sheraton are not especially impressive, though I do appreciate that they have two separate lobbies, one for groups to check in or to congregate before tours. The guest rooms all have a full (floor to ceiling) view of the river. The guest rooms are currently undergoing renovation. Personally, I don't like the very modern furnishings of the new decor, I prefered the lovely old hand-carved teak. The Thai restaurant in the hotel, the Thara Thong, is excellent, and one of the loveliest restaurant spaces in Bangkok.

Restaurants: We ate at Lemongrass, and thought the food was even better than last year. We also ate again at Harmonique, which did not impress me as much as it did last year. The service was inattentive, and I realized in looking again at the menu, at how much it is weighted toward Chinese cuisine. (some may consider that an advantage) We had planned on eating at the Thai restaurant in the Grand Hyatt Erawan (for their great "order from the menu buffet" at lunch), but the Rotary Club had reserved the whole restaurant for a meeting that day. On the recommendation of the conceirge, we walked a block and ate at the Spice Market in the Four Seasons. (Formerly know as the Regent, the Four Seasons has taken over management of the two Regent hotels in Thailand, the one in Bangkok and the one outside Chaing Mai.) The food was excellent, and the duck dish we ordered, a red curry with surgar-cane smoked duck, was declared the "best of this trip." The price, however, was quite high (for Bangkok). For two entrees, mineral water, two beers, and two desserts, the bill came to US$50 for lunch!

Of course, I paid a visit to my favorite Bangkok Jeweler, SJ International (125/8 Sawankhalok Road, Dusit, Bangkok, phone 02-2432446; call for pick up at your hotel). I timed the ride from the Royal Orchid, it took us 20 minutes to get there, leaving at 10 am, and about 25 minutes to get back to the Royal Orchid leaving at about 11:30. One indicator of price: I lost a ruby earring jacket a few months ago. The jeweler here in Seattle who sold me the pair could replace it at a discount for me for $540. I thought the price was outrageous, and took the remaining jacket along with me to Bangkok. The price from SJ was US$120. SJ was very apologetic that they had to charge me so much to duplicate it, but it was an unusual design, and it had to be done by hand.

I spent the last day in Bangkok in the Mandara spa at the Royal Orchid. If you love to spa, the Mandara Spas have a card you can buy for discounts at any of their Thai locations. As I stayed at two places with a Mandara Spa, I saved a good amount by buying the card.

Kathie- do you bargain at your jeweler?
Also do you know of any places in Bangkok where one can purchase tapestries?
Thanks!

I don't bargain with my jeweler, as I've been buying there for 20 years and they give me the "wholesale" price. They'll always give you a better price if you've been referred by a friend. Feel free (anyone) to say they were referred by me.

I'm not sure what you mean by tapestries... I think of the beautiful handwoven silk wallhangings from Laos or the sequined "bas relief" fabrics from Northern Thailand. You can buy either at shops specializing in local textiles. There are a couple of shops at River City that I've used (bargain hard), one called Maya. Ask at your hotel for recommendations as well.

Another note on Bangkok shopping: There have been rumors on this board of a Jim Thompson outlet store. Indeed, there are two of them! One, which has only yard goods, is located just two blocks from the main Jim Thompson store at 149/4-6 Surawong Road. The other outlet has yard goods plus other Jim Thompson items like T-shirts, purses, jewelry boxes, stuffed animals, etc like the main store has. Prices about half of retail. Any Jim Thompson store will have a card showing the location of the two outlets with a map and directions in Thai.

Kathie - Upon your recommendation and other I have seen (although there are also many negative comments), I am leaning toward staying at the Royal Orchid Sheraton on our trip to Bangkok next year. Please advise what is in River City. We aren't into eating at expensive restaurants, so are there some moderately priced Thai restaurants and fast food places in the vicinity? Also, what about grocery stores to buy snacks, beer, etc?

River City is a large shopping center, renowned for it's arts & antiques stores. It also has many other kinds of stores, tailoring, a drug store, etc. There are a few restuartants. I haven't eaten in them so can't tell you much about them. I really can't say if there are fast food restaurants in the vicinity, as I don't eat fast food, so don't even notice the places. There are certainly restaurants within walking distance of The Royal Orchid (Harmonique, for instance). If you stay in the Towers, you may not need to eat dinner as the drinks and hors d'ouvres are plenty for me, anyway.

Thanks Kathie. I will see about getting a Towers room if we decide to stay there. One last question - how easy is it to get to the skytrain from the ROS?

The skytrain is some distance. I can't tell you exactly where the nearest station is, as I don't use the skytrain when I'm in Bangkok, I use the river boats or taxis.

The skytrain station is about a 2km walk from the hotel. If you don't want to walk then just take a river ferry to the Sathorn pier and the station is right there.

Kathie: How does SI do on pearls? TU

Hi Kathie - I really enjoyed your trip discussion and am looking forward to hearing more about it. We are leaving in early January for a 3 week trip. We are also staying at the Royal Orchid and were glad to hear how much you liked it.

I do have a couple of questions. What should I pack for a 3 week trip? We'll be in Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. Should I expect to wear shorts in the city - except for the temples of course. What about evening wear? Is it generally casual?

Also, since we're getting in at 11:30 at night, we decided to let the hotel arrange limosine tranfer for us. How much should we tip the limo driver?

Thanks.

Skaye, you'll find good deals on pearls at SJ.

Joanh, I'd suggest that you'll want light long pants or long skrts or dresses more than shorts everywhere except Phuket. Long, light and loose will be the coolest clothing. Evenings in Chaing Mai can even be a bit chilly (relatively) in January. Evening waer is generally casual, though there are certainly places in Bangkok where you would dress very well. I take along something like a light black dress that I can dress up for evenings if I want to.

I always just hire a limo from the airport to take me to the hotel. There are stands just outside customs as you arrive. The "limos" are fixed price, and are usually large Mercedes sedans. You can have the hotel send a car for you, but it is much more expensive. However, if it makes you feel better, do it. There is no need to tip the driver (really) as the hotel will have added a service charge.

Enjoy your trip!

We stayed at the Royal Orchid in January and loved it. We were on the 25th floor and looked DOWN on the fireworks displays outside our window at night!

Kathie - Thanks for your response on what to bring and tipping. I'm hoping to visit your jewelry store and probably the Jim Thompson outlets as well. We've also upgraded to a Tower room at the Royal Orchid. I've been reading your responses on a number of other threads and got lots of useful information Thanks for being so helpful.

Now if we can get through 22 hours of flying to get there , I think we'll really have a good time.

kathie---great report --can't wait for the rest....

richard1148--restaurants in river city---there are several...on the roof there is a nice place that is reasonable--thai...there is a korean style one on 2 or 3...i can't think of any fast food in the immediate area, but there is plenty all around bkk..

take the sheraton boat to the skytrain/taskim stop (end of line)--less than 5 minutes....tons of taxis in back of river city all the time also...

there is a small grocery store in the back (street side) of river city on the ground level....enter from the street

Thanks rhkkmk, that's the info I needed. I am now 99% sure that we will stay at the Royal Orchid Sheraton if I can get the Towers room.

richard---i remembered later that there is a mcdonalds and maybe some other fast food on new road at robinson's department store, which is next to the taskin sky train station in back of the shangra-la hotel....that's a 15 minute walk from the sheraton or a short boat ride....also along silom road there are a number of restaurants, especially near silom village

FYI, behind that MacDonald's and connected to that Robinson's is the Centre Point Silom, the hotel we like. You can see why it's a great location!

Kathie: You were kind enough to say we could use your name at SJ.. Is there anyone in particular you like to deal with or do they all know you? Thank you -

I've used a number of the sales people at SJ, The person I worked with last month was "Linda," but the person I've worked with most often over the last 20 years is Lily. Nonetheless, if you simply say you were referred, they will give you better prices even if they don't have a clue as to who referred you!