Well said Guen!

Guen, Aren't you one of those who never venture out of the big cities in Asia - BKK, Singapore?

Ohhhhh Boy......

CFW...I thought this topic was over...but.. no I don't only go to big cities in Asia. However, I find more interesting things to do in the city than out of it and I'm not that excited about vacationing in a beach area. I happen to be from a state that has the Pacific Ocean bordering it. But...to each his own...good night. Happy Travels!

Hawaiian Traveler....Memories....Happy Travels!

I'm with Guen- we vacation in the big cities, we are not beach people, we are not on the hunt to find the "Real Thailand", etc. We enjoy our 5 star hotels, great restaurants, and shopping and if we happen to soak up a little local culture in the process thats a bonus!

I'm definitely not a beach person and never go unless forced (only exception is Bali). I love cities but I also love the out of way villages and off the tourist track places where I can connect to the people and learn more about other cultures -- especially asian ethnic minorities. So I have spent several weeks in the central highlands of Vietnam, been on the Pakistani Afghanistan border (Karakorum Highway) and have spent many months exploring the rural areas of Northern and Issan parts of Thailand as well as 3 weeks in rural parts of Burma. My main interest is learning about people and their culture and art. Temple hopping is probably my least favorite activity these days. Nor am I a shopper for anything outside of indigenous ccrafts and art although I do have clothes made.

I love 5 star luxury but don't like large modern hotels no matter how deluxe. The reason I love the Oriental is because it has a small hotel feel for me. Much prefer the smaller places. I have also stayed in horrible places on many of my trips when I had no option and survived. I will never go in a pool and resorts don't interest me. If I'm in a city I like to be in the middle of it where I can walk around.

Very well said to the above posters...it all comes down to ...to each his own...after all different people have different interests and ways that they want to spend not only their vacation, but THEIR hard-earned money on a vacation. Now...maybe this topic has been retired. Have a good day. Happy Travels!

Last year in November my wife and I were in Thailand to bring home our new adopted daughter. After picking her up in Chiang Mai we spent 9 days in and around BKK. Our dealings with the US consulate were delayed because they were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, so we opted to head to the beach of Cha-Am, about 2 hours south of BKK.
You need to understand that if you are looking for those travel poster beaches with clear blue lagoons and placid seas, you will need to go further south into areas like Puket. The area we visted had small waves (no body surfing for this ex-California guy) and a narrow sand beach. But the swimming is nice and the water very warm.

Cha-Am is a rather quiet town and we enjoyed the peacefulness of the place. There was some degree of night life but
we weren't looking for that. The most wonderful thing was that the festival of Loi Kratong was occurring that weekend
(when Thais float flowers and candles on the water and launch aerial lanterns)
so we spent the evening and well into the night watching scores of lanterns
float up and out over the ocean.

The people of Cha-Am were all friendly and we met many Thais who were thrilled
that we were adopting a Thai orphan. We
also met a Swedish couple who had come to Thailand to open a small business.

We stayed at "The Gems" and it was the most expensive room we had in our entire trip. I recall that it was about $48 per night and included breakfast, western style.

If you are going to BKK you ABSOLUTELY, POSTIVITELY, call our guides Oh and Kwan. They handled EVERYTHING including
dealing with the Thai government and US consulate. I am not exagerating in the least when I say that all you will need to do is tell them what you want to do and see during your visit, and then show up in your hotel lobby at the appointed time. They will provide as much or as little as you want. They know all the right places to shop where you won't get taken, and they have the connections to make you trip a wonderful experience and not just a another mundane tourist junket.

BTW, don't even THINK about driving in
BKK!! YOU DON'T WANT TO DO IT!!! Let
Oh and Kwan get you a vehicle and driver.

Email me if you want Oh and Kwan's
info. You can't go wrong hiring them.
Did I mention their rates are VERY reasonable?

You can read our trip journal (with more of our experience with Oh and Kwan) at:
http://www.angelfire.com/wa/popp/thaijournal.html

_My 98 cents worth......

I've just become acquainted with this website ---it fascinates me. I used it for the first time last year prior to a trip to India--really helpful info from real travelers.

Here's a different take. I am a senior,a woman, interested in the more unique travel experiences. It's harder to travel on your own ; you don't find too many seniors who do this alone ( sans any companion) So, I opt for traveling to India, Thailand, China, Africa with an adventure tour company from MA . BUT then take post tour breakaways, alone. Certainly more expensive, but has benefits at my age. Why do I breakaway? Because no matter how good the company ( and this one is), one really sees lots of sights--architectural etc. and people, but doesn't participate with them on a deeper level.

The posters on this site are interested in culture. I value what I read here. I still work part time teaching English to non-native adult speakers which funds my travel appetite. It is a cultural experience--like traveling vicariously as you share their past with them.

Background given, unlike most of you, I find the world so full and diverse, that I don't return to the same place twice even though I know I've missed much. Diversity on a trip is as important to me as diversity in my foods at home, the clothes I wear and the activities I engage in.

On this tour I'm taking in Thailand, we are only spending a few days in Bangkok where they give us a broad picture of this city and also time on our own (which I'll value.) This wouldn't satisfy the BKK lovers. I'm aware that I will miss out on much culture gained from theater to people watching on the street. The two week tour accomplishes as much as it can in that time.

My post trip , alone, will be to a small island beach , Ko Samet, which I know little about---3 1/2 days of beach walking, sun rises and sunsets, eating, wandering through a national park seems like another aspect of Thai life. I would surely not travel from MA just for a beach--we do have the Caribbean and Hawaii. But why not go when it's available as part of a larger tour-- and why compare world beaches, or beaches vs. hill tribes or city , rather than simply enjoy each aspect at the time you're there. Of course not to discourage beach time or any other time ,since everything satisfies a different need at a different time for different people---nothing to be discouraged.

I'm following the beach with Siem Reap for 3 1/2 days--a tribute to my Cambodian students--to understand their past. For me, the beach will be down time between two cultures.

Sorry about the length. I got carried away in an effort to respond to both sides of 50 or so posters' comments.

MHRS-I note that you live in Massachusetts. Consider this a personal invitation to join other Fodorites of all ages at the upcoming Get Together in Cambridge on October 15, 2005. It's at the Hotel@MIT. If you're interested, let me or Bob (RhkKmk) know.

I agree that it is always difficult to decide whether to see a new place or re-visit one where you had a great time. Having travelled a fair amount in Europe and all over the US, we've settled on Asia generally and Thailand specifically for the last several years.

yes, please join us in cambridge next saturday...there will be at least 19 people from the aisa board there to give you tons of tips for your upcoming trip...
let me know if you think you can come so i can include you in our numbers for the hotel...parking adajacent to the hotel by the way....
we eat from the simple luncheon menu or from the weekend brunch...fairly reasonable...cash...
if you come bring one or two items from your travels to display....

[email protected]

Yes, please do join us. Not everyone attending is from the northeast. I'll be flying in from Illinois! My grown son will be with me. He has made 28 trips to Thailand and LOVES to share his experiences, as do I. We'd love to see you at the get together (GTG).
Carol

to MHRS
FYI
There are a couple of threads on the Boston GTG if you search. The date for the GTG is next Saturday, Oct 15, at noonish, at a place called the Inn@MIT restaurant. Hope you can make it.

I'm a little late coming to this since I've been away for the past 16 days but after reading through the posts, I have to say that I completely agree with Guenmai. I hate it when some people look down on me because I want to stay in 5 star hotels. You don't need to stay in hostels to get a more "real" experience. In SEA, 5 star luxury is very affordable so why shouldn't I enjoy it? It's NICE to be pampered every now and then. When I go to Europe, I'm reduced to 2 and 3 star places, some of which are true dumps and cost almost as much as a 5 star place in Thailand. When I'm in Europe, I certainly don't feel like I'm getting a better cultural experience than someone at the Ritz. In fact, I think my experince is worse since I've compromised a good night's sleep staying in a noisy hotel with a rotten bed! How can you appreciate the culture when you're tired and your back aches?

As for the beach question, I'm not a beach person and always make that clear when answering a post on how much time to spend at one. I enjoy a nice beach for a couple of days here and there but do not make it the focus of my vacations. When I was in Greece a few years ago, I ran into so many Americans who went from beach to beach and never saw anything else. I just don't understand why someone would travel all that way and not go see at least a few sights, but hey, it's their vacation and their money so who cares.

When I travel, I want to get some of the culture but I'm not going to sit here and say that I want a deep, fully immersed in culture experience either. I want to stay in nice hotels, eat at good restaurants and shop. This is after all my vacation and to me, vacation means doing something that I don't do at home so I refuse to wash out undies in the sink or make my own picnic lunch. I want to live better when I'm on vacation, not worse. There are some places where you really do need to forego the luxury for a true experience however. When we went to Peru last year, we wanted a more real Amazon Basin experience, not just amazon lite, so we travelled for 7 hours on a boat (in complete darkness) to go to Bolivia, in the middle of nowhere, to say in a hut with no hot water or electricity. We got a truly fabulous experience that I'm sure we would not have gotten had we stayed closer to civilization, and it was wonderful and I would do it again. But this is different than what hotel to stay in in BKK or whether to stay 3 nights or 6 nights on a beach. Everyone needs to figure out what they want from each vacation and plan accordingly. They can ask us for advice but in the end, they need to do what they want.

Sorry if this was a bit of a rant or off course. I just got home from Malaysia at midnight and I'm jet-lagged and my mind is wandering (what else is new ;-) )

For all of those that discourage beach time you will be happy to know that I have convinced my boyfriend to cut off one day from the beach due to the replies on this thread!

We will now spend 5 nights near Krabi rather that 6 nights between 2 different beaches.

We plan on renting a long tail to visit neighboring islands one day, I will dive one day (he doesn't dive), we will kayak another day and explore one of the national parks one day.

Cheers and thanks!

Euro== great! I assume that means you will be adding a day to bangkok. It also sounds like you will be using your beach time well.

Welcome back...Laurieco...I agree with the bad,noisy,awful-bed rooms. I've stayed at enough of them, in Europe, to last two life times! And you do wake up a wreck...therefore many times I end up exhausted and conking out in the middle of the day...because I've had a bad sleep. It's nice to sleep in that incredibly comfortable bed at the FS in Bangkok with the fluffy down comforter and then get up and have a "REAL" breakfast that gives me the energy to go non-stop, on foot, public transportation, and an occasional taxi through the streets of Bangkok all day. Like I previously said...it IS a vacation so why the heck not splurge? Happy Travels!

The previous posts are one of the reasons we no longer vacation in Europe but focus our travel in Asia. You just get better value, service etc for your money.

laurieco & others, I was not suggesting that there was anything wrong with staying at 5 star hotels or "looking down on" anyone who does. Just the opposite -- I was just pointing out the irony of those who stay in 5 star hotels in BKK and look down at others who go to beach resorts because they are missing the "real" Thailand. The point was, no one tells people not to stay at a 5* hotel if they can afford it snd that is what they like, so why discourage people from spending time at a beach resort in Thailand if that is what they enjoy -- especially when, like the OP, they have 3 weeks and are spending two of them exploring other areas of Thailand. Personally, although I liked BKK, I think people who visit only BKK are missing a great deal that makes THailand so special.