musicgal

Hello savvy travelers

My husband and I have booked r/t tickets to BKK for Feb/March, 2013. We have a total of 23 days there, plus the partial arrival/departure days. We are working on the Myanmar part of the trip, 10-12 days there. Right now we are thinking about the following:

1) arrival in BKK is at 1:10 AM. crash at an airport hotel, spend following day in the city, return to airport hotel and fly out the next morning.

2) spend several days on Phuket. Reason: we could pay with points at a Marriott property, and there are a couple of nice-looking places on the coast near the airport. The only reason for doing this is to experience a place that we would never choose to pay for were it not for the points. We are interested in natural beauty, food, local experiences, not nightlife. My biggest concern is isolation and lack of food options nearby, because we would not be eating at the hotel. We could rent a car for several days, because what we want to do is explore the area. Anybody here have experiences with renting a car in Phuket?
Any other suggestions?

2a) skip the coast and fly to Laos, Luang Prabang, for a few days. It's more expensive to fly there, from what we have seen, but it looks amazing and well worth a visit. This was our original idea, but then started thinking about using points to stay at an upscale place.

3) fly to Chiang Mai for several days, maybe 5 nights/4 days. This is probably a yes. Explore the area, maybe attend a cooking school.

4) Myanmar, 10-12 days. We're working on this.

5) fly home from BKK. Depending on 2, above, we may or may not have a couple of days here before leaving.

This may or may not be the order, depending on what we work out for Myanmar. Anybody have any thoughts or suggestions? We are upper middle-age, healthy and love to travel! We also are crazy for Thai food, but have never been to the country.

Any thoughts? suggestions?

glennaa11

you will get conflicting views on Luang Prabang. Some find it too touristy. I really enjoyed my time there a couple of years ago.

Plenty of people think Phuket is not worth going to because of all the scams and problems there. I have never been there other than passing through the airport so I can't really comment.

I guess it depends on whether you think you will return to this part of the world some time. I fell in love with the region and keep going back. If you think this is a one and only visit I might try to squeeze Siem Reap in instead...but those flights are even more expensive than LP, I believe.

PSUhorty

If you enjoy more seclusion, nature, good food, as you said, while in and around Chiang Mai you might want to consider staying in the Mae Rim area. There are a few nice, secluded places up in the mountains a bit. The one I remember was the Proud Phu Fah resort. Individual ‘bungalows’. The food is outstanding.

If you do choose to stay a bit in Mae Rim, you are much closer to the Elephant parks, waterfalls, etc. Lots of nature.

goodeats21

Perhaps I am confused by the explanation of your itinerary.

Is the time allotted for Myanmar included in the 23 days? I am tending to think yes, as you mention 5 days in Chang Mai, and 1 day in Bangkok, with possibly a couple more days in Bangkok before your return flight, but no other Thailand destinations.

I would have little desire to head to Phuket. If you are not looking for a "beach destination stay", your Marriott points might be better used by booking the JW or Ren in Bangkok and exploring the city. From what I can tell, your existing plan allows very little time in Bangkok. Since you have not been to Thailand before, there is a lot to do and see in Bangkok.

Mont-Fleuri

1# No reason to restrict yourself by choosing to stay at a airport hotel.
2# You are asking the impossible from posters to decide for you, between skipping a coastal seaside resort in Thailand V a city in Laos. A very personal decision that would surely have to be based on a plethora of pro's & cons by you alone.
4# 10-12 days in Myanmar may be a tad advantageous. Try to leave your options open.

musicgal

Hi all
Thanks for the replies - I appreciate the help. We're doing a lot of reading and are revamping the plans and right now it looks like we'll spend a couple of full days in Bangkok (3 nights) then move on. We're not going to go to Laos on this trip. Instead, we'll concentrate our time in the Chiang Mai area and time on the coast somewhere, before taking a tour of Myanmar. What we'd really like to do is explore the Phang Nga Bay. Any suggestions on where to stay for this? Is Krabi a good option?
Also, our flight to BKK arrives at 1:10 AM. What do people do in this situation? We thought we'd just stay at an airport hotel that first night, but it would be nice to go on into the city to whatever hotel we wind up choosing. Just curious what others have done.
Thanks!

Rampo

Definitely skip an airport hotel and go directly to your Bangkok hotel. At that time of night the travel time by taxi to most Bangkok hotels should not take much more than a half hour at most.

mikeinmiami

I agree go to a city hotel when you arrive if your staying more then that one night. If it is only the one night I stay at the Novetel hotel at the airport, it's a great hotel and 2 minutes from the airport exit. I guess it would depend on what time you will fly out the next day though. If its late afternoon or evening then stay in the city as suggested.

braslvr

For a first time visitor to the region with 23 days, I think it would be a crime not to spend at least 5 days in Bangkok. Fascinating city that could keep you busy for 2 weeks easy. And I'm not a 'big city' kind of person at all.

echip

I keep heard so much good thing about Bangkok. We wanted to go, but would there be any problem if we only speak English but not a single word in Thai, especially when travel with 3 kids (6 to 9 y.o.)?

glennaa11

Most people who go to Thailand as tourists speak little to no Thai. You will be fine. The hospitality industry is used to English speakers. But you should make an effort to at least learn a few basics like greetings and thank you. And the numbers are not difficult to learn either.

ricardofel

I live in CM....Book your hotel on Agoda-the best deals, hotels on the river are quite nice & a bit far from exploring-you must take hotel boats depending on where you stay. 3 days is plenty, get there for a Sat & Sun so you can go to the JJ Marketne of the best in the world.
From CM you can fly directly to LP or Yangon, bypassing BKK. Burma is wonderful, I go 2-3 times a year....go to Bagan (3-4 days), Rangon (3 days-explore, take the ferry to Dalat, hire a trishaw bike driver and go into the countryside, $2 hour), Mandalay is not so interesting. Inle Lake is very nice, 1 nite on the lake and one in Naungshwe (charming town, rent bikes & explore). You can also go to the beach side which is beautiful-few tourists. Best to use a Burmese travel agent, I have an excellent one if you are interested. They can do your VOA-everything!
Phuket is......ok, lots of tourist scams-be wary. Pattaya-disgusting! CM is the most interesting city in Thailand. Safe travels.