If you are interested in an experience similar to Bangkok, then Kuala Lumpur or Singapore would be your best options. Vietnam (for which you would need a visa in advance), Cambodia, or Laos are great destinations, but not quite the same urban glitz.
United currently has a
travel waiver for Bangkok. If this is in effect when you are planning to travel, then you might succeed in rescheduling her inbound and both of your outbound flights to SIN, which offers basically the same schedule as BKK.
Other than that, you can easily connect from BKK to any other regional city via a pair of inexpensive round-trip tickets. The airport is not affected (as of now).