Hi all-

This forum is always a great source of sage advice and I could definitely use some now. I have a honeymoon in Thailand scheduled for November 12-26. I am currently scheduled to arrive in Bangkok on November 12 (9:10 pm) and fly out of BKK on November 27 (midnight, so really like flying out Nov 26). The only other concrete bookings I have are a Nov 21 TA flight from Chiang Mai- Bangkok, and a Nov 26 flight from Phuket-BKK.

My original itinerary was as follows:
Arrive BKK Nov 12 at 9:10 pm
3 nights in BKK at St Regis (Nov 12-15)
3 nights in Siem Reap at LM Angkor (Nov 15-18)
3 nights in Chaing Mai (Nov 18-21)
5 nights in Phuket/Beach Area (Nov 21-26)- still determining hotels but have reservation at LM Phuket for Nov 21-23 and Naka Island Nov 23-25.
Fly out of BKK Nov 26


I am very concerned about the flooding throwing a major wrench in my plans. There appear to be a number of dimensions of this risk:1) Bangkok risk- can't get around, see sights, etc; 2) Airport risk- BKK shuts down and I can't get around to other places in Thailand or get home; 3) Staff risk at hotel- even if central BKK is okay, services shut down because no one can get in.


As of now, it I believe I have the following options:

1) Continue with the trip as planned, including spending the first 3 nights in Bangkok. My hotel is the St. Regis in Center City, which I have heard has not flooded (yet). I would guess that there will be significant staff disruptions (people not being able to get to work) and a risk of power failures.

2) Fly into Bangkok but avoid Bangkok completely other than connections through BKK. Because I get in at 9:10 pm on Saturday Nov 12, I would have to stay at least one night at hotel in Bangkok Airport (likely Novotel unless people have other suggestions). My big concern here is that BKK gets shut down, meaning that all my travel plans to other areas get ruined (and/or I cant get home as scheduled)

3) Cancel trip altogether. I would incur a $150/person refund penalty with Korean Airlines (so $300 total). I don't yet know what Thai Airways policy on refunds is (my total ticket cost with TA was $550 for 2 tickets)

4) Try to change dates of trip. Would cost $100/person + fare difference with Korean Air (appears to be about $200-300 additional per person for other dates I'm interested in traveling). Thai Airways would likely charge $50/person + fare difference

Do you have thoughts on which of the above options you would choose? Keep in mind that this is a honeymoon trip and I would hate for something to go horribly wrong. At the same time, my wife is super-excited about going in November and it works really well for both our work schedules.

If I do choose option 2 (continuing with trip but eliminating BKK), do you have suggestions for an itinerary that would allow me to use my existing flights from Chiang Mai to Phuket on Nov 21 and Phuket to Chiang Mai on Nov 26? I would still like to spend 3 nights in Siem Reap. This leaves me with 2 nights to make up(if you assume that the night of Nov 12 must be spent at BKK airport). A couple things I was thinking:

1) Nov 12- overnight BKK. Nov 13- fly to Siem Reap, stay through Nov 16. Nov 16-18 [STAY SOMEWHERE ELSE- maybe Chiang Rai? Phnom Phen would be neat but I couldnt find cheap flights from Siem Reap. Other places?]. Nov 18-21 in Chiang Mai. Nov 21-26 in Phuket. OR

2) Nov 12: Overnight in BKK. Nov 13-15 in Krabi (get over jet lag on beach). Nov 15-18 in Siem Reap. Nov 18-21 in Chiang Mai. Nov 21-26 in Phuket. OR

3) Eat the change fee on the Thai Air flight and completely change the itinerary. Suggestions welcome!

Basically, I would LOVE your suggestions on what itinerary you would choose to avoid Bangkok, without substantially increasing my flight cost (Ideally, would like to spend no more than $700-800/pp on internal flights while in Thailand)

I would be very appreciative of any thoughts or suggestions you might have. I have also put a similar post at the end of a thread I created on the SPG board regarding hotel choices/itinerary, but it seems like a lot of the flood related discussion is on the main Thailand page.

Thanks so much in advance for any advice you can provide- it is much appreciated.