fishermanbob

My previous travel to Bangkok has been on business so others made the arrangements, the budget was not too tight, and the sightseeing time was short. Now I plan to take my adult daughter to Thailand for a week in early December and would appreciate some help planning.

A) Is there a good source for information on inexpensive hotels in the heart of town?

B) How easy is it to book hotels at BKK on arrival, and would this save money?

C) Are there places in Bangkok that should be avoided?

D) With 6 days in Thailand is there really time for a side trip to Chiang Mai or Phuket or ?? Any suggestions?

Many thanks for information.

Bob

erik123

Try asiatravel.com - they have some good rates. I would suggest hua hin for a few days if you only have limited time. You can get there by car from bangkok in about 3+ hours. The sofitel is a very nice prperty there.

LondonElite

The answer to your questions A and B is probably www.asiatravel.com as the previous poster has pointed out. They are very reliable and I have used them often.

Question C is 'Not really'. BKK is very safe for its size and Thais are generally friendly and helpful etc etc. You may not always find English speakers but your hotel should give you a card with the hotel's name and address written in Thai. That way you don't have to worry about whether or not your taxi driver speaks English (just whether he reads!)

Answer D is probably Yes, although you may want to consult guide books to see what you might prefer to do (culture, beach, temples, food) Very use I think is a day trip to Ayuttaya, the ancient capital. Call the Oriental Hotel and take their tour - it's the best. Go up there by bus (90mins) see the city, then the tour goes on the Bang Pa In, the Summer Palace. You go back to Bangkok on the Oriental Queen, a river boat that takes about 3-4 hours. You get a delicious lunch on board and just chill out with a cold bottle of Singha!

fishermanbob

[QUOTE]Originally posted by LondonElite:
[B]The answer to your questions A and B is probably www.asiatravel.com as the previous poster has pointed out. They are very reliable and I have used them often.

Thanks, both of you. I have checked out the site and it is pretty comprehensive. I guess my problem with booking over the web is that I don't know Bangkok well enough to know if a hotel is in a convenient location. I am looking to tour some temples, buy some suits, visit the Patpong night market and the floating market. Christmas shopping is the main reason for the trip. Any further suggestions?

The river trip sounds fantastic - right up my alley.

Thanks again.

Bob

TravelinWilly

[quote]<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by fishermanbob:
[b]Few things:

1) Get a guide book, find the area in which you want to be, and book the hotel. Planet Holiday can be a good site for prices, also (note that they're based in Thailand - www.planetholiday.com), but shop around first.

2) If you want to servced to death (and impress your daughter with your impeccable taste), consider the Oriental, though it's on the river and not central, though you can cab it or take the train (~10 minute walk to the station) to any major area. The Peninsula, across the river, is a huge competitor (I had a suite with 2 bathrooms, bedroom, living room, office, entry hall, storage area for $US 180/night in 2001), but it's a pain to cross the river if you're returing late from the night market, as the shuttles aren't 24 hours.

If you want to be central due to time constraints, consider the Regent or the Grand Hyatt. Those two are smack dab in the center (if BKK can be considered to have a center) of the city, and IMO the Regent is a real diamond, with quite good prices. I habitually stay at the Oriental, but when I've had to use BKK as a "hub" for brief overnights on RTW tickets, I always stay at the Regent for the 1-2 nighters. You can walk to Patpong from these, but be warned that crossing the streets can be daunting (I'm not exaggerating). Also, hotel cars can be quite a bargain (usu. Mercedes, ~US$15 - $US20/hr.), and since they wait for you, it can make things smoother. You can go to many of the temples and Jim Thompson's house (a "don't miss" in my book, if not for the cards in the gift shop alone) in a day. The drivers (including hotel) will *always* offer to take you to "massage," but if you don't want that, one polite "no" (sometimes two) is all it takes; cab drivers can be more persistent, but they're usually not too obnoxious. Sounds like you're going to have a good trip.

3) The river cruise on the Oriental Queen IS terrific, though the stench of the river (no offense - I've done this trip several times...) can be overwhelming. The food and service, however, are astounding, and they really look out for the passengers on the bus, tour(s), and boat portions. Highly recommend it.

Will

[This message has been edited by TravelinWilly (edited 09-26-2003).]

ColoBill1

Absolutely, try AsiaTravel.com to check Bangkok hotel prices. However, after viewing that site, suggest you then input "Bangkok Hotels" or "Thailand Hotels" in your search engine, and compare prices that are available on some of the other available sites, as I've found rates may be cheaper on them compared to AsiaTravel.com. Also, I have never encountered a problem making a reservation on these sites, so take the plunge.

As an example, for my past several trips to Thailand, I have stayed my night of arrival at the Windsor Suites Hotel, on Sukhumvit Road, east of the downtown area. It is a former Embassy Suites property. Although not a 5* like some of the previously mentioned hotels, this property provides a very adequate two-room suite, that comes with a nice and complimentary buffet breakfast, for about $45 total. Honestly, I would not worry about hotel location in BKK.

As far as a side trip to Chiang Mai, I would highly recommend it, even with only six days available in-country. Chiang Mai is night and day different from Bangkok, and only an hour's flight northwest (about $105 on Thai, roundtrip). Go there for two of the days. You can book the very best hotel in town, the Westin Hotel (yes, of the same international chain), for about $58 on Chiangmai-Online.com. You will not believe the room and the buffet breakfast for that price. The hotel agent you book through on that site will even pick you up at the airport and take you to the hotel.

Enjoy your trip, and email me if I can answer any other questions.

fishermanbob

Many thanks ColoBill1, TravelinWilly,LondonElite and erik123. I'll do some homework then post my choices and any further questions.
Bob