Thailand - December 2019
Aug 18, 2018, 10:55 pm
#16
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: BOS/UTH
Programs: AA LT PLT; QR GLD; Bonvoy LT TIT
Posts: 12,742
Hoi An: Yes, the Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site; but one day is more than enough for Old Town. We stayed at the Allegro Hoi An. Lovely place, basically brand new. Dining room for indoor dining, but also opens out to the pool area, where we ate breakfast every day. This
is an accurate portrayal of what the hotel is like. The hotel is about 10-15 minutes' walk to Old Town. Make sure that you have banh mi (a type of Vietnamese sandwich in a baguette) at the place in this Anthony Bourdain video. Your hotel will likely know the place. It's every bit as good as it looks.
Huế: Lots to see there, this city has a significant role in the history of the country. There's lots of good food with a variety of options, too. We stayed at the Indochine Palace Hotel. It is a massive, grand hotel. IMO overbuilt for Huế, Vietnam. Staff is very nice, and they have tour guides more or less on call, so not necessary to book one in advance. Although the physical plant was built to emulate the likes of StR, RC and FS, it's just very slightly dingy. I wonder if the problem is that Huế can't really support a hotel of that quality at that huge scale.
Weather? No idea what it's like in December; but we went in April and it was hot.
Last edited by Dr. HFH; Aug 18, 2018 at 11:05 pm
Aug 19, 2018, 9:32 am
#17
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: most of them
Posts: 3,283
nothing wrong with planning ahead.
Even though you didn't specifically ask, my two cents is that even with a month you are biting off too much with Myanmar + Thailand + Vietnam. Personally I would say choose 2 out of the 3. It's high season in Thailand because of the holidays and better weather. But it isn't necessarily out of control full, especially in the weeks before Christmas. A couple of years ago I spent most of December in SE Asia and didn't think it was much more crowded than any other time I have been there.
I don't know that order of visit in Thailand matters much but I agree that starting in CM makes sense to me for the reasons noted above. I would suggest spending half the time in Myanmar and half in Thailand. There's a well worn tourist trail between Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake. Flights are easy and short between them all. Out of the four I thought Bagan was stupendous and I ended up enjoying Inle Lake more than I expected (beautiful landscape and clear, cool mountain air). I also went to Mrauk U which is similar to Bagan but much fewer tourists...it's a looooooong boat ride from Sittwe. I was there before the big conflagration happened though so I don't know what the mood is these days. It still makes me sad as I met some very nice people there.
Even though you didn't specifically ask, my two cents is that even with a month you are biting off too much with Myanmar + Thailand + Vietnam. Personally I would say choose 2 out of the 3. It's high season in Thailand because of the holidays and better weather. But it isn't necessarily out of control full, especially in the weeks before Christmas. A couple of years ago I spent most of December in SE Asia and didn't think it was much more crowded than any other time I have been there.
I don't know that order of visit in Thailand matters much but I agree that starting in CM makes sense to me for the reasons noted above. I would suggest spending half the time in Myanmar and half in Thailand. There's a well worn tourist trail between Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake. Flights are easy and short between them all. Out of the four I thought Bagan was stupendous and I ended up enjoying Inle Lake more than I expected (beautiful landscape and clear, cool mountain air). I also went to Mrauk U which is similar to Bagan but much fewer tourists...it's a looooooong boat ride from Sittwe. I was there before the big conflagration happened though so I don't know what the mood is these days. It still makes me sad as I met some very nice people there.
Aug 20, 2018, 10:17 am
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: SAN
Programs: AS MVPG100K, UA Gold, IHG Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, National Exec
Posts: 320
Yes, most hotels tell you but sometimes the notice is sort of buried in the "conditions". You can always email them to make sure - for myself and some of my friends we've left the hotel to stay elsewhere for that one night - I've never seen one that was worth the price (even if it was in New York) and certainly not given the normal prices in the area. If you like crowded, very noisy, venues with mediocre food you might feel differently.
I noted that you were planning to maybe go to Vietnam before NYE - be aware that they celebrate NYE there (as well as Tet later) - I almost missed a midnight flight b/c I didn't know and it took 20 minutes to cross the street from the port to the hotel (normal time 2 minutes) even tho traffic was totally stopped there was no space to fit between the cycles! The worse problem was I couldn't get a taxi for a LONG time b/c they were stuck in the same stopped traffic (I did barely make my flight having left a 4 hour time for a 30 min trip).
I've taken the overnight train bangkok to Chiang Mai a number of times and the bed was okay (but the toilets were awful!) however I stopped taking them after a long series of derailments with people hurt and killed (which didn't get much press) - doesn't seem to have happened as much lately but still..... Also DO NOT take an overnight long distance bus in Thailand (and maybe elsewhere) if you value your life - the number of fatal accidents due to drivers working too long hours and using various chemicals to try to stay awake is just plain scary - not worth the risk IMO
I love the area and not trying to scare you - but avoiding a few things can make for a better experience so you can really enjoy your time there!
I noted that you were planning to maybe go to Vietnam before NYE - be aware that they celebrate NYE there (as well as Tet later) - I almost missed a midnight flight b/c I didn't know and it took 20 minutes to cross the street from the port to the hotel (normal time 2 minutes) even tho traffic was totally stopped there was no space to fit between the cycles! The worse problem was I couldn't get a taxi for a LONG time b/c they were stuck in the same stopped traffic (I did barely make my flight having left a 4 hour time for a 30 min trip).
I've taken the overnight train bangkok to Chiang Mai a number of times and the bed was okay (but the toilets were awful!) however I stopped taking them after a long series of derailments with people hurt and killed (which didn't get much press) - doesn't seem to have happened as much lately but still..... Also DO NOT take an overnight long distance bus in Thailand (and maybe elsewhere) if you value your life - the number of fatal accidents due to drivers working too long hours and using various chemicals to try to stay awake is just plain scary - not worth the risk IMO
I love the area and not trying to scare you - but avoiding a few things can make for a better experience so you can really enjoy your time there!
Will definitely do some more research regarding NYE celebrations; I don't want to get caught in some logistical nightmare.
Thanks for the info regarding the overnight trains and buses. Will definitely stick to flying based on everyone's advice, including yours. Thank you!
Aug 20, 2018, 10:22 am
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: SAN
Programs: AS MVPG100K, UA Gold, IHG Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, National Exec
Posts: 320
nothing wrong with planning ahead.
Even though you didn't specifically ask, my two cents is that even with a month you are biting off too much with Myanmar + Thailand + Vietnam. Personally I would say choose 2 out of the 3. It's high season in Thailand because of the holidays and better weather. But it isn't necessarily out of control full, especially in the weeks before Christmas. A couple of years ago I spent most of December in SE Asia and didn't think it was much more crowded than any other time I have been there.
I don't know that order of visit in Thailand matters much but I agree that starting in CM makes sense to me for the reasons noted above. I would suggest spending half the time in Myanmar and half in Thailand. There's a well worn tourist trail between Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake. Flights are easy and short between them all. Out of the four I thought Bagan was stupendous and I ended up enjoying Inle Lake more than I expected (beautiful landscape and clear, cool mountain air). I also went to Mrauk U which is similar to Bagan but much fewer tourists...it's a looooooong boat ride from Sittwe. I was there before the big conflagration happened though so I don't know what the mood is these days. It still makes me sad as I met some very nice people there.
Even though you didn't specifically ask, my two cents is that even with a month you are biting off too much with Myanmar + Thailand + Vietnam. Personally I would say choose 2 out of the 3. It's high season in Thailand because of the holidays and better weather. But it isn't necessarily out of control full, especially in the weeks before Christmas. A couple of years ago I spent most of December in SE Asia and didn't think it was much more crowded than any other time I have been there.
I don't know that order of visit in Thailand matters much but I agree that starting in CM makes sense to me for the reasons noted above. I would suggest spending half the time in Myanmar and half in Thailand. There's a well worn tourist trail between Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake. Flights are easy and short between them all. Out of the four I thought Bagan was stupendous and I ended up enjoying Inle Lake more than I expected (beautiful landscape and clear, cool mountain air). I also went to Mrauk U which is similar to Bagan but much fewer tourists...it's a looooooong boat ride from Sittwe. I was there before the big conflagration happened though so I don't know what the mood is these days. It still makes me sad as I met some very nice people there.
The more research I do, I definitely feel like I can spend an eternity in both Thailand and Vietnam. I've been itching to go to Thailand for a while now, so I would more than likely save Vietnam for another trip.
Glad to hear that you enjoyed Bagan and Inle Lake because those are 2 spots I definitely want to hit. I haven't heard of Mrauk U, so I'll check that out as well! Thank you as always!
Aug 20, 2018, 2:05 pm
#20
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: most of them
Posts: 3,283
here's the Myanmar trip report I did several years ago
Myanmar/Burma for a couple of weeks
Myanmar/Burma for a couple of weeks