February 5, 2006
Bangkok and Koh Samui vacation plan
This travel plan will be flexible, so you could do Koh Samui first or Bangkok first. Personally I would do Koh Samui first so that I wouldn't have to worry about getting back to bangkok for the departing flight.
Since you'll probably be coming from Bangkok, it may be night time when you arrive. Dinner at Baan Chantra at the Le Meridien includes entertainment in the form of traditional Thai dance performances. Le Meridien is one of the Koh Samui hotels I recommended yesterday. If you are in Chaweng, you can have dinner at Three Monkeys, a Thai Seafood restaurant on the main street in Chaweng.Service can be slow, but the food is good. There is some sort of karaoke entertainment (certainly not for everyone).
Now many tourists in Koh Samui spend their days on the beach, get a massage in the early evening, eat dinner, and then start partying. Wealthier tourists will schedule a spa visit or two. You can do that (if you do remember that the famous Chaweng beach is the most crowded and touristy), but here are a couple of alternatives.
First full day in Koh Samui: The elephant trek is a pretty standard thing for tourists in Thailand. I've never done it, but most people choose to so here it is in the travel plan.
I've read that 30 minutes is enough because riding elephants is actually pretty rough and elephant steps really jolt you. Also, the 30 minute one drops you off closer to the waterfall for hiking.
Which brings us to... Hike up Namuang Waterfall, which is a good hike. It takes about an hour hike to get some good altitude. The path is difficult, through rocks, trees, and water. The waterfall isn't that spectacular, but the views are great.
Second full day in Koh Samui: Sea Kayaking at Ang Thong National Marine Park
Some hotels (like Le Meridien) can arrange this. The Le Meridien would be relatively private and more comfortable (in a speed boat). There are alos tour operators with guided kayaking tours of islands, sea caves, and lagoons. These guys are normally cheaper than going through the hotel. The boat won't be spectacular and it might be crowded. The islands will be crowded with people from other tour groups.
Third and fourth days in Koh Samui: Go to the beach, go to a spa, see the big Buddha at Wat Phra Yai. Wat Phra Yai is in the Northeast of Samui on route 4171 near the airport.
There are a ton of things to do in Bnagkok. I've only been there once so I rtainly can't tell you all of them. Also, I was only there for one day because my wife found the stray dogs to be very depressing. Going elsewhere in Thailand didn't help us avoid seeing stray dogs, however. Anyway, this shoud keep you busy for one day in Bangkok.
First, Take a trip to the Palace the morning of your first full day in Bangkok. The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo are astounding, but dress well. My wife wasn't allowed in because her jeans had tears in them. They are fairly strict about letting people in. There are things you can borrow, but this takes time and makes you look funny.
Wat Phra Kaeo has the amazing Emerald Buddha. The guards a re pretty strict in there too. As I was getting up to leave I put my hat on. The guard tapped my head in a very stern manner (touching someone's head is a big insult in Thailand but I suppose I deserved it - plus I didn't realize I should have been insulted until I'd already left).
From there you can walk to Wat Pho. Now even here in two of the most famous tourist destinations in bangkok which are surrounded by guards, you must be very careful not to get scammed. When we were in Wat Pho, we asked a guard which way the palace was. The guard didn't answer, but the guy next to him did. He told us that the palace was closed because it was a Buddhits holiday and that we should go to a tourist information booth somewhere. He would be willing to take us. We had been warned about people telling you that famous attractions are closed and are pretty familiar with Buddhism, so we didn't fall for whatever that guy was pulling. We didn't get our directions either, but we did find the palace, which as I said is very very close to Wat Pho.
So after looking around Wat Pho, which features a gigantic gold plated Reclining Buddha some 46 meters long and 15 meters high, go to the massage center which is attached to the temple (they run a week-long Thai massage course here that I would love to take with my wife at some point). I recomment the herbal massage where they take a hot cloth dipped in yellow liquid and incorporate that into a typically painful Thai massage.
That night, we took the Skytrain to a night market. I can't remember the stop, but any hotel or guidebook should be able to help you out there. Anyway, it was different. On the main street we bought a nice pair of sandles and went into a few nice stores on the street. But the real action is on the side streets off the main one. Almost as soon as we made the turn men started asking us if we wanted sex. My wife and I didn't, but we got lots of offers. If you go far enough down the side street, you see rows of prostitutes lining up outside. We found it to be rather depressing.
I don't remember any of the restaurants I ate in when I went to bangcock, so I have only one recommendation (you can certainly get many more from the guidebooks, but my wife and I end spending a lot of time looking for those places and it's ahrd to get someone who speaks English well enough to give you directions in Bnagkok unless you ask in a hotel (Most people disagree with me on this point, but anyway, when I was in Thailand I didn't meet many English speaking Thai people.
Anyway, here is one restaurant you can try: Eat Me (+66 02 238 0931) on 1/6 Soi Pipat 2, off Convent Road. This intimate restaurant/gallery offers a weekly menu of international food reasonably priced and served with a smile. The modern decor is classy and inviting, with changing photo exhibits on the walls. Butcher paper covers tables and is accompanied by sharp colored pencils, convenient if you are struck by an artistic thought while dining. For vegetarians, the pumpkin ravioli with tomato sauce (THB80) and the Grilled Eggplant Bocconcini Stack (THB250) are satisfying. Seafood lovers could go for the fried fish with chips (THB230) or the Grilled Trevally Fillet with Spinach and Seafood Sauce (THB250).
I don't recommend or remember the name of the hotel we stayed in, but I have heard good things about The Oriental Bangkok hotel (2-236-0400) on 48 Oriental Ave by the river. It is possible to get a room overlooking the river and people say the service is good. It's very pricey.
Posted by James Trotta at February 5, 2006 2:13 AM
Too bad you found you couldn't communicate very well during your stay in Bangkok. I found people very willing to be helpful when I was there in October of 2005. We communicated pretty well in a Pidgeon English. I lost my passport, and though I had some native help navigating the US and Thai bureaucracy I found most people very accommodating. Of course you do need to be aware of the scammers!
Don't miss one of the Jim Thompson stores and the Jim Thompson House museum. Goods are a little pricier there than at the markets but the quality can be better, too. Or it's just fun to look at all the beautiful silks!
The Thai people love their gardens and animals. For the most part those stray dogs looked pretty content and I did not find (in my short stay) that there was a lot of, how should I say it, "mess" in the streets. (From the dogs.)
Walking along any of the downtown streets is an adventure. There's not much space between the store fronts and the vendors who line the sidewalk. It was fun to see all the chattering school kids in their uniforms milling around buying a snack after school. In the morning I saw parents walking their kids to school. I loved people watching.
The Skytrain is fast and clean. The markets are fun. A boat ride on the river at night is beautiful. And do stop at a 7 Eleven. They are all over and it's fun to see the food they offer!
You seem to have hit ALL the scam areas of Bangkok!
The Oriental Hotel, while being in the top 10 hotels in the world for the last 50+ years is normally beyond most peoples budget.
The night market you went to is just the Sukhumvitt Night Market, accessed by the Nana exit on the Sky Train. If you miss Nana stop at Soi Asoke.
Take the river taxi's, go to Kanchantaburi to see the River Kwai, go to Ayuttaya and see the Palaces. Bangkok also has great shopping......
Restaurants..... well try the street vendors! The food is cheap and good.
Posted by: Robert at February 6, 2006 7:34 PMI have stayed at the Oriental in Bangkok, and it is pricey, but a classic Thai place with amazing service. I have also stayed at the Sheraton Sukhomvit (sp?), less expensive, but great rooms, service, pool and spa, and centrally located. I have also stayed at Amari hotels, in town and at the airport, comfortable, not cheap, but good tourist accommodation. I would also add as Bangkok activities: the Floating Market and a tour up and down the canals off the river, where you can see how people truly do live on the canals, using water to wash their clothes, dishes, and dogs; seeing the floating equivalent of "7 Eleven," and the floating hospital. Neighborhoods on the canals include Wats, schools, poor housing and mansions, quite a variety of sights.
Posted by: Donna at February 7, 2006 6:52 AMjust wanted to leave a "manual trackback" to let you know i've blogged about this entry of yours on mine. :)
Posted by: ruth at February 10, 2006 7:27 AMThe stray dogs you mentioned are common in Thailand because unlike other cultures they don't euthanize them. The Buddhist culture there has a reverance for life that is often lacking in the west. The government does have animal control but the dogs are apprehended, taken for vaccination, neutering, and microchipping and released again. A few years ago the ears of the dogs were notched before release to identify that they had been captured previously. The King suggested they be microchipped to avoid defacing the animal and reducing its chance of adoption. The King himself has adopted about 50 of the strays and encourages others to do so. There are also organizations that provide food and care for the "soi" dogs.
Posted by: Neal R. Yerkes, RN at March 21, 2006 4:57 AM