Thailand - 2 weeks

[soprano]

Hi guys

I have flights booked to Bangkok in late February/early March and looking for ideas on what to do and see over that time. At the moment I have one of two ideas.

1. Head north to Chiang Mai for 5 or so days, then back to Bangkok before heading south probably to Koh Phi Phi for a week of relaxation.

2. Head east to Cambodia to Siem Reap/Angkor Wat for 4/5 days and then back to Bangkok before heading south to the beaches.

Would appreciate any comments on places to stay, or visit. Im pretty flexible, just looking for 5 or so days of adventure/sight seeing and a week on an idyllic beach. Any comments welcome!

[v15ben]

Difficult choice between those two. IMO the temples in Cambodia are more spectacular, but the general atmosphere in northern Thailand is much more laid back and there are a lot more places to visit between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Personally I'd head to Northern Thailand then south.

[soprano]

v15ben said:

Difficult choice between those two. IMO the temples in Cambodia are more spectacular, but the general atmosphere in northern Thailand is much more laid back and there are a lot more places to visit between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Personally I'd head to Northern Thailand then south.

Any tips on places to stay, good/bad experiences, places to stop on route to chiang mai? Have travelled a fair bit but never in SE Asia. Would love to hear some more.

[SS2.]

How long are you in Bangkok ?

If you see nothing else, pay a visit to The Grand Palace - its stunning.

Other than that, stacks of bargains to be had in the shopping malls and check out Soi Cowboy and Patpong (for the night market, of course.. ).

Can't advise on anywhere north of BKK, I've only ever headed south to the islands.

[v15ben]

Going north I visited Ayutthaya, Sukhothai and Chiang Mai and also did some quad biking out of Chiang Mai. The temples in all the places are quite interesting and Chiang Mai is a really relaxed town with some amazing trekking if you head into the hills for 2-3 days. I missed out on trekking due to illness, but did manage to hire a motorbike and get up onto the hills. I just stayed in hostels chosen as I went along though would recommend getting somewhere reasonable in Bangkok in advance as there are a load of shocking places out there!

As a one-off location you can't beat the Angkor temples though. You could easily spend 2-3 days in Siam Reap and go out every day exploring different temples. The main points at sunrise or sunset are truly mindblowing though - one of the best places I've ever been!

It is a difficult choice, but I'd say Northern Thailand would offer more over 4-5 days as there isn't too much else in and around Siam Reap except the incredible temples.

[v15ben]

Bangkok:
Grand Palace, trip down the canals, Muay Thai boxing at the Chumporn Stadium (sp?), eating on street stalls and some of the crazy shopping centres. Only shopping centre I've ever been to with a Porsche dealer inside! Also Patpong is definitely an experience - for the shopping obviously

Edited by v15ben on Sunday 10th January 11:08

[Luke.]

Pai's quite fun.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pai,_Thailand

[Luke.]

And Ko Samed's not bad too. About 2 hours by taxi from Bangkok.

[v15ben]

Yep a friend of mine who lives in Bangkok swears by a relaxing few days off in Ko Samet.

[Luke.]

v15ben said:

Yep a friend of mine who lives in Bangkok swears by a relaxing few days off in Ko Samet.

Just to clarify to the OP, Ko Samed and Samet are the same place. Just seem to get spelt differently sometimes.

[v15ben]

As with those horrific t-shirts all the 18 year old backpackers on the Khao San Road seem to wear: Same Same But Different

[soprano]

Cheers for all of the info so far guys, some really great places have cropped up already, am working my way through them!

Edited by soprano on Sunday 10th January 11:41

[VxDuncan]

What kind of thing are you interested? Temples, crazy markets, Ko Sna road, Angkor ruins, Vietnam war? Flying into BKK the world really is your lobster - you could easily cover the length of Vietnam in two weeks taking in the imperial north (possibly with a bit of treking into the tribal region), stunning Ha Long bay, train down to the centre and the stunning Hoi An, China beach, Da Nang etc. then down to Saigon, the Cu chi tunnels and amasing, and humbling American War museum.Vietnam is cheap and flights with Air Asia (thing asian easyjet) BKK-> Hanoi or Saigon(HCMC)-> BKK are silly cheap, sometimes around the £20 mark each way.

Just a thought! Get watching the Top Gear special...

[v15ben]

Not a bad shout there. Last time I checked BKK --> Hanoi was c.£40 and Saigon --> BKK £35 with AirAsia.

Edited by v15ben on Sunday 10th January 12:14

[soprano]

VX Duncan yep into all of that, this is really just a quick 2 week get away, every 2/3 years I try to get away for at least a few months at a time for a bit of adventure, this is just a get away holiday in between though. I normally am constantly doing something/travelling somewhere but this time am conscious not to overdo it as I am completely exhausted and just need to relax, hence the week on a beach.

I know that Vietman/Laos/Cambodia probably have more to offer than Thailand but treating this as a bit of a taster of SE Asia potentially for a longer trip out there some time soon.

[v15ben]

I spent 3 months in the region back in 2008 (seems so long ago!) and I didn't spend that much time relaxing. There is so much to see in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand and I'm sure a 2 week taster will get you ready for plenty more time there in the future

[weeble69]

Chiang Mai then Ko Samed (Koh Samet)

[rsv gone!]

soprano said:

Hi guys

I have flights booked to Bangkok in late February/early March and looking for ideas on what to do and see over that time. At the moment I have one of two ideas.

1. Head north to Chiang Mai for 5 or so days, then back to Bangkok before heading south probably to Koh Phi Phi for a week of relaxation.

2. Head east to Cambodia to Siem Reap/Angkor Wat for 4/5 days and then back to Bangkok before heading south to the beaches.

Would appreciate any comments on places to stay, or visit. Im pretty flexible, just looking for 5 or so days of adventure/sight seeing and a week on an idyllic beach. Any comments welcome!

Two weeks is not a great deal of time so try to minimise travelling between places.

A good itinerary would be Bangers for a couple of nights, fly to Siem Reap and see Angkor for a few days - it really is spectacular! Then FLY down to Samui from Siem Reap to get straight down to the islands. Then back to Bangers for some shopping.

Have a look at Bangkokair;

http://www.bangkokair.com/travel_tools/route-map.p...

Edited by rsv gone! on Sunday 10th January 13:13

[VxDuncan]

Fair enough, I know what you mean, I use all my holidays on silly trips, but never really have a "break". Get bored after about an hour on the beach though.

I flew bangkok air Siem Reap to BKK four years ago. Little turboprop fokker! The captain proudly announced we were cruising at 300km/h. Not really that impressive really, 186mph!

[sneijder]

+1 for Kho Samed straight from BKK in a taxi. Met my missus there

If you're spending a day or two in Bangkok, do the Royal Palace like everyone says but take an hour to go up the Golden Mount



Great views over the city, and you'll be the only person there. You can clong whacking great bells and annoy every one around too.

Drink the local Red Bull or any other energy drink too, it's the closest you'll come to doing crack.