[off to Thailand] Build my itinerary for next week please!

[munitalP]

Hi y'all. Next week we are off to Thailand for a quick break, let off some steam and some much needed R&R after the stress of moving to Sydney over the last week.

I do not know Thailand other than BKK and how to get to and from the Novotel...

My complete itinerary so far is:

17/5 SYD-BKK
17/5 Pick up from airport by Hilton

17/5-19/5 Bankok Hilton Millennium

19/5-21/5 Hau Hin Hilton Resort

21/5-22/5 Conrad Bangkok

22/5 BKK/SYD

Yes a whirlwind, but as I said a short break. BKK/SYD is 2055 so 22 is really a full day as well. In a previous 1 night in BKK thread, some great ideas for night spots, now with the actual itinerary sorted out, I'm looking for some help!

Likes: quality markets, temples, quality food (not necessarily fine dining), locals events, nice bars, not spending too much!

Dislikes: Zoos, tourist trinket markets, department stores, shopping in general, loud bars, bogans, pretentious people, spending too much money...

We have no idea how we are transferring to/from Hau Hin, I'm hoping there's a train for the experience.

I am looking forward to some great ideas.

 

[ozmille]

Re: Build my itinerary for next week please!

I am jealous!!!

Couple of favorite places in BKK for food, as you will notice I am not good at remembering names

Little restaurant on Thanon Rang Nam, BTS station Victory Monument, it is on the left hand side of the street opposite the King Power Duty Free Mall. (might be a bit hard to get to...)

If you leave Ekkamai Station on the left hand side there is a really good outdoor restaurant.

A nice museum is the Jim Thompson House Museum close to the National Stadium BTS station. It is at the back of Soi Kasem San 2.

Looking forward to some other ideas for our next trip there.

Our BKK office is actually in the building next to the Conrad, at the back of the Conrad you have Soi Ruamrudee and there is a Belgian Beer Cafe which I find myself attracted to each time, it's called La Lune, turn left when you leave the Conrad. If you just want something quick to eat in the area also on Soi Ruamrudee you can go to Coffee Beans by Dao, it is not bad either and less than half of the hotel price.

 

[travelislife]

Re: Build my itinerary for next week please!

MunitalP, it is Hua Hin, not Hau Hin. There is a train which departs from the main Bangkok train station (can be reached by subway) to Hua Hin, it is an ok way to travel and see the Thai countryside and some of Thai life, it is very, very slow though! takes about 3 and a half hours where on a good drive with little traffic it can be just over a couple of hours.

It may be a bit cliche but it is definitely worth going to one of the sky bars around. Sirroco is great for a drink at sunset.

Ekkamai is a fair way away from the Hilton Millennium but can be reached by BTS.

Also watch out for the taxi drivers at Hua Hin station, they will try and rip you off big time! Like trying to charge me 400baht to go around the corner to the Marriott, luckily with me being clued up and a bit of Thai he knew I knew he was trying to rort me!

 

[munitalP]

Re: Build my itinerary for next week please!

train sounds good even if it is a little slow

 

[LadyC]

Re: Build my itinerary for next week please!

It's been 6 years since I was last in BKK but when I went, one place I enjoyed was the rooftop bar at the Banyan Tree. It's on the 61st floor. I was only there for drinks but I understand there is a restaurant too.

 

[kpc]

Re: Build my itinerary for next week please!

It's been 6 years since I was last in BKK but when I went, one place I enjoyed was the rooftop bar at the Banyan Tree. It's on the 61st floor. I was only there for drinks but I understand there is a restaurant too.

Vertigo and Moon Bar | Dining | Banyan Tree Bangkok
If the weather is good, I would go to moonbar for evening drinks to watch the sunset over Bangkok, and then go somewhere else for dinner...

 

[JohnK]

Re: Build my itinerary for next week please!

Just came back yesterday from latest Trip to Thailand.

I have wanted to use train from Bangkok but it is not really convenient and very slow. The normal bus is OK but goes to Southern bus terminal which is a long way from centre. The minibus is a decent option and costs 180 baht and goes to Victory Monument and takes around 2.5 hours if no traffic.

Not a lot to do in Hua Hin but you should be able to have a decent meal within walking distance of the Hilton. Have an afternoon drink and people watching at Mai Tai not very far from Hilton.

The tuk tuks drive me nuts and I hardly use them. No meter and want 100 baht for the shortest trip. There is a green tuk tuk that runs regularly from the Cha am side of Hua Hin down to Market Village and back and that is a hop on hop off style route for 15 baht up to 7:00pm and then 30 baht from 7:00pm-9:00pm.

Stayed on the outskirts of Bangkok this time and the price for tuk tuks/taxis was 300 baht.

 

[amaroo]

Re: Build my itinerary for next week please!

Bangkok:-

Longtail boat ride The Chao Phraya River

Day tour to Aytthaya - ayutthaya - Google Search

Bar on top of Banyan Tree

Napa on 26 - Napa on 26, Restaurant & Lounge Sukhumvit 26

Gianni Ristorante


Sorry, never been to Hau Hin.....enjoy.

 

[KitKat]

Re: Build my itinerary for next week please!

Going along with my food theme, I always end up a couple of times at Rut & Lek in Chinatown (that was a few years ago though, so the quality may have gone down) each trip. It is a seafood restaurant on the street (stall that opens at night in Yaorawat street in Chinatown which I think is a goldsmith street during the day). They have an air-conditioned restaurant across the street which I have declined to go to as I think the charm of eating on a footpath is lost! Loved the crab fried rice and grilled crabs.. night market atmosphere

Somboon Seafood Vs. Rut & Lek In Bangkok - China & Southeast Asia - Chowhound

link suggests Rut & Lek is too touristy now but provides further review of other options

Speak no Thai, so I usually get the concierge to get me a taxi to get there, carry a hotel card to get back.

 

[ajca]

Re: Build my itinerary for next week please!

Vertigo and Moon Bar | Dining | Banyan Tree Bangkok
If the weather is good, I would go to moonbar for evening drinks to watch the sunset over Bangkok, and then go somewhere else for dinner...

I agree - the food at Vertigo is not that great and it is extraordinarily expensive by Bangkok standards. But definitely head up there for a drink if you're not afraid of heights.

 

[munitalP]

Re: Build my itinerary for next week please!

I agree - the food at Vertigo is not that great and it is extraordinarily expensive by Bangkok standards. But definitely head up there for a drink if you're not afraid of heights.

cool. looks like Vertigo is on the list

 

[ajca]

21/5-22/5 Conrad Bangkok

This is going to sound crazy but if you get a chance, try a room service meal while you're at the Conrad. It is the best room service I have ever had anywhere in the world. I was astonished. Also if you want a coffee fix there is a Dean & Deluca just around the corner, which is a shining beacon of good coffee in a country that does not specialise in such things.

The tuk tuks drive me nuts and I hardly use them. No meter and want 100 baht for the shortest trip.

Really? The tuk tuks are my favourite thing about Bangkok!* I wish we had them in Australia. There's something so wonderfully liberating about ducking through traffic and being so close to the crazy road action. And I found you can usually bargain them down to 40 baht for a short trip - although I feel bad about quibbling with a guy driving a tuk tuk over $1 or $2 when I'm getting him to drive me to a $200+ night hotel...

* other than the pool at the St Regis

 

[JohnK]

Really? The tuk tuks are my favourite thing about Bangkok!* I wish we had them in Australia.

Bangkok is OK but there are many versions of the tuk tuk and outside of Bangkok and Pattaya they are relatively expensive especially in non touristy areas.

I remember being in Patong in 2003 and the tuk tuks wanted 80+ baht to go from hotel to centre. Luckily hotel had shuttle service up until certain time.

In Chiang Mai in early 2004 it was not much better.

And now as I have discovered in Hua Hin it is just as expensive.