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Bangkok: Top Rating! Key Tips, Ideas?


TLCOhio
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From Travel+Leisure magazine this month, they have this headline: Best Places to Travel in 2018with their highlighting of Bangkok.

 

They featured these key details: "Thai tourism is as robust as ever: more than 21 million international visitors poured into the capital in 2016, making it the world’s most visited city. To accommodate all those arrivals, the metropolis is welcoming a bevy of posh new hotels in the coming year. The Waldorf Astoria Bangkok will have a spa, rooftop bar, and outdoor infinity pool overlooking the Royal Bangkok Sports Club. Four Seasons and Capella both have properties in the works on the Chao Phraya Estate, a lush riverfront development. The Michelin Guide will make its long-awaited debut here this year, drawing attention to one of the world’s most dynamic culinary scenes. And for art lovers, there’s a flock of brand-new multipurpose creative spaces to explore, including the Thailand Creative & Design Center, which just relocated to a former General Post Office on historic Charoen Krung Road; Warehouse 30, a series of World War II-era warehouses revamped by starchitect Duangrit Bunnag; and ChangChui, an immense complex of bars, shops, and restaurants constructed out of upcycled materials." Looking forward to our first visit to SE Asia in less than a month.

 

Will be there Jan. 26-29, 2018, for having three days in Bangkok before heading to Ho Chi Minh City and then seven days sailing up the Mekong River, etc., etc. This will be our first visit to Southeast Asia. Look forward to any and all suggestions, tips, insights, secrets, etc., for this unique and large city.

 

Full story at:

http://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/best-places-to-travel-in-2018#nacujam-bay-croatia

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Lisbon, NWSpain, Bordeaux/Brittany: Just finished June 2017 sailing from Portugal to France along the scenic Atlantic Coast, plus great pre- and post-cruise experiences. Many interesting pictures and details on history, food, culture, etc., from my live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511358

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  • 2 weeks later...

Terry, we were on the Regent Voyager last month sailing from Singapore to Hong Kong. When the shipped docked in BGK we were 2 hours from the city. We overnighted in the city at the ShangriLa. Great hotel, perfect location and excellent breakfast buffet. We used BGK Tours for 2 days and were very pleased. We did the Expique dinner tour by tuktuk. It was terrific. They took us to some of the temples which look different at night. In HCM, we used Xuan of TourwithXuan.com. Absolutely the best tours we have had anywhere. He took us to the Mekong where we had a truly local experience. We did his dinner tour on motor scooters. Ten stars! So much fun and such great food. Let me know if you have any questions!

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Terry, we were on the Regent Voyager last month sailing from Singapore to Hong Kong. When the shipped docked in BGK we were 2 hours from the city. We overnighted in the city at the ShangriLa. Great hotel, perfect location and excellent breakfast buffet. We used BGK Tours for 2 days and were very pleased. We did the Expique dinner tour by tuktuk. It was terrific. They took us to some of the temples which look different at night. In HCM, we used Xuan of TourwithXuan.com. Absolutely the best tours we have had anywhere. He took us to the Mekong where we had a truly local experience. We did his dinner tour on motor scooters. Ten stars! So much fun and such great food. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

WOW!! Super great tips and ideas. Appreciate this excellent follow-ups. Very helpful. Am copying this info to my laptop computer file for this trip. Things are getting closer. Just a little over a week till we depart on Jan. 21. Keep it coming!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 193,522 views for this posting.

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We spent 2 days in Bangkok on our Azamara cruise - thankfully on the small ship we were able to sail up into the city. Still a lot of traffic - but not 3 hours away! We did a full day tour with a couple fellow passengers the first day - through BKK Tours. We did the Bangkok Highlights tour (and a couple of our tourmates did the Railway & Floating Markets tour the following day - we roamed on our own). It was a great overview. Maybe a few too many temples, but gorgeous. Great tour guide & transportation around town. Our favorite part (I know I've mentioned this in other threads) was the longtail boat tour through the canals. My husband wanted to pretend he was James Bond ;p

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We spent 2 days in Bangkok on our Azamara cruise - thankfully on the small ship we were able to sail up into the city. Still a lot of traffic - but not 3 hours away!

Can you give a guesstimate of the drive time from Klong Toey Pier to some sort of landmark I can find on the map.

EG: Shangri- La Hotel / Taksin Bridge area, or some other landmark.

 

Also, what was the latest time of your ship's shuttle back to the ship during the overnight ?

 

Thanks.

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We didn't take the shuttle that first day/night - we think the latest was 11 but not sure. The shuttle went from the dock to a hotel/shopping center and probably took 20-30 minutes. I'll look in my paperwork later to see if I can find the name!!

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We spent 2 days in Bangkok on our Azamara cruise - thankfully on the small ship we were able to sail up into the city. Still a lot of traffic - but not 3 hours away! We did a full day tour with a couple fellow passengers the first day - through BKK Tours. We did the Bangkok Highlights tour (and a couple of our tourmates did the Railway & Floating Markets tour the following day - we roamed on our own). It was a great overview. Maybe a few too many temples, but gorgeous. Great tour guide & transportation around town. Our favorite part (I know I've mentioned this in other threads) was the longtail boat tour through the canals. My husband wanted to pretend he was James Bond ;p

 

Super love this part about your husband wanting to "pretend he was James Bond". Don't most guys want to dream of being James Bond? Remember that 1974 film titled "The Man With The Golden Gun" that featured those memorable Bangkok boat chase scenes.

 

Appreciate this great added notes and info items on Bangkok. Very interesting and helpful. Since we are flying into Bangkok and have three nights there, we will be able to have a wider range of experiences there than just a brief cruise stop excursion into this large city. Keep up the great sharing about Bangkok.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting, dramatic pictures can be seen from this live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 36,511 views for this visual sharing including Cape Town, along South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victori

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We have been there four times for anywhere from 2-4 days each time. We still have not seen everything and we enjoy it every time we go. Good city for walking about, interspersed with canal boat rides, tuk tuk rides, river boat rides, etc. Great street food. We are going back to SE Asia next week. It will be the first time that we are not going through Bangkok. I kind of regret that since we find it so interesting and vibrant.

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OK, found my ship newsletter - we were at Pier 22A at Klong Toey and the shuttle drove to Central World Plaza Shopping Centre ("located in the heart of the shopping district") On the first day, shuttles started at 8:30 am and the last pickup downtown to go back to the ship was 10:00pm.

 

(on the 2nd day, shuttles started at 8:30 again and the last one from downtown was 12:30 - we set sail at 2:00pm)

 

I still guess it took about a half hour to get from the pier to the shopping center....

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Our advice if you are there for a few days and have no issues with walking.....get lost in the city. Just walk wherever. Don't spend all of your time in those shopping centres or eating in hotel dining rooms that cater to westerners. Get out, walk about, try some restaurants frequented by locals. And by all means visit a least one night market and eat street food. What is as rewarding as eating it is actually visiting the food markets and watching the food being prepared and distributed. Given a choice between food from a stall at a night market and rubber chicken in an MDR, the night market would win every time for us.

 

We have never been sick from eating street food. Whether at a food market of from a elderly lady on a beach in Ko Samui preparing grilled chicken and salad for us. Same experience in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malyasia. There will be plenty of time to eat the usual chow on your cruise.

 

Travelling in SE Asia changed the way we eat. More fresh foods (fruits, vegatables), less meat, no prepared or fast foods. We lost excess weight, we feel better, and we are in better health.

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Our advice if you are there for a few days and have no issues with walking.....get lost in the city. Just walk wherever. We have never been sick from eating street food. Whether at a food market of from a elderly lady on a beach in Ko Samui preparing grilled chicken and salad for us. Same experience in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malyasia. Travelling in SE Asia changed the way we eat. More fresh foods (fruits, vegatables), less meat, no prepared or fast foods. We lost excess weight, we feel better, and we are in better health.

 

Appreciate these excellent insights, comments and follow-up. Very helpful. Just a week to go until we depart from Chicago on our long, long 15-hour and 50-minute flight to Hong Kong. Getting close!!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean adventure that started in Barbados, here is the link for that live/blog. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.):

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 54,830 views for these postings.

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We are doing 17 hours SFO to Singapore next Wed. evening. Not looking forward to it since we have to fly to SFO first.

 

I think this was a mistake. We should have routed the usual way through Narita and had a bit of a layover/stretch your legs and get some good air. Live and learn. Worse still...it is on United.

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We are doing 17 hours SFO to Singapore next Wed. evening. Not looking forward to it since we have to fly to SFO first.

 

I think this was a mistake. We should have routed the usual way through Narita and had a bit of a layover/stretch your legs and get some good air. Live and learn. Worse still...it is on United.

 

Hope you are able to sleep on your evening flight and it isn't as bad as you think it will be.

 

Over the years, I have learnt all the tricks to making the most of a budget airline. On Scoot from the Gold Coast to Singapore, I pay extra for early boarding and seat selection in the quiet zone (no children). Every time I walked down the back to the toilets to stretch my legs, I appreciated the difference my choices made.

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We are doing 17 hours SFO to Singapore next Wed. evening. Not looking forward to it since we have to fly to SFO first. I think this was a mistake. We should have routed the usual way through Narita and had a bit of a layover/stretch your legs and get some good air. Live and learn. Worse still...it is on United.

 

Good luck on that long, long, LONG flight. WOW!! Doing 17 hours borders on "cruel and unusual punishment". Will you be in coach or business? Those long flight times are a major downside in going to Australia, Southeast Asia, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 194,042 views for this posting.

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We upgraded to business on the SFO-SIN route. Long flight.

 

We do something like this every winter. People ask why we go for two months.....the flight length and that is the max elapsed time on our out of country health insurance. Usually we do economy and transit through Narita to break it up but not this time. We got such a great deal on the standard air fare that the upgrade was a no brainer.

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We upgraded to business on the SFO-SIN route. Long flight.

Enjoy your flight and the tropics!

I fly what meets my needs at the time.

So I flew business Hong Kong Airlines direct flight from Hong Kong to Gold Coast to arrive home on Christmas Eve - the use of their lounge and evening flight were an enjoyable end to my holiday.

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We had a wonderful experience with the Gold Coast staff. First of all we flew AirAsia from KL. We had an economy ticket. My spouse had broken her back in KL. The AirAsia staff gave her the entire row of three seats to make her more comfortable.

 

When we got to Gold Coast, the customs agent, or should I say pre clearance customs agent walking down the line noticed that she was in pain. He saw our Canadian passports. Asked us one question...were we smuggling any maple syrup into Oz. Then he got us through post haste. I think we were in a rental car and on our south within 15 minutes of de-planing. One advantage of travelling with carry on only.

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We had a wonderful experience with the Gold Coast staff. First of all we flew AirAsia from KL. We had an economy ticket. My spouse had broken her back in KL. The AirAsia staff gave her the entire row of three seats to make her more comfortable.

 

When we got to Gold Coast, the customs agent, or should I say pre clearance customs agent walking down the line noticed that she was in pain. He saw our Canadian passports. Asked us one question...were we smuggling any maple syrup into Oz. Then he got us through post haste. I think we were in a rental car and on our south within 15 minutes of de-planing. One advantage of travelling with carry on only.

 

Good to hear that you were well looked after by AirAsia and Gold Coast Airport pre Customs who had a sense of humour. They looked after me on my return on Christmas Eve - I must have look tired and old! It is a nice friendly airport, even if you have to walk out on the tarmac in the rain!

 

Have you found AirAsia to be a good airline? I usually fly SCOOT (quiet zone) to Singapore.

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In Asia we have flown AIrAsia, Tiger, Nok, Jetstar, Virgin Australia, and Viet Nam. First choice is always AirAsia. We will try Scoot at some point. Really, they have all been good. Mostly short haul. This time is Air Asia to Krabi and Cebu.

 

Our favourite has been AirAsia. Service, price, and sched. Jetstar was good also, especially our code share with Qantas SYD- HNL.

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In Asia we have flown AIrAsia, Tiger, Nok, Jetstar, Virgin Australia, and Viet Nam. First choice is always AirAsia. We will try Scoot at some point. Really, they have all been good. Mostly short haul. This time is Air Asia to Krabi and Cebu. Our favourite has been AirAsia. Service, price, and sched. Jetstar was good also, especially our code share with Qantas SYD- HNL.

 

Any recent experiences with Cathay Pacific? Getting closer to Sunday morning when we fly out to Chicago O'Hare to board our Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 for that long, long 15-hour and 50-minute flight. Fortunately, we have business class with window seats in their nice 1-2-1 configuration. Also have a Cathay Pacific flight in coach from Hong Kong to Bangkok.

 

Any background to share as to how Cathay Pacific is now performing and doing? Food? Service? Special Cathay Pacific tips when going into and out of Hong Kong?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting, dramatic pictures can be seen from this live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 36,533 views for this visual sharing including Cape Town, along South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

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We have never experienced Cathay. I have friends who do every year and they tell me that Cathay is second to none.

 

WOW!! Your friend saying "second to none" sounds very, very good. Looking forward to Sunday for enjoying this luxury ride. Appreciate your comments and this helpful follow-up.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 194,284 views for this posting.

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  • 1 month later...

YES, we just got back from our first river boat and Avalon sailing. It was for the Mekong River!! Very much enjoyed our three days in Bangkok before going to Vietnam. Will post more later as to what we saw and did in Thailand.

 

Well-pleased with Avalon, the ship, staff, food, tours, etc. On my live/blog, there are dozens of pictures and many details to document these fun adventures and travels. Happy on the live/blog to answer any and all questions, share more info/background, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

SE Asia/Mekong River, Etc.! Just completed a Jan. 21-Feb. 20, 2018, first adventure through Southeast Asia with stops in Hong Kong and Bangkok, before traveling all over Vietnam and Cambodia. This includes seven days sailing on the Mekong River. Lots of fun, interesting pictures!! See more at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474

 

Here are just a few visuals samples from what we saw and did with Avalon while sailing along the Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia. Many, many more photos and details on the full live/blog.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

CMY_0654%202_zpsu3xzdbr1.jpg

 

CMY_1642%202_zpsylne46ki.jpg

 

CMY_1874_zpskuw4drgj.jpg

 

We saw many temples, palaces, markets and samples of daily life/work, including at this below spectacular Royal structure in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.:

CMY_1271_zpsif0trcea.jpg

CMY_1025%203_zpsn1ha0rtn.jpg

 

CMY_0470%201_zpsdpnhanc1.jpg

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We just returned home after spending our fourth winter partially in Thailand. We were in Thailand and then moved to Malaysia and the Philippines. We liked, and missed Thailand so much that we cut our month long visit to the Philippines short and went back to Thailand.

 

For us, it is the wonderful people, the fabulous food, the uncrowded beaches/islands, and the tourist infrastructure that allows us to get to some very out of the way places quite easily. We bypassed Bangkok this time. But for our three previous visits we were always able to come discover something new to us and interesting.

 

There is so much to see apart from the usual tourist spots of Bangkok, Ko Samui, and Phuket (we avoid the latter two). Our advice to anyone contemplating a cruise to SE Asia....make pre or post cruise time available for some travel in Thailand!

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