7 Nights in Bangkok: Suggested Itineraries?

[Fallon.Nathan]

Hey there,

Myself, my fiance and my sister are flying from New Zealand into Bangkok in August. We stay here for 7 nights and then fly to Phuket for 6 nights.

We are really interested in seeing the cultural and historic Thailand, rather than the shopping so we would like most of our trip to be planned around this.
We have an overnight tour scheduled for the 4th night in Bangkok to see the Bridge over the River Kwai.

Apart from the obvious sightseeing (Rose Garden, Floating Market) etc, what other day trips etc would be good? And how much roughly would these cost?

Also, we had orginally planned to fly to Chaing Mai for a few nights however decided against this, after reading more into it I am wondering if I made a bad decision (and we can't change our travel plans with with agent), do you think it is worth going there (by overnight train? How much?) and spending a few days there. Also, how far away is Chaig Rai? I saw the white temple and gasped!! How many days do you think we would need to see the main sights, as we don't really want to rush, but don't want to see everything either (considering we'd still be paying for accommadation in Bangkok!).

Please let me know your thoughts.

Regards, Fallon

[mikenz66]

I'm no Thailand travel expert, but I'm sure plenty of people will tell you (as they have told others recently on this forum) that going up to Chiang Mai for just a couple of days is not a very efficient use of time. Obviously there's a lot of interesting history in Bangkok, you're going overnight to Kanchanaburi, and for more Thai history it would be easy to do a day trip to Ayuthaya.

Though that area just north of Bangkok doesn't have the spectacle of some other places (it's a bit flat...), it is where a lot of Thai history happened, some of which you can pick up painlesslessly by watching the movies Suriothai and Bang Rajan...

Here's some blogs that mention Ayuttaya: http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?blog=23&cat=180

[Pailin]

I agree with Mike. THe White Temple is amazing...and I gasped, too, when I first saw it. However, it is awfully far from BKK and you would lose a lot of time in travel. Ayuthaya is a must, and if you're up for exploring, there are a lot of historical areas a days trip away from BKK. Thonburi, on the other side of the river from Bangkok is also a former capital and full of interesting places.

[billk]

Hey there,

Myself, my fiance and my sister are flying from New Zealand into Bangkok in August. We stay here for 7 nights and then fly to Phuket for 6 nights.

We are really interested in seeing the cultural and historic Thailand, rather than the shopping so we would like most of our trip to be planned around this.
We have an overnight tour scheduled for the 4th night in Bangkok to see the Bridge over the River Kwai.

Regards, Fallon

Hey Fallon

If you are interested in cultural/ historical Thailand, Phuket could be challenging, depending on where you are heading.

A lot of Phuket has a reputation for being generic beach resort territory, where you don't get much sense of being in Thailand at all.

That said, after taking an initial dislike to Ko Phi Phi for that reason, I soon found that the real Thailand was there to be found. You usually just have to walk 10 minutes away from where the crowds are.

Maybe some of the Phuket veterans on the forum could chip in with some suggestions on places to go. Phuket Town isn't particularly attractive on the surface but I'm sure there's some jewels hidden away there.

I'd also strongly recommend a day trip or overnighter to Khao Lak in Phang Nga Province. It's a 2 1/2 hour bus trip from Phuket Town. The bus trip itself should be quite a cultural experience. And all for 55 Baht! (around $2NZ)

Check out this blog from the other Oz Bill on country bus rides:
http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

BTW: I'm going to spend a few days at the Soi Dog Foundation in Phuket in mid-August. I'm bound to discover some must-see places and will post on them here.

[Fallon.Nathan]

Thanks for the replies

We are going to Phuket to chill out anyway, but while in Bangkok wanted to get around and see all things interesting, as Phuket I'm sure will make up for everything else (a great balance!)

I'm really interested in all the day trips everyone is mentioning which I'm looking into - so keep suggesting !!

[Khun Don]

You may wish to have a read of Richard's blog on the top places to visit in Thailand -it includes Phuket as well as Bangkok -and do some further research from there.

http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

[jaibaan]

Khun Don reminded me of one specific blog of Richard's. The Tiger Temple, which has live tigers and is very close to Kanchanaburi and River Kwai. Since you'll be doing an overnight tour, you might find the time to break away from the tour group for a few hours to go. There's a link to the Temple website in the blog. Click for English toward the top left.

http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

[Fallon.Nathan]

Thanks Jaibaan, I did see that and have checked our tour, which we do have time and this will be a MUST on our list !

[Betti]

Billk, has Khao Lak been rebuilt since the tsunami, partially at least? as far as I know, this was the hardest hit place (in Thailand). anyone has any updates on the situation there?

[sunderlandstephen]

Phuket is basically just beaches, pretty good ones it must be said.
Not much in the way of Thai culture or history.
It`s been a tourist haven for so long apart from the food and the girlie scene you are in just another beach resort.