2 weeks in Thailand - the planning stage

Of we go again. This time it's 2 weeks in Thailand.

Our choices were Bangkok and the North, or Bangkok and the South. Luckily I had just taken a class on Thailand at the Israel School of Tourism, and I also know that David, my husband, doesn't like going on beach-type holidays (he says that the best relaxing holidays are at home, with take-away, large-screen tv, and no sand!!).
So, Bangkok and the North it is (at least this time).

My resources were: My notes from the class I took, the Eyewitness guide to Thailand (the best!!), the TripAdvisor Thailand forums, the amazing PaknamWeb sites by Richard Barrow, and many other websites on Thailand, Bangkok, etc.

Keeping Kosher in Thailand isn't so simple, I'm told, as oyster sauce and fish (of unknown variety) sauce is used in so many dishes. So, the Chabad of Thailand sites were very helpful, as was Jewish Thailand. One of the TripAdvisor forum replies I received sent me to the Happy Cow, which is really useful for Vegetarian and Vegan restaurants. I think that one of Richard Barrow's sites mentioned to look out for the yellow triangular flags that signify a Jay restaurant - they are all vegetarian.

I started the real planning about 3 weeks ago, trying to decide the details of what to see and what order to go places. Firstly, I looked at local festivals, to see if there was anything interesting that we could plan around. The most famous festival in November is Loy (or Loi) Krathong, but that ended on November 13th, so we missed that. I did, however, find a couple of other festivals, like the River Kwai festival, which starts on our last weekend, and carries on for about 10 days.

One other thing I discovered was that for 6 days, from the 14th of November till the 19th, inclusive, is the ceremonial funeral and cremation of the King's sister, Princess Galyani, who died in January from cancer, at the age of 84. That meant that our first 2 days would need to be changed a bit, as some of the main sights (like the Grand Palace) would be closed, in addition to the 10,000s of Thais who would pour into the center of the city to pay their last respects. Actually, we were sorry to have missed it, as it isn't often that one gets to take part / watch such a cultural activity "live". If you want to get a feel for what it was like, have a look at this site.

So, our agenda looks something like this:

Monday night (17th-18th November) - Overnight flight with ElAl, direct to Bangkok (9 hours plus the trappings...)

Tuesday 18/11 - arrive in Bangkok at 14:00 (assuming that the flash strike at Ben Gurion airport this evening - the 16th - isn't still playing havoc with outgoing flights tomorrow evening ...). Check in at the #2 TA hotel in Bangkok, also voted "Hidden Gem of 2008" - called Phranakorn Nornlen, in the district of Dusit, 10 minutes walk from Khao San road.

Wednesday 17/11 : 6am (ouch!) pickup for full day tour with Tour with Tong of the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market + visit an off-the-beaten-track Fishing Village. What's cool about this tour is that we are sharing it with a couple from Australia who I met on the TripAdvisor forum! Their names are Renate and (ooops - forgot to ask), and Renate goes by the TA handle of "live-at-cedars". Tong comes very well recommended on the Bangkok forum, as do her guides, and you need to book her well in advance, or manage to be a hanger-on with one of her pre-booked tours. We are going with one of the guides, Jerry.

Thursday 18/11: Full day public transport and walking tour of Bangkok "must see" sights (again with Renate and husband, and Tong's guide Jerry): Grand Palace, Emerald Buddha, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, canal tour, and maye a couple of other things, if there's time. We would like to see the Golden Mount, although that's another fair that we missed (it ended on the 14th ...).

Friday 19/11: Sightseeing on our own: Thewet Flower market, Wat Benchamabophit, Royal Carriage Museum and Vimanmek Palace, Jim Thompson's house and Erawan Shrine

Saturday (Shabbat) 20/11: Our day of rest, we plan to go to Friday evening and Saturday morning prayers at Chabad, and then sleep in the afternoon!

For the late afternoons and evenings in Bangkok, we have the following planned: shopping, markets, more shopping, more markets, even more markets and shopping .... (you get the picture). We will also try to go up one of the skyscraper hotels one evening, and have a drink from the bar at the top (either the Baiyoke tower, or the Sky Bar at Lebua at State Tower). And last but not least, we can't leave Bangkok without going to the amazing Calypso "Katoe (Lady Boy)" Cabaret :-)

Sunday 23/11: Start the day at the Chatuchak weekend market, and when we're ready to drop, go back to the hotel, pick up our bags (by now probably double the size), and catch an AirAsia flight to Chiang Mai, capital of the north.

Monday 24/11 - Friday 28/11: We have a 5-day jeep trip planned, through an outfit that I forget it's name (it will come to me later). I found them on the Hebrew site www.lametayel.com. The tour includes the main sites of Chiang Mai, Mae Hong son, Pai, Chiang Rai, and the Golden Triangle. We'll be going up mountains, rafting down the Mekong, taking an elephant ride in the jungle, feeding monkeys, going into stalactite caves, visiting the different hill tribes (e.g. Long neck women, Big eared tribe, Lisu, Karen, etc.), shopping at local markets, seeing waterfalls and geysers, and more. Hopefully we'll also find time to relax in a hot tub, and get a traditional Thai massage ...

Saturday 29/11: Repeat of last Saturday, only this time at the Chabad of Chiang Mai, and in the evening, visit the Warorot Market and Chiang Mai Night bazaar.

Sunday-Monday 30/11-1/12: Sunday morning early we fly down to Bangkok, arriving before 10:00. Over the next 2 days we will try to get to Kanchanaburi, to see the Bridge over the River Kwai and the festival going on there. We'll also try to get to the Rose Garden Cultural Show (about 1 hour drive from Bangkok), together with a bit of R&R (rest and relaxation - ha!!) before catching our flight home at 00:30 on the night between Monday and Tuesday.

So, that's all for now. I guess I don't really need to write any more about the actual trip - you already know what we are going to be doing from dawn till dusk. David always jokes that when I plan a vacation, I even plan in the bathroom breaks ....
Joke, Joke.

See you next time I get the chance to log in.

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