This is not a "Just Back" report as we were in Thailand in March, 2009.....where does the time go!

Our plan was to meet up with a friend that I first met in Bali and had not seen again for 20 years. He is a New Yorker whose wife is Thai and they spend six months every year in Thailand to escape the NY winter, catching up with family and friends and generally travel around and just hang out. For years we have spoken of meeting up again, finally we got there.

I had wanted to spend some time in Bangkok to see the sights and do some shopping. My husband had never seen the Grand Palace, Reclining Budda or Jim Thompsons House so these were on our list.

I booked our hotels through Agoda which I found on this forum. They were excellent....professional, efficient and contactable all the time. After searching the Bangkok map looking for a good location we settled on the Natural Villas Managed by Accor in Lang Suan Road, Lumpini, near Lumpini Park and the Chit Lom skyrail station. As we were able to get our flights with Frequent Flyer points we put the $$$ into accommodation. Also, we're not as young as we used to be and a bit of comfort makes us both extremely happy.

Our apartment was lovely with a wonderful view across Bangkok. The staff were excellent and there was a cafe, restaurant, swimming pool and gymnasium. Walking was easy with plenty of taxis close at hand. We just loved the Skyrail which was easy to use and ran like clockwork...unlike the Australian rail system which could take a lesson from Thailand.

If we had been more savvy in our first few days we would have got the skyrail to the river and from there to the Grand Palace and Reclining Budda. However, my husband decided to book a "tour" with a mini bus that took an hour to get us there through the endless and gridlocked traffic. An experience in itself and a rather costly way of doing it. It also took an hour to get back. Anyway I grumbled sufficiently and said that I would organize the sightseeing from then on. My husband had been reluctant to spend any time in Bangkok but it didn't take him long to start enjoying the city, the sights, history and food. A trip to the Chatu Chak market was wonderful and I could have spent so much more time there.

After three days in Bangkok we headed for Cha Am, just north of Hua Hin, to meet our friends. I had found the contact details of Rat, a driver, on this Forum as we weren't too keen on getting the bus or the train. Rat responded promptly to my emails and arrived to pick us up right on time. She was absolutely lovely and her car was comfortable and stocked with water and snacks. She was happy to do as many stops on the way as we would like. We went to the floating market and the train market but decided then to head straight to Cha Am so we weren't arriving too late in the day.

To be continued....


Catherine

Excellent thanks for posting I am interested in learning a little more of Cha Am as it is somewhere that we have not been.
There seems to be some good deals there from the UK
Look forward to the next one Catherine.

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Kiss
God laughs at people who make plans.

Thanks Catherine.

We love a good trip report regardless of how recent it was...keep it coming.

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I love Thailand this much

Great report! Thank you so much for posting. Can’t wait to read more.
I too am interested in hearing more about Cha Am. I visited Hua Hin once many years ago, but never Cha Am.
Although still many years away, we will be moving to Thailand when I retire, and would prefer to live near the coast. For years I had my eye on Phuket, but prices over the years have gone up so much there, I don’t think we could afford to retire in Phuket Cha Am may be an alternative choice.

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"It’s all relative"