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Dec 19, 2014
3:36:43pm
I loved Thailand...
But Bangkok is a dump. You can see everything worth seeing in Bangkok in a couple of days. The most frustrating thing about Bangkok is the transportation. The elevated trains are great, safe and cheap. Take them when you can. They don't have great coverage though so you wind up having to take taxis or tuk-tuks. The taxi drivers are crooks. They will take you for as much as you'll allow. Demand that they put you on the meter. If they won't, move on to the next taxi. It only takes a couple before they realize that you won't pay them more than the metered fare and someone will relent. The other problem is that most of the taxi drivers are actually not from Bangkok and don't know their way around the city any better than you do. Take a good map and have your destinations marked. When I go back, my itinerary will look something like this:

Fly into Bangkok and stay for 2 days. While there go to Rajas Fashions to get measured to have a couple suits and a bunch of shirts made. They are on Sukhumvit Soi Nana 4 right across from the JW Marriot. Ask for Bobby Gulati or his son, if they're not there, you are in the wrong shop. There are lots of imposter shops. You will find cheaper shops but you get what you pay for Rajas makes excellent stuff for very good prices. Spend the rest of the time seeing a few sites, Grand Palace, Reclining Buddha, River tour, etc.

Fly to Chiang Mai. Flights are typically pretty cheap. Chiang Mai is in the Northwest corner of the country in the jungle. It is known for its sapphire mines but is just an all around spectacular place in the middle of mountainous jungle. I'd spend 4 o5 days here.

Fly back to Bangkok. Go back to Rajas for a fitting. They'll make sure everything is fitting better than anything you've ever worn before. See a few more sites, jump on a train up to Ayutthaya and rent a bike for a day, then get the heck out of the city.

Fly to a beach. We went to Krabi in Ao Nang province just across a big bay from Phuket. We were on a tight budget, I think there are nicer towns than Krabi but Ao Nang is great and not as crowded as Phuket. Wherever you pick, just don't not go. The beaches in Thailand are spectacular. The Andaman sea is amazing. Go out to the islands, snorkel, kayak through mangrove forests with monkeys chasing you and riding on your kayak, ride an elephant, enjoy the some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. Spend 5 days or so.

Fly back to Bangkok, pick up your suits and shirts, fly home.

2 week, only 3 days in Bangkok, someday I'll go back.
godawgs
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godawgs
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