I just returned from 8 days in Thailand. Thailand is my favorite country and has been for years.
The new airport in Bangkok, once they get all of the bugs out of the luggage system, is state of the art. They are a lot better at helping you leave than helping you arrive as luggage delays are substantial.
I flew over on China Airlines via Taipei. NEVER sit a middle seat on their 747- absolutely no leg room due to the elecronics placed under each miffle seat. 13 hours over but only 10 hours back. The aircraft arrived in BKK at about 1AM but it took until 2AM for our luggage to come out.
My girlfriend met me at the airport and we retired to our hotel for our first night together in 2 months. I am partial to the TK Palace Hotel which is near the old Don Muang Airport. A very nice hotel with EVERYTHING you could want in a hotel. From pools to aromic massage to
Everything. And the standard room only runs about $40.00 a night. Pretty far from the red light districts which I found to be a plus since most of my gogo club days are far in the past.
However, most hotels in thailand are great no matter where you stay. THere are also many guest houses closer to the center of the city run by ex-pats who can give you advice when you need it.
Bangkok is really a pretty dirty city. Clouds of diesel fumes swirl around the buildings. . We visited the two major temples- the emerald Buddha and recling buddha. We had to get out of that part of town by 230 when the afternoon rush hour starts.
Another thing about thailand is that almost every restaurant is great. Restaurants in hotels and tourist areas are about 2X the price or more of the prices of real Thai restaurants and the food is not nearly as good. However, you need a Thai person to guide you around.
Best food and best prices are available to those who speak the language. There are 2 prices on most things-one for the tourists and one for the locals.
We helped a couple of foreigners who were lost just a couple of blocks from their hotel on our way to eat at the Seafood Palace on Sukhumvit Rd. It is easy to get lost in Bangkok; you should always carry a map and hotel card with you when you are out on the street. The tourist police speak english so if you are really lost, find a police officer and they can get an English speaker for you.
Seafood Palace has great seafood but pricy. THey cater to foreigners there. I had a 5 pound lobster served up. You wouldnt find one like him here. A more than passable wine list
We also went to a couple of Irish pubs- New Londoner in Sukhumvit and RoadHouse near Patpong. I have friends who are involved in the operation of the clubs. Good Thai good/ good Irish fare and a wide range of imported beers.
We went to Udon on the third day to buy a house in a new exclusive development. Price example- 2500 square feet/2 story/ 3BD-4bath/ large lot/gated community with community pool / restaurant/ store/gym and rec room- 112,000. HOA is 35 dollars a month. Trying to talk them into putting in a pool table.
5 star hotel with free airport transport, superb breakfast buffet, cable, business center, cable TV, gym, bar, Karaoke bar, discoteque- $17 per night. Napalai Hotel.
I decided to buy a house with my girlfriend because I have known her a year in person and 16 months if you include webcams. Time to either move up or move on. I will retire there in another 5 years and this is working out very well since she doesnt want to leave her city to come to my country.
Udon is a lot quieter, not much to see. You can see all of the sites in about 3 days. From Mummies to ancient temples to dinosaur digs to the Laos border to shopping. You could do it in one day if it were all closer together but it is all just too spread out.
The women are very beautiful and small town. There are already dozens of foreigners living in the city.
No so-called romance tours coming here for sure. . . . the traditional thai women wont go for that kind of stuff. Personal meetings is about all that they will go for. It is hard enough to meet a good thai woman as it is. THere is a stigma attached to being with a white guy-it is slowly being dissipated by time and the internet. As far as going to a cocktail party filled with white guys-forget it. They have those venues already and they are called go go clubs. No decent woman would be found dead in one. I met my girlfriend on TLL where she was asking for English practice. But we know better now
After 4 days of life in paradise eating at our favorite restaurants and watching the water buffalo and birds we returned to Bangkok for my last night.
I took Waraporn to a couple of gogo clubs since she had never seen them before. We went to clubs in both Patpong and Nana with a friend of mine and she was scandalized by the activities of the girls working there both in the shows that they were putting on and their public displays with the mostly European crowd. She walked out of Queens Castle for reasons that I wont describe. I think that she was sorry that she went. As a Thai person, she was disgusted by the behavior. I do not think I have to worry about her wanting to go back again.
Eight days is not enough time to see everything in Bangkok. It depends what you are looking for. Just enough time to scratch the surface and be more focused on your next trip.
