We had an opportunity to visit SE Asia, a totally new area for us. We took our dog to the sitters and flew to Bangkok on JAL which was a great airline, with good food and comfortable seating.
I decided to post this trip on InstaGram, so you can see a lot more photos at OldManWithaWhiskey. However I will give you a quick rundown here, along with links to hotels and so on.
We had a great room in a little boutique hotel, the Baan Vajra, off on a quieter side street. It is in the Silom District which is near a lot of transportation, some nice restaurants, a couple good markets and in walking distance of some temples. We used the river taxis and the Blue Line (Sky Train) to get to some further away places.
Overall Bangkok was chaotic, noisy, but interesting.
We had a great room at the Railay Phutawan Resort. It is "out of town" which really means it is like five minutes walk into the town of Railay, and ten minutes to the beach. The advantages were many: The beach-front resorts have most rooms facing each other, the jungle or walls. The beach front places are more pricey, noisy and crowded. We were more isolated (five minutes) on a hill with great views, quiet enough to hear and see the monkeys, and because of the location I could afford the best suite room, with ocean view, for less than the cost of a box room at the beach front resorts.
We spent time on the beach, walking, and poolside reading, eating and drinking.
Dario and I would go hike, Gail and Michael might go to a spa, Woody, Dario and I would go to a bar, Gail and I would go hang out while the other three did what they wanted.
Chiang Mai was an interesting city to explore. Smaller than Bangkok, it didn't seem as overwhelming, yet it had lots of hidden places to find. There is a wall with four gates, and moat around the Old City core, so it is impossible to get lost. Our Air BnB was right outside one of the gates. The Tambon Chang Moi was a traditional Thai house made of teak. The bedrooms were dark, but the main sitting and eating area outside was great and our host was wonderful. She even gave Gail a lift on her motorcycle one day when Gail was semi-lost and wandered by her store. I spent memorable time sitting out in the little private vestibule, listening to the monks chant and chimes ring at the temple next door.
We were here five days, long enough for me to become a regular at Brewginning, the local coffee shop. We had good food, explored the night market, went to an elephant preserve and to Doi Inthanon National Park, the highest point in Thailand.
Woody, Gail and I made a fast walking tour of the city before heading out to dinner.
We had a really fantastic room on the top floor of the Mora Boutique Hotel, and we regret we did not stay for another day just to enjoy the rooftop bar and room.
But, it was time to head on to Laos.
It was interesting to be here, and a great mix of Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim cultures. I felt personally it was over-rated, especially compared to the next couple places we went. This is a great place to actually have someone meet you at the airport (if it is included, or if you can afford it) and the place to get your "colors of Asia" fix. Good things to buy at the night markets: food, elephant pants, elephant statues. We were there in November and the heat and humidity were overwhelming... and this is the "cool season." It would take a while for me to fully acclimate. I went through two sets of clothes a day, but fortunately laundry services were inexpensive, and you can buy extra clothes at the night market.
Again, for more photos and information, go to my InstaGram.
Here are a couple more photos.