Some of our experiences that may serve as guide to prospective travellers to Thailand. (Bangkok and Phuket in specific)
The good:
- Advance planning and on-line booking not only saved us bunch of cash, it also helped us travel with ease. Getting maps, locations of 7-eleven stores and location Indian restaurants helped save lot of time.
- Tripadvisor.com reviews helped us in choosing right hotels and more than that saved us from tourist traps.
- Simba Sea Trips is perhaps the best choice for Phi-Phi island trip. Prefer early morning tour for Phi-Phi as it really gets crowded there as the sun rises.
- Take a city tour of the city you are visiting. Despite my reluctance to go to Phuket city tour, Mansi forced to have one and it was really worth it.
- An evening stroll on southern end of Patong, near Amari was one of the best unplanned experience. Would like to have it again.
- Rayaburi hotel, Patong, Phuket was a nice choice as it was hardly a 5 mins walk away from Patong beach.
- Best Western Mayfair Suites, Bangkok is a good choice in terms of location and budget. Near to airport rail link, metro lines, Siam Paragon, Central World etc and Indra market.
- Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link (SARL) is the fastest and cheapest (during time of our visit) way to reach Bangkok city from Suvarnabhumi Airport.
- Buying travel insurance helped in claiming missed connection expenses. (More about that below...)
The bad:
- Never choose Air India for the sake of saving a few thousand bucks. They will do everything to ruin your vacation mood. Our flight from Mumbai to Bangkok got delayed by 4:30 hrs and resulted in missing the connecting flight to Phuket.
Some things we missed which should't be:
- Chao Phraya river evening cruise to have breathtaking views of the Grand Palace.
- Floating market tour in Bangkok.
- Visit to Baiyoke Sky Tower visit for panoramic views of Bangkok city.
