A brain dump on Bangkok, Ao Nang, Railay, Thai Air Asia, and more

Well, we’re back from our honeymoon. We had a blast! Actually we’ve been back for a few days now, but I’ve been incredibly sick with a nasty cold that I’m sure I caught while delayed at LAX. My doctor said that he’s seen nearly 4x+ patients with the same symptoms in the last 2 days, so I feel confident I didn’t bring the pandemic Asian bird flu over!

Being that I’m sick, instead of writing a flowing post about our travels, here’s a flat out semi-structured brain dump which may or may not have information that will be useful to you in the future.

Do let me know if you have any questions!

Bangkok

1. Thai ATMs dispense 1000 baht notes, but few restaurants/cabs take them. Some won’t even take 500 notes. Fortunately, hotels are ready to exchange them for you.
2. When arriving at Bangkok’s airport, look for the AOT (official airport agency) run Limo service. They have a big booth right outside arrivals. It’s a little pricey, but you don’t have to deal with waiting in line or the potential sketchiness of getting a cab. We paid 1500 baht (includes tolls) and got a MB e-class to our hotel.
3. Bangkok has terrible air pollution. I started coughing after 12 hours of being there - and it didn’t clear up for a week.
4. Bangkok has terrible traffic, especially during the holiday season (according to a taxi driver). Worse than traffic I have ever seen in the Bay Area or New York (barring major weather disasters).
5. Take SkyTrain whenever you can in Bangkok. Be sure to get a hotel near it. We stayed at the Intercontinental - I’d stay there again.
6. Bangkok has Dunkin’ Donuts and Au Bon Pain - it’s like being home! That said, the prices are closer to US prices and they didn’t seem all that popular.
7. Bangkok has a lot of new Western-style malls. Some of them are really glitzy and put up some good competition to Hong Kong’s glitzy malls. Siam Paragon has the most luxury stores. Sometimes in malls, stores are grouped together by type - so all the sporting good stores are on the same floor, all the watch stores are near each other.
8. Thai people are generally pretty friendly and mellow.
9. Hotels include free bottled water - do not drink the tap water. Be wary of ice.
10. There seemed to be a lot of people from Hong Kong visiting Bangkok. I overheard one person remark about food prices “Expensive, not expensive. Cheap, not cheap.” I think it’s a Cantonese saying which means “They’re fair.” Of course, coming from the expensive Bay Area, food prices seemed like incredible bargains.
11. Remember to dress appropriately (no bare shoulders, long pants) when entering Wats (temples). We some people get bounced, but some people got in anyway - and shame on them for not dressing appropriately.
12. That said, it’s really hard to dress appropriately - it was quite hot and humid in Bangkok while we were there. Convertible pants are handy!
13. When getting in a Taxi, you should always insist on the meter. That said, often times it is impossible to find a driver who will agree to that when leaving a major tourist attraction. Better get your negotiation skills honed!
14. Carry your hotel name and address written in Thai - it’ll help you get home.
15. The Taxi Driver dropped us off about 2 blocks away from the entrance to Grand Palace in Bangkok. Instantly, a exceedingly friendly tuk-tuk driver came over and started talking to us and told us that the Grand Palace was closed for the morning due to the King’s holiday, and that tuk-tuk tours were discounted as part of the celebration. Fortunately we didn’t fall for it. The Lonely Planet guide specifically warns about this.
16. The Chatuchak weekend market can be unbelievably hot, pungent, and packed. Not for the faint of heart - but it’s a sight to behold.

Phuket and Ao Nang

1. Phuket around Patong beach is pretty touristy - and not terribly big. That said, there’s plenty to do in Phuket, and plenty of other beaches to go to. Fun place!
2. We took a 4 (5?) island tour - commonly known as the James Bond Island tour - well worth it. Anyone can book it.
3. You need black-belt level negotiation skills to deal with the Tuk-Tuk drivers in Phuket. I was never able to score a (short) ride for under 150 baht. Most rides were 200 baht. That’s actually a lot of money!
4. You can rent chairs on Patong beach, negotiating prices is very easy - you just have to try.
5. Internet cafes galore in Phuket, with many going for 1 or 2 baht per minute. Be sure to look out for minimum charges.
6. We stayed at the Amari Coral Beach - fantastic location. Every room has a great view. The breakfast buffet is pretty decent. However, looking back, it appears that I didn’t read one of the receipts clearly, and they charged my credit card using USD instead of Thai Baht. Why they did that is beyond me.
7. Ao Nang is a very small place, super touristy, and it is seemed at times that all the people there were from Germany and Nordic countries. Many shops/restaurants have translations in German/Swedish/etc.
8. Many locals there thought we were from Singapore - apparently, Chinese looking people who speak only English and are there are most likely from Singapore.
9. Ao Nang has mosquitoes up the wazoo. Be prepared… be very prepared.
10. We stayed at the Pakasai resort. The rooms had neat layouts. The breakfast buffet was eh - swarming with bugs. There were 2 free intermittently working Internet stations. However, mosquitoes galore - and the design of the rooms allowed them to seep in. We killed 8 in one night in our room - missing 1 which would eventually bite me while I was sleeping.
11. We took a snorkeling boat trip, which was fun. Again, there are many places that offer these trips. That said, be aware that there are jellyfish - I got stung below my face mask, above the snorkel - right under my nose. I never even saw it, but other people on my boat did.
12. The beaches at Ao Nang aren’t that great. Instead, there are “long tail” boats that take you to the beautiful Railay Beach.
13. If you do take a boat, be sure that you are getting off at Railay Beach and not Tonsai beach. Tonsai beach isn’t all that great - but it’s amazing for rock climbing (and watching people rock climb). That said, if you get off at Tonsai beach accidentally like we did, there’s a 20 minute hike that’s fairly challenging that will get you to Railay Beach. Or, you could pay a boatman to bring you there.
14. Restaurants in Ao Nang are a bit on the over priced side. Also, try to eat early - if you eat after 7:30, service becomes super super slow. At one restaurant, it took about an hour for most tables to get their food after ordering. Yeesh.

Thailand Air Travel and Airports

1. Thai Air Asia offers super low (~$50) flights within Thailand. Watch out though - their flights are almost always delayed. Our flight to Phuket was nearly canceled due to maintenance issues. We actually had to de-board the plane.
2. Thai Air Asia offers Express Boarding - it’s like $5 more. I felt it was worth it. Otherwise, there’s a Southwest style scramble for seats. Note that they charge for everything - including drinks. They also have somewhat low luggage weight allowances. I guess that’s their biz model: fees.
3. Security screening tends to happen right outside the gate. For SJC fliers, think Terminal C. There are no concessions after security - so be sure to do your shopping/eating/drinking before you enter security. That said, BKK has some fantastic shopping immediately before security screening.
4. If you buy any liquids at the airport, be it a bottle of water, or a giant bottle of vodka, be sure to ask them to give you a special secure sealed bag. This enables you to bring the bottle through security - but only for some flights I think. Regardless, we watched as a woman who just bought a giant bottle of whisky get into a row with security as she didn’t have it in the special secure sealed bag. They wanted her to throw it out - she claimed they didn’t offer her a bag. Oops.
5. There is a 700 baht fee to leave Thailand - it should be included in your ticket already. It doesn’t hurt to double check though!

Hong Kong

1. Hong Kong is a pretty packed place - but around the holiday season it’s even more packed since everyone is shopping and sight seeing. If you’re afraid of crowd, you might not want to go.
2. The first thing you should buy when you arrive is a pack of Tempo Tissues. Many restaurants will not give you cloth napkins - I understand this is a result of the SARS incident. Why they won’t even give you paper napkins is beyond me, so most people carry packs of Tempos. They’re kind of like Kleenex packs, but smaller and stronger. Otherwise, you may be left wiping your face on your sleeve.
3. A lot of things are open on January 1st. A lot.
4. If you plan on going to The Peak, which you should, go early! We went at 10am - there was no line. When we left at 11:30, there was a 2+ hr line.
5. If you want to see the Giant Buddha, I would recommend taking the tour offered by Splendid. I’ve taken it twice, and it’s pretty good. Note that the tour may or may not include a visit to the Cheung Sha Beach. Their office is near the front desk of the Sheraton in TST.
6. For those in NY who have been lucky enough to experience Muji in SoHo - be sure to check out the Muji’s in Hong Kong. The one at Langham Place is pretty big.
7. If you get an Octopus card, which is essentially a tap-and-go cash card that works in the subways/ferries/certain stores, be sure to consider returning it to get a portion of your $50 HKD deposit back.
8. Hong Kong is usually really hot and humid. But in the winter it can get down to the 50’s. Be aware that not all hotels may have a heater in the room - for example, in our room at the Marco Polo Prince, the thermostat could only turn on/off the AC. (As a side note, observe that local folks wear down filled coats at 57 degrees…)

LAX, NRT, HKG, JAL, Emirates, Cathay

1. Matt Damon with his family walked past me as I waited in line at the LAX Admiral’s Club. He was holding the baby seat. I then ended up watching Bourne Ultimatum as the in-flight movie.
2. The new Admiral’s Club in Narita is a real schlep to get to - especially if your arrival and departure flights are both in the satellite terminal.
3. JAL has a very unusual pre-flight movie about how seriously they take safety on their flights. They also claim they frequently wash their planes so they can go through the air with less friction - thus less pollution. The interior of the plane was in fantastic condition.
4. We took Emirates from BKK->HKG. Wowsers. Now I finally understand what Jimmy was raving about all these years. Amazing service, fantastic 777 interior, great food, fantastic IFE - with access to both forward camera and ground facing camera. It was a bit odd that the crew didn’t speak Cantonese (but Mandarin) despite the fact that it seemed that 80% of the pax were Hong Kongers.
5. Note that movies on Emirates are edited for violence and probably sexual content. I (unfortunately) watched Live Free or Die Hard - I think some of the showcase scenes/phrases were cut. Jean noted that Transformers was also edited.
6. We took Cathay Pacific from HKG->NRT - service was fantastic as usual. Even for this short flight, the inflight meal was pretty darn good. I also like how they have a sign in the bathroom which calls out the fact that the faucet water should not be drunk - unlike US carriers which still sometimes serve that water! (Watch out, it may have e-coli!) I seemed to remember that the food at their HKG lounge (The Wing) was better - but still, some of the best dim sum and jook period. (And Cathay doesn’t edit their movies - last time they had Open Waters which has some very graphic scenes.)
7. NRT and HKG continue to have unobtrusive screening of body temperature - to catch people who have fevers. Good for them! Maybe if we had that in the US, we would’ve caught the person who brought in drug resistant tuberculosis!

And here’s a photo of us on an elephant: