Tips to A Trip to Land of Thousand Smiles

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Well, it is time to travel again. After a few months of intensive chatting in Thai karaoke form, I am ready for real Thai language that would dazzle and confuse me, for sure. I plan to strike deep to the land of thousand smiles, wats, wihan, prangs and aqua blue oceanõ?Ư in the next few months for probably 2 weeks. Plan not too see much of BKK, though.

Need tips to go from BKK to Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, Chieang Mai and Hua Hin by train, bus and air plane. If there is any good lodging along the way, please let me know. All I need is a clean, safe and quiet. I will bring my backpack and a pair of sturdy hiking boots so I am ready to walk with my legs, if needed. This trip, I hope, will give me deeper perspectives of Thai history, specially the periods of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya kingdoms. For those who are keen in history, you can give me some advises what to do or see in those places with so much to absorb in such a short time span. I also would like to see the sublime arts on religious artifacts form those places. Any good dining places with views to the Chao Phraya river or a view of Doi Su Thep that you may know? Quality definitely a must. My goal is not to use English when I am in Thailand, so õ?Ư letõ?Ts see how it goes.

I will try to have a lot of fun in Chieang Mai & Hua Hin, even I know that those two towns are not as crazy as BKK. I will save my crazy, tipsy moments when I lumber back to old Krung Thep for a real culture shock before a long ride back home.

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Just out of curiosity, how much would you prepare for the trip?
I have very little experiences travelling to Thailand, but 2-week seems too short for such a long, countrywide journey, especially when you''re on backpacking-style.
I''m also planning such a trip, up to 1 month on Sep or Oct. I believe it must be autumn there at that time, cool weather is ways better than 40C deadly sunlight in summer. Details not planned yet, though.
Appreciate if I can learn some experiences from your trip. Do you plan a diary right here in this topic?

For any trip to a foreign country, I spend a lot of times to prepare for it. Usually triple the time that I spend in any country. Language is always a requirement for myself, so that I am aware of what is going on around me, and it is a pure fun to be able to carry a conversation with the locals in their mother tongue language. I have been chatting hours with friends from Thailand without using any English, so I feel fairly good about my language ability in jumping on a bus and bargain for a discount. For the details of any trip, I usually plan for a time block of 4 hour increment with the minutiae for lodging, transportation, foods and recreations. In my opinion, preparing the trip is half of the fun, getting there is another ẳ of the fun for the trip, and the trip itself is only ẳ fun of the trip, if you understand what I am talking aboutõ?Ư
I have been in Thailand quite a few times already, but each time, a new experience for me, I always avoid to do the same thing again. If you notice, this time, I focus on the train axis of BKK õ?" Chiang Mai (with stops in Ayutthaya & Sukhothai õ?" Sukhothai with a side trip of 45 km from the train station in Phitsanulok), so I do not waste too much for travel time. With one or two domestic flights, then I could save my time further in jumping to the coastal for a short jaunt to the eastern beaches of Cha Am õ?" Hoa Hin, so a length of 2 weeks is good enough for me.
Even with the backpack, I have a lot of options in compacting the trip down to things that I want to do, to eat or to sightsee since the cost is less of a concern for me, specially someone already paid for my air ticket, and also the tabs for the medium-grade hotels along the way. It is a good feeling when you go and do not have much constraints of the cost, but to focus more on the quality of what you want out of a trip. Definitely relationship is high on my to-do list when I am in Thailand, and in fancy hotels it is harder to find genuine mutual feelings. I am also looking for a small but meaningful service project to do as a token of appreciation to this beautiful country and its gentle people.
I do not care much about the weather or the general temperature in a country. Rain, snow, sleet, or torrid heat does not deter me much to go out and have funõ?Ư if there is an urge from the heart to go then I go. If other people in that country can withstand it, then I should be able to, right? Such a foolish idea, but it helps you mentally to keep your trip moving forward. Usually, the inclement of weather makes me acutely remembered well about a trip. They add more spices to your travel foods. áưáạ"áÊáạ?ạ"á"ạ?
For a trip diary, I am not sure yet, if it is not meaningful, then why should I do it, right? I will see what I can do and if I have time to do it properly. áÊááÂáá-áá?ázááêáạá^áTạOáĂạ?á áááƠạ?áĐáƠáázááêáạá^áTạOá"áT
Được wbguy sửa chữa / chuyển vào 05:50 ngày 01/07/2009

Does anyone have experiences with Blue Elephant Restaurant in Bangkok? I heard that it is one of the top notch restaurants in Bangkok, and romantic and elegant as well! How about the Sky Restaurant at 78th storey of the Baiyoke Hotel with unobstructive view for the whole Bangkok? I think I may go to Sky Restaurant not for the foods (the reviews are so so), but more for the view.
I am thinking of having lunch at The Sky then dinner at the Blue Elephant before hitting the train at Hua Lam Phong to head northõ?Ư

Here are some of the pictures from the trip that I had last month, it was so refreshing and fun. I wrote a daily for this long trip journey, hopefully I may have time to post some excerpts here.
Thailand is always a special place in my heart!
Cheers,
Enjoy the pics
http://s573.photobucket.com/albums/ss178/hlwbguy/Thailand-Oct2009/