• Third week of November-Elephant round up
• First full week of November Festival; Dress up, full moon, make flower boat
• Recommend we stay in Ubon, five-star hotel
• Day trip S & L  project; whole northeast in one week.
• Spend the first day or two in Bangkok; Take the temple tour
• Mut Mee guest house
• Check into shipping purchases back
• Travel light: buy clothes there, bring good walking shoes,  one black dress
• In temples shoulders covered , no sandals

• Visa/passports?
• Safety of water and food?
• Medical insurance, group coverage?
• Safety of the country?
• King’s Palace-can we go there?
• White sand beach----non-tourists?
• River Kwai—day trip on house boat?
• Wine tasting?
• Electrical adapters?
• Go to the island—maybe add on to end of trip?

These are just some of the questions that we are working to answer.

FLY TO BANGKOK (1 ˝ day):

Long day with time change and airport queues…

ARRIVAL – BANGKOK (Tour 3 days):

Fly into Bangkok and plan to spend 3 days there. A good place to stay is the Bossotel Hotel. Recommended to stay on the river, even though it costs a little more.

Take a day trip to the Oriental Hotel. Also Ayutthaya (the ancient capital) is a must. Go by bus from Bangkok – spend the morning seeing the area and take a boat trip back down to Bangkok. There will be a buffet lunch on the boat trip. Many people will try to sell you a trip to go up by boat and take the bus back but this person recommends the reverse. You can purchase these tickets anywhere. Prices will be the same.

North to CHAING MAI – FLY (Tour 3 days):

From Bangkok fly up to Chaing Mai and spend 3 days. Take a day trip for 1 of those days to Mae Hong Son.

North to CHAING RAI – BUS (Tour 2 days):

Explore Chaing Rai and Mae Sai, the northernmost point of Thailand.

SITE SEEING BUS TOUR (3 days of travel)

Travel and take in the beauty of Thailand along the northern border to Nong Kai (3 days):

ARRIVAL – NONG KAI (3 days)

Stay at the Grand Hotel in Nong Kai. Drive to Udan Thani. Side trip to Nuey’s village.

ARRIVE – PHUKET (3 days after to 2 hour flight from Udan Thani)

Play on the beaches…

BANGKOK – Fly back from PHUKET and return home to USA (2 ˝ days)

Tips: Don’t fly Thai Airlines. They are much more expensive than a local airline (125.00 vs. 25.00). One good local airline is Nok Air. Check online for other Air Brokers for decent airfare to Thailand.

Check with your bank to find out what their fees are for using your ATM in Thailand. Many banks charge exchange rate fees,  that can add up quickly. Consider taking Traveler’s Checks instead.

AIRLINE OPTIONS:       

www.airtreks.com   

www.china-airlines.com   

www.evaair.com