Some questions about Bangkok

Hello everyone,

At the end of this year (nove-dec) my girlfriend and I will visit some cities in Asia, including Bangkok (one week). This will be our first time in Asia. I have some questions and hopefully you can help me:

1) I%26#39;m planning to stay at 2 hotels: the oriental (2 nights) and the lebua at state tower. A friend told me that there can be lots of mosquitos at the river in the evening. Is this true? So, if I%26#39;m staying at the oriental will it be %26#39;impossible%26#39; to dine or chill outside in the evening?

2) I%26#39;ve been told that the river is dirty. Is this true? Does the river has a bed smell?

3) Can you advise me at which hotel I should start my Bangkok visit? Oriental (2 nights) or the Lebua (4 nights)?.

4) I%26#39;ve just seen the movie %26#39;Bangkok dangerous%26#39;. In the movie Nicolas cage went into a cave with a Buddha in it. Can anyone tell me where this is?

5) Is the Lebua at state tower well located?

6) Which hotel is better: Lebua at state tower or sheraton grande sukhumvit?

I%26#39;m looking forward for your answers.

Thanks,

JC

Some questions about Bangkok

1) Mosquitoes are everywhere in Bangkok. Near the river, the water is moving, and a breeze is common, so the mosquitoes actually don%26#39;t seem so bad.

2) The river is dirty; Bangkok is dirty! Smells are everywhere, but aren%26#39;t always overpowering. It won%26#39;t affect riverside dining (besides, the Oriental doesn%26#39;t allow smells!).

3) Living here, I don%26#39;t stay at hotels.

4) Don%26#39;t know; I%26#39;ve only seen the original ';Bangkok Dangerous';.

5) Not bad.

6) See #3

Some questions about Bangkok

The river is not particularly dirty. Its a common belief brought about by the fact that that the natural colour of the river is brown, caused by sediments. You can see the same colour in many other rivers around the world, including the Amazon.

Bangkok does have smells; sometimes not too nice. It is a hot and humid city, and not as clean as the Netherlands, but there are smells of food and flowers and spices too.

I%26#39;ve eaten riverside many times, mosquitos are not much of a problem. At the Oriental, you can choose to eat in air conditioned comfort but still have great views of the river.

';natural colour of the river is brown, caused by sediments';

And sediments consist of ....... Dirt!

There is also a fair share of the styrofoam, plastic bags and other debri blowing in from the streets (I won%26#39;t go into what the factories and klongs contribute!). The point is that it%26#39;s not the crisp, blue waters that might be a bit more aesthetically pleasing.

At night, the river might just as soon run black for all one can tell from a riverside restaurant.

Hi JC,

I%26#39;ve stayed at the Oriental several times.. As previous replyer have noted.. misquitos are pretty much everywhere in Bangkok.. Just be sure to use misquito repellent.. I%26#39;ve found the roll-on repellant you can buy in any Thailand pharmacy to be quite effective.. The Oriental Has 6+ restaurent and I believe only 2 are outdoors at riverside.

I was in Bangkok this past June/July and made use of the river ferry. I must say the river is absolutely filthy! The water is an unnatural rust color, not green, not brown.. It is more than just dirt sediment in the river. I am a swimmer and love being in the water.. but, you would NEVER catch me setting one foot in the Chao Phraya River...! Looks absolutely polluted.. maybe it isn%26#39;t.. but it looks awful..

The Oriental Hotel is one of the top rated hotels in the world. Make your stay at The Oriental the last 2

nights, or where you would have the most time to spend there..

Bangkok Dangerous hasn%26#39;t opened yet in the U.S. Will open to theatres this coming Friday..

I believe the Lebua Tower isn%26#39;t too far away from The Oriental HOtel. It%26#39;s close by The Shangri-La Hotel, which is a short distance down river from the Oriental, and a block or so away from the river.

I haven%26#39;t read or heard much about the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit..

Slowrunr

The Oriental is one of the best in the world. However, the downside of staying in BKK%26#39;s 5 star hotels is that staff are quite fluent in English and often they behave like westerners. I am a Asian descendant from Australia, it is a turn off for me to see pretentious gestures. I have been to BKK more than 20 times (grandmother is Thai), I prefer to stay in 4 star like the Montien of BKK - the service is truly Thai hospitality. My experiences in 5 star hotels along the river have not been that positive...but check out the Sokkho Thai, it is very nice.

Interesting.......Just watch ';Bangkok Dangerous'; Nicolas Cage version...

Got same question to ask also

1. In the movie Nicolas cage went into a cave with a Buddha in it. Can anyone tell me where this is?

2. Which flaoting market in that movie?

Thanks in advance....Just curious....

Sorry....Found the answer of my questions....

1. thailand-huahin.com/huahin-photos/khao-luang鈥?/a>

2. Damnoen Saduak floating market.....

LOL.....

Hi;

Bangkok river just has smell of Dirt from the upstream flow. That is why I don%26#39;t like to stay at

hotels close to the river. They are very expensive and Dirt river smell all the time.

Decision to visit Bangkok is a No brainer as a Top city in the Asia for tourists newbie or repeat visitor.

I have stayed in the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit many many times and really like it. I would stay there instead of the Lebua, mostly because it%26#39;s in a different part of town (and closer to shopping malls too if you care about that). Also the Sheraton is connected directly to the BTS station (Skytrain).

So I would suggest stay at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit first, then the Oriental (have stayed in both many times, they%26#39;re a good contrast and both great). The Sheraton is one of the Luxury Collection hotels.

However.... do make sure you go for a drink or dinner at the top of the State Tower - fantastic evening views from the 61st floor. www.thedomebkk.com/web/corp_home06.html

When you%26#39;re at the Oriental, consider going to the spa. Its across the river (Oriental has its own boat). Fantastic.

Cheers, --Kip

I think the river is pretty dirty, it may be naturally brown from the sediment being stirred so much as the river seems like a very active place and the water is passing through fairly quickly. But then again I%26#39;ve seen white water rapids that aren%26#39;t brown like that.

Never stayed by the river just heard a lot of comments from fellow travelers that staying next to the river they usually don%26#39;t due to the smell.

Lebua State Tower is close to some large Robinsons store. I think they also have a few other places next to Robinson%26#39;s. It is next to the last BTS stop on the Silom line Saphan Taksin. You can see it here

hotels2thailand.com/thailand-hotels-map.asp鈥?/a>

in fact you should print that map for the taxi since it is in Thai. It is about 300 meters from the skytrain, I think I only went their once.

loose eyeshadow