Frommers Thailand
10th Edition
by Ron Emmons
Published by:
JOHN WILEY & SONS, Inc.
Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester,
West Sussex PO19 8SQ, UK
Telephone (+44) 1243 779777
Email (for orders and customer service enquiries): cs-books@wiley.co.uk. Visit our Home Page on www.wiley.com
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS, UK, without the permission in writing of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8SQ, England, or emailed to permreq@wiley.co.uk, or faxed to (+44) 1243 770620.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The Publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
Publisher: Kelly Regan
Production Manager: Daniel Mersey
Editors: Mark Henshall & Jill Emeny
Content Editor: Sarah Pavey
Cartography: Andrew Murphy
Photo Editor: Richard H. Fox
Front cover photo: Front Credit: Buddhas in Ayutthaya Temple, Thailand / Art Kowalsky / Alamy Images
Back Cover photo: Long-tail boats at Laem Phra Nang Beach, Krabi, Thailand / parasola.net / Alamy Images
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats. For more information about Wiley products, visit us at www.wiley.com.
For information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877/762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317/572-3993 or fax 317/572-4002.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-118-11998-3 (pbk), ISBN 978-1-118-22456-4 (ebk), ISBN 978-1-118-26272-6 (ebk), ISBN 978-1-118-23800-4 (ebk)
Typeset by Wiley Indianapolis Composition Services
Printed and bound in the United States of America
5 4 3 2 1
List of Maps
Thailand
Thailand Itineraries
Bangkok Hotels
Bangkok Restaurants
Bangkok Attractions
Wat Phra Kaew & the Grand Palace
The Eastern Seaboard
Pattaya
Ko Chang
The Southern Peninsula: East Coast
Ko Samui
The Southern Peninsula: West Coast
Phuket
The Central Plains
Ayutthaya
Chiang Mai Hotels
Chiang Mai Restaurants
Chiang Mai Attractions
Exploring the Northern Hills
The Mae Hong Son Loop
Mae Hong Son
Chiang Rai
Isan
Note About Maps
This guide contains dozens of maps of varying sizes and complexity. If you find it hard to read a map on your device, use the zoom function to enlarge. You can also download and/or printout PDFs of all of the maps in this guide. Go to www.frommers.com/go/ebookmaps and click on the title of your guide.
About the Author
Ron Emmons taught English in Africa and the Americas before moving to Thailand, where he now works as a freelance writer/photographer. He is the author and photographer of Portrait of Thailand and Walks Along the Thames Path (New Holland, U.K.), as well as the writer of Top Ten Bangkok (Dorling Kindersley, U.K.) and Spiral Guide to the Dominican Republic (Automobile Association, U.K.). Ron has also made major contributions to several other guidebooks, such as the Rough Guide to Vietnam and National Geographic Traveler Vietnam. book title
Acknowledgments
Updating this guidebook has been a collaborative effort involving input from several people whose help has been invaluable. First and foremost, the editorial teams of Jennifer Reilly and Maureen Clarke in the USA as well as Mark Henshall and Jill Emeny in the UK have worked tirelessly to bring the project to completion, while Andrea Kahn in the USA did a great job of co-ordinating the mass of data that required processing. In Thailand, I am indebted to several travel trade professionals who contributed vital information about developments in the various regions of the country. These include Lee Sutton, Jittranuch Mingkwan, Marion Walsh-Hedouin, Korawee Sapmanee, Mark Shrives, Ken Scott, Nicholas Downing, Benjawan Sudhikham and Phatthawut Wutthipraphanphong; thank you all.
How to contact Us
In researching this book, we discovered many wonderful placeshotels, restaurants, shops, and more. Were sure youll find others. Please tell us about them, so we can share the information with your fellow travelers in upcoming editions. If you were disappointed with a recommendation, wed love to know that, too. Please write to:
Frommers Thailand, 10th Edition
Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
Advisory & Disclaimer
Travel information can change quickly and unexpectedly, and we strongly advise you to confirm important details locally before traveling, including information on visas, health and safety, traffic and transport, accommodation, shopping and eating out. We also encourage you to stay alert while traveling and to remain aware of your surroundings. Avoid civil disturbances, and keep a close eye on cameras, purses, wallets and other valuables.
While we have endeavored to ensure that the information contained within this guide is accurate and up-to-date at the time of publication, we make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. We accept no responsibility or liability for any inaccuracy or errors or omissions, or for any inconvenience, loss, damage, costs or expenses of any nature whatsoever incurred or suffered by anyone as a result of any advice or information contained in this guide.
The inclusion of a company, organization or Website in this guide as a service provider and/or potential source of further information does not mean that we endorse them or the information they provide. Be aware that information provided through some Websites may be unreliable and can change without notice. Neither the publisher or author shall be liable for any damages arising herefrom.
About the Author
Ron Emmons taught English in Africa and the Americas before moving to Thailand, where he now works as a freelance writer/photographer. He is the author and photographer of Portrait of Thailand and Walks Along the Thames Path (New Holland, U.K.), as well as the writer of Top Ten Bangkok (Dorling Kindersley, U.K.) and Spiral Guide to the Dominican Republic (Automobile Association, U.K.). Ron has also made major contributions to several other guidebooks, such as the Rough Guide to Vietnam and National Geographic Traveler Vietnam.