Trip Advice In Bangkok

[gatekeeperdi]

Hi,

I`m hoping to go to Bangkok and Phuket late next year with my husband. I have a back problem which means I have to use a stick to walk with and I can`t walk very far in one go.

We want to be able to visit as many of the major sites in and around Bangkok and Phuket so we`re planning to spend 10 days in each place. This way hopefully we can have a couple of days to recover from the flight and then have day doing a trip somewhere followed by a day resting up by the pool.

One place we definitely want to visit is Ayutthaya. Considering my problems, can anyone advise on the best way to plan to do this? I have read that you can hire some form of transport within the site to cover the larger distances between different temples etc., is this still the case?

I would quite like to do at least one way of the journey by boat. If we hired a guide in Bangkok, one of those recommended in many of the posts on here for example, would we still be able to visit here this way?

What are the chances of being able to do a two day trip with a guide from Bangkok, staying overnight in Ayutthaya? I wondered if that might allow more time to see things in a more leisurely manner, but don`t know if this is feasable or necessary. Are there any good hotels there, that have decent beds and are clean? I had a not so good experience in Fayoum in Egypt earlier this year, where the hotel was far from clean and I`d have never moved again if I`d have slept on the beds there! LOL!

Any help and suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

[Valjean]

Early this year my sister who has MS and walks with a cane along with my 80 year old mom came to Thailand.

We went to Ayutthaya and Sukothai and walked around. Stairs are tough for her so some of the going in and out of some sections were harder but we got around. You can take an elephant ride around Ayutthaya. There are tuk-tuks and other options. Within the grounds you're going to have to walk but I think you'll be OK.

Bangkok you need to watch out for. The sidewalks can be very rough. But again she did OK and we took it slow.

There are one day trips bus to Ayutthaya in the morning and boat back in the evening. I've hear they are nice if a little long on the return. I think 2-3 hours. I'm sure there are agencies that will let you stay the night in Ayutthaya if you want. If you are really into something like Ayutthaya it might merit 2 days but I do think for most people 1 day, 3-4 hours walking around, lunch, relax a little, is sufficient. But everyone's different and maybe I haven't given it the chance to see more.

I think you'd do good to just get the guide in Ayutthaya. There are places where you get the official guides.

Good luck and have fun,

Valjean

My Life in Thailand