BKK Riots... updating travel plan

ok so... Bangkok is probably a no-go zone for us for safety sake.

Taking the train to Kanchanburi might not be possible from Bangkok unless things settle down. That area is not problematic now, but things can change quickly. Backup plans necessary.

Advice given during a to a response to a travelfish forum post: "if you are arriving at the new airport, it will be difficult to avoid bangkok altogether, since the airport is pretty much east of the city and kanchanaburi to the west. you could head up to ayutthaya i suppose, and from there take a bus to suphan buri and continue on to kanchanaburi. another option i imagine would be to take a taxi directly from the airport. if the cost all the way to kanchanaburi is too much for you, you could take the taxi to nakorn pathom, about 65km west of bangkok, and continue by bus or train from there. cheers."

OPTION ONE: This means taking a taxi to the station from the airport hotel, and getting on the train outside of Bangkok.
TRAIN INFO/schedule to Kanchanburi. Taxi to Nakorn Pathom and get on train there. Maybe we can even get on at earlier stations (Talingchan or Salaya, which are before Nakorn Pathom).

OPTION TWO: Going to Ayutthaya doesn't make much sense for us, since we'll be going up there on our way north and it means a lot of back and forth/backtracking.

OPTION THREE: Or... skip Kanchanburi, which I'd rather not do since I want to stay in a fun river raft guesthouse and stick my feet into the water under the bridge on the river kwai ;)

SO all the way taxi, or taxi to a less riot-ey train station. OPTION ONE wins!

Thailand itinerary

Working on the itinerary for Thailand (~2 weeks):


- first night at the airport guesthouse then travel downtown (1 night)
- explore Bangkok (2 nights)
- Bangkok to Kanchanburi (by train from Thonburi station costs 100B, 3 hours): river raft guesthouse, caves, waterfalls (3 nights)
- bus or minibus/van from Kanchanburi to Ayutthaya (main station to Suphanburi 2 hours, 45B then connect to Ayutthaya 1.5 hours, 49B - or minivan direct for 350B): bike around (1 night)
- Ayyuttha to Lopburi (via train 1 hour): temples, OVERRUN with monkeys, enough time to see the city between the morning and evening trains (1 night)
- Lopburi to Phitsanulok (3-4 hours via train for 28-64B) then on arrival immediately connect to Sukhothai same day by bus (1 hour bus ride from Phitsanulok, 54B): historical capital, bike the UNESCO World Heritage Site/national park (2 nights in Sukhothai) 
- Chiang Mai from Sukhothai (4-5 hours by bus): cycle the city, a day of hill-tribe trekking (3 nights)
- Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong (by bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, then Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong): relax (1 night) --> border crossing into Laos (2 day boat trip down the Mekong to Pakbeng then Luang Prabang)