Going to Thailand ??

sinjin_smythe

Well me and a couple of friends were thinking bout going. Has anyone any experiences with this place ?? is it a bit dangerous u know we were thinking of going to bankok so any advice??

ro1798

not dangerous really at all, be wary of special one off holidays where clothes and gems are cheap. the airport: try and not get the main taxis and they are crazy expensive. bankok is great really is just try and keeps wits about you. go to the kick boxing if you can!! un real.

pm me if you need any more advice, been there four times and stayed from the best to the worst places.

ronan

sinjin_smythe

expensive taxis ??? i doubt it i thaught that every thing was so cheap over there, im more interested in getting clothes and things for going back to college

sinjin_smythe

anyone else got any experiance of this place ???

cinnamon

hi I went there a few years ago. Went to bangkok and then went island hopping for a few weeks - Koh Samui (island for couples, crazy airport, Big Buddha - v. cool) and Koh Pha Ngan (full moon party - highly recommended, laid back atmosphere, full of young ppl).
In Bangkok avoid over friendly tuk tuk drivers who will bring u around the city really cheaply but invariably ends in u spending ages in a silk/gems shop. The tuk tuk driver has a deal going with these shop owners to bring tourists to their shops. In our case our driver brought us to a gemstore but cos we wouldnt buy anything he left us stranded somewhere in Bangkok!
I had my passport robbed on Koh Pha Ngan (my own fault) and had a bit of a nitemare getting a replacement one but it was an adventure, I suppose looking back!
I would recommend going to visit the hill tribes if you can. And dont miss the Chatuprak market (I think it's at w/e's). U can get a bus there - it sells everything and anything - roasted cockroaches, anyone!!:D

PS ppl were very open about smoking on the islands and that always freaked me out cos I heard of ppl being done for carrying just small quantities. There's a pub we went to on the Khao San Road and the toilets had ads where u cud visit expats who were jailed for whatever reason (usu a bit of weed), So be careful. But u can smoke opium with the hill tribes!!

Jean05

yeah I'm just back from Thailand.
Don't only go to Bangkok though or you'll miss out, go to an island. I'd recommend Ko Samui, on the east coast. You can fly there directly from Bangkok
-you have to pay 300 Bhat when leaving the country so keep some chnge on u (& in the airport on Ko Samui too:500Bhat)
-things are much cheaper in Bangkok than on the islands.
-try mango & sticky rice
-taxis around bangkok are the same price as tuck tucks
-medicines and contacts lenses are unbelieveably cheap over there so if you need to stock up on anthing...
Enjoy!

sinjin_smythe

cool sounds really good, seems as though nobodies had any dangerous experiences there and the only thing to watch out for are the tuk tuk drivers, o yeah and smoking weed doesnt mean ull be thrown away for 10 years (hopefully)

DamoKen

someone already mentioned it but a good place to stay if you're new to the place is up around Khao San Rd, sort of like backpacker central. You get to meet up with a lot of people coming and going from different places so can get some good ideas on places to go as well as hook up quite easily with people going your way. Simple tip on the airport when you arrive go upstairs to departures and get a taxi from there as firstly there's normally no queue and secondly the taxis at arrivals apply an extra tarrif where you should be able to get them to drop it upstairs.

Just make sure you have change as in 100 baht notes as you'll rarely find a taxi driver with change for a thousand which is normally what you'll get from an ATM. Also the less you show the less you're likely to be asked for when haggling anything. If you do get a cab from the airport have a 20 baht note as well for the toll booth on the motorway. Think you should expect to pay anything from 150 to 250 depending on traffic which can be terrible at times.

For getting around the city, I find in the main regular taxis were cheaper, just make sure they put the meter on when you get in, I never had a problem with getting ripped off in a cab, on the contrary I always had a laugh with the drivers who were really friendly if you chat to them, but I have heard from others who did get charged double what I did for similar journeys. A half hour journey in a cab will normally cost you around 70/80 baht so it's nothing really compared to here.

Tuk tuks and motor bike taxis have to be haggled for and are generally more expensive, but they are definitely the most fun for getting around. You should be able to get a tuk tuk for 150 for a 20/30 min trip and you can also set a price to hire for a few hours to go around sights. As has been said though, be wary of the stop off at gem stores or tailors where the driver will have a deal set up whereby he gets free petrol for bringing people. Also watch out for guys (including tuk tuk drivers) telling you a major attraction is closed due to some holiday and trying to bring you somewhere else. If they start that just get out, they'll normally cave in or drive off cursing .

A definite must is going for a trip on a motorbike taxi, scary as hell but a great experience. Another good one is to get the river bus up to the Grand Palace, have a look around there and then hire a long tail boat to do a trip around the canals, really cool experience. Think I paid 250 including another guy I met who paid the same for an hour around the canals.

The airport tax on leaving by the way is now 500, not 300 so just make sure you have that when you're going, no idea what happens if you don't have it but wouldn't like to find out.

As to weed and such, despite the fact you'll find it in abundant quantities do not assume because of this all the stories you've heard are untrue. Just be careful and if you do decide to partake don't be obvious about it, also be careful who you ask or buy off as it does happen where the same guy who sells will then inform to collect a reward!

Lastly, Bangkok is an amazing place, loads to see and do, see it and enjoy, just remember you're not at home, so use the same common sense you'd use in any city and you'll be grand .

And yeah, it's only a tiny piece of Thailand so don't stay there too long, 3/4 days is more than enough especially if your time is limited, get out and see the rest of this amazing country!

TiwstaSista

weedhead wrote:

cool sounds really good, seems as though nobodies had any dangerous experiences there and the only thing to watch out for are the tuk tuk drivers, o yeah and smoking weed doesnt mean ull be thrown away for 10 years (hopefully)

Seriously, do not smoke weed over there smokehead. Bad bad idea. Not as bad as the Philippines mind you where they used to have DEATH TO DRUG DEALERS signs every ten feet at NAIA

_blank_

If going to Thailand do NOT go only to Bangkok.

I was in Bangkok for three nights, and found it more than enough. We got a really nice hotel for about EUR15 or EUR17 per night, and a lot of hassle about going to Tailors and Jewelery stores.

We then flew down to Koh Samui, if you can go at the right time be sure to catch the Full Moon Party on Koh Pha Ngan. We stayed on Koh Samui, but got a speedboat to Koh Pha Ngan that evening, very exciting!

One thing about Koh Samui though, it has kind of gone like a Spanish Resort. One long strip of bars and restaurants, check out The Green Mango and the Solar Bar.

ferdi

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054913251

ferdi

weedhead wrote:

cool sounds really good, seems as though nobodies had any dangerous experiences there and the only thing to watch out for are the tuk tuk drivers, o yeah and smoking weed doesnt mean ull be thrown away for 10 years (hopefully)

you can get smoke very easily but if you get caught you are totally and utterly ****ed.
get out of bangkok as soon as possible, its **** after a few days. go down to the south islands - ask your guest house manager for weed, he has no interest in seeing you get busted.

The Clown Man

Best thing about Thailand -> the food.

Second Best -> Full moon parties.

Third Best -> Sang Som Rum.*



* Had one of the craziest nights of my life with this stuff which culminated with me getting a lift home on the roof of a taxi and ending up sleeping in the ditch right outside where I was staying so as not to offend the lovely owners.