Thailand Question

allin-king

I'm heading on a round the world trip in September and will arrive in bangkok first.

Now im only planning on spending 2 nights there before flying to Koh Sam Uh (sp) and then travelling around each of the islands etc, anyways my question how long should i stay in Thailand (Roughly) i was planning on staying there for 5 weeks altogether. Is that too long, not long enough etc etc???

Thanks

allin-king

Another quick one,

Is there anywhere beside Thailand worth going i.e Laos, Vietnam

Bear in mind i'm mainly going to have a laugh, piss ups etc (I'm a real culture vulture i know)

jjmax

Hi,

I'd say don't make any hard and fast plans about staying there, the queues at the airline offices in Bangkok are lined with people extending there stay so I'd reccommend getting an open ended ticket that you can easily change the date on.
I stopped off there for a few weeks on my way to Oz, and ended up ditching Oz and staying in Thailand for two years Loved the place.
Cambodia is well worth a visit, not a huge tourist spot either.
Vietnam and Laos are cool too.
Best advice I can give is to make a plan but keep it flexible, you might hate one spot and fall in love with another.
Have a good trip.

sportswear

do not go to phuket. it is riddled with far far far far far too many prostitutes.

-do not go-


go to Laos. It is beautiful and not as commercially destroyed as thailand.

5 weeks sounds ok, but go to laos also - its an inexpensive trip, and its a far superior destination to thailand.

if you like your drink you will have to visit a full moon party on hat rin beach, koh phanang. its an experience.

stay on khaosan road when in bangkok . its where all the hip kids stay.

allin-king

cheers lads keep them coming

jonny68

Gonna do a a week in Thailand myself on way back from Dubai,2 nites in Bangkok and the rest in Koh Phagnan hopefully for the full moon party

Darren

jjmax wrote:

Cambodia is well worth a visit, not a huge tourist spot either.
Have a good trip.

I'll second Cambodia. I spent some time in Phnom Pnemh, Sihnoukville and Sim Reap, Had a fantastic time.

spanner

did Pattaya for two weeks, I really enjoyed it. It is not everybodys cup of tea, their is little real thai culture and it is quite built up and touristy but it is the kind of place were people (mainly single males) have been going back there every year for the last 20 30 years. It is not really a backpacking spot more of just a normal holiday place.
It has amazing night life and a really happening club scene, beware if they catch drugs in your system their is severe penalties. Also the drugs are alot more stronger there so keep that in mind.
I dont know if it would suit if your doing a lot of travelling, but for me, I was just on a holiday and found it much better than the average sun holiday here.

Grem

Spent 2 months in SE Asia last year en route to Oz. Thailand is fantastic. I loved it. Bangkok will astound you, such a culture shock. The islands are amazing, Phi Phi being one of my favourites. Spent time in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam also.
Laos is gorgeous, and not too far of a trip from Bangkok considering it wont cost you much money at all to get there. Very untouristy but loads of backpackers making their way through it. Worth a look. You'll meet loads of people.
Vietnam is cool too, similar to Thailand but again not as tourist orientated. Lots more to be discovered. People are lovely.
Cambodia - didnt stay here too long, basically saw Phnom Pehn (happy pizza) and Angkor Wat. I was on a strict timescale though, im sure there millions more stuff to see.

Oh im so jealous, 5 weeks is a perfect amount of time imo, once you reach the islands you'll never want to leave again.
Watch the whiskey buckets, blows your bl00dy head off! Brilliant.

Enjoy!

empirix

Full moon party is ****e, full of corrupt people and pissed farrang, personally i'd fly to Phuket instead, maybe stay for a day or two then get the ferry to Phi Phi island, stay there for a few days or longer depending how you like it, then head back into LAOS and travel up through it a bit and end up in Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. Samui is a tourist place(as is Phuket), Phangnan and full moon suck, the other side of the south with Phi Phi etc is much better.

nj23

i was in thailand for just under three weeks last year and packed in loads. it was very rushed and wouldnt recommend trying to do so much but this was our plan.

2 nights in bangkok, flew to chiang mai (for about e20) did a two day trek in jungle which was looking back one of the highlights of the trip. you can do three day ones but one night sleeping in a wooden hut was more than enough for me! We then flew to phuket for two days. at the time, (early september) phuket was DEAD. the beach was actually gorgreous and not too busy but the town at night was a KIP. because it was quiet it was twice as obvious how many hookers there were (not to mention lady boys) at least 5 or 10 to every person. i wouldbn't bother to go there again.

then boat to phi phi which was fab place and another highlight. One half was nearly rebuilt last year and the other half still had a long way to go but loved the fact there were no cars on the island, the bars are along the beaches so you sit with a beer on a mat on the beach watching the fire shows. great vibe. All irish here!

then we flew to koh samui (the most amazing gorgeus little airport ever) and spent a few days at the islands there. unless you into diving dont think i'd bother with koh tao. Koh samui quite commercialised but beautiful beaches and loads of nightlife. flew to bangkok and home then and all in 17 days, i needed a holiday when i came home!

just gives you an idea of a possible route to take. but would maybe stay 6-8 weeks to really experience it. a lot of travellers we spoke to adored LAOS and loved vietname. if it was me i'd take my time to travel around thailand, laos, vietnam, cambodia, you might not get the chance to do it again!

_blank_

allin-king wrote:

Bear in mind i'm mainly going to have a laugh, piss ups etc (I'm a real culture vulture i know)

OK then, on Koh Samui you have basically a beach resort kind of place. The main focus of your time here will be The Green Mango, which is just a lot of bars all together playing loud music. Top40 and Dancey kind of stuff. When that closes you'll probably find yourself heading to Solo Bar, same kind of stuff, only it stays open longer.

If you drink beer then you'll be drinking Chang. Stay away from the Singha, the hangover is horrible.

Bangkok is a horrible city (pollution, humidity), and two nights should be enough. I didn't go, but I think Phat Pong is the place where the girls can fire pingpong balls from their "special area" - I suppose you'll want to be seeing that.

Darren

seansouth wrote:

OK then, on Koh Samui you have basically a beach resort kind of place. The main focus of your time here will be The Green Mango, which is just a lot of bars all together playing loud music. Top40 and Dancey kind of stuff. When that closes you'll probably find yourself heading to Solo Bar, same kind of stuff, only it stays open longer.

If you drink beer then you'll be drinking Chang. Stay away from the Singha, the hangover is horrible.

Bangkok is a horrible city (pollution, humidity), and two nights should be enough. I didn't go, but I think Phat Pong is the place where the girls can fire pingpong balls from their "special area" - I suppose you'll want to be seeing that.

I like Bangkok. I think of it as a grimey industrial asian city like Phnom Penh and Saigon. Unlike some of the more sterile SE Asian cities, Bangkok has character! Singha is a lovely beer, but if you have too many there is quite a price to pay the next morning.

jonny68

seansouth wrote:

where the girls can fire pingpong balls from their "special area" - .

special area PMSL just say it man GEE

Kiera

Went to Thailand for a month on the way back from Oz and it was way too short. We ended up staying in Koh Phagnan for 2 weeks went to Koh samui for a week and hated it so went back to Koh Phagnan. We needed a lot more time to see the rest but our tickets were booked so had to leave. Try get as much Thailand in as you can, it’s a cool country!

P.S. Dont swim in the sea for up to a week after the full moon party. Full of wee wee! You wont see any of the locals in it.