anyone been to thailand?

alwaysonthebeer

goin to thailand for 3 weeks this summer, need loadsa advice!

think i have to pay a couple of hundred for injections to some diseases over there coz, anyone know if you need them?

when we get there we're goin to the full moon party in Koh Phangan but no plans on what to do after, any tips?

and i hear loadsa d birds there have schlongs which im not overly feelin, does everyone just lay off d thai birds or did anyone take a chance?!

chavezychavez

alwaysonthebeer wrote: »

goin to thailand for 3 weeks this summer, need loadsa advice!

im irish and think i have to pay a couple of hundred for injections to some diseases over there coz, anyone know if you need them?

when we get there we're goin to the full moon party in Koh Phangan but no plans on what to do after, any tips?

and i hear loadsa d birds there have schlongs which im not overly feelin, does everyone just lay off d thai birds or did anyone take a chance?!

Yes - you do need the injections. If your screen name is to be believed, then you will get cut/scraped/drink the water etc over there. You're guaranteed stomach probblems at some stage no matter how careful you are.

After the full moon party on Koh Phangan, head to Ko Tao. It's much more chilled out, but most of the crowd from the Full Moon head there for some diving so theres a buzz around for the week after the full moon. Some great nights to be had there as well.

As for women, Thailand is the melting pot of all cultures in the world. You will meet so many different nationalities there, the Thai wo(men):D shouldn't be a problem. You can chance if you want to, but there should be no need to.

Saint_Mel

Depends where abouts your going to. They advise getting the malaria medicine if goiup North. I was in Bangkok, Koh Samui and Koh Penang and didnt bother with it.

I think the other ones are hepA+B, diphtheria and tetnus. Stock up on immodium though to avoid the bum gravy

layercake12

Be careful at the Full Moon Party. Stay within the pack.It is similar to the serengetti in that if you or your band of revellers [7-8 people] get separated you may well get turned over.

Never care your money in once place. Never carry your cards in your pocket.
Carry most of it in your shoe and carry about 20-30 euro in baht in your pocket.
You'll come back to this thread and thank me if you get ****ed over by the local scumbag thieving guards.

Stay alert and avoid trouble.

Never do and get involved in any form make or shape of drugs. If people are doing it near you avoid.

Read the laws of any country before you enter their jurisdiction. The irish constitution doesnt afford you impunity when you are sent for 25 large in some thai prison/gulag.

Respect the people, Respect your booze and you will enjoy a massive country.

If you cant abide by any of these they you are putting yourself in the firing line and it will be your own undoing.

''Can you hear the thunder...''

btw you sound young enough - have u any experience travelling cause this is like the difference between buying a budgie [goin to wexford for a wknd] and buying a rotwellier [bangkok]

seraphimvc

defo malaria while the rest depends on how strong is your stomach :Dthe food can be a huge impact to your body

Karoma

Moved.
Balls! just noticed the x-post. OP: don't do that again.

jester77

If you're only doing Bangkok and the islands then you don't need the jabs.
Full Moon party is great, just don't get caught with anything illegal on you.
The sandbuckets of rum, red bull and cola are cheaper to buy in the supermarkets off the beach than on the beach. You could save €1 about 5 years ago which goes a long way over there!
As for the lady boys, sure if you've already paid you might as well keep going, get your moneys worth and have a funny story for the grand kids!

nhughes100

Thailand is a great place that gets a lot of bad press, most of it undeserving. The ladyboy thing is totally over-hyped mainly by people who go to spain for a week every year and stick to Irish bars. In Bangkok there are two main entertainment districts for picking up women and ladyboys if u want. These are Nana entertainment plaze and Soi Cowboy, both quite close to each other. Two stops on the skytrain if memory serves. There are two ladyboy bars in nana plaza and believe me they are extremely obvious. Soi cowboy seems women only.

Take all the usual precautions, just smile at the guys trying to get u to take tuk-tuk(motercycle taxi, u'll know when u hear them ) they'll swear blind that they know you even though you've only just arrived. A firm no if they persist usually works, if not just say "tourist police". This goes for the guys trying to get u to go to massage parlours too. I only had to threaten tourist police once to a guy in my time there and he shut up fairly fast after that.

You will be amazed at the hustle and bustle of the place, I was amazed with the friendliness and their hard work. The transport system is very good, only take taxis that have the plate on top(licensed taxi) ignore the taxi touts at the airport. When you're queueing for immigration make sure there are two officers at the desk where your queue is, there's room for two at each desk but not all of them have two officers - cost me a lot of time first time around.

MBK is the main shopping centre - 7 floors of absolutely everything, there must be a 100 mobile phone shops - it's generally all genuine stuff too. Loads of on-street markets sell all the "genuine" gucci watches and other contraband. This is take a chance stuff, I got a rolex for a tenner and it still works. Always haggle, it's the national past-time.

Do your research, get a rough guide book, don't flash the money around too much. Remember what gets u a good night out in Ireland is a month's wages in Thailand. Don't worry about the food too much in Bangkok anyway or any of the main tourist areas, off the beaten track can be a bit hit and miss.

layercake12

bad press for a reason - ...

nhughes100

Well having been there only last November, the bad press is thoroughly undeserved in my opinion. Nothing you would not see in most countries including Ireland. Thailand would be one of the few countries I would actually go back to. Maybe you could detail some of your reasons?

BuffyBot

Merged and cleared up.

matthew26

Wow, nhughes100 sure had a lot of useful tips. If only I got to read them sooner. Anyway, I've been to the place and stayed at Banyan Tree. Thailand is actually a good place with lots of things to see and... *looks behind to see if anyone's reading* ...nice women. Anyway, be especially wary of taxis if you're going to take them. Got into an argument once because the driver was charging almost double from what I usually pay.

nhughes100

If you're worried about taxis and you're not on a tight budget most of the nice hotels will have their own taxi service. When I was there I got it for 600 baht a day which is about 12 euro.Now that's robbery by Thai standerds but consider what I got - Driver all day to bring me all around bangkok, he waits for you while you're doing the touristy bits, he can translate and haggle for you and you get to have a good chat with a local too which I found to be very enlightening. Most importantly it's 100% safe. I got the hotel taxi a few times and ended up getting discounts and the odd free trip.

Appleblossom42

I went there in the 80's, I know, a long time ago. At that time Yellow Fever jabs were compulsary, can't see how that would be changed. Everything else was up to the individual, didn't bother with the Malaria.

Benny_Cake

Appleblossom42 wrote: »

I went there in the 80's, I know, a long time ago. At that time Yellow Fever jabs were compulsary, can't see how that would be changed. Everything else was up to the individual, didn't bother with the Malaria.

You definitely do not need Yellow Fever jabs coming from Ireland - only if you are travelling from a region where Yellow Fever is endemic (Africa or South America).You won't be needing malaria tablets either unless you are travelling to very remote areas on the borders of Thailand.In any case there is dengue fever also so take sensible precautions against getting bitten.

Have been to Thailand twice and spent a total of about 8 months there.I can honestly say I never felt threatened there-the people are wonderful and violent crime is very rare (against tourists anyway).Just use basic common sense,and watch out for jewellery/100 baht tours of the city scams in Bangkok.If you get a chance visit a national park like Khao Yai (NE of Bangkok) or if your up north you should definitely visit the Elephant Conservation Centre near Lampang.Enjoy!!

ionapaul

I was there for 3 weeks last year, Bangkok, the islands (Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Phuket and Koh Phi Phi) and Chaing Mai and we didn't bother with malaria tabs - before we left Oz the travel doctor asked us where we planned to go and said unless we planned to go into the jungle around the northern border of the country, malaria wasn't a real risk. Had to take all the other shots though. Everyone gets a little tummy trouble over there, that's par for the course. Also, I badly sprained my ankle (very very badly actually) at the tail end of a night out and the care I was offered in pharmacies and by first aid people in hotels sucked, so watch out.

Thailand rocks...can't wait to go back