Essentials for Thailand ???

hunggar

Hey ,

Heading to thailand for 3 weeks in May with my Girlfriend . Only heading to bangkok , koh samui and ko phangan . Just wondering if there is anything we should do before we go i.e shots etc .

Also wondering if there is anything we need to take with us like Mosquito repellant , hand sanitizer etc ???

Last thing does anyone know if its advisable to bring along alot of cash or is credit card widely accepted ??

How much spending money would we need for 3 weeks ?? roughly ??

ThE_IVIAcIVIAIV

don't bother with mosquito tablets, i spent 3 months in south east asia and didn't catch any malaria, just buy the spray when you get to bangkok , theres a boots by khao san rd that sells it cheaper than here

i lasted no problem on 25 euro a day , thats middle class restaurants and accomidation and drinking session until 7 am every morning included , so since its 2 of you going it makes it cheaper as you pay per room rather than per person so i think 25 a day you could do aswell easily , so about 500 not including buying clothes/trips/activities etc
if you need to know anyore just ask, its hard to tell you how much you're going to spend unless i knew what your plans were, because you'd be paying extra for buses/boats etc aswell but they are dirt cheap. once i got a 7 hour bus then 1 hour on a boat for 6 euro!, it would cost about 80 euro to do something like that here....

bring credit card and some cash, atms everywhere in thailand so no problem withdrawing from CC

go to the doc and get the shots he advises, for Hep a+b polio typhoid . i didn't bother get the rabies one and i was stroking cats and dogs the odd time , relatively safe in thailand. just don't do anything that would cause an animal to bite you or scratch, one note though, do not touch them horrible common monkeys, they are like rats/pests full of rabies!

spongeman

Bring minimal clothes and an empty suitcase. V cheap there.

When bargaining the price could be up to half what they offer.

Dont use tuk tuks they are a rip off.

Taxis are cheap. Make sure the driver turns on the meter.

Dont take tours to jewellery shops

Try the market at Silom in BKK in the evening

tink2

I went for 8 weeks and I found travel towels were brill if you have a rucksack and we also brought duvet covers and slept in them as we were in lower budget accommodation and its better to be safe than sorry. Hand santizer is brill, I don't tend to get mossy bites and didn't use anything and was fine depends on yourself. No need to get malaria tablets unless you are spending time in the jungle which doesn't sound as if you are.Have a nice time!

IRLConor

spongeman wrote: »

When bargaining the price could be up to half what they offer.

+1

When bargaining, have a bit of craic with the seller. I found that when the exchange was light-hearted I got a better price and generally had a more pleasant experience. Seems obvious now, but I've seen some people go in with the "aw, you're robbing me with that price" attitude and end up finding the haggling tiresome.

Get some good insect repellent, your life will be much easier with it. Apart from the obvious discomfort of a bite, there are a bunch of insect-borne diseases which are unpleasant enough that even though they're rare, you really don't want them. In terms of shots and malaria tablets, go to a doctor who does travel medicine before you go. He/She will point you in the right direction. I've been to the Tropical Medical Bureau off Grafton St and they were decent enough.

Be really careful of motorbikes/mopeds. I wasn't and have the scars to prove it. Even if you're an experienced rider (which I wasn't) there is a lot of dangerous driving done by others which could get you hurt.

Be careful going on the lash, the heat can make the hangovers horrendous. (Again, painful experience. )

Thailand struck me as a real "you get what you give" kind of country so enjoy it, and chat to the locals. They get a lot of asshats coming through at 90 miles an hour raising hell (and they can be shockingly tolerant of it) but any time I took the time to stop for a chat with someone I was treated like the prodigal son. That, or they tried to sell me a suit/watch/jewellery for a special price.

Enjoy it.

breadmonkey

ThE_IVIAcIVIAIV wrote: »

don't bother with mosquito tablets, i spent 3 months in south east asia and didn't catch any malaria, just buy the spray when you get to bangkok , theres a boots by khao san rd that sells it cheaper than here

i lasted no problem on 25 euro a day , thats middle class restaurants and accomidation and drinking session until 7 am every morning included , so since its 2 of you going it makes it cheaper as you pay per room rather than per person so i think 25 a day you could do aswell easily , so about 500 not including buying clothes/trips/activities etc
if you need to know anyore just ask, its hard to tell you how much you're going to spend unless i knew what your plans were, because you'd be paying extra for buses/boats etc aswell but they are dirt cheap. once i got a 7 hour bus then 1 hour on a boat for 6 euro!, it would cost about 80 euro to do something like that here....

I think you've underplayed costs a good bit here. I definitely don't think €25/day is enough to be going out on the lash every night and transport in Thailand isn't ridiculously cheap, especially boat travel between the islands.

IRLConor wrote: »

+1


Be really careful of motorbikes/mopeds. I wasn't and have the scars to prove it. Even if you're an experienced rider (which I wasn't) there is a lot of dangerous driving done by others which could get you hurt.

+1. I met several people who had very bad accidents and had to shell out a fortune. I'd say the rental places make most of their money out of people smashing up their bikes. Don't rent a moped if you're an inexperienced rider.

You won't need malaria tablets for those areas of Thailand but insect repellent is essential! I found that lotion works much much better than spray.

Personally, Phi Phi and Tao are my favourite islands. I've been to Koh Phangan twice now and really didn't like it either time. Silly me. Either way, Thailand is great, have a blast!

ThE_IVIAcIVIAIV

+1 , was in koh chang , its the most dangerous island in thailand for motorbikes, was there a week and saw at least 50+ people with cuts and bruises and broken legs and arms and everything, 2 of the 7 people i met randomly from my hometown hurt themselves badly while i was there, i was stupid enough to take a bike without ever driving one before, took it for 3 days doing 110 kph etc and never got hurt but i had a few scares alright! i was half an inch from going down a hill with a bike on top of me, lucky!

ThE_IVIAcIVIAIV

breadmonkey wrote: »

I think you've underplayed costs a good bit here. I definitely don't think €25/day is enough to be going out on the lash every night and transport in Thailand isn't ridiculously cheap, especially boat travel between the islands.

no i don't think so, food+ drinks for 3 meals of the day is about 8 euro a day , accomidation 5 each as they are sharing, different stuff like internet etc on average a day maybe 3-4 , get 2 buckets in for the remainder of the 25... well i dunno how i did it but i managed under 25 a day and got wasted every night too. but maybe you were getting nice rooms with hot showers and air conditioning rather than the fan and eating out in the fanciest restaurants and drinking in the most expensive places ? and boat travel is dirt cheap, 6 euro from bangkok to ko chang, 7 hours on bus+stops then 1 hour or so on boat...
the most expensive ferry(and its not expensive) i was on was the krabi-phi phi one which costed a whole of 6 euro i think for 90 minutes or so on a boat , one summer i went over to the blasket islands down off the coast of kerry, a 20 min ferry costed 20 euro but yeah you keep thinking 6 euro is not cheap..

breadmonkey

ThE_IVIAcIVIAIV wrote: »

no i don't think so, food+ drinks for 3 meals of the day is about 8 euro a day , accomidation 5 each as they are sharing, different stuff like internet etc on average a day maybe 3-4 , get 2 buckets in for the remainder of the 25... well i dunno how i did it but i managed under 25 a day and got wasted every night too. but maybe you were getting nice rooms with hot showers and air conditioning rather than the fan and eating out in the fanciest restaurants and drinking in the most expensive places ? and boat travel is dirt cheap, 6 euro from bangkok to ko chang, 7 hours on bus+stops then 1 hour or so on boat...
the most expensive ferry(and its not expensive) i was on was the krabi-phi phi one which costed a whole of 6 euro i think for 90 minutes or so on a boat , one summer i went over to the blasket islands down off the coast of kerry, a 20 min ferry costed 20 euro but yeah you keep thinking 6 euro is not cheap..

Hmmmm, I don't recall the boats being that cheap. Perhaps my memory has failed me but I think you could ease off on the bitchy remarks regardless.

Benny_Cake

Some good advice here.There is a chain of chemists called Watsons which are far better value than Boots and carry a bigger range (there was one on Khao San Rd but it may be gone - any of the shopping centres in Bangkok should have one).Also while the risk of malaria in Thailand is close to non-existant,you should take precautions in relation to mosquitoes as dengue fever is a risk - and there is no tablet or shot to prevent it.Wearing long trousers is a big help,they seem to like the ankles and feet in particular.

Oh yeah,and easy on the beer!Very cheap,very strong,very messy the following morning!!

hunggar

wow that was quick. thanks for all the replies everyone.

we actually have all our accomodation and transfers booked so we dont have to worry about that. so it would just be spending money for food, drink, activities etc.
is it really that cheap?

is there alot of mosquitos? i hate anything that flys!!:mad:
i hope they aint as big as bats!

i heard that about the mopeds etc. a friend of mine was out of work 8 months to prove that.


is there any time limit before you go that you have to get the shots?

we are only in bangkok for about 3 days so can anyone recommend the best things to see or do during that time??

thanks

IRLConor

hunggar wrote: »

is it really that cheap?

When I was there in 2004 (wow, it feels like last year! :eek:) it was about 100 Baht for a main course in a restaurant. At the time, that was about €2. I have no idea what the price is at the moment though.

hunggar wrote: »

is there alot of mosquitos?

Depends on where you are and the time of day. Good repellent (with plenty of DEET) will keep almost all of them away. I'm a mosquito magnet at the best of times but good repellent worked.

hunggar wrote: »

is there any time limit before you go that you have to get the shots?

Yes but I can't remember how long. Talk to a doctor and they'll set you right.

Arcee

Yes it is widely recommended you get vaccinations for Thailand. Hep A and Typhoid at least I reckon as these are contracted through contaminated food/water. It's your own decision in the end but talk to a doctor so you are clear on the facts. If you are going in May, you should do this sooner rather than later.

There is no risk of malaria below Bangkok afaik, so you're unlikely to need malaria tabs but again, talk to a doc! As other posters have said, preventing bites is the best measure to take as you're at risk from other mosquito/insect-borne illnesses that you can't get vaccinated against.

€25 per person sounds reasonable for a standard day. You shouldn't find it's more than 100 baht for a traditional meal but if you feel like western food (pizza, burger etc) get ready to pay up to 500 baht most likely. It also depends where you're staying - if you go for the main towns on the islands, things are a little more pricey.

As for what to bring..... yes, hand sanitizer goes a long way towards keeping you from getting Thai belly! If you like your sleep, ear plugs may come in handy in some places too. In general, pack light - you're going to well-travelled places and there's little you can't get when you arrive there.

shamrock2004

ThE_IVIAcIVIAIV wrote: »

+1 , was in koh chang , its the most dangerous island in thailand for motorbikes, was there a week and saw at least 50+ people with cuts and bruises and broken legs and arms and everything, 2 of the 7 people i met randomly from my hometown hurt themselves badly while i was there, i was stupid enough to take a bike without ever driving one before, took it for 3 days doing 110 kph etc and never got hurt but i had a few scares alright! i was half an inch from going down a hill with a bike on top of me, lucky!

He's right. I was with someone who took a nasty spill of moped due to wet roads and this persons own reckless disregard. Koh Chang is lethal for them.
Koh Phanang is as bad!

I'd really recommend bringing an anti bacterial hand gel.
I found these things fantastic! A lot of toilets in Thailand are devoid of any sort of soap for hand hygiene. If you are on a bus and stop off these hand gells are great for cleaning your hands before dining.

The most important thing of all is to kick back and have a great time.
You will love the place - it's incredible

Arcee

shamrock2004 wrote: »

A lot of toilets in Thailand are devoid of any sort of soap for hand hygiene. If you are on a bus and stop off these hand gells are great for cleaning your hands before dining.

Ooohh - yes, and toilet paper! Bring a couple of packs of pocket tissues with you too

jester77

Bring a flashlight, small mag light would do the job. Alot of the huts are off the beach and the ground can be very uneven getting to them.

ThE_IVIAcIVIAIV

Arcee wrote: »

Ooohh - yes, and toilet paper! Bring a couple of packs of pocket tissues with you too

well toilet paper is big and would take up precious room so i would advise against that. you can buy single roll's of toilet paper for about 20 cent or something everywhere so if you need some its not a hassle.... some guest houses provide it and some don't and surely most people use that water sprayer yoke anyways if need be

hunggar

really looking forward to it now.

we are only in bangkok for about 3 days so can anyone recommend the best things to see or do during that time??

Arcee

ThE_IVIAcIVIAIV wrote: »

well toilet paper is big and would take up precious room so i would advise against that. you can buy single roll's of toilet paper for about 20 cent or something everywhere so if you need some its not a hassle.... some guest houses provide it and some don't and surely most people use that water sprayer yoke anyways if need be

Packs of pocket tissues are hardly massive space wasters?!! I'm not suggesting they bring a whole toilet roll everywhere with them, it's just for the times when you are on a train/boat or rest stop with basic bathroom facilities.