Thailand & Bangkok

Hi Folks, I'm considering a trip to BKK towards the end of august and I was curious to know if anyone had been there recently>? I mentioned that I would be going there to my parents and they flipped out saying that there were a lot of problems there atm especially towards foreigners. Which I found strange since they didn't mind so much when I went to Moscow, and secondly while I lived in China.

Still, I was wondering was there any basis for their fears? I'm more of a people watcher than a tourist, and I prefer nightclubs to tourist sites. So I'd be jumping into the Thai nightlife (not the red light or whoring), and naturally I'm wondering about the risks involved. I'm not bothered with the usual stuff, since I've seen that in other Asian cities, but if there's other political tension or violence towards foreigners...

Thanks.

consultech

Most (for instance) Redshirt demonstrations/tensions have passed in the previous few months, and are largely limited to small, peaceful, non-violent protests outside government buildings at weekends, which you would likely be avoiding by default anyway. There is certainly nothing like the (albeit short-lived) uprising that occured a few months back.

With all due respect to your parents they sound like they are nourished upon a staple of chinese whispers journalism, typical of the Irish media... Editor: "What's goin on in Thailand lately? There was trouble there a few months back, it's probably still goin, yeah?" They would probably be better served consulting some current global media reports on world events before making sweeping assumptions.

If I sound harsh I apologise again, it's just an issue that is very close to my heart as I'm constantly having to field questions about this crap from people close to me in relation to myself and herself's trip to Thailand, starting next Thursday, which I expect to pass completely unspoiled by any domestic trouble.

As for being attacked as a tourist; This is extremely uncommon. Thai's are innately extremely cognizant of just how reliant their country is on tourism, which is why to a large extent they put up with so much crap from slobbish Western tourists. Cases of violence against tourists are very uncommon as a result.

Enjoy your trip, you're gonna have a ball, it's a place like no other, although you shouldn't be aiming to stay in Bangkok any longer than a few nights.

Thanks for the reply. No worries, I didn't find your attitude harsh in the slightest. I get my own back up when people complain about China when they haven't been there.

Why wouldn't you stay in BKK longer than a few days? I understand the pollution is pretty awful, but I got used to that living in China.. nasty green flem and all.

I don't really have that much cash available or time, so I my intention was on sticking in BKK for 5 days, and maybe heading outside the city for two days before coming back to Ireland. Out of curiosity, where have you booked your flights/.hotels from? I've found that ebookers.ie offered the best from what I could see..

consultech

Thailand is a long way to go for just a 7 day holiday? The flights alone are epic if you've got any kind of lay-overs. Like you could end up payin €700-800 for flights, which could easily end up trumping your entire accommodation and luxury spending for the week. I could only just about justify the 24 days Im going for based on the length and cost of the flights alone. Would you consider something upmarket in Europe, or East coast America perhaps?

I did our flights arseways - booked through "The Wisemiser" (Benz travel) in London. So we're flying DUB->LHR Aer Lingus, then the flights are Etihad Air to Abu Dhabi, and Abu Dhabi -> BKK. Bout €800 a head all-in 6 flights 2 people

As for BKK: It's great n all, but the islands are where it's at for me. Really laid back and relaxed, great nightlife on Koh Phangan (Full moon parties, see online calenders) and Koh Samui, as well as Phuket.

Pollution is bad in BKK alright; it's very hot and humid, rains a good bit, but is buzzing at the same time. Kaoh San rd is backpacker nightlife central.


PS. The general rule with Thailand is get ur accom when u get there, as everything is cheaper in person, and you engage in good-humoured haggling for everything. Bangkok is a bit different however, and hotels booking in advance is more common. If you must, Hotels.co.uk are doing discounts at the mo if u stay in places a few nights, as well as accepting coupon code HC4eF3wXSAVE10 (as found in bargain alerts forum) for a further 10% off.

consultech

consultech wrote: »

Thailand is a long way to go for just a 7 day holiday? The flights alone are epic if you've got any kind of lay-overs. Like you could end up payin €700-800 for flights, which could easily end up trumping your entire accommodation and luxury spending for the week. I could only just about justify the 24 days Im going for based on the length and cost of the flights alone. Would you consider something upmarket in Europe, or East coast America perhaps?

I've been back in Ireland for just over 8 months now, and I'm really missing Asia. I'm due to start University on the 1st of September, so I'll be stuck in Ireland for the next year solid. No time for holidays due to the nature of my course, and financial issues. I remember the length of the flights to Australia, and the flight back from China. Nasty stuff, but I'm without too many options. I was thinking of Madrid instead, but I always look at every option before I make a decision.

I did our flights arseways - booked through "The Wisemiser" (Benz travel) in London. So we're flying DUB->LHR Aer Lingus, then the flights are Etihad Air to Abu Dhabi, and Abu Dhabi -> BKK. Bout €800 a head all-in 6 flights 2 people

Ouch.

As for BKK: It's great n all, but the islands are where it's at for me. Really laid back and relaxed, great nightlife on Koh Phangan (Full moon parties, see online calenders) and Koh Samui, as well as Phuket.

Pollution is bad in BKK alright; it's very hot and humid, rains a good bit, but is buzzing at the same time. Kaoh San rd is backpacker nightlife central.

PS. The general rule with Thailand is get ur accom when u get there, as everything is cheaper in person, and you engage in good-humoured haggling for everything. Bangkok is a bit different however, and hotels booking in advance is more common. If you must, Hotels.co.uk are doing discounts at the mo if u stay in places a few nights, as well as accepting coupon code HC4eF3wXSAVE10 (as found in bargain alerts forum) for a further 10% off.

Cheers! I appreciate the advice.

Fratton Fred

5 nights in Bangkok is quite a long time as other than sight seeing there is not a lot more to do, unless you want to indulge in the seedier side of its nightlife.

If you want to get out of town a bit but not too far, you could look at getting down to Pattya (Which has a lot of nightlife, but it does make Bangkok look like a convent) or even down to Hua Hin or Cha Am. I think you can get coach/train to both places and I found them both a lot cheaper than Bangkok. Cha Am and Hua Hin are both resorts that the Thai's use, I found them great for the few nights we were there.

TBH, I'm not really interested in the seedier aspects of Thailand. Too old for that kind of crap. Nah, just wanted to have some fun since I'm traveling alone, and Bangkok is the only major city in Asia that I haven't seen yet.

ScouseMouse

Carnt say much about it at present, as its a few years since I was there but this link takes you to the BBC news about a scam on travellers at the main airport which is quite unnerving.

Have a read.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8154497.stm

Fratton Fred

Deleted User wrote: »

TBH, I'm not really interested in the seedier aspects of Thailand. Too old for that kind of crap. Nah, just wanted to have some fun since I'm traveling alone, and Bangkok is the only major city in Asia that I haven't seen yet.

Bangkok is a lovely city and there is a lot to see. The bit I missed that I am gutted about is the floating market, but we spent three nights there and that was more than enough.

The Markets are fascinating and i picked up a very nice Tag watch from a guy in Pat Pong. It was 100% genuine and came with a two year gaurantee, as he told me whilst closing his suitcase and scooting off down the road:D

I guess if you have a nice hotel and are happy to lounge by a pool for a few hours then 5 days could go quite quick, but after the markets, the Palace and a few temples I found it a bit tiring.

steve-o

If you don't want to travel too far from Bangkok, try a few days on the beach at Koh Samet. It's only 3 hours away by bus and boat. It's not wild or seedy but has decent night life down the Silver Sand end.
http://www.1stopbangkok.com/central_thailand/ko_samet/

consultech

steve-o wrote: »

If you don't want to travel too far from Bangkok, try a few days on the beach at Koh Samet. It's only 3 hours away by bus and boat. It's not wild or seedy but has decent night life down the Silver Sand end.
http://www.1stopbangkok.com/central_thailand/ko_samet/

was gonna suggest Samet too, but it can get a bit quiet in July/Aug. Perhaps I was in the wrong place (beach accross from entrance to national park) but if ur goin to somehwere for stimulation and nightlife it wouldnt be my first choice.

A friend has recommended Koh Samed to me since I could get there easily from Bangkok. If I had time, I was told to go to Koh Chang, but its a bit far, and also a bit quiet with the lower tourism.

janbaby

I actually found Bangkok to be really modern and completely different to most other major cities in South east asia. There are so many things to do there, the floating market is worth a vist, we also went to the ancient city Ayutthaya which was amazing and then the palace and other temples dotted around the city are worth a look. MBK is the massive shopping centre in the city which you could spend a whole day in

We flew from Phuket to Bangkok which was dirt cheap with air asia, worked out at about €25 inc taxes! You could stay in the city for a few days then fly to the island for the full moon parties and night life.

A week is very short tho

jograntsknicker

Was there in May and was all pretty quiet. No obvious unrest. Seemed to be a 2am curfew in the bars, which seemed to be inforced sporadically.

Blu Express, an Italian budget airline used to do dirt cheap flights. But they are 490 (including tax) return from Rome at the moment, due to the holiday period. You might end up spending just as much getting to Rome. Etihad would seem to be the best option.

boonen

Thanks for the reviews guys, I'm thinking on going to BKK too. From my little research, air asia seems to be doing 200€ one way london to kuala lumpur IIRC.