Bangkok?

linola_c

Does anyone know if Bangkok is now safe to stay in?

lubie76

There are no major issues in Bangkok at the moment but bear in mind that it is a city of political unrest so this can change at any time.

As a tourist you will be pretty safe anyway. If anything does happen (due to upcoming elections etc) you will be told which areas are out of bounds. Heading there myself next week.:)

Naid23

Yeah its pretty safe within reason ( as in don't be a stupid tourist, and keep your wits about ya). We went to Thailand a week after the big trouble stopped in May and when we got to Bangkok, ya wouldnt have even know there was a bit of bother.

Enjoy Bangkok!

Dave!

Yes

Riamfada

Very safe, I was there a few years ago. The direction you want to head to towards the Koh San road. Stay in the Royal Bangkok hotel which is fairly cheap. Its the best area for tourists to stay in.

Its also fairly close to Pat Pong

Dave!

Grimes wrote: »

Very safe, I was there a few years ago. The direction you want to head to towards the Koh San road. Stay in the Royal Bangkok hotel which is fairly cheap. Its the best area for tourists to stay in.

Its also fairly close to Pat Pong

I think the OP meant since the redshirts protests a few months ago!

x in the city

bkk is fine now by all means,

this from my own common knowledge and my ex thai gf's conversations

of course, common sense prevails as with any foreign destination

Riamfada

Dave! wrote: »

I think the OP meant since the redshirts protests a few months ago!

Ah they are always going at it! When I was there a car bomb went off and there was a military coup. Didnt stop the drunken tuktuk rides and ping pong shows!

I was asked not to do anymore street ping pong shows though.

Dave!

Grimes wrote: »

Ah they are always going at it! When I was there a car bomb went off and there was a military coup. Didnt stop the drunken tuktuk rides and ping pong shows!

I was asked not to do anymore street ping pong shows though.

Nasty.

daveyboy_1ie

I was there in the middle of the troubles this year and it was still as safe as you can imagine if you stay away from the trouble areas, it is hard to imagine how big Bkk is without being there, it really is a monstor if a city.

As has being indicated earlier, if you stay in the Banglamphu area which includes Khao San road then you are away from the business districts which is where the protests against big business and the ever increasing divisions in class wealth are all about. The country is known as the land of smiles and is famous for being a very friendly country, and the Thai's are very proud of their independence (Thailand means 'free land'). You are unlikely to come across trouble in BKK if you have enough street smarts and be respectful of their ways (they are also fiercly loyal to their King, say something disrespectful about him and you are in world of trouble, even something as innocent as a wallet in your backpocket is a sign of disrespect as it means you are essentially sitting on the Kings face, I kid you not).

Overall I highly reccomend going and staying there maybe a night or two at most as although I love it, it can only be taken in small doses, too big and noisy and full of pollution. Make a break for the isalnds down south and they are just paradise on earth, my Fiancé and I will be going back next year sometime.

Anyway, I lived there for six months many moons ago and have bene to the country a lot of times so I know the place well, as I was with a Thai girl for four years. it is a fantastic place and can be just as seedy and messy a visit or as peaceful and tranquil a visit you want it to be, whatever you are looking for really. If you need any advice on places to stay/ visit just PM me k.

Elbow

Grimes wrote: »

Its also fairly close to Pat Pong

If your getting a taxi or Tuk Tuk make sure the driver understands you want Pat Pong not Ping Pong.

Now........

As a word of warning this was how my first night in bangkok went:

Got in a taxi to go to pat pong....... ended up at a ping pong show in a club down some quite, dark alley.

Headed for Khao San road , few pint bottles of Heineken, moved onto buckets of vodka redbull.

From here is a slight blur..... buddy i was with said i went outside for a smoke with a thai girl and next he saw of me was 2 hours later sat in the corner of a club surrounded by hookers, playing cards with some random thai guys.

Fast forward another hour or so, I remember being on the back of a motor bike, the security guards in the hotel taking me 2 an atm to get out cash to pay the random person that dropped me back.

Woke up in the morning under the wardrobe (it was about 400mm off the ground), no memory of anything really between drinking the buckets and going to the atm.

Needless to say the security guards had a good laugh at my expense for the rest of the week!:o



Bangkok is an amazing city, fantastic nightlife, lovely people (some very obliging ), but keep your wits about ya cos as good as night as i had, it could have gone very wrong.

Remember old thai saying "Man who go through airport door sideways, going to bangkok"

BernietheKat22

Anyone have any ideas how cheap you can manage to stay in Bangkok for like 2-3 months. As in the cheapest room (for 2) to stay in, eating fairly cheap but getting to see and enjoy the city. What kind of money would three months take off you?

linola_c

Why would u be staying in Bangkok for 3 months?

Thank you everyone for your great replies. Myself and bf are heading to Thailand in mid January before going to Australia. We are really looking forward to it but also a little apprehensive!This will be abig culture shock, but that's the beauty of it!

Thanks again!!!:)

daveyboy_1ie

BernietheKat22 wrote: »

Anyone have any ideas how cheap you can manage to stay in Bangkok for like 2-3 months. As in the cheapest room (for 2) to stay in, eating fairly cheap but getting to see and enjoy the city. What kind of money would three months take off you?

Depends on what you mean by 2-3 months iin Bangkok, first off you will just not want to stay there for anwhere near this time. A week at most is all you really need.

What type of accomadation do you need, as in do you MUST have Air con (yes you do, but is an option), do you need an ensuite shower etc.

There are places in and around Khao San which cost 200-300 baht a night and all I will say is NEVEr stay here as the whole fun of the place will get very stale very fast. I would usually compromise when I was on a tight budget and staying in one of the Sawasdee guest houses (http://www.sawasdee-hotels.com/) as they have the air con and shower and are relatively clean by Bkk standards anyways, and would cost about 750-1000 baht a night and include a breakfast (never had it, dunno what it tastes like) and that way I was pretty sure my room is safe and tidy and clean and I can enjoy myself. There are other places like Smile hotel and the likes which are even cheaper. Food wise you can survive on about 800 baht each a day eating well or much less if you eat off the street vendors for half that and then take your chances. It really can be a cheap city if you want it to be and then it can be expensive if you don;t know what you are doing. Once you hit the island sit becomes more expensive as accomadation prices go up, but they are worth it as the islands are amazing.

Elbow

daveyboy_1ie wrote: »

Once you hit the island sit becomes more expensive as accomadation prices go up, but they are worth it as the islands are amazing.

+1 on the islands, you can get a bus from bangkok down south quite cheaply.

The full moon party on Koh Phangan is something you will never forget.

BernietheKat22

So what's best? Flying into Bangkok for a week, then bus/train/(what) onwards. How much is it to stay cheaply on the islands and how long is the right amount of time to spend there, number of weeks?

orac53

Hi All,

I am planning to go to thailand for 4 weeks in Jan'11 (to get away from bad weather and doom and gloom) but the best I can do on airfares is a about €950.00 form Shannon to Bangkok. Anybody seeing better priices than this?

Thanks

daveyboy_1ie

Hey I put your details onto China Airlines web site http://www.china-airlines.com/en/index.htm and it all depends on what day you are flying to and from of course but if you were leaving say on the 11th January and returning on Friday the 11th February the price is €710 from Shannon to Bangkok. However if you were returning even the day before the 11th February the price shoots to €2,150 so it depends on how flexible you are on dates.

BTW this will give you an e-ticket via email you just print out yourself and present at the desks. If you prefer the printed tickets from travel agents this is what you are paying the premiums for, I have gone e-ticket to Bangkok with China Airlines before and there was no issue whatsoever, except me putting my Surname as Christian name and vice versa so had to explain this mistake to EVERYONE going over and back what I had done. No problems really and that was down to my own stupidity.

Naid23

orac53 wrote: »

Hi All,

I am planning to go to thailand for 4 weeks in Jan'11 (to get away from bad weather and doom and gloom) but the best I can do on airfares is a about €950.00 form Shannon to Bangkok. Anybody seeing better priices than this?

Thanks

You should check out Emirates flying from London. We got flights for 500E return. Flew through Dubai and then on to Bangkok. You get all food and drink included aswel which is a good added bonus.

daveyboy_1ie

Naid23 wrote: »

You should check out Emirates flying from London. We got flights for 500E return. Flew through Dubai and then on to Bangkok. You get all food and drink included aswel which is a good added bonus.

Still has the problem of flying from Shannon to London and then the return trip. If that was the case I could have started the trip in Amsterdam and got the quote of €525. Although Aer Lingus should be cheap enough from Shannon to London.

Naid23

Well one thing I did notice bout if your flying from London with Emirates is, That if you fly from Gatwick rather then Heathrow its much cheaper.

orac53

Hi all,

Thanks for the info, will check them out.

Stinicker

Etihad from Dublin are good enough also, (last minute.com can be cheaper thank booking direct with them!) going from Gatwick rather that Heathrow would see you on an A330 rather than Emirates A380 which is Heathrow only.

Cheapest way to Thailand is via Heathrow and onwards via India with either Air India, Kingfisher Airlines or Jet Airways. If Air India setup their new Dublin Airport Hub then they will offer good value on routes to Asia and the sub-continent.

S.M.B.

Tempted to fly to Bangkok for 2 weeks in Jan. Oh how I love that place.