Thailand 2011

Stinicker

I am booked for Thailand and am due to leave in a few weeks. I have never been there before and am a travelling on my own there for 20 days. I arrive in Bangkok and will spend probably my first week there.

Then I am thinking of taking a long train trip north to Chiang Mai to experience the north of the country. And spend another 4-5 nights up there, and fly back down to Bangkok afterwards. The sleeper train will be an adventure in itself.

Then I think I will check out Pattaya (mainly just to experience it) as it is supposed to be a rather depressing sight with all the sex tourism.

I was thinking of maybe crossing the border into Cambodia to see Angor Wat for about three days.

I am really then in two minds of whether or not to go south to the islands and beaches. Where is the best place to go? Phuket is supposed to be like Pattaya with the hookers so one gawk at that would be enough for the holiday I think. Which would be the best place down south to go? Ko Phangan, Phi Phi etc?

Unfortunately for me the Thai baht has strengthened enormously since September to 39THB to €1 today and the gangsters in Bank of Ireland quoted me €1 to 37.8THB. What is the normal procedure used by tourists to Thailand? Should I just use my Credit Card and load up accordingly? (I know my cash in it is not covered in the event of fraud but I could drip feed in money via online banking so the most I'd get ripped off by would be a few hundred if it did happen!) Presumably Laser Cards are a typical disaster?

The 150THB/€4 surcharge on top of the other costs makes using a Credit Card costly too especially when those thieves at Bank of Ireland only allow €300 worth of withdrawals a day, I had war with them during my stay in Australia last year over this as making larger withdrawals allows for fewer transactions and thus avoiding their ripoff charges.

I won't be backpacking but instead use hotels etc. which seem to be good enough value, I will budget something like €100/day some days less/more etc, I wonder is this enough? With falling exchange rates and inflation I am wondering?

Looking forward to it

darrenh

€100 a day!! Even with inflation you'll find it hard to spend it. Guest houses are as good in Thailand as some hotels here and cost around €10 a night. I wouldnt go forking out for fancy places when all your doing is sleeping in them.

1 week in Bangkok is way too much IMO, if you only have 20 days. 3 is plenty and use the rest to see the likes of Ayuathya, Kanchanahuri, Sukothai (excuse spellings please) etc, on your way to Chiang Mai. Even use the time to head to Pai. Its not the hippie mecca the guide books make it out to be, but it is a bit unique.

Cambodia would be cool for a few days and definitely worth the trip.

The beaches are boring unless you like to dive, snorkel, want to relax at day or get pissed at night. They are picturesque but worth missing for other things in Thailand.

dory

Check out this thread for a long winded account of how I never pay money taking out money abroad.

And I also never get it in Ireland beforehand. As you found they are robbers! Just get to Thailand, change enough to get you into the city at the airport. Then in the city go to a better value money exchange or take out money in the way I explained in the other thread.

pclancy

Instead of Phuket or Koh Samui checkout Koh Chang on the eastern coast. Way less tacky and over developed then the southern islands yet still has nice beaches and plenty to do it you want to. Only 45 minutes flight from Bangkok.

http://iamkohchang.com/ and the authors also got a cool riverside guesthouse called Baan Rim Nan that I recently stayed at.

Coeus

Hey, I agree a week is a bit long to spend in Bangkok. It gonna be hot this time of year so a city is the last place you want to be.

If you wanna go see Angkor Wat you could see a bit more of Cambodia by taking in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, to give it justice that would take a week. You can come back into Thailand along the coast and stop off at Koh Chang and Pattaya on the way.

I didnt realise the exchange rate was that bad, it was closer to 50 Baht to the € when I was there last.

liamygunner29

Stinicker wrote: »

I am booked for Thailand and am due to leave in a few weeks. I have never been there before and am a travelling on my own there for 20 days. I arrive in Bangkok and will spend probably my first week there.

Then I am thinking of taking a long train trip north to Chiang Mai to experience the north of the country. And spend another 4-5 nights up there, and fly back down to Bangkok afterwards. The sleeper train will be an adventure in itself.

Then I think I will check out Pattaya (mainly just to experience it) as it is supposed to be a rather depressing sight with all the sex tourism.

I was thinking of maybe crossing the border into Cambodia to see Angor Wat for about three days.

I am really then in two minds of whether or not to go south to the islands and beaches. Where is the best place to go? Phuket is supposed to be like Pattaya with the hookers so one gawk at that would be enough for the holiday I think. Which would be the best place down south to go? Ko Phangan, Phi Phi etc?

Unfortunately for me the Thai baht has strengthened enormously since September to 39THB to €1 today and the gangsters in Bank of Ireland quoted me €1 to 37.8THB. What is the normal procedure used by tourists to Thailand? Should I just use my Credit Card and load up accordingly? (I know my cash in it is not covered in the event of fraud but I could drip feed in money via online banking so the most I'd get ripped off by would be a few hundred if it did happen!) Presumably Laser Cards are a typical disaster?

The 150THB/€4 surcharge on top of the other costs makes using a Credit Card costly too especially when those thieves at Bank of Ireland only allow €300 worth of withdrawals a day, I had war with them during my stay in Australia last year over this as making larger withdrawals allows for fewer transactions and thus avoiding their ripoff charges.

I won't be backpacking but instead use hotels etc. which seem to be good enough value, I will budget something like €100/day some days less/more etc, I wonder is this enough? With falling exchange rates and inflation I am wondering?

Looking forward to it

Well played.

jobless

was there this year...
went to ko tao, ko phang nang, ko phi phi and ko lanta.

out of them i liked ko tao and phang nang the most... if your in phang nang check out when the half/full moon parties are. they are good fun.

ko phi phi is way overpopulated and dirty but worth a visit for 2/3 days, I would give ko lanta a miss!

lubie76

I am in kho Chang at the moment and it is in my opinion the best of all the thAi islands. Just to warn you, it hasn't been the usual good weather in Thailand as many places have alot of rain, unusual for this time of year. I liked Ko Tao for the beaches but was very busy as we were there after new year fm party. Ko phangan has nice beaches, wasn't my cup of tea but I can see why party animals like it. Phuket is expensive and full of sleazy men with young Thai girls. Ko chang on other hand is beautiful with good but chilled out night life, great beaches and diving too.

FayeRayRay

I was there for 7 weeks in the summer and I did Bangkok, Chang Mai, Laos, Phuket, Phi Phi, Surathani, Krabi, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and back to Bangkok.

I would say a week in bangkok is too long to start stay for a day or two and then get the sleeping train to Chang Mai (takes approx 15 hours) I stayed in quite an afordable and nice place called TK2 Guesthouse. I did the jungle treck which was brilliant.

We went from Chang Mai to Laos which is in Burma. VanVieng is the place we went to go tubing which was a wild and wonderful experience on the river.

The Phi Phi,Koh Tao and Koh Phangan were my favourite islands I would highly recommend going to see the islands they are beautiful.

I loved Thailand so much im off again this summer cant wait.

Enjoy

x

darrenh

FayeRayRay wrote: »

We went from Chang Mai to Laos which is in Burma.

??

jobless

darrenh wrote: »

??

yeah silly mistake... everyone knows laos is in Vietnam!

Alkers

+1 for a week is too long in Bangkok, absolutely hated the place.
The train to Chang Mai isn't that much of an adventure, it's a decent train as long as you're not in 3rd class but make sure you book your own ticket from the train station as otherwise you will get ripped off beyond belief. Angor Wat is well worth going to and Cambodia is a great place, people were very friendly and just found the whole place less sleazy than Thailand, or at least the sleazy areas were easy to avoid.
€100 day will make for a very good holiday, you should be able to afford plenty of excursions and the likes wherever you go.
Enjoy!

con1982

I don't mean to hi-jack the thread but . . .. has anyone been to Thailand in July or August. I've read that it's the rainy season and you can get stuck when travelling outside the major cities. I want to go for 3 weeks and am concerned about spending my days indoors waiting for the rain to ease off.

I can't go any other time of year for more than 1 week.

Cheers,
Conor

Alkers

Was there for 9 weeks last July August, it rains a fair bit alright but is still warm. Tends to lash down very strongly for 3-4 hours then be dry for the rest of the day. Got one or two stretches of 2 days constant rain but then you'd get a few lovely days after that.

jobless

was there for 6 weeks in july august last summer, dont let it stop you. As said above it lashes for maybe and hour then drys up. No cancelations of boats etc when we were there.... enjoy!

Lucifer-0

Anyone been to Malaysia in February? From looking up the weather lately it's raining the whole time at the moment.

wolfyboy555

I was also thinking of going to thailand for maybe a month or so in late june. Could anybody recommend any airlines to travel with and specific areas that are a must to visit??

Alkers

wolfyboy555 wrote: »

I was also thinking of going to thailand for maybe a month or so in late june. Could anybody recommend any airlines to travel with and specific areas that are a must to visit??

As for airlines, last year I found Kingfisher to be the cheapest but had to stopover in India, was fine though. I think it worked out around €440 from London and then another €130 from Dublin to London including bags which is insane when you look at the distances involved!

Stinicker

Simona1986 wrote: »

As for airlines, last year I found Kingfisher to be the cheapest but had to stopover in India, was fine though. I think it worked out around €440 from London and then another €130 from Dublin to London including bags which is insane when you look at the distances involved!

I have mine booked on Etihad for €539 from London Heathrow, and like yourself €130 to Aer Lingus.

Skyscanner.net is yer only man!

Coeus

Etihad often have good seat sales to the far east. A mate once got a flight for €490 return from Dublin to Bangkok in June. Think that was in 2009.

But as the previous poster says use skyscanner to find the best price for the dates you want.

smithy1981

Me and two friends booked flights through skyscanner for 525 from london today. Going for 3 months starting the 28 of feb.
Aer Lingus are showing only 106 return to heathrow, but im a bit paranoid to book them with the ongoing dispute. sale ends in a couple of days, so i need to make a decision soon.

Also, i know the bhat is strong at the moment but could you survive ok on a budget of about 250-300 euro a week??

Stinicker

smithy1981 wrote: »

Me and two friends booked flights through skyscanner for 525 from london today. Going for 3 months starting the 28 of feb.
Aer Lingus are showing only 106 return to heathrow, but im a bit paranoid to book them with the ongoing dispute. sale ends in a couple of days, so i need to make a decision soon.

Also, i know the bhat is strong at the moment but could you survive ok on a budget of about 250-300 euro a week??

I haven't been out there before but from everything I read and have heard I would say you could live of that figure, although it all depends on the situation and location. You could get an apartment for the month for that much (from what I've read so if you were content to set up a base and tour from there or else live out of a backpack and hostel it which should be quite cheap. I'm hotel'ing it for my three weeks out there but Hotel prices are quite cheap and even cheaper when you get out there supposedly.

Etihad from Ireland are mental recently with their prices but this is due to mass-scale exodus of people running from the disaster our country has become, Heathrow is a far more economical option as they have several flights daily and more competition and long-haul routing options. Many direct flights to Bangkok are filling up with Irish enroute to Australia and New Zealand, such large scale Emigration of about 1,000 a day leaving (with churn some coming home also) is driving up airfares as there is two and a half Boeing 747's full of people leaving the country everyday and the only long haul flights direct from Ireland are via Abu Dhabi with Etihad.

The baht is weakening again (phew!) trading at €100 = ฿4,216.96 at the moment and I ordered some today with AIB at €1 = ฿40.93 which is not that bad a rate compared to the base rate. Bank of Ireland were only offering me ฿37.5 per €1 last week so on the ฿20,000 I saved over €20 by switching banks (AIB has less charges than BOI) and waiting for the Euro to strengthen slightly! A minor victory over those gangsters in the Banks

wolfyboy555

Found some cheap flights on skyscanner and thinking of booking fairly soon! Does anybody know about cancellation policies?? I'm worried that I could have to repeat some exams in the time when i want to go but i wont know my results for another month. If I cancel 4 months in advance could i gte my mula back??

heisenburger

first off I've been to SE Asia the last two summers. Its the best place I have ever visited and you will have the time of your life!
If partying is your thing then definately do not miss out the full moon party and tubing in Laos. Brilliant fun!
If you're more in the cultural things then do a trek in chiang mai, you can chose to do longer ones but the one night one should be plenty!
Also i couldn't emphasies this enough, go to Koh Tao and do a diving course! I the PADI open water diver there this year and it was honestly one of the best things ive ever done!
Bout 225 euro for the coupla days which includes the course (theory work, pool dive and 4 complete sea dives) and accomodation. Well worth doing.. seriously!!:D
Also... travelsupermarket.com for flights, you can root out a really good bargain there!
Enjoy, its an amazing region!:cool:

fade out

i've read that if you fly in by air you have a automatic 30 day visa??is this correct?? Also they flights i'm looking at would mean i would be flying out on the 31st day...would i then be required to apply for an actual visa??

heisenburger

if u fly in you have an automatic 30 day visa...if however u leave the country to go to laos say, when you return you only have 15 days, so be very careful about how you do it!!
You can pay a fine when you're departing for any days over your visa allowance, not sure how much it is but from what i remember i think its about 20quid or somethin..so if ul be overstayin ur visa by only one day, just do that!;)

Player_86

Could anyone recommend some nice accommodation in Koh Samui for my girlfriend and I?

I only have approx 4 days down there so would like to splash out a little and stay somewhere nice.

Thanks.

heisenburger

never stayed here personally but its right beside the beach and the pools very nice, its meant to be really nice, little more expensive than most places in the area though! prime location for beach and nightlife but a little hidden away from the main road
http://www.ark-bar.com/

Goldcupfav

heisenburger wrote: »

never stayed here personally but its right beside the beach and the pools very nice, its meant to be really nice, little more expensive than most places in the area though! prime location for beach and nightlife but a little hidden away from the main road
http://www.ark-bar.com/

I stayed in the Ark bar in 2009 for two weeks. Its an expensive place to stay compared to other places around there. Food and drink there was pricey enough. Think it was 1200 baht a night for two people for fairly basic accommodation tbh (pool is the size of a pond out someones back garden) The bar is however open nearly 24/7 with loud music non stop and people on the piss all day(if thats what your into). Also stayed in http://www.chawenggarden.com/ for two weeks which is about 5 mins walk up the road beside the McDonalds. Much nicer and better accommodation and much better facilities is alot quieter than Ark bar. The place was 1000 baht per night for two people.

Lola87

Goldcupfav wrote: »

I stayed in the Ark bar in 2009 for two weeks. Its an expensive place to stay compared to other places around there. Food and drink there was pricey enough. Think it was 1200 baht a night for two people for fairly basic accommodation tbh (pool is the size of a pond out someones back garden) The bar is however open nearly 24/7 with loud music non stop and people on the piss all day(if thats what your into). Also stayed in http://www.chawenggarden.com/ for two weeks which is about 5 mins up the road beside the McDonalds. Much nicer and better accommodation and much better facilities is alot quieter than Ark bar. The place was 1000 baht per night for two people.

I second Chaweng Garden Beach Reort, stayed there last summer and it was fantastic- location, luxury, great pool, right on the beach, near to the nightlife, shops etc AND a fab buffet breakfast! Also you can haggle the price down a bit too.

Coeus

heisenburger wrote: »

never stayed here personally but its right beside the beach and the pools very nice, its meant to be really nice, little more expensive than most places in the area though! prime location for beach and nightlife but a little hidden away from the main road
http://www.ark-bar.com/

I stayed here the last time I was out there (2006). As already said the accomadation is basic but has aircon and TV, was grand for us. Only thing is it is directly under the flight path into Koh Samui airport so we had a few early wakeups when the morning flights came thundering in. That said the guy who owns the place is gourmet cook from Europe so the food is really good there. I thought it was reasonable to eat there as it was a way cheaper than eating out here. Exchange rate was better back then aswell. Bar is lively all day and busiest on the beach at night. Things usully shift uptown after midnight...

milkado

There's another place right next door to Ark bar for 700 baht a night, it also has a pool and is right on the beach. I think it's called p and p samui or something! I stayed there and would recommend it if you want a basic room with a/c a bit cheaper!

JayC5

Hi,

Hope it's ok to jump on board an old thread with a few questions...?


So, planning a trip to Thailand in August for 3 weeks and was wondering if someone could offer any insights from their experiences:

There's two of us (a couple) and we've nothing planned so far other than to spend the first few days in Bangkok and make our way north to Chiang Mai for another 3-4 days, at some stage we want to spend a few days on one or two of the islands also. Just wondering though is it worth travelling to Laos and Cambodia or would we not have enough time to include these countries? If only one was worth taking in what would you guys choose out of the two?

Is it possible to travel from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang, then get a flight to somewhere in Cambodia and make our way back to Bangkok by way of Koh Chang? Does this sound like madness or is it easily done? (haven't done much research yet for the holiday so I apologise for any naievete...)

lima

Lola87 wrote: »

I second Chaweng Garden Beach Reort, stayed there last summer and it was fantastic- location, luxury, great pool, right on the beach, near to the nightlife, shops etc AND a fab buffet breakfast! Also you can haggle the price down a bit too.

Hey,

Would you recommend Chaweng Garden Beach Reort for a single guy whos traveling solo? or is it mad couply?