Thailand Luggage and tips

djor88

Hi there folks,

Had a few posts previously about planning my trip to Thailand and I got some really good tips etc from people on Boards so figured I'd ask here.

Heading to Thailand for 4 weeks at the end of May, I'm 24 years old single male going solo backpacking, heading to Bangkok for the first 2 nights, then thinking of going north to Chiang Mai and spending 3-4 nights, back down, and on towards the southern islands (Samui, Tao etc)... From the advice people have given me, they've all pretty much said not to book stuff online apart from the Bangkok hostel at the start, that it's easy enough to do train tickets, buses and hostels/beach huts etc while i'm over there. Am i right in assuming this?

Luggage wise, I'm thinking of packing light, maybe buying some shorts and tshirts when I arrive. Thinking an 80L Rucksack and a small daysack for day to day travelling would do, how does this sound for 4 weeks?

Any tips on places to travel or see etc?

Thanks lads, happy weekend!

Stinicker

The train tickets to Chiang Mai on the overnight train do sell out especially at weekends so you should book them on your first day in Bangkok either direct in Hua lamphong Station or from any of the travel agents around the place. It takes around 16 hours to Chiang Mai and I did it myself in second class in 2011.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QsMuHUbIo4

Pack light and take all summer light clothes and there are loads of laundry places there which will do your laundry for very little money. Pack suncream though it is much cheaper in Ireland than in Thailand. Two days in Bangkok is not enough and you'd want a minimum of three, you will be totally wrecked on the first day due to the effects of jetlag and the sudden adjustment to the warm humid climate.

Go to see the Grand Palace for sure in Bangkok and the Golden Buddha, you can take organized minibus tours from your hotel for around 1,000bt for the day. Go to Yaowarat road and experience China town, floating markets too. Go to the night markets on Sukhumvit or Patpong, avoid the night-life in patpong as there are loads of scams.

There is a very risque naughty side to Bangkok which can be experienced in Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy both of which are redlight districts but are a sight in themselves, you'll never look at a ping pong ball the same way again!! :eek:

There is loads of shopping too and Bangkok is a shoppers mecca really. Similarly in the Chiang Mai nightmarket. A nice thing to do in Chiang Mai if you are able bodied and fit is to go on an organized trek through the jungles and I did this and it was brilliant, slept in huts and fed the mosquitos well that night.

After Bangkok definitely go to Chiang Mai it is a lovely relaxed calm city, literally worlds apart from Bangkok, take the over night train up for the experience but if you are considering flying use Air Asia or Bangkok airways and get booking soon because that way you will get the cheapest flights.

Afterwards head down to the islands and flying is the easiest way but you could do another overnight train too and ferry combo but I found it quite hacking and despite having a return train ticket flew back to Bangkok.

Thailand is brilliant and I have been there twice in 2011 & 2012 and am heading back over there in 8 weeks again. The only drawback is the cost of flights and the ever strengthening Thai baht which makes it more expensive compared to last year.

djor88

Stinicker wrote: »

The train tickets to Chiang Mai on the overnight train do sell out especially at weekends so you should book them on your first day in Bangkok either direct in Hua lamphong Station or from any of the travel agents around the place. It takes around 16 hours to Chiang Mai and I did it myself in second class in 2011.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QsMuHUbIo4

Pack light and take all summer light clothes and there are loads of laundry places there which will do your laundry for very little money. Pack suncream though it is much cheaper in Ireland than in Thailand. Two days in Bangkok is not enough and you'd want a minimum of three, you will be totally wrecked on the first day due to the effects of jetlag and the sudden adjustment to the warm humid climate.

Go to see the Grand Palace for sure in Bangkok and the Golden Buddha, you can take organized minibus tours from your hotel for around 1,000bt for the day. Go to Yaowarat road and experience China town, floating markets too. Go to the night markets on Sukhumvit or Patpong, avoid the night-life in patpong as there are loads of scams.

There is a very risque naughty side to Bangkok which can be experienced in Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy both of which are redlight districts but are a sight in themselves, you'll never look at a ping pong ball the same way again!! :eek:

There is loads of shopping too and Bangkok is a shoppers mecca really. Similarly in the Chiang Mai nightmarket. A nice thing to do in Chiang Mai if you are able bodied and fit is to go on an organized trek through the jungles and I did this and it was brilliant, slept in huts and fed the mosquitos well that night.

After Bangkok definitely go to Chiang Mai it is a lovely relaxed calm city, literally worlds apart from Bangkok, take the over night train up for the experience but if you are considering flying use Air Asia or Bangkok airways and get booking soon because that way you will get the cheapest flights.

Afterwards head down to the islands and flying is the easiest way but you could do another overnight train too and ferry combo but I found it quite hacking and despite having a return train ticket flew back to Bangkok.

Thailand is brilliant and I have been there twice in 2011 & 2012 and am heading back over there in 8 weeks again. The only drawback is the cost of flights and the ever strengthening Thai baht which makes it more expensive compared to last year.

Cheers for the information! I reckon I'll take the night trains and travel that way to match my budget. I did interrailing a few years back so I'm used to the long train journeys, although I had a few mates along with me then so this will be different! Cool I'll take on board your advice and spend an extra night in Bangkok, I suppose with the jet lag and climate I'll do better taking an extra night and day to relax and get some stuff together! Thanks!

Gatica

Agreed, Air Asia and Bangkok airways are great airlines. Much better than Ryanair here and as cheap if you book in advance.
Be careful with tuk-tuk drivers. If they're hanging around a backpacker district, it's usually to tout someone... Ignore their offers for cheap tours. If you still want to get a tuk-tuk, wave one down and tell him where you want to go. If you've an idea of where you're going, they're less likely to make their own-agenda suggestions. Bangkok is huge and it would be a shame to give it so little time.
Chiang Mai is amazing. There's a lot of trekking in the area, cheap massage parlours, Tiger Kingdom, Elephant Nature park... and just great to chill out.

I think 80L backpack is huuuuuge..... We travelled for a month with a 35+8L backpack. It's cheap to get light shorts/t-shirts over there. Most hotels offer laundry service or if it's just light clothing and underwear you can wash it yourself with a bit of detergent. (Pack detergent in an zipped outer pocket as I thought, they checked the "powder" in my check-in bag)
If you plan on buying loads of presents though, the extra space may be worthwhile. I had a hard-time fitting in a few things to bring home into that bag. I think it should be 50-60L tops, unless you're a very large man requiring large clothing and footwear.

Royale with Cheese

I was there in February, travelling solo like yourself for just under 4 weeks. I'm not sure if it was just the time of year but I quickly learned to book things in advance instead of just turning up to places. All the best accommodation was booked early, and I really hated wandering around an unknown place in high temperatures looking for a place to stay that might be a dump.

Night trains were also sold out very quickly. I couldn't get one from Bangkok to chiang mai 24 hours in advance. I know people who couldn't get one down to the islands from Bangkok 5 days in advance, and that wasn't even around the time of a full moon. Definitely do the night train from chiang mai back down south. The dining carriage on mine was basically a mobile disco, was hilarious. Bring your own booze though, its seriously pricey on the train. Also I spent a week in chiang mai, really cool place with loads to do. I'd echo the earlier suggestion, definitely do a trek. I'd recommend doing more than 3-4 nights in chiang mai if you do end up spending one or two of them on a trek. I flew up to chiang mai after being told the train was full, flew with nokair. It was only about three times the price of the train.

djor88

Thanks folks for the info, much appreciated! Sounds good, I'll definitely book my hostel for Bangkok before I leave and I might book the train online too through the government website just to be safe. Royale with Cheese (great name by the way), I'll definitely do a trek, would be an ideal activity for me, love the outdoors and nature! Any good company's to recommend etc? I'm sure I'll have no problem finding out once I get to Chiang Mai anyway!

Gatica, thanks for that, yeah I might bring back a few souvenirs and stuff, I have a 70L backpack too so I might just take that with my daysack, suppose once it's on your back the size won't make too much of a difference!

Just a question regarding money, I've done some research and people are saying different things on whether to bring cash over or use atms there. How did you guys work this out? Apparently the exchange rate is way better over there, alot of forums say bring cash (euros/dollars etc) and change it in Bangkok when you arrive. I was thinking of taking about 300euro with me in cash, change it there and then for the rest of it, make large withdrawls from the ATM, (max 3 or 4 withdrawls while in Thailand)

Cheers!

Royale with Cheese

I had about €100 worth of thai bhat I'd got in Dublin and €150 in cash on me when I arrived in Thailand. After that was gone I used atm's, the atm's are a bit of a rip off really. You'll get charged about 150 bhat for using most of them, then your bank in Ireland will charge about €2 for the transaction, and finally you'll get a ****ty exchange rate compared to what you'd have got from going to a foreign exchange place with cash. However I didn't want to carry huge amounts of cash on me so it was my only option really.

JodTT

I was over in Thailand in February. The exchange rate over there is much better than here, and there are no currency change fees, so it's really up to you how much money you're comfortable carrying with you.

If you do intend on using ATMs, check with your bank before you fly. I'm with Bank of Ireland, and despite ringing them in advance to let them know I would be using my cards in Thailand, they didn't think it appropriate to let me know the most I could take out of an ATM on any one day was the equivalent of €100!!! Given that the Thai banks then charge you 150 baht for each withdrawal it can end up being an expensive business!!

I can totally recommend NokAir as an airline. We used them to travel from Bangkok (Don Mueung Airport) to Koh Phangan via a plane/bus/ferry combi and it worked out at something like €45 single. The journey took about 6 hours!

snowey07

Im just back and id recommend booking the night train as far in advance as you can. Sleepers sell out very quickly & i know people who have had to spend the 17 hours in a reguler seat - not comfortable. You cant book through the govt website anymore. i used Thailandtrainticket.com and they delivered free of charge to the guest house I had on the first night in bangkok

Defintly go to Chiang mai , its a lovely city with great places to stay and a good vibe

I also think that your bag is huuuuuge - i went with a 40l but i only went for 3 weeks. Bring few clothes and buy all the toiletries out there. CM is great for cheap clothes.

Also check out the weather reports , there has been alot of monsoon rains in Bangkok and the Islands (east and South) in the last week.

BBoom

Hi Everyone,

I'm really new to this whole Boards.ie and Thailand Island Hopping so any advice would be hugely appreciated!

Flying to Bangkok alone in August for 3 weeks to meet my best friend whos coming from Australia. So far we've only got our return flights booked..we hope to stay in Bangkok 1 night but we're not sure of safe places to book and stay in, any suggestions? Then we hope to begin travelling down towards the South- do ye suggest over night trains or would it be easier to fly straight to Phuket as we really want to spend the bulk of our holiday around the islands. Also if anyone could give us ideas of useless websites RE: island hopping and booking accomodation that is both safe and 'dummy' proof, it would be hugely appreciated!

Ps. can anyone give us some reassurance that we are safe going by ourselves (2girls mid20s) and not in fact mad in the head, again hugely appreciated

DamoKen

As mentioned by others 80L is a bit too big to be lugging around the whole country.

When I was backpacking around there I arrived with a large rucksack as I'd been on a roadtrip for a couple of months beforehand. However up until then had my own transport so not a problem.

I knew what I had was far too big to be hopping on and off boats, planes, pickups and trains so when I arrived in Bangkok I checked into a little family run guest house (B&B), asked them would be ok to store my large rucksack there and then went down to MBK and bought a much smaller backpack. Packed I think it was 7 tee-shirts, equal number of boxers, maybe two pairs of socks (which I never wore), two pairs of shorts including the ones I was wearing and that was more or less it. Everywhere you go you'll invariably find cheap as chips laundrettes so that is not a concern.

Think travelling light in Thailand is a must. Used to feel so sorry for people lugging rucksacks as big as themselves from place to place. Apart from the weight which believe me is not nice in that heat (i.e. arriving at 1pm on Koh Phi Phi and looking for somewhere to stay during the hottest part of the day with no public transport other than your feet), also far easier to keep a small bag close to hand on overnight trains/boats etc for peace of mind.

When you arrive back in Bangkok you do your shopping and stick it all in your larger bag for the way home! Alternative to storing a bag in a hostel (which might be stricter than a guest house), as you are coming straight from Ireland so haven't accrued a heap of stuff from a few months travel already why not just come with a small bag to begin with and pick up something cheap and nasty in the markets when you get back to Bangkok for the flight home?

Enjoy!

Gatica

BBoom wrote: »

we hope to stay in Bangkok 1 night but we're not sure of safe places to book and stay in, any suggestions?

Then we hope to begin travelling down towards the South- do ye suggest over night trains or would it be easier to fly straight to Phuket as we really want to spend the bulk of our holiday around the islands. Also if anyone could give us ideas of useless websites RE: island hopping and booking accomodation that is both safe and 'dummy' proof, it would be hugely appreciated!

Ps. can anyone give us some reassurance that we are safe going by ourselves (2girls mid20s) and not in fact mad in the head, again hugely appreciated

Thailand and the neighbouring countries are some of the safest, there are reportedly very low numbers of violent muggings, rapes or murders.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Southeast_Asia#Stay_safe
https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=11983
https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=12189
Pickpocketing and bag snatching on the other hand is more common and of course you have to be wary of scams. Otherwise, we found it to be just so. If you've common sense and don't go down dodgy parts of town at odd hours, you're likely to be quite safe there. The people are polite and friendly. At worst, they want you to spend your money!

Flights to Phuket with AirAsia are cheap enough if booked in advance. We paid 100 pp return.

We found this website useful in terms of packing:
http://www.travelindependent.info/whattopack.htm

We stayed at Rambuttri Inn in Kao San, but that may be quite far for you to go if you're just planning to stay overnight. Maybe find something closer to the airport or to the train station.