Thailand

hawkwind23

I know there are numerous posts on the internet about Thailand but im hoping some on here might have similar expectations etc and offer advice.

We are a couple in our 50's and hoping to do a month at least this Jan/Feb 2016.
Still can party but would rather decent food and a clatter of drinks and a few mellow ones during the day.
Happy with budget accommodation as long as its clean and functional and of course having a few extravagant hotels along the way.

So far we aim to do 2 days in Bangkok and then up to Chang Mai and then maybe Pai for a week before heading to the beaches/islands down south.

we are thinking Krabi area with the option of a few overnights at the islands making our way to Railay Beach and then back to Bangkok and home.

Overnight train to Chang Mai and maybe fly to Phuket?

Has anyone else done similar ? we are budgeting around £70 sterling per day , sort of £2000 odd for the month mixing accomodation types and mostly eating local food with the odd nice restaurant.
Drinking most days on the beer and a few tours threw in, does this seem a sensible amount?

Anyone recommend any areas , hotels , bars , restaurants etc that we might like?

TYIA

Ed_Stephens

A few atypical destinations but a couple of pointers. The months you're looking at will be high season so hotels and flights will be more expensive. You can easily fly very cheaply between Bangkok and Chiang Mai as well as Chiang Mai to Phuket. It may be a better option than the train which is at least 10 hours from Bangkok to CM.

Your budget seems fine especially with the baht weakening a bit, does this include accommodation? Outside of Bangkok you'll pick up real nice hotels for 30-40 euro a night. Phuket can be a pricy destination but cheaper options are available if you stay off the main tourist trail. Your other destinations will be a lot cheaper than Bangkok. You could look at including Hua Hin as it's an easy to get to destination by road from Bangkok.

Chiang Mai and Pai have a reputation for bus load upon bus load of organised Asian tourgroups so maybe not the backpacker paradise it once was.

Local food will be from street carts although Thai food tends to be cheaper then western food in the restaurants as well. Do try the street carts, it will be cheap and taste great. There are hotel chains like Centara that offer a good range of accommodation in most of the tourist locations . No need to rough it at the prices that will be charged, just make sure you get aircon!

catbear

Check out the Airasia pass, http://www.airasia.com/ot/en/book-with-us/asean-pass.page
You'll get around a lot more this way.

hawkwind23

Thanks
Just took the plunge and booked the flights
£450 sterling each from Dublin with Emirates , out for 29 days from 20th Jan.
already booked a nice hotel in Bangkok for that weekend , £90 for 3 days which seems reasonable http://www.taraplacebangkok.com/

Our budget is around £30 a night (€50) so happy to be at the top end for the city.
Very exciting , not sure whether to fly , always wanted to do a sleeper train so thinking do that to Chiang Mai and then fly down south after.

Ed_Stephens

hawkwind23 wrote: »

Thanks
Just took the plunge and booked the flights
£450 sterling each from Dublin with Emirates , out for 29 days from 20th Jan.
already booked a nice hotel in Bangkok for that weekend , £90 for 3 days which seems reasonable http://www.taraplacebangkok.com/

Our budget is around £30 a night (€50) so happy to be at the top end for the city.
Very exciting , not sure whether to fly , always wanted to do a sleeper train so thinking do that to Chiang Mai and then fly down south after.

Hotel looks decent enough and you are close to the very good river ferry so it is an easy trip to the grand palace and reclining Buddha. Not close to the bts but a handy taxi ride away.

The train to cm is one of those things that sounds a lot better than it actually is and you are going to lose a whole day travelling but as ever in Thailand up to you.

Ed_Stephens

hawkwind23 wrote: »

Thanks
Just took the plunge and booked the flights
£450 sterling each from Dublin with Emirates , out for 29 days from 20th Jan.
already booked a nice hotel in Bangkok for that weekend , £90 for 3 days which seems reasonable http://www.taraplacebangkok.com/

Our budget is around £30 a night (€50) so happy to be at the top end for the city.
Very exciting , not sure whether to fly , always wanted to do a sleeper train so thinking do that to Chiang Mai and then fly down south after.

Hotel looks decent enough and you are close to the very good river ferry so it is an easy trip to the grand palace and reclining Buddha. Not close to the bts but a handy taxi ride away.

The train to cm is one of those things that sounds a lot better than it actually is and you are going to lose a whole day travelling but as ever in Thailand up to you.

hawkwind23

So far have those 3 days in Bangkok (weekend)
Have around 5 days around Chiang Mai and have booked a further 4 here in Pai (http://www.paivillage.com/)

Have you any advice for the beaches/islands? we aim to fly from Chiang Mai around start of Feb giving us around 16 days left.
So far we have - fly to Krabi and hang around mainland beaches/Railay Beach and spend a week on Koh Lanta or something , want to spend a good few days not moving.

Easy enough on all that , ideally quieter and laid back not as built up and in your face.

What about motorbike CM to Pai? seems a mixed bag on that one , id be happy enough on 250cc as parter would be pillion , not so sure 130km on a scooter.
Or too dodgy , better to get minibus?

Ed_Stephens

Koh Lanta is a very good choice, things do be a little more expensive on the islands due to transport costs of getting it there but if you want to get away from it all then it's a good choice. Definitely would not drive anything in Thailand least of all a scooter, they are insane drivers and public transport is such a cheap and convenient option that it just makes it the convenient choice. It also stops you having to get an international driving license, you can have a few drinks without worrying about driving and no cop is going to hit you for the foreigner traffic fine.

Sounds like you're well on track, as you're in Bangkok for the weekend don't forget to check out the Chatuchak weekend market - quite unbelievable.

IRLConor

hawkwind23 wrote: »

Have you any advice for the beaches/islands? we aim to fly from Chiang Mai around start of Feb giving us around 16 days left.
So far we have - fly to Krabi and hang around mainland beaches/Railay Beach and spend a week on Koh Lanta or something , want to spend a good few days not moving.

Easy enough on all that , ideally quieter and laid back not as built up and in your face.

I spent some time just north of Phuket over the new year in the area generically known as Khao Lak. Very quiet, very laid back. We were in bungalows about 100m from the beach and the food there was pretty solid.

It's approximately 1hr north of Phuket airport so it's probably too far out of your way if I'm reading your plans right but if you want an e-mail address for booking just drop me a PM.

I'd also +1 the "don't drive in Thailand" from above. Get in someone else's vehicle, strap in (if possible) and close your eyes!

killbillvol2

hawkwind23 wrote: »

What about motorbike CM to Pai? seems a mixed bag on that one , id be happy enough on 250cc as parter would be pillion , not so sure 130km on a scooter.
Or too dodgy , better to get minibus?

I've driven CM to Pai twice. It's a horrible drive, something like 400 hairpin bends. It's the longest 130km you'll ever travel. You begin to despair of ever getting there! It would be a nightmare on a motorbike. Pai is worth it when you get there though.

In general I find driving there OK except near Bangkok where the traffic is a pain. The main highways are good and signposting is pretty clear in English. You'll have the road to yourself in rural areas.

JohnCleary

killbillvol2 wrote: »

I've driven CM to Pai twice. It's a horrible drive, something like 400 hairpin bends. It's the longest 130km you'll ever travel. You begin to despair of ever getting there! It would be a nightmare on a motorbike. Pai is worth it when you get there though.

In general I find driving there OK except near Bangkok where the traffic is a pain. The main highways are good and signposting is pretty clear in English. You'll have the road to yourself in rural areas.

Can't agree with you there. I drove CM - Pai (and return, obviously) on a 600cc and loved it. But then again, I like driving bikes. If you weren't used to it, I can imagine it wouldn't be fun alright, but important for OP to see it from both sides.

The only place in Thailand I didn't drive was Bangkok. I never had any issues.

Pat Mustard

hawkwind23 wrote: »

we are thinking Krabi area with the option of a few overnights at the islands making our way to Railay Beach and then back to Bangkok and home.

It has been years I was there but Krabi was a dump when I was there.

Never been to Railay Beach but heard only good things.

On the other side of the country, Koh Tao was an unspoilt tropical paradise, with enough in the way of facilities/amenities/restaurants/bars to make it as comfortable as you could want. Good spot for diving.

Ed_Stephens

Unfortunately Koh Tao has been invaded by the full moon party goers, Koh Lanta will be a much better experience with the national park and beaches.

toadfly

Ed_Stephens wrote: »

Unfortunately Koh Tao has been invaded by the full moon party goers, Koh Lanta will be a much better experience with the national park and beaches.

I'd recommend Koh Tao also but go when the full moon party is on like we did and it was quiet. Rented a scooter for the time we were there and we'll worth it.

thaiwolf

i second koh lanta absolutely fantastic island , also if you are on a budget take the plunge and try and eat street food it is good and so cheap.

the southern island are paradise and so many places my advice is don't book too much up and see what appeals to you.

bangkok first will be a bit of a culture shock , don't be afraid to take taxis they are good priced but do not take tuk tuks stick to pink/yellow taxis.

I would also book flights to phucket/krabi as its a long journey and flights will be fairly cheap and worth the money.

lastly and this is best bit of advice is pack light! it will be hot and you can get anything in thailand it's not the total back of beyond, also its very cheap to get your washing done here and you will see loads of places, you will need one pair of trousers to protect legs from mosquitoes!

hawkwind23

Yeah , im starting to think now , just plonking down in Koh Lanta for a couple of weeks and chilling out.
Do a few island boat trips and rent a scooter on the island.
This place looks about right and within the budget

http://www.fishermanscottage.biz/

its fecking months away and im already excited

killbillvol2

JohnCleary wrote: »

Can't agree with you there. I drove CM - Pai (and return, obviously) on a 600cc and loved it. But then again, I like driving bikes. If you weren't used to it, I can imagine it wouldn't be fun alright, but important for OP to see it from both sides.

The only place in Thailand I didn't drive was Bangkok. I never had any issues.

I drove it in a car - maybe it's better on a bike!

Pat Mustard

Ed_Stephens wrote: »

Unfortunately Koh Tao has been invaded by the full moon party goers, Koh Lanta will be a much better experience with the national park and beaches.

Ah really? That's a shame, Koh Tao was such a lovely place. Never been to Koh Lanta.

hawkwind23

Pretty much have a rough plan.

Bangkok 3 days
CM 3 days
Pai 5 days
Phuket (fly from CM) 2 days
Phi Phi 2 days (ferry)
Ko Lanta (ferry) 10 days

Krabi-Bangkok-Dub

Have around 5 days to play around with for travel and extending.
Phuket nor Phi Phi were in the plans but suppose it makes sense to fly to phuket and do them 2 islands on way to Lanta.
About the motorbike , i can drive them , used to race off road but i think ill skip the big journeys and get a 250 to explore the islands and beaches.
Now just to go off the drink for 7 months to pay for it all

JohnCleary

If you want to do something off the beaten track, a bit crazy and something that will make you grateful for the life you have.... visit a prisoner in BangKwang Central Prison in Bangkok.

PM me and i'll go through the process with you. When I was in there I was thinking "What the heck am I doing in one of the worlds most notorious prisons", but I was truly enlightened after I did it. Warning: it's not for everyone.

hawkwind23

JohnCleary wrote: »

If you want to do something off the beaten track, a bit crazy and something that will make you grateful for the life you have.... visit a prisoner in BangKwang Central Prison in Bangkok.

PM me and i'll go through the process with you. When I was in there I was thinking "What the heck am I doing in one of the worlds most notorious prisons", but I was truly enlightened after I did it. Warning: it's not for everyone.

I must admit i found this intriguing and a bit of searching confirmed my initial thought , banana visit it was called , gawping at how poor conditions are for expat prisoners.
However on deeper investigation if done with genuine intent this could be rewarding for all involved.
I understand its one of those debates thats never going to work on a forum so lets leave it at that.
Thanks for making me aware of it , ill mull over it further and let you know.

JohnCleary

hawkwind23 wrote: »

I must admit i found this intriguing and a bit of searching confirmed my initial thought , banana visit it was called , gawping at how poor conditions are for expat prisoners.
However on deeper investigation if done with genuine intent this could be rewarding for all involved.
I understand its one of those debates thats never going to work on a forum so lets leave it at that.
Thanks for making me aware of it , ill mull over it further and let you know.

It's far from gawping. I researched the prisoner (to make sure they weren't in there for murder / sex crimes) and got as much background info as possible.

When I met him, we chatted for 45 mins. We got along really well and had plenty to talk about. I learned a lot from him, and vice versa. We still keep in contact by way of pen pal (There is a lady in Bangkok who delivers letters to him monthly... more reliable than post). I send him 1,000 baht every month, which is nothing to me, but means he gets to eat real food.

Given that no friends or family have ever visited him, he was damn glad to have a chat with someone and told me that he would be happy to meet any other like-minded people, hence my reaching out to you.

However, I do see where you're coming from. Before I made the visit, I had to ask myself many times why was I going there. I was happy with myself that I wasn't treating the visit as a human zoo visit, but more to talk to someone in a sticky situation. As I said, I learned a lot from it (mainly not to try being a drug mule in SE Asia!)

hawkwind23

Sorry i wasn't judging your intentions at all
From reading forums etc it seems a contentious subject as a lot of the backpackers are sticking it on a todo list or not treating it with the sensitivity it deserves.

I know a lot of friends who have got into trouble over similar incidents but were lucky enough to avoid lengthy jail time in South America etc , so im very open minded about why people are tempted to try smuggling drugs and wouldn't have those sort of hang ups.

Like yourself i would have to ask myself a lot of questions about my intent, i dont think i would be as committed so fair play to ya.

marty66

Did you book flights directly? That seems incredibly cheap. Looking at 24th of Dec and coming in at €1000. Any recommendations?