[Travel] Thailand

[Whoislloydy]

Thai women are pool sharks, they'll let you win the first 2-3, loser buys drinks. The drinks you get are ridiculously strong, then they start wagering money and next thing you know you're playing Ronnie O'Sullivan

 

[maffew]

If you like a swanky cocktail bar that looks incredibly out of place to its surroundings look for the White Rabbit bar in Chiang Mai. Down a side road, look for the sign, & you basically have to go up through what looks like a derelict house to find a really decent cocktail bar. Worth it for a treat. Bit surreal considering the 'décor' of surrounding places.

I thought that was in Arundel

 

[nevergoagain]

Thailand is my home from home, absolutely love it. Going back to Samui at Easter. For Bangkok I'd suggest a rooftop bar/restaurant as a treat, spectacular views.

Samui, just chill and enjoy it. Fishermans village is nice but overpriced compared to other places but the night market is brilliant. Coco Tams is decent for a non Thai meal and drinks to watch the fireshows on the beach but I would definitely book ahead.

I love the Tuk Tuks to get around but use "Grab" if we are going more than a few miles. The main resort is Chaweng which is good for restaurants and bars but I don't like the beach, much dirtier and busier than the north side of the island. One of my personal faves is a small restaurant called The Sunset which is just by the Big Buddha temple turn off. Great food and fab location for some sundowners.

 

[ROSM]

Bangkok, i have the details of a tour guide who will sort whatever you want..we had a minivan and did the royal palace, reclining bhudda, and a backwater boat ride to a floating market and a meal. It took just over half a day (about 5 to 6 hours) and was cheaper as arranged with a legit guide rather than one off the street. Picked up from hotel.

Patpong is interesting as a market..not so much as a bar or sports venue

Koh samui - it's a while since I've been but we stayed on chaweng beach and saw the huge bhudda, mummified monk, Thai boxing at the chaweng stadium, a cookery lesson. We also visited diamond falls elephant sanctuary now known as samui elephant sanctuary. Some of the others had elephants in chains but these roamed free

 

[dolphins]

Will be visiting Thailand and Vietnam on a cruise and will be doing various locations via excursions. I'm loathe to get a load of cash for the odd incidental (eg the odd soft drink) so do the normal touristy places happily take e.g. US dollars? I've seen contradictory info on this...

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

Thai women are pool sharks, they'll let you win the first 2-3, loser buys drinks. The drinks you get are ridiculously strong, then they start wagering money and next thing you know you're playing Ronnie O'Sullivan

And six year old kids will equally empty your pockets on the beach at Connect 4

 

[Ding Dong !]

Went to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui in the summer

Don't bother with the floating market ( took 3 hours to get there from Bangkok having been told 1 to 1 & half hours )

Go to the Jungle Club for an evening treat in Koh Samui.........fantastic views. Fishermans Village also worth a visit.
( Hire a car for a couple of days and get off the beaten track )

Ethical elephant sanctuary trip ( feeding and bathing with them) followed by bamboo rafting down the river in Chiang Mai and

also the white water rafting trip. ( both about 1.5 hours drive out of Chiang Mai )


Enjoyed the experience so much, it's Vietnam this year

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Didn't a tourist get killed by an elephant at one of those sanctuary places yesterday?

 

[ROSM]

Went to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui in the summer

Don't bother with the floating market ( took 3 hours to get there from Bangkok having been told 1 to 1 & half hours )

Go to the Jungle Club for an evening treat in Koh Samui.........fantastic views. Fishermans Village also worth a visit.
( Hire a car for a couple of days and get off the beaten track )

Ethical elephant sanctuary trip ( feeding and bathing with them) followed by bamboo rafting down the river in Chiang Mai and

also the white water rafting trip. ( both about 1.5 hours drive out of Chiang Mai )


Enjoyed the experience so much, it's Vietnam this year

There is a closer floating market to bangkok which is c30mins by boat from the pier near royal palace. The bigger 1 is over 2hrs by road

 

[ROSM]

Didn't a tourist get killed by an elephant at one of those sanctuary places yesterday?

Yes a Spanish lady was gored by one

 

[Iroquois Boy]

Fly out on Wednesday - 2 days bkk flight to chiang mai then 3 days in pai. Then Krabi and a few days on koh lanta. Back to bkk then over to koh chang / koh kood. Bloody love the place. 3rd world facilities with 1st world prices.

 

[Lenny Rider]

Don’t take “a” wife or girlfriend

Surely more importantly don’t come home with one


We had a Gent locally, who headed ’East’ after quite a nasty divorce, sure enough he met the girl of his dreams in a Titty Bar, fair play though, she loved him so much she came off the game, he sold his house moved over there and they lived happily ever after, or at least until he had a heart attack on a Saturday, funeral Monday and she kindly sent me his ashes on the Wednesday.

 

[timbha]

Surely more importantly don’t come home with one

Sort of what I meant

 

[Super Sub]

Thanks all,
I’ve booked a few things already and some of the things on the itinerary have been mentioned here. Can’t wait…

 

[John Byrnes Mullet]

Hey all,

I’m off to Thailand next week for 2 weeks. I have 3 days in Bangkok, 5 in Chiang Mai and 5 in Koh Samui.

Any advice on absolute Must do‘s and dont’s would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Bangkok, must do is Grand Palace and Wat Pho. Hire a guide from where you enter and dont wear shorts. Taxis are cheap. Sky train and underground are OK.
Chang Mai, take a tour to Doi Intanon (highest mountain) also do a tour to long neck tribe and butterfly farm. Night market is great for food.
Koh Samui, hire a scooter and explore. nice beaches and ride an elephant and lots of other touristy things to do there.
You'll have the time of your life.

 

[nevergoagain]

Went to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui in the summer

Don't bother with the floating market ( took 3 hours to get there from Bangkok having been told 1 to 1 & half hours )

Go to the Jungle Club for an evening treat in Koh Samui.........fantastic views. Fishermans Village also worth a visit.
( Hire a car for a couple of days and get off the beaten track )

Ethical elephant sanctuary trip ( feeding and bathing with them) followed by bamboo rafting down the river in Chiang Mai and

also the white water rafting trip. ( both about 1.5 hours drive out of Chiang Mai )


Enjoyed the experience so much, it's Vietnam this year

Agree on the floating market. Took us ages to get there and all the stalls were the same and fairly pushy if you didn't buy anything. However the taxi driver (drove us around all day for £25) did stop off on the way at Maeklong railway station market which is one of those iconic tiny rail tracks where the stalls move back out of the way when the train comes through, that was brilliant.

 

[sydney]

Didn't a tourist get killed by an elephant at one of those sanctuary places yesterday?

yep

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

Don't take any bullshit. Act like you've been there before. If anyone says they can show you a better temple as the one you're stood outside of is closed, ignore them.

Cooking class is an excellent tip, really enjoyed that when I did it.

Also, very important that when you come back , you stop calling it Bangkok, Koh Samui etc. You went "BK", "KSam", "Mai" etc. Most importantly MAKE SURE you tell people to "avoid the touristy parts".

Have a great time

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Hey all,

I’m off to Thailand next week for 2 weeks. I have 3 days in Bangkok, 5 in Chiang Mai and 5 in Koh Samui.

Any advice on absolute Must do‘s and dont’s would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

I'm just back from three weeks in Thailand - fantastic!

Bangkok
Chiang Mai
Krabi
Phi Phi
Khao Lak

BANGKOK
We hired a local guide for a day in BKK through Viator - well worth it - we exchanged details before hand and saw loads of 'non-touristy' stuff well off the beaten track
From BKK, trip to Kanchanaburi (Bridge over the River Kwai) and then to the CWGC Cemetery.
Stuff like the Grand Palace you can do without a guide - get up early, sites are busy.
Eat street food
Avoid Tut-Tuts (although we did use them a couple of times having prearranged a price)

CHIANG MAI
We took the train from BKK to CM, much more interesting (and cheaper) than flying.
Must do an overnight stay at one of the many Elephant Santuarys in Chiang Mai.
Jungle Trek
Also, we did a day's cookery course in CM (market first to buy everything)

Much prefereed CM to BKK

Amazing Holiday, beautiful people, wonderful food, very cheap to eat and drink (and PL games available evrywhere!)

 

[dazzer6666]

Surely more importantly don’t come home with one


We had a Gent locally, who headed ’East’ after quite a nasty divorce, sure enough he met the girl of his dreams in a Titty Bar, fair play though, she loved him so much she came off the game, he sold his house moved over there and they lived happily ever after, or at least until he had a heart attack on a Saturday, funeral Monday and she kindly sent me his ashes on the Wednesday.

Well, if I could choose my way to go……..