Has Anyone Been to Thailand?

[Aimz]

Hi ladies,

Just wanting to know who has been to Thailand.

Which areas did you visit and what was your favourite place?

What was the best part of your holiday?

[Phteven]

I spent about 5 months there.
Favourite places - Bangkok. It's dirty, stinky, overcrowded and polluted but I love it anyway.
Koh Chang and Koh Phangan are my favourite islands.
Too many monkeys in Lop Buri but I believe that some people like the dirty little things.
I'm a history buff so I like the old cities like Sukhoti and Ayuthaya.
The west of the country has some nice Khmer sites if you're into ruins.

If I was going back I would only visit it as a launch pad into Cambodia and Laos. Laos is truly amazing and spectacular.

[Shanti]

Patong Beach just outside of Phuket and Phuket aswell..... also an island but can't remember the name!!! where we snorkelled......

It's a really great place we love Thailand and would love to go back some day!!! We felt totally safe there and the people and food was fantastic.... just avoid some outside food stalls they can be a bit dodgy so watch where you eat.

Definitely visit Patong Beach!! heaps and heaps of markets to see day and night.....and when you do.... buy a coconut drink they crack the coconut open in front of you and stick a straw in the top, and it costs about .70c AUD it's sooo cool!

[MrsB26]

I was there 4 weeks ago. I want to go back now lol

We stayed at Patong Beach. Great shopping (night markets as Ren said). Dont bother during the day as nothing is really open.

Go to Phi Phi island. The most beautiful place for snorkeling and swimming (Leonardo Decaprio filmed The Beach on one of Phi Phi's islands)

Bankok is smelly and nasty but the shopping is really good and much cheaper.

It depends what you are after in a holiday - we wanted to relax as i am pg but we still did lots of activites incl elephant trecking and shows and patted tigers, saw monkeys, went shopping etc.

I personally got a bit sick of the food. The thai food is to die for but the western food is soooo wrong lol - you will find that out. Also the indian is pretty tops cause there are alot of indians there but i get bored easily.

Oh, make sure you get a massage, like every day. So cheep. My favourite thing to do after a long day was to go for a walk after dinner and get a 1 hour long foot massage for like $2 AUD.

My brian isnt working properly today but if you need to know anythign else, just ask

[MantaRay]

I love Asia. Thailand is great. You have to spend some time in Bangkok, it's really quite a cool city. I also love getting off the beaten track - I went into the jungle in southern Thailand, and also for some R&R there are lots of beach resorts that are far less touristy than Phuket and the like.

[Aimz]

Oh girls thank you so so so much!!!!

I hope you don't mind if I pick your brains over the next few months while I plan. We want to pack in as much as we can (going away for 3 weeks) so I would really appreciate it if I can have as much info as possible!!

We were originally going to travel up north to Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai and the Golden Triangle but we have decided that we want to spend more time in the islands so we have changed our minds on this. Unless someone can tell me why I should absolutely go there???

So the plan is this:

Phuket (2 days)
Koh Phi Phi (5 days)
Krabi (3 days)
Phang Nga (Overnight)
Koh Similan (3 days) - this is a 2 night/3 day snorkelling and camping tour
Koh Samui (5 days)
Koh Phangan (3 days)
Koh Tao (2 days)
Bangkok (3 days)

This is really only a rough plan. I would appreciate feedback on the following:

Is April a good time to travel? i.e. weather
Is there anywhere that I am not staying long enough, or that I am staying too long at?
Am I travelling to these places in the right order?
We want to avoid the bulk of the crowds so where are the best places to stay in each place?
What are your best recommendations for activities?
What is a "must do" activity?
What should we give a miss?

That's all I can think of at the moment!! I'll be back with more as I think of them! Thanks so much girls!!!!

[Phteven]

April is the hot season. If you hate heat you might want to go a couple of moths earlier.
I'd swap the 2 nights at Phuket for some time in the north. It's very differant from the south and there is far more to Thailand than islands and beaches. The cuisine in the north is differant and you could hire a motorbike for a couple of days to do some day trips around the Golden Triangle. The elephant nature park in Chiang rai is probably the best elephant tourism in the country because they let the elephants be elephants instead of football players etc (although I will admit to a soft spot for the elephant artists).
IMO Phuket is overcrowded and over touristed although there are quieter areas.
Maybe you could consider spending a bit less time at the beach resorts and some more time in the jungles but if you like the beach and don't like jungles that would be pointless.
Your itinerary seems pretty logical to me but I don't think there's any such thing as the right order - that said my prferred method of travelling is to turn up at the train/bus/ferry and cath the next one regardless of where it's going (unless I've been there recently) and obviously you like to travel in a fairly structured way so I'm probably the last person you should listen too .

[Aimz]

We want to go when its hot so April will be ideal I'm guessing!

The elephant park in Chiang Rai sounds amazing - will talk about it again with DH tonight.

We both really want to explore the jungle as well as the beaches. Where would be the best place? Should we go with a tour group or go on our own? Where are the best places for accommodation?

We tend to structure our holidays only down to the flights and accommodation. As far as tours and day trips - we just play them by ear. We went to the Greek islands last year and I booked 3 tours (costing around $300) and we didn't go on any of them!!

Thanks heaps Dach - you rock!

[Phteven]

In the north they have hill tribe trekking and rafting where you can see lots of jungle and stay with people from the hill tribes. I'm never too sure about this knid of tourism - on one hand it's great to meet people from differant cultures living such a differant life but on the other hand there's the problem that the cultures are being destroyed by the tourism - instead of living their lives they're performing their lives. Then again they have chosen to open their homes for tourists so are they exploiting tourists or are tourists exploiting them? Totally OT sorry.
There is another big elephant park near Lampang and lots of places in the south to ride elephants. You could probably arrange a jungle trek from Krabi - there are some really amazing inland limestone hills there.
A small tour group might be the best - they can take care of the logistics so all you have to do is enjoy yourself. There are usually lots of tour operators in every town so you can be fussy about who you go with.

In lots of places there is a string of geust houses along the beach so you can just walk along until you find the right place. You can try haggling over the price too if you want to save a bit.
If you're in Koh Phangan for the full moon party IMO it's best to stay away from the beach the party is on. The day after it's nice to be somewhere quiet rather than in the middle of the wreckage of the night before.

I'm envious - the beaches there are so nice. I don't fancy Australian beaches much. They're too rough and water is cold but the water on the Thai beaches is warm and peaceful and you can swim out for miles....

[Aimz]

I just found a great elephant trek in Khao Sok National Park which goes over four days. This looks like something we would LOVE.

We're not sure about the full moon party. It's tempting to go along and experience it but I can't help but think it will just big a big rave with lots of vomit. Has anyone been to the full moon party in Koh Phangan? Do I need to do this?

Backpacks are obviously the easiest means of carrying luggage around right? I took my suitcase to Greece but I'm thinking with all of this trekking and camping I'm going to need a backpack.

[Shanti]

That's it! Krabi! That's where we snorkelled..... we were actually on a cruise ship but they took us over to the islands on those little boats they use and it was so fun!!

Enjoy your trip!! I bet you can't wait..........!!!

We'd love to do Thailand.... again soon i hope!

[Phteven]

Amy, any chance you could PM me the www for the elephant tour?

DH and I are thinking of takin the chitterlings to Thailand in a month or so and riding an Elephant is very high on Yasin's to-do list.
If we go we're only going to go to the south so Khao Sok National Park would be ideal.

[BellyBelly]

Definitely agree with the elephants, Phi Phi and Patong Beach. The only thing I didnt like about snorkelling on Phi Phi was getting bitten by the sea lice... UrGh. Stunning place though, but I wouldn't stay on the island overnight, its small and not much to do. The boat ride was loads of fun, my work sent a group of us to Bangkok and Phuket, so we had a blast edging each other on lol. Oh and be careful of the alcohol there, they are very generous with the alcohol content and they have some potent local stuff!!!!

I'll try and scan my photos so I can post them for you.

[Aimz]

I have PM'd you Dach.

Kelly - some pics would be great to see!