Thailand 1st time
Discussion
Bangkok was a bit rough and real for me. Open sewers visible poverty and it blew my tiny protected western mind. But was a good base for seeing temples. Nightlife. Day trips to the war memorial and bridge over river kwai and the pow museum.
Tiger sanctuary ran by monks no longer open as authority shut it down and in retrospect was a bit dodgy.
Then we flew to Krabi. Ao nang was good base for island trips a bit commercial as others have said but felt safe. Great pharmacy. Saved my are from going inside out after a shady curry. The beach beach is no longer open thankfully as it was swarming with boats and people. Other islands were incredible. Railay and others well worth seeing.
Elephant hills sanctuary in the kao saok national park was amazing. I had the epic bumchunders so didn't stay overnight in the tent which means I missed the boat trip and nature tours but the morning feeding washing and careing for Elly's saved from logging industry was amazing.
We finished the crazy and tourism bit off in the tubkak boutique hotel in Krabi for a few nights proper chill. Real sense of luxury on a sunset beach.
My memories of Thailand. Lovely crazy mental friendly scary welcoming place.
Tiger sanctuary ran by monks no longer open as authority shut it down and in retrospect was a bit dodgy.
Then we flew to Krabi. Ao nang was good base for island trips a bit commercial as others have said but felt safe. Great pharmacy. Saved my are from going inside out after a shady curry. The beach beach is no longer open thankfully as it was swarming with boats and people. Other islands were incredible. Railay and others well worth seeing.
Elephant hills sanctuary in the kao saok national park was amazing. I had the epic bumchunders so didn't stay overnight in the tent which means I missed the boat trip and nature tours but the morning feeding washing and careing for Elly's saved from logging industry was amazing.
We finished the crazy and tourism bit off in the tubkak boutique hotel in Krabi for a few nights proper chill. Real sense of luxury on a sunset beach.
My memories of Thailand. Lovely crazy mental friendly scary welcoming place.
Edited by Flat6er on Friday 23 November 00:29
Flat6er said:
Bangkok was a bit rough and real for me. Open sewers visible poverty and it blew my tiny protected western mind. But was a good base for seeing temples. Nightlife. Day trips to the war memorial and bridge over river kwai and the pow museum.
Tiger sanctuary ran by monks no longer open as authority shut it down and in retrospect was a bit dodgy.
Then we flew to Krabi. Ao nang was good base for island trips a bit commercial as others have said but felt safe. Great pharmacy. Saved my are from going inside out after a shady curry. The beach beach is no longer open thankfully as it was swarming with boats and people. Other islands were incredible. Railay and others well worth seeing.
Elephant hills sanctuary in the kao saok national park was amazing. I had the epic bumchunders so didn't stay overnight in the tent which means I missed the boat trip and nature tours but the morning feeding washing and careing for Elly's saved from logging industry was amazing.
We finished the crazy and tourism bit off in the tubkak boutique hotel in Krabi for a few nights proper chill. Real sense of luxury on a sunset beach.
My memories of Thailand. Lovely crazy mental friendly scary welcoming place.
Thailand in a nutshell.Tiger sanctuary ran by monks no longer open as authority shut it down and in retrospect was a bit dodgy.
Then we flew to Krabi. Ao nang was good base for island trips a bit commercial as others have said but felt safe. Great pharmacy. Saved my are from going inside out after a shady curry. The beach beach is no longer open thankfully as it was swarming with boats and people. Other islands were incredible. Railay and others well worth seeing.
Elephant hills sanctuary in the kao saok national park was amazing. I had the epic bumchunders so didn't stay overnight in the tent which means I missed the boat trip and nature tours but the morning feeding washing and careing for Elly's saved from logging industry was amazing.
We finished the crazy and tourism bit off in the tubkak boutique hotel in Krabi for a few nights proper chill. Real sense of luxury on a sunset beach.
My memories of Thailand. Lovely crazy mental friendly scary welcoming place.
Edited by Flat6er on Friday 23 November 00:29
Can't wait to go back there.
colin86 said:
Thanks for the all great comments we will be starting in Bangkok how long would you go for 2 or 3 nights ?
If you take a direct night flight from the UK (say departing at about 9pm) you arrive in Thailand about 4pm the next day. By the time you get through customs, take money out of a machine, buy a Thai SIM for your phone (all at the airport) and take a cab to your hotel and have a quick swim it's time to head out for dinner. I usually book the Mango tree (near pat pong).
That's night one taken care of.
I then usually stay a couple more nights to enjoy some street food, a decent restaurant and a few rooftop bars. Imho, the food in Bangkok is the best you'll find in Thailand and the hotels the nicest and best value.
Make sure that your hotel is close to the skytrain. Getting around when the roads are busy is very difficult otherwise.
Good advice above there. We stayed 4 nights in Bangkok and that was plenty. As noted being close to the Skytrain is useful, as well as by the river for getting free or cheap boats to temples etc. We stayed at the Shangri-la which was perfect for both of those. First night went to Asiatique for a gently introduction, wandered for street food on night 2, Gaggan on night 3, and a wander in the underbelly round Soi Cowboy and a couple of roof bars on the final night.
We did 3 nights in Bangkok in October, before moving on to Kanchanaburi, which was more than enough.
We stayed in the Casa Nithra which is half a mile form the river and a few roads up from the Khao San Road.
We had a result as we opted for an earlier flight from the UK which landed at 5:45am as it gave us an extra day, we got to the hotel at about 8:00am with a view to dropping our bags until 14:00 check in, fortunately our room was ready so we had a shower, a nap and then were refreshed for the rest of the day.
One tip is the Tuk Tuks will rip you off, sure take one for the experience but they will massively over charge you, the best taxis are the green and yellow ones and make sure they use the meter, it's amazing how cheap they are.
We stayed in the Casa Nithra which is half a mile form the river and a few roads up from the Khao San Road.
We had a result as we opted for an earlier flight from the UK which landed at 5:45am as it gave us an extra day, we got to the hotel at about 8:00am with a view to dropping our bags until 14:00 check in, fortunately our room was ready so we had a shower, a nap and then were refreshed for the rest of the day.
One tip is the Tuk Tuks will rip you off, sure take one for the experience but they will massively over charge you, the best taxis are the green and yellow ones and make sure they use the meter, it's amazing how cheap they are.
I went as a solo traveller for a couple of weeks over a decade ago.
1) Get yourself a Rough Guide or Lonely Planet.
- Pretty much everyone uses these and follows the same routes.
- It'll outline transport links/times/approximate costs
2) Bangkok is a crazy city. Plenty to see and experience, I'd suggest a few nights would be enough to cover the major sights.
Night market is good (and you can pick up some bargains - be prepared to haggle)
Watch out for scammers. They'll approach you on the street claiming to help you see the sights, offer to organise you transport etc. All they do is take you round and round to nowhere and demand lots of cash. Ignore/flatly refuse.
I visited as a student so stayed in the Khao San Road (with all the other travellers), very cheap. Wouldn't be my first choice if visiting with my (now) wife.
3) Are you into military history? If so I'd recommend Kanchanaburi where you can visit the bridge over the River Kwai. Stay at the Jolly Frog.
View from the Jolly Frog
4) I had a few days in Kho Phi Phi. Relaxing, plenty of beach resorts - very pleasant. They were doing lots of reconstruction work when I visited post tsunami.
The view from the top overlooking the two islands
PS While in Phi Phi you can visit the beach from 'The Beach'!
As has been mentioned, your choice of island will depend on what you want to do (chill/snorkel/watersports etc)
5) While in Chang Mai I hired a scooter. Epic fun but probably the scariest/most dangerous thing I've ever done. You need to keep your wits about you. I may think twice now, however at the time it seemed an entirely sensible thing to do!
6) Don't discount domestic flights if time is short and you need to get from one end of the country to the other quickly.
7) The old capital Ayutthaya is worth a look - plenty of interesting temples. Explore by bicycle.
8) Did a trek in Chang Mai where we stayed with some mountain folk. Was good fun and really interesting.
9) Cash points are frequent in cities and I had no issue using my Visa card to get cash out.
As long as you have a bit of nous, you'll be fine. Enjoy!
1) Get yourself a Rough Guide or Lonely Planet.
- Pretty much everyone uses these and follows the same routes.
- It'll outline transport links/times/approximate costs
2) Bangkok is a crazy city. Plenty to see and experience, I'd suggest a few nights would be enough to cover the major sights.
Night market is good (and you can pick up some bargains - be prepared to haggle)
Watch out for scammers. They'll approach you on the street claiming to help you see the sights, offer to organise you transport etc. All they do is take you round and round to nowhere and demand lots of cash. Ignore/flatly refuse.
I visited as a student so stayed in the Khao San Road (with all the other travellers), very cheap. Wouldn't be my first choice if visiting with my (now) wife.
3) Are you into military history? If so I'd recommend Kanchanaburi where you can visit the bridge over the River Kwai. Stay at the Jolly Frog.
View from the Jolly Frog
4) I had a few days in Kho Phi Phi. Relaxing, plenty of beach resorts - very pleasant. They were doing lots of reconstruction work when I visited post tsunami.
The view from the top overlooking the two islands
PS While in Phi Phi you can visit the beach from 'The Beach'!
As has been mentioned, your choice of island will depend on what you want to do (chill/snorkel/watersports etc)
5) While in Chang Mai I hired a scooter. Epic fun but probably the scariest/most dangerous thing I've ever done. You need to keep your wits about you. I may think twice now, however at the time it seemed an entirely sensible thing to do!
6) Don't discount domestic flights if time is short and you need to get from one end of the country to the other quickly.
7) The old capital Ayutthaya is worth a look - plenty of interesting temples. Explore by bicycle.
8) Did a trek in Chang Mai where we stayed with some mountain folk. Was good fun and really interesting.
9) Cash points are frequent in cities and I had no issue using my Visa card to get cash out.
As long as you have a bit of nous, you'll be fine. Enjoy!
Edited by g3org3y on Sunday 25th November 15:02
abzmike said:
Good advice above there. We stayed 4 nights in Bangkok and that was plenty. As noted being close to the Skytrain is useful, as well as by the river for getting free or cheap boats to temples etc. We stayed at the Shangri-la which was perfect for both of those. First night went to Asiatique for a gently introduction, wandered for street food on night 2, Gaggan on night 3, and a wander in the underbelly round Soi Cowboy and a couple of roof bars on the final night.
Quick Clarification - Skytrain / BTS / Metro / MRT / Airport Rail Link. There are 3 BKK public transport rail services, the prepaid cards aren't interchangeable, but the BTS is the most useful. You need coins only to pay for individual trips. you get change by going to the ticket counter, then go back to the vending machine to get your tickets, they will not also issue a single fare ticket at the counter. A few other restaurant recommendations for BKK.
Zanzibar, Apotek and Above 11 (my favourite rooftop bar) all on Sukhumvit Soi 11. That covers off one evening too.
Live music at Titanium for a bit of an expat party scene.
Go to Saphan Taksin bridge and take a longtail to Wat Po and Grand Palace, have a walk around.
If you are there on a friday, go to Chatachuk Market in the North.
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