THAILAND

Thailand is a country of many contrasts - you can go clubbing with the hoards or walk from your hut to a virtually deserted beach. Make sure you know what you want before you go. Thailand is a very friendly country and many places are really geared towards tourism so English is widely spoken.

Visas:

Free on entry for those from most countries (30days). http://www.mfa.go.th to check for exceptions - download an application form and take it and photographs with you - you can pay 1000Baht ($30) on arrival. American citizens appear not to need a visa. Transit visas are not needed.

Money:

Baht but take Yen or US Dollars as most places will accept these too. Yen travellers cheques are frequently accepted too - available from the post office and some banks.

Places to go:

Bangkok

Best place to fly into. Inspires mixed feelings. It's a really big city and can be difficult to get around if you choose the wrong hotel. It has good subway/train links and loads of cheap tuktuks. There are lots of foreigners in some areas and it can be smelly and dirty with pushy con artists. It can be a hard introduction to a beautiful country. But it's worth exploring some of the smaller streets and non-touristy temples for peace and beauty.
getting there:
Heading into downtown Bangkok from the airport if you get a taxi, they will likely charge you WAY too much. Taxis from the airport are allowed to charge meter + 50 baht. They should ask if you want the expressway - only take it if in a hurry -you will have to pay the tolls, maybe another 50 baht or so.
Go outside the main exit to the bus stop. There is an airconditioned express bus that runs to Khao San Road and the surrounding area. There is an information booth at the stop. Tell them where you are going and they will tell you which bus to take (there are only 2 - A1 and A2) and cost 150 bhat. Compare that to the 500 - 750 that the taxis will charge you.

Note - be very careful to note which airport you're flying into and out of.
Bangkok International Airport closed last September and a new one of the same name opened on the other side of town. However, it has been beset with problems and some airlines are now flying to the old airport. They both have the same name.

getting about:
Taxis - by law have to use the meter. If the driver insists on not using the meter, just close the door and walk away. There are usually plenty of other taxis. In fact it's almost impossible to try to bargain with taxi drivers about the price and you'll get a better deal if they use the meter. Often there are police checkpoints around the city making sure that they were not ripping off tourists.
The exception to this is probably New Year's Eve night when it's virtually impossible to find a "legal" taxi driver. If you're relatively sure of the rate to where you're going, you can negotiate a price not too much higher.
Tuk Tuk - make sure you set the price at the start - learning a few numbers in Thai helps here. It's an experience and one of the most fun ways of getting round Bangkok quickly. They're often "in cahoots" with some shop owners but they are usually upfront about it and you can always say no. If you get a nice driver he'll wait around while you explore and take you to more secluded temples that you otherwise might not have visited. Be confident.

to stay:
The Airport Hotel - little overpriced but convenient at 1am.
D and D Inn - on Khao San Road, very cheap, close to everything and reasonably decent.
Khao San Palace - right on Khao San Road but not as dingy as others
New Siam II - just off Khao San Road - pool, excellent restaurant, electronic key locks and aircon.
Viengtai Hotel - just off Khao San Road, pool, breakfast included.
Shanti Lodge - really awesome hostel. Nice rooms and vegetarian friendly restaurant. (Info in Let's Go or online)
China Town Area - within walking distance from the train station (with train link to the airport) and subway lines with a few different hotels to choose from.
Tower Inn - about 1200 baht a night including breakfast.

to see:
Khao San Road - excellent shopping!! Lots of foreigners around too.
Siam Square - shopping malls and cinemas
Ayutthaya - the old capital, a short train ride from Bangkok, though the trains are infrequent and rarely on time. Full of fantastic temples, beautiful scenery, elephant rides, give at least a full day. There is also an elephant sanctuary run by a Dutch lady who buys abused or neglected elephants and rehabilitates them. It's free to walk around though donations are welcome.
Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Po - temples, huge Buddhas and traditional Thai massage. Make your reservation when you arrive and look at the huge reclining Buddha while you wait.
The Grand Palace - (and surrounding temples). Go in the afternoon then go to get the boat from Ta Chang Pier to Nontaburi around 5pm. The return trip from Nontaburi is really nice as you can see how Thai people live along the river - it's full of life at dusk.
Thai Boxing - Sunday is the best day to see boxing matches. If you can't make it on Sunday then Saturday is not so bad.Matches during the week are just a big show!!
Go for drinks at the top of the Banyan Hotel. The prices are outrageous, but so is the view from the rooftop patio.
Forensic Museum in Siriraj Hospital
Bang Kwang known and Broke Down Palace - you can meet a prisoner.

Chiang Mai

Go to Wat Chedi Lung and talk to monks. They want to practice their English and will tell you all about Thailand and Budhism in return.
to stay:
Eagle House guesthouse - Close to the market, quiet, good breakfast. Great for hilltribe trekking tours.

to see:
Elephant Nature Park
At this park you walk with the elephants, feed them and bathe them. You do not ride them, make them paint you pictures, or watch them play football. Most of the elephants were rescued from abusive owners, trekking groups, etc, one was once addicted to speed (so it could stay up 24hrs to work), another stepped on a landmine. You learn that tourists riding on their backs does in fact hurt them and how poorly trekking elephants are treated. You can visit the park for 1 day, 3 days or stay a week or two as a volunteer. http://www.thaifocus.com/elephant/

Koh Samui

Also mixed views. Beautiful beaches but a bit quiet for some, too busy and touristy for others. The east side of the island can be very busy and full of people trying to sell you rubbish - head to the other side instead.
Hire a jeep or a scooter and cruise the island (but be careful, there are hundreds of tourist fatalities on Samui roads every year!) Flights from Bangkok to Koh Samui are very regular and pretty cheap. There also a bus and ferry service available and that's super-cheap. Ask at your hotel. Nearby islands are worth a visit.
Lamai is the second biggest beach and prettier and more laid back than Chaweng, the biggest and most popular beach. If you want to party and have a good night life, then stay in Chaweng. All the hostels along the beach should be pretty comparable. If you are looking to just relax and soak up the sun with a really awesome view, go for Lamai. All the other beaches are small, but really incredibly beautiful. Lamai is basically deserted during Spring break. If you stay in Lamai, Chaweng is only a 30 min motorbike ride away.

to stay:
Spa Samui - http://www.spasamui.com/

Koh Pha Ngan

"Awesome!" . Cute little place with lots of clubs and little shops, bit more expensive than Bangkok. Go to Half Moon parties in the jungle and Full Moon parties on the beach
To get away from it all stay on a remote beach on the east side. You can still take boats into Had Rin if you want some night life. Don't go to Had Rin if you want to avoid the crowds. It can be dirty and run down and full of westerners.
getting there:
All the boats to Ko Samui go on to Koh Pha Ngan and Ko Tao.

beaches:
Haad Yao and Thong Nai Pan - highly recommended. Both beautiful with a good atmosphere but not too crowded.

to stay:
Long Beach Resort - Haad Yao, really cheap (app. 400Bhat a night), right on the beach, good restaurant and friendly staff. It is very basic however and there's lots of other places to stay there that might be worth checking out.
Star Huts - Thong Nai Pan.
Sea Flower Bungalows - many people stay there months! Small, very friendly staff and since some of the guests have been there so long it seems like a family atmosphere. Bungalows range from 200-600baht and the restaurant is fantastic. You can't make reservations in advance.
Bottle Beach - very relaxed. You have to take either a boat or a series of cabs and a boat to get there from Haad Rin. It's in the Lonely Planet but is definitely off the beaten track. No roads, no cars, only accessible by boat. Own bungalow with bathroom and shower right on the beach is about 10$US a night. There are 4 restaurants on the beach and they usually show movies every night as well.

Koh Yao Noi

Perfect if you want something off the beaten trail. You can cycle round the island in a few hours and take boat trips to these rock outcrops in the ocean that have lots of beautiful tiny hidden beaches and diving spots.
You can get to Koh Yao Noi by boat from Phuket.

Koh Chang

In August the weather is decent but rains here and there but still lots of time to enjoy the beach. It's definately quieter than Koh Samui but there is less to do, less options for dinner etc. If you are planning to just enjoy the beach and chill out, definately a good choice. There is a waterfall and some hiking as well as a canoe ride you can do at night to see the fireflies. You can get off at the first beach from the ferry (there are taxis waiting at the dock for tourists) but there are more secluded beaches further along. In 2005 there was a fair bit of construction going on to build hotels so it may be busier now. Also lots of fun little beach bars with lots of locals. The only drawback was
a termite problem but just make sure you keep your bags hung up and not on the floor.

Chiang Mai

There are some wicked markets, hundreds (literally) of temples, classes on Thai cooking, massage and just about anything else and TONS of English bookstores. It also has a nice selection of Thai and foreign restaurants and bars. It can be a little on the touristy side, but a good experience. Highly recommended.
getting there:
Very easy to get to from Bangkok. Take an overnight VIP bus. Leaves after dinner time gets there before dawn.

to stay:
Chiang Mai Thai House affordable and very clean. The higher price end includes a TV and Air Con, the lower end has hot water but only a fan and no TV. It has a pool, travel agency, and laundry service in the lobby.

to see:
The Night Bazaar - cool to check out cheap deals.
The mall - Chiang Mai airport shopping Plaza has better goods and a very cheap cinema. Hair salons, electronic stores, and other high end products are there and you can find a deal if you look around.

Phuket

Still worth visiting, despite suffering badly in last year's tsunami. The resorts are picking up quickly and need your tourism. There are lots of places to stay above the restaurants with air-con but really cheap so look around. It may be risky to go on spec at busy times. But can be dirty, a little more expensive with the tuk-tuks, and the people aren't always that friendly. "I would have spent more time at Koh Samui". Take a day trip out to the island where they filmed the movie The Beach.
You can easily get a boat from Phuket to Phi Phi island. It takes about 1-2 hours. You can organize it through your accomodation.
to stay:
Brazil Hotel - Nice little hotel and really, really close to the beach.

Patang

People feel you should avoid Patang as it can be quite dirty.

Leaving:

If you are going over to Cambodia, check out the Cambodia pages. The easiest border is Aranya Prathet-Poipet. You can take a coach from the Khao San Road or get a cab to Mo Chit (Northern & Northeastern) bus station to catch a bus to the border before all the coach loads get there. On the other side, bargain for a cheap Camry taxi for the epic journey (5-8 hours).
Alternatively fly for convenience with none of the experience.
You can catch the train from Bangkok to Laos. Its cheap, there are night trains and you get to see the beautiful countryside. Book at the train station across from Bangkok airport.

Getting around:

Buses:
Travel in Thailand can sometimes be a little shady. Be careful no matter where you book that you are getting on the correct bus. The person taking tickets doesn't always check properly and you may find yourself on the wrong side of the country. You may also find yourself turning up early and sitting waiting to leave for about hours. The buses are OK. Seats recline and there's a toilet (which may or may not be clean).
On Khao San Rd. in Bangkok you won't have any trouble finding plenty of places to book and the bus picks up right there next to Khao San Road (maybe Tanee Road). Try the travel place just across from the little restaurant with outdoor seating called Cool Corner (or something like that!).
The bus back from the islands can sometimes be kind of shady. Getting off the boat is often chaos. The buses can be overbooked and people are sometimes told to get in the
back of a truck and taken 20 minutes away to where another bus company was loading people up for Bangkok!

Boats:
Book early because the boats to the islands do fill up. You can book it at the same places as the buses. One place may have sold all their vouchers so check with another if they say they are sold out. Most importantly arrive at the dock early because they sometimes over book. You will have to wait around at the dock in a big crowd. The boats are tiny and may not be what they show you in the picture, but it'll get you there. The boat is actually really nice with in-door seating, a snack bar and they show a movie.

Trains
Book early to get 1st or 2nd class as its always full (these have air-con). A week in advance is best. However, for a low class seat you don't need to book in advance, but its not so comfortable - no air con, but very cheap.
http://www.railway.co.th/english/index.asp - has all the details of main train lines in Thailand, including southern route into North Malaysia (though be careful on this line!). The booking part of this site is currently under construction but you can book once in Thailand at most travel agents.
You can also catch the train to beach resorts and to ferries to some of the more popular islands. If you are going to be making a long trip (from Bangkok to the southern islands for example) take the 1st class overnight train. You get a sleeper car and do almost all of the travelling at night. Be careful, the 2nd class sleeper train can be hell. You can book tickets online via some sites like:
http://www.thaifocus.com/travel/train/index.htm
http://www.traveller2000.com/train/
and get great advice from
http://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm

Flights
Alternatively for more money and convenience with little of the time or experience, book a flight with Bangkok Airways to Koh Samui and hop on a ferry to the other islands. You can usually book these the day before but at busy times like Christmas and summer book online or through local agents/hotel. Plane tickets are some-what cheap and always avaliable.
Bangkok Airways http://www.bangkokair.com/spoffer/ has a multi-ticket pass for about 5,000 yen each segment.
http://www.nokair.com/ - book cheap internal flights
http://www.thaiair.com - cheap internal flights
http://www.phuketair.com - cheap internal flights (problems with the website at the moment)

Organised trips:

This is a small company who does trips to Thailand - Bangkok and islands. Even if you dont want to do their trip there are some fantastic pictures on the website.
http://www.freeandeasyjet.com

TOP TIPS:

• The islands are changing fast. The destruction wraught by the tsunami last year mean that many beach resorts will have been rebuilt, perhaps meaning prices have risen too, to cover costs.
• Ride elephants, take a cooking class, but DON'T follow The Lonely Planet to the letter - ask at the front desk or other tourists where they went.
• Golden Week time is HOT and humid, but that's all part of the tropical charm. Rain isn't usually much of a problem. It's slightly less busy that time of year, so prices are sometimes a bit cheaper and places less crowded.
• The monsoon season is in August - you may want to avoid it.

Elephant Riding - Top Tips:

Be cautious when choosing to go elephant riding. It`s not easy to find a place/company that treats elephants respectfully - the nature of this type of activity basically prohibits it. Have a look at an ankus (the pointed hook that trainers jab into the elephants to control them).
If the Elephant Conservation is all booked up, maybe it's a sign that an elephant ride might not be in the cards. Most places don't guarantee the same level of elephant safety that the E.C. guarantees. All the trekking companies claim to treat elephants decently, but when you're making money off an animal, and wildly acting elephants is bad business , behavior is 'adjusted'.
Also recommended is the Elephant Nature Park. They have been featured in National Geographic, the Humane Society of the USA, Time Magazine and others for their commitment to elephant welfare in Thailand. They do things well amidst the many facilities that compromise elephant health & well-being to make some extra cash. The prices are more expensive than the other tours you can find around Chiang Mai, but they are among the very few that is truly committed to the animals and not profit. You will not necessarily RIDE the elephants but you will be up close with them, learn a lot, help with bathing & feeding if you want, etc. You also get a t-shirt in case that is exciting for you.
http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/tour/index.htm

Useful Websites:

http://www.sawadee.com - loads of info and you can book accomodation.
http://www.tourismthailand.org/ - loads of info.
http://jamie-mink.blogspot.com - expat living in Phuket. Lots of info.
http://asia.se/ - Swedish site with some English pages. Many links to other sites for booking hotels, courses, etc. At the moment not all pages are in English so you may get redirected to a commercial site, but worth a look around.

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