Thailand . . . ? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

lula · 03-23-2007, 05:38 PM

hello there,

well, my boyfriend and i are graduating this june (finally!) and are savin all our duckets to go on a trip this fall. we have our sights set on thailand, but don't know anyone who has been; we kind of just keep looking at maps and scratching our heads . . .

any suggestions? we're thinking of spending a week in bangkok, and then taking a train down to krabi, and then heading out to the islands for a few weeks. heard there's some kind of full moon party on one of the islands, but don't know much more than that.

would love to hear about any places ya'll have been to before, or tips or, well anything!

thanks

foofiter · 03-23-2007, 06:08 PM

Hi! I am going to live in Thailand starting Monday. A week is more than enough for Bangkok unless you are into the nightlife, getting pissed, and shopping. I haven't been to Krabi but hear the beaches are amazing. The Full Moon Party is on Koh Phangan. It is currently around the beginning of each month. Google it for exact dates. The days leading up to Full Moon are usually better than the day itself.

I strongly suggest you get the Lonely Planet for Thailand. It has all you need in it to sort, when and where to go.

Misc tips:

New Airport: Pay NO MORE than 400 baht for a taxi to town. Go up to the departures hall and catch a taxi dropping off someone. Ignore the touts and booking desk in the airport. RIP OFF. You will have to bargain for this just like everything else in Thailand.

Departure tax: it cost 700 baht exit tax IN CASH at the airport for international flights. They are meant to be adding it into the cost of tickets soon but just be ready just in case. There are ATM's in the departure hall as well as money exchange.

Avoid Tuk-tuks. Use taxis. Insist on the meter or take a different taxi. If you try to negotiate a price before hand you WILL get screwed. The only exception is the airport which is pretty much a set price of 400 baht.

If you are going to stay in the Khao San (backpacker) area then do not stay on the road itself. Go on one of the side streets around it or behind the temple. It will save you a good 50% on hotel costs.

Street food is perfectly ok to eat. Tourists eat it all the time and if anyone got sick that would kill their business. They know this and keep it clean accordingly.

Seven Eleven is your friend. Buy a SIM card for your phone there. Top up as well. Lots of imported stuff from home if you miss them. Open 24 hours. Sells beer and liqour. Brilliant.

And MOST Importantly: HAVE FUN! Its summer 365 days a year in the Land of Smiles

Foo

**pinknic38** · 03-24-2007, 09:05 AM

talk to freespiritz, she's helped me out with my decision to travel to souotheast asia

**kiwichick** · 03-25-2007, 01:39 AM

heya! I cant help too much but thort id say welcome!!!:D i've also heard krabi is awesome

**freespiritz** · 03-25-2007, 08:32 AM

Hehe, I love SEA but unfortunately I haven't spent that much time in Thailand - only a couple of days in Bangkok and Hat Yai/Songkhala in the south. Foo gave some good tips though, and it sounds like you're in for a backpacker party time though, so enjoy!

I personally would probably check out the north and chill on some scuba-friendly islands and have less of the big big city when I go back to Thailand, since I'm not so big into the party scene.

Just have fun and don't worry. Thailand is backpacker central in SEA, so you'll be able to find your way around and meet people fairly easily, methinks.

**LiveFreeorDie** · 03-25-2007, 08:54 AM

Ahhhh....Thailand one of my favorite places. Foo gave you lots of good tips. I will just add some general stuff.

Geography: When planning a trip to the islands, you need to decide if you want to go to islands in the Gulf of Thailand (when looking at a map of Thailand the gulf is to the right of the country) or whether you want to head to some of the southern islands that are on the Andaman sea side of Thailand (bottom, left side of the country, near to Malaysia).

Well known islands in the gulf include Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Samet, Koh Chang. Koh Samui is the most developed and is a big party island with all sorts of western conveniences. You can fly direct to Koh Samui from Bangkok, or take a bus/ferry combo. Koh Chang is a bit less developed, as is Koh Samet. To go to Koh Phangan for the full moon party, you may want to fly to Koh Samui and then take a ferry. There are some nice budget airlines you can use to get around as an alternative to buses and they are cheap (see below for links).

On the Andaman Sea side, you have Phuket (pronounced poo-kit), another well developed island and you can also fly there from Bangkok. Phuket is a lot bigger than Samui and there are quieter parts of it, but Patong Beach in Phuket is full on craziness. From Phuket, you can take the ferry to Koh Phi Phi (pronounced pee-pee). This is the island where the Beach was filmed and the scenery is stunning.

If you are going to Krabi, Phuket is fairly close by, so you may want to consider checking that out. If you want to hit the full moon party, you will have to travel across the width of Thailand (which isn't all that far) and then can get a boat to Samui or possibly direct to Phangan.

Lonely planet's map has all the key locations of where it sounds like you want to go so you can fix it in your mind:
Map

Some good budget airlines to check out:
Nok Air
Air Asia

Good luck and if you have follow up questions, don't hesitate to ask. You will have a great trip!

@dam · 04-14-2007, 10:05 PM

If I were to go back to somewhere I've been before in Thailand, it would be Ton Sai beach, Krabi.

**kiwichick** · 04-14-2007, 11:10 PM

This thread is hard out inspiring me! If i have enough airpoints from europe i might give thailand a go!!

Up2Eleven · 06-07-2007, 09:51 AM

Foofiter had great advice.

Here's a bit more.

Only go to the Full Moon Party if you're REALLY into the party scene. Bring no valuables. Don't take any drugs from anyone there. Watch your drink carefully. Be prepared to see the following: people pissing/pooping on the beach/in the water, puking, shagging, and pure chaos. It's a messed up scene.

My top advice is to get out of Bangkok ASAP and get up to Chiang Mai. I took trains and took about a week to get up there with stops along the way at Ayutthaya, Lopburi, Sukhothai, and Phitsanulok. By the time I got to Chiang Mai I was well templed out!

Once in Chiang Mai, I wanted to just stay there. It's a better and less chaotic feel than Bangkok. you can still party and have a great time, but it's just not as seedy as Khao San road. The night market up there has everything you'd see on Khao San and more. The food is amazing. Plus, cool cooking classes, lots of tours and treks.

I also stayed on Koh Phangan (where the full moon party is). Rather than stay close to the party, I stayed on the west side of the island at Haad Chao Phao. Was awesome and laid back. Plus, there are several smaller parties on the island, all with the word "moon" in the name. New Moon party, half moon party, whatever.

**buzzingtalk** · 06-16-2007, 12:32 AM

a week in bangkok is aaages

get there on a weekend check out the markets, temples and sights. from there you can head north into the jungle, or head southwards to the beaches. if you want to check out the full moon rave theres the website for it (google it) that can tell you when the parties will be. it changes every month but is pretty predicable so you can find the date easy.

if you fancy beaching it and living the backpacker life, the south of thailand is where you will enjoy. go island hopping down the coast. with a month you can head into another country, the beaches on malaysias east coast IMO are better then the ones in thailand, mainly cos they are a bit quieter. perhentian is right near the thai border.

thailand is beautiful, and very cheap to stay there and do things.

**Majestic58** · 06-25-2007, 01:07 AM

Ohhhhhhhhh... Now *I* want to go to Thailand!!!

davidd · 06-29-2007, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Majestic58

Ohhhhhhhhh... Now *I* want to go to Thailand!!!

Me too. sigh. maybe for a month in january since a new budget airline just started offering flights from my city into SEasia. although I can imaging being very hot and abit more expensive?

samuellwarner · 04-01-2011, 11:16 AM

Pay NO MORE than 400 baht for a auto to town. Go up to the departures anteroom and bolt a auto bottomward off someone. Ignore the touts and booking board in the airport. RIP OFF. You will accept to arrangement for this just like aggregate abroad in Thailand.

**Marcus Nappy** · 04-03-2011, 09:13 AM

I have 2 weeks vacation in August and I'm thinking of hitting up a country or two in SEA, Thailand is high on my list!

Philip · 04-04-2011, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Nappy

I have 2 weeks vacation in August and I'm thinking of hitting up a country or two in SEA, Thailand is high on my list!

Thailand is one of my favourite countries, it has great scenery/beaches, excellent food, it's very good value and the people are nice.