Thailand trip suggestions

[DarkManX]

Hey all - planning a trip to Thailand this is what we came up with:

Calendar https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lbe5fiICJE4ZGNLmKGWARil7QVr65rcbGf54A4QEG-Q/edit?usp=sharing

Itinerary: sorry its messy - just threw stuff together

any feedback? Suggestions? Restaurants to check out?

Bangkok
Wat Arun (the temple of dawn - big famous temple
Floating Market
Chinatown
Chatuchak Weekend Market
Soi Cowboy (red light district)
The Grand Palace
Sukhumvit (nightlife, food, etc)
Cabaret Show?



Chaing Mai

Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures
Chiang Mai Walking tour - (90 Minutes of Walking (5 Hours with sights)
Wat Phra That Doi Kham (Temple of the Golden Mountain)
Doi Inthanon (waterfall, park, good view)
Wat Suan Dok (religious site, temple)
Wat Mahawan (religious site, temple)
ELEPHANT Ran-tong (might be the best option, 5~ hours, good elephant treatment) (can pre buy online)
Doi Suthep
1. Temple, and attractions, hiking, Chiang Mai zoo (HAS PANDAS!!!!!!!!!! and Koala (limited hours and extra $$$)
Flight of the Gibbon Zipline (Fly like a Gibbon over the jungle on Flight of the Gibbon's zipline course. They have 5km of ziplines woven throughout the jungle, 33 platforms, 2 suspended sky bridges, 2 abseil descents, 1 tree house, and a double zip line to race your friends. Cost: Listed price is 3299 Baht but usually if you book through a travel agent in CM it's only 1,800 baht. )
Chaing Mai Night market (several blocks and includes restaurants, bars and entertainment. )
Tiger Kingdom (not drugged tigers)

Phuket
Phang Nga Bay (good sceneries.. might be good to find a tour of this?)
Old Phuket Town
Big Buddha (just a big statue of buddah?)
Wat Chalong (old temple, popular)
Soi Bangla (NIGHT LIFE)
go to islands (phi phi islands from here?)

 

[Nograts]

SOAPY MASSAGES AND SINGHA!!!

:awe:

But seriously I think with 9 days....uhm. Cut out 3-4 days of just pure spendage. Meaning cut out a few of your touristy trap crap sites. What's the big Buddah? The big golden one in between Utapau and Pattaya? Some of the temples are cool but after you see 2 or 3 they're all the same. Same thing with the cities with the exception of Bangkok, once you've seen a few streets you've seen it all.

Definately get two massages a day, they're like 80-100 baht or last I checked around there. More for the good ones :awe:

Drink cheap beer for 40 baht a bottle, check out the strip clubs (most of them aren't nude and the girls look like they were kidnapped from Cambodia). Buy some jewelry on the cheap. Eat some pad thai. And....I dunno 9 days seems a little excessive. I guess you could go towards the borders if you aren't afraid of jungles / being kidnapped by vietcong. Elephants will appear in the streets of bangkok every once in awhile so you don't have to go out of your way. Definately pack some tank tops and shorts, it's humid! Wish I was there in the red light district for some soapy's and pussy ping pong!

:awe: :awe: :awe: :awe:

 

[Strk]

Just remember all the hot chicks are dudes

 

[Nograts]

Just remember all the hot chicks are dudes

The trick is to look at their hands :awe:

 

[drbrock]

9 days is enough if you are flying everywhere.

Bangkok is two days max. You can knock out a lot quickly. Hit the top 5 temples.
Floating market is a straight tourist trap. I wish I would have not done that while I was there. Very expensive(for Thailand) and not genuine. Remember you have to factor in taxi cabs to and from.

Soi Cowboy was ok. I liked Sukhumvit better.

Strk is right. If you see a girl above an 8 its a dude 99% of the time. You seriously won't be able to tell the difference. It is insane.

Chiang Mai is totally different. We spent 3 days there and wish we had one more day. The people are much more friendly and it is closer to Thai culture. Def do the elephant trainer for the day. We used Patara Elephant Farm. I highly suggest them. We were in Thailand and Indo for a month and the one day we spent at their farm was the highlight of the trip by far. The treat the elephants well and the service is stellar.

The night market and the surrounding city is all worth a look at.

Phuket is cool but I would only spend a day there. Take a ferry to Phi Phi and see incredible beaches. Phuket is kinda dirty and just a rager place. Think south beach in Miami. VERY touristy. If that is your thing you will love it.

Make sure you fly everywhere. It is extremely cheap. Use Bangkok air over Air Asia if you can. Get tons of massages. So cheap and so good.

Have fun! Use United Emirates as the airline to fly over there from the states. Free drinks and food the entire time. We partied with the hostesses most of the time were on the planes.

 

[HomerJS]

Keep an eye on your kidneys

 

[DarkManX]

we are thinking about spending about 3 days in each area. And are planning on flying around the country. Start in Bangkok, fly up to Chiang Mai, then down to Phuket and back to BKK to go home.

What is the best way to get local flights?

 

[Nograts]

Oooooh you should stop by Burma. I saw a cool movie on that place once.

:awe:

 

[Ruptga]

Paging Mai... oh nevermind, he's already here.

9 days does sound like a lot, I'd imagine you'd blow through all the usual tourist traps and highlights within the first several days, leaving most of your time to be spent wandering off the usual paths or relaxing. That sounds good to me, but it won't be if you're the type that can't sit still on a vacation.

 

[Nograts]

Paging Mai... oh nevermind, he's already here.

9 days does sound like a lot, I'd imagine you'd blow through all the usual tourist traps and highlights within the first several days, leaving most of your time to be spent wandering off the usual paths or relaxing. That sounds good to me, but it won't be if you're the type that can't sit still on a vacation.

That's how it should be in Thailand if you ask me though. Yeah yeah, spend the first three four days browsing temples and garbage. But then...wake up when you get up. Go eat some amazing food. Have a cocktail at 11am. Get a massage. Go to a pool (the Hard Rock hotel in Pattaya has a swim up bar, and usually naked European girls sunbathing), go back out, eat some good food. Drink more. Go back and have wild sweaty super-humid sex with your wife/boyfriend and then repeat. Oh and did I mention buy jewelry? Buy some gems.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-15340/Saturday-Night-Live-Rosetta-Stone-skit.html

 

[Nograts]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-15340/Saturday-Night-Live-Rosetta-Stone-skit.html

Haha! This x1000! :awe:

 

[drbrock]

we are thinking about spending about 3 days in each area. And are planning on flying around the country. Start in Bangkok, fly up to Chiang Mai, then down to Phuket and back to BKK to go home.

What is the best way to get local flights?

I used hipmunk. They had the easiest way of looking at times and the best pricing. For domestic flights I use Kayak.

I am currently planning a South Korea and Japan trip for the summer and hipmunk has been crushing kayak for everything. So much that I don't even bother checking kayak anymore.

Three days in each area should be fine. I think you will get bored really quickly in Phuket. I could have spent a four or five hours there and been happy. If you go during the lantern festival or full moon party try and plan your trip around that.

 

[DarkManX]

I used hipmunk. They had the easiest way of looking at times and the best pricing. For domestic flights I use Kayak.

I am currently planning a South Korea and Japan trip for the summer and hipmunk has been crushing kayak for everything. So much that I don't even bother checking kayak anymore.

Three days in each area should be fine. I think you will get bored really quickly in Phuket. I could have spent a four or five hours there and been happy. If you go during the lantern festival or full moon party try and plan your trip around that.

we have our flight there and back from PHL via Qatar Airways. Just wondering if we should buy the regional flights over there or buy them online.

We arent spending the whole time in Phuket - the plan is to travel to the islands from Phuket - is that not a good idea?

 

[brainhulk]

I hear it has become an unfriendly place for tourists

http://travel.aol.co.uk/2014/11/14/...destination-says-new-book/#!slide=aol_1244230

 

[drbrock]

we have our flight there and back from PHL via Qatar Airways. Just wondering if we should buy the regional flights over there or buy them online.

We arent spending the whole time in Phuket - the plan is to travel to the islands from Phuket - is that not a good idea?

Qatar Airlines is super legit. I used them too. I imagine you have a layover in Qatar. Don't leave the airport. It gets sketchy real quick there. Everyone we talked to warned us about it.

You can buy them here for piece of mind. Internet there is not very strong. Especially in the remote areas like Phuket and Chiang Mai. Depends on how structured you want your trip to be. For the most part you can get flights last minute with a nominal charge for booking last second. Biggest worry would be internet issues over there. I brought my chromebook with me and it was always a struggle to get internet. Even at the airport.

Keep in mind Phuket airport is about an hour away from where the action is. When planning keep that in mind. For you to hit up the popular islands from Phuket you have to catch a ferry from the east coast. We did an overnight trip for phi phi and hit up most of the popular places you see on tv along with some others that are more remote.

As far as being dangerous for tourists it depends on what you are dealing with. Jet Skis and Motor Scooters are the biggest issues. Cops are pretty much corrupt. No where near as bad as Bali though. If you are on tour you are fairly safe. If you start doing things on your own it is always a gamble. I am fairly big and so was my buddy. I don't think it was worth their time to deal with us when there were groups of girls or couples to scam.

I used Airbnb for booking my places to stay. If you can get that done you will save a lot of grief. Phuket we got hosed. Bangkok we had a great 2 bedroom flat the entire time. If you have the budget for a small increase in cost you can really change your life hotel wise.

Edit: After thinking about Safety, if you are bringing a woman I would def think about safety and making smart decisions. It is extremely easy to get turned around or all in the sudden be lost in Bangkok. I was there during the first few days of the military overthrow. We never say any violence and were welcomed most places. I don't think I would blackout rage there but as long as you are not an idiot and don't walk around aimlessly you should be fine. Thai people generally hate British and Russians because they deal with them a lot and they are drunk idiots most the time. Never heard any America hate while there.

 

[blipblop]

I went to Chiang Mai this past September and I have to second the recommendation about Patara Elephant Farm. Whole day experience and it was WELL worth it.

I rented a moped for a day while my hotel had bikes to ride around. I stayed @ Rimping Village and I absolutely loved it. I was there for 4 days. As said already, it's completely different than Bangkok.

 

[Puppies04]

The trick is to look at their cock :awe:

FTFY

 

[amdhunter]

...and usually naked European girls sunbathing)

Who goes to Thailand for naked White girls?

 

[Iron Woode]

Who goes to Thailand for naked White girls?

so you go to see naked Kathoey?

 

[Sonikku]

Thailand trip suggestions

Take me with you. :'(

 

[Nograts]

Who goes to Thailand for naked White girls?

It's an added bonus to that particular hotel. The beach is right out front too and I'm pretty sure I saw some nekkidness but I was pretty drunk.

You don't like added bonuses? Let me guess, you'd go for the "culture"

 

[Ms. DICKINSON]

We've just got back from Thailand about 4 weeks ago (2wks stay).
If you ever make it to Wat Pho (reclining buddha in BKK) please try to rescue this poor fella. It sustained a bruise on its left face with a torn cornea. I spent 10 minutes with this kitty at the main entrance. Wat Pho is a busy tourist temple; possibly someone might have stepped on to it. Spay/neutering is not widely practiced in Thailand. There are lots of cats at the temple and serves as a sanctuary ground. (I rescued a 2wks old kitty 7 months ago, so it burns me to see a cat in this type of situation).

Suggestions:
-Eat lots and lots of fruits: mangosteen, passion fruits, longan ...
-Stay a night or 2 @Khao San Road in BKK
-Plan your heavy shopping at the end of your trip especially Chatuchak, MBK
-Once in Phuket, you will have no problem finding tours.
Island hopping @Ko Phi Phi is a must (my 2nd time returning to this island, 1st was spring 2013)
James Bond Island @Phang Nga Bay isn't that spectacular
-Don't stay too long in BKK unless you like crowds and have places to go
-Visit skybar (Vertigo or the other one from Hang Over)
-Northern country side is scenic
-Visit waterfall parks
-Enjoy Thai new year where the whole country breaks out in water fight
(Sorry, this is just a quick and short note).

 

[mrrman]

Just remember all the hot chicks are dudes

lol

 

[Nograts]

We've just got back from Thailand about 4 weeks ago (2wks stay).
If you ever make it to Wat Pho (reclining buddha in BKK) please try to rescue this poor fella. It sustained a bruise on its left face with a torn cornea. I spent 10 minutes with this kitty at the main entrance. Wat Pho is a busy tourist temple; possibly someone might have stepped on to it. Spay/neutering is not widely practiced in Thailand. There are lots of cats at the temple and serves as a sanctuary ground. (I rescued a 2wks old kitty 7 months ago, so it burns me to see a cat in this type of situation).

Suggestions:
-Eat lots and lots of fruits: mangosteen, passion fruits, longan ...
-Stay a night or 2 @Khao San Road in BKK
-Plan your heavy shopping at the end of your trip especially Chatuchak, MBK
-Once in Phuket, you will have no problem finding tours.
Island hopping @Ko Phi Phi is a must (my 2nd time returning to this island, 1st was spring 2013)
James Bond Island @Phang Nga Bay isn't that spectacular
-Don't stay too long in BKK unless you like crowds and have places to go
-Visit skybar (Vertigo or the other one from Hang Over)
-Northern country side is scenic
-Visit waterfall parks
-Enjoy Thai new year where the whole country breaks out in water fight
(Sorry, this is just a quick and short note).

Uh. Yeah don't touch the wild animals there. Or drink the water.