Spec me a...Holiday to Thailand
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Soldato
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I was paying like 50-60 Baht back in Jan for beerIt's nearly doubled.
In Bangkok it's 60baht average during happy hour (usually 4-6pm), and then back to 95 baht.
Edit: Don't get too excited about happy hour prices though - you have to be crazy to start drinking that early. At least if you want to last the night. I usually started at around 8-9pm and finished when Spice Club closed at 5am.
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Soldato
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Seconded.
After a few days in Bangkok I hated it. But after a couple of weeks I was completely in love with it.
Koh Tao, a small island off thailand, though only if you like diving, not much else to do. Koh Phangan is nice as long as you manage to miss one of the full moon partys. I found Phuket to my very seedy and generally not very nice same with Koh Samui. Koh Phi Phi is supposed to be amazing, according to my girlfriend anyway i never went. Have you thought about the north of thailand such as chaing rai, chaing mai, pai?
I got the ferry over from Phuket and found a hotel room on arrival, plenty of touts will approach upon exiting the pier, stayed about 5 days, was supposed to be 3 but I didn't feel well and ended up in the hotel room for nearly 2 days so stayed longer to make up for it
Many people plan a route rather than have a base and do a few days on each island, booking on arrival can save money and it gives you the option of moving on earlier/later depending on how you find the area
Soldato
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The islands might be more up your alley. Personally, my favourite place in Thailand was Chiang Mai - lots to see, lots to do and it was by far the most relaxing place.
That said, going for one week is not long enough. I would tell anyone who really wants to relax that they should be going for at least three weeks. A long-haul flight can really take it out of you, especially if you've not done one before.
My advice would be to take a trip to a Centerparcs now and then go to Thailand for a few weeks when your missus is off work for longer
You can indeed get the PADI qualifications over here, as for time and cost I'm not sure. However, after much searching we decided that I'd do my OW Qualification with these guys: http://www.scubacat.com/ (the missus already has hers).
The qualification is 4 days, and costs 14,500 Baht, which works out around £270. That is cheaper then you'll find in this country.
We're not booking the holiday with anyone. We're flying to Phuket, and then staying in hostels (£5/night for pretty decent accomodation)
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Soldato
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and then go to Thailand for a few weeks when your missus is off work for longer
Or even better, go without her.
Taking a girlfriend to Thailand is like taking a packed lunch to a restaurant.
My wife and i went to Thailand in december, 1 night in bangkok, 2 weeks in Phi Phi, a night in Phuket , and a final night back in Bangkok. Best holiday i ever had!
Bangkok and Phuket were not too pleasant to be honest although we did stay in the Marriot so that was great.My misses even ended up eating the biggest mother of a fried cockroach during our trip to khoasan road which is a must do just for the hell of it!.
Phi Phi on th other hand was superb, but again we did not do the tourist bit as the centre was jam packed full of them which just spoilt it. What we did do was have a longboat at our disposal and so went off touring ourselves.
Cannot recommend it enough!
Bangkok and Phuket were not too pleasant to be honest although we did stay in the Marriot so that was great.My misses even ended up eating the biggest mother of a fried cockroach during our trip to khoasan road which is a must do just for the hell of it!.
Phi Phi on th other hand was superb, but again we did not do the tourist bit as the centre was jam packed full of them which just spoilt it. What we did do was have a longboat at our disposal and so went off touring ourselves.
Cannot recommend it enough!
Nah this was all night, was just off Khao San as well. Prices have went up it seems. The beer was good, Chang or Singha, was 7% and massive bottles, tasted good If I remember rightlyIn Bangkok it's 60baht average during happy hour (usually 4-6pm), and then back to 95 baht.
Edit: Don't get too excited about happy hour prices though - you have to be crazy to start drinking that early. At least if you want to last the night. I usually started at around 8-9pm and finished when Spice Club closed at 5am.
.Didn't spend enough time in Thailand, need to go back, enjoyed it.
Soldato
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How would you know? You said yourself you spent a grand total of two nights in Bangkok. I hate it when people pass though Bangkok, don't get to experience what it has to offer and then go off and complain about how awful it is.
Bangkok is awesome. You just didn't give it enough of a chance to experience that.
Nah this was all night, was just off Khao San as well. Prices have went up it seems. The beer was good, Chang or Singha, was 7% and massive bottles, tasted good If I remember rightly
Didn't spend enough time in Thailand, need to go back, enjoyed it.
7%? Klang? Or, Chang can be up to that, if you listen to travellers tales.
I'd definitely echo all the comments of one week not being enough - I spent that long just sat on a beach before I got over the heat, jetlag and such and actually started enjoying the place
Took me 3 trips to Bangkok to appreciate it too, the first ones were only a few days, but when I actually stuck around for any length of time I began to really enjoy it.Didn't do any diving in Thailand myself, left that til later, but it's certainly something I wouldn't try to fit in in a week there, need some time to get used to the place and chill first, then set about it
If you can swing it, definitely go with the longer option, you'll enjoy it a lot more without the pressure of time to get things done.
Soldato
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Neither of those are 7%. Chang is 6.5%, I think that's the one he was probably thinking of. The other one he mentioned (Singha) is 5%.
Neither of those are 7%. Chang is 6.5%, I think that's the one he was probably thinking of. The other one he mentioned (Singha) is 5%.
Ah, but Klang is 7%
Cambodian beer I think, but I definitely had it in Thailand a few times, sitting out on the street and buying it off the back of a truck......But yes, I suspect you're right, he's probably talking about Chang
That is ridiculous. How do you expect for anyone to take you seriously when you come out with comments like that. There is so much more to Thailand than girls and Bangkok.
As already mentioned, 1 week is slightly short, see if theres a chance to get 10 days.
Phuket is a good place to go for a week because you can get to Koh Similan and Krabi from there, which are both incredible. However if youre going in May (hottest month of the year), I recommend the Andaman sea for that time of year, (the weather there will be better than Phuket), Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Tao will be perfect for a week. Plenty to do, snorkelling, climbing, mountain biking etc, and theres a good vibe to the place without being too touristy. Finding somewhere off the beaten trail is tough in Thailand as tourism is their main economy.
Despite what Seek says, you dont want to go to Bangkok for a week unless you like crowded cities and busy markets. Its not what youre after seeing as you have mentioned island hopping.
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Finding somewhere off the beaten trail is tough on the popular islands, but tourism is only 6% of Thailand's economy as a whole. You can get off the beaten trail on a 40 minutes bus ride from the middle of Bangkok and of course you've got the whole of the North and Isaan to explore.
Bangkok is a nice city to live in, absolutely, but not great for non sex tourists who will be too frightened to go anywhere beyond Khao San or Sukhumvit)
Singapore is the same, a really nice place to live but there's nothing for tourists!
I'd probably go with Panthro and say go to the islands.
To clarify, I was referring to somewhere that was inviting towards westerners with good facilities, night life etc without being too touristy as the OP stated.
I recommend Nan, very close to Chiang Mai, friendly people, nice city to explore and not touristy at all. I dont recommend exploring Isaan if youre here for a week, very desolate in places and not much to see or do if youre here for a short stay.