Anyone been to Thailand?

[Money82]

How did you organize your trip?

 

[Hisgirl]

My daughter spent the summer there last year in an internship and she is moving back in two weeks. She spent a good deal of time researching on the net, reading travel boards and whatnot.

Right now I'm working to secure her a good iphone and she'll get a sim card there for great cheap rates.

Prepare for heat and humidity unlike any other. Dress rather conservatively and make sure to sample a lot of the native food. Mango sticky rice for sure and maybe a cooked bug or two.

Oh...and get your shots! Check the CDC website. Everyone she worked with got denague fever (spelling?) and I know typhoid is a big deal too.

 

[crz4mm2]

My friend arranged our trip, but she went through this agency :

Buffalo Tours, Thailand Ltd
Lertpanya Building suite 706-707, 7th Floor,
41 Soi Lertpanya, Sri-Ayuthaya Road,
Kwaeng Phyathai, Khet Rajathewee, Bangkok 10400
Tel : +66 (0) 2 245 6392 Ext. 34
Fax : +66 (0) 2 245 6397

They did a fabulous job.

 

[bcla]

Did it years ago with my parents. Someone in my family got free airline tickets to any place a particular airline flew, so we picked Thailand. We booked the hotels/interior travel, and then just booked daily tours via our hotel's tour desk. One was pretty nice where we attended a cobra show, elephant show, and the Rose Garden (it's actually a huge cultural show). We also booked another tour, and that didn't end up great. We didn't buy anything when they took us to a supposed jewelry factory, and we got a ride back to our hotel in a car that conveniently ran out of gas. The driver said he just needed a little bit of cash to pay for fuel and we'd get it back through the tour desk. We never did, and I suspect it was a nickel and dime scam (netted them the equivalent of $10 US). We also had a cab driver drop us off at the wrong place (we thought intentionally). Strangely enough we just walked and found our way back to where we could catch another cab.

I wanted to go see some Thai boxing. Fun experience. I made a reservation for a ringside seat with the tour desk. As soon as I arrived at the arena one employee there already pegged me as a tourist (knew my name too), took my money, and led me to the ringside seat.

I guess the one thing I didn't see was a transvestite show. I know it sounds seedy, but I hear they're actually pretty classy productions.

Changmai was great though, and I suspect there's a lot fewer tourist scams there.

 

[pogo791]

We've been there several times, both to Bangkok and to various hotels around the country. Are you going to Bangkok or one of the resorts? And what kind of info do you want?

The "wet season" is over, and just about now is the peak tourist season. Like Hisgirl mentioned, it'll be hot and humid. Not so sure about the "conservative dress" part, however, unless you are thinking of visiting one of the many beautiful temples. On the beach, just about everything goes (with the exception of topless). And in Bangkok, you'll see farang (Westerners) dressed in all kinds of clothing; the more relaxed the better. I've been to several business meetings in Bangkok, and it's rather unpleasant to feel, after walking only a block or two, that you need to change your shirt / blouse.

The food is great. Thai food is one of the world's great cuisines, and much (not all of it) is spicy. Cooked street food is relatively safe to eat, especially if there are lots of Thai customers (there usually are!), which means that the food has not been sitting around long.

Bangkok is also great for shopping. The Silom area has a mind-boggling number of glitzy department stores and shopping centers, and for example the Chinese and Indian sections of the city are great for the markets. The Bangkok Night Market is huge, and you can get just about anything you want (and a lot of things you wouldn't ever want). Thai silk is beautiful; Jim Thompson revived the Thai silk industry back after the Second World War, and the Jim Thompson stores have lots of lovely gifts.

 

[DopeyDame]

I was in Thailand a few years ago - we had a wonderful trip! I'm not sure what you mean by "how did your organize your trip" but I'm happy to offer any tips or advice based on my very limited experience.
We were fortunate that we have some friends with family in Thailand, and they helped a ton as far as pointing is in the right direction about stuff to see and do.

 

[Money82]

I was in Thailand a few years ago - we had a wonderful trip! I'm not sure what you mean by "how did your organize your trip" but I'm happy to offer any tips or advice based on my very limited experience.
We were fortunate that we have some friends with family in Thailand, and they helped a ton as far as pointing is in the right direction about stuff to see and do.

What I mean is that Thailand is a vast country with lots of cool places to see. So should I start in Bangkok and then maybe go to Phuket? Are there other places I need to visit? I'm interested in a mix of sight seeing/adventure/relaxing beach.

 

[Tinks]

I would start in hill country in the northern part of Thailand. It's known as the golden triangle. I only was able to visit Chang Mai out of the triangle and it was fantastic. In Chang Mai you can:

-visit an elephant sanctuary. Ride elephants through the jungles to a hill tribe.
- visit Doi Suthep temple. (spelling may be incorrect. It's been a few years since I visited!)
-night market in Chang Mai
-zip lining through the jungle
- white water rafting
-pet and visit tigers up close


Then I would take a train or fly to Phuket or Krabi. Both are beach areas and both have good access to James Bond island, phi phi island and all the other fun sites. You can snorkel and visit caves.

I would only go to Bangkok if you are into bigger dirty cities and want to shop more.

The food is great everywhere.

Good luck and have fun! Tripadvisor has good advice on places to stay and things to do.

 

[DopeyDame]

What I mean is that Thailand is a vast country with lots of cool places to see. So should I start in Bangkok and then maybe go to Phuket? Are there other places I need to visit? I'm interested in a mix of sight seeing/adventure/relaxing beach.

Got it! Makes sense. I wasn't sure if you meant organization in the planning stages or in country.

I've only been to Bangkok and Kanchanaburi. (The rest of my family stayed for another week in Phuket, but I have young kids who didn't come, and had to get home to them.)

You're going to fly in and out of Bangkok, and I think spending a few days in Bangkok when your first land is a great idea. It's a wonderful city, and most of the tourist parts of the city and hotels are very used to English speaking tourists. The Temples were simply amazing and the boat trip down the river was a great overview of the city and Thai culture.

Kanchanaburi was fascinating - there's the Tiger Temple (which has lots of online critics) and the Bridge Over the River Kwai. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, though. We were there for family reasons.

The rest of my family absolutely raved about Phukett. Beautiful, friendly, and very easy as a tourist.

The Thai folks we know stronly recommend ChangMai over Phuket, though, if you have to just pick one. They said it's just as amazing, but less touristy.

I'm getting excited to go back just thinking about it! We're planning on waiting until the kids are a little older and then doing a family trip.