Anyone been to Thailand?

[Ruth]

I am just about to book and pay for a vacation package. At first I was going to go to Bali but have heard and researched some conflicting reports about how touristy and crowded it is and so decided to switch my destination to Thailand. I am pretty sure I am going to go to a place called Koh Tao as I want to have some relaxing time on the beach as well as take a PADI diving course. Of course a couple of days in Bankock for the manditory shopping.
Has anyone been here and can you tell me anything about more about it?

[howdy20012002]

i was there about 14 months ago
awesome awesome place
if you want, pm me your phone number and i will call you.
i get free long distance so I don't mind at all
cheers,
Neal

[Psyire]

I have a buddy that just spent 30 days over there, from what he's said... I don't think you would regret it.

[midgetwaiter]

I've just spent a week looking at this with my g/f lately. We're planning to go for 2 months.

We are going to spend some time in Bangkok and a little on the beach, maybe Surat Thani, as well. We want to spend a lot of our time in the central and north part of the country. A week in Chang Mai and then a few jungle / nature treks around that area. Some of the hotels I've seen pictures of in Chang Mai are amazing and only $29 USD a night.

I'm trying to set a few days aside so I can go puffer hunting in the Mekong, that's still under negotiation. We were thinking that one of cruises down part of the Mekong would be pretty neat too.

Here's some pretty good links I've found.

http://www.mautour.com/index.html
http://www.thaitourism.com/index.asp

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Most of my family toured Thailand last year. Went on the elephant ride tours & did lots of sightseeing & shopping. They said it was great. My uncle went there are few years ago for vacation. Disappeared for 6 months & when he finally came back to Vancouver, this confirmed bachelor had a new wife. I'm guessing he also gives Thailand a big thumbs up :)

[Matt]

Oh! Koh Tao.... I spent a week diving there! Such a lovely place and such nice diving. I dove from Koh Tao Cottages, which was very nice -- not the biggest place on the island, but good equipment and nice operators. The rooms were nice enough. Shower and twin beds in my room, a nice terrace. The attached restuarant was fine -- and nearby ones even better. I have pictures I can share if you're interested. The dive packages to the reefs were cool. I didn't do any underwater photography, but I had a great time. I could go on all day.

I was there in October; the decision to go to the gulf side or the indian ocean side is pretty much a function of which way the monsoon is swinging. The Similan Islands on the IO side are supposed to be even more amazing, but it is an 'offshore' experience, while Koh Tao is a nice shore experience too.

[Fish]

I lived in Thailand for two years and speak Thai. I haven't done much travelling anywhere else but it is BY FAR my number one pick. I am not a big fan of Bangkok because it is a big city and, I think, very unlike the rest of the country. I love the north, Chaing Mai is beautiful and has lots of trecks and shopping, or you can take a bus ride north of there to Chaing Rai and see some of the hill tribes without as many tourists. The North East, or Issan is a great place to see the rice fields and traditional way of life. That part of the country is heavily influenced by Laos and the language and food are a little different (but still awesome!)... and the people are even more easy going - if that's possible ( :
My wife and I went back for our honeymoon and instead of travelling around to some of my old areas like we planned, we got snared by the beauty of the island of Samui and didn't make it off the beach at all the whole trip. We got a bungalow right off the beach for about $20 a night - you would have a chance to do some awesome diving and snorkling if you wanted too!
I'm jealous,

- Chad

[LostMind]

ohhh my wife and I went to thailand as part of our honeymoon! It was teh best part for relaxing and really nice people. We stayed in samui, in a private villa on the beach. We went all out, so it wasnt quite cheap per se - but cheaper then a hotel in downtown vancouver :)

It was beautiful and if you avoid the white people restaurants (the english restaurants especially, elephant and castle, etc) the food is absolutely amazing and cheap!!! Elephant and castle and such served horrid horrid horrid food.

Oh, and dont get sucked into the bangkok taxi ride to a "nice seafood restaurant" where they wanna charge you $80 for a plate of shrimp. Luckily I realised that before ordering anything :)

[Ruth]

I am wondering about vaccinations as well. I have my Hep A & B and it appears that this is all that I really need. What did you guys get, if anything? Also any additional tips would be greatly appreciated. It has been suggested to me to only book a couple of days hotel or resort through a travel agent but this makes me nervous. If accommodation is cheap then I would not mind just going to someplace else for a couple of days and leaving my room paid for but vacant. What do you guys think?

[howdy20012002]

Hello Ruth,
it depends on how adventurous you are basically. There are tonnes of hotels everywhere. they range in prices from 5 bucks a piece to 100 plus a night. However, most of the cheaper ones you won't find before getting there. At this time of year, i personally wouldn't really worry about not finding a spot to stay.
One word of caution, when u get there, there are going to be people waiting at the airport for you, asking to shuttle u to the hotels..fairly safe. However, they then offer to give u a discounted rate tour of the city..which the tour itself is awesome. However, while on this tour, u will be brought to some very expensive, very nice stores. My advice is don't buy anything during this tour. Only buy things from places that you find. Don't buy from stores where the tuk tuk drivers, cab drivers, or guides bring you. The prices you will be paying are generally much more than if you went elsewhere. Most of these people bringing you there get a commission on anything you buy.
Bangkok is an amazing city....but there are deals to be had everywhere. Clothing is dirt cheap...Not many places where I can get off the roll of fabric tailor made suit for 150 bucks.
Amazing Diving btw..if this interests you, you can do an all inclusive liveaboard dive trip for 5 days for about a 100 bucks a day I think. The diving there is the best diving i have down from around the world...highly recommended.
Well enough frothing at the mouth about thailand.
enjoy yourself Ruth
Neal
BTW, the sex trade there is very much alive and kicking..it can be a bit overpowering at times. Just a word of caution, you could be offended by the behaviour at times. That was one of the biggest upsets about the trip was the constant sexual advances. They assume that everyone there is there for sex. But as a woman they should leave you alone.

[mark]

Now that your mind is made up, ever think of El Nido, Plilippines, totally fantastic place. Spent a week there last January.

Lots of reefs, snorkeling, diving, islet hoping, not touristy. Area was on the Amazing Race little more than a year (was where they kayaked between islands and scaled a limestone cliffs).

Here's a link that shows the area http://www.elnidoresorts.com/images_and_downloads.asp.

[Matt]

I am wondering about vaccinations as well. I have my Hep A & B and it appears that this is all that I really need.That's all that's needed or recommended. It has been suggested to me to only book a couple of days hotel or resort through a travel agent but this makes me nervous.You're getting good advice. If you need additional support, you can find good travel agents in most towns and cities. You'll pay the farang price, but it's (mostly) to be expected, and still very affordable. If you're diving, reserve from here, unless it is low season. Call or email and confirm your class and accomodations. Koh Tao can get very busy (sleep-on-the-beach busy, if you believe the hype). If accommodation is cheap then I would not mind just going to someplace else for a couple of days and leaving my room paid for but vacant.Your accomodations will cost you whatever you're willing to pay, from the absurdly cheap and simple, to the outrageously expensive and deluxe. I stayed in a variety of places throughout the south, and paid up to $80/night, and as little as $7/night. The $7/night wasn't as nice, but it certainly was acceptable, along the lines of a cheap-but-clean and well-run motel in Canada. YMMV, of course. Accomodations on the mainland don't usually require much advance booking, unless you're particular that you have to stay in THAT place. There's always another 'resort' just down the road. On the islands, I wouldn't risk not having reservations.

I'm so very jealous. It is an incredible and beautiful place.

Matt

[DiscusZ]

Someone i went to school withn lived out in Thailand and surrounding area for a while. Came back and wrote a book I read about his adventures and it really makes me want to take a vacation there as well , he had nothing but praises for the country.


Jim

[Ruth]

Oh I am getting very excited. Still trying to narrow down a resort for my first few nights but so far it is looking like I will spend a night in Bangkok on arrival and before I leave so hoping to get some shopping in. Also 3 nights and 2 days in Hong Kong on the way back.
I am wondering about camera equipment. I have a canon SLR (20D) but don't know if I should take it with me or just take my son's much smaller digital video camera. I would love to take some underwater pictures as well. My question is would I be better off to just buy an underwater camera once I get there - are their prices similar to ours or a lot cheaper? The 20D is an amazing camera but it is big and cumbersome particularly with all the lenses and I don't want to take much with me - quite the opposite of what I plan to return with!

[Matt]

Here are two pictures I took from Koh Tao. The two pics were taken within a hundred steps of each other. My room was the last on the left side (right on the beach). The photo was taken from the deck of my pal's room. We went diving on the Chumpon pinnacle about a half-hour later.

Paradise.

http://members.shaw.ca/matt.anthony/kohtao1.jpghttp://members.shaw.ca/matt.anthony/kohtao2.jpg

[Ruth]

OH OH OH I am getting so excited! What resort is that Matt? It looks pretty nice.

[Matt]

The resort is called Koh Tao cottage (http://www.kohtaocottage.com). It really was paradise. I had a month's worth of fun in seven days on that island. Then I had another month to hang out in other parts of Thailand. I can't recommend it enough.

Matthew