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 Traveller's Tales: Getting around in Thailand
Know the most popular landmarks in Thailand. You may read about best transportation, recommended travel itinerary, suggested routes and directions. Also, you might want to read our
Bangkok city guide,
Chiang Mai city guide,
Hua Hin city guide,
Koh Samet city guide,
Koh Samui city guide,
Krabi city guide,
Pattaya city guide,
and Phuket city guide.
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| R Feyaerts |
17 April 2004 |
Stayed at Peninsula Bangkok - Bangkok, Thailand.
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Shangri La tour to Ayutthaya is definitely worth it. About 40USD pp, sumptuous meal on board, all visits incl. Full day.
Stay away from floating market tours though. Ripoff. Flaoting market is nothing but a tourist scam. The only thing floating by are other tourists, bumper cars on the river. Nothing authentic about it. Only things sold are overpriced souvenirs. Plus you stop at snake farm (extra entrance to be paid), wood carving shop and the likes on the way to/back from the market. All in 1/2 day tour. Cheap, yes, but so not worth it at 14USDpp.
Better spend 10USD/hour to rent a longtail boat and go sail in the klongs.
In bangkok, the Jim Thompson house is definitely worth a visit. And the Chao Praya tourist express. Hop on and off the boat for a whole day for less than 2 USD!
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| G Anaple |
15 April 2004 |
Stayed at Karon Villa Phuket Beach Resort & Spa (Renovation) - Phuket, Thailand.
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My main complaint about Phuket is the absurd price of private transportation.
From the airport to the hotel was 650 baht, by private taxi. I laughed, knowing it only costs another 200 baht to go by bus, all the way to Bangkok.
And, the inter-Island tuk tuks all charge 200 baht to go anywhere, down the beach or 12 kilometers up the coast. I can go from one side of Bangkok to the other for UNDER 200 baht, even in mid-day traffic. So...it bothered me a little.
I recommend that anyone coming for an extended stay simply rent a motorbike, and drive yourself wherever you need to go. Or, on an even more practical level, use the public buses, which cost usually 20 baht, to anywhere.
And a quick word about the "Thai Boxing" on Phuket: DO NOT go unless you are interested in seeing prepubescent youths slugging it out. This goes for both, the offerings at Patong and Phuket Town. I was sorely disappointed to see children (aged 5 years at Phuket Town!) being knocked unconscience at both venues. No contender was over age 17. Sure, it is grassroots Muey Thai, but far from what it is promoted to be.
Lastly, Asian tour groups and Europeans were the only other guests using the Karon Villa during my stay. Be prepared for the gross abuse of Asian culture by the nude sunbathing Europeans. As with all other destinations in Thailand, the Europeans show utter lack of respect for Asian culture by both beach and poolside nudity. Rude by Thai standards, the Europeans do not seem to care. My Thai travel companions were unsettled, but graciously accepting, realizing it was the European money which fueled their economy.
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| R Whittingham |
12 April 2004 |
Stayed at City Beach Resort - Hua Hin, Thailand.
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Frequent buses to surrounding areas but difficult to get tourist information in English. Nice walk to far end of the beach to Wats, with monkeys in surrounding area.
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| N Tarasawat (2nd call) |
10 April 2004 |
Stayed at Prince Palace Hotel - Bangkok, Thailand.
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Locationally good, not far from the main temples of Bangkok, also doesn't take long to reach the restaurants and night market of Silom area. Very close to the modern Siam centre of Sukumvit. Around 10 mins in Taxi. You can also get the Taxi to China town for cheap "street venture" type foods. Takes longer in Taxi than going to Silom but worth it depending on traffic.
Beside hotel is the "river taxis" which are useful to beat the traffic. Stops off not far from the hotel, and shows up virtually every 10 mins. The hotel is situated in amongst a major clothes trading market in Bangkok, they mainly trade in bulk buying, but you can ask them if they sell singular items.
Night time the fruit markets appear outside the hotels, rather than the clothing, but great location for shopping and entering the cities main highights are not far away via Taxi, or navigable by River taxi (look at map of hotel).
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| G Tawes |
06 April 2004 |
Stayed at Peninsula Bangkok - Bangkok, Thailand.
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Bangkok is our favorite city destination in Asia. The dining choices are inumerable, and Thai food is fabulous. Try "Harmonique" for inexpensive but good Thai food on Lane 39 off New Road, or "Hamali Cha Cha's" for Indian, also off New Road. Bangkok is also the best Asian shopping city in our opinion, given the wide selection of unusual goods available and the reasonable prices. Custom tailored clothes are a favorite, as you can have your favorite shorts, dresses, slacks, etc. Duplicated perfectly in Thai silk, linen, cotton, etc. within a day or two at prices less than off the rack retail. Don't go for the cheapest prices in town, or you may be disappointed by the quality. Get a recommendation from a concierge, or a local friend instead. Try Siam Leather in River City for custom made shoes, men's and women's, in leather, ostrich, or other exotic skins. A pair of sandals I purchased from them five years ago is still in perfect shape. Also take the Skytrain to Chatuchak market on the weekend for the biggest "bazaar" you can imagine, and bargain for everything and anything. Get there by 9AM and leave by noon to avoid the heat and the crowds. For the best English guide to everything in Bangkok get the "Bangkok Guide 2003/2004" compiled by the Australian-New Zealand Women's Group at www.bangkokguideonline.com. Sale proceeds are also donated to Thai charities. Have a GREAT time in Bangkok!
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| S Kwon |
04 April 2004 |
Stayed at Peninsula Bangkok - Bangkok, Thailand.
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Still very cheap. Watch out for the cabbies. We managed to overcome three attempts to rip us off (first one took us to his sponsor shops, second one to his sponsor restaurant and a boat cabbie who would not let us land unles we pay him 4 times what the hotel quoted). The metered cabbies were polite and air-conditioned.
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| R Williams |
02 April 2004 |
Stayed at Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa - Bangkok, Thailand.
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We arrived in Bangkok at 3pm at the Eastern Bus Station heading for the Marriott Resort and Spa on the river. Instead of jumping in a taxi and hitting the traffic jams with the associated heat and time, we decided to try the sky train. It was superb. We went up the stairs from the Eastern Bus Station and for 40 baht each purchased a ticket to the river. Best crossing of Bangkok I have ever experienced. No traffic, no traffic jams, no heat. It is so fast, air conditioned and travels over the top of Bangkok. We changed direction at Siam Square and continued on to the river. It only took about 30 minutes. Upon reaching the end of the track we went down the stairs and arrived on the jetty for the free river boat to the Marriott, which included a chilled hand towel and a bottle of cold water. 15 minutes across the river and we where in the hotel. The next day we hired a long boat and went up to Koh Kret. Takes about 1 1/2 hours there and back and 1 1/2 hours at Koh Kret. Nice way to spend a day in Bangkok, cool, unhurried and traffic-free.
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| M Spicer |
31 March 2004 |
Stayed at Sheraton Chiangmai, The - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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The tour to the golden triangle was long. Once there it was interesting but it would be worth it to hire a driver for just your party rather than share with a group. One of our group was detained at the Burma border because her visa expired and we were delayed about 2 hours. That caused us to rush at the hill tribes. We wanted more detailed explanations about what we were seeing as we drove rather than just a 4 hour drive to get to a destination. All tours and sight seeing and drivers can be arranged through the hotel. The elephant camps were well worth the visit as was the arts and crafts tour. We arrived in Chiang Mai late at night and so we had arranged with the hotel to have a driver meet us. He was there with a sign and I would recommend arranging for a transfer to the hotel again.
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| P Hopp |
26 March 2004 |
Stayed at Central Karon Village - Phuket, Thailand.
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The hotel is about 40 minutes from the Phuket airport. We suggest using a metered taxi as it was half the price of a hotel shuttle. The hotel is only 5 minutes by taxi or tuk tuk to Patong town if you're looking for some night life. Forget about Patong beach, too many people and boats. The Karon beach is quiet, no boats, and wonderful warm water.
There's lots to see and do and don't be afraid to take chances and please bargain. Just use your common sense and enjoy all that Phuket has to offer.
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| L Thue jensen |
24 March 2004 |
Stayed at Hilton Hua Hin Resort And Spa - Hua Hin, Thailand.
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We played golf at Lake View, Majestic Creek and Springfield. All three courses is very nice and professional. There is a little to save if booking Springfield by a golf shop 200 meters left from the hotel, about 500 THB per person. Remember to tip the caddie, normally doubble the caddie fee (200 THB). The caddies are normally young people living only from the tip. We were transported round in Hua Hin first by bicycle, 2 hours 200 THB, later in car for 4 hours 500 THB.
Elephant riding was not that good, ½ hour 1000THB for both of us.
Interesting to go to the monkey mountain, and feeding the monkeys. It is cheap to buy suits, and a lot of other things. When having a suit, go for the best quality - Kashmir wool with Thai silk. I got 2 suits for 10000 THB.
Don`t forget to get massage - Thai massage for one hour 300 - 400 THB.
My wife and I can highly recommend to go to Hua Hin. We have only tried Bangkok and Pattaya earlier, and Hua Hin is a lot better - we think. The people in Hua Hin are very nice and always smiling. If you say no, not interesting to buy, they always accepted a no. You can exchange money a lot of places on the streets, and withdraw from a lot of ATMs. But the max level for withdrawing per card/day is about 10000 THB. Weather in march is OK, 2 days cloudy for a week.
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