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 Traveller's Tales: Advise for travellers in Thailand
Heed our handy tips on safe travel in Thailand. You may read about travel warnings, health, what to wear, travel with kids, travel with pets, local weather, local government, medical information and traffic information in the area.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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| A Rajarethinam |
21 July 2002 |
Stayed at China Town Hotel - Bangkok, Thailand.
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Bangkok is interesting and quite a vibrant city.Night Life is also very much part of the city.
and sure keep away from tuk-tuks and Gem Stores.They Cheat the hell out of you.NEVER use tuk-tuks as a tourist.Leave it for the locals.
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| E Mair |
17 July 2002 |
Stayed at Eastin Hotel, The - Bangkok, Thailand.
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If you want to try a variety of Thai regional food, go to the food court at MBK shopping centre. you can eat for less than $1 and the food is very, very good and a very good introduction to Thai cuisine. Beware of tuk tuk drivers taking you to shops-- this will happen all the time, and can really interfere with sightseeing as frequently, they seem to give out misinformation about opening times so that you can be diverted to a shop where they will get free petrol for bringing a customer.
If you want to see things off the beaten path, head towards the Golden Mount and ask someone on the street about the temples with the red Buddha and the standing Buddha. The main things to see are Wat Po, Wat Arun and the Grand Palace. Avoid taking riverboat tours as you will likely be told that you will be taken to a floating market only to be taken on backwaters for an hour, where the only market is one run by people selling touristy woodcarvings (who, incidentally, it is hard to get away from when you are not manning the boat yourself). This is a waste of time and money-- if you want to see the river, take a river ferry (about 2 baht).
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| F Ding |
13 July 2002 |
Stayed at Le Royal Meridien Baan Taling Ngam - Samui, Thailand.
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Grossly overcharging for trips to the marine park and Ko Tao - about three times the market rate. Also very limited in airport transportation choices.
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| E A. putterman |
08 July 2002 |
Stayed at Loma Hotel - Pattaya, Thailand.
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I hated this place. It is one big brothel. Literally. Pattaya has to be seen to be believed.
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| T Wong |
07 July 2002 |
Stayed at Tai-Pan Hotel Bangkok - Bangkok, Thailand.
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Bangkok in July is very hot and humid, so that is why it is the cheapest time to go. If you want to be able to afford it, you give up something in comfort. But we were able to go many places and see many things, but just on a little slower basis, due to getting overheated and needing recuperation time.
One thing we had worried about in advance was arriving at the airport so late at night. We thought we would not be able to change money or find a reliable cab in to our hotel But we need not have worried - Bangkok is a late-night city, and everything is open till late. In addition, as long as you get a metered cab, you pay a reasonable rate and don't have to bargain. You can easily change money at several places at the airport, and easily get a cab.
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| C Warren |
06 July 2002 |
Stayed at Novotel Bangkok On Siam Square - Bangkok, Thailand.
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Bangkok has some stunning temples and other sites but is a mad crazy city which is a little intimidating. Look out for the tuk-tuk drivers who agree to a low price and then ask you to look round "export centres" and factory shops where they get commission for taking you there. Probably worth spending the extra few baht to avoid this annoying waste of time.
Great street food!
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| J Beard |
04 July 2002 |
Stayed at Holiday Inn Resort Phuket - Phuket, Thailand.
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Patong:
If you want a quiet relaxed holiday, do NOT go to Patong Beach. If however, you want night-life, endless shopping, and convenience that you get at home, such as ATM's, MacDonalds etc go to Patong.
Be prepared to bargain for all your purchases, except in the Dept Stores, such as Ocean Plaza.
After a week in Patong, you will find the Indian guys hassling you on the street to get a suit made in their shop very irritating.
Be warned regarding the lady-boys on Bangla Road. From 8pm to 9pm, they stand in the street with outrageous clothes on, hassling tourists to take photographs. They want money for these photographs!! Much better to sit on the opposite side of the road, in one of the quieter (no bar girls) open bars (Blue Lotus or Shipwreck) and watch the amazing antics.
Most of the shops and restaurants do not open until midday at the earliest. However, the roadside stalls open around 10am.
DO NOT rent motorbikes, since on Phuket approx. one person a day is killed in motorbike accidents, and you will find that such activities are NOT covered by your holiday insurance.
I would recommend you try game fishing, Thai Boxing in Phuket town on Friday evening, and at least one trip out to the Phi Phi Islands of Pang Nga (James Bond) Island. Look for Sim's tour which we found very good, since many other tours take you to overpriced shops/restaurants, where the tour guides get a percentage.
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| S Borron |
29 June 2002 |
Stayed at Ambassador Hotel Bangkok - Bangkok, Thailand.
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Taxi drivers in Bangkok speak excellent English when negotiating a price, not a word of it when you have a problem with their services.
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| R Moss |
28 June 2002 |
Stayed at Anantara Resort and Spa, Golden Triangle - Chiang Rai, Thailand.
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Day trip to the Royal villa and park in nearby mountains was the best feature, although we could hear the Burmese mortars shelling the rebels along the border. Chiang Saen is a pit, the National Museum there is closed Mon-Tues so plan accordingly.
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| K Gunnar |
22 June 2002 |
Stayed at Pavilion Samui Boutique Resort - Samui, Thailand.
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Koh Samui is a very beautiful island with very nice white-sand beaches and really clean water, which is remarkably seldome for Asian beaches. Though in the water there are also cliffs covering about half of Lamai beach making it not the perfect experience to swim there. But in contrast to Phuket there are no jellyfishes in the water.
But everything what comes behind the nice beaches and the fitted resort- and hotel-front is not so nice in Caweng and Lamai beach, which I saw. Both beach-towns gave me more the impression of a meeting-point for tattooed bike-driving yuppies than a relaxing holiday-destination for families. The beach-roads of Chaweng and Lamai have a dirty, neglected and noisy athmosphere. The average picture of Chaweng and especially Lamai beach road is a alternation of beer-bars, girly-bars, restaurants, small supermarkets and copy-product shops. There is no continuous pedestrian area, so you have to step up and down all the time and walk on the busy street, which is quite dangerous - especialy for children. The motorbikes drive some times by far too fast.
Restaurants serving good food and are quite cheap, but you are heavily exposed to the noise of the street. Every evening they used to drive for 3 hours up and down the beachroad with a pickup packed with big boxes advertising noisily for the next 'ritual' techno-rave party taking place every week.
This athmosphere yuppies may find 'funky' but its definitely not suitable for families with young children. Especially because the general price-level of the hotels and resort is much higher compare to Phuket, I have expected 'quality-holiday' with clean streets and restaurants. The administration of Koh Samui will have to invest heavily in an upgrade to lift the apperance of Chaweng and Lamai. And stop noisy advertising of beach-parties. Who wonders that no international Hotel-chain wants to construct hotels on those beaches. Le Meridien has constructed their 5-star resort on a remote west-beach.
I have been told that other beaches in the north and west are much better, so most probably the above said doesn't apply to them.
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