Planning Thailand Trip Advice Please

mae

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Get insurance before you spend another penny!

Done it just now Thank you for the prompt

It was £32 single trip for 3 of us with a declared medical condition.

mae

Hi

Getting a little closer to booking accommodation


Has anyone been to Koh Lipe and what are your thoughts?

Also thinking of Ayuttthaya instead of Chang Mai as its easily accessible from Bangkok via train and only about an hour I believe.

Voyager2002

mae wrote: »

Hi
Also thinking of Ayuttthaya instead of Chang Mai as its easily accessible from Bangkok via train and only about an hour I believe.

They are both worthwhile destinations, but offer completely different experiences. One of the main reasons people go to Chiang Mai is because it is a good base for hiking in the hill-tribe areas.

PompeyPete

Ayutthaya is the old capital of Siam, and well worth a side trip from Bangkok. It's easy to get there by van, but being stuck in a tight van being driven by some sleep deprived kamikaze pilot ain't much fun.

The alternatives are an expensive tour, where the guide is more interested in her tips.....or the best, cheapest and authentic way, by getting one of the frequent 3rd Class trains from Hualamphong train station. Takes about 2 hours, mixing with local folk, the type of people you've travelled all that way to see.

On arrival at Ayutthaya train station, hire a tuk tuk for a few hours to take you round the historical sights.

Stay overnight, or get a late afternoon BIG bus back to Bangkok.

I'm in Bangkok now. Just had a few v.enjoyable days in beautiful Kanchanaburi [Bridge over the River Kwai]. Flying to Hanoi tomorrow.

PompeyPete

Voyager2002 wrote: »

They are both worthwhile destinations, but offer completely different experiences. One of the main reasons people go to Chiang Mai is because it is a good base for hiking in the hill-tribe areas.

As a bog standard tourist you'll only get a very sanitised and touristy introduction to Hill Triibe life. Chiang Mai is a smaller version of Bangkok, busy with bad air pollution, but outside of the city are plenty of opportunities.

NiftyDigits

PompeyPete wrote: »

Ayutthaya is the old capital of Siam, and well worth a side trip from Bangkok. It's easy to get there by van, but being stuck in a tight van being driven by some sleep deprived kamikaze pilot ain't much fun.

The alternatives are an expensive tour, where the guide is more interested in her tips.....or the best, cheapest and authentic way, by getting one of the frequent 3rd Class trains from Hualamphong train station. Takes about 2 hours, mixing with local folk, the type of people you've travelled all that way to see.

On arrival at Ayutthaya train station, hire a tuk tuk for a few hours to take you round the historical sights.

Stay overnight, or get a late afternoon BIG bus back to Bangkok.

I'm in Bangkok now. Just had a few v.enjoyable days in beautiful Kanchanaburi [Bridge over the River Kwai]. Flying to Hanoi tomorrow.

I'm flying to SGN. Might see you in the middle somewhere.

PompeyPete

NiftyDigits wrote: »

I'm flying to SGN. Might see you in the middle somewhere.

We're in the middle-ish next Wednesday [15th] for 6 nights, at an untouristed seaside town on the South China Sea called Quy Nhon.

Just checked out of one the New Siam Palace View [very good] and off to Don Muang in a couple of hours.

NiftyDigits

PompeyPete wrote: »

We're in the middle-ish next Wednesday [15th] for 6 nights, at an untouristed seaside town on the South China Sea called Quy Nhon.

Just checked out of one the New Siam Palace View [very good] and off to Don Muang in a couple of hours.

We don't have any kind of itinerary other than arrival and departure points....so let us know what you think of it once there.

PompeyPete

NiftyDigits wrote: »

We don't have any kind of itinerary other than arrival and departure points....so let us know what you think of it once there.

Here's a taster...

https://en.m.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Quy_Nhon

Had lots of plaudits from reliable people on TA.

NiftyDigits

Just leaving Sai Gon.