Thailand tips wanted please

trf1960

littlereddevil wrote: »

I thought Karon Beach was in Phuket?

Oh sorry, of course it is (just shows you how much notice I take) and actually it was literally 'round the corner' to the Kata Beach area we stayed in. We never went there but obviously drove through it on occasion and it did look great - lots of good quality restaurants, bars, etc. unlike Patong which quite frankly, IMO, is a dump. It just reminded me of the worst parts of the Med - restaurant, bar, tailors, 'old tut' shops, literally one after another, street after street. Not what I was expecting Phuket to be and certainly not the image that you see in the brochures anyway.

Changing subject though, I am suprised you are flying Thai Airways and not Virgin's own airline - mind you that is a good thing in my eyes as I would not fly Virgin anymore out of choice anyway.

Sam_Bee

trf1960 wrote: »

Changing subject though, I am suprised you are flying Thai Airways and not Virgin's own airline - mind you that is a good thing in my eyes as I would not fly Virgin anymore out of choice anyway.

I'll let someone else point out Virgin don't fly to Thailand.

Elephant Hills - i've spoken to someone that recently came back and they were impressed. They have taken the typical African tented camp (which they imported from Africa as couldn't find equivilant in Asia) and transported it to Khao Sok. It looks pretty amazing, and I hope to go at some point. I know they are opening another one soon near Mae Hong Son. Do give us some feedback.

alanrp123

Chathuchak market is well worth a visit, absolutely:T HUGE, at the end of one of the Skytrain routes, cannot remember which one, but here you will find everything in the world and more on sale"!!.

bestyman

Hi all,
Thanks for all the info, Im in Bangkok now and having a great time. Warm and sunny here .
Elephants in Bangkok dont seem to be well treated so hoping the tented camp is not the same .
Ate out yesterday, 2 chicken and prawnin gravy and 2 bottles of water was 70 baht ( about a pound) .
If anyone wants to know about elephant hills just PM me .

Donnie

Unless it's private info, prolly best to keep it on the thread rather than PM.

Don't neglect to head down to the river(Chao Phraya). Take a ride on the Express Boat. The Local Line Boat is the one that you need. Maybe 9 to 13 baht, depending on the length of your journey. Look here

Firstly, you can jump into a Taxi and head to the Khaosan Road,(£1 to £1.50(Maybe 90 baht) on the meter from your hotel) to see what the backpackers and other tourists are doing and maybe to do some shopping.

From there, you can go to the Phra Athit Pier and take the Express Boat west to Tha Chang for the Grand Palace and other sites of interest.

Afterwards, you can move on to Wat Po for an authentic Thai massage. You can walk or take the Express Boat one stop to Tha Tien.
Please don't listen to anyone who talks to you out of turn whilst you are doing this tour.
The best scammers in Krungthep(Bangkok) are waiting for you. Just smile and move on. This includes Tuk-Tuk drivers and Taxis and anyone who speaks to you on the way to and inside the temples.
If it sounds too go to be true, it is.
Remember this, it is very important. Just smile and move on.

Here is a map of places of interest along the way. Too much to do in one day.

You can wander around the busy and interesting Chinatown, stop in Yaowarat to buy your partner a nice piece of jewellery from one of the Gold shops(they are usually red and have the buying and selling price of Gold on the outside). 23 Carat gold is available. Current prices are here. Take a look through the links at the top of that page.
Unlike in the UK, gold jewellery is used as a commodity in Thailand.
A reputable shop is here. It is in Chinatown.


To complete your tour, you can take the Express Boat to Saphan Taksin and take the SkyTrain from there to your hotel.

You'll be throughly exhausted.

Remember, the Taxis must use their meters. Check that they reset it to 35 baht when you begin your journey.
If they refuse to use the meter and attempt to negotiate, get out and hail another. Don't get angry, just get out.

You can also do this tour in reverse and enjoy the nightlife of the Khaosan Road/Banglumphu area.