Thailand July 2019

We did 3 nights in Bangkok, 3 Chiang Mai, & 7 at a beach resort in Hua Hin. I booked with Travelbag, it included flights, transfers, & hotels with breakfast. It was my first multi-trip & it was brilliant. I'd go back there tomorrow too! The highlight was watching the elephants painting. We only spent about £500, & had everything that we wanted, no scrimping & scraping. That was in June 2014.

I fly Eva or Thai when I travel to Thailand, they are both very good but my preference is Eva. The upgrade to Premium Economy is worth the extra £200 (If you book at the right time).

A direct flight with either of the above is circa £550, the premium economy drops to about £780 but increases to about £1000 nearer the date

Personally I like the evening flight out of Heathrow (They both fly at basically the same time. It means I can get a days work in, get to the airport and then sleep on the flight, you arrive at about 3.30pm local time.

Taxis are very cheap in Bangkok, a taxi from the airport is about £11 (Always use metered taxis). I have started getting the sky train from their airport, the the trains are modern and air conditioned and it cost about 90p. I like the train as it takes about the same time as a taxi (Traffic in BKK is very busy) but the train line runs above the skyline of the city so you get to take the views of the city as it turns from the surbubs into central BKK and it starts to give you a taste of the (Amazing) mayhem that is Bangkok.

You get a much better exchange rate over in Bangkok than you do in the UK (You get about 3% to 6% more than you would in the UK). You will also get a slightly better rate if you use £50 notes. They do not like changing old or damaged (Notes with biro writing on them).

One of the best exchange rates is at Super Rich which is situated in BKK airport on the same level as the Train station at the airport.

If you look at skyscanner or momonda you will find a good deal for flights. There are often cheaper deals with wholesalers than booking direct. I always use the wholesalers but reviews and do some research before booking. The ones I use have a few bad reviews but I have had no problems.

There are many airports in Thailand and they are all cheap to fly to apart from Samui, virtually all internal flights involve a BKK takeoff / landing.

You can get to Samui via a flight to Surat Thani airport (About £30 each way) and then the ferry companies (Seatrain or Lomprayh) have a coach pick up from the airport that takes you to the port (About 1 hour) and then the ferry takes about 30 minutes £32 return.

The flight / (Waiting for coach) and ferry would take about 4 or 5 hours all in.

They offer a cheap taxi if you book the taxi from the ferry port to your hotel in Samui at about £5 each.

I tend to go to Koh Phangan rather than Samui (It is an Island next Samui) the ferry goes there straight after stopping at Samui. Phangan is less touristy and is a more spiritual place.

Thailand are quite protectionist about Thailand products and have big import duties on most things imported. Toiletries / Sun Tan Creams and imported brand foods etc tend to be expensive in Thailand. Everything else is very cheap.

I recommend you try a Thai BBQ, they are not the same as what we regard as a BBQ. They have a sort of fondue in the middle of your table and it is eat as much as you like. You cook the food yourself, it is much better than it sounds and is very popular with the locals.

Accomadation is very cheap in Thailand, I tend to stay in 4 or 5 star hotels in Bangkok, if you shop around you can get exceptionally good hotels for £70 a night. A comparable hotel in London would cost you £400, treat yourself to a nice hotel, you will enjoy it.

Try a Tuk Tuk when you're in BKK, the drivers can be a tad scary and keep your belongings safe but they are well worth a try.

I tend to eat street food when in Thailand and avoid tourist restaurants but some people will not like the idea of their street food stalls.

Be aware the food the locals eat is very spicy, the touristy restaurants and also some of the street foods vendors will tone the spiceness down for you.

The Thais are amazing people, very friendly but at the same time slightly reserved and they're always smiling.

I recommend trying Coconut Shakes, Water Melon Shakes, iced tea and iced coffee.

If you see Papaya Salad on a menu try it but ask for less spicy, it is a local favourite. I also like sticky rice and mango.

When shopping in a market for touristy items, if the item is over about £25 they will often quote you a higher price to start with. If you want to buy the item tell them you think that is too expensive and start tom walk away, they will generally call you back and offer a lower price, they will often drop this further.

The name Thais call Europeans is "Farangs" it is in no way derogatory, you will hear the word a lot.

Booking hotels is easy, I use Booking.Com or Hotel.com or Agoda note Agoda tends to be cheaper but often do not include the local taxes until the end but I still tend to find them cheaper. You often find the deals are cheaper with all of them if you download their apps and book through these.

Every restaurant and most shops have free wi fi, the internet is very good in Thailand, it is often worth buying a tourist sim card with data loaded on and using this in your phone

dacouch wrote: »

Taxis are very cheap in Bangkok, a taxi from the airport is about £11 (Always use metered taxis). I have started getting the sky train from their airport, the the trains are modern and air conditioned and it cost about 90p. I like the train as it takes about the same time as a taxi (Traffic in BKK is very busy) but the train line runs above the skyline of the city so you get to take the views of the city as it turns from the surbubs into central BKK and it starts to give you a taste of the (Amazing) mayhem that is Bangkok.

If you have bulky luggage [not recommended anyway], or are unfamiliar with the Air-Rail Link, or don't know exactly where your accommodation is, or travelling during peak times.....then use a metered taxi, which will get you to where you want to go in a sane frame of mind [unless you are afraid of kamikaze taxi drivers].

dacouch wrote: »

You get a much better exchange rate over in Bangkok than you do in the UK (You get about 3% to 6% more than you would in the UK). You will also get a slightly better rate if you use £50 notes. They do not like changing old or damaged (Notes with biro writing on them).

One of the best exchange rates is at Super Rich which is situated in BKK airport on the same level as the Train station at the airport.

I agree about Super Rich on the Air-Rail Link basement concourse, and that notes must be in good clean condition. There are loads of exchange kiosks in the Arrivals Hall, just ignore them all.

dacouch wrote: »

If you look at skyscanner or momonda you will find a good deal for flights. There are often cheaper deals with wholesalers than booking direct. I always use the wholesalers but reviews and do some research before booking. The ones I use have a few bad reviews but I have had no problems.

I tend to only use Skyscanner for comparison purposes, and book direct with the Airline. It rarely costs more to book direct, and you have also made a direct link with the Airline in case you have any questions or problems. Many airlines these days allow you to select your seats during the online booking process, but you're unlikely to get that service with a 3rd Party. Ditto with any changes in flight times, the earlier you book the more likely that times will change, and if you've booked direct with the Airline it'll always send you an e-mail with the updated times.

dacouch wrote: »

I tend to go to Koh Phangan rather than Samui (It is an Island next Samui) the ferry goes there straight after stopping at Samui. Phangan is less touristy and is a more spiritual place.

I've never been to any of the outlying islands, but have read plenty of horror stories about Koh Phangan being completely over-run with tourists these days, which sort of dilutes the spiritual side of a visit.

dacouch wrote: »

Thailand are quite protectionist about Thailand products and have big import duties on most things imported. Toiletries / Sun Tan Creams and imported brand foods etc tend to be expensive in Thailand. Everything else is very cheap.

Booze is quite expensive these days.....cheaper to drink in 'Spoons.

Great information there Dacouch.
Oh the sticky rice and mango..........

PompeyPete wrote: »

Duke.....elephants can't paint.

This one did Pete, s/he did a tree