When should I go to Thailand?

[lenny101]

July, august, and december i imagine must be really expensive for flights out of UK.

If i was to nominate the best months to visit thailand, they would be november (from bkk and northwards), december - june everywhere. And flights presumably will be much cheaper these months.

And if i was still living in england, the only time i'd go would be during the winter in order to escape some of the shit weather.

I am flying out to Mlaysia soon, can't go till August but the cost of flights double in that month. Have to wait till September and put up with this shitty weather.

 

[llantwit]

And if i was still living in england, the only time i'd go would be during the winter in order to escape some of the shit weather.

Ta Fela.
To be honest thee weather is SO shit here this summer that I'm just craving some summer sun.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

My guide to not getting bitten was to replace taking those nasty pills!

Ko Chang is near the cambodian border, about a four or five hour bus trip from bkk to trat (well, laem gnop is the actual boat town) town, and then a boat of no more than an hour. Maybe much less, i last went nine years ago! It is a stunning island with sunset views every night. If one discounts phuket as an island (with its causeway), then chang is thailand's biggest island.

There's always kanchanaburi, which is not exactly city, but what a most interesting place to go for a couple three days. You have a boat trip up the river kwai, the jeath war museum to visit, all the cemetaries, hellfire gorge, and all the stuff about the famous bridge. You stay on rafthouses on the river, and there are great restaurants riverside too. A really excellent place to go for a short time and nicely breaks up beach stuff too. Only about two or three hours from bkk.

Just remembered one other requirement. B/f does NOT eat foreign food so therefore need somewhere that's got lots of places that can cater for western tastes

 

[fela fan]

Ta Fela.
To be honest thee weather is SO shit here this summer that I'm just craving some summer sun.

Sorry, that was a bit unthoughtful of me! I can see from wimbledon, plus reports i hear (i've been nicely tucked away on one of the islands away from the madness of the world, unfortunately back in it now) that the weather is bad right now! I cannot believe that a june can be so bad. But listen, one of the reasons i never returned to england was the weather! I just cannot stand cold.

Anyway, good luck in getting the sun.

 

[fela fan]

Just remembered one other requirement. B/f does NOT eat foreign food so therefore need somewhere that's got lots of places that can cater for western tastes

English food, well farang food, is available wherever we go in thailand! Including on the raft houses in kanchanaburi.

Anyway, food is just a fuel, no?!

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

English food, well farang food, is available wherever we go in thailand! Including on the raft houses in kanchanaburi.

Anyway, food is just a fuel, no?!

Yes, but b/f needs fuel

 

[Voley]

Unless you wanted to spend 1k on the flight, I suppose that you could go many weeks before then, might get a cheap flight.

If you don't mind changing a few times to save some money, you might like to have a look at getting a flight to India and then another connecting flight to Bangkok.

Heathrow to Delhi is usually under £300 (one way) and onwards to Bangkok is usually about £100 to £150-ish. These are only one way, though - I don't get returns as I like the flexibility of returning from wherever / whenever I want.

The flight back's often even cheaper, however - there's a great little travel agent in Paharganj (Delhi) who regularly gets me back to London with BA for under £200. He gets last minute cancellations so you've got to be flexible - I usually just go in and ask him to get me the cheapest flight any time in the next week or so. Used him 4 or 5 times now.

 

[tastebud]

i like the idea of a stop over in india actually. think i could handle india again, if it was just for a few hours

 

[llantwit]

Sorry, that was a bit unthoughtful of me! I can see from wimbledon, plus reports i hear (i've been nicely tucked away on one of the islands away from the madness of the world, unfortunately back in it now) that the weather is bad right now! I cannot believe that a june can be so bad. But listen, one of the reasons i never returned to england was the weather! I just cannot stand cold.

Anyway, good luck in getting the sun.

Ta fela.
Mind me asking what island you were hiding on?
Could do with a recent insider tip in case I do find a flight.
Been thinking of Koh Lantah.

 

[Voley]

i like the idea of a stop over in india actually. think i could handle india again, if it was just for a few hours

Couple of days in Delhi or Calcutta then fly out to a Thai island to relax after it all.

Ideal.

 

[tastebud]

god, i dunno about that. the idea of india on my own frankly terrifies me.

 

[Voley]

Fair do's.

 

[fela fan]

Ta fela.
Mind me asking what island you were hiding on?
Could do with a recent insider tip in case I do find a flight.
Been thinking of Koh Lantah.

Well, it all depends on what you want. Ko Phangan is famous enough for its full moon parties, but it also happens to be my favourite place in the world. The beach i was on is on the north-western corner of the island (full moon parties are on the south-east), and is called Mae Had. At low tide you can walk along a sand bar to a small island called Ko Maa, which has one resort on it.

Mae Had is EXACTLY like it was 15 years ago when i first went there. My bungalow was 270 baht a night, and watching the sunsets from my hammock was just one of my major activities. In effect (june is very quiet here) i had my own private beach (you needed to do a bit of exploring to get there), and my own private waterfall.

Just a 10 minute bike ride away is Chaloklum beach which has a village (mae had just has a shop or two) and a few dive shops. I went there when i felt like communicating with people.

The whole western side of this island is magnificent, and the north-western corner is simply just as it was in the 90s. I can't get there often enough, unfortunately i live in the north of thailand now so my visits are much less frequent. In the 90s i got there three times a year on average.

Truly magnificent, and recommended to anybody who wants to slow their life down rather than party at night time. I can't imagine anywhere more beautiful than this island.

 

[Sunray]

I loved that place, I use to bike there from Haad Rin every day to snorkel, sunbathe and read books. I've done that for weeks on end.

I liked Haad Rin for the food they do there. The Israeli cafe does the loveliest salad and there is a proper bakery with western bread products and there are three book shops there. Bikes are so cheap to rent I just get one from the guy outside where the boat docks for the entire time I'm there.

I doubt someone with a schedule could do this tho, I was in a little groove and world of my own.

 

[tastebud]

i found a flight for 600 that flies direct (thai), leaving on 1st november returning on 24th december. oh i don't know... a stop over would only be 429 or something.... cannae decide....

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

i found a flight for 600 that flies direct (thai), leaving on 1st november returning on 24th december. oh i don't know... a stop over would only be 429 or something.... cannae decide....

depends where the stopover would be and for how long

 

[tastebud]

yeah... the price increases the shorter the stop. and the destinations get less desirable with the lower price. i know what a grumpy fucker i am when i travel, which is why i think i should pay the extra & fly direct think i might just go to trailfinders at the weekend rather than booking online. they are always good/helpful.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

yeah... the price increases the shorter the stop. and the destinations get less desirable with the lower price. i know what a grumpy fucker i am when i travel, which is why i think i should pay the extra & fly direct think i might just go to trailfinders at the weekend rather than booking online. they are always good/helpful.

I always use Trailfinders. They've only fucked up once (with a hotel booking)

 

[tastebud]

um, sunray, or someone... will i be able to find drum & bass easily?

 

[Brainaddict]

i found a flight for 600 that flies direct (thai), leaving on 1st november returning on 24th december. oh i don't know... a stop over would only be 429 or something.... cannae decide....

The stopovers I've done were all in the middle east for a couple of hours only - well worth it to save £250.

 

[Sunray]

um, sunray, or someone... will i be able to find drum & bass easily?

Only on the full moon party though I want to stab the full of shit MC they often had babbling away. The rest of the time your going to have to bring it with you because the Thai's are mad on cheesy hip hop.

'Don't wish your girlfriend was more like me, don't cha..' know it, or tracks like it? If you don't oh you will by the time you leave.

The bars generally will have live bands and will play to varying standards either rock or hip hop or club like bars with DJ's and there its just pure hip hop.

 

[Voley]

The Full Moon Party on Ko Pha Ngan is truly horrible. I'd avoid it like the plague if I were you.

If you're nearby (Ko Tao, for example) you might find a nice little beach party or two without shit music / teams of blokes pissing into the sea /people abusing the hospitality of the locals etc.

 

[Voley]

The beach i was on is on the north-western corner of the island (full moon parties are on the south-east), and is called Mae Had. At low tide you can walk along a sand bar to a small island called Ko Maa, which has one resort on it.

Mae Had is EXACTLY like it was 15 years ago when i first went there. My bungalow was 270 baht a night, and watching the sunsets from my hammock was just one of my major activities. In effect (june is very quiet here) i had my own private beach (you needed to do a bit of exploring to get there), and my own private waterfall.

Yeah, really nice place. A couple of photos I took there:

 

[Sunray]

i found a flight for 600 that flies direct (thai), leaving on 1st november returning on 24th december. oh i don't know... a stop over would only be 429 or something.... cannae decide....

429 is pretty decent, 7 weeks. About as long as you'd need to see a lot of Thailand without trying very hard. I reckon I sat on beaches for at least 8-10 weeks alone.

Could head to Laos and/or Cambodia for a couple of weeks if that took your fancy. The people of Laos are great and while there isn't much to see there, its a worth a visit for the welcome. Cambodia is only 4 hours from BKK but follow the advice on this website on how to get there from someone who really knows his stuff (and publishes the little free and very useful guides you get there)

http://www.talesofasia.com/cambodia-overland-bkksr.htm

Do not use Kaosan road travel agents for anything other than their internet access and while I'm thinking do not use Asian internet cafe's for internet banking where you have to enter a full password.

 

[Sunray]

The Full Moon Party on Ko Pha Ngan is truly horrible. I'd avoid it like the plague if I were you.

If you're nearby (Ko Tao, for example) you might find a nice little beach party or two without shit music / teams of blokes pissing into the sea /people abusing the hospitality of the locals etc.

I like it. Reminded me of a full on rave. Pounding acid techno off a huge sound system was a real welcome surprise after 5 months of just my feebly small iPod mini for music.

The locals don't have to put it on if they get pissed off by it. Makes them shit loads of cash.

How much time did you spend in Goa then NVP?

I refer you to Alabama 3.

 

[Voley]

You like it. I don't.

You've shared your opinion on it. I've shared mine.

No problem.

 

[fela fan]

I loved that place, I use to bike there from Haad Rin every day to snorkel, sunbathe and read books. I've done that for weeks on end.

I liked Haad Rin for the food they do there. The Israeli cafe does the loveliest salad and there is a proper bakery with western bread products and there are three book shops there. Bikes are so cheap to rent I just get one from the guy outside where the boat docks for the entire time I'm there.

I doubt someone with a schedule could do this tho, I was in a little groove and world of my own.

And for me that is what ko phangan is all about, getting into your own little world. And removing time by entering a timeless zone.

For those who are interested, my daily expense over the three weeks while i was there was about 1000 baht, which is maybe 15 quid. That included my bungalow, motorbike, maybe four or five beers (small bottles), food, and my dope. Things to do?

Firstly, nothing, which is an activity i enjoy thoroughly, although it might not be to everyone's taste.
Snorkelling and diving.
Swimming.
Walking.
Reading.
Writing.
Watching the wildlife (including four or five foot monitor lizards).
Going up the nearby waterfall.
Tootling about on my motorbike on virtually deserted roads.
Photographing.
Watching sunsets.
Looking for shells.

What i like best is that you never know what you're going to do until you think about it. As soon as you find out what you are going to do next, roll a joint before doing it. Joints are the perfect way to go from one activity to the next.

Timeless and priceless. I just can't get enough of it. But then the nightmare returns: i need to go back to earning money...

 

[fela fan]

On the matter of flights, i realise i'm going the other way, buying my ticket in thailand to get back to england, but i always get my travel agent to quote me on thai (direct, but usually more expensive, but if a deal is on, then the leg room is the best of any airline i've been on) or singapore (second best airline, a very nice airport to hang around in for a couple of hours) or emirates. The latter is for me the finest airline, and nearly always the cheapest quote. For those living in england, they come to bkk daily from gatwick, heathrow, manchester, glasgow.

There's a newish airline too, based in abu dhabi i think which is meant to be very good, and cheap. Can't recall the name though.

I've never paid more than 500 quid, and it's usually about 30,000 baht.

 

[Sunray]

On you travels round the island did you ever see that sign. Coconut Artifact office or something?

What on earth is a 'Coconut artifact', and what do they do when someone finds one? Do they search for images of Budda in coconuts. Do they have a hall of fame of special coconuts.

I spent a shit load of time thinking about that but always forgot when I got somewhere utterly unimportant.

And for me that is what ko phangan is all about, getting into your own little world. And removing time by entering a timeless zone.

For those who are interested, my daily expense over the three weeks while i was there was about 1000 baht, which is maybe 15 quid. That included my bungalow, motorbike, maybe four or five beers (small bottles), food, and my dope. Things to do?

Firstly, nothing, which is an activity i enjoy thoroughly, although it might not be to everyone's taste.
Snorkelling and diving.
Swimming.
Walking.
Reading.
Writing.
Watching the wildlife (including four or five foot monitor lizards).
Going up the nearby waterfall.
Tootling about on my motorbike on virtually deserted roads.
Photographing.
Watching sunsets.
Looking for shells.

What i like best is that you never know what you're going to do until you think about it. As soon as you find out what you are going to do next, roll a joint before doing it. Joints are the perfect way to go from one activity to the next.

Timeless and priceless. I just can't get enough of it. But then the nightmare returns: i need to go back to earning money...

 

[tastebud]

I hate people who simply refer to Alabama 3 for their views on Goa. Get your own fucking opinions!



Nah, Goa's beautiful. I did only see the place extremely low season though admittedly. It was like ghost town(s) but still fucking beautiful & a nice, calm end of trip destination.

(Cheers btw fela - and Sunray!)

There's a newish airline too, based in abu dhabi i think which is meant to be very good, and cheap. Can't recall the name though.

Yeah many of the flights I've found seem to stop over there too. Dunno, depends on how long for I guess.