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  • General questions about traveling Thailand

    This message is aimed at Doc...

    Myself and two other teachers, ages 24 - 27, will be traveling to Thailand in Feb. We will fly into Bankok. The idea is to do a couple days there, take the train south to Surat Thani where we would catch a boat to Ko Samui and then another to Ko Phangan. After a couple days on the islands we would backtrack to Bankok and fly back to our home in xxxxxx.

    So, I know this could open up room for a lengthy email you might not have time for, but...... if you can spare a min.

    What do you suggest ? I know you have been to Phuket. How did you get there, by train ? How is the train and is it troublesome to get tickets at the train station ? Do you suggest we go anywhere in paticular ? Can you recomend any hotels ? (cheap or moderate) What cusoms to Thailand should we lookout for ? (I don't mean the typical traveler shit, but things specific to Thailand) Any specific food we need to try ? Where could we see some MuaiThai ?

    And if you have time, maybe some odds and ends.... What are the various female fee's ? (massages or other) What are the going rates for various things, food, drinks at the bar, beers at the store ? I would like to have an idea so as I know when I'm getting ripped off...

    Again, what ever you have time to address is greatly appriciated ! After traveling a bit myself I see it's nice to have an idea of what your in for before you get there...

    Oh Yeah,,,, when are you going to be there and where are you going ? It'd be pretty cool to bump into you on this side of the world...

    Thanks for your trouble.....
    Lots of questions. Not enough time tonight to answer them. A few to start.

    I'll be in Bangkok on March 4th. I'll spend most of my time in Phuket, for an indeterminate period of time.

    Ko Samui is beautiful, though, it can be a bit expensive. It's low season there in February (opposite Phuket's seasons) so you should be able to find some decent hotels at fair prices. Remember, in Thailand, the good hotels can have costs that range in the hundreds of dollars. You can find guest houses and rooms for much much less than that. A room for fifteen bucks a night is possible. And it's clean. Oh, go to the Meridian hotel on the west side for sunset. Awesome view. Just look at the russbopedia image, I think that one came from there.

    You can't take a boat from Samui to Phangna. Phangna is on the other side of Thailand, there is no body of water that goes from one side to the other. There is regular and cheap bus service; make sure that you spend the extra money and get the first class sleeper buses. They are very comfortable and air conditioned. Good luck with anything else. To give you an example, a bus ride from Bangkok to Phuket takes 12 hours, and it costs about 25 bucks first class. Or less... You can get cheap flights from BKK to Koh Samui (the airport in Samui is unique the world over, all outdoors), for about fifty bucks. As for the trains, I don't think they are as popular or as plentiful as the buses; you're not in China anymore. Buses and planes seem to be the norm. I don't think there is a train that goes from BKK to Phuket anyway; just never saw it. It's easy to get bus tickets, and the language should not be a barrier.

    As for the food, eat everything. It's all great stuff. Even the shit you get in the street with the street vendors; again, it's not China. Sanitation and health concerns is far greater in Thailand than anywhere you'll ever see in China. China is filthy by comparison.

    Things to see in Phuket, well, depends upon what you want to do. World class scuba diving, some of the best beaches in the world, great jungle, awesome people, good Muay Thai camps, and some interesting women. Patong is something that once you experience it, you'll always go back.

    Speaking of women, take a taxi from BKK to Pattaya. I haven't been there, but I understand that it's a paradise when it comes to women. And at "prices" one third what you find in Phuket, I hear it's a steal. But, be careful. I don't recommend that anyone partake in that behavior. You won't necessarily get ripped off; the concern has more to do with infectious disease than anything else. Good companionship for the evening can be had for fifteen bucks. Throw a meal in with that, and you'll have a friend for life.

    Massages tend to be about seven bucks an hour. And they're damn good. Either the oil or the Thai massage is great. Personally, I like a good foot massage before going to bed.

    I don't drink beer, so I can't tell you what it costs. But, drinks tend to be cheap, as is the food. You can get a great meal in a local Thai restaurant for a few bucks. In Bangkok, be careful of the hotel doorman recommendations for restaurants; kickbacks are common, and prices can be exorbitant.

    When in BKK, take a tuk tuk ride to the Grand Palace. Don't bother with the jewelry stores that the tuk tuks will want to take you to. Also, go to Nana street. It's a huge whorehouse area that will remind you of a Mad Max setting. Hysterical. You just have to go down to look at it and watch the show around you. For software piracy, go to Panthip Plaza; six floors of everything you could possibly imagine. And, MBK is a great indoor mall. Lumpini Stadium is nearby, where you can catch some MT stuff on the weekends. Patong has MT stuff on a nightly basis.

    Some absolute "don'ts".

    Don't discuss politics. Do NOT, under any circumstances, talk negatively about monks or the royal family; either can get you in an altercation and killed.

    Do not shake hands; learn to wai.

    Do not let your feet point at anyone, especially their heads.

    Smile, and learn to love the culture and the people. Careful in BKK, there's poverty, and where there's poverty, there's theft. Generally, it's a safe and lovely country to spend time in. I absolutely adore the place. Just adore it.

    Stay away from the doc girlfriends. You'll know them when you meet them. I've left a few scattered here and there, lol...

    Spend most of your time down south in the islands. Hit Samui, Krabi and Phuket. You'll absolutely love it. Don't go any further south.

    Oh, in that area, you'll find a lot of Muslims. They tend to be a good and decent people there, very influenced by their Thai culture. Be pleasant to them, and they'll more than reciprocate. The thing about Thai people, is that if you show them a little love, they return it tenfold. And, they, most of the time, remember it forever.

    Have a great time. If I'm there when you're there, contact me. As usual, I'll play the gracious host and take care of you.

    doc
    Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

    "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

    (more comments in my User Profile)
    russbo.com



  • #2
    DAMN !!! You really came through, and quick !!! I'm gonna copy all the info you just put up and make good use of it !
    THanks a s***ton !
    Yeah, we should be taking off anywhere from the middle to late Feb. and be down there for two weeks or so... So if we're down there around Mar. 4th I'll definitely give you a call.
    "Winners turn to losers, losers are forgotten..." - A Tribe Called Quest

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    • #3
      Hey Doc
      Just wana let you know I won't be down there in Thailand while your there. By the time you're arriving my Chinese New Year vacation will be over and I'll be teaching again. However, the two guys (other teachers) I was planning to go with did go and some of the info you provided def. helped. So thanks again. They broght back some great pics. I thought the outdoor airport at Koh Samui was awesome. I'll have to get there some day and check out the place with my own two eyes.

      I instead spent a little over two weks traveling some of China I haven't seen yet. It went; Hangzhou, Shanghai, Suzhou, Luoyang, Dengfeng (and Shaolin... of course), and Beijing for Chinese New Year. Being in Beijing for New Year was great. When midnight hit the streets turned into a warzone. Pure Madness !!! The next day (new years) there was a great street fest. close by with lion dancing and the whole nine.
      Shaolin was also great. I never got to see the madness of the pre-Yongxin days, but I really like how everything is now. It's peaceful, beautiful, and I feel tastefully done. I was there in major down season and early so there was almost no-one there, but still, the mountains around the temple, the lack of noisy pestering vendors, and the beautiful upkeep of the temple (an obvious advantage of the outrageous price to get in as compared with any other Chinese temple)(you do get the free wushu demo.) make the Shaolin of the 21st century exactly what I had always imagined it as... However, I was taken by to monks in the wushu guan who expected me to pay 300 yuan after offering incense and kowtowing to Damo in extange for a gold card. I wanted to get mad and refuse to pay them anything at all as I had been scamed into buying this golden card but I didn't want to cause any rawkus in the "sacred" grounds, and with "Shaolin" monks.....
      Oi ! Taken by monks. What has this world come to ? I've learned soooooo much in these past 6 months of living in China. Most of it makes me feel a strong distaste for the Chinese, usually only when money is involved. I know you know all too well about that.

      Anyway, just wanted to give you a heads up, say Hi, and and tell you to have a good trip. I know you will. I imagine, after seeing my friends pics and hearing there stories, that it would be difficult to go to a place like that, wonderful massages and food, and have a bad time. Long as your not there for buisness ! But wait, are you ????
      Hahaha, nevermind...

      Have a great time oh mighty bald one.
      "Winners turn to losers, losers are forgotten..." - A Tribe Called Quest

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      • #4
        "Oh mighty bald one".

        I like it.

        Glad your friends had a good, and safe trip. I'll be there in a few days, really looking forward to it. If you are ever in the hood down there, let me know.

        Oh, ten thousand docdollars for the new moniker. It has a ring to it, LOL...
        Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

        "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

        (more comments in my User Profile)
        russbo.com


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