Thailand

[David-777]

Hi Guys/Girls

I'll be going to Thailand with a mate in January. I'd like some advice if anyone has been there?

I plan to party for the most part. I'll be there for about two weeks and so far I am thinking phuket and a little time in Koh Phangan for the full moon party.

I'd appreciate things like, where did you put your money? where to go? best places to stay? Also I am planning on sending a pallet of stuff back to myself in Aus, any ideas on how to do that?

And anything else you wish to tell me. Thanks.

 

[Poita]

Phuket is awesome. Hire a motorbike (125cc), it's the cheapest way to get around. Cost $34 for 2 days including fuel, and is a great way to scare the crap out of you :-P Wear your helmet though and you will need an international drivers license (cheap).

Always fight the price on clothes etc. I start at 50% and don't pay more than 70%.

What sort of info are you after? Edit... For some reason on my phone the last half of your text is white so I couldn't see it!

Karon and Kata are both nice spots for a bit of culture but main town is where the parties are. We stayed at Karon as we wanted a bit more quiet.

I got cash changed here and just left it in my room safe box, taking only what I would need that day. Wasn't keen on using the credit card there due to high rates of card fraud.
I also carried copies of my passport and drivers licence at all times but left the originals with the cash in my room safe box.

 

[Guest]

You probably already know, but if you do use your bank card at atm's, firmly grab the card swiper/inserter thing and see if you can pull it off or out of the machine as sometimes skimmers are mounted right there on the front!
Also check above the screen and key pad for cameras.

Sent from my GT-I9295 using Tapatalk

 

[fieldy107]

Most accommodation will have a safe in the room that you can set your own pin on, so thats where you should keep most of your money. With the cash you carry keep most of it hidden in a part of your wallet that is hard to see so when you open it in shops they only see a little, if they think you are carrying a lot they will try to squeeze more out of you.
Stay away from ping pong shows, a total scam. Once your in they will try to charge you shitload's and there is only fat older woman doing bizarre shit anyway.
If you want to have a break from partying catch a speed boat from phuket to the phi phi islands for a day. Dont catch the cruise ship thing it takes too long and cant get in as close as the speed boats.

 

[king_panther]

Most importantly, be sure to 'inspect' the prostitute you picked up to take back to your motel.

They may look like ladies... but.....

 

[Yo_Mang]

I travelled Thailand, Laos and Cambodia for just over a month at the end of the year last year and had an absolute ball - the best time of my life! We backpacked around finding our own way and sorting out accomodation per night, ranging from $160 a night to $3 or so. I had an absolute ball and half the fun for us was just having a rough idea of where we wanted to go and letting our journey just unfold.

IMO Bangkok is overrated. It's a big hustle and bussle city, just a busy place and I won't be heading back there - just doesn't have the feel that other towns do.

I loved Phuket, one of my favourite things was hiring a motorbike and riding down the west coast right to the bottom stopping at each of the awesome beaches and swimming. Bikes are cheap as, make sure you take photos of it before hand though and make sure they see you doing so, lots of them will try and rip off tourists for "repair money". Also insist on only giving a copy of your passport. Just don't take your normal passport with you, at the end of the day what they really want is your money and if they refuse, walk half a block to the next person renting bikes. Also in Phuket you can do a day trip to Phi Phi Island which will give you epic snorkelling and views. Also if you are going to Koh Phangan spend a few days before or after in either Koh Samui or Koh Tao - awesome island towns, Koh Tao having epic diving and snorkelling and very affordable luxury accommodation, Koh Samui being more mainstream and a bit priceyer

For cash, what we did was get a "Cash Passport" from the post office. You can load that up with funds and then pull it out of any ATM worldwide. You can either chose to load it with Thai Baht and pull it out or AUD and pay a fee for currency conversion each time. We found that really easy to do, and we also just had a few hundred dollars each to start off with in cash. Tip from me re: currency conversion is only swap a little over before heading over (at the airport etc). Maybe like $100 MAX, do all your currency conversion when you are in Thailand as the rates are much better.

I loved our trip so much that I wrote a blog and photographed each day when I went there, if you have the time, you should check out the SE Asia section at http://importgarage.blogspot.com.au/search/label/South East Asia



I love Thailand so much that we are heading there over December and January! We will be there until the 12th of Jan, so may see you in our travels!

 

[The Borg]

Definitely take a copy of you passport and carry that on your self and use the safes for the original and spare cash, keeping record of things you hire as mentioned above is a must as they can force you to buy a new bike/jetski on claims of damage and this is a popular scam as the cops can be bribed into forcing you to do it. Be careful what you say to some of the locals around the thia fighting arenas these events do draw in the psychos and gangs my cousin and I watched a german guy get the life beat out of him for asking about a good bar for drinks of all things. Police are in every bar so behave yourself, well as best you can they too will beat the shit out of you before arresting you.
As for the full moon festival take that passport copy only as Id don't take cards or your wallet only some cash hidden somewhere and be careful when it comes to drinks. Spiked drinks, assaults and muggings are woefully high during the festival. And lastly at night travel in packs not alone your a easy target when your alone.

Bit of a spoiler this but thialand is a wild place, you can still have a lot of fun keeping this in mind.

 

[GLen20]

Yes avoid the "Mushroom bar" at the end of the beach at the Full Moon Party. They load the drinks with Roofies as we had only one drink bucket on the beach and one drink at the mushroom bar and me and my mate were instantly legless... and we are p#ssheads....
They'll try and pickpocket you late at nice when they are getting "friendly" so stash most of your cash in a pocket of your shorts. The cash passport is a good idea.
The clothes you get are suprisingly good quality too. I'm still wearing tee shirts that are now 8 years old...
Do the day with the canoes out on the boat trip north of Phuket. You get to paddle through tunnels into the interior of these amazing volcanic islands.

 

[David-777]

Hey guys, thanks for all the helpfull information. I'm feeling more tsting of the hotel safes now ive read this. I will definately change my cash in Thailand. I knew about the bike scams but never thought of taking pics in front of them. Will be doing that definitely. Also taking copies of your passport. That's a life saver. What part do I copy? Where do I get an,international drivers licence? I will be there from Jan 6 til Jan 18 or 20. Not sure yet. Would love to catch up with a familiar person over there. I'll update when I get there. I'll update the with the hotel in staying at when its booked. Lol @ "inspect". I'll be constantly with my mate and my sister, my mate was never afraid of a blue so the only thing worrying me is the bashings from the police. Haha. I will be buying so many clothes and sending them to myself. If anyone wants anything in particular let me know and I'll see what I can do. Not too keen on using cards over there, but I will be checking EVERY atm. I really want to hire a motorbike while I'm there but I'm a lol worried about getting mowed down.

 

[Poita]

Passport - just copy the page with your picture on it.

Drivers license - RAA/RACV or whatever the equivalent is on your state.

Riding motor bikes... Most are Buddhist so they believe they come back if they die. So ride like you don't care and you will fit right in. Hesitate and you will get run over. Rules are guidelines only! Heaps of fun but lots of tourist deaths from this every year so never mix it with alcohol and stay alert.

 

[The Borg]

I'd say just take the tuktuks rather then hiring bikes its just as cheap and that way you don't have to worry about traffic just sit back and be stunned at the chaos that is driving over there

 

[fieldy107]

Yeah no way I would ride a bike in the busy areas, driving a car was a scary enough experience. The taxi ride from the airport into Phuket will probably be enough to put you off the bike idea, the way they drive is insane and I was quite surprised I didn't see anyone get wiped out while I was there.
Not sure if you need international licence there, just be prepared to bribe the police.

 

[vr4jim]

I'd also suggest to drink only bottled water.

 

[Yo_Mang]

I'd also suggest to drink only bottled water.

This most definitely! We also had a yakult / equivalent each day to help us along as we were pretty adventurous with street food!

 

[trotty]

This most definitely! We also had a yakult / equivalent each day to help us along as we were pretty adventurous with street food!

That's like Russian roulette. U 1 game mofo. Lol

 

[The Borg]

+1 ^^ and stay away from the McDonalds was THE worse tasting crap I have ever eaten and that's in comparison to the Macas in the valley brisvegas during club night weekends .

 

[David-777]

Haha,I do want to try street food. You think the Yakult will help with the street women?

 

[The Borg]

I never did the yakult but enough vodka and spirits in the belly helps to kill bugs that are in the food could also help with the locals . The grilled corn was amazing, but watch out for the bright orange satay meat from the vendors its dog meat.

 

[Amethyst]

I definitely recommend a full moon party at koh phangan! Amazing atmosphere but be careful of pick pockets. I had my camera strap looped around my bag and didn't feel a thing until they tried to tug it away from me. I looked down and all 3 zips were open and camera hanging out. Lucky I tied it to my bag otherwise it would have been gone along with all my photos.

If you are heading over that side of Thailand I highly recommend Koh Samui...it has gorgeous beaches, good shopping and great bars!

Phuket is quite touristy and busy but worth a look!

I also recommend the speed boat option if you do a day trip to Phi Phi...its worth the extra money, you get there a lot quicker so less time feeling sea sick and you get more time over there.

I took 2 wallets when I went out during the day...one with a little bit of cash so store owners don't see all of it when I went to pay for something and would top it up with cash from my second wallet when needed. I kept all extra cash in the safe in the hotel along with passport and travel docs.

I'm a bit jealous...I love Thailand and cannot wait to go back.

 

[Yo_Mang]

Haha,I do want to try street food. You think the Yakult will help with the street women?

I think the street women should be the ones drinking your yakult


We had steret food alll the time - it was often a lot better than restaurants! The only time my mrs got sick was in Cambodia from one dodgy restaurant meal, and I was fine the whole trip