We are trying to plan our next adventure and the SO wants to head west, anyone have advise on where to begin planning our first trip to Thailand?

I went for a couple weeks during the honeymoon.

It was the best time I've ever had.

Bangkok is crowded, dirty, and the air smells horribly from all of the motorcycles. We spent a few days there before taking an overnight train to Koh Samui. That's where the real fun began. Everyone says that taking a first class overnight train across the country is a must, but I would not do it again. With flights all over the country so fantastically cheap, we flew everywhere the rest of the trip.

Spent almost a week on Samui. Diving, wandering, lots of drinking. The diving was OK; not as good as Honduras, but did see a whale shark.

Make sure to drink plenty of Thai beer.

From Samui, flew to Chiang Mai. Awesome. Great food, beautiful temples. Elephant sanctuaries are nearby. Took a hot-air balloon over the countryside and some temples.

We visited the Siam Thai Rice Cookery School
http://www.siamricethaicookery.com/
for a half day of cooking classes. It was amazing, and I've never eaten so much or so well.

From Chaing Mai, spent a few days in Tokyo before heading back home.

As for advice on where to start:

We bought a travel book on Thailand, probably Fromer's. Then read reviews and got ideas on TripAdvisor and LonelyPlanet.

Found some of our hotels on AsiaRooms. http://www.asiarooms.com/

We only booked hotels, cooking school, and the elephant sanctuary before actually arriving. Then we had a few ideas of what to do and did what was feeling best.

When I go again:

I'll skip Bangkok completely.

I'll take the river cruise up to Ayutthaya, which is the Thai version of Angkor Wat. That is an all day trip with food included on the river boat.

Not take a train trip across the country. There were at least 20 stops, and the train stops and starts so abruptly, that it knocked me out of bed.


The hot air balloon was about $400 total, but if you can swing the cost, it is amazing. Here's a pic:





edit 'cause I evidently cannot spell 'advisor.'

[This message has been edited by vigna_ag (edited 10/28/2013 5:04p).]

Took a very similar trip last fall. Spent 2 days in Bangkok (The Shangri-La in Bangkok is fantastic). We then spent 4 days in Koh Samui at a place called Rocky's Resort (Not recommended for kids). I would say that your travel planning depends on if you are traveling with Kids or not. If not, a lot of the activities in Bangkok and the night life are a lot of fun. I also agree with Vigna that Trip Advisor is the way to go for reviews and recommendations.

On Samui we stayed at Lazy days. All cottages, with either regular or ocean view rooms. Not much cost either way. Restaurant serves decent food. The masseuse quit as we were checking in, but has spa service usually. The beach was beautiful, but rocky (as much of Samui is) so we took pics, but no swimming.

http://www.changthaihouse.com/home/

View from the cottage:




In Chiang Mai, we stayed at Chang Thai House. A true hotel, 5 or 6 floors. Nice view of Thai jungle and town. Close walk to the old city wall and most of the interesting things in Chiang Mai.






[This message has been edited by vigna_ag (edited 10/28/2013 9:31p).]

Go to ****et. Lots of european tourists but awesome beaches and nightlife. Oh yeah and just assume that every hot girl trying to talk to you is actually a dude.


P.h.....uket.

[This message has been edited by Alan Johnson (edited 10/31/2013 8:43a).]

quote:

---

Oh yeah and just assume that every hot girl trying to talk to you is actually a dude.

---

Rule 1 in Thailand: if she's pretty, she has a *****.

****et has some areas that are still nice.

Surin and further north isn't bad. Rawai is quiet as well. Patong is the place on ****et that is overrun with tourists. Never been to Koh Samui so I can't provide any input on this one.

The islands are a bit touristy but they are very pretty... Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, etc.

Krabi is across the bay from ****et and is nice. Nice balance of laid back and touristy.

I saw Bangkok as the underbelly of humanity my first time there, 5 months later after traveling SE Asia I came back and loved it. It's one of my favorite places on Earth. It's just as dirty as it clean, just as modern as it is traditional, it's as chaotic as it is peaceful. Check out Suk 11 in Nana for a place to stay. Feeling a lil wild? Check out Pad Pong area at night. Shop at the massive malls. Eat like a king on some incredible street food. See Chatuchit Market up north. Take no expectations to Bangkok and you'll love it.

I enjoyed Chiang Mai. If I had a sweet lady with me, I'd post up in the South somewhere. Probably Railay. I'd stay there until I got tired of beautiful scenery, great food, and lots of alone time with my SO.

I'd see a full moon party on Koh Phangan(lock your values up wherever you stay). I'd hike a national park in the interior of the isthmus.

I don't know how much time you have, but Luang Prabang, Laos is in my top 3 favorite places in the world.

[This message has been edited by nomadic_ag (edited 11/5/2013 11:48a).]