Thailand - Anyone been?

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bavlondon
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Thailand - Anyone been?

Post by bavlondon »

Was thinking of doing a few weeks in Thailand but not sure where to go. Want somewhere with decent nightlife but also nice beaches and things to do in the day. Deffo gonna do Phuket for a week, see phi phi, maya bay, krabi ect... but after that not sure.

Was thinking either Koh Samet or Samui? Air Asia do pretty good domestic flight deals.


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Rufus
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Post by Rufus »

Been to Bangkok twice never made it elsewhere unfortunately it is definitely an experience, has to be seen to be believed. I sometimes found it a bit creepy & was warned not to walk anywhere, that me feel uneasy tbh. But all in all gr8 experience 8)
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cantona7
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Post by cantona7 »

been to bangkok a few times as well as laemchabeng. loved bangkok. my dad always used to rave about pattia beach, phuket, etc but im sure there are many other good beach towns that are maybe a little less touristy. if your in bangkok and want a good steak though and dont mind spending some $ hit up neils tavern. one of the best/most delicious (and unfortunately most expensive) meals iv ever had period.
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Iko
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Post by Iko »

Thialand is going through some very serious internal conflicts ATM, so ya there will be travel deals as many charters have canceled setting trips there.
Vietnam on the other hand has moved in the opposite direction, is very smoker friendly and cheap.
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bavlondon
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Post by bavlondon »

Thanks mate, will deffo try to squeeze a few days in BKK. btw I don't think Pattaya is really known for it's beaches. In fact I think it's beach is one of the filthiest in all of Thailand. I think there are a few coral islands a ferry ride away in ko larn but Pattaya itself is not too nice. If you dad was raving about Pattaya, it wasn't for the beaches.

Phuket though yeah I heard lots of good things about. Karon and kata beaches are beautiful and there are lots of cool day excursions to be done.
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cantona7
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Post by cantona7 »

bavlondon wrote:Thanks mate, will deffo try to squeeze a few days in BKK. btw I don't think Pattaya is really known for it's beaches. In fact I think it's beach is one of the filthiest in all of Thailand. I think there are a few coral islands a ferry ride away in ko larn but Pattaya itself is not too nice. If you dad was raving about Pattaya, it wasn't for the beaches.

Phuket though yeah I heard lots of good things about. Karon and kata beaches are beautiful and there are lots of cool day excursions to be done.
keep in mind my dad did most of his business/trips in the late 70's and early to mid 80's. according to my mom and dad the ebaches back then were actually really nice.
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Post by CHELSEA_SMOKERS_SOCIETY »

mate, regarding that part of the world, from a smoking perspective:

thaliand. the penalty is not worth joking about in thailand. for any personal amount. however saying that, on the islands, ko tao, phanagn, samui etc. you will find almost every reggae themed bar is an obvious code word for 'weed on sale here'. you can smoke at the bar, but never ever take it out of the bar. the reggae bars pay a bribe to be smoking dens, and the police (who take the bribe) will happily wait outside and stop and search anyone leaving.

my week and a half on ko phanagn was one of the happiest weeks of my life. truelly an amazing place. weed on tap at the bars, cheap scooters, cheap thai food, cheap bamboo huts....a paradise setting and every cople of weeks there is a big party on the busy side of the island (full moon half moon, shiva moon etc etc.).

Laos. get caught and get frog marched to the cash point and hand over however much the cop wants. (saying that there are only 25 or so cash points in all of Laos! they were only introduced about 5 - 10 years ago. that sums up how wonderfully oldy worldy laos is.

ganja is available every where in Laos. we got offered it, by the water ferry driver, in between thai border and Laos border, and it continued that way all over. tuk tuk drivers sell it, and there is a boozy touritst town called Vangvieng (google it) where opium, mushrooms and weed are sold on laminated menus in the resturants. the 4000 islands in the south of laos, is a heaven on earth, of the 400 tiny islands in the middle of the mekong river, 3 are big enough to have small settlements, with no electricity for the day light hours and weed is sold at every one of the few shops resturants. truelly truelly a wonderfull place.

cambodia. no idea of the punishment, but get the idea its just a cash bribe if you are stopped by cops. in phnom penn, the captial, there is a seedy but fun area called 'lakeside' which is where all the backpackers stay in $2 a night accomadation. all of the bars on the street sell pre rolled joints from the bar and also bags of weed. (a joint $1, or a 1/2 oz bag $7). Siem Riep (where ankor wat is), they have completely legit happy pizza resturants, which im sure you could buy dsome of the 'happy' from them, but the street dealers were so plantifull we didnt need to. also all tuk tuk drivers sell weed. although laos is the most smoker friendly, cambodia is the most obvious. dealers hold the bags in the air to show what they are selling. we smoked happily in the hotels with others too.

vietnam. i have the impression you would be in trouble in vietnam getting caught. probably a bribe and then the police station. in saigon, at night on the busy driking streeets, dealers are common, they will come up to every one selling cigarettes and quitely whisper 'weed'. i didnt get offered anywhere else but saigon, but we got enough in saigon to cover the month we were there.

if you want specific details on the names and locations of weed bars or more info on any aspect of these countires send me a PM and i will happily gush information at you. same applies to everyone reading this.

:D
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bleak
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Re: Thailand - Anyone been?

Post by bleak »

bavlondon wrote:Was thinking of doing a few weeks in Thailand but not sure where to go. Want somewhere with decent nightlife but also nice beaches and things to do in the day. Deffo gonna do Phuket for a week, see phi phi, maya bay, krabi ect... but after that not sure.

Was thinking either Koh Samet or Samui? Air Asia do pretty good domestic flight deals.
Bangkok is great, although not for everyones tastes. Some people complain its just a dirty, smelly city, which is partially correct. But its also a very deep city with endless amounts of interesting nooks and crannies. Someone said its not a city for walking, I would have to disagree. Walking and getting totally lost was the best thing I did in Bangkok, I discovered hidden ancient temples, local markets, fascinating little streets etc. Don't worry about getting REALLY lost though - Just carry the business card of your hostel, wave down a tuktuk and point at the address. That was the thing that kept me going and exploring unknown corners of Bangkok - if I get lost/bored, just find the nearest tuktuk which will take you anywhere for cheap.

Most places in Thailand have their 'tourist strip', including Bangkok, and I HIGHLY recommend you stay away from those areas. In Bangkok its Khao San Rd, and its awful. 50% of the street is backpacker hostels, the other 50% is made up of irish pubs, dirty nightclubs, and overpriced bad food. And everyone is either a backpacker, or Thai people trying to sell you shit. Every taxi driver, salesman or prostitute will be drawn to you like a magnet. Stay away. Like most places in Thailand, walk a few hundred meters away from that crap and suddenly you're in the 'real' Thailand, and thats where it gets good.

The nightlife is good pretty much everywhere in Thailand really. Thai people love to drink and love to party. They are really friendly people, especially if you make a tiny effort to connect with them instead of being just another tourist. If you wanna make friends, go to a bar and order a whiskey 'set'. In Thailand you can order a 'set' which means they give you bottle of liquor, ice and glasses. So you can mix your own drinks on the table. Its very social and everyone likes sharing and meeting people this way. For example I was sitting in a place eating shrimp salad, was the only westerner in the room. This gorgeous Thai girl just sits down at my table and starts chatting with me, we end up ordering a whiskey set to share. Mind you, you do have to be careful in those situations, there are plenty of scams and con-artists in that country. But she was just a cool friendly person who was curious and wanted to talk to me. This happened a few times in Thailand, cool locals just approach me and make friends.

If you are not interested in seeing the urban side of Thailand, head straight for the islands. I've been to a few, and Ko Samui was my least favorite. The beaches were filled with families on holidays, jetski's, and again people walking up and down trying to sell you shit. Not cool. Ko Phangan is better, although the main tourist strip there is just as bad. I stayed on the opposite side of the island, it was more local and friendly. Got to know a few of the locals and smoked weed with them, cool :)

My fave island was Ko Mak, which is near the border to Cambodia, so from BK it takes about 8 hours to get there (bus and boat). Ko Mak is an tiny island, an old coconut plantation, with only a few hundred inhabitants. Its a really awesome vibe where everyone knows eachother, there is only a couple of hostels and restaurants on the island. This is the place to go if you want a beautiful, magical, tropical beach all to yourself (Who wouldn't????)

A lot of visitors to Thailand go hiking up north near Chang Mai. I did this, it was pretty cool but I wasn't THAT impressed by the mountains or rainforests. But I'm spoiled because I come from Australia. And Chang Mai was just a smaller version of Bangkok.

Wow, long post, as you can see I really love Thailand. I spent 4 weeks there, but after the 1st week I was already saying to myself "this it the best holiday EVER".

The political situation is unstable, but don't let that stop you. I was there just a month after the military takeover in 2006, and you wouldn't even know anything had happened, apart from seeing a lot of political posters around the place.
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cantona7
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Post by cantona7 »

CHELSEA_SMOKERS_SOCIETY wrote: vietnam. i have the impression you would be in trouble in vietnam getting caught. probably a bribe and then the police station. in saigon, at night on the busy driking streeets, dealers are common, they will come up to every one selling cigarettes and quitely whisper 'weed'. i didnt get offered anywhere else but saigon, but we got enough in saigon to cover the month we were there.


:D

agreed. of all the places iv visited in south east asia(aside from singapore) vietnam would be the place i would prob smoke personally. if you mix though stock up on cigs there for your next smoking stop..got packs of untampered marbs for $1 a pack and 8-10 a carton. check the packs before leaving though, back in the day they would open the packs, take out 10-15 cigs if not all and stuff the box with paper to make it heavier/seem full.
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bavlondon
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Post by bavlondon »

Thanks for all the replies people, I wasn't going to even attempt to ask about smoking in Thailand given some of the stories ive heard but may do if I decide to check out Samui. Think ill head straight for Phuket, gonna stay somewhere quiet though not in Patong but a little down south, either Karon or Kata. Will visit Phi Phi then I think off to Rayong or Pattaya. I don't mind either but so long as I can get to Koh Samet from there.

After that im gonna head for Cambodia, Sinoukhiville. I heard you can smoke it up there too. :twisted:

Oh yeah and lately i've been thinking about dam quite a bit so think ill do a night there before I head out to Thailand. Gonna be a sick trip!
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