First time travel - Thailand

kirjoitti
legroups.com...

Bangkok is only interesting in the Banglamphu area. This area has Khao
San Road, which everyone should see once their life. It has all the


Hmmm. I disagree.


grand historic buildings around Wat Pra Keow and the emerald buddha.
It has an antique and buddha image market near the river. The National
Museum is there , which is quite good.

These institutions don't reside in Banglamphoo but on Rattanakosin (which is
next to Banglampoo in south). Further south and east from Rattanakosin is
the Indian neighbourhood called Pahurat. It is exotic and most visiting
tourists like it. One can try to find his way to the Sikh temple there.
Expansive Chinatown is next to Pahurat. North from Banglamphoo is Dusit
where is the Vimanmek teak house (Thais claim it being the largest building
of it's kind in the world) which was built by a Thai king for his residence
and now serves as a museum. In the neighbourhood is also the Bangkok zoo,
The Royal Residence and the old Parliament house.

Chiang Mai is rather boring except for the fact that it has some good
western style restaurants, if you want that in thailand.

Sights in town should keep first time tourists busy. Just outside town is
the Suitep hill, which is also worth a visit. Up there is a temple complex
which is very nice and views over the city are interesting. Further up on
the hill there is a royal gardens. The highest point the kingdom, the peak
of Inthanon mountain is not so far from Chiang Mai and a paved road leads
there.


Chiang Rai (also in the north) is also boring, except for a funny
little hotel called the Rose Hotel, which is good for laughs. The
thai food at the street stalls is good because it comes straight from
the farms.

Town itself is rather uninteresting. However, not far from Chiang Rai are
nice mountainous vistas next to the Burmese border. One can have a peek on a
Chinese village of Mai Salong. Tung mountain is my favorite and a Royal
Gardens there. Even Phu Chi Fa is not very far from Chiang Rai (~100km
east). Hikers like these hills. Phrae is also very nice small town full of
interesting teak houses but is pretty much away from the two towns close to
Utaradit.

I am going to Thailand for 2 weeks on March 11th, this is my first
time there.
Any helpful hints on places to go/eat/see/experience or places NOT to
go would be most helpful to me,
All helpful replies welcomed,
Thanks, John


There is plenty to do in Bangkok. I spent a week there last Fall and
managed to keep quite busy. Some general advice for doing the tourist bit.
Thailand is a developing economy. At first you might think the country is
filled with con artists but in actuality it is just people trying to make a
living. As you approach any tourist site, a shill/tout will quickly
approach you offering some deal. Read any guide book to get a full flavor
of how the scam works. Avoid at all costs. You will approach a temple,
streams of tourists going in, and the tout will say, temple closed today or
temple only open for locals now. It is rather funny once you get use to it,
although the first couple of days are rather wearing. Shake your hand
forcefully and say 'May ao' (pronounced 'may ow'). It means no. Walk away.
Also see



http://2bangkok.com/2bangkok/Scams/Sapphire.shtml



to read about the gem scam industry in Thailand. Remember that Thais by
nature are somewhat reserved. A Thai would never approach a non-Thai and
engage them in conversation. So if one does, watch out. My wife and I were
at the Erawan Shrine and a young woman approached us. Nice woman, very good
English, gave us a good bit of history about the area. We had a wonderful
chat with her. She asked us if we were going to do any shopping, then
mentioned that it was the King's birthday and a special sale was being held
and she would put us on a tuk-tuk to get us there. It was so convincing
until she mentioned 'King's birthday'. Any guide book will tell you this is
a basic scam (the King's real birthdate is December 5). Once she mentioned
that, I drifted away. The point is that the touts are very convincing - it
is their job to hustle you. Be aware.



As to Bangkok itself, it is a very safe city - unlike virtually any city in
the U.S. I took the Skytrain all over the place. It is very easy to
negotiate. I recommend taking the Skytrain to the end of the line at the
River (Saphan Taksin). There you can buy day passes for the Chao Phraya
Express Company. Their boats run up and down the river with stops at all
the major sites. It is a very convenient way to see most of the major
tourist destinations on the river.



In addition to the major temples and museums, I would recommend a visit to
the Jim Thompson House. My wife and I dropped in to the Four Seasons hotel
for a couple of massages. Fantastic and cheap (relative to a Four Seasons
in the States).



This was my first visit to Asia. Visiting Thailand is an enriching
experience, it is so different from a Western country. I wish I was going
back (sans the debilitating 20 hour flight). Prior to going to Thailand, I
thought the 'bar' districts would be ever present (advertising, shills,
etc.), but I literally saw no evidence of it. I guess the reasoning is if
that is your cup of tea, you will find it on your own. The only problem I
had with the trip is that I used my credit card in a few upscale spots but
my credit card number was obviously stolen since several unauthorized
charges appeared after I returned home for purchases in China and the UK. I
cancelled the card and the charges were dropped, but it was a minor
headache. Short of carrying lots of money, I am not sure the problem was
unavoidable.

On Jan 30, 3:23 pm, wrote:
On Jan 30, 5:54 am, wrote:

I am going to Thailand for 2 weeks on March 11th, this is my first
time there.
Any helpful hints on places to go/eat/see/experience

Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai, Ayuthaya or Sukhothai if you're
interested, and a beach - which one depends on whether you want to
party, dive or relax somewhere quiet.

or places NOT to go

Pattaya and Phuket

Thanks, John

On Jan 30, 6:31 pm, "Mr. Free Notes" wrote:
Photos of some hotels in Thailand are available from:

http://www.snaptheroom.com/

Sincerely,
Mr. Free Notes

wrote in message

oups.com...



I am going to Thailand for 2 weeks on March 11th, this is my first
time there.
Any helpful hints on places to go/eat/see/experience or places NOT to
go would be most helpful to me,
All helpful replies welcomed,
Thanks, John- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks, John

On Jan 31, 12:52 am, "Tchiowa" wrote:
On Jan 30, 5:54 pm, wrote:

I am going to Thailand for 2 weeks on March 11th, this is my first
time there.
Any helpful hints on places to go/eat/see/experience or places NOT to
go would be most helpful to me,
All helpful replies welcomed,
Thanks, John

It would be helpful it you gave us a hint what your personal interests
are. Why are you going there? Culture, beaches, diving, drinking,
darts on a map?

I am intersted in new experiences, I have seen temples, shrines,
Buddas and up the 8m snow sided mountain road in Tateyama, Japan..
also a bit of relaxation, I have never done diving before. I am
thinking of heading south on a train from BKK.
Thanks, John

On Jan 31, 3:54 pm, " wrote:
On Jan 30, 2:54 am, wrote:

I am going to Thailand for 2 weeks on March 11th, this is my first
time there.
Any helpful hints on places to go/eat/see/experience or places NOT to
go would be most helpful to me,
All helpful replies welcomed,
Thanks, John

Bangkok is only interesting in the Banglamphu area. This area has Khao
San Road, which everyone should see once their life. It has all the
grand historic buildings around Wat Pra Keow and the emerald buddha.
It has an antique and buddha image market near the river. The National
Museum is there , which is quite good.

Avoid Khao San Road like the plague unless you're part of the "druggie
shower once every other week" crowd.

Chiang Mai is rather boring except for the fact that it has some good
western style restaurants, if you want that in thailand.

Chiang Mai is one of the best Thai cities. Large enough to be have
infrastructure for tourists but retains the Thai character that a lot
of Bangkok has lost.

You might like Mae Sai, on the northernmost border with Burma. There
is a huge jade market there. Shop after shop selling all kinds of
jade, some raw uncut pieces from burma, and some cut at all levels of
sophistication. Some very well made Chinese jade pendants. If you go
there, you should eat breakfast at the big luxury hotel, the wang
thong I think.

Don't buy jade or any type of gem unless you are an experienced buyer.
Too many rip off vendors.

Mae Sai is a good spot to cross into Burma for a one day shopping
tour.

"Tchiowa" kirjoitti
glegroups.com...

Avoid Khao San Road like the plague unless you're part of the "druggie
shower once every other week" crowd.

Tourists hardly miss anything if they decided to stay away from Khao San.
However, I have never seen a "drug scene" there (I don't know whether this
is what you are saying about it though).

In article .com,
Tchiowa says...

Avoid Khao San Road like the plague unless you're part of the "druggie
shower once every other week" crowd.

Oh, please not again this Khaosan road bashing. Khaosan road is useful
for its tourist infrastructure (lots of travel agencies, shops etc.) and
its proximity to the major sights(Grand Place in walking distance). It's
not the best Bangkok has to offer, but perfectly suitable for a brief
stay in Bangkok.
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

On Feb 1, 7:34 pm, Markku Grönroos wrote:
"Tchiowa" kirjoitti
glegroups.com...

Avoid Khao San Road like the plague unless you're part of the "druggie
shower once every other week" crowd.

Tourists hardly miss anything if they decided to stay away from Khao San.

Agreed.

However, I have never seen a "drug scene" there (I don't know whether this
is what you are saying about it though).

There is a fairly significant drug scene there. It is one of the
places that people go to get X, pot, etc. Look at the backpacker or
druggie discussion groups, or threads here in Usenet where someone
asks "Can I get X in Thailand" and they always point people to KSR.
The locals are well aware of the situation. The middle class Thai
avoid the place.

On Feb 2, 1:57 am, Alfred Molon wrote:
In article .com,
Tchiowa says...

Avoid Khao San Road like the plague unless you're part of the "druggie
shower once every other week" crowd.

Oh, please not again this Khaosan road bashing. Khaosan road is useful
for its tourist infrastructure (lots of travel agencies, shops etc.)

True. But the same can be said about half a dozen other places in
Bangkok that don't have the seedy reputation and unfortunate side
effects of the drug/backpacker culture that KSR has.

and its proximity to the major sights(Grand Place in walking distance). It's
not the best Bangkok has to offer, but perfectly suitable for a brief
stay in Bangkok.

It's also where the police launch the occasional "sweep" looking for
foreigners buying, selling, possessing drugs, expired visas, etc.
There's a reason they look there first.