# Going to Thailnad for the first time



## medicdino (Jul 10, 2012)

Hey all, i'm going to thailand in a couple weeks for my R&R and wanted some advise on what to do, and possibly meet some cool people, anything will help. thank you


----------



## Wayward Wind (Aug 28, 2011)

medicdino said:


> Hey all, i'm going to thailand in a couple weeks for my R&R and wanted some advise on what to do, and possibly meet some cool people, anything will help. thank you


Where in Thailand, for how long, and what kinds of thing do you want to do? 

R&R? US military?


----------



## medicdino (Jul 10, 2012)

I'm flying into Bangkok and i really have no real plans, i want to go diving, possibly Ko Tao, i wanna see the tiger temple in Kanchanburi, hang in Patayya beach, maybe hit up angrkor wat in cambodia, just a check list really, i'll be in town for a month, I'm ex army, contractor now.


----------



## Wayward Wind (Aug 28, 2011)

medicdino said:


> I'm flying into Bangkok and i really have no real plans, i want to go diving, possibly Ko Tao, i wanna see the tiger temple in Kanchanburi, hang in Patayya beach, maybe hit up angrkor wat in cambodia, just a check list really, i'll be in town for a month, I'm ex army, contractor now.


With a month, you should be able to see quite a bit.

If I had a month, and wanted to see several places with different attractions, I would:

1. Spend 4-5 days in Bangkok seeing the sights there (Royal Palace and other landmarks, dinner boat on the Chao Phraya, etc) and making the day trip to the tiger temple. A couple of the Night Markets would make for an interesting evening.

2. Fly to Siem Reap, and stay near downtown. 2 days. The travel agents will try to book you into one of the 5 stars but they are all a ways out of town and pretty isolated - stay in the Old Market area. I stayed at the Steung Siem Reap Hotel and it was great. Hire a taxi to tour the temples rather than taking a tour - avoid the crowds. The tour buses all follow the same clockwise route; with a taxi, you can go counterclockwise and avoid the hordes for the most part.

3. Taxi or bus to Phnom Penh. 2-3 days there. Sights should include Tuol Sleng, Cheoung Ek (both remnants of the killing fields). Definitely cocktails at the FCC at sunset. They have rooms as well and it is a great location.

4. Taxi, train, or fly to Kompong Som (Sihanoukville) 2 days. Haven't been there in many years but was worth a couple of days. Used to have diving so I am sure it is still available.

5. Overland to Trat in Thailand. 2 days plus the travel day. Koh Chang and Koh Kood are both good places for diving, relaxing, etc.

6. Taxi to Pattaya. 3-4 days. More diving, parasailing, day trip (maybe and overnight) to Koh Larn, nightlife, etc.

That is less than 20 days, giving you time to stretch out some of the places if you want. If not, you can fly to either Koh Smaui or Phuket from the Pattaya airport in Sattahip and spend some time down south. I don't know Samui well, but on Phuket, you can choose between the west coast for the partying, or around Chalong Bay for a quieter time. Lots of possibilities for day trips/overnights to other islands.

Samui and Phuket both have multiple flights per day to Bangkok.

From now through the end of Septembe is low season, so far fewer tourists to deal with; downside is the partying not as crazy as in high season if that is what you want.

A strong caution: do not - in any location - rent a jet ski. It is an infamous scam at all the beaches. Google it for the horror stories.

Hope this helps. Need any more info, send me a PM or respond here and I will give what I know, and maybe expats living in some of the other places (I live in Pattaya) can chime in.


----------



## medicdino (Jul 10, 2012)

awesome thank you for all the advise, I definately want to do some partying in Pataaya and bangkok, i can't wait to get there, alot of the guys i work with here, use thailand as a hotspot for travel, so i just hope i'll run into other expats like me that want to hangout.


----------



## Wayward Wind (Aug 28, 2011)

medicdino said:


> awesome thank you for all the advise, I definately want to do some partying in Pataaya and bangkok, i can't wait to get there, alot of the guys i work with here, use thailand as a hotspot for travel, so i just hope i'll run into other expats like me that want to hangout.


No worries. 

When you are getting close to Pattaya, give me a shout and we can grab a beer or two. My partying days are well and truly behind me, but I can point you in the right direction.

Hopefully some folks from Bangkok and the other areas will step up with some recommendations.


----------



## medicdino (Jul 10, 2012)

sounds good thank you again


----------



## sammycandice (Jul 9, 2012)

If you need anyone to show you around Bangkok let me know, I live there and know great places!!


----------



## pensacolapyro (Jul 11, 2012)

I just wanted to say I enjoyed Phuket and went to Patong beach, lots of fun stuff to do.


----------



## medicdino (Jul 10, 2012)

sammycandice said:


> If you need anyone to show you around Bangkok let me know, I live there and know great places!!


thanks i'll for sure look you up when i get there, it'll be pretty soon, and yea great places is what i want to see, thanks again


----------



## Mweiga (Sep 24, 2010)

medicdino said:


> I'm flying into Bangkok and i really have no real plans, i want to go diving, possibly Ko Tao, i wanna see the tiger temple in Kanchanburi, hang in Patayya beach, maybe hit up angrkor wat in cambodia, just a check list really, i'll be in town for a month, I'm ex army, contractor now.


For diving Koh Tao , which has the best sites in the Gulf of Thailand , go to Koh Samui , stay at Chaweng Beach and book a two night package for Koh Tao with one of the dive shops of which there are many - SIDS and Easy Divers are pretty good but there are many others who can fix you up. Two nights on Koh Tao will give you 8 dives which utilises your time to the maximum , plus you get to stay on this laid back and charming divers island.

Also , Koh Samui is a very much better beach option than Pattaya , and Chaweng offers all the same nightlife attractions , etc, as Pattaya albeit on a rather smaller scale. If you're planning to let it all hang out in Bangkok then I wouldn't bother with Pattaya at all - speaking from local knowledge and living 20 kms up the road from it !


----------

