THAILAND  

A PERSONAL GUIDE

Whilst looking at various travel guides I was struck by how similar they were. They all contain useful information its true but I feel they fail to give a flavour of the country.

The personal Guide to Thailand is a little different from most Travel guides because as the name suggests it is based on my personal experiences. I have found through travelling and living in these countries that I have developed a few tricks which make being in a foreign country much easier. These are things which many people learn after visiting the country a few times or living there for a while, but which the new visitor is unaware.

I have therefore begun to compile a personal guide in which I endeavour to give a flavour of the country, what you will find there and some survival tips I have found useful. the guide does not list many of the usual sights and attractions as I believe that part of the delight of travelling to a new country is the discovery of the unexpected, and Thailand has much to discover for all. Everyones idea of Thailand is different because in a sense we all discover our own Thailand and this is what the my guides encourage visitors to do.

My guide Starts in Bangkok as this is the usual arrival point for most visitors. We then travel South to the beach resorts of Pattaya, Ko Samui and Phuket. We will also cover the delights of Northern Thailand Chang Mai and Chang Rai, these are thought by many Thais, to be the best places to visit in Thailand.

If your planning a trip to Thailand you are in for some pleasant surprises.Thailand is a country of incredible sights from its golden temples and magnificent palaces, to its white sanded tropical beaches.

I have written this guide to enable the traveller to get the most from their experience.the Thai culture is very different from Western culture and this also combines to make the experience not just a holiday but more of an adventure. There is one drawback to visiting Thailand, you'll probably have to return home (although I know many who have stayed to live there).

You should expect some mminor difficulties at first but you will soon aclimatize. You may find your first little problem, as I did, when you take the taxi from the Airport. I had my hotel booked and a map for the taxi in Thai for him to follow, a simple journey you might think. But many Thais cannot read maps and it actually took 5 taxi drivers to sought out where i was to go. But everything was soon soughted out and I arrived at my hotel OK.

I am  always amazed at how helpful and friendly Thai people are you will see smiling faces everywhere you go, and if go to the same cafe more than once you will be treated like one of the family.You will probably arrive in Bangkok,Which is a large sprawling city without a central part. It has more shops, more nightclubs, more restaurants than you could possible need. There are also many attractions for the tourist.

Many people say English is widely spoken in Thailand, this is true in a lot of areas but you may find some places where they only speak very little English and some nnone at all. I find this a bit strange as many of the signs you see will be partly in English.

Khoa San (pronouced cow san) is where you will find most of the tourists although its largely taken over by backpackers. Its a very good place to visit and get your bearings and has many cheap shops and market stalls and lots of travel agents offering really good deals on trips but shop around. It also has lots of bars, clubs and places to eat. Another popular tourist area is sukumvit. Here again lots of cheap shops, restaurants, clubs and girly bars.

Most people spend a short time in Bangkok and travel on to the beach resorts of Pattaya, Ko Samui and Phuket in the south or to Chang Mai and Chang Rai in the north. Visit the travel agents in Khoa San to find the best and cheapest ways of getting to these places. Whether travelling around the cities or going further afield you will find it very easy and very cheap. In the cities you have a choice of tuk tuks (basically a three wheel motorcycle with a shed on the back), river boat and monorail (in Bangkok) or buses and taxis. these seem to outnumber people by about 5:1 so they are also an easy and cheap way to get around. TIP taxis can overcharge quite a lot (still about 1/5 western prices) so what I try to do is go to a local cafe for a coffee and ask them hhow much a taxi will cost to where I want to go they will give the Thai price, but dont expect to pay this because you're a rich Falang (foreigner).

Places to stay

Newrotel - Choeran Krung Road

    A Danish run Guest house offering comfortable basic accommodation with fan or aircon and shower. Meals can be had in the restaurant and they have safe deposit boxes for your valuables. Rooms from 350 - 450 Bht.

Rajdamnoen Hotel - 90 Behind 4 Bldg. Rajdamnoenkrang Road,
Bangkok 10200.