On the way to Singapore tomorrow.
We are travelling to krabi beach
and phucket in thailand next week,
and not even planning to stop in
Bangkok, but that may change...
If you are interested I can let
you know how it all went down.

quote:

Originally posted by Mako Ti trovo una bella ragazza Italiana?

Per l'amore di Dio,

SI!!!!

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Originally posted by bigfatandugly hey skipper...i was there for 2 months this winter. first of all, expect a total travel time of about 40 hours before you set down your bags in your first bungalow in haad rin, unless your lucky enough to find a connecting flight from bangkok to samui that day, then you'll save 6 hours or so. full moon parties occur every month and honestly arent 'all that'- all the bars facing the beach pump out thier own kind of music at distorting volumes. it would be so much better if they set up a stage at one end of the beach and a stage at another, but it isnt about the music- just about selling buckets (plastic pails with mickeys of whiskey/ vodka and redbull for 10 bucks) to the many thousands and thousands of drunk aussies. (for the most part you'll find aussies in phangan and samui as opposed to europeans). the music is shitty so please dont get your hopes up. see other parts of phangan,. haad rin is the dumpist part. when in haad rin, got o niras bakery and ask for nok (pronounced knock) and tell him big rob and sean from canada say hello and he'll take care of you- he's fucking awesome and his english is good so if you have any questions or need anything he will help you out. phangan was my favorite of the 6 islands we visited on both sides of thailand. if you want privacy and relaxation, go north to bottle beach. also, if you get a chance stay a nite at the chalaklum bay resort in chalaklum. ask for nin. again, tell him big rob from canada sends you- he lived with us for a month when we were there- and he'll take care of you, big time. samui is the most commercialised of the islands next to phuket, which is a shame cause it was once probably very beautiful- they say phangan is samui 30 years ago. if you get a chance go to the anadaman side and see the isalnds of lanta and phi phi. stay a way from phuket, unless you want the hysteria of bangala road. ko tao is a nice island but not much for beaches as most of its shoreline is rocky. its a divers haven though. ask me specific questions and i'll do my best to answer them. BFU

thanks for this info. I'd like to do some diving so that's why I'm looking at koh tao. I'm going to stay in bangkok for a night or two as well.

Since I'll be by myself, I don't mind that there will be aussies around as this is my first time travelling alone and will probably feel more comfortable with english speaking people around.

I'll check out those other islands you mentioned - thanks!

I Thailand and SE asia this summer. In Thailand we went to Chaing Mai (then into Laos and Cambodia). After back to Bangkok to Ko Chang, Ko Tao, Ko Phagnan then to Railay (Hat Ton Sai) The full moon party was alright but the mixing of sound from the stages suck.

I climb so Chiang Mai and Hat Ton Sai were the best parts. Bangkok isn't that bad. From Khao San Rd (Yuk) take the boat express right to Chinatown. Or get off one stop north (I think) walk to Hualamphong (sp?) train station, take the subway, then skytrain transfer and go to Siam station. All the big shopping malls are there. Honestly I though Bangkok was great and I was there by myself for a couple of days.

so interesting how a lot of people have had the chance to explore this region! I think its definitely one of the most beautiful areas of the world. I'm hoping to plan a trip in this area around 2009 and cover in approx 3 week (luckily airfare seems to be dirt cheap between locations):

Bangkok
Phuket
Kuala Lumpur
Jakarta
Bali
Singapore

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Originally posted by Skipper I'm headed to Thailand from Dec 22 - Jan 5/6. I'll probably only spend a day or two in Bangkok as I fly in from China, and after that I'm going to check out some of the islands along the gulf of thailand, such as Koh Tao and Koh Phangan. I know of the full moon party in Koh Phangan - there's one on Dec 24, then parties on Christmas day and New Years eve. It looks like a bit of a shit show, the kind of thing that needs to be witnessed once in your life, but the vids of the party on youtube all include really really horrible trance until the afternoon the next day! Has anyone ever been to Thailand and can offer some advice or suggestions on how to spend my time? I'll probably be alone most of the time.

I was actually thinking of the exact same plans! I was thinking of island hopping from Dec 28th then showing up for the new years parties and the going to find remote beaches around south east asia for the next 3 days until I have to be back at work on the 4th in Tokyo. Well either that or I'm busting out to Fiji or the marinara islands for the week.
Let me know if you are going forward with this.

___________________
Dave (aka: Upgrade- live pa)

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Originally posted by Lightshow i wear sunglasses for the same reason everybody wears them in a club. 1: people look cool in sunglasses 2: it gets awefully bright as the night progresses

*nusty does not wear sunglasses at night, they make it hard to see and you could trip

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Originally posted by djbruuen so interesting how a lot of people have had the chance to explore this region! I think its definitely one of the most beautiful areas of the world. I'm hoping to plan a trip in this area around 2009 and cover in approx 3 week (luckily airfare seems to be dirt cheap between locations): Bangkok Phuket Kuala Lumpur Jakarta Bali Singapore

It might be cheap, but all of that travel is still going to be time consuming. I think that itinerary is a bit ambitious....you want to be able to relax and explore the places you visit.

and everything I've read has told me to avoid Phuket like the plague.

phuket is for people that do not really want to see Thailand, worts and all. I could be any nameless resort in any country.

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Originally posted by Skipper It might be cheap, but all of that travel is still going to be time consuming. I think that itinerary is a bit ambitious....you want to be able to relax and explore the places you visit. and everything I've read has told me to avoid Phuket like the plague.

agreed, it may be a little too much time on a plane for my liking, but i would like to explore as much as possible. I don't really have much interest in Jakarta, but i'm not sure if i'd be able to get direct flights to bali from the other places at a cheap price without stopping there first.


Why the negative comments about phuket? i think it looks incredible from the pics, and close proximity to phi phi island.

Check out travel blogs and do some research online....it's just over-touristed. There are many other beautiful beaches with varying degrees of tourism in Thailand.

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Originally posted by Skipper Check out travel blogs and do some research online....it's just over-touristed. There are many other beautiful beaches with varying degrees of tourism in Thailand.

yeh, the over-touristed part i basically expected. And the movie 'the beach' didn't help that factor at all(good movie though).

Well enjoy yourself, i know this will basically be my 'trip of a lifetime' when it happens!