what are your Thailand must-dos?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northern Thailand was our favorite. Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai. We stayed at the Cave Lodge - https://www.cavelodge.com/index.html

This looks like my worst nightmare in a hotel. Do they have luxury hotels?

DP. Some people say they want to travel to other countries, yet expect everything to look and function just like at home. Of course Thailand has some 5 star hotels, but I would suggest that perhaps you don't really want to see Thailand.

dp.. wanting to see a country doesn't necessarily mean having to live like a native. I love to travel, but I need a decent bathroom. That's non negotiable.

[Anonymous]

I would do two weeks: 5 days on a beach in the south (Phuket itself is a bit grim but there are some nice places nearby- the Six Senses was the nicest hotel I have stayed in), 3 or 4 days in Bangkok, and 5 days in the north. You can trek or just do eg ziplining, elephant sanctuary etc. chiang Mai is nice, but there are places like Chiang Rai that are quieter if you prefer. Bangkok itself I loved, but then I like big cities. Floating markets, temples/palaces, museums…

[Anonymous]

OP here - we have about 3 weeks and are not limited to Bangkok. Trying to just get some ideas of what people have done and liked, although of course we can't see the entire country and do everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northern Thailand was our favorite. Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai. We stayed at the Cave Lodge - https://www.cavelodge.com/index.html

This looks like my worst nightmare in a hotel. Do they have luxury hotels?

DP. Some people say they want to travel to other countries, yet expect everything to look and function just like at home. Of course Thailand has some 5 star hotels, but I would suggest that perhaps you don't really want to see Thailand.

dp.. wanting to see a country doesn't necessarily mean having to live like a native. I love to travel, but I need a decent bathroom. That's non negotiable.

May I recommend The White Lotus? In all seriousness, you've assumed that most hotels and guesthouses in Thailand don't have decent bathrooms, without any prior knowledge. I spent about a month traveling around SE Asia, staying in fairly modest accommodations, and the bathrooms in my hotels all had en suite hot showers and flushing toilets...if that's even what you meant. But if you're very fussy and high maintenance, SE Asia probably isn't your ideal destination, and here's why: once you leave the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok or wander beyond the air conditioned malls nearby, you will be leaving your very carefully controlled environment. You may see giant rats. You will smell terrible smells. You may get sick and find the only bathroom available is a squatty potty. You will sweat, a lot. If you really want to see some of SE Asia without the hassle, you should probably stick to something like a cruise with predictable excursions that shuttle you around to major sites and right back to the ship.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I would rethink the summer. Or at the very least investigate the rainy seasons where you'd want to visit - there's a huge difference between locations.

[Anonymous]

We went to fights in Bangkok (Lumpinee & Rajadamnern) and Phuket (some random gym-hosted event), which was dirt cheap and pretty exciting if you get into the betting.

On our last day our checkout was 10am, flight was 10pm, so we booked a guide to drive us (and our luggage) to Ayutthaya and the Royal Elephant Kraal, then to the airport, where we showered at the lounge and then slept on the flight home. It's crazy how inexpensive that was, to basically add an entire day to our trip (and a cool day at that).

PP is getting reamed for telling you to go to Cambodia but they're right - we were in Thailand for almost 2 weeks and Siem Reap for just short of two days, and I have more vibrant memories from Siem Reap than all of Thailand.

[Anonymous]

I went to Thailand in July one summer - we tried to stay near Bangkok where there was the least likelihood of bad rains. We want to Koh Samet and stayed at Ao Prao, which was great (but we did go 10+ years ago). We also went to Erawan national park which was amazing and hopefully has not been flooded with people trying to post on Instagram. I second the rec to go to Angor Wat (for two days).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is like someone saying where should I go in the UK and you say the Eiffel Tower. Yes it’s relatively close but NOT IN THE SAME COUNTRY.

Disagree with this. The Siem Reap suggestion was not that outrageous, considering this forum where any minute now we'll get:

"Thailand? How about you 'pop over' to Costa Rica?"

[Anonymous]

Thailand and Cambodia are involved in intense border skirmishes that could result in closed border crossings, including by air. I'd monitor it.

[Anonymous]

https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/thailand

I encourage everyone to read travel advisories from other countries (along with those from the US govt) as you research destinations.

The linked advisory from Canada is pretty thorough. You might check the UK as well.

Personally, I won’t set foot in Thailand again. The human trafficking and abuse are fairly serious and abundantly apparent if you are paying attention.

I love how so many posters pontificate about never setting foot in Florida or red states because of “women’s rights” yet the same posters have no worries about spending money in places like Thailand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/thailand

I encourage everyone to read travel advisories from other countries (along with those from the US govt) as you research destinations.

The linked advisory from Canada is pretty thorough. You might check the UK as well.

Personally, I won’t set foot in Thailand again. The human trafficking and abuse are fairly serious and abundantly apparent if you are paying attention.

I love how so many posters pontificate about never setting foot in Florida or red states because of “women’s rights” yet the same posters have no worries about spending money in places like Thailand.

You probably should also rethink your travel to the US then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northern Thailand was our favorite. Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai. We stayed at the Cave Lodge - https://www.cavelodge.com/index.html

This looks like my worst nightmare in a hotel. Do they have luxury hotels?

DP. Some people say they want to travel to other countries, yet expect everything to look and function just like at home. Of course Thailand has some 5 star hotels, but I would suggest that perhaps you don't really want to see Thailand.

dp.. wanting to see a country doesn't necessarily mean having to live like a native. I love to travel, but I need a decent bathroom. That's non negotiable.

May I recommend The White Lotus? In all seriousness, you've assumed that most hotels and guesthouses in Thailand don't have decent bathrooms, without any prior knowledge. I spent about a month traveling around SE Asia, staying in fairly modest accommodations, and the bathrooms in my hotels all had en suite hot showers and flushing toilets...if that's even what you meant. But if you're very fussy and high maintenance, SE Asia probably isn't your ideal destination, and here's why: once you leave the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok or wander beyond the air conditioned malls nearby, you will be leaving your very carefully controlled environment. You may see giant rats. You will smell terrible smells. You may get sick and find the only bathroom available is a squatty potty. You will sweat, a lot. If you really want to see some of SE Asia without the hassle, you should probably stick to something like a cruise with predictable excursions that shuttle you around to major sites and right back to the ship.

…she says, dripping with contempt.

[Anonymous]

Seems a long way to go not to see Angkor Wat.

BTW, Thailand and Cambodia are fighting right now.

[Anonymous]

I haven’t seen one thing mentioned in this entire thread that seems worth doing in Thailand. Is it really that bleak?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northern Thailand was our favorite. Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai. We stayed at the Cave Lodge - https://www.cavelodge.com/index.html

This looks like my worst nightmare in a hotel. Do they have luxury hotels?

DP. Some people say they want to travel to other countries, yet expect everything to look and function just like at home. Of course Thailand has some 5 star hotels, but I would suggest that perhaps you don't really want to see Thailand.

dp.. wanting to see a country doesn't necessarily mean having to live like a native. I love to travel, but I need a decent bathroom. That's non negotiable.

May I recommend The White Lotus? In all seriousness, you've assumed that most hotels and guesthouses in Thailand don't have decent bathrooms, without any prior knowledge. I spent about a month traveling around SE Asia, staying in fairly modest accommodations, and the bathrooms in my hotels all had en suite hot showers and flushing toilets...if that's even what you meant. But if you're very fussy and high maintenance, SE Asia probably isn't your ideal destination, and here's why: once you leave the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok or wander beyond the air conditioned malls nearby, you will be leaving your very carefully controlled environment. You may see giant rats. You will smell terrible smells. You may get sick and find the only bathroom available is a squatty potty. You will sweat, a lot. If you really want to see some of SE Asia without the hassle, you should probably stick to something like a cruise with predictable excursions that shuttle you around to major sites and right back to the ship.

? I didn't say I would never visit SE Asia. It's on my bucket list. But yea, I would probably stay at a nice hotel.