papyPiHi

Hi!

After a few negociation with my bosses, I managed to get one month off this April, and decided to go to Asia.I'm departig on April 9th from DUB, with arrival at SIN on the 10th. As I am unsure about where to precisely go, I am turning to you for a little piece of advice:
What I really want to do during this month off is really chill out, and enjoy my holidays. I would be really keen on discovering the Thai culture, but I don't know what kind of attitude Thai people have towards the so-called farangs.

I have drafted an itinerary:
10APR: Arrival in SIN in late evening
12APR After 2 days spent in visiting Singapore, I want to head out to BKK for the Songkran festival, probably in Ahyttaya.
15 APR: Heading to Nakhon Ratshiama, for at least 4 or 5 days. I plan to have a 2-day solo hike in Kao Yai there, and discover a few temples, stroll around the city,...
20APR: return to BKK and catch a flight to Samui for 48hours
22APR: Flight to Phuket, then ferry to Koh phi phi, 48h there
24APR: Boat to Koh lipe, and a few days there chilling out
29 APR: boat to the south of Thailand, then bus all the way through Malaysia to SIN (with stops en route, I am thinking of spending at least 4 days there)
03MAY: Arrival in SIN, a few days in the city and its surroundings, then I'm back to the foggy and grey Brtitish weather...

I have a few questions (and maybe I'm overthinking )
1) What is the best place to spend Songkran festival around Bangkok? I've seen on the Web that Ahyttaya is a good place to be...
2) Is Hiking alone in Kao Yai dangerous? (I mean is there a likely chance of getting robbed during the middle of the night?Are there some guided tours?
3)Any good place in Nakhon or around for getting some good silkwear? My GF would go crazy over such stuff that I thought of getting her something there.
4) Are there any good and almost tourist-free islands around Koh phi phi where I could stay? I heard that Koh lipe was great, but has become more of a tourist trap over the years...
5) The foreign ministry is warning against any stay in the province between south Thailand and Malaysia...Is is better after my stay in the islands to head back to Phuket and get a flight to KUL?

6) Any other good tips about what to do during this short but intense stay?

Thanks for your help!
PapyPiHi

BigE

I don't know about safety in southern Thailand, so I'll let others comment on that.

I got tired just reading your itinerary - doesn't like enough 'chilling' to me. But I'm guessing that you value off-the-beaten track places and adventure more than comfort, and that you have special tolerance for uncomfortable modes of transportation. Is that right? Perhaps you want to be in places without many foreigners? Did you read the other reports on FT (lots of them)?

I would have recommended more time in Bangkok and Phuket or Chiang mai (lots of great side trips from there). Ayuthaya might be good for a day. Nakhom Ratchasima and khao yai are beautiful (I've heard, but never been there) and is an interesting choice. I actually enjoy going to such places, where I'm nearly the only farang, but it's not a common taste. It's more the kind of place people would visit after they are bored of the tourist hot spots with more comforts and English-speaking hosts. I would recommend planes rather than buses, whenever possible (more because of comfort and time than safety). (But if you do take buses, pay a little extra for the highest class they have - VIP or first). You could fly from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur (2-3 days is enough, in my opinion), for example, then take a 5-hour bus back to Singapore. I would recommend spending more time staying in one place, and less time traveling.

Flying to Koh Samui for just 2 days and then to Phuket doesn't make sense to me. It's usually very expensive to fly in and out of there, so it's not worth it for just two days. I would just fly straight to Phuket and pamper yourself a bit.

weather note: Most of the island places near lots of water, like Phuket and Singapore, have essentially the same temperature all year round. This is a good time of year to focus on those parts. The northern/inland parts of Thailand get really hot around April, especially as you get further away from large bodies of water (in places such as Chiang Mai and maybe Nakhon Ratchasima, unless it has more elevation than I'm imagining). It can be brutal.

What is the best place to spend the Songkran festival? I would recommend somewhere outside of Thailand. I'm more than half-serious. The Songkran festival is interesting and unique. But I will avoid it in the future, because it's basically drunk people throwing water at you, during the hottest weather of the year. I suppose that's not a very romantic picture, but it's how I see it.

honeybanny

Hey, First I am agree with Big E you plan do not look like you like to chill out to spend just 48 hrs on places where the traveling part will take most of the time and will not give you a lot of time to enjoy or relax.

There will be no problem to meet locals and the thai culture, Thai people are very friendly and helpful and more than happy to show you arround.

I can not tell you so much about Koa Yai but for sure take a guide, you can get them with the ranger office. Maybe send them a email for details.

But lets see: Songkran is a big festival in Thailand. The main different is in the lenght of the party. For example in Pattaya and Chiang Mai they celebrate Songkran for 7 days, In Phuket only the actually SOngkran day 13th of April. I am not sure where in Thailand you will find the most traditional SOngkran fest but for sure it is a big wet party.

Ko Samui, Phuket, Phi Phi. Why do you like to spend only 48 hrs at this places? Maybe for Phi Phi it will be enough, since this island is quite small but I think for Samui and Phuket you should spend more time or skip it at all. I do not Ko Lipe but I think it should be okay since in April the highseason is over. And I am very sorry to inform you there are no almost tourist-free islands around Koh phi phi, during the lowseason it is quite but since these islands are living from the tourist most of the restaurants or places are closed. But this would come quite close to your wish of almost tourist free island

Traveling to the south of Thailand is not problem especially if you just like to travel trough. It is no problem to take a minibus from Phuket, Krabi etc to the border of Malaysia to continue to KL or Singapore. But if you stay on Koh Lipe just take the ferry to Malaysia.

I hope this information is helping you a little bit. Have a great trip

glennaa11

I'll agree with the other that all that flying around to spend 2 days each in very similar type beach-y places doesn't make a lot of sense to me. But I am biased against beach-y places for the most part.

Personally I would head up to Chiang Mai and the north instead. I have never been in Thailand for Songkran. I have read plenty of opinions about it. It sounds like it has basically become a crazy free-for-all of the biggest possible waterguns to shoot everyone with. Doesn't sound like the sacred and beautiful holiday it used to be. But from what I read Chiang Mai is a better place to be for it. I'm sure dsquared will have plenty to say. :-)

I spent a couple of days in Khao Yai last November. It is an enormous park and big area. I'm not sure how you are planning to get around. It's not like there is a lot of public transportation out there. I'm guessing the weather will be HOT. It was pretty hot even in November during the day, although it was quite chilly overnight and in the early AM. Also a lot less English spoken out there than in the typical foreign tourist areas. Is your 4-5 days Khorat in addition to the 2 in Khao Yai or including? I did a little trip to Isaan a few years ago and we stayed in Khorat as the base for day trips to Phimai, Phnom Rung, etc. I think 5 days is probably too much and there's really not much of a town to stroll around. But it wouldn't kill you I suppose :-).

I'm not sure your trip is the kind of trip I would take. But that's neither here nor there, I suppose. I would probably go to Cambodia instead of taking a multi-day bus ride all the way down the peninsula.

Don't worry about Thai people's attitudes. Most Thai people take hospitality very seriously. Be sure to read up on the scams that are out there though...especially in Phuket which sounds like it has more than it's fair share. But I have found that people all over SE Asia are incredibly friendly and nice in general.

Enjoy your adventure.

aphro

You suggested:

24APR: Boat to Koh lipe, and a few days there chilling out
29 APR: boat to the south of Thailand, then bus all the way through Malaysia to SIN (with stops en route, I am thinking of spending at least 4 days there)]

Phi Phi might well be crazy & is way past its best & will be full of very drunk backpackers. Possibly consider booking accommodation before you get there at that time of year.

Have you considered getting ferry from Lipe to Langkawi then flying down to Sing on a budget airline - small island, much quieter than Phuket, to experience a little of Malaysia - there is a strong Chinese influence on Langkawi plus of course the local Malay people and some Malaysian Indians, so you have masses of choices for food. V little traffic & it's very cheap to rent a motorbike although I usually get a little Perodua for about 12 quid a day - negotiate, lots of rental car places in arrivals.

papyPiHi

Thanks a lot for your answers!

Actually, I plan on doing a mixture of both: adventure during the first part of my stay until Koh Samui where I'll be more lax in terms of comfort. I've read a few TRs there and there and went to a destination fair here in LON where I grabbed some advice from tour operators. But you're right, I don't want to be in places with loads of tourists

I am going to Samui as I earned a free night at the W retreat As I heard that Samui was "famous" for its full-moon parties and beach orgies I wasn't willing to spend more than 48h there
Phuket is just an overnight stop to take the ferry to phi phi and lipe
Langkawi was also an option after Lipe instead of just taking the bus. I'll dig into it
That's also an idea, especially with insanely cheap airfares from KUL to REP...I could indeed spend a few days in Angkor Vat

EmailKid

Well, there are all those bombings in southern Thailand every once in a while / semi regularly. You can read about them in local English language papers, but it's so comon it does not get coverage in the west unless it's a particularly big attack.

Many, many of my friends who live in Thailand leave the country, so above is probably good advice. It may be interesting to see it (I'd like to once), but apparently it gets old very quick. And in addition to the water, there's the paste, which is probably less pleasant.

Yes, that is quite awesome by all accounts (haven't been there personally, but it's on the list).

As for the full moon parties, well, consult your calendar, and choose different dates @:-)

EmailKid

aphro

Samui is a big island, you won't encounter a full moon at the W Retreat (jealous!) and most of them are on Phangan anyway - a boat ride away.

Like a previous poster said, it will be expensive to fly to Samui as only 2 airlines I think go there & no budget carrier.

Siem Reap is fantastic, have been there many times & have been to Angkor 5 times. Bear in mind that the ticket to go into the Angkor complex is 1 or 3 days. There are various itineraries suggested that you can do to pack in the main sites using a hired cycle or a renting a tuk tuk and driver.

http://www.autoriteapsara.org/en/aps...gkor_pass.html

glennaa11

of course if you want to avoid tourists Angkor Wat isn't the best choice. But there are some more remote temples that don't get so many visitors like Beng Mealea which you can do as a daytrip from Siem Reap.

CrazyInteg

Nobody asked yet, but what is your overall budget for this trip?

Overall I think you have a good plan. As some have said, it's not the most relaxing. You will see a good variety of things and it should be a good time if you're an easy going person.

I would probably skip Angkor Wat on this trip, or skip out on something in Thailand. You need a solid 2 days for Angkor Wat and it will be very hot at that time. It will not be relaxing at all. Just to give you something to think about....fly into Siem Reap in the afternoon. That night buy a 3 day Angkor pass and go to a temple and see the sunset. Next day is Angkor area all day. Third day go out for a few hours in the morning to visit more of the area. Then afternoon flight out of Cambodia. Don't forget you will need a full page visa for Cambodia.

BTW, Samui, Phuket, Phi-Phi and Angkor will be full of tourists.

dsquared37

If you want to experience Songkran I'd recommend skipping Bangkok (so many locals leave to go home or out of the country) and Chiang Mai. Instead, go to a central or northern or northeastern provincial capital and partake with locals.

As a farang you will be offered drink, places to sit, food and space in trucks driving around just simply because you are there.

papyPiHi

Thanks everyone!

Budget-wise, I'm thinking around Ł1000. Flights in and out of Asia are not included in it as I've already budgeted them.
I think it should be more than enough, maybe not if I stay at the MBS in SINbefore I leave

Flights to Samui are OK-ish: 60GBP one way and a little bit less for USM-HKT

Having considered Ankgor, I think it would be more reasonable if I skip it and come back another time. I'll linger longer in Koh Lipe and Phi Phi instead

I am also not planning on staying in Phuket too long, just enough time to get out of the airport and catch the ferry to Lanta/Phi Phi

Dsquared37,thanks for the advice! I'll go to Khorat for Songkran then

CrazyInteg

1000 Pounds Sterling *should* be fine. Just watch yourself in Singapore! Then just make sure you follow your budget, stay in "normal" hotels (i.e. not luxury hotels) and don't drink yourself silly.

It should be a fun time ^ ^ ^

Camflyer

I'm a great fan of Samui, but if you think you'll find beach orgies then you've been watching The Beach too much! Or maybe I've been looking in the wrong places...

As others have said, it's an expensive leg to the journey but the W Resort should make it worthwhile.

Personally, I wasn't that bothered by Phi Phi. In term of scenery it's amazing but the island was ruined by post-Tsumani redevelopment. It's fine for a stop off on a boat trip but I wouldn't want to spend time there.

Langkawi is amazing. Don't go there looking for a party as it's the island where nothing ever happens and everyone seems to go to bed at 10pm but it's one of the most relaxing and beautiful places I've ever been. It's also a tax free region so you can escape the high alcohol prices in the rest of Malaysia.