Originally Posted by
behuman
Skip the nasty part of this corner of the world and use SIN as a platform, civilized Langkawi as beach location (unless you need pollution, bars and pro..... in Phuket) and if you want something more rustic fly Silk Air to Siem Reap to visir Angkor Wat or even Vietnam.
Why the hell people still come to Thailand if they don't have to ? Masochists ? Love to be scammed ? Want to communicate with people not wanting to do so ? Loving places with inflated currencies and extremely dangerous roads ?
I struggled to bring myself to respond to this bizarre response, but I felt I had to. We're all entitled to our own opinions, of course, so I'll share mine.
Firstly, this reply is unpleasant to read.
Maybe the poster had a bad time in Thailand. Maybe they only explored the areas that they seem so keen to damn. Maybe they just couldn't get laid. I don't know.
But the Thailand I've been to is quite the opposite, sure some parts of Phuket aren't great, so don't go there. Try Nai Harn, or Nai Ton beaches, far superior to the over-touristed Patong.
Use Phuket as a jumping off point for some stunning island trips, Koh Racha, Similan, Koh TaChai.
The only good beach, in my opinion, in Langkawi is at Tanjong Rhu (in the north) but quite remote and nothing to do.
In fact, as someone who's travelled extensively in Malaysia and Thailand, and in reality as most will know, the beaches on the islands in Thailand are generally far superior to the beaches in Langkawi (mostly brown sand).
Telling also that the highest number of foreign visitors to Thailand are from Malaysia.
As for civilised, that's up to the individual to make up their own mind: I believe this poster's comments are ironically far from it.