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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: I am planning a trip to Thailand, some questions to the veteran travelers
Thanks to all the users who gave me feedback about my question about Cambodia. Your responses gave me a framework to work off, though I won't have time to do all those things. I will travel to Thailand afterwards since it's right there and I haven't been and would like to go. I've looked at some websites about Thailand, and there are literally hundreds of things I could do. I will go by myself and will have 12 days (10 full days bookended by the day I arrive and the day I leave.) I will fly from Cambodia to Bangkok at night and fly back to China from Chiangmai in the early morning. I heard to avoid Phuket even though it's a popular tourist destination, but I don't know why.
So my question to all the veterans of Thailand is, what would be your ideal trip itinerary? What should I avoid? What are some lodging recommendations? What do you wish you had done instead? I've seen some travel suggestions on this forum, but I'm just asking for the ideal trip itinerary from people who have traveled to Thailand before as I'm open to almost anything. I think taking the sleeper buses to travel between cities would be most efficient since I can kill two birds with one stone.
Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
9 years 44 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - China
I've been to Thailand before. You should spend about 3 days in Bangkok itself. See Khaosan Rd, Wat Pho, Grand Palace, some of the other temple sites, do a boat tour of the khlongs etc. You can also do a day trip to Ayutthaya, which is about an hour north of Bangkok. It's the ancient capital of Thailand and a UNESCO world heritage site -- ruins like Angkor Wat. There's a slow sleeper train that runs from Bangkok to Chiang Mai which is about 12 hours. If you choose to do some exploring around Chiang Mai and north to Chaing Rai, it's very mountainous and home to ethnic minorities, similar to southern China. We got local permission to stay in an ethnic village -- you could look into doing that, but be prepared to sleep on the wooden floor. Pukhet is awash with tourists but nice and beachy.
Also read the topic about Krabi
chiang Mai/Chiang Rai/Pai region is very nice. Head to Chiangmai, rent a decent motorbike (try Tony's Big Bikes) & head off on the roads for a few days. Great riding round that area.
Yes, Phuket is a sh!t place, totally overrated. Rather try Koh Samui.
Hua Hin is also a very nice town, 200km from Bangkok and a bit off the main tourist beat, but easy to get to. Just go to the minibus stops at Victory Monument station in BKK and ask around. Buses leave as soon as they are full and cost is only 180 baht.