advice on travel around asia.
hi, my girlfriend and i will soon be leaving for thailand.
so far we plan bangkok up to chang mai then down to koh phangan for the full moon party, then chill out after for a while around a nice island or two .... and more to be decided later as well as couple of weeks in malaysia.
we just would like to know what companies/routes/ways people have used to travel these places. ... good or bad experiences ( (overnights? first class sleeper/air con'd etc. and rough prices to aim for if possible). the more info the better..... (starting to panic, first trip, not knowing what to expect)
i would like to know which ones are reputable before being potentially ripped off.
ive heard Lamprayah bus/coach company, road adjacent to koh san road ... are 'TAT' registered ? so would be reputable ?
thanks greatly in advance.
Reply to this could i also ask for advice on places to stay .... or place to advoid.
few named below are a couple for us to keep in mind to direct taxis/tuk tuks too ... so as to avoid their commision'd ones
bangkok --- lamphu tree house ?
chang mai --- julies guest house ? vanilla place guesthouse
phi phi --- green villa ?
ive heard koh phangan can be dodgy around the full moon party, and most will make you saty few days either side. we will be arriving the morning before the party ? stay ko samui ?
Reply to this Hello Lee 😊
Take the official busses at the official bus stations. Private busses are more frequently robbed during night journeys.
First class sleeper trains in Thailand are very comfortable and safe. If you dont mind paying for them they are certainly the way to go for long journeys. And they are certainly not expensive by Western standards. An overnight journey would cost around 30 Euros. Otherwise take the VIP busses which are much cheaper, but also as comfortable as busses can be. For trains, try to book a few days in advance. They get booked up. Busses go frequently and you should be able to just go to the bus stations and take the next one.
Dont leave valuables unattended in guesthouse or hotel rooms or in beach huts. Also, try to keep them with you on bus journeys, rather than in the stowed luggage.
Yes, Koh Phangan can be dodgy during full moon parties. Try to get a place to stay away from the party, becasue the guesthouse rooms near the party are often broken into. There will be plenty of transport to and from the party. And full moon parties have all the dodginess that druggy, drunken parties generally have. Keep your wits about you, and dont get very drunk and never accept any drug offers, and you should be OK. Lots of people do enjoy the parties and come to no harm.
Mel
Reply to this I took the regular buss from the bus station (sorry cant remember the name, but taxi/tuk tuk driver should know). Cant remember the price either, but it wasnt much, and it was super comfy. Air condition an only 3 seats on each row that you could tilt waaay back. A bottle of water and a snack on the bus was also included in the price and you also get a food coupon for the midway stop 😊 I did not buy tickets in advance, just went to the bus station very early, cus its a long bus ride, 9-10 hours perhaps? See if you can find a schedule online.
We did contemplate just taking the bus from our guest house in bangkok, but decided not to cus that bus was gonna reach chiang mai at 4am or something like that, and then you are probably stuck in some shitty expensive guest house for the first night.
We were planning on staying in Julies guest house in chiang mai, but it was full so we stayed around the corner. Went to Julies a few times for breakfast though and it seemed like a good place.
Other than that I just wanna say: Don't Panic. Just do some research so you know what to expect and everything gonna be fine, on my 10 week trip through south east asia I never booked a single ticket or bed in advance, and it was never any problem.
Reply to this The bus station for the South is the Southern bus station, also know as Sai Tai Mai.
Reply to this My post refered to chiang mai, which is north, just so we dont confuse leeg 😊
Sorry I forgot to specify that.
Reply to this Oh ok, then the bus station for Chiang Mai is a different bus station.
Thanks for the hint!
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