Thailand

[Bjornebye]

Ive just mentioned disliking russia on an ff thread but dont mind agreeing that as tourists they are a load of wankers

[Red Banjo]

Phi Phi is also definitely worth a look. The views as the ferry pulls in to the harbour are amazing. 2 or 3 nights is enough there though. Or at least it was for me.

 

Railay Beach in Krabi is gorgeous. That was where i found the cheapest drink over my time in Thailand. A 660ml bottle of Heineken for about the equivalent of 90c. :drool:

 

Go here Razor. Its my utopia. 2 or 3 nights might be enough for some people but i spent nearly 4 months there and even then i had to drag myself away.

 

Continuing with this post... Railay in Krabi is amazing, you can stop there on route to Phi Phi and gives you a break from the travel. Some of the best rock climbing in the whole of SE Asia is to be found here. The scenery is beyond even the wildest of dreams.

 

Koh Samui is decent enough, but the real treasures of Thailand lay far away from where the tour guides tell you to go. 

[Dr Nowt]

I am currently in Koh Samui.  It is nice.  Met a bloke from Birkenhead who runs a bar/restaurant and has a "This is Anfield" plaque on the wall.   Sound bloke and he owns best place I've ate in so far. Was going to start a thread called "Russians abroad".  I used to think that the most crass people you could meet overseas were the English.  Then, when I travelled further than Europe I met Americans and had a re-jig.  Nowadays, the award goes to the Russians.  They're horrible.  Anyway, looking for detailed advice.  Come on, Remmie, lad...

I christened them 'The Red Pig'.

[Nunavut Patrick]

Luckily your average Russian male has a life expectancy of 53 due to consuming vodka like pints of lager.

[Tossed and blown]

Got back about six weeks ago.  Actually Phuket was ace, we stayed at Kantary Bay which was pretty couply, few nice chilled bars and cheap places to eat, decent beach, little hassle. Had a good night out in Phuket town as well, not touristy and a few decent Thais about just for a few drinks and not trying to rip you off.  There was this fat Russian guy who just sat there on his mobile and drank spirits straight out the bottle in a brown paper bag, while one of the three different skinny early twenties birds (also Russian in appearance) he was with gazed lovingly at him or oiled themselves up.  Amazing.

 

Caught the ferry to Phi Phi, not a cloud in the sky, loads of Irish birds on it, sitting on the front with just a pair of shorts on and a beer...what could possibly go wrong?....  Got absolutely wankered on the first night, laid in until 2pm the next day, whereupon the tail end of that typhoon thing came over and didn't see the sun again until we were on the ferry off the island a week later.  It was an interesting place but fairly young in terms of music and clientele.  Not saying I wouldn't go back, but apparently the crowd is a lot younger than a few years ago.  In an unrelated plus point, I got to reset a drunken woman's broken nose, a box that hadn't been ticked before!

[Lee909]

Im planning to go next year for a month. Im going as i want to train Muay Thai over there. Most camps run a morning and afternoon session so time vary between 7-10 and 3-7. So ill have time off to wander round locally and a day or two off in the week. Where would people recommend Bangkok or Phuket?

 

Ill be doing at least 4 days in Bangkok either way to see a couple of big stadium fights

[The Woolster]

I've not been to Thailand for 14 years, and I've not been to Phuket, but I'd still recommend it over Bangkok...

 

Bangkok is fine, but I don't think you'd want a month there, and as you'll be training, you'd prob want to spend your down time relaxing on the beach and away from the smog.

 

I was thinking of doing some training when I was there, but I was the missus, we was moving around a lot and couldn't really be bothered.

[Lee909]

I should have added my issue with food being diabetic but dont think it makes much difference out there

[Dr Nowt]

Much prefer Bangkok to Phuket, which I couldn't stand when I visited in 2002. I'd do it the other way round, stay in Bangkok but have a decent sized break to one of the other, preferably for your own sake, least developed islands.

 

Koh Chang was supposed to be the least Westernised one back then, but after this long it could well just be a giant Tesco with Tony's Ma firing your grocery order out of her genitals for all I've kept up-to-date with it.

 

I just didn't get a good impression of Phuket at all though. It was like the resorts in the North of Goa, in that it's unquestionably a naturally beautiful place, but as it was the first one tourism hit it just seemed horrible by the time I went. It had also clearly been that way for many years, where the likes of Koh Samui appeared to have only relatively recently gone too far towards Asian Benidorm status. Hear plenty of people say they've loved it though, so maybe it's just my being a bad sniffy hipster wannabe.

 

And all that said, while Bangkok is one of my favourite places to arrive in and spend a few days, I've never stayed longer than about 4 in a row and always did it as numerous short stops on the way to places that weren't such an assault on the senses, so it's defo something to bear in mind, as I imagine it could become way too much for most people if staying for weeks.

 

Check out The Atlanta Hotel for food on I think it's Soi 4 of Sukhumvit. I'll try and find the address, it's a little jewel of a place, and an oasis of calm among all the noise and mayhem.

[Lee909]

Thanks

[Dr Nowt]

Soi 2, not Soi 4.

 

 

 

Sounding like you won't be able to take Lifey along.

[Lee909]

Haha

Sounds perfect.

Ill have a look if i need to book there. Mostly tge accommodation will be at the camp with only 4 days or so maybe needing booked elsewhere

[razor]

My mate moved to Koh Samui he loved it so much.

 

He said the place has changed a lot recently.  Everyone supports the blue East Midlands team in the country's favourite sport for a start.  He said it's bizarre.

 

Also, since their economy collapsed, and they had a trade disagreement, there are much fewer Russians there nowadays.  Not sure how long it will last, but use this window of opportunity well.  Enjoy!

[Nunavut Patrick]

Soi 2, not Soi 4.

Sounding like you won't be able to take Lifey along.

Well that's the GF snookered for that place.

[Sputnik1]

Bit preachy from a country that has women that can shoot ping pong balls from their privates, 'mother, father no teach' I bet, fucking hypocrites. 

[Scott_M]

Koh Samui is amazing. Chewang beach is paradise.

[The Woolster]

I did go to Samui 14 years ago, and would echo this view, although I am sure it has changed a lot since I've been. Can also pop over to Koh Pha Ngan for a full moon party if thats you sort of thing, or to go to a secluded part of the island if it isn't.

[Lee909]

Yeah was reading about a camp in Koh Pah. Adds a few hours onto the trip and not sure i fancy that and dealing with the trains first time in the country.

The part for the full moon pits me off too. Not my thing at all

[Scott_M]

Samui is a 45 min flight from Bangkok. Chewang is a 15 min taxi ride from there.

[Dr Nowt]

Ferry from Samui to Pha Ngan only takes a couple of hours.

 

In fact it's best part of fifteen years since I was there, Pha Ngan will have long had it's own airport I'm sure.

 

Will be a much nicer place to spend a month straight than Bangkok.

[Lee909]

Im sure thats the island the gym i was looking at was on. People still saying that i need a train and ferry to get there. Ill look into it a bit more. Ill look at flights straight into Samui. Ill be in Bangkok for a few days either way.

[Dr Nowt]

Think you can also now fly to Surat Thani on the mainland coast and ferry from there, in case the price works out better than Samui. It's used as a jumping off point to the islands nearby, including those above.

[Scott_M]

Flights to Samui were £60 each way I think, I was there in 2013.

 

There are 2 stadiums just off Chewang Beach.

 

I think a few of the kick boxers train there. The best one in Thailand was staying in the hotel next door to us, everybody working in the hotel was coming out taking photos of him.

 

Also, I seem to remember there was a Doctors be to one of the arenas advertising you could get a results to a HIV test within 15 minutes. Could come in handy.

[The Woolster]

Yeah was reading about a camp in Koh Pah. Adds a few hours onto the trip and not sure i fancy that and dealing with the trains first time in the country. The part for the full moon pits me off too. Not my thing at all

 

When I was there we spent a good 5 days at a proper off the beaten track, hut on the rocks over looking the beach type place. Some of the beaches and coves are quite small and hard to get to, which you probably won't find in Samui or some of the other main resorts/islands, so if you don't like the idea of a full moon party, its easily avoidable.

 

The training camps probably are probably in the busier areas, so if you go there you'd maybe want to plan it for between the full moon and half moon parties.

[Lee909]

Thanks ill be there for a full 4 weeks so no avoiding the parties.