Yo,
All right, I'm sitting down to write you what we should have talked
about months ago. I will assume that you can get a map of Thailand
and will try to explain the locations of provinces (jangwat) and
cities (ampur) in as easy to follow terms as possible. The spelling
of the locations will be the transliteration that you will find on
most maps - everything in parenthesis will also be Thai
transliteration. Here we go.
1. What are some cool places to visit and see?
locations uses Bangkok as it's focal point - eg. "the south east"
means, south east of Bangkok.
The tourist trail in Thailand stretches from the beaches in the south,
to the mountains in the north. Most people that come here visit the
islands (koh) of Phuket, Samui, Tao, or Phi Phi. Seriously, take your
pick. They're all beautiful but hold different surprises on each.
For example, Phuket and Samui are the most traveled, but Phi Phi is
the most expensive and Tao is practically just for SCUBA diving.
The mountains (phu kao) in the north, centered around the city of
Chiang Mai, are also a nice place to visit and carry many advantages.
If you like trekking, waterfalls, and riding elephants, you may want
to spend some time tooling around the north. Just north west of
Chiang Mai is a popular tourist town called Pai that gets mixed
reviews from volunteers. I've personally never been there, but I've
heard both sides - that it's too touristy and has lost it's culture,
but also that it's in a beautiful location and has all the amenities
you would want while on a vacation. I refuse to go because I know
I'll be put off by it but if you like spending money and hanging out
with tourists, go check it out. Sukothai, which is also in the north,
was the first capital of Thailand and contains an ancient city that
history buffs in your group might love. Farther south yet is the
second capital of Thailand, Authiya, which in my opinion is much
prettier and contains better examples of ancient architecture than
Sukothai.
The northeast (Isaan) is by far the largest but least traveled place in
Thailand, and of course, where Peace Corps stuck me. I live in Ubon
Ratchathani, up along the Mekong River. My favorite town in Thailand
is in Leoi province because it is sleepy, contains almost no tourists,
is cheap, has excellent temperatures, and is absolutely beautiful. As
far as the rest of Isaan goes, there's really not much to see other
than some national parks and temples but if you wanted to come
visit me waaaaaaaaaaay out east, I'd love to put you up.
The south east, has gems, but it's also got coal. Let me explain.
Thailand is know for it's sex tourism. It's a booming industry here
and because it brings in so much money, the authorities have sort of
embraced it. As a result, the city of Pattaya is Thailand's sex
tourism hub and that's all I'll say about it. I've been all over the
country, to nearly every province, but I've never been to Pattaya so
that tells you just how much you need to see it. There is however, a
large island in that region butted up against the Cambodian boarder
called (Koh) Chang which is absolutely amazing. It's cheap, relatively
unknown, and absolute paradise. My best friend and I stayed in a
bungalow on the beach for 100 baht per person per night - that's
like 3 dollars American! I totally recommend it.
Finally, you've got the west. Kantchanburi is basically the only
thing west of Bangkok and it has a seven tier waterfall (naam tok)
that you can climb and is very pretty. If you're really into wanting
to see Burmese culture, there are two popular boarder crossings, one
north west of Kantchanaburi called Three Pagodas Pass and one in the
northern province of Tak called Mae Sot.
2. Do you know of any cheap (but nice) hotels in Bangkok?
Suk 11 Guest House: Sukumvit road is the "main drag" in Bangkok. The
BTS Sky Train runs above Sukumvit and the alleys (soi) that branch off
of Sukumvit are numbered 1 to 150 - odd numbered alleys on the north
side, even numbered alleys on the south side.
Buri House: This is my personal favorite. The Buri is on soi
55. It's a little south of town, but still on the sky train so
transportation is not a problem. I like it because it's quiet and
doesn't contain any tourists - you may begin to see a pattern with how
I like to travel.
Thara House: Thara House is near the infamous Khao Saan Road, but
not directly on it. Thara House is just west of Khao Saan on a road
called Phra Atit. This is the most popular guest house amongst
volunteers because the rooms are cheap and it's in a location that
is accessible - the river taxi is literally across the street. If you've
got a big group with you, I'd stay at Thara.
3. What are cool bars/ hang outs/ interesting things to see in Bangkok?
you're probably like, "Holy shit, this guy is writing me a novel." I
love Bangkok and I know Bangkok. Volunteers in the city will call me
for transportation questions and recommendation questions like the one
above. I'll try and answer without going into too much detail.
Bangkok is full of interesting things to see. As a result, I will
limit my answer to the top five "must see" tourist sites in Bangkok.
This list is reduced to just tourists stuff and is in order of,
"Coolness."
5. Royal Palace and Wat Pra-gaow - The quintessential tourist stop.
You almost have to go if you're going to be in Bangkok. Be sure to
cover your shoulders if you're a girl and wear long pants if you're a
guy.
4. Chinatown - morning market and evening dining. During the day, it
looks like any other neighborhood in Bangkok. At night, it glows.
3. Jatujuk (JJ) Weekend Market - I've been told it's one of the
largest markets in south east Asia. You can find almost anything here
but it's only open on the weekend.
2. Chao Phraya river taxi - even if you don't need to go anywhere,
jump on the water taxi and go for a cruise. The boat with the orange
flag is the regular taxi that will stop at most piers.
1. Lumphini Park - I'm a bit bias here because I like city parks. In
the morning and in the evening, it's an excellent place to people
watch and wander around. On the north west corner of the park is a
hot pot restaurant that sets up on the sidewalk and is great for large
numbers of people.
Shopping in Bangkok is centered around the Siam BTS Sky Train stop.
The top shopping centers are MBK, Siam Discovery, Siam Center, Siam
Paragon, Siam Square, Central World, Central Chitlom, Gaysorn,
Pratunam, and Platinum Fashion Mall. I could give a description for
each but that would be overkill. If you want to go shopping, just get
off at the Siam stop and you'll find yourself in the middle of
marketing mayhem.
Once the sun goes down, Bangkok turns on the neon. Instead of telling
you about individual bars, I can just tell you about specific
neighborhoods since all of the bars in a certain neighborhood will be
similarly themed. RCA is a walking street full of clubs. Sukumvit 11
also has dance clubs. Sukumvit 22 and 33 have bars for foreign types.
Sukumvit 55 (Thonglor) to Sukumvit 63 (Ekamai) is full of Thai bars
where high society people like to hang out. Khao Saan is where all
the dred-lock hippy tourists drink. Soi 2, Sukumvit 21 (Asok) and
Patpong are where the naughty things happen. Sathorn and Silom
are the business districts and has rooftop bars as well as posh street
level bars.
4. If I wanted to take a Thailand cooking course for a day or two, do
you know of any place?
certain that Chiang Mai has cooking courses. Just ask around.
5. Any Thailand travel advice? Words to learn?
genuinely want to help you. Trust them until they give you a reason
not to.
One tip while in Bangkok: only hail taxi's that are lit - there will
be a red light in the bottom right hand corner of the windshield when
they are driving towards you; that means the taxi is available. Make
sure when you get into a taxi, the driver presses the big wide button
on the meter on the dash. The meter will start at "35" and it will
be displayed in bright red numbers. If you don't see anything on the
meter because he pulled away and didn't press the button, INSIST he
does or get out and find another taxi. Don't be the unsuspecting
tourist. The word for meter in taxi is, conveniently, "meter."
Helpful words:
Thank you - Kawp khun
Sorry - Kaw tote
I want to go to... - Bpai...
Yes - Chai
No - Mai
Little bit - Nit-noi
I don't know - Mai loo
Water - Naam
Eat food - Gin kaao
Bathroom - Hong naam
White person - Farang
Guava - Farang
Ladyboy - Guh-tuey
Give me my underwear - Ow gan-gaeng kang nai ma hai
My fingers hurt. I hope this information is helpful but not too
dense. If you have any questions or if you want to call me, I'm
straight chillin. Stay in touch and lemme know when you get in.
Take care.
Tony
