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I've just got back and wanted to say thanks to everyone who gave me advice which was all very helpful.

In the end we hired the double cab vigo from Budget through ThaiVisa car rentals. Budget have an office in Korat and we had the car delivered to our guest house near Khao Yai. I was pleasantly surprised when it was delivered on time. The man who delivered it couldn't speak much English and the only slight problem was the GPS we hired was in Thai. He eventually managed to change it to English while we gave him a lift back towards Korat.

The GPS was really useful and we were surprised at how accurate it was, even down some very minor one track roads. The only slight problem was it was useless for putting in addresses and so we had to put in a point of interest near where we were travelling to. We hardly needed to use the maps at all, although they were useful for getting an idea of the overall journey. The maps we got at a 7 eleven without too much trouble.

We were glad we hired the double cab Vigo. It came with a carryboy which was great for our bags in the back. The carryboy leaked a little in the pouring rain but kept our bags dry. We didn't have to use the 4 wheel drive, but we had to drive in some serious downpours particularly between Chiang Khan and Nan and between Nan and Phrae. Some of those roads were very potholed and it was good to have such a big solid car in the heavy rain on those roads. We found the car very comfortable and spacious.

Driving was easier than I was expecting, I think mainly because the Thai's seemed to drive quite slowly particularly in the towns and cities. They also seem to drive very non agressively. The only big cities we drove in were Khon Kaen and Chiang Mai and I'm used to having traffic coming at me from all angles from living in London. The only slight issues were keeping an eye out for the motorbikes, particularly when they were driving on the wrong side of the road, and dodging the millions of dogs and chickens that were laying in the middle of the road in the rural areas. I'm amazed I didn't run over one. And also realising that the drivers ignored red lights if it was clear to drive through.

We had a few trees across the road from the rain. When we driving from Nan towards Phrae a tree had just come down blocking the whole road. We were the first car there and the rain was absolutely pouring down. It was quite an experience watching what happened as more cars turned up. First a couple of people had huge knives which they started using to hack off branches and the top of the tree. Then a lorry came up and tried to tow it off but the tow strap snapped. They then started trying to cut through the base of the tree with their knives until someone eventually turned up with a small chain saw. The tree got chopped up and we carried it off the road. All in all it took about 40 minutes to clear a passage on the road with everyone helping.

The road from Chiang khan to Nan was very interesting, but it did take a long time. The scenery on the 1083 through the jungle to Na Noi was great and also parts of the 2195 from Chiang Khan, although parts of the 2195 were in very bad condition. Our children found this journey too long and the rain made it worse. We ended up staying the night in a small town/village called Ban Khok in Uttaradit. No-one spoke a word of English and the homestay didn't do food. We drove into Ban Khok in the rain at about 6:30 in the evening and all the eating places seemed to be closed (we found a lot of places just seemed to close when it started raining). We were getting worried about getting any food when we were directed from a shop to somewhere to eat. They opened up and cooked us some dinner. We had a really nice dinner with food that was better than several places we ate at in more touristy places. The people were really nice and friendly and we were charged 100 baht for all 4 meals including drinking water.

We got to Chiang Mai and the car was picked up with no problems. Full marks to Budget.

All in all a great fun trip and thanks again for everyone's input and advice.

Regarding 'extra legroom bulkhead seats' be careful because some bulkhead seats in the middle rows actually have less than normal leg room. A seat adjacent to a door is what you want. On the OP question I would say EVA, even in economy. For me the direct flight is a big plus over the Arab flights. For indirect flights people are saying good things about Kingfisher, which I've never tried. I flew Thai in April (so so) and am trying Finnair tomorrow (just on price). The difference in price between special offers and regular fares can be huge, so I don't think that can be left out of the equation.

We're flying Finnair in a few weeks time so I'm also interested to know how your flight goes.

Thanks.

Will the rates in the smaller towns be similar to the main tourist centres (i.e. Bangkok or Chiang Mai)?

We're travelling to Thailand in a few weeks and I wasn't sure how easy it is to change UK Sterling cash or travellers cheques to Baht in certain places. In particular Khao Yai/Pak chong, Khon Kaen, Nong Khai and Nan. What about in smaller towns e.g. Chiang Khan? Is it just a question of going to any bank with my passport?

Thanks,

John

Ok, I think everything is clear now. I checked Happy/DTAC's website and once I've activated the SIM card I can make international calls as well. I am also now clear about dialling different prefix's to route the international calls through different providers.

At 199 Bt the SIM card comes with 300 Bt credit. It says by using the 004 prefix it's about 5 Bt a minute to UK landlines and 10 Bt a minute to UK mobiles, so I doubt we'll even use up the credit by the end of the holiday. At those prices I'm not too bothered about getting the absolute cheapest calls as we won't be phoning home that much, but the charges are much cheaper than using my UK SIM card!

Thanks for all your help.

John

anything except from True;

in view of the rainy season, a 12Call SIM is preferred

Do you mean that the coverage and signal of the one2call SIM is the best in the rainy season?

Thanks.

Would advise you to get two. HAPPY SIM and a One2Call SIM. HAPPY SIMs costs as little as 49 baht(Simple SIM) at your local SevenEleven/FamilyMart. You can change the tariff easily. Topups available there too. So no problems there.

Both are able to connect to the Internet via EDGE nationwide at no more than 1.o7 baht per minute. Internet packages are available.

HAPPY are cheaper for International SMS. 5 baht.

Thanks. The link to Happy/DTAC's website is very helpful.

I'm clear now about where to buy the SIM card, how to top it up and the internet charges.

I'm still not clear about international calls. The website gives 2 rates for international calls, DTAC Plus + premium calls or 004 standard calls. How will I know which rate I am using? Do I just have to dial 004 before the international number to get the cheaper rate? Also, will I automatically be able to make international calls on inserting the SIM into the phone (I understand I have to activate the SIM as well) or do I need to do some form of additional registration/activation to make international calls.

I wasn't sure if you are recommending I buy either the Happy SIM or the One2call SIM or I buy both of them. If you are recommending I buy both, why would I need 2 SIM cards?

Thanks for your help.

We are coming to Thailand for 3 weeks in August. My uk mobile phone provider charges £1.40 per minute to make calls and £1 to receive calls in Thailand.

I was thinking of buying a Thai pay as you go SIM card when I get to Thailand and would like some advice please. I've got an unlocked phone so I can put any SIM card in I want.

We will be making some local calls to various hotels and airline offices while there and also phoning back to the UK.

Can someone recommend the best SIM card to get which will provide reasonable charges for making these calls. Where would I buy this SIM card.

We are travelling round North East and Northern Thailand and will be staying in some remote places at times. Where (i.e. what shops) can I top up the credit and how easy is it to do (I've never had a pay as you go contract so not sure how it works).

Finally, I would also like to download some data e.g. check emails on my phone. Will I be able to do this and how much roughly would that cost.

Thanks for your help.

John

I'm sure its over 10 per cent. It's been awhile in coming but now the nation reaps what the PAD yellows and REDs have sown. Thanks guys

And you think the recession in the US and Europe has not had an effect on the Thai tourist industry? Potential holiday makers have less money to spend than in previous years, which is compounded by the relatively strong Baht against the US Dollar, Euro and Pound Sterling making Thailand more expensive. The cost of travelling to this country from Europe and the USA has increased substantially over the last year. Do you not think that might also have an had an effect? Thailand is facing strong competition as a holiday destination from other countries in the region.

Sure, PAD and UDD also had an effect, but the state of the Thai tourist industry is not entirely down to them. Instead of af asking for a bail out, it is time the Thai tourist industry stopped blaming all their woes on these two groups and started pushing for action to lower the cost of air travel to the country; and, a weaker currency would also boost the tourist industry.

I mainly agree with these comments.

I am coming on holiday with my wife and children of 8 and 10 for 3 weeks this August. In the final days of the red shirt protests I was having serious thoughts of missing Thailand and catching a connecting flight to Vietnam. Now, our current plan is to stay in Thailand although if anything should happen again I would review this. The only thing we are not doing now is going to Bangkok. This isn't just because of the protests, although that is a factor. It is also because the hotel/guest house prices in Bangkok are so much higher than anywhere else. I have decided to catch a taxi straight to Ayutthaya. We can stay in a nice place there for much less than in Bangkok. I have been to Bangkok several times but never Ayutthaya, so it will make a nice change. On the way back we are getting a flight from Chiang Mai to connect with our flight home.

It is much more expensive for us to come to Thailand than when we came 3 years ago. It is not just because the pound is so much weaker against the baht. I have also noticed that prices have gone up a lot, which surprised me. There are still some good hotels out there for a good price but they are more difficult to find, particularly in Bangkok. It doesn't help that we are usually having to book 2 rooms.

The recent budget in the UK to tackle the financial deficit has also made me a lot more wary of how much money I want to spend while we are away.

So in summary I would say the recession, the weak pound and the increase in prices in Thailand are far bigger factors in putting us off coming to Thailand again in the future than the recent protests.

Thanks for the information.

I've been emailing some friends who have been living in Singapore for the last few years and have children the same ages as ours. They've never taken malaria tablets when they've been to Thailand or Vietnam.

We've decided to give the tablets a miss and apply lots of anti mossie spray instead.

If I can get maps at the airport and gas stations, I will leave it till I get there. The car comes with the GPS anyway.

The website just says the car comes with a cover on the back but doesn't say what type of cover.

I'm interested in peoples opinions about travelling round the North and North East following the recent troubles. I was planning on visiting Khon Kaen, Mukdahan, Nong Khai, Nan and Chiang Mai. I know the town halls were attacked in Khon Kaen and Mukdahan and there was some trouble in Chiang Mai. Having a car it will be easy to avoid any of these places if anything flares up. If it was just me I wouldn't be worried in the slightest but as I'm with my children I'm feeling slightly apprehensive. Should I be concerned? Serious replies only please.

In the end I've decided to go for the Vigo double cab with Budget booked through Thai Visa's car rental. I've requested the diesel model. I'm also getting the GPS from Budget. Not sure which one it is, but they've confirmed it's in English.

The thinknet maps are £6.99 in the UK, so more expensive than in Thailand but I will probably get them in advance to save me the hassle of finding a bookshop when I get there. We also decided to give Bangkok a miss this time and go straight to Ayutthaya from the airport so I don't know how easy it will be to find a bookshop that sells them there.

I also found a blog by someone cycling round Thailand and there are definitely some guesthouses in some of the villages between Chiang Khan and Nan.

Thanks for everyone's advice and help.

John

I'm coming to Thailand in the Summer with my wife and 2 children aged 8 and 10. We're hiring a car and I've already been given some very good advice on the Thai Visa motor forum.

We are going to be driving around the North and North East of Thailand and will be close to the border with Laos for about 10 to 12 days (around Mukdahan, Nong Khai, Chiang Khan and around to Nan). The advice I have been given in the UK is to take antimalarials while we are near the border. We have been advised to take Malarone tablets and been told that Malarone Paediatric are the only antimalarials specially formulated for children.

When I used to travel in Asia pre kids, as I was away for a long time I stopped taking antimalaria tablets and just took precautions i.e. long trousers and shoes in the evenings, using deet sprays, sleeping under mosquito nets and burning mosquito coils. I'm mainly directing this question to those of you that live in Thailand. If you were doing a similar trip, would you take antimalaria tablets or just rely on precautions. It may be difficult to get our kids to cover up as they do have a habit of taking off their clothes if they can but it may also be difficult to get them to take antimalarial tablets!

Thanks,

John

These "happily married to a Thai" farangs should be forced to disclose the salary they are paying their partners (and their families) and how much property is being put in their names.

But financial records would be required as so many are in denial. Farang neighbor, normally honest, swore to me he wasn't paying, but my GF talking to his wife found out he was paying "household expenses" far in excess of actual costs, with no accounting of where the extra was actually going. And he'd built her house in her village, etc., etc.

Having lived in LOS a number of years, I find that a typical case.

OR yer gal jest said that to get you to 'keep up'

My wife has a 40,000 baht salary from her job plus 15 from me. Sucker? Not really 8 of that goes to our car payment the rest who cares or asks for a receipt? Give and take here eh she doesn't charge me for cleaning the house or filling the fridge with snacks and juice or for the nightly massage. Man don't fight it give her a salary and you will find it to your benefit and be lucky your night a Thai man having to give it ALL to her.

Of course you're not a sucker!

So how come you don't have a joint bank account (normal in the West with people who are married)?

What is normal in the West?

I only joined the forum because I was getting advice about hiring a car when we come to Thailand this Summer on holiday, but I've been browsing some of the forums generally.

My wife and I have been married for 13 years. We each have our own bank accounts. Before children we used to share all the costs. Since having children my wife works part time (before she worked full time). I pay all the bills and give her £300 a month and she keeps her salary. We split the costs of some things, usually food and petrol/diesel. It has become a very ad hoc arrangement over the years and every couple of years I give her some more money if she has gone into overdraft. As far as I'm concerned she can spend the money on what she wants. This arrangement works for us and we have very few disagreements about money. I think we would have more if we had a joint account. If either of us are making an expensive purchase we always discuss it as I think it would be unreasonable to spend a lot of our money without the other knowing.

This arrangement doesn't seem that different from what the 'usual arrangements' are with Thai/foreigner couples I've been reading about on these forums.

You get gold diggers in all cultures and all nationalities. In the UK you read about it all the time with the footballers and celebrities partners. The key is just to get to know your partner well before making a life commitment. Common sense really. This last comment isn't in reply to the quote above, it's in relation to the 'complaining posts' about relationships with Thai women that have been on the general forum.

Good questions , accommodation is a bit sparse. There's accommodation in Dan Sai and Na Haew, then it starts to get difficult. There is a national park just before you get in to Uttaradit province, it looked nice, lovely, don't know if it has accommodation but you can search on the internet, name of the national park is Phu Soi Dao. Then there is one national park called Sri Nan (just pass the Nan river and it comes) on the way to Na Noi, good accommodation of 800 bath I think it was, the national park itself is nothing special. Quite a drive to get there before 6 PM if you leave Chieng Khan at say 10 AM, it's a bit curvy Then there is one national park closer to Mae Charim, don't know the name, have never been there, must check if they have accommodation. Sorry but I don't have a map here

Thanks for that. There is some park accomodation at Phu Soi Dao and that's about halfway. What about food. Do we need to bring our own or will there be small local restaurants to eat at?

Definitely buy your maps in Thailand. You seem like an explorer and are visiting home-stays, so you need a largeish scale. Buy the Think Net Regional maps at 120 baht each (£2.25) - available at all good book stores and department stores (probably at the airports). Scale of 1:550,000 - you can get slightly larger scale but you would then be buying a book of all Thailand for more like 500bht. You will need Northern Thailand, Central Thailand (if you are going down to Bangkok and beyond) and North Eastern Thailand.

Thinknet have been recommended by quite a few people and I've seen on the web that I can get them in the UK. That will save me finding a book shop that sells them when I get there. By the way, those tips for driving looked very useful. I'm looking forward to driving out there and will take extra care.

I have driven all over thailand in the last 15 years with my family, I now own a fortuner and for long distances and comfort i would recomend that any day. But if you are on a budget i would go for the next level up from a Jazz or something that size as they are in all hovesty two small for a family to travel in. Personally the pick up trucks such as vigo's have very uncomfortable back seats as well. A mid range toyota, or Honda car such as a Soluna may be ok for you, there ar a few models and makes that sort of size to choose from. In all my time here i have never needed a four wheel drive to get to parks etc even in the rainy season, so dont worry about that, most main roads here are in pretty good shape (its the drivers you need need to look out for) all joking apart drive carefully, small motorcycles here do not look where they are going and cars often change lane without any indication, leave a reasonable gap, somone will fill it etc, be patient dont get angry as that will make things worse, people drive a bit slower in the north east etc and there is less traffic so its not so daunting, Bangkok and Pattay and most tourist areas are different story though you need to really watch out. Get a good map or set of maps and study before you leave sighn posting is in thai and english on most major routes as well, One other thing, if your not booking hotels etc in advance and are just winging it ,get a lonley planet guide or something similar when i first started started travelling here, it was a great help in finding decent places to stay and where to go eat etc in towns i had never been too before.

Enjoy the trip i am sure you will

The double cab Vigo is cheaper to rent than the mid range Toyota's or Honda's, which is why at the moment I think it is the sensible option. I'm almost certain we had a double cab Vigo with a driver for a day when we went to Erawan Falls a few years ago and I don't remember it being uncomfortable, so I'm sure it'll be fine for our purposes. We've also got some guide books, but they don't cover the out of the way places that well.

Without getting into a big health and safety debate, none of us will be sitting in the back of the truck down a highway. However, when we're driving on quiet roads in the mountains or next to the Mekong I think it would be nice and I will definitely be driving slowly.

Maybe I should start another thread about this, but I just thought I'd ask anyway. The advice in the UK is to take malaria tablets if you are near the border with Laos. When we are going from Nong Khai to Nan we will be close to the border most of the way. When I used to travel in Asia pre kids, as I was away for a long time I stopped taking malaria tablets and just took precautions i.e. long trousers and shoes in the evenings, using deet sprays, sleeping under mosquito nets and burning mosquito coils. We'll be near the border for about a week to 10 days. I'm assuming most people on this forum live in Thailand. If you were doing a similar trip, would you take malaria tablets or just rely on precautions. It may be difficult to get our kids to cover up as they do have a habit of taking off their clothes if they can, but it may also be difficult to get them to take malaria tablets.

I don't think I've got any choice to specify whether the Vigo or Fortuner is petrol or diesel. On the websites it says they are both the 2.7 litre versions so I think they are the petrol versions. I suppose most people who are renting just look at the model of car rather than whether they are petrol or deisel. Is the only difference between the petrol and diesel versions the km per litre they do and the cost of the diesel against the petrol?

You can continue straight on west by the Mekong river at Chiang Khan and you can go passed Na Haew and up into Uttaradit and Nan. Roads are small but decent -> Chieng Khan - 2195 and 1268 to and pass Na Haew -> 1123 -> 1241. I liked that trip, nice is September when nature is lush and green

That looks an interesting trip. Is there anywhere to stop off overnight on the way or would we need to get from Chiang Khan to Nan in a day?

I've travelled extensively and have yet to visit a place where 4x4 is needed. No doubt if you are super adventurous there would be places but I wonder if that's what you are looking for.

What's making me go for the Vigo at the moment over the Honda City are people's comments about driving in the heavy rain and hitting potholes in the rain - that the Vigo has a higher clearance and driving position and would presumably cope with very heavy rain better. I've never driven a 4x4 so I wouldn't know. The sort of drives we're considering are ones like MikeyIdea has suggested and also going to some national parks and waterfalls. I guess if we do go to a hill tribe village we'd probably walk anyway. If it was the dry season I would go for the Honda City but if the Vigo is better in the rain then I think it is worth getting.

All this makes interesting reading and everyone has made valid points.

At the moment we are veering strongly towards getting a 4x4 as it would be a shame to not be able to get to a village or waterfall because it was raining and the road was a bit dodgy. We are only renting for 15 or 16 days so we are prepared to put up with not having the ideal vehicle comfort wise if it will save some money we can spend on other things. I'm almost certain that the Vigo double cab and the Fortuner are both the petrol versions as there is a further option for a diesel Fortuner which is more expensive to hire.

I've spoken to my wife and kids about the car and at the moment we are veering towards the Vigo double cab as it is so much cheaper than the Fortuner. We were in Kanchanaburi 3 years ago and went on a day trip in a Vigo double cab. Having seen some of the Thais sitting in the back of the trucks we decided to have a ride in the back for a little bit and the kids absolutely loved it, so that's actually a plus point for the double cab Vigo! The main things that would put us off the Vigo are the lack of space to put the luggage inside or if it was a lot less economical fuel wise. We've gone away in our car at the moment with about the same amount of luggage that we'll have when we come out to Thailand, so as a test we put all the luggage on the back seat with the kids and it all fitted in and they still had plenty of room.

I think my real problem will be that I've got ideas of things I want to see or do and I'll try and fit too much in and we'll end up driving too far. I've just got to be ruthless.

I want to go to the Mukdahan/Nakhon Phanom area as I've seen some interesting places to stay. I also want to see some good views of life along the Mekhong. The books I'm looking at say the nicest bit of the Mekhong is the section from Nong Khai to Chiang Khan, but that would mean a big detour as we head over to North Thailand. Are there some nice sections between Nakhon Phanom to Mukdahan or just south of Mukdahan?

Thanks again for everyones help.

Google maps is really useful for getting an idea of the distances between places. Does anyone have any idea if the estimated driving times they give are accurate?

Garry, I've got a Tom Tom in the UK so I would be interested to hear how you get on using the Thailand Map on your Tom Tom. I can download the Thailand map to my GPS for the equivalent of 2,000 baht so that could be another option.

From reading all the advice, I've already changed my routing and am now thinking of picking up the car in Korat and dropping it off in Chiang Mai. The homestays/small guesthouses I'm thinking of staying at are in Isaan and that's where I'm likely to have to book as they're only a couple of rooms in one case. Then I'll have a lot more flexibility when I head over to the North and won't book up in advance and we can change our route if we feel like it. The only area I really want to have a look around in the north is Nan. Maybe also Chiang Dao.

I'd already decided I won't drive in Bangkok!

I am putting a lot of planning into this but that's because I've got to work out which of the Budget offices to leave the car at and I'm not sure how flexible they will be if I decide to change the office during the holiday. To give us more driving time I'm thinking of flying back to Bangkok from wherever I drop off the car, so that will give me less flexibility. Also, because I'm going with children, I've got to think of things to keep them amused as otherwise my wife and I won't enjoy the holiday as much. It's been a long cold winter in the UK (it was nearly snowing in London last night) and it's fun to plan a trip in a hot far away country!

I was thinking of booking some of the hotels in advance, but that ties us down to having to be in certain places on certain dates. I wanted to head over to the North East as I've been to Nong Khai and along the Mekong before and thought my family would find it interesting. I've also found a few homestay type places in Isaan where we could stay and join in with the daily life in Thailand and meet some Thai children which I thought they'd find fun and would be an eye opener. But I don't want to do that if it's just going to make the whole holiday a rush. That's why I've been asking these questions to try and gauge what will make for a good holiday.

It's 1000 baht to hire the GPS and I thought it would be useful for highlighting the best route between 2 places, particularly if there are no highways between them.

Thanks again for everybody's input.

Already it's helped me decide I'll definitely hire a car.

Also, does anyone know a good website for route planning in Thailand i.e. you put in the start point and destination and it gives you a suggested route. It would be useful to get an idea of distances between places, to see if I'm planning on doing too much. I had a quick look at the Viamichelin website but it doesn't recognise all the places. Is there one that is good for Thailand?

Thanks for all the replies, it all makes interesting reading.

The 4500 baht was the extra cost of the double cab Vigo over the City for 16 days. For 16 days they are quoting 16,700 baht for the City, 20,900 baht for the double cab Vigo and 28,400 for the Fortuna. I've had a quick look at all the cars on the internet and the City is a lot more economical to run than the Vigo and the Fortuna which both have similar running costs. We won't be taking much luggage, maybe 2 medium size bags and 2 smaller bags, so I think if we did hire the Vigo we could fit it in the back seat with our children. They also provide a cover for the back so if we did have to put some things in there it would hopefully stay dry. Budget are a big company with quite a lot of offices in Thailand so I guess the cars will be reasonably new. One of the advantages of using them is that I can drop the car off in a different city for no extra charge. They are a bit cheaper than Thai rent a car and there's no excess in case of damage, so it seems a pretty good deal.

So from all the replies so far I'm coming to the following conclusions.

We should be all right with the City but the 4 wheel drives would be better. We are planning on visiting some parks and waterfalls, so we may have difficulty getting to some of these with the City. The compromise is the Vigo, but maybe I should hire the City and then when I want to go to a park find a local driver with a 4 x 4 and hire him for the day. The difference in rental and running costs should easily cover doing this a few times and I assume the City will be better than the Vigo on longer journeys down the highway.

I should definitely get a road map which I can buy in English in Thailand. Presumably that won't be a problem to get in Chiang Mai.

I should try to avoid driving at night but on the odd occasion it should be fine, but I should drive carefully.

I should check out the distances in a bit more detail and try not to cover too much ground.

Any more information and comments will be gratefully received.

Thanks,

John

Thanks for the replies.

The cars I am looking at are through Budget and I assume the GPS would be in English as well as Thai, but I will check. Assuming it is in English, has anyone any experience of using a GPS in English in Thailand? Will it recognise names of villages in English (sometimes I've seen English translations of Thai names spelt in different ways)? It makes sense to have a road map as well. Can I buy a road map in English when I'm in Thailand or should I get one in the UK?

As there are 4 of us, the cheapest 4 wheel drive is the Toyota Vigo double cab. It's about £90 (4,500 baht) more, but presumably will do a lot less miles to the gallon so will also cost more to run. I haven't driven a pick up truck before and would prefer to drive a car, but if the general consensus is that it may be a problem with a car in the rainy season, then I would hire a pick up truck.

I've also read it's not a good idea to drive at night. What about driving at night on the main roads between cities - is that still a bit dodgy?

Hi,

I'm coming to Thailand in August with my family - me, my wife and our 2 children of 8 and 10. I thought we'd see more of the country if we hire a car rather than relying on planes, buses and trains, but I'm a little apprehensive about a few things and would appreciate some advice from people who drive in Thailand a lot. I drove a motorbike round Northern Thailand many years ago and have driven abroad quite a lot, so am used to driving defensively and hooting before going round blind corners to let oncoming traffic know I'm there.

I was thinking of hiring a car in Chiang Mai and driving via Chiang Dao and Chiang Rai to Nan. I thought I'd do some exploring in Nan before heading to Sukhothai and over to north east Thailand, maybe taking in Loei, Nong khai, Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan and then dropping the car off in Udon Thani or Khon Kaen. I'd have about 15 or 16 days to do this.

I've had a look at the car hire on this website and they offer a Honda Jazz or Honda City and I can also rent a GPS system with it. So my queries are these.

1. It is rainy season in August. I'm assuming most of the roads will be sealed and will be fine, but will some of the roads be a problem in the more rural and/or mountainous areas?

2. Will both those cars (I don't know those models) cope with the rural and mountainous roads. Are both of these models similar or is one of them better for what I want to do?

3. Will I have any trouble using the GPS in English as I don't know if I'll always have an address in English and I don't speak Thai. Would I be better off with a road map?

4. Am I trying to drive too far and fit too much in, in the sense that will some of the journey times be very long?

Thanks,

John