NguuMuu

There's a lot of threads on Vietnam, but I haven't found any that really differentiate between the North and South.

I'm planning a trip to Vietnam in February and trying to decide if I should go for the North or South. I only have about 5 or 6 days so that won't be enough time to check out both areas. Anybody have any strong opinions or preferences on either area? Any recommendations on what to do in either place? I'd be using Hanoi or HCMC as my base, but definitely interested in day (or overnight) trips. I'd like to be busy with a lot of sight seeing.

Basically for a first time in Vietnam, what would be best? Any advice appreciated.

JGP: Internet/Travel agent rate: 1200B, including breakfast for 2.

Direct: 1950B, no breakfast (after 5 nights we wanted to extend for 1 more, the reception charged us the rack rate).

Sounds like it will most likely be Grand Jomtien Palace then and it look slike sawadee has the cheapest rates.

Thanks for all the advice everyone!

Ok...Now it's between the Grand Jomtien palace and Jomtien Thani.

A few quick questions:

1) Would I get a better rate booking online or just showing up? I'm pretty confident they won't be full.

2) Do the baht buses regularly go all the way down to the Grand Jomtien Palace?

3) From what I've gathered on the internet, I should expect to pay 30 baht from the main bangkok bus terminal down to Jomtien....right? And afterwards a trip in between Jomtien and South Pattaya should be 20 baht?

Thanks for the feedback so far.

Wileycoyote, 2 people in the room. Me and the thai gf. I specifically mention Thai because (based on internet reviews) it seems like some of these hotels have surcharges that may apply for thais, bg or not. In other cases they may falsely accuse the gf of being a bg even if you already booked the room for 2 people and she has been present with you the whole time!

Facilities are not of much importance. Fitness center not necessary. Pool needed although the majority of the time should be spent on the beach across the street.

Tammi, by action, I mean the busier area of the strip, i.e a good number of restaurants and maybe a few bars. I would probably rent a motorcycle anyway so this may not be all that important.

I suppose so far I'm leaning towards the Grand Jomtien Palace

Thanks again

I'm planning a visit to Pattaya soon with the TGF, but never stayed in the Jomtien area before.

Can anyone give me any advice or direction to pick out of these 5 hotels. From everything I've gathered on the internet they all seem very similar in price and quality.

Grand Jomtien Palace

Jomtien Garden Hotel

Jomtien Holiday Hotel

Jomtien Thani Hotel

Welcome Jomtien Beach Hotel

or any other suggestions?

Looking to spend about 1000/ night, would prefer a room with balcony and sea view although not necessary.

And nothing too isolated from the main roads. Actually I'd like to be around wherevere the most action would be on Jomtien Beach...where would that be?

Crocodile meat (dried jerky) at the deli counter of Foodland near Sukumvhit soi 7(?). About 300 baht a bag and tastes pretty bad.

Snake/scorpion whiskey. I have seen a few bottles in MBK on the 6th floor (I think). Unfortunately they are ridiculously priced compared to markets up in north/isaan Thailand and Laos.

Still looking for the canned insects though....

Another concern was this trip is being planned for the end of July/early August. Should we be concerned about rain? I'm not an experienced motorcycle rider and don't really plan on driving in the rain if it's coming down even slightly hard. Also, how are the road conditions in the rain...not too terrible, I hope.

If it's like Bangkok rain (just an hour or two and then the sun is out again), then I don't think this will be a problem.

Can someone enlighten me please?

I've been thinking about doing a motorcycle tour in Northern Thailand, golden triangle area, with a few friends, but I really don't know much about this. The websites I can find don't really supply much information; just trying to sell some pre-organized, but expensive tours.

Any advice would be appreciated...routes, places to stop, websites, recommended motorcycle renters, etc.

I'm sure some of you have done this before. How was it?

Thanks.

I like dtom saep (ต้มแซบ). Some of you know it...a popular isaan dish that includes beef intestine, stomach, liver, real meat, and of course some lungs. Now I have been told, but cannot verify through the net or elsewhere, that lungs cannot be sold as a food product in the US because they are dangerous to your health(?). Now I have two questions.

First, is it true that eating lungs is bad for your health?

Second, if so, why are they bad?

And if this sounds gross to anyone...give it a try. You just might like it!

As for a humidifier/ionizer, not sure. But for the price mentioned, you may be further ahead to spend a little more and just get a normal air-con.

You are correct in that the cost is pretty close to buying a normal AC unit, but I see one of the big advantages of an air cooler as it being portable. In my case I have several extra rooms with no AC, but it would be nice to have an air cooler if I had a guest over or needed to do some temporary work in one of the rooms.

Sorry for the revival, but didn't want to start a new topic for this.

What about the versions that have a humidifier/ionizer built in? A friend has a Claret model from HomePro that cost about 6000-7000 baht and he says it works great. Cleans the air and keeps the room dry(er) while cooling with just a little bit of power and a bag of ice.

I'd like to get one, but don't want to buy one based soley on his experience and I can't find any other info on the net. Anyone have experience with air coolers like these?

Foreign investment has dropped off since the Bangkok of Thailand imposed tough currency controls in December, and the government in January proposed tightening foreign business rules.

Off topic, but when is the Bangkok Post going to finally start proof reading their articles (or hire people competent enough to do so)?

What about a tin of crocodile meat?

Is this easy to find in the local supermarket?

Anybody know of any souveneir shops that sell Thai oddities? Not the normal tourist souveneirs (I know, an oxymoron). Any local spots with items like liquor with scorpions or snakes in it. I'm looking for the more unique items of Thailand.

I can't speak from experience going North, but if it's anything like the train from Bangkok down to near Malaysia I would guess:

I want to use my notebook computer on the train, do they have power outlets?

no

Are there any coffee shops or restaurants where I can work?

no

How is the food and is it expensive, do they sell booze on the train?

Not too great. Better choice is food and beer from vendors along the rails as you stop at stations

I heard that the aircon sleeper is like Siberia...should I bring pants and a jacket?

Temperature seemed fine to me

Do they have shower facilities, if so how much?

No, and the toilets get quite nasty the longer you've been going with all the jostling of the train as people are trying to do their business

Can anyone recommend some perishable thai foods that will transport well and still be edible 1 or 2 days after purchase?

I'm not asking about canned, dried, bagged goods....those are easy enough to find at the store and load into the luggage.

Any recommendations on fresh foods that could survive a long-haul flight?

If you look on the net you can find lots of places that sell odd thai souveneirs.

This may be convenient for some that live far away and are willing to pay the large markup, but I'm trying to find out where in Thailand, more specifically Bangkok, items like these can be purchased in person. At Tops or Tesco you can find the occasional oddity, but they still aren't unusual enough.

Of course you can buy fresh insects just about anywhere, but where are the canned ones that could be brought back to the west in your luggage? Anybody know of any shops that have products like the below links?

I'm looking for pretty much any product this site carries--a lot of strange things, but quite expensive:

ThailandUnique

And another site:

ThaiTastes

And yet another:

LiveFoodsDirect

Just checked the rates to see if I had mislead you:

NatWest, UK: 62,2617

Bangkok Bank, Thailand: 66,38

The rates in the airports might be a little different, but I think the tendency will be the same.

Based on these rates it seems you would be saving 4 baht per pound by exchanging in London, right?

Right now Thai banks are selling dollars at almost exactly 35 baht per dollar.

Can any informed readers tell us what rate banks in US airports are currently selling dollars for baht.

Because of the more than 2 baht spread (offshore vs onshore) I assumed it would be better to change in the US, even with fees. Perhaps I am wrong, though....

Topic title says it all:

Do exchange booths in JFK airport (New York City) accept Thai baht, or will I have to exchange my baht in Suvanabumi before I leave?

If no one can help with this, I'm sure someone must be able to tell me about other airports in the US (with direct BKK flights) such as LAX or others.

Thanks!

No I haven't tried it, but I would have to say this is quite strange (and disgusting):

One of the most interesting stops on our trip was at Thung Kwieng Market, found along the highway between Lampang and Chiang Mai. Also known as the jungle market, this market previously had a reputation for selling rare animals/produce from the surrounding forests. Today the sale of endangered wildlife is more or less a thing of the past, but there are still some bizarre things to be found, such as this:

a nearly fully developed buffalo fetus, known locally as khwaay awn. It is prepared by chopping it up, rubbing it with copious spices (to cover up the horrible smell) and steaming it, as shown below:

Taken from a blog on thai food:

RealThai

A few more pics never hurt, I suppose:

I find the small pillow cases to be pretty popular. If you by them in bulk (10+) you can get them for 75 baht or less a piece. Pretty light and good for packing since they can pad any more delicate souveneirs.

pumpuiman, Are you talking about the orange jackets that motorcycle taxis wear? You can just buy those?

There are cheeses in Europe that people wait for them to be infested with maggots then eat. Supposedly enhances the flavor. I saw it on the discovery channel once.

Haven't seen it mentioned yet....my favorite was A History of Violence....or was that the tail end of 2005?