Top 3 bases in Thailand

[Sparktrader]

Seeking

 

Peace

Nice views

Some nightlife

Markets

 

Looking at Nong Khai, Mukdahan, Ubon, Nakhon Phanom

[Sparktrader]

4 week stay desired

Access to a hot woman be handy

[NanLaew]

Ubon

 

(the hot women clinched it)

Edited February 25, 2022 by NanLaew

[Sparktrader]

9 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Ubon

 

(the hot women clinched it)

Went there 15 yrs ago liked it. Think I might go back. I stayed outside town. Try town. 

[Sparktrader]

Any guesthouse recommendations? Budget 3,000 baht a week

[NanLaew]

2 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

Any guesthouse recommendations? Budget 3,000 baht a week

Sorry, no. I live in Udon.

[Sparktrader]

15 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Sorry, no. I live in Udon.

Are the women more ugly there?

[Fat is a type of crazy]

Ubon is a nice town. Not touristy. Big enough though to have the stuff you are after. 

There are some nice things over the border in Laos if you like forests and waterfalls and  some nice bars and restaurants on the river with Beer Lao of course. 

I can recommend to go to in July during the candle festival. It's a parade of big things such as  Buddhas made of wax. OK sounds boring but people were so happy and nice and it didn't feel touristy. 

3000 gets you Hop Inn which appears to be OK. There are lots of good basic hotels for around 5000 a week near the markets or on the river.  

I liked the Sunee Grand for AUD $40 a night or 6500 a week that has a nice pool, decent gym, and a good breakfast.  It is above a shopping centre too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sparktrader]

Thinking july. Thanks. I like quiet. Foid beer and poo ying.

[LaosLover]

Another Ubon fan. Downtown is a bit spread out, but it feels urban enough to be Chiang Mai on a budget. Thai food there is prob the best I've eaten. Mark Weins has some good vids.

 

There are (or were) a couple of farang pubs in the town who can help you sort out a place to stay on a budget. One place (I think called something like The Wrong Way Inn) had a lovely women who gave me a town tour for very low money.

 

Can't speak to the women selection, but I suspect that it may be a bit like Albania, where all the good ones have self-exported to Frankfurt (or Pattaya in this case). It's a much more religious place than most of Thailand, so that may be a negative indicator.

 

Have spent at least a couple of days in your other choices, and would rate Nong Khai a close second. It's got more western comforts than the other river towns.

[Sparktrader]

48 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

Another Ubon fan. Downtown is a bit spread out, but it feels urban enough to be Chiang Mai on a budget. Thai food there is prob the best I've eaten. Mark Weins has some good vids.

 

There are (or were) a couple of farang pubs in the town who can help you sort out a place to stay on a budget. One place (I think called something like The Wrong Way Inn) had a lovely women who gave me a town tour for very low money.

 

Can't speak to the women selection, but I suspect that it may be a bit like Albania, where all the good ones have self-exported to Frankfurt (or Pattaya in this case). It's a much more religious place than most of Thailand, so that may be a negative indicator.

 

Have spent at least a couple of days in your other choices, and would rate Nong Khai a close second. It's got more western comforts than the other river towns.

2 weeks in each. Sold.

[LaosLover]

Given the smallness of these places, I think a week is fine for an initial survey.

 

In Ubon, the tuk tuks were very open to a flat rate of driving around for 200 baht an hour. No idea how that compares to the local Thai person price (or if there even is a local price for sightseeing), but you can see a whole lot of Ubon in an hour.

[zzaa09]

15 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Ubon

 

(the hot women clinched it)

Yet, NKP has a better variety.....

[Sparktrader]

1 week ubon

1 week nkp

1 week nong khai

 

 

[starky]

Not much going on in Nong Khai tbh. Better off in Udon or KK if ya up that way. 

[Sparktrader]

You know Wat i should just go Siem Reap and luang prabang as tourist numbers be down. Best time to go. No better time.

[LaosLover]

Luang Prabang is my #1 fave spot in SEA, and with the new Chinese train will change it fast and not for the better, so def. go now. Prob the best collection of Asian fusion restaurants in the world, and in a stunning setting. Lao food is like Thai, with less oil and more herbs.

 

Muang Swa by Night Night Club has plenty of companion opportunities with some real amateurs. The bottom of the Main Street is the freelancer hangout.

 

Siem Reap requires a little bit of reading to enjoy. Otherwise, it's just a pile of rocks. TBH, Sukhothai is more enjoyable as an old ruin site, and is never crowded.

Edited February 27, 2022 by LaosLover

[Sparktrader]

3 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

Luang Prabang is my #1 fave spot in SEA, and with the new Chinese train will change fast, so def. go now. Prob the best collection of Asian fusion restaurants in the world, and in a stunning setting.

 

Muang Swa by Night Night Club has plenty of companion opportunities with some real amateurs.

 

Siem Reap requires a little bit of reading to enjoy. Otherwise, it's just a pile of rocks. TBH, Sukhothai is more enjoyable as an old ruin site, and is never crowded.

Yes im not much of a rock pile guy. LP then head into Nong Khai region down to Udon.

[Sparktrader]

Is Vang Vieng any good?

[big dendrobenaes]

On 2/25/2022 at 4:47 PM, Sparktrader said:

Are the women more ugly there?

go and find out.....!!!

[LaosLover]

Viang Viang's ol' hippie charm has been ruined by overdevelopment at the level of Lake Pokhara. Pai is a better option of that sort.  

 

The bus ride from Luang Prubang down to Vientiane (with an overnight in VV) used to be one of the great SEA journeys, but modernization has taken away a lot of the lost in time charm.  The punishing but beautiful slow boat ride down the Mekong from Chiang Mai/Rai is on its last legs and possibly still worth doing. Many new dams by the Chinese mean the end of it soon enough. Tons of YouTubes to help you decide.

 

Siem Reap to Vientiane would still feel fairly untouched, but there's much less to entice you to linger in Southern Laos than in the hill tribe-ridden north. It's pretty much Issan 20 years ago with less amenities.

 

For a tourist in Laos, the food will be cheaper and the room a bit more expensive (and much more primitive) than in Thailand. Other than Luang Prabang, without a cultural or anthropological interest, Laos is a hard sell as a destination. 90% of its tourists are merchants crossing over from Vietnam. There's also the mostly abandoned casino city of Boten on the Chinese border if you want maximum strange and minimal comfort.

 

Still on the books, but never enforced, is a law that a westerner cannot consort with a Lao woman. The government requires its permission to marry a Lao woman.

 

For your purposes of finding a companionable place to resettle, I do not recommend Laos.

 

 

Edited February 27, 2022 by LaosLover

[Sparktrader]

Maybe i go Ubon find a woman to eat n drink with.

[Sparktrader]

If i get bored jump on a bus next town

[LaosLover]

I think you'll be jumping on a bus oftener than you think. Toss Buriram on your list too, since it's legendary as a build a house for your GF destination. Said Rod Stewart, "I no longer get married, I just find a woman I hate and buy her a house".

 

Check out the  Buriram Castle mall that has some faux Angkor Wat frontage, so def a 2 birds with one stone proposition. Also: The football team, Buriram United, boasts the world's classiest Chang Shirts. 

 

The Issan towns are a little samey. 20 years ago, I bought a plane ticket to Ubon, but the travel agent sent me to Udon instead. It took me 3 days to notice.

[Sparktrader]

5 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

I think you'll be jumping on a bus oftener than you think. Toss Buriram on your list too, since it's legendary as a build a house for your GF destination. Said Rod Stewart, "I no longer get married, I just find a woman I hate and buy her a house".

 

Check out the  Buriram Castle mall that has some faux Angkor Wat frontage, so def a 2 birds with one stone proposition. Also: The football team, Buriram United, boasts the world's classiest Chang Shirts. 

 

The Issan towns are a little samey. 20 years ago, I bought a plane ticket to Ubon, but the travel agent sent me to Udon instead. It took me 3 days to notice.

Been to Burilam didnt like it. Liked Surin more.

[Sparktrader]

Ubon

Mukdahan

That Phanom

Nakhon Phanom

Nong Khai

Udon Thani

 

3 to 5 days each

[LaosLover]

I liked Surin more too.

 

May as well toss Si Sa Kat on your list too. Great slow train ride to Ubon via Sis Si Kat from Bangkok. Have a cab take you to the wat made of beer bottles.

 

If I only had 3 days to live, I'd want to spend them in Mukhadan. Because 3 days would feel like forever.

Edited February 27, 2022 by LaosLover

[Sparktrader]

Sisaket never been. Keen to try new towns.

[Sparktrader]

Roi Et? Redcat website rates it

[Boomer6969]

11 hours ago, LaosLover said:

Siem Reap requires a little bit of reading to enjoy. Otherwise, it's just a pile of rocks. TBH, Sukhothai is more enjoyable as an old ruin site, and is never crowded.

And not too far away there is Si Satchanalai, one  Thailand's best kept secrets. For those who like old rocks under the trees.

 

 

Edited February 27, 2022 by Boomer6969