Thai towns from the top

[bignok]

Pai - great if you like tourists.

Mai - king pin of the north with plenty to do. Old City is a pleasure to walk.

Rai - its not bad. Not half as interesting as Mai but ok if you like quiet. Scenary to north is good.

Phayao - found 2 nice restaurants near lake. Otherwise its a dump. Glad to leave.

Lampang - another dump. The biggest plus its on the train line to somewhere better. Tried hard to like it but its a dump sorry.

Phitsanulok - bad traffic and nothing much to do. Pass

Sukhothai - like both Old and New sections. Lot cleaner and less traffic than Phits. Not much to do but nice to chill. 

Kho Kor - 1 nice temple and skywalk. Otherwise bit lame. Nice stopping point on the way to somewhere else.

Lom Sak - strange town. Friendly locals but lack of decent restaurants. No Grab cars here.

Loei - town is dumpish. Better than some but not by much.

Chiang Khan - cool town. Great chill spot 3 or 4 days.

Pak Chom - ordinary. The drive to CK is great though.

Nong Khai - cool town. Friendly locals, nice food. Messy appearance but likeable.

Bueng Kan - average town but nice province to explore.

Nakhon Phanom - river scenary great. Average town otherwise.

That Phanom - famous temple, otherwise ordinary place.

Mukdahan - temple on hill is great plus park with rocks is ok. Town bland.

Khong Jiam - nice chill town for a few days.

Ubon - slower version of Udon. Boring. Spread out. No thanks.

Sisaket - yawn.

Yasothon - Yasoyawn.

Roi Et - step up from Yasothon. Has an airport.

Mara S - looked ok but not enough time there.

Khon Kaen - some good food here. Decent. Bit too spread out though.

Udon - like KK but more farangs, bit more seedy.

Buriram - looks a mess. Not for me.

Surin - step up from Buriram. Not much else.

Korat - had covid when i went. Cant really rate it. Looked like a small Bangkok.

Phimai - ruins great, average town otherwise.

Pattaya - great if you like Indians, Brits, arabs and ladyboys. Otherwise no.

Koh Chang - best island. Not much to fault. Bit pricey in high season.

Koh Samet - too small. Nice beaches.

Bangkok - always fun.

Ayuthaya - hard to judge on short trip

Kanchanaburi - town is a dump, province is great.

Cha am - average. Poor man's Hua Hin.

Hua Hin - its not bad in the south. Central bit too many farangs.

PKK - great little town to chill.

Ban Krut - nice beach. Bit boring after 2 days.

Chumphon - its ok. Solid town with beaches nearby.

Surat - too spread out, hard to like.

NST - bad traffic in parts but I like it. Nice food and coffee.

Phuket - its still good. Dont believe the critics.

Krabi - ao nang ruined. Other spots slightly better but overall its ordinary.

Phi Phi - ruined by tourists.

Lanta - also ruined by tourists.

Trang - ordinary town. Kradan is the best island.

Phattalung - it looks like Krabi but without the beaches and tourists. Good fun to visit.

Hat Yai - nice food. Friendly locals. Bit boring after 3 days.

Songkhla - scenic town ok for 1 visit. Bit boring.

Samui - been a long time. Id go back.

Kpn - " " "

 

 

 

 

 

[stoner]

what happened to ao nang ? i haven't been in over 15 years. was paradise in early 2000's

[bignok]

12 minutes ago, stoner said:

what happened to ao nang ? i haven't been in over 15 years. was paradise in early 2000's

Super busy. I used to like it as a chilled place. 

[KhunLA]

1 hour ago, stoner said:

what happened to ao nang ? i haven't been in over 15 years. was paradise in early 2000's

The usual, over developed & too many tourist.  Was just there for 1 day, and happy to move on.

 

@bignok nice list and not much argument from me.  We travel for the 'journey', landscape, and food.  Not much else really interests us any more.

Edited September 20, 2023 by KhunLA

[bignok]

MHS and Nan the only places I want to go.

[MarcelV]

You left out Pattani, Yala, Betong, Narathiwat and Sg. Kolok.

[Expat68]

Everyone has their own opinion. We all live in a town/province for our own personal reasons 

[jerryonjay]

Live outside of Pai . Away from the central tourist area Still beautiful. Agree with Nong Khai . Love Baan Krut with Thai partner for the quiet retreat 

[PJ71]

On 9/20/2023 at 5:02 PM, bignok said:

Super busy. I used to like it as a chilled place. 

Was in Ao Nang during Covid, absolutely fantastic, so peaceful and quite, would not return now.

[PJ71]

On 9/20/2023 at 6:14 PM, bignok said:

MHS and Nan the only places I want to go.

MHS town itself is awful, nothing to do on an evening, as a province for bike trips etc, fantastic scenery.

 

Nan is cool but becoming too busy during 'winter' months.

[Burma Bill]

2 hours ago, Expat68 said:

Everyone has their own opinion. We all live in a town/province for our own personal reasons 

Very much so. I lived near Phayao and enjoyed doing so. Nothing wrong with Phayao and not a "dump" as described (IMO).

[PJ71]

11 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

Very much so. I lived near Phayao and enjoyed doing so. Nothing wrong with Phayao and not a "dump" as described (IMO).

I agree, i enjoyed Phayao for a night, some nice spots down by the lake for a feed and a few beers.

[Burma Bill]

10 minutes ago, PJ71 said:

MHS town itself is awful, nothing to do on an evening, as a province for bike trips etc, fantastic scenery.

Yes indeed. It is many years since I visited Mae Hong Son and I agree with your observations. I found a nice hotel overlooking a small lake but otherwise very quiet. I had to walk some considerable distance away from town to find a bar, part of a hotel, which I believed closed at 11pm. However, the scenery of the surrounding hills and countryside is fantastic. These days, do not venture near the Thai - Burma border due to hostilities by the Burmese military.

[bignok]

29 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

Yes indeed. It is many years since I visited Mae Hong Son and I agree with your observations. I found a nice hotel overlooking a small lake but otherwise very quiet. I had to walk some considerable distance away from town to find a bar, part of a hotel, which I believed closed at 11pm. However, the scenery of the surrounding hills and countryside is fantastic. These days, do not venture near the Thai - Burma border due to hostilities by the Burmese military.

Good to know will cross off list. A dump is a bit harsh for Phayao but compared to other places it ranked low.

 

Nan does look nice to chill. 

[Kalasin Jo]

You left out Kalasin. I'm not surprised. I live in Kalasin Province, have done for the last 8 years and need to head in to Kalasin city frequently. There is nothing to recommend it IMHO 

[observer90210]

As a foreigner, I would naturally prefer a town with the least of foreigners.....????????

[bignok]

14 minutes ago, Kalasin Jo said:

You left out Kalasin. I'm not surprised. I live in Kalasin Province, have done for the last 8 years and need to head in to Kalasin city frequently. There is nothing to recommend it IMHO 

Never been there. I figured it was a dump.

[UKJASE]

good reviews Big Nok......  not sure on how accurate all of them are, but you have certainly covered a lot of ground!! 

 

have you not decided yet where to lay your hat, or do you just move on to somewhere where you dont have a bar bill yet? ????  

 

good travel guide buddy 

[Lazybones]

On 9/21/2023 at 8:30 PM, MarcelV said:

You left out Pattani, Yala, Betong, Narathiwat and Sg. Kolok.

And Phetchabun

[bignok]

5 minutes ago, Lazybones said:

And Phetchabun

Just did Kho Kor and Lom Sak

[georgegeorgia]

Anyone here live in the South area around Pattani ?

 

I'm very interested in visiting these areas ,I know they are Muslim areas but are they welcoming to foreigners?

[bignok]

9 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Anyone here live in the South area around Pattani ?

 

I'm very interested in visiting these areas ,I know they are Muslim areas but are they welcoming to foreigners?

Go to Phattalung

[georgegeorgia]

34 minutes ago, bignok said:

Go to Phattalung

I'm always fascinated by towns if a different "flavour" so to speak.

However I think every town (except I think the Muslim south) has been visited by every foreigner.

 

Philippines is next on my list for towns 

[bignok]

3 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

I'm always fascinated by towns if a different "flavour" so to speak.

However I think every town (except I think the Muslim south) has been visited by every foreigner.

 

Philippines is next on my list for towns 

Very few foreigners in Phattalung or NST. I saw 2 in Phattalung and about 6 in NST.

 

The far south looks ordinary to me.