Been in Thailand for about 3 weeks now... My overall thoughts...

[Neo6]

Hey,

Sorry for not updating sooner... The last couple of days were rather hectic as I got some pretty bad sun burn and then today we traveled from Lanta to Chiang Mai. Another massive trip that took a lot out of us... We left our hotel in Lanta at 6:30AM and arrived in Chiang Mai at 3:30PM. That's 9 hours!

I didn't realize people would react with so much sensitivity to my thread, or that it would receive so much attention. I honestly can't understand the mindset of someone who gets angry or rude because of an honest review. Either way not to worry... Thank you to those that have made constructive posts and sent me PMs with recommendations on what to do in Chiang Mai

I still think visting Phangan and Lanta were big mistakes and in a large part ruined the trip. The sheer amount of extra travel it added was not justified by the locations. Of course that was my error for trying to do too much and I guess you learn with experience.

I've attached some pics of Lanta to this thread. Everyone who says staying in a 4 or 5 star hotel ruins your experience of Thailand, I disagree. Take Lanta for example... Our resort had the nicest beach on the island... The best views... Best quality of service etc. I still got to see the island (I drove around it probably 3 times). And to be honest there's nothing really more to do there than visit a nice beach, find a good restaurant and go on a couple of excursions. We did all that and I don't see how staying in a 2 star or 5 star makes any difference, other than the level of comfort you get.

I like the general feel of Chiang Mai a lot more and there seems to be a ton to do here. Tomorrow is my birthday so we're probably going to Tiger Kingdom and then to the snake farm, then dinner at Xanadu Pub & Restaurant. This was all recommended by theblether (thanks man).

Cya

[Neo6]

And here are pics of the excursion to Emerald Cave that we did.

I'd highly recommend this... You travel by boat to a remote island, then jump into the sea and swim in a dark cave for about 5 minutes before reaching an enclosed beach. Cool experience, although quite scary!

Unfortunately didn't get any pics of the cave or beach itself as I would have ruined my camera in the process...

Anyway that's about it. Will let you know how I get on in Chiang Mai tomorrow and do a final update post

[irishken]

your honest review is welcome but i have never met anyone who has had a bad holiday in thailand. most of the moaning i hear is from long term expats. most things that you hated i enjoy like not know exactly when the ferry is going to leave. its adventurous to me and i'm usually not in the that much of a hurry even though i usually only have 3-4 weeks holiday time there.

maybe asia is not for you as you can expect this everywhere you go

[Neo6]

your honest review is welcome but i have never met anyone who has had a bad holiday in thailand. most of the moaning i hear is from long term expats. most things that you hated i enjoy like not know exactly when the ferry is going to leave. its adventurous to me and i'm usually not in the that much of a hurry even though i usually only have 3-4 weeks holiday time there.

maybe asia is not for you as you can expect this everywhere you go

I love Asia, always have. Always loved the idea of going to China or Japan... Next year I hope to see both places although I imagine China has in large parts been ruined by pollution over the last 20 or 30 years.

Thailand is obviously a great country where you can have a lot of fun and do some really cool shit. My whole point is unless you are coming as a single male with 3+ months to just chill and go where you please, then you need to be very careful how you plan your holiday and what locations you chose, because you can very easily visit places that are a nightmare to get to and from, but don't add much to your overall experience.

I obviously tried to do too much. I maintain that there are some seriously over rated places here, but that's probably the case all over the World

[irishken]

your honest review is welcome but i have never met anyone who has had a bad holiday in thailand. most of the moaning i hear is from long term expats. most things that you hated i enjoy like not know exactly when the ferry is going to leave. its adventurous to me and i'm usually not in the that much of a hurry even though i usually only have 3-4 weeks holiday time there.

maybe asia is not for you as you can expect this everywhere you go

I obviously tried to do too much. I maintain that there are some seriously over rated places here, but that's probably the case all over the World

maybe you did try too much but for me i love the travelling part,especially heading to the islands on the ferry. ill be there soon for 3 weeks and ill be doing 3 different places and i will have a 11 month old child with me and i'm not stressed out about it one bit.

perhaps you expected too much from thailand and it hasn't turned out the way you like it but ill be honest with you and discourage anyone from reading too much into your OP. if they don't like food in restaurants than eat from the markets.i would be very lucky to eat for 1000 baht plus in a restaurant in ireland so i still consider thailand cheap.

just my taught's

[Benmart]

Perhaps another country might have what you are looking for. Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam are nearby and certainly worthy of exploration.

Lao is the perfect destination for Neo6. It's situated at the core of human misery. No one ever smiles. Happiness is probably punishable by way of a fine.

Remarkable comment. "No one ever smiles". No one means that you have met all 6.5+ million of them? Broad statements that include "all" or "everyone" are always interesting to read although curiously vague and lacking in credibility.

[Benmart]

your honest review is welcome but i have never met anyone who has had a bad holiday in thailand. most of the moaning i hear is from long term expats. most things that you hated i enjoy like not know exactly when the ferry is going to leave. its adventurous to me and i'm usually not in the that much of a hurry even though i usually only have 3-4 weeks holiday time there.

maybe asia is not for you as you can expect this everywhere you go

I love Asia, always have. Always loved the idea of going to China or Japan... Next year I hope to see both places although I imagine China has in large parts been ruined by pollution over the last 20 or 30 years.

Thailand is obviously a great country where you can have a lot of fun and do some really cool shit. My whole point is unless you are coming as a single male with 3+ months to just chill and go where you please, then you need to be very careful how you plan your holiday and what locations you chose, because you can very easily visit places that are a nightmare to get to and from, but don't add much to your overall experience.

I obviously tried to do too much. I maintain that there are some seriously over rated places here, but that's probably the case all over the World

I think you have the right idea. It reminds me of my wife's first venture out of the USA. We got a Eurail Pass and she wanted to see as much as we could in eleven days, since as she put it, "We will never be able to see it again". Eleven days and eight countries later we were worn out, cranky and glad to be heading home.

That was over twenty years ago. Since then we have slowed down, planned and packed much lighter and have enjoyed our travels much more. We have stayed from 5 star to 1 star (India) and laugh about some of the experiences.

In days gone by, The Lebua State Tower in BKK was one of my favorites when it was much less expensive and the exchange rate was much higher. I've learned price doesn't always equate to service and memorable experiences.

Don't be dismayed about less than ideal experiences. I try to go with the flow, slow myself down and count my blessings that i can enjoy each day in good health.

Happy travels my friend.

[IsaanUSA]

We left our hotel in Lanta at 6:30AM and arrived in Chiang Mai at 3:30PM. That's 9 hours!

Are you saying that is quick or very slow? It sounds very quick to me. What was your routing?

[Neo6]

We left our hotel in Lanta at 6:30AM and arrived in Chiang Mai at 3:30PM. That's 9 hours!

Are you saying that is quick or very slow? It sounds very quick to me. What was your routing?

Felt slow and tiring to me... Spent over 2 hours in a car from Lanta to Krabi airport. An hour waiting for the flight, an hour flying to Bangkok, another hour waiting in Bangkok, then another hour on another flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Add another 3 hours somewhere along the line and you have a 9 hour mess.

Now compare that to if we had stayed in Phuket and flown direct from Phuket to Chiang Mai, which would have taken us less than 2 hours total

[ChiangMai101]

I always say to visitors when they mention "let's hop down to the islands for a quick break'' that you need a full day to get there and a full day to get back. That includes Phuket. Depending on where you are staying in Phuket you would need to leave in plenty of time to get to the airport (due to the bad traffic) check in to your flight at least 1.5 hours in advance, wait around in a boring non-descript airport, endure the hour and a bit of flying, get your luggage, organise transport, make your way to your hotel, dig out our passport again, fill out more forms, drag yourself to your room, find your way around the hotel, find a 711 to stock up on water and cool drinks for the fridge, find your bearings around a new town all over again... Ho hum. Unfortunately, that's what travelling entails. In this day and age where we want and expect everything to come easily and happen instantly in a superfast fashion, we are bound to feel a bit worn out and grumpy by the end of it all. Anyway, glad you finally made it to CM. Hope you find what you are looking for.

[RAZZELL]

We left our hotel in Lanta at 6:30AM and arrived in Chiang Mai at 3:30PM. That's 9 hours!

Are you saying that is quick or very slow? It sounds very quick to me. What was your routing?

Felt slow and tiring to me... Spent over 2 hours in a car from Lanta to Krabi airport. An hour waiting for the flight, an hour flying to Bangkok, another hour waiting in Bangkok, then another hour on another flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Add another 3 hours somewhere along the line and you have a 9 hour mess.

Now compare that to if we had stayed in Phuket and flown direct from Phuket to Chiang Mai, which would have taken us less than 2 hours total

You can't really blame people for your planning mistakes can you?

As you said, you could have got the boat to Phuket from Lanta and then flown from there.

I think you have possibly tried to do too much and be too organised.

To start at the beginning Lebua is not really a 5* hotel.

Samui and all the islands rip you off for travel (taxis). Because they are islands they are expensive (everything is imported). A lot of rural places probably didn't even have electric 20-30 years ago. You can't have elegant sophisticated resorts in the middle of nowhere whilst at the same time them costing peanuts.

Its the same as people who moan that it rains in the tropics or there are "bugs".

Expensive? Of course the exchange rate has changed. 8 years ago us Brits got 75 to the pound up until recently was around 45. Prices have effectively double in that time.

I could go on and on...but I won't

BTW enjoy Chiang Mai

RAZZ

Edited August 27, 2013 by RAZZELL

[villagefarang]

For me there are two basic and very different kinds of trips. One I call a destination trip where I travel someplace, settle into my accommodation and take day trips or explore the area while there. This kind of trip is good for staying at a restful resort or visiting cultural and historical sites in a big city like Paris or London.

The other is what I call a road trip, my preferred mode of travel. On a road trip I drive and the journey on beautiful backroads is just as important as the places we stay along the way.

When friends visit Chiang Rai, I suggest treating it like a destination, by settling into one place and taking day trips. I don’t see the need to pack up everything to go stay at Doi Mae Salong or Phu Chi Fa. You will be much more comfortable and find better food if you stay in one place and don’t have to lug your stuff everywhere you go.

I am in the camp which thinks the OP over planned and tried to do too much, in too many destinations.

[poanoi]

Yep, best way to have a holiday with wifey is stay in room, call reception and order another woman,

and get to know each other all three of you.

[cooked]

Maybe the next time do a lot less planning.

First time I came I went straight up to Isaan and did a lot of bonking, that was a good plan. I then took her down to Koh Samet. Looked at Pattaya for the first and last time, wandered around Bangkok aimlessly and went back to Isaan for more of the above. Hotels? I told a taxi driver what kind of hotel I wanted (basically: clean and cheap) and was never disappointed. My Trip Advisor app. on the phone has since also since been very useful.

I only ever went on an organised holiday once in 40 years, when I organised a trip for 15 people.

[smokie36]

I think the OP would benefit from being forved to spend three months on Bottle beach without his TV and laptop and be given only a pair of shorts and a fishing rod.

[Neo6]

Crazy first day in Chiang Mai...

Hired a scooter and rode all the way to Tiger Kingdom. It was fun, but there were a ton of people. Whoever owns that place must be making millions!

Then we went into the jungle in an off road buggy. This was very fun but also quite scary. Our lead car actually broke down and I had to drive back down myself. Then finally we went to a crocodile show. Total nut job sticking his head in crocodiles. I enjoyed feeding them and also holding the baby ones.

All in all a very cool day... Plan is to rest now and then have dinner on the roof at Xanadu.

I've attached a bunch of pics to this post (the first 2 are of the hotel room)

[Riverman63]

Now your living it Neo!

[cobra]

Crazy first day in Chiang Mai...

Hired a scooter and rode all the way to Tiger Kingdom. It was fun, but there were a ton of people. Whoever owns that place must be making millions!

Then we went into the jungle in an off road buggy. This was very fun but also quite scary. Our lead car actually broke down and I had to drive back down myself. Then finally we went to a crocodile show. Total nut job sticking his head in crocodiles. I enjoyed feeding them and also holding the baby ones.

All in all a very cool day... Plan is to rest now and then have dinner on the roof at Xanadu.

I've attached a bunch of pics to this post (the first 2 are of the hotel room)

Great pics of your recent locales, thanx for sharing.

I had a feeling CM was going to be a little more fun,

I never did the jungle jeep ride thing so that's now on my list,

yeah the croc show is crazy, try to do the river raft thing on the Ping, that's pretty cool.

[KED]

Wow, OP, you sure got a lot of mileage out of your well written post. I live in Chiang Mai, and agree with others that you will probably enjoy it a lot.

I think your biggest mistake was bringing your girlfriend with you. I don't know why guys do that. Have there been at least a few times on your trip, when maybe you and she weren't getting along, and you looked at the lovely local ladies, and thought...if only! These ladies have not forgotten the subtle arts of pleasing a man.

I can't add anything of value here, except to say I am (ashamed to say but) envious of a young guy who can afford to spend Twenty Thousand Dollars on a vacation! Too bad it's gone so wrong.

Thailand is so much more than sex-tourism. Single men and woman, married couples, and couples in a relationship are able to enjoy Thailand without ever sleeping with locals.

[snake24]

To OP.

Some of the things are really not worth complaining about. Take the flight time from the US i assume you are from there. Yup that's long it's long for ppl flying from asia over there too. BKK is quite dirty yes, and has tons of traffic and chaos BUT it's pretty much better than other cities around the region like say jakarta, manila, laos, cambodia but probably not as good as KL and definitely loses out to singapore but nobody really cares about that and besides it adds to the experience.

Anyway ppl go to BKK and in fact many ppl go to thailand for sex tourism. It's a fact and it aids both sides. Poor families with daughters use that to support themselves and to escape the cycle of poverty and men that go for them have a partner and sex. That's a fact and if ppl go to bkk to seek that out then the streets of bkk being filthy doesn't really matter. I do agree that the traffic and the chaos and the cluttered streets aren't a very welcome sight but that's just how it is and by and large the region of south east asia is like this. You could try manila or some indonesian city and it would be a lot worse and more dangerous.

On the thoughts of thailand not being cheap. Well firstly what were your expectations? Did u expect say a 100USD note to go very far? Anyway it's not too bad. In my country of singapore if you want good hotel accomdations mind you not just decent ones something like 250SGD and above per day would be expected and in USD it would be i think around 230USD and you can get very good rooms in thailand for a lot less than that. It's 1 USD to around 32thb so yes it's pretty high but it's not going to be tons and tons cheaper but it's still not too expensive overall i think you were expecting vietnam prices.

The taxis and all charge really high prices especially in tourist areas and yes the prices are tagged to the prices in the US i suppose. Like maybe a 40usd cab ride is really expensive and you wouldn't want to pay that in thailand which would cost i think around 1.1k baht.

[Cheapcharly]

Next time try KO England, it's wonderful there...

They have a queen too.

[harrry]

I think the OP is just pointing out that the mid high end hotel experience here is not that great or that cheap. Thailand is fine for those who can stay in the small places and move if they do not like it. Often small family hotels provide great places to stay.

For larger places stafing problems make the value questionable.

[driedmango]

You have learned a lesson in life... the people with less planning, that are less spoiled and fussy have alot more fun.

There is lots of awesome places in thailand, but we don't need people that are so uptight around. Next time, try relaxing and stop to smell the roses.

[donniereadit]

So everyone came for the Temples then? Take away the woman and booze and how many of you would still be here?? Exactly.

I think this man and his family here came looking for what Thailand markets itself to be and his expectations were disappointed. If he wanted the luxury stuff on the beach, sunsets etc I can't fault him for expecting that, especially for a first time visit. I don't see many roadside food stalls and cheap bungalows in my travel brochures.

What he found was the reality of a third world country that does not live up to the hype.

[moe666]

Sorry your holiday has become a bummer, I just returned from a drive around Thailand and stayed in some exceptable hotels for 1000 baht a night, by this I mean they are clean nothing fancy wifi and cable about it. You were a bit on the highend with your holiday but beach places will always be expensive. Three of us ate for 600 baht last night in CM we ordered 2 fried fish with sweet chili sauce this was the most expensive part of the meal. But then again we could have went up the road for 600 baht a person if we had wanted. Thailand is cheap if you know where to go but western style is not cheap. Good luck on your trip

[moe666]

We left our hotel in Lanta at 6:30AM and arrived in Chiang Mai at 3:30PM. That's 9 hours!

Are you saying that is quick or very slow? It sounds very quick to me. What was your routing?

Felt slow and tiring to me... Spent over 2 hours in a car from Lanta to Krabi airport. An hour waiting for the flight, an hour flying to Bangkok, another hour waiting in Bangkok, then another hour on another flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Add another 3 hours somewhere along the line and you have a 9 hour mess.

Now compare that to if we had stayed in Phuket and flown direct from Phuket to Chiang Mai, which would have taken us less than 2 hours total

But you have a well planned trip

[sms747]

No Phuket or Pattaya on your itinerary, OP?

At least the guy got something right!

[DarrenLittlewood]

Dubai is nice

[Bikkii]

Thailand obviously isn't for you.

Next year go somewhere suitable

Sent from my GT-P7500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

So you believe Thailand is just for people with dirty hair and massive backpacks or what? Because I consider myself someone who likes to explore and see real places... I hate the idea of being trapped in some silly resort on a package holiday

Then the question I ask is why did you stay in these places and surely you would have known how far they were from other areas doing your research? And the bit about backpackers is a little naive. There is believe it or not thousands of options to stay in places that fall between backpackers and your resort level.

When I use to come for holidays here I stayed in places that were 3-4 star, cheap as chips and comfortable beds to spend the 6-8hrs I was in the room. Another bonus to this is that unlike a resort, these places make you get out and experience the culture more cause their isn't a pool bar, inflated restaurant attached etc.

Perhaps next time you travel, do some research about the places you are staying, could just make your holiday

[fredob43]

Sorry to say you went to all the wrong place's Never and I repeat never go to tourist resort's over priced and overrated as you have found out. Lanta is at best a one day maybe one night at the most place, Phi Phi 20 year's ago nice now the pit's as you will see. Likewise Phuket, Krabi has also lost it's charm. Hope you enjoy Chang Mai I don't like it but there are many that do would be nice to hear your comment's on the place.

I now live in mid Thailand and it fantastic no bloody tourist's the real thing, also well away from the if you don't like it don't come peep's that seem to come out of the woodwork when someone has a go about the place.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your time here there are nice place's and lovely people but your itinerary suggest to me you won't.

I have done the same trip's as you and can tell you your comment's are on the money.

Edited October 23, 2013 by fredob43