first time in thailand. excited, nervous, needing advice

[kanas031]

Hi guys

Im going to thailand for 3 and 1/2 months this year. will be working at a hospital in mae sot during that time.

was wondering if anyone can recommend accomodation places in mae sot for the length of the stay (approx. 3months)

Also how would you recommend i get to mae sot from bangkok. Ive got about 3 days from landing to before i start my medical placement there

Thanks

Ashwin

[Carmine6]

Try this website as a start for cheaper travel options. Also try searching the bus and train related topics as some of those have other websites posted that are with the Thai websites directly.

http://12go.asia/

I thought there was a train to Tak, but seems there might not be.

http://www.railway.co.th/home/default.aspx?ID=〈=EN

If money is no object you could fly to Chiang Mai, then take a taxi as that is a little bit closer. Or take a taxi from Bangkok, though it'll cost a lot more than a bus. No idea how much, though it wouldn't surprise me if it were US$100 to US$200 from Bangkok. I have no recent experience with a long taxi ride, but maybe 5 or 6 years ago, a trip about 2/3 that length cost me maybe 2,500 baht, so less than $100, but with a longer trip and inflation I'd expect it to be higher.

Couple things that might help to know.

What time of day does your flight land in Bangkok?

How much luggage will you have and will it be easy to manage with public transportation like a backpack or a medium suitcase, versus several suitcases?

Is the general plan to stay in Bangkok a day or two, then head out? Or get right to some kind of transportation right from the airport?

[craigt3365]

Try this website as a start for cheaper travel options. Also try searching the bus and train related topics as some of those have other websites posted that are with the Thai websites directly.

http://12go.asia/

I thought there was a train to Tak, but seems there might not be.

http://www.railway.co.th/home/default.aspx?ID=〈=EN

If money is no object you could fly to Chiang Mai, then take a taxi as that is a little bit closer. Or take a taxi from Bangkok, though it'll cost a lot more than a bus. No idea how much, though it wouldn't surprise me if it were US$100 to US$200 from Bangkok. I have no recent experience with a long taxi ride, but maybe 5 or 6 years ago, a trip about 2/3 that length cost me maybe 2,500 baht, so less than $100, but with a longer trip and inflation I'd expect it to be higher.

Couple things that might help to know.

What time of day does your flight land in Bangkok?

How much luggage will you have and will it be easy to manage with public transportation like a backpack or a medium suitcase, versus several suitcases?

Is the general plan to stay in Bangkok a day or two, then head out? Or get right to some kind of transportation right from the airport?

That's a very interesting website. Have you used it much? Just curious as to how reliable it is. As you know, transport options here change a lot and some you only find when you get to the bus station! LOL!

It does show a bus to Mae Sot. But doesn't show any to Pattaya! ?????

OP: I'd recommend you contact your employer. Many accommodation options are never listed on the internet, at least on ones in English. And if they are, they tend to be the expensive ones.

Have a great time! Hope you enjoy Thailand.

[Carmine6]

Try this website as a start for cheaper travel options. Also try searching the bus and train related topics as some of those have other websites posted that are with the Thai websites directly.

http://12go.asia/

I thought there was a train to Tak, but seems there might not be.

http://www.railway.co.th/home/default.aspx?ID=〈=EN

If money is no object you could fly to Chiang Mai, then take a taxi as that is a little bit closer. Or take a taxi from Bangkok, though it'll cost a lot more than a bus. No idea how much, though it wouldn't surprise me if it were US$100 to US$200 from Bangkok. I have no recent experience with a long taxi ride, but maybe 5 or 6 years ago, a trip about 2/3 that length cost me maybe 2,500 baht, so less than $100, but with a longer trip and inflation I'd expect it to be higher.

Couple things that might help to know.

What time of day does your flight land in Bangkok?

How much luggage will you have and will it be easy to manage with public transportation like a backpack or a medium suitcase, versus several suitcases?

Is the general plan to stay in Bangkok a day or two, then head out? Or get right to some kind of transportation right from the airport?

That's a very interesting website. Have you used it much? Just curious as to how reliable it is. As you know, transport options here change a lot and some you only find when you get to the bus station! LOL!

It does show a bus to Mae Sot. But doesn't show any to Pattaya! ?????

OP: I'd recommend you contact your employer. Many accommodation options are never listed on the internet, at least on ones in English. And if they are, they tend to be the expensive ones.

Have a great time! Hope you enjoy Thailand.

I have not used that site, though it does list the direct website links for the providers which is more relevant. Whenever I've used a bus, it has always been from searching for the specific route I wanted and then hunting down the specific bus line or government bus websites. Someone posted a very nice website that had better information, but I can't recall what the topic was and couldn't find it. I just happened to have bookmarked this website at some point.

[kanas031]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Try this website as a start for cheaper travel options. Also try searching the bus and train related topics as some of those have other websites posted that are with the Thai websites directly.

http://12go.asia/

I thought there was a train to Tak, but seems there might not be.

http://www.railway.co.th/home/default.aspx?ID=〈=EN

If money is no object you could fly to Chiang Mai, then take a taxi as that is a little bit closer. Or take a taxi from Bangkok, though it'll cost a lot more than a bus. No idea how much, though it wouldn't surprise me if it were US$100 to US$200 from Bangkok. I have no recent experience with a long taxi ride, but maybe 5 or 6 years ago, a trip about 2/3 that length cost me maybe 2,500 baht, so less than $100, but with a longer trip and inflation I'd expect it to be higher.

Couple things that might help to know.

What time of day does your flight land in Bangkok?

How much luggage will you have and will it be easy to manage with public transportation like a backpack or a medium suitcase, versus several suitcases?

Is the general plan to stay in Bangkok a day or two, then head out? Or get right to some kind of transportation right from the airport?

Thanks for that. I will be landing in bangkok at 1635 on friday afternoon next week. I have an osprey backpack and a satchel. think that should be ok with public transport. im a sucker for trains so may check out that option. im unsure if i wanna spend a day or two in bangkok yet. may look into heading straight to chiang mai. really depends on if i ican get hooked up with some connections in bangkok.

thanks for your help

Try this website as a start for cheaper travel options. Also try searching the bus and train related topics as some of those have other websites posted that are with the Thai websites directly.

http://12go.asia/

I thought there was a train to Tak, but seems there might not be.

http://www.railway.co.th/home/default.aspx?ID=〈=EN

If money is no object you could fly to Chiang Mai, then take a taxi as that is a little bit closer. Or take a taxi from Bangkok, though it'll cost a lot more than a bus. No idea how much, though it wouldn't surprise me if it were US$100 to US$200 from Bangkok. I have no recent experience with a long taxi ride, but maybe 5 or 6 years ago, a trip about 2/3 that length cost me maybe 2,500 baht, so less than $100, but with a longer trip and inflation I'd expect it to be higher.

Couple things that might help to know.

What time of day does your flight land in Bangkok?

How much luggage will you have and will it be easy to manage with public transportation like a backpack or a medium suitcase, versus several suitcases?

Is the general plan to stay in Bangkok a day or two, then head out? Or get right to some kind of transportation right from the airport?

That's a very interesting website. Have you used it much? Just curious as to how reliable it is. As you know, transport options here change a lot and some you only find when you get to the bus station! LOL!

It does show a bus to Mae Sot. But doesn't show any to Pattaya! ?????

OP: I'd recommend you contact your employer. Many accommodation options are never listed on the internet, at least on ones in English. And if they are, they tend to be the expensive ones.

Have a great time! Hope you enjoy Thailand.

Thanks. Cant wait. Ive been counting down for the past 2 months

[craigt3365]

Bangkok is a great city. As long as you are there, I'd spend a few days and check it out. Grand Palace, Wat Arun, canal tours, the human zoo of Khao San Road, etc. You'll be fairly close to CM when you are working. Easy to get there for a weekend trip if you have the time. Just a thought...

[melsnet]

If you wan't to travel by rail from Bangkok

http://www.thairailticket.com/esrt/default.aspx

There is a English translation tab in the top right corner of the web page.

[Carmine6]

Thanks for that. I will be landing in bangkok at 1635 on friday afternoon next week. I have an osprey backpack and a satchel. think that should be ok with public transport. im a sucker for trains so may check out that option. im unsure if i wanna spend a day or two in bangkok yet. may look into heading straight to chiang mai. really depends on if i ican get hooked up with some connections in bangkok.

thanks for your help

Just to be clear, I was saying Chiang Mai because it is one of the larger cities in Thailand and also a tourist destination, so is easy to get flights to. It is closer, but not exactly "close" to Mae Sot. Also would cost the plane fare, which is why I was saying if money is not object. But it would be less time on a bus, than straight from Bangkok.

By train however, you would be going farther north than Mae Sot, though not on a direct line. Nothing wrong with that, as you could take a late night train out, try to catch up on sleep, and get to Chiang Mai the next day. Then spend a day or two there before getting to Mae Sot.

Looked it up, and the train actually goes through Phitsanulok, so if you can figure out a bus from there to Mae Sot, you can stop there instead of all the way to Chiang Mai. But, I have no idea how easy that is, particularly if you got there at an odd hour like late night or very early morning. Signs and people's English skills may not be as good as in Chiang Mai.

You can see what's going on if you locate Mae Sot in these maps, and then the train route to Chiang Mai:

http://www.trekthailand.net/map-thailand/trainmap1.html

http://www.johomaps.com/as/thailand/thailandrail.JPG

Getting to Bangkok that late in the day, you may want to do a night in Bangkok and head out the next day or day after more direct to Mae Sot. Figure on up to an hour to get through immigration and get your luggage. Then getting to the train or bus station is going to be something similar. Both of those can be shorter, though if trying to make a certain departure, I wouldn't cut anything close. So you're limited to buses or trains like 19:00 on. Except getting to the train or bus on time doesn't mean you'd get a seat unless you can get a ticket online ahead of time.

[daveAustin]

Op, read the Wikitravel page on Mae Sot: http://wikitravel.org/en/Mae_Sot

Buses go from Mochit through the day, 7-8 hours. You can also fly (nok air) from Bkk--free bus to Don Muang Airport from Swampy.

Personally I would rather do that and get sorted at the start of the assignment, have a look around later.

Also see guest houses farther down the page. Stay in one couple nights in order to suss out an apartment in meantime. Easy peasy.

IME, Wikitravel is the best source for travel info/overviews on the net.

Good luck.

[Cloggie]

>> will be working at a hospital in mae sot during that time.

You have a work permit for that?

[kanas031]

>> will be working at a hospital in mae sot during that time.

You have a work permit for that?

Well its not paid work. its a medical elective as part of my course. yep i have permission to do that as arranged by my med school, the clinic and with an ED category visa.

Thanks for all the replies guys. been really helpful. this is a really friendly and helpful community

[darrendsd]

>> will be working at a hospital in mae sot during that time.

You have a work permit for that?

Sigh, there's always one

[BillyBobThai]

Has anybody heard if the tracks are ok after the earthquakes we have had in the last 2 days? The train cars tend to fall over on good tracks.

[rickthailand]

nok air has flights from chian mai to mae sot

[MMarlow]

>> will be working at a hospital in mae sot during that time.

You have a work permit for that?

Do you work for the labour department or something?

[Brevity]

>> will be working at a hospital in mae sot during that time.

You have a work permit for that?

Well its not paid work. its a medical elective as part of my course. yep i have permission to do that as arranged by my med school, the clinic and with an ED category visa.

Thanks for all the replies guys. been really helpful. this is a really friendly and helpful community

There's something that isn't said very often. LOL

The trains up north were coming off the tracks a lot some time back, but sections were closed for about 1 month to do repairs, and I've not heard anything about problems lately. However, as another person said, there was a pretty good earthquake recently, so you might want to check for any news about rail problems. I took the overnight 2nd-class sleeper to Chaing Mai from Bangkok years ago and loved it. The clickity-clack sound of the rails and the slight swaying lulled me into a great sleep, especially after a couple of brews in the bar car.

As for overnight bus travel, it would be my last option for a couple of reasons. It seems that most of those terrible bus accidents happen at night on these long-range trips, and bus accidents are very common in Thailand. Also, theft from the storage compartment at the bottom of the bus is not uncommon, so if you use the bus and can avoid putting your stuff down there, do so.

Good luck with everything.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Brevity

[HooHaa]

>> will be working at a hospital in mae sot during that time.

You have a work permit for that?

Sigh, there's always one

there are substantially more than one.

[mike2011]

Going first to Chiang Mai while being bound for Mae Sot is somewhat bizarre.

Trains are not a good option as well.

The first class and VIP busses need about 7-8 hrs and are very comfy. The road between Tak and Mae Sot is picturesque because it goes through mountains. Unfortunately, it is also prone to accidents. So a daytime bus is better and you can enjoy the views.

In Mae Sot you will find good food of a variety not all Thai city can offer.

THis map might be helpful:

https://maps.google.co.th/maps/ms?msid=217134799861125195209.0004b80c959c270acc6eb&msa=0&dg=feature

There is also funny map available at the hotels, locally produced.

The town has two shops selling high quality hill tribe products which make perfect presents and I treasue my "finds" highly.

If it is your first time inThailand, 2-3 days Bangkok are ok. Have a look at the national museum, enjoy the river, adn get a feel for the place. More remote places are plenty around Mae Sot. No need for shopping as Mae Sot has supermarkets, a huge wet and dry market.

Accommodation is indicated on the map. Go around locally and you will easily find an apartment for the time you stay.

If you like to do a trip to Chiang Mai. There is a daily direct bus service with the Green Bus (the Mae Sai route) and an alternative: early morning songtaew to Mae Sariang and from there with 1 pm bus to CM. Takes longer but MUCH nicer and interesting ride.

You will be spending time in one of the most interesting parts of Thailand. A really good choice.

[chainarong]

Don't wear a red or yellow shirt.

[cooked]

Take a taxi to Mo chit. The taxi driver will ask where you want to go as there are different dropoffs for different destinations. Inside you will be approached by touts that will again ask where you want to go. Let them help you. If Nakhon Chai Air is an option, take it. When you get off the bus taxi and motorbike drivers will be waiting. Just say hotel, mai peng (not expensive) . Look at the room first. You can play with the trains and Bangkok later.