Koh Phi Phi

[ButterMelonCauliflower]

Anyone been? Mainly interested in flight/transfer aspect, thinking of flying to Phuket and getting ferry... DS will be 9mo so wondering if it would be easier to stay in Phuket/go elsewhere in Thailand/stay at home? Any tips etc?

I thought the ladyboy show was great fun, think Danny La Rue, not ping pong balls.
The only thing i found startling was when you leave all the stars are outside waiting for a tip and they are enormously tall and a bit intimidating....

Oh my goodness squidgy I got my photo taken with one of them who was a stunning 'lady' , it was very odd though when he spoke to me in a deep manly voice!

Avoid Phuket/patong beach, karon beach unless you like wandering amongst a market place of prostitutes. It is so in your face.
We first went 20 years ago, 3 years on the trot, and loved it.
Returned 4 years ago and counted the hours till we left. Any time DH was alone, he was approached by young girls offering to screw him for £10...and when he declined offering him 'younger' girls
You are surrounded by 60 year old Western European men walking round with (hopefully at least) 16 year old Thai girls, taking them to bars, and earning. Commission from the Mamas who run the bars.
Sure there are some pretty places in Thailand, but I would rather not spend money in a country whose government are very aware of what goes on, but are loathe to stop it as sex tourism brings in a Lot of money for the economy.

I'm bumping this thread for BigTilly. Can't find you on Advanced Search at the moment - not sure what you are called now?
Just wondered how you were coming on with your itinerary?

After going around the houses a thousand times via Chiang Mai and Angkor Wat, we have now finally settled on this: We are now doing three nights in Bangkok, then flying to Phuket, where will have two nights in a hotel then three nights doing this!!!! SO EXCITED!!! Then back to a hotel for three nights before flying back to BKK then home.

We have decided to base ourselves in Khao Lak as it's a nice short transfer to the trekky/campy thing and back to the airport, and it seems less frenetic and over-commerialised than the main resorts in Phuket.

I am now trying to decide on where to stay in Khao Lak. I need quiet and civilised but not so quiet and civilised that we all slip into a coma.

And I have just emailed 'Tour with Tong' for Bangkok.

Ha! Just found this thread again in my quest to find out about jabs!

Fellatio DH is supposed to be doing the itinerary Your tented camp looks fab - I reckon we'll be doing the budget version!

So, I am trying to collate all our jabs information -v- the recommended jabs for Thailand... Which jabs would people recommend?

Well yes it is a bit of a splurge but the only way to tempt me to get up close and personal with a jungle, a canoe, some hiking boots and a billion mozzies is to envelop the in luxury. Besides, we've just had a bonus and we are doing our best to spent it all immediately.

Go for it!

So what jabs are you getting? As we have had various jabs for other trips, I'm somewhat befuddled as to what is still active and what we need...

I'm trying to avoid thinking about that. Loads of people here in the Gulf go to Thailand without any jabs at all to be honest. It's not malaria that's a problem with the mozzies but Dengue fever I believe. I must look into though - you've just reminded me.

Dengue fever??? I had not even thought of that one!

there is no vaccine or treatment for dengue fever - if you get it, it is paracetamol and hospitalisation to rehydrate you and keep an eye on you in case you go into haemorrhaegic shock. Even without that, dengue will knock you out for weeks. Get it once and your risk of serious complications is greatly increased if you get it again (there are four different strains). 24/7 30% DEET is all you can do.

other jabs as recommended on fco.gov.uk - you should have had most of them as the standard childhood set, but check if any boosters needed.

not all of Thailand is malarial.

Thanks, special.

WTF will we do now Tilly? Go to Spain?

I don't fancy anything haemorrhaegic, personally.

OMG! I think I'll be looking for the DEET

Thanks for that special! Is the Dengue fever less likely around Bangkok and down south on the beaches?

from what I understand about dengue after DH got it - the mosquito (Which is a great stripey thing) tends to be about 250m or less from habitation. Obviously there is no magic barrier. Dengue is much more prevalent in heavily populated areas and there are regular outbreaks. Campaigns go on to reduce the numbers of the mosquito by eliminating breeding areas, which are bits of fresh standing water.

the mosquito also doesn't play fair by a) biting in the day and b) being silent in flight. The bite bloody hurts and you then have 4 days wondering if you are going to get dengue. Any tropical area is a dengue zone, it needs cold weather to kill off the mosquito. BTW that includes Queensland and Hawaii.

we will probably not be returning to tropical areas. You have to be unlucky to get it as a tourist, but getting it twice is too much of a risk for him, and I agree. There are four strains, he is now immune to one of them but the mosquitos are not labelled.

oh, and there's another one:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikungunya

These diseases are a terrible scourge and a vaccine cannot come soon enough, not for us tourists but for those who have to live with it.

to repeat: 30% DEET (don't ponce around with citronella, it works for about 10 seconds), cover up, use mosquito killers in rooms.

Thank you. I'm going to stay in a tented camp on a lake for four days so I'm a bit scared now.

Me too Fellatio

DH has booked us in for jabs, but we have to work out what we need before we go and tell them so they can get the right ones in

you do have to accept these risks when you go to exotic places. However we were unlucky with the dengue (think we might have walked into an outbreak in Kuala Lumpur, and possibly the otherwise lovely hostel with the water feature in the back garden was a bad move)

cover up, slap on the DEET and sunscreen and enjoy.

Fellatio, this website looks pretty good