Thailand

[Tom]

Hey folks
Am off to Thailand with my luverly wife and our little boy (nearly 4). I'd love to talk about some stuff to do there...

We're off on weds April 7th, flying into Bangkok on the thurs 8th, and I need to find a hotel to book for one night. Anyone know any good ones - under £100 for the three of us?

The next night we're thinking of going on the night train down to surat thani and then by boat to Ko Pha-Ngang... find somewhere on a beach and book 4 nights. Anyone done that trip before? Good tips for trains (1st or 2nd sleeper?) or boats? Anyone know any really lush places to stay in Ko Pha-Ngang?

And that's as far as we've got - we're gonna take it from there, do what we fancy... all we're gonna to do is be back in Bangkok on weds 21st, stay a night in a NICE hotel and fly back the following night.

So.. nice things to do without stressing ourselves out around the islands - is Ko Samui worth a visit? Ko Tao? Anywhere else?

We wanna be comfy but cheap and in all the right places

On taking Cole with us... he's really into dora, so I got him a dora backpack (with map!), but it's a small day bag, so we've got him a bigger backpack for his clothes and toys for moving around.

I thought it'd be nice to do him a special 'map', with all the stages of our journey... with pics of cars, planes, hotels, trains (he's a thomas obsessive! - we have to do the sleeper!)... then a boat, with a lovely island, with a hut on the beach. Then when we're going on the journey, we can trace where we are on the map

He's fussy with food, but will eat if he's starving, he'll love beach life, but he'll need a few essentials - thomas & dora leap pad (for journeys), nighttime books (hrm.. he has so many! (really into Mr men now)), his blanket and nemo, and maybe we'll smuggle thomas along (he's resolute that thomas doesn't want to come... but he'd be a nice surprise when we got there!)...

Any help from the well travelled would be great

[Moomin]

I know some people have said Koh Samui's a bit 'been-there-done-that' but as Thailand virgins 3 years ago, dh and I had a fabulous time here and would highly recommend it. Although we were childless at the time, there were a few families there with young children and babies and I'd say it was ideal. We'll definitely go back with dd one day.

[Tom]

Blue skies and hot.
Every day.

[Cll]

What was weather like - might think of it for next Easter?

[lou33]

Thanks Twink . Will start jotting and get back to you after the weekend (going away)!

[Twink]

That's fine Lou !

[lou33]

Thanks Tom and Twink.

Twink, I may compile a list of questions and get hold of you via contact another talker if that's ok? We do have a friend in Bangkok, and were thinking of flying there, and staying with him for a few days while we sort out accommodation. He doesn't know yet though!

[Tom]

V quickly... here's what we did...

• Flew into Bangkok
  
• Went to (prebooked 4 £60) Shangri La (5*) hotel for 1 night
  
• Took overnight bus (train was booked - get train if you can) to the South (Surat Thani)
  
• boat straight to Koh Phangan and then got a taxi to Hat Yaw beach (west coast)
  
• Bagged a hut on the beach (£6 a night) at Haad Yao bungalows (highly recommended) for 6 nights
  
• 6 GEORGEOUS days on the (totally chilled) beach relaxing (massage ladies (£3 per hour) 5 yards from hut)
  
• Caught boat up to Koh Tao
  
• Found hut on Sairee beach (bit busy) at Seashell dive resort
  
• Did PADI course (amazing!) while missus played with son - about 2.5 days away from them over 4 days
  
• Boat back to mainland, overnight train up to Bangkok
  
• Back to Shangri-LA (prebooked) - heaven
  
• 2 days of shopping for missus in various silk, clothes and cheap watches markets while I looked after boy
  
• Flew home
  
  A superb holiday in all.
  
  Here's some hints...
  
• The sex industry WILL do your head in. As will the dodgy looking western blokes with young thai women on their arm.
  
• If you're going to Samui/Phangan with kids, skip Samui - it's busy, lots of sex industry, clubbing, drugs etc etc - Phangan is M.E.L.L.O.W. and if you find the right place (we did), you won't move from the hut/beach/restaruant paradise you land in
  
• If you've ever wanted to learn how to scuba dive, go to Koh Tao - it's really cheap to learn (£140 incl accom) and the coral reefs are incredible. Swimming with Dolphins? Pah - we swam with sharks
  
• Teach your kid how to do a wai (see below) - they instantly become uber-popular and people treat you well. They can be entertained for ages learning thai words for head, eyes, nose, mouth etc etc etc too.
  
• If you find the right place and stay there for a while, you'll probably end up feeling quite relaxed about the kids - we managed to lounge in the sea, sunbathe on beach, have massage etc while our son (4) was playing with other kids/sleeping in hammock/playing with leappad near hut etc etc.
  
• Get a hut right next to the beach - you can see your kids from the sea. If your hut is behind several others, you won't be able to monitor them from sea/beach.
  
• Food - you can get chips, omlette etc everywhere, but you can only feed em so many chips. They will get more flexible! Rice & chicken was ok, but most popular were little snacks on sticks - chicken satay, sausages, fish, even squid was heartily consumed by son simply because they were cooked on the street and came on sticks If you like Thai food, welcome to heaven!
  
• Go to the Shangri-La in Bangkok on your last day (you need a soft landing, decent bath, swimming pool etc AFTER your hol more than at the start) - use www.precisionreservations.com for cheap deals.
  
• Don't take ANY clothes!!! Just go to Koh San road or another clothes market on your first day in Thailand and buy a bunch T-shirts = £1.50, Trousers = £2 etc etc. Nothing you have in the UK will be right for the climate anyway
  
• (take 1 set of smart/casual/lightweight clothes if you go to the Shangri-La!!!)
  
• Travel by overnight train for long journeys - you can book bus/train/boat tickets from pretty much anywhere - they give you a receipt which gets your ticket - but the overnight trains are a delight - fun for the kids, you get a proper bed and you save a night's accomodation.
  
• If you're going outside the busy season then don't book accomodation beforehand (probably best not to anyway). Just identify a beach that sounds good (take Lonely PLanet or something), turn up, dump your bags in a cafe and while the family has a drink, send dad or mum or older kids up and down the beach to see what looks like the best place to stay.
  
• thats all for now

[Twink]

Lou it's not terribly wheelchair friendly but is improving slowly, and people are very helpful to westerners. I'd be happy to pass on any queries to my family there if you want any advice or ideas.

[tammybear]

Um, dont want to freak anyone out or anything but I thought I'd just warn you. My dp's brother went to Thailand in April. He's been there once before. But when he came back, he got terribly ill that he couldn't even get out of bed. His mum then caught it, which spread to his dad, and then my dp got struck down with glandular fever.

So my advice is only drink bottled water! Or boiled water. But you may already know that. Just thought Id say.

But other than that, he said it's great. I would love to go. Have a great time Tom!

[lou33]

Would be very interested to hear your tips Tom, as dh and I are hoping to take our four to thailand for Christmas. Not sure how we will manage with one in a wheelchair , but I am trying not to think about that !

[Twink]

Great, glad you enjoyed it. How did your ds find it (esp food ?)

Be interested to hear more if you have the time as we're hoping to go back later this year and fancy a change from Koh Samui & Hua Hin.

[popsycal]

oooh please tell more, Tom!

[Tom]

For anyone whose interested, we had a great time in Thailand - spent a week in Kho Pha-Ngang, about 4 days in Kho Tao (amazing diving) and then a few of days in Bangkok. I've got lots of tips now

[Tom]

Not if they drive people mad!

[forestfly]

If it helps i can forward you the emails that are driving me mad. I keep getting them every week off my friend who is there. I'm not interested anymore. Just jealous

[Tom]

Brilliant!

Wai daddy wai! - I get that all the time

[Zerub]

Put both hands together in front of your face (like praying); tops of fingers at about nose height. Bow forwards (head moving closer to hands, hands moving a bit too). Its called a "wai" (as in why). Sort of "I am being polite / showing respect" kind of thing. Sometimes they do it really quickly - just stick their hands together and away - and sometimes make a big thing out of it, really low bow. If you teach your ds to do it they will all think he is completely marvellous. How to wai

Unfortunately teaching him to say "hello" involves teaching him to say "crap". Hello is "Sa-wat-dee krap". Hardly pronounce the t at all though - sort of swallow it. Women get to say "Sa-wat-dee kaa". Thai is a tonal language as well so you're never going to pronounce it right... Dh's top favourite thai phrase is "cow pat moo crap" which means "fried rice with pork please" but only if you get the tones right!

[Tom]

Nice one Twink
What's the one thing I should teach my son in advance - what's the Thai greeting?

What do you think would be the best island in Thailand to visit?

[popsycal]

twink is way more helpful than my dh!!!
go with what she says!

[Twink]

Tom, we did 3 weeks in Thailand in Dec 2002 with our then 3.3 yo. Fab holiday.

Almost any hotel you see in Kuoni's brochure will fit your requirements in Bangkok as it's rainy/hot season and you can do great deals by going direct. Try to make sure you're close to a station as the Skytrain has totally transformed travel around the city. You won't have to pay for your son to travel unless he's really tall.

Get a 'Nancy Chandler' map when you arrive, it's a great keepsake but also has stacks of info plus Thai script for taking the River Taxi (an essential experience but hold him tightly when getting off/on !)

here is the report I wrote on my return.

Our dd found the initial attention wonderful but the novelty wore off quite quickly, so I'd warn him that people mean well and encourage him to smile even if he can't face answering all the questions he'll be asked (everyone uses the chance to practice their English )

Despite what you will have read about the head being sacred, it seems to be normal for complete strangers to come up and stroke/pat childrens' heads and dd found it quite odd when a policeman came over to escort her up a lift and stroke her head 'why is that man touching me ?' Good question but not causing offense is SO important !

She was also really fussy with food but she survived, if you are worried, tell me what he eats & I'll ask my Sil for advice. We discovered that what we know as Weiner Schnitzel is a staple for Thai kids but it doesn't appear on menus.

As long as you take stuff for the flight, everything else can be got there and if you're flying Thai airways he'll be spoilt rotten. Echo Sparks re sweets too !

If no-one else can help with the train, I'll ask my Sil. I expect I'm preaching to the converted but the more you read and understand about the Thai people and their customs, the more you'll get out of the trip; they really appreciate foreigners making an effort, it's certainly worth learning a few polite phrases.

My brother has lived in Bangkok for over 5 years now and is always happy to help people passing through so do the 'contact another talker' thing it might help.

Enjoy, I'm jealous !

[Tom]

Sounds alot like India/Nepal - overnight train trips are a treat

[Zerub]

Tom, I travelled by train from Chiang Mai to Malaysia in 1996, on 2nd class sleepers. They're air-conditioned, you get a booked seat. At night they come along and turn all the seats into bunk beds. V. comfortable with proper mattresses, sheets etc. If you booked a forward-facing seat you get a bottom bunk. Backward-facing seats get the slightly shorter and narrower top bunk (prob an issue for British men - dh and I are both short so it didn't matter). There are curtains along the side of the bunks. And bathrooms at the end of the carriage (v basic, one side has a western loo and the other side has a thai loo). Its all very civilised. The noise of train/air-conditioning masks the snores of the other passengers quite nicely. You can order breakfast as well. All rather cleaner and more efficient than British Rail actually.
This site has photos - here

If your ds likes pot noodles you'll have no problem with food...

HTH

[Tom]

You're right - an island in the north of the gulf (checks travel guide).
Nowhere near phuket !

[popsycal]

i think ko smaet is an island in its own right.....closest to the mainland (dh popped out again!!)