Thread: Pattaya and Chiang Mai

Thanks all for the tips. Much appreciated!

As I've mentioned, my friends are not sexpats, they're young professionals, so no need for the gogo bars. They want to explore a city, a beach and some mountains, so it will be Bkk, Pattaya and CM. They've already booked the flight to Bkk.

Re: Pattaya, I've heard your advice and will lead them to Pattaya Central or Koh Larn (up to them).

Re: CM, whether train or plane - up to them, depends on their time & budget. Where is it better to stay in CM, Old or New City? They'll want to see a temple or two.

@Bogon - I've read your bogon tips, gracias!

Are there trekking/hiking trails in CM? How far (in hours) are the Doi Inthanon and Op Luang National Parks?

Thanks very much!

Originally Posted by katie23

my friends are not sexpats

That'd be sex tourists. A sexpat would be someone who resides here..... like........ Luigi

Originally Posted by katie23

Where is it better to stay in CM, Old or New City? They'll want to see a temple or two.

Old city probably best. Mind, nothing's really that far in CM anyways.

And if they want something to do I just did whitewater rafting at Maeteang yesterday and can't recommend it enough - it was awesome.

Doi Suthep National Park is close to Chiang Mai and an easy day trip.

https://www.thainationalparks.com/do...-national-park

Several years since I have been to Pattaya but I used to do a boat trip to Ko Lan about once a week, boat was cheap only about 35b then, beach was OK but Russian infested at that time, can also walk up the hill of around the rocks either way.

Plenty of places to go other than bars, dont miss Sanctuary of Truth : Sanctuary of truth

Along the beach front and up the hill is a good early morning walk before the heat of the day.

Originally Posted by katie23

As I've mentioned, my friends are not sexpats, they're young professionals, so no need for the gogo bars.

They don't know what they're missing then .

Seriously, the advice given so far that they should look for Central Pattaya makes sense. If they were coming for 2 weeks and just wanted to chill, Jomtien might make more sense. As they're only here for a quickie and will likely be rubber necking non-stop, Pattaya makes much more sense. But, they should definitely go to Walking Street one night, pull up a seat in bar overlooking the passing foot traffic, grab a beer, and enjoy the show. You would be hard pressed to find better free entertainment anywhere if you're in to people watching.

Trains are easily booked online. i recently booked the sleeper surat thani to bangkok. worth paying extra for first class as you get the cabin to yourself and after necking the fermented beveradges from the 7 eleven the clickity clack of the train is quite soothing.

Thanks everyone! TD may be full of pissfights, but when it comes to travel advice, you're all top-notch!

I've done more googling re: CM and have seen that the Doi Suthep National Park is ~1 hour from the old city gate, while Doi Inthanon Park is 2.5H away. Doi Inthanon has more trails and waterfalls, and is doable for a whole day trip, provided that one leaves early and hires a car/driver or joins a tour group. There are also lots of adventure tours -trekking, biking, ziplining, etc - but mostly from organized tour groups. I'll recommend Doi Surhep to them, and if they want more trekking then they can go to Doi Inthanon the next day. I'll also recommend staying in the Old City in CM.

Re: Pattaya, they chose to stay in Koh Larn as they want a real beach holiday and there were resorts in the 1k baht range, so it ticked their boxes.

Re: train or plane to CM, they've decided to take train 1 way & return by plane, as Air Asia flights from CM are not much higher than a 2nd class train ticket, but they also want to experience an O/N train ride.

Salamat!!!

Another question: how to get from Don Muang airport to a) Lumpini Park and b) Sukhumvit - Asok area? Is there public transport (MRT, BTS, bus) or only via taxi? Thanks again!

Taxi or A1 bus from Don Mueang to Mo Chit BTS.

Asoke is on that BTS line.(about 12 stops)
Asoke (Sukhumvit MRT)is also where they can get the MRT to
Lumpini MRT. Just tell them to look for the MRT sign at Asoke BTS, its linked.

Heres a map, ive circled it all.

Thanks Dill for the map & vid, very helpful. One of the group has been to Bkk before, and is familiar with the MRT/BTS. From Don Muang, they need to get to the city center. From Asok, I suggested that they can get the MRT then airport link back to Swampy for the flight home - as that's what I did in the times that I visited Bkk. I liked Lumpini Park - green amidst the busy city & Terminal 21 for its convenience, shopping & food choices, so my friends might like it too. They like nature stuff (plan to trek in CM) and I think they'll like Lumpini too. They have a few hours to kill in Bkk before the Swampy flight. Up to them if they take a taxi or public transport to go about - but it's good to know the options. I'll also suggest Chatuchak market. It'll be a weekend when they get back to Bkk and the girls might want to shop.

@david48 - Salamat for the taxi & toll tips.

It's a holiday here today - Independence Day. So yay!

Hi Katie

The times given for road travel between places often dont take into account the 'orrible' traffic around CM akin to BKK.

The trails in national parks mentioned in advertising are at times barely used or passable or even non existent.

The summit boardwalk at Doi Inthanon is great and goes through some lovely high altitude forest, the Pagodas are also worth a visit, the Wachirathan Waterfall is right next to the car park and should be quite spectacular at that time of the year which is the rainy season. The track to the Mae Pan Waterfall is a short rough track through forest and is worth doing for someone who has never been in a Thai forest.

The best way to get there for a group would be to hire a van from CM, leave early, 5am, to avoid rush hour traffic. No idea what they would pay so they would have to ask around for a few drivers would rip off tourists if they could although most are OK.

^Great stuff birding!

I saw a recent blog post written by a lady (there are girls in the group) and it said that a day trip to Doi Inthanon is possible. The tip about leaving early - many thanks! I don't know if they will be able to leave at 5am, but will remind them of the traffic situation!

This was the blog post
http://travelonthebrain.net/doi-inth...park-day-trip/

Is traffic in CM worse in weekdays or weekends? They'll go to Inthanon on a weekday.

Entrance fee to Inthanon is 300B (foreigners) and 50B (Thai), plus 40B entrance to temples. (The 300B fee is cheaper than the fee that I paid at Phnom Kulen National Park in Cambodia, which was 20 USD).

Cheers and many thanks!

Originally Posted by katie23

Is traffic in CM worse in weekdays or weekends?

It's pretty much shit 24/7

Traffic is usually quite bad during rush hours in certain places , traffic isnt to bay at other times .
You can hire a whole car , for the whole day for 3000 Baht and thats with driver and petrol , could even get it cheaper , if you ask about

Thanks Ant & Fluke. Traffic situation is noted. Will suggest to ask around about a driver when there.

It's actually not really that bad. Shit, but not utterly shit.

More an annoyance than anything else plus your friends are on holiday so easy enough to avoid peak traffic times.

^ Chiang Mai will be a racetrack compared to Manilla traffic

Thanks Ant & Dill. Was away for a few days and internet in the province was VERY bad.

@Dill - my friends aren't from Manila, so they don't experience that traffic everyday. But yeah, traffic in Manila is terrible!

Here you go...

https://www.lockbox-th.com/

^thanks for the tip, Bogon. The trip went well and the group ended up not hiring lockers or leaving their backpacks at Siam Paragon - they just carried their bags with them as they explored Chatuchak market & Terminal 21.

In CM, they explored Wat Dpi Suthep & Huay Keaw(?) waterfalls, Bua Tong sticky waterfalls & San Kampaeng hot springs. Didn't go to Doi Inthanon due to weather & distance. Good times were had by all.

Thanks all for the travel advice - much appreciated!