Advantages: Something for everyone
Disadvantages: So much to do, so little time

...I first went to Thailand in October 2001. I went on a two centre holiday there - Bangkok for 4 nights and Phuket for 10 nights. I have decided that because there is so much to put about all the things we (my husband and I) did and saw, I am only going to concentrate on our stay in Bangkok. Firstly, October is the end of the rainy season and so the price we paid was very good. I don't remember the exact figure but it was in the region of £1500.00 altogether. The booking was with Thomas Cook Signature Holidays, and included return flights to and from Manchester to Heathrow, Bangkok and Phuket, also included was private car transfers to and from the Thai airports and hotels and hotel accommodation (a three and a half star hotel in Bangkok - The Hotel Asia, and a four star hotel in Phuket - The Kata Thani Hotel and Beach Resort... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap, friendly people, nice and warm weather, great snorkling
Disadvantages: Many tourists, people trying to sell you stuff all the time, bight sun

...This trip contains information about my trip to Thailand (Phuket, Koh Samui and Bangkok) in September 1998. I landed in Bangkok on a Saturday morning and I met my girlfriend in the airport. We only stayed in Bangkok to the following day cause we really don’t like big cities. But it is strange with big cities…there is always something to do there and that attracts people. We spent the night at the Dusit Thani on Silom road. I booked this using asia travels (www.asiatravel.com) and that worked out pretty good. We just had a standard room and it was OK. The service at the hotel was very good. The following day we spent looking a bit around in Bangkok. When we arrived at the airport we booked a guided tour. It was only about 7 US dollars and it sounded great to start out with. We were taken to the golden buddha, the standing Buddha... Read review

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Advantages: Conscious, meticulous and well organised.. THE travel book for Thailand
Disadvantages: very few.. The book is HUGE so carting it around can be a proble,

...Lonely planet has been in the business of writing travel book (i'd call them travel companions) for 20 years now and it's Thailand book, by Joe Cummings, has been around for 10. The build of this book is great, it traveled with me for 4 months and the spine remains intact, it got wet and recovered, it got dropped, run over by a tuk tuk and recovered.. It had so much abuse, I even used it as toilet paper when i couldn't get the hang of those 'squat' toilets. The book itself is split into 3 main categories- An introduction (200 pages of visa information, crime, health, history etc.) makes perfect reading for long flights and train journeys. The second section deals with the main regions of the area such as Bangkok, North, North-east and southern Thailand. This is further subdivided into cities which is again divided up into how to get... Read review

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Advantages: Everything to gain and nothing to loose
Disadvantages: Application for Thai citizenship costs £1000 (you'll be needing it)

...I went to Thailand to 'engross myself' in the culture, a cheesy idea which would soon dawn on me as being completely impossible, after all you are European and earn in an hour what they earn in 2-3 days of hard labour... If they're lucky. Firstly book a nice cheap ticket, I traveled by Royal Brunei airlines which was great and cost me £350 return, I booked it through justtheticket.co.uk -excellent for travelers. I arrived in Bangkok and traveled straight up to Chaing Mai. This is a beautiful city, small and surrounded by huge mountains through which you can trek, something i advise you all to do. Whilst there I went to a few bars/pubs and met my fellow travelers and expats, depending on what sort of person you are you will love them or, as i did, hate them. From Chaing Mai I went to Burma for a day trip to extend my visa, looking... Read review

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Advantages: The best temple in Thailand
Disadvantages: Not the easiest place to get to or away from

...Prasit Hin Khao Phanom Rung Historical Park is the best temple in Thailand, it is out of the way from many of the more popular tourist places but worth the trip if you can get their especially if you're heading to Surin or the East of Thailand. The information provided about getting to the temple in the Epinions intro is not at all the best way, don't take a bus to Khorat. Getting to Phanom Rung from Bangkok takes about 6 hours by Train to Buri Ram (the express train that is) and then about 1 hour from Buri Ram to the temple, you'll need to bargain with local taxis and songthaew drivers to get there. Or take a local bus from Buri Ram to Pakornchai and take songthaew from there. It takes about 4-6 hours if you go by car or motorbike from Bangkok, the roads are generally in good condition all the way. The drive up the volcano... Read review

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Advantages: Has it all.
Disadvantages: Be aware of scams.

...Thailand for me has everything you could possible wish for. One day you could be partying until 7.30 in the morning then the next you could be wandering around a temple only hearing the occasional gong or wind chimes. With just a one and a half hours flight from BKK you can be on the Paradise Islands of Samui, Phuket etc. I would recommend leaving the usual tourist places for a while and traveling out to the more rural areas such as Chiang Mai, Isan etc. The people here are the kindest and most generous people I have ever known. Some people I have met have had nothing, but still managed to give me a gift to remember them by. Wherever you go people are always willing to help, give you a smile or a wave as you pass on by. All year round the weather is warm, only getting cooler in the north. Even during the monsoon season... Read review

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Advantages: great base for exploring from; great value
Disadvantages: can get busy in season

...I am lucky enough to have visited Chiang Mai a number of times and always found it to be a city that is well worth a visit. It is only a short (cheap) flight from Bangkok and, whilst it is still a city it is only a fraction of the size of the capital. The benefit of that is that it offers a different type of experience from the more commonly seen parts of Thailand, namely the beaches. There are a few sights to see in the city but the main attraction is the impressive Doi Suthep temple on the mountain overlooking the city. You can easily get a taxi there or go on an organised tour through any number of operators who will collect you from your hotel. Often those tours will return via a never-ending series of handicraft shops which is ok once but a nightmare if you have seen it all before. Trouble is you can't say that you don't want... Read review

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Advantages: hot weather although dry heat
Disadvantages: as above

...Some of you may be surprised at this op, because, considering the oos and aas I got when I told people I was going to Thailand you would think it was a dream destination. We waited a long time to go, and didnt relish the fourteen hour plane flight, but thought that it would all be worth it. We noticed straight away that we felt more like "cattle" than we had done on our previous holidays, from the minute we checked into the hotel, also we noticed subtle differences in the attitude with the staff. We usually stay all inclusive in a five star and it was the same here, although I could not fault the standard, the staff seemed to have a slightly different attitude than we had encountered before, i.e. when we had finished our drinks the waitress beckoned for the glasses to be passed to her, ok it sounds a bit petty... Read review

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Advantages: Cheapish, convenient for backpackers, decent roads, great massages, solid nightlife
Disadvantages: Poor diving, littered with tourists

...My apologies to those who have read this before. Certain aspects of it were I now admit, rather crude making it unsuitable to have been posted on Ciao. Here’s the PG version. Having taken several holidays in Asia I’ve steadily become fascinated with the ‘backpacker vibe.’ Quite what the attraction is of strapping an unfashionably heavy bag on your back and a smaller but more important one onto your front and then spending the majority of your tiny budget on accommodation, travel and left luggage lockers, I’ve never quite managed to grasp. I managed to realise one thing completely when I went to Koh Samui and that was why so many backpackers seem to just pass though Malaysia and Singapore in a couple of days only to spend a seemingly endless amount of time in Thailand. The cost of living was always the obvious one but cost should... Read review

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Advantages: Clear direction signs, unique sight of a golf course in the middle of the runways
Disadvantages: Long walks, uncomfortable seats

...The first sight people sometimes get when landing at Don Muang airport – code BKK - is the strange sight of people playing golf in between the runways. This is just the first of many quirks you will either love or hate about Thailand and Bangkok. The golf course is actually owned by the Air Force which shares the airport. Depending on your taxi route to / from the runway you will see the military planes and hangers. The airport is actually due to be replaced by a new airport - Suvarnabhumi - being built to the north east of Bangkok which is due to open in 2004. Well, the Prime Minister said it would, so it must be true! Transport The airport itself is about 25km north from the “centre” of Bangkok. It is easily reached by car, bus or train. There is no link to the BTS Skytrain but the new one supposedly... Read review

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