[Schibeck]

Thailand is the bomb, if your flying into bangkok then heading north might be a good idea....chang mai, even further up to the border if you have the time and resources.

Travel by train is recommended, is a little more expensive but relatively comfortable and still cheap in any sense. If you dont mind being a little uncomfortable then you can get just a 2nd class fan ticket, the fan is quite adequate and the sleeping space is fine.

Definately definately go to Kho Phi Phi, nowadays it is a little more expensive but i still think you can get by easily on 15 to 20 pounds a day and have a good time. Check out Long beach around from the main pier for some peace. Its also a good place to base yourself for trips to Maya Bay (the beach) and surrounding islands.

If you have time you can explore, Phuket, Krabi, and the other hundreds of beachs.

Koh samui and phangan is a must, the full moon party should be on any agenda, its better to stay away from hat rin, as the party can be quite disturbing if you want some peace, also the chance of theft and crime increases on the night. Be careful with drugs, but keep you wits about you and you will be sweet. Samui is good, and for the first timer there is plenty of stuff to do, Chaweng is definately the place to stay with some good budget to high level accomodation.

All in all thailand is probably one of the best places ive ever been, seriously think of taking some time to explore the place, 3-6 months would be great.

Another alternative is to fly into Singapore and go overland to thailand, a fantastic fantastic adventure.

Good Luck.

[anonymous01]

hey, thanks... im headed to bangkok at the end of july...
currenlty i havent made any plans (except that I have 5 days / 6 nights in Thailand before heading home to Australia)... i was thinkin of spending a couple of days in bangkok maybe towards the end of the trip or the start...
do you have any links to websites of places to stay...

i would ultimately like to arrange some accommodation and stuff before i leave, so yeh, if you have any specific info on any of the places you have been (like names of hotels/hostels, travel companies, etc.) thatd be sweet...

thanks again!

[experimentalist]

Sounds like you had a wild time. I be going soon was gonna go this year but ended up in Brazil instead which was great

[Mickey Mouse]

If you go onto www.octopustravel.com to book cheap hotels forany country. Also i wouldn't stay in Bangkok, fly to Ko Samui (loads of flights fom Bangkok or try Chaing Mai).