Thailand ....the way i saw it..

[s0uljah]

Nice to see instead of the BKK shopping mall, pattaya stuff!! Thanks for sharing!

I spent sometime living in a simple room in the Surin hills, away from most of the madness of Patong & Kamala but yet a scooter ride away

Used it as a gateway to explore the southern islands - Yao, Railey, Lanta, Lipe.. off the usual travel agent circuit, very rewarding for those who seek nirvana.

P.S : The uniformed men in Thailand are the ultimate crooks. The damaged/scratch bike scam is commonly known as the "Jet Ski scam". Arabs, brits are prime targets since their currency rate is the best. Iv seen it happen numerous times. Cops & Robbers are hand in glove.

In *any* situation maintain cool, do not raise your voice and do continue to smile.

[mobike008]

Nice travelogue there Raghu.

Can you share some pricing details of airfare,hotel and some typical pricing of food at different hotels etc. I am contemplating a visit in Dec'09

And, look forward to loads of pictures too.

[vraghuz]

Hi Mobike,

Here is a small breakup of expenses :

You are going at the Peak Tourist Season , so expect atleast 30 to 40% increase in all expenses.

1. Travel - Around 19k , (BLR-BKK , BKK-HKT , HKT-BKK , BKK-BLR). Thai Airways. don't take the Low cost carrier Air Asia for Domestic Travel. 3 days after i landed , i heard one of the Air Asia flight barged into Krabi Airport , Killing one ..

2. Visa Fee -- Waived off till March 2010.

3. Hotel - Phuket - Hilton Arcadia - Around 17k for 4 nights. (non-refundable.) , beautiful place worth the money.

4. BKK Stay -- Hotel Ambassador ( Around 12k with Airport pickup and Transfer back ) . its a OK hotel , nothing fancy. you could get better ones. check internet , there are tons of hotel in BKK.

5. Phuket Travel - Rented a Bike , 150 baht / Day , so no issues with local Tuk Tuk's and Taxis.

6. Food - Breakfast was included in both stays , so only lunch and dinner.

Eat out , never eat in the hotel. typical Restaurant outside is min 750 to 1500 baht for 2 for any kind of food. in BKK and Patong u find Indian Food,
but hey if you want Indian Food, Y come to Thailand !!

Check out small restaurants, shacks, and watch where the crowd is , most of the crowded places serve u decent food on a decent price.

Hope this helps.

[mobike008]

Thanks Raghu, that helped. The pricing was more or less what i had expected.

[MX6]

got me hooked now. I want to go to thailand.... more photos please....

[RuffRyder]

Hey Raghu,

Nice write up man! Hope to see more pictures of the "wheels" thai people use.

100% hooked to this thread now.

[sidd25]

Originally Posted by vraghuz

Dude,

I only had my Indian License with me , but rules suggest that you need a International driving License is required to drive any vehicle outside India .

You could get away with the Indian License also , if you have a good stroke of Luck & all your License details are in english .

Raghu.

You can drive in any country with Indian DL as far as it is in English and its valid till 1 month from the day you enter that country.

[d_himan]

Adding on to raghu's thread...my trip to thailand

1. Mumbai-Koh Samui (Changeover at B'kok)
2. Koh Samui for 4 nights
3. Koh Samui - Bangkok
4. Bangkok for 2 nights


Wouldn't call Koh Samui very pristine (i personally found Havelock in the Andamans much better), but its
charming and neat. Apart from the usual touristy stuff (elephant jungle ride,aquarium,temples,shopping et al), Samui's USPs are:

1. Snorkeling & Scuba
2. A pristine national park with lots of islands,lagoons,coves
3. A very vibrant night life - thankfully not as sleazy as Pattaya/B'kok. Good jazz too.
4. Good, cheap Indian dining options for those days when you crave pulka and dal.
5. Lots of good resorts - spoilt for choice. I stayed at a villa in Nora Beach Resort. Just choose your beach carefully as per your taste (thick of action/secluded)



Common Vehicles in Koh samui

1. Fortuner. Everywhere!
2. Gypsy - popular rental car. 1000 baht/day. Motorcyles at 150-200 baht/day. 600CC+ bikes at 1000 bath/day.
2. Corolla - ubiquitous taxis
3. Usual Toyota Hilux/Isuzu D-Max pick ups
3. ANHC/Jazz/Type 2 OHC - common. Very few NHCs.
4. A few Honda Civics and Toyota Vios

Common Vehicles in Bangkok

1. Corolla - almost all are taxis. Most of the Altis's are 1.6 petrol. Pretty unrefined at high revs. Struggle a bit to keep pace with traffic.
2. Civic - all privately owned. Superbly modded - most of them. Didn't see a single one with stock alloys or without skirts!
3. ANHCs - quite a few. All of them with skirts. So that ugly tank under the rear bumper remains hidden.
4. Jazz - only hatchback consistently seen on roads.
5. Toyota Yaris/Vios - not so common
6. 1 ton pick ups (Toyota Hilux/Isuzu) most common. Picks up are 60% of the market. Diesel is cheaper and duties on pick ups is 3% as opposed to 30% for cars.
7. Fortuners - very popular. Innova - a few - some are waking up to its potential of gobbling 4 tourists + 4 large bags.
8. Very few Lancers/Cedias/Optras just like India.
9. Almost no VW. BMWs/Mercs/Lexus rule. Lots of classic shark nose 3 series Beemers/Brick Mercs.
10.Almost no Hyundais.
11. Toyota Commuter common for sight seeing tours.One of them I was in cruised at 130kmph, albeit noisily.

[vraghuz]

Time sure flies ... here are some beauties i clicked in BKK...

Cheers
Raghu.

[gaddiwale]

Nice photographs, made me nostalgic. I was there at Phuket last year, and was fascinated about the way this small country made their beautiful roads. Roads full of Japanese cars- Toyota Corollas are used as taxis. I was staying at JW Marriot, Mai Khao Beach. There only I saw first glimps of Toyota Yaris and Honda Jazz. .
The beautiful bikes that you can hire at Patong.

[vraghuz]

Some more pics of the drooling beauties..

[REMU]

A comprehensive coverage buddy. Nice write up, pics of the drooling beauties was ofcourse icing over the cake.

[vraghuz]

Hello All,

Here is the Last set of pics ... hope you all enjoyed watching it.

Raghu.

[srikanthpotluri]

good travelogue raghu, keep it coming. your experience in police station was nicely narrated