thx man. Btw Degen, I don't know if this has been asked and answered. Didn't see it when I made the FAQ.

What should I bring? I'm going Nov 10th for a month. Just bringing a backpack, no laptop, just traveling and enjoying life. T-shirts, shorts, socks, toothbrush, $$. Anything really essential?

bring passport size photos.

You can pretty much just show up in Thailand with a credit card and go from there.

You can buy cloths and stuff so cheap. Even decent clothes. I have some really nice clothes that are good quality that were like $10 each. I also have a ton of t-shirts that were like 70 baht (<$2)

Best way to Phuket is just to land in bangkok and fly to phuket. There are like 25 flights a day and its only like a 50 min flight.

Degen: Is this the Thai chick from vegas?

Isn't it hard finding clothes that fit for anyone 6ft or taller, or a bit on the heavy side.

That's what I found in Korea. Most men there are relatively short/slim.

Im 6' 3" and dont have trouble finding clothes.

This must be some sort of record for an "ask me" thread. Hell, this same comment may have posted multiple times...

Well most of the 'ask me' threads are pretty lame.

#1000

It's not just a record for an "ask me" thread, its the record for any OOT thread still here. Myspace doesn't count because its gone now. Also, congrats on the 1000th post.

If your buying clothes from street side stalls then you might have trouble but if you are going to stores you can usually find big sizes.

How's the beer?

how does Chiang Mai compare to BKK interms of:

nightlife
prices
food
sociodemographic
modernness

When you buy your backpack try to get one with a detachable daypack. Otherwise you will need a big hiking/camping backpack and a small one to carry when you go out snorkling/sightseeing or whatever.

Anyways, I've been traveling for ~1.5 months now and I think you would be fine with a single pair of shoes (I've used 4 times hiking/mtb biking/ect) and a pair of sandals you can walk all day in comfortably (Birkenstocks are awesome). Other than that, you could probably land with just the clothes on your back and your guidebook and be fine.

Everything I brought

backpack with daypack
1 pair pants (have not used)
1 pair shorts
2 shirts (one nice button up-have not used)
shoes
sandals
and a PACK OF PENS (the pens here suck for some reason)

then I just bought [censored] when I needed it like shampoo and a razor and whatever

I just bought clothes as I go along.

Chiang Mai kicks ass and if I was going to live in Thailand teaching or playing poker or whatever I would do it there.
Its really cheap, nightlife is OK, not as wild as the islands or whatever, good food like everywhere in Thailand, and there are lots of farangs around. I liked it a lot.



PS

if anyone remembers that travel agency I mentioned, they tried to screw me again. Me and some other people were heading to Ko Tao and had to pass through Surat Thani and the bus dropped us off there and they tried the exact same [censored] scam on us. "No boat tonight because of them monsoon" stay here and so on. I was like "I was here last week [censored]" and we all caught a cab to the pier and hopped on the boat.

screw Thong whatever travel company in Surat Thani

The only thing I'm really trying to avoid are tourists acting like disrespectful ******s and accidentally making out with a ladyboy. For the first couple days I just need a place to sleep and walk to check stuff out. From their website, Nana hotel seems good. Thanks!

I live in Chiang Mai..

Pro's to living in Chiang Mai over BKK:

Weather: It isn't nearly as hot as in the big city of Bangkok.

Cost: Apartments and stuff are probably significantly cheaper.

Traffic: Not nearly as much traffic as in BKK.

Farang Factor: I'd say you have better status as a Farang. its very easy to go off to a small town and you'll be a rarity/ god. you're still going to have balla status in BKK, but it will be even stronger here.

Landscape: Its quite beautiful up here. They're having a floral expo here, and I understand they'll be having a Muay Thai fight every night.

Cons:

Boring.. I think its prolly a little more boring here..

Nightlife: I don't think there's much of a club scene here at all..

Oceans: Not near the sea.


I'd also say you can get a better feel for old Thai culture up here, and you can also get a better feel for the whole "3rd world" thing. John Voigt, experiencing the culture and stuff might not interest you now, but when you get here, you'll appreciate it more.

As far as internet and things like that go.. I get a great internet connection. There aren't any technological things I need that I can't get.

Degen,

I'm a bit in a quandary now. I'm thinking I probably don't want to go to a backpacker mecca. But then again I don't know what kind of life a backpacker lives, I get a picture of long haired dudes living on noodles, that might not be correct tho .

What about places to eat, i'm guessing they are everywhere?

Is sukhumvit soi a street where all the fancy hotels are at? I saw that the Grand President is also on sukhumvit soi.

100% certain that I'm going.

Travelling to the other side of the world by myself is going to be [censored] scary and I'm probably going to be raped and murdered (in no particular order), but hell I'm doing it.

Question: Are electronics any cheaper there? I'm going to want a digital camera, and would rather just buy one there if it'll be cheaper.

Ok, I'm going to graduate in December.

I'm really burnt out on general life things(family, my job, etc.)

I think getting away from it all for a few months would be a good thing for me. This thread has made Thailand very attractive for a getaway.

I'm not looking to live a baller lifestyle or booze it up every night, although I do enjoy a night of drunken debauchery every once in a while. I am mainly looking to chill, play poker, and get to know a foreign culture.

I am looking at a $750-$1000 budget per month. Bangkok is probably out of the question due to cost and crowds. After reading this thread Chiang Mai looks like a good place for me to stay.

What are the other cheap, quiter, but still has some measure of civilization places in Thailand?

Here is my pad in Samui for $250 a month