Just got back from Ko Chang and Bangkok. It was really fun. For cool House music check out BED Supperclub.. Any Q's PM me..

thx, i guess i'll stay awayyyyy from Pattaya.

well, we are going mostly for adventure. have fun. but we do also want to check out a little bit of the tourist attractions, like some temples.

What kind of things would I miss out on if i only go to Phi Phi and not Koh samui?

Also, from my schedule, where do u think is hte best place to catch a muay thai fight?

Thanks again,

Nothing.

Samui is not very pretty, and has nothing "must-see", IMO. It is popular due to its location, ease to get to and proximity to the island with the full moon party (Phang Nga). You can have fun there for sure, and eat Western food and peruse stalls of counterfeit CDs, wallets and crappy flip flops. But it is not even close to being in the same league as the islands in Trang and Satun in terms of natural beauty.

For me, Southern Thailand is a place to go see a white sand beach, chill on a hammock all day and eat some fresh seafood. And anywhere will have beers for you. There are places there that have accomodations for less than 100 people. They are slices of heaven. For instance, Ko Ngai, Ko Lipe, Ko Boulon, Ko Muk. Read up on them and see what you think.

KJS

How much are you island guys spending per month for all your expenses?

The rent on our villa is 35k (~US $1000) per month, but we could have gotten a decent place in a less desireable area for probably 1/4 of that. Electricity is probably another 5k, food and booze are whatever you want to spend--you could eat three square meals and get wasted every night on rice whiskey for $5/day if you wanted to. My motorbike is 3k baht per moth, but you could walk and take the bus. Basically you can live here as cheaply or as balla as you want to. Phuket is more expensive than the rest of Thailand, but it's still a lot cheaper than the West.

I'll try to write up a full review of Patong in the near future.

So even on the "tourist islands" you can get some great Thai food like like $1-2 a pop? Your rent is expensive, but like you said, you could have gotten alot cheaper if you wanted. Ive found 1 bedroom villas on Sumai(sp?) from google for $300/mo which I thought was expensive.

So besides rent, you can live with expenses (food&drink/utilities/transportation) moderately-baller for like 400/mo tops?

As long as you go to places that mostly cater to Thais, food is essentially free. There's a place down the street I go to all the time where all the dishes are 30 baht. I affectionately refer to it as the dollar menu. Once you step into a place that caters to farang you're going to pay at least double what you would pay at a local place. This is fine for farang food--I eat Thai food 90% of the time, but sometimes I just need pizza or a steak--but if you buy noodles at Joe's Australian Sports Bar for B140, you're just lighting money on fire.

I don't know how much you drink, but booze is the only thing that isn't proportionally cheap here. If you want to drink cheaply in Thailand, your only option is rice whiskey. I've heard it compared to nail polish remover, though I think that's being unfair to nail polish remover. Even if you buy local beer by the case, you're still going pay over $1/bottle. Wine is ridiculously expensive as a result of weird tariff rules and liquor by the bottle is slightly more than in the US. On the other hand, the most you'll ever pay for a regular drink in a club or gogo bar or something is maybe 140 baht or $4. So yes, you can live quite well spending $400 after rent, as long as you aren't an alcoholic or want threesomes with bargirls every night.

WhoIam (or anyone else for that matter), im looking to go to thailand to live for 1-2 months at the end of the year with friends.
What can you recommend, I think i would just like beach, clubs/pubs/nightspots..Having never been to Thailand i've no idea what to look for

bjw, Shipit,
I only got access to my funds a few days ago so I haven't done any traveling outside of Phuket. You can try emailing Degen at grindblog@gmail.com if no one else gives you any feedback.

ChoicestHops,
I forgot to mention transportation. There are almost no metered taxis on the island. If you rely on tuk-tuks, you will pay an arm and a leg. I think an economist should come study the tuk-tuk situation in Phuket, because it doesn't make sense to me. The supply of tuk-tuks far excedes the demand, yet it is impossible to get a reasonable price--there's some kind of gentleman's agreement among the drivers to screw everyone. Here in Phuket, you can ride the bus from one town to another for 20 baht, but they're hot and crowded. Motorbike taxis are a cheap but often scary option and aren't suitable for long trips.

I would recommend a motorbike. You can rent ones starting at 150 baht a day or around 2500 per month. I really suggest you pay a little bit extra and get an automatic--there are so many bad drivers and crazy road conditions that you don't need the added distraction of having to switch gears. There are a lot of motorbike accidents, so buy a good helmet and be careful.

You could probably buy a used motorbike and sell it back for about the same price, but then you would have to deal with registration, etc. Even if you drive it all the time, you won't pay more than a few hundred baht in fuel a month.

Is anyone interested in going to Bun Bangfai? It's a fertility festival in Isan in mid-May involving giant homemade rockets.
From wikipedia: Full article here . I'm 99% sure I'm going.

Maybe i should try rephrasing my questions..
How much would i be looking to pay for a house on/near the beach..Probably a 3 bedroom house

Where would be optimal to stay within Thailand. Nicest beach area, night spots etc for best price

Should i look at doing anything 'touristy' whilst im over there

Reading what you've been writing about 400 a month for living is next to nothing, if i went to the gold coast in australia i'd be looking at like 5k a week...lol

Anything you want to add would help alot

Ship

alright, i think the gf and i are going to be living in phi phi for 2 months, july and august, yea rainy season i know. i've done most of thailand before but none of this side.

so any comments directly about phi phi are welcome, the diving, getting a super hot apartment for only 2 months, internet reliability on this island, nightlife, etc.

i guess this means i'll probably show the gf around bangkok for 2 or 3 days, so if anyone wants to do a one night meet up pm.

good job in this thread whoiam, your thoughts echo mine about pattaya and samui.

super important edit: free singhas for anyone who helps!

How you guys enjoying Sonkran?

This is my first time and I can't say it is all that great except for when I intend to go out and get soaked and have paste put all over my face, which isn't that often.

Yesterday I walked to get a pizza and some soda, a block from my apartment. I came back dripping wet with a soggy pizza and sticky, and pissed off.

My girlfriend said 'this is thailand, you are not in america, you cannot get mad, this is our culture'

wtf...


off to pattaya today w/ no camera or cell phone, an old pair of tennis shoes and a pocket full of 1,000 baht notes, should be a little funner.


have fun.


D

valium, white paste btw! songkran is awsome get a gun and start spraying the laaadies

Shipit, Jay,
The best advice I can give you is to find a Thai person to phone real estate agents and help you negotiate your rent. There's a dual price system for just about everything here and real estate is no exception. When we were looking at places here, NTB's gf warned us not to talk when she was on the phone because if they heard farang in the background they would jack up the price.

all,
I have mixed feeling about Sonkran. On one hand it's fun to run around going crazy and spraying people with water. On the other hand, I'm not interested in being blasted in the face with ice-cold water while I'm riding my motorbike and just trying to get to my tailor for a fitting. I'd feel a lot better about the holiday if it were restricted to just a few areas. One amusing thing is that two nights ago I had a katooey put a water pistol to my head and demand a kiss. I couldn't help but think of this:

All you guys were right, I caught a disease from a girl here--pinkeye. My left eye is bright red and swollen almost shut; I look like effing Quasimodo. I got some antibiotic eye drops, but it looks like it's going to be mandatory celibacy until this clears up, at least if I don't want to pay.

You boy is in the building. Will be in BKK holla at me if you want to chill.

I got the following PM and thought I'd post it here for future reference: The best advice I can give you is to take a week or so and explore the island. Spend a night in each area/town and spend the day looking at houses and apartments. I think you're coming at the start of the busy season, but that shouldn't matter since you'll be looking at a different market than the tourists. If you're willing to commit to staying somewhere for 6 months, you'll be able to live in a nice Thai neighborhood at a great rate. Most landlords and real estate companies will want you to stay for a year, but there's no way they'll refuse an offer of 6 months from a farang.

Find a Thai person to call realtors and negotiate for you. Even if you have to pay a bar girl or something, just do it. You'll save thousands of baht every month. Any place savvy enough to advertise on the internet (especially in English and espcecially on Google) is going to be more than the going rate. This isn't to say you'll be completely ripped off or anything, but you'll pay more than a local would. Don't speak while your Thai assistant is on the phone and always have them quote a price up front. This price is just an offer--you will be able to bring it down, but it will still be in the general area of the original quote. They may be hesitant to rent to you and will want the lease in a Thai person's name. I'd probably just offer to pay each month in advance. Under no circumstances would I give them the full 6 months up front. Even with a signed lease, you'd probably have little legal recourse if they kicked you out.

Internet:
Make sure you get a place that is already wired for internet access. Make sure they can turn it on right away. This will limit your housing options, but it can take up to a month to install a line, so it's a necessary hassle. Upgrade to the best residential connection--it should be B2k-4k per month. Internet in Phuket can be unreliable by western standards, so as soon as you're moved in, contact another company and have a 2nd line installed. Get one of those two-source modems that will give you an uninterrupted connection if one of your lines goes out. You can find information about internet services in Thailand and a list of Phuket providers here.

Option #2 is to play in internet cafes or places offering free wifi. There's free wifi all over Patong, but I'm not sure if this is true in the rest of Phuket. Personally I don't feel comfortable entering my passwords over unsecure connections plus I lugged my 24" monitor here so I could play at home.

If anyone wants to chill or set up going out or something holla at me. I'm in BKK. I know there are a few of yall here so maybe we can have a get together? Is that cool?

songkran is cool. i enjoy seeing everyone out smiling and having fun and the atmosphere is cool. thais seem to really enjoy the holiday.

im surprised your pizza got wet. I went out several times during songkran in areas shoulder to shoulder with people and I didnt get wet. i think you just unlucky.

How long you stay Thailand? You stay long time? I like you very much.

I'm going to do some traveling once I can convince myself to play poker for more than an hour a day and make some real money. If you're still here when I visit bkk we should definitely meet up. Are you Thai Thai (from Thailand)?

I'm here until 10 of may. No I'm not thai thai.

You've never had a truck full of Songkraner's see you, yell FALANG!!!!!!! and turn their truck around JUST to get you?

If you don't like it, stay inside. Thais are all about sanuk.

hey, i'm trying to figure out the ferry schedules from Phuket to Phi Phi

I found this. http://www.phiphi.phuket.com/schedule.htm

But this make is sound like I have to come back on the same day/next day. I want to stay there for couple of days. Can someone help me figure this out?

I'm planning on just showing up. then finding a place to stay. will that be a problem? any tips?

In the link you provided, the ferries have a 1-way price that's half the return price, so I imagine you'd just do that. Or you could just come to Phuket, mouth the words "I want to go to Phi Phi" in a touristy area, and get mobbed by travel agents. I still haven't been, so maybe someone else can chime in with advice.

This thread is such a great guide.

I'm heading to Thailand over the summer for about two months (early June to late July), though I'm still yet to book my flight. I got quoted $1250 roundtrip from Columbus, OH by seemythailand. Does that seem about right? The fares early in the thread were like $700 roundtrip but I can't find that anywhere.

How's the weather June-July?