sorry, i sent this to you in an email too. but this is what i sent to some friends who are going to thailand at the same time. cambodia is amazing too. very cheap but very poverty stricken! number one place to visit there is siem reap. the largest religious temple in the world and one for the seven religious wonders of the world is there. angkor wat. if you can make it, its beautiful at sunrise. also there are tons of other temples that are amazing in the jungle near it too. with trees growing on them. just amazing. but anyways hope this info helps.
Top cities to visit in thailand:
Bangkok, Phuket, Koh Phi Phi island, Koh samui, Koh chang,koh phangan, chang mai and Krabi.
GENERAL BUT IMPORTANT INFO:
-you will probably be offered drugs, i was offered it everywhere. but DO NOT TAKE THEM!!!! they will throw [mod edit: you] in jail so fast.
-def check out the lady boys. sometimes you cant even tell who is a guy and who is a girl. some are obvious, some are not, some are freaking hot, and some are ugly. very friendly though(at least they were to me)
-accommodation- i never booked any accommodation in advance but i was just traveling with myself and a friend. if you have a large group may be a little harder. hostels/hotels can be super cheap and super nice if you look for the right places.
-pack pepto bismol. depending on how long you will be there and how much you will drink, you will most likely get diarrhea. advice- eat cooked foods. water is contaminated.
-pack the strongest bug repellent possible. NO JOKE. since you dont have malaria shots and bc malaria is popular in this country. not as popular in cities but not somethign to mess with. wear it everyday and multiple times a day.
dont forget its not korea. people will steal [mod edit: stuff], and will try to [mod edit: take advantage of you] bc youre a tourist.
BANGKOK:
Massive city. quite dirty. lots to do. so much to do you will get stuck there if you do not leave. i would advise one day to explore bangkok with a tour or temple visits or whatever interests you to sight see the city, one day to do a fun tour outside of bangkok but near. (i.e- tiger temple visits, death bridge over river kwai, elephant rides, bamboo river float, waterfalls, etc), and then one day to enjoy shopping and exploring and drinking on khoa san road. im not lying when i say you could stay in this city for 2 weeks and not get bored. but thailand has a lot more to offer.
---khoa san road-
http://www.bangkok.com/area-khao-san-road/huge tourist road with cheap clothes and shopping and then gets wild at night. tons of fun, but stay as a group or in couples. and fo sho you must see a ping pong show. one of the wildest things you will ever see in your life. no lie. infact may inspire some of you ladies. they might be illegal so they try to keep it on the downlow. guys will be saying ping pong on khoa san road. just ask them how much. but you must barter in thailand. must must must. especially if yall have groups. and must drink at least one bucket. youll love em trust me.
-bangkok accommodation: you can stay on khoa san road in hostels or stay right outside of it. there are places that are extremely cheap to sleep at. like less than 10 bucks a night per person. but depending on how many of you are going and what type of travelers yall are, you might want to book something in advance. if it was a small group id recommend just showing up and getting the cheapest rates from a place thats not advertised.
sights:
take took tooks everywhere. they are fun, quick, and easy, and cheap(like me). you can google some and see what interests you most. they do try to con you in to all kinds of stupid tours in the city. not sure if yall like temples but i feel like when youve seen one Buddhist temple, youve seen them all. however, i would highly recommend going to the grand palace in bangkok. it is beautiful. and they have the emerald buddha which is also beautiful. the golden mount temple is also kinda nice bc you can see a nice bit of the city from the top(from what i remember).
some top sights you can read about to see what you want to do: http:
http://www.1stopbangkok.com/articles/top10/and
//www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g293916-Activities-Bangkok.html
and
tiger temple tour and more:
http://www.tigertemplethailand.com/i would not recommend booking this in advance. you can book this from your hotel or a travel agent in bangkok. they might offer speacial deals or yoou mind find somethign more interesting. bt jsut an idea of some things you can do.
im sure there is a lot more i could tell you but dont remember and this email is already super long.
PHUKET- i think you can get away with 1.5-2 days here max. i wasnt too impressed with this place to be honest but has a huge beach and more touristy [mod edit: stuff].
KOH PHI PHI ISLANDS- phi phi don island! all i can say is wow!! its amazing. soooo beautiful. make sure to check out some of my pics on my thailand photo album.
you can do cool day tours here- i did a nice one that included snorkeling with sharks, giant stingray snorkel, bamboo island, monkey island(covered with monkeys who are cray and funny to watch, will play with you), phi phi lei island(where the beach was filmed), and maybe a couple of other things.
-accommodation- i stayed at a nice hotel right on the beach. a big white hotel with a nice infiniti pool and a walkup bar. was amazing and 20 bucks a night when i was there. (the best place to stay is on the opposite side of the island from where you get off the ferry). at night on opposite side of ferry landing things turn into a crazy wild party on the beach. lots of fun.
once you come here, you will realize why i recommend less time in phuket. the bars in the village are
CHANG MAI- ive heard is great but is far north int he jungle and away from everything. i have heard amazing things abot it but you prob wont have time to go.
ive heard good things about KOH CHANG and mixed reviews about KRABI.
i think KOH PHANGAN is where the willlllllllllllldddd party called the full moon party is held. its one thing that everyone you meet int he future who has been to thailand will ask you about. did you go to a full moon party, did you go to a full moon party?????? didnt have tome to go but heard its nuuuuuutttttssssss!!!!
not sure how much time you have in thailand or how many people are going, but i would recommend spending most of your time in bangkok and koh phi phi. i wouldnt book much in advance if it was me but not sure how yall like to travel.
