Finding an island utopia is everyone’s dream, right? Well, if you’ve read “The Beach” or seen the movie, you know that even if you find what you think looks perfect, it’s always going to be a little more complicated than that.
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It’s a good idea to be aware of common local scams so that you can see them coming from a mile away. In Thailand, there’s probably no scam that’s more well-known than the gem scam.
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Because Bangkok is so used to tourists, it shouldn’t be surprising that you’ll find tons of internet cafes in Bangkok. It also shouldn’t be surprising that many of them are concentrated around backpacker central, AKA Khao San Road, but you don’t need to go to Khao San Road if you’re not already staying in one of the hostels or hotels in the vicinity just to find an internet cafe.
When you’re booking your Bangkok hotel or hostel, be sure to check whether they offer free internet or WiFi access right on the premises. More and more hotels are offering the service, although many will charge you a fee for it. If the fee is low enough, it may be roughly what you’d pay at an internet cafe & therefore be worth it so as not to make a special trip somewhere else just to check email.
For those of you without WiFi or internet access in your hotel or hostel, the other heavily touristed areas where you’ll find higher numbers of internet cafes are on the popular Sukhumvit Road (shopper’s paradise) or around Silom. There are other areas of the city which are less frequented by tourists and yet still have internet cafes - these are primarily for the locals, and may offer lower prices per hour.
When you’re looking at the fees each internet cafe in Bangkok charges, be sure to read the fine print - many have a “minimum charge” so that even if you’re on & off the computer in under five minutes you’ll still be charged, for instance, for 10 minutes. Make sure you know about this before you sit down at a computer!
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When you think of the great canal cities of the world, it’s possible that Bangkok isn’t one of the cities you think of. And while a ride through the canals of Bangkok certainly lacks the calm and romance of a leisurely float through the canals of Venice, it’s a quick and easy way to get around the city.
The Bangkok water taxis aren’t much used by tourists, but they’re popular with the locals - which is just one more reason to hop on a Bangkok water taxi and go along for the ride. As this video demonstrates, however, you’d …
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While August in Thailand is technically part of the country’s rainy season, and while the rainy season isn’t technically considered part of the hottest part of the year, the country is pretty much hot and humid year-round - and August is no different.
Thailand in August is almost a perfect storm of heat and humidity, in that the hottest summer months are behind you but the rainy season is just getting started - so don’t be surprised to experience humidity that almost never goes below 50% and can jump up to (and hover at) 90% just as easily. The average high temperature in August is around 90F (32C), which may not sound like much, but when you factor in the thickness of the air when it’s so humid you’ll likely change your mind.
August in Thailand is pretty slow on the festival front, with only the annual celebration of the Queen’s birthday on August 12 being a national holiday. (Incidentally, the Queen’s birthday is also when Thailand celebrates Mother’s Day, too.) There are a few regional or city-wide events, but these are mainly trade fairs or sporting events and not necessarily big festivals which might be of interest to tourists.
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Every good traveler likes a good travel writer, and Rolf Potts is one of those travel writers.
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If the many threads on the BootsnAll message boards about how to use a squat toilet are any indication, the subject of where to find decent public toilets when traveling is a question many people think about before they set out on a trip. And since the public bathrooms in Asia have a less-than-glorious reputation, I was interested to check out the listings for the public toilets in Thailand on The Bathroom Diaries.
The Bathroom Diaries is a clever site that has public bathrooms listed for cities all over the world. Reviews of the facilities are entered by real people, and include criteria like overall cleanliness and whether or not there’s a fee for use. Not every city in the world - let alone every city in Thailand - is represented, but the Thailand listings include more cities than I would have expected, including information about public bathrooms in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Patong, and Phuket, among others. There’s also an amusing entry by someone that says, basically, no matter where you find a public bathroom in Thailand, “you name it….if there’s a bathroom there..it’s nasty.” While that may be a bit of an over-exaggeration, it’s probably still a good idea to take a peek at the bathroom listings on the website before you head out for a day on the town.
I can’t find a way to view the information on The Bathroom Diaries on a mobile device, and although that would make this website even more helpful for travelers I still think the site is useful. It’s easy enough to look at the city listings for wherever you are or will be going that day and make note of a few options for the clean & safe bathrooms - and also the ones you want to avoid! And if you want to add a listing to the site, you can do that as well.
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Thailand’s rainy season runs from July to October, so visiting Thailand in September could be a wet experience. But even in the rainy season, there are plenty of things to do and see, and it’s not like it will be cold!
September in Thailand usually means bursts of rainfall with plenty of sunshine in between. And while you can expect lots of rain, you can also expect warm temperatures throughout the entire rainy season, making it not all that unpleasant to get showered on now and again. In Bangkok, for instance, the average high temperatures in September are 91F (33C) - and that’s with 85% humidity! The rainy season can also mean monsoons, although the big ones that last several days and cause flooding are pretty rare.
Because of the higher levels of rainfall, however, and the threat of monsoons, you’ll find that September in Thailand is relatively tourist-free - so when the sun does break through the rain clouds you’re likely to have even the most touristy areas more to yourself than you would at other times of the year. In fact, it’s during this low season that you’re more apt to find cheap airline tickets as well as good deals on hotels.
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Thailand beaches run the gamut from peaceful and secluded spots where your choices for dining out nearby might be one little cafe to the party-hearty beach resort towns where the nightlife never stops and every possible sin can be indulged. This is why compiling a list of the best beach towns in Thailand is nearly impossible - but we thought we’d give it a whirl anyway.
What you’ll find here is a sampling of the best of what Thailand has to offer in terms of beach destinations. Some of the towns on this list are known for the actual beaches and the water sports or other outdoor activities that are popular there. Others are known not so much for the beaches but for the hedonistic parties that draw crowds from all over the world. It’s an odd mix, therefore, of beaches in Thailand that make up this list… But we think it’s a pretty interesting mix, and part of what makes Thailand such an interesting place to visit. There really is something for everyone.
Diamond Beach
The island of Koh Samet is close enough to Bangkok to make it a popular weekend getaway for lots of Thai locals, and Diamond Beach (Hat Sai Kaew in Thai) is easily the most popular beach town on the island. The beach itself isn’t as big as the beaches in some of the other beach towns on this list, but it offers both great water-related activities as well as some nearby shopping, dining & a bit of nightlife. The area north of Hat Sei Kaew is known for excellent windsurfing. As the name suggests, this beach boasts some of the whitest and softest sand you’ll ever see, and although some feel that the crowds at Diamond Beach tend to be on the younger side, on the whole it’s not a partying bunch. Accommodations are available in all price ranges.
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One of the eternal questions when you’re visiting a new place is, “Do I tip people here?” In some places, tipping is expected and you’ll be considered rude if you skip it. In others, tipping is actually considered rude! It’s an important thing to know before you head to a new country. So, what’s the policy on tipping in Thailand?
You’ll be pleased to know that tipping in Thailand, while not a rude gesture, also isn’t always expected. It’s nice to leave a few extra coins for someone if they’ve been particularly helpful or if a meal has been especially good, but you won’t need to worry about calculating a certain percentage of the bill in order to come up with a “respectable” tip. This is partly because with many tourist services there’s already a service charge or Value Added Tax (VAT) added onto the bill - this sometimes covers what you would ordinarily leave as a tip, so be sure to scan your bill to see if there’s a VAT or other charge automatically added before you consider your tip.
Restaurants
Restaurants that cater primarily to tourists will, for the most part, have a VAT and/or service charge added on to the bill - and some restaurants are notorious for trying to overcharge or otherwise rip off unsuspecting tourists by upping the usual percentages of these automatic charges. Some additional charges are perfectly acceptable, and even required by the government, but it’s good to know what the current VAT and service charge percentages are so you know if you’re being bilked.
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