Thailand forum

If my math is correct, your budget comes to about USD20 (THB600) per day. This is a very low budget so you might not be able to afford all those activities (crazy nightlife, zip lining, parachuting, sky diving, snorkelling, etc.) One night of partying can easily eat through a couple thousand baht or more, and accommodation on popular beaches like Phi Phi it's hard to find anything close to 600 baht. There are still some cheap places on Ko Phangan, but the FMP scene can easily make up for that expence-wise. On your budget you'll need to watch expenses very closely, use local transport, eat at food stalls, stay in the cheapest room possible, etc.

Some of the places on your list are far apart and will take some effort and expense. Like Ayutthaya to Siem Reap hopefully you can get to the Aranya Prathet / Poipet border without back-tracking to Bangkok. Same for Siem Reap to Ko Phangan - it's a long way and can take up to 24 hours by bus with the usual changes/delays. Try to take overnight transport when possible to save on room costs.

Oct/Nov can be pretty rainy, but it can also be sunny and anyway always warm/hot. It's the tropics so is very unpredictable. In general the rainy season ends sooner up north so you might want to focus more of your time around Chiang Mai/Rai&Pai - it's also a lot cheaper up here than down on the southern beaches. Hope some of this info is helpful.

Hi xgeneration

In Bangkok everywhere have a good food ,
nightlife in bangkok? (Khao San Road,Sukhumvit,Siam)
Here I'll put the name of temple that you may like to visit in Chiang Mai
- Wat Chiang Man
- Wat Phra Sing
- Wat Prasat
- Wat Chedi Chet Yot
- Wat Chedi Luang

In October Andaman sea it's still rainy maybe just a bit.
but 1-2 in Koh Phi Phi to Pattaya that might be rush for you? (you might have to spend more budget)

you can stay longer in Koh Pha Nagan also can do one day trip to Koh Tao, Koh Nang Yuan and then heading to Pattaya for nightlife(?) and back to Bangkok by take Van or Bus ,cost about 150 - 180 baht or maybe less.
If you do lots of activites it probably need more budget for these trip.

It will take you a full day to get from Koh Phangan to Phi Phi. You are much better off just staying on Koh Phangan, especially considering your budget. Phi Phi can be quite expensive.

Same for Siem Reap, it is a long journey. You will have to leave quite early in the morning to get to BKK and then catch the overnight train down.

Hi xgeneration,

Why not dump Pattaya for one of the islands like Koh Chang, Koh Mak, Koh Wai, or even Koh Si Chang? All of them are fairly close to the Cambodian border and within a day's travel of Bangkok (or closer). You'll probably find more affordable accommodations, and you'll get your island fix in. You can still get beach bungalows on Koh Wai for around 250 baht, and food is (or, at least, was) very reasonable when I was last there.

You might also think about going to one of the Cambodian islands or beaches, instead. You're going to be paying for the visa, so why not stick around a bit longer and check out some other parts of the country? If you skip Pattaya, shave a day or two off of Bangkok at the end, and maybe a day from Ayuthaya, you'll have about an extra week to check out the Cambodia south coast, or some of the islands in Trat Province as mentioned above.

You probably won't regret not going to Pattaya if that's what happens.

With your budget, go for dorm rooms, or non-a/c single rooms with shared bathrooms. Lots and lots of options in Bangkok, especially in the Banglamphu district near the river. This site has lots of cheapies, as well as a fairly good hand-drawn map of the area (http://www.chiang-mai.org/cheap-hotels-in-bangkok.html). I've always liked Apple II Guest House, and The Green House, right across the alleyway, is also quite decent and very inexpensive. These places are also close to the water taxi and are littered with hundreds of cheap street food places.

Avoid VIP buses and stick to the regular buses at the bus terminals (Ekemai, Morchit, and Sai Tai). Third class trains are also very, very cheap to travel on. City buses, as well, rather than taxis and tuk tuks.

Have a great time.

"Btw I am a 26 yrs old male is good physical condition (exercise everyday). "

Not sure how that matters.

"I don't want to have a very tight schedule, will rather go to less places and more in-depth."

Then why do you want to visit 9 places then? Take off 4 of them.

"Nothing is set in concrete and stone yet, except that I would like to attend the Full Moon Party at Koh Pha Ngan on Oct. 30."

Why? probably the worst thing to do in Thailand as a tourist.

Your budget of $500 works out at $18.50 per day yet you want to visit all of these places. No hope. As a minimum you should have about $300 per week so about $1200 if you want some cash to do things.

"parachuting, sky diving, snorkelling and seeing dolphin"

Sky diving and parachuting are the same are they not? That alone must be at least 1/3 of your total budget so you can forget that. Snorkelling trips are cheap by slow boat but still 500 baht which is $16 and 95% of your daily budget so you can forget doing more than 1 of them.

I suspect your post is a troll unless you really are naive about prices.

appreciate your inputs Leonard but don't appreciate your attitude, you might as well keep the comments to yourself. thanks.

Leonard - I'm sure you've been told before that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't bother saying anything. In fact, I'm sure that you've been told words to that effect several times over the last few years.

"you've been told before that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't bother saying anything"

I'm giving sound advice. If your budget is $18.50 a day you really can't do much. That's not being nice or nasty - that's just honest.

It would be misleading to tell a tourist they can do much with $18.50 a day and coating it with sugar and plums does them no help at all.

It is not my intention to start a battle of words, it means nothing to me and doesn't help me to plan my trip. I appreciate your inputs and I respect the fact that you traveled in Thailand many times and I didn't, that's my purpose to start this thread and ask experienced people like you. However, I don't take your attitude kindly. You made your point, my budget is low, so perhaps I should reconsider my budget.

Again, I am not being discriminating regarding gender and age, just to give more background information to the readers so that they can make sounded suggestion. I am sure many people in this forum wouldn't suggest an 80-year-old to take 3rd class overnight train without guarantee seat, even under tight budget.

Cheers.

"However, I don't take your attitude kindly. You made your point, my budget is low, so perhaps I should reconsider my budget"

What attitude? You're the one with the bad attitude. When someone gives you sound advice you don't abuse them.

LeonardCohen1 -- I think it's you who has the bad attitude as evidenced by a number of comments on this thread.

Your advise has been given -- let's just leave it at that.

Thanks.

the person currently posting as Leonard has already been banned several times under several different screen names for this same abusive behavior. why wait?

Ayuthaya isn't on the border and is near Bangkok.
Chang and nearby islands are really nice.

(Skydiving is always going to be expensive - u cant operate a small plane cheaply, though it is great fun)

You have made 2 posts here and neither have anything to do with travel. I''m talking about TRAVEL, you are not.

"do us all a favor"

What all 3 of you trying to bully me. No wonder it's so quiet here.

Stop trying to bully me and talk about travel or go away.

" you are abusive, eventhough you aren't intellectually honest enough to admit it"

What is this nonsense? You abuse me with this and don't talk about travel unlike myself who gave more useful budget advice than anyone.

"the limited advice you give"

Actually I give detailed advice and I haven't seen you give any - just bully me.

Somtam, I did read that thread that you mentioned. I also came across someone sugguestion to go through Phnom Penh and cut across to Koh Chong, have you came across any thread on that?