Thailand forum

Manel

It seems to me that you are adding a very quick visit to Cambodia in what is essentially a beach holiday.

I suggest you either remove the Cambodia section and really enjoy the beach. Or, add more time to Cambodia to do the nation's attractions the justice they (and you) deserve.

I will include my comments in between your proposed itinerary on the assumption that you DO have an interest in visiting the Cambodian attractions with enough time to enjoy and experience...

16 - arrive BKK late
17 - bangkok
18 - bangkok - Phnom phen (plane)

Why only 1 day in Bangkok? Haveyou been before and just want to skip? If you have never been before, I think 2 or 3 days.

eg
1 day Royal palace
1 day floating market
1 day Ayuthaya

I note you have Ayuthaya listed at the end of your journey for a visit. I'd suggest that you do it at the beginning. You'll have been travelling a bit, then relax at the beaches, why not just return home relaxed. So, I suggest to do all the Bangkok 'things' up front.

19 - Phnom phen
20 - Phnom phen - Siem Reap (bus)
21 - Angkor
22 - Angkor

This is not enough time. I suggest 4 days at Siem Reap - 3 at Angkor & 1 day Tonle Sap. Go read this to better understand.

23 - Siem Reap - Phnom phen (bus)- Bangkok (plane) and leave in the night train to Surat Thani

This seems like a lot of unnecessary backtracking. Why not fly Siem Reap > Bangkok > Surat Thani?

24 - Surat Thani Ko pangan
25 - Ko pangan
26 - Ko pangan( i can visit ko samui in one of the days)
27 - Ko pangan
28 - Ko pangan- Ko Tao
29 - Ko Tao
30 - Ko Tao
31 - Ko Tao- Chumphon- bangkok (day train)

As I suggested above, it looks like the whole purpose of the visit is to go do beaches, and the remainder is a tack on. If you are serious about giving respect to Cambodian attractions, you may need to shave a bit here.

1 and 2 september - Bangkok and Ayutthaya

As noted above, just go back to Bangkok to do last minute shopping, go to the airport 'relaxed' and cruise home.

3 Bangkok and leave.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Gotta agree that a minimum of 3 days for BKK is a good idea and if you want to do Ayutthya as well you could add another day to BKK and do a day trip to Ayutthya going by train.

I would NOT recommend land travel between BKK and Siem Reap based on my own experiences. A flight is much better (albeit expensive) I would deffinatey fly again but I wouldn't bus it and if your thinking of getting a bus from KSR then you really need to google KSR bus scams.

If you like temples and ruins I would stay in Seam Reap for a minimum of 3 days for Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prom, Seam Reap and Tonle Sap. I can't comment on Phnom Penn as I haven't been there.

I would start in BKK for a few days with a trip to Ayutthaya and then fly to Seam Reap for a few days then fly back to BKK and then either fly, bus or train it down to Ko Samui for a couple of days and then get a boat to Ko Phanga for however long you like. Then just fly, bus or train back to BKK ( for 1 or 2 days) and then home.

This sort of thing is easily do-able and I have done very similar (and more complicated) trips myself a few times. You could add The North to your trip but then it gets more rushed/complicated so might be best saving it for another trip.

Thank you againJon_Mak_Mak and BruceMoon.

At this point i'm definetly staying more time in Angkor. Like you both sugest.
I've been watching prices and i think that i can afford the plane from SR -BKK and i can go in the same day to the islands!
When i was saying that i would do SR-PP-BKK it would be all in the same day, i wouldn't sleep in PP.
Other thing is about the 3/4 days in BKK, I remembered that i'd like to dive in Ko Tao and from what i've heard, i can't fly in the 48 hors after diving, is that correct by the way?
Is it stupid to stay the first day in BKK and see , for example, the day floating market and at the end , the last 2/ 3 days see the Royal palace and Ayuthaya?

Thanks again

It's not silly at all syna.

http://www.divetime.com/articles/Scuba_Diving_Safety/Is_Flying_After_Diving_Safe__205.html

Also if you leave a couple of days at the end for Bangkok you can do any shopping then and not have to carry your purchases around with you on the rest of the trip.

Personally would not like to do Ayutthaya and the grand palace and other sites on the last couple of days of my holiday.

Thats just because it's bloody hot in Thailand and sometimes very frustrating! (taxi/tuk tuk/scams/double pricing/THAI SMILE! etc..) I am usally more happy at the start of a trip to Thailand. lol :)

Better to save the last couple of days for some shopping time and to get drunk last time before home.

2 days for shopping??? lol.

I will be shopping for alot more than 2 days! I will be buying jeans, trainers, t-shirts/shirts/polo shirts, maybe a laptop, stuff for my camera, probably a DISH WASHER as well as all the stuff my wife wants to buy.

I will be getting this stuff from (I hope) Robinsons/big C/tesco/carrefor/ Makro/local Markets and that will be in Bangkok/Buri Ram/Ko Rat and Cha am. :)

But Im not exactly a tourist for the most part as we are taking our daughter to see her grand parents. But if I was doing this trip as they are, I would still end with a couple of days in Bangkok for more reasons than just shopping.

These are just our opinions, don't try to force them on people!

syna

And does anyone know any good place to make tatoos in Koh Phagnan or Koh Tao?

Go check out:

http://www.travelfish.org/board/post/thailand/4419_famous-bamboo-tattoo-artist-in-thailand-

There will be people who will swear everything is OK. There are others who point to things gone wrong.

My view is that to avoid disease, go to a tattoo place where YOU have total confidence the safety & healthy procedure. If you want a tattoo, perhaps the best place is home.

- - - -

Travel time between airport & BKK.

First? Which airport: domestic or international?

For international...

Go see this overview.

Then there are these posts one and two.

Hope this helps

Cheers

This is just a personal opinion, but I rarely see a tattoo that I think enhances a person's appearance. To me it's more like a mutilation and I've never really understood why people do it. Getting a tattoo is painful, it can go septic and ooze pus, you could conceivably catch hepatitis and/or AIDS, and worst of all tattoos are totally indelible so if the artist f*cks up or if you hate having the thing on your body in ten years time then that's just too bad. You've got it for life! If you get a tattoo on your back you can't even see it yourself ...what is the point?

Also, while it may be of no concern whatsoever to you now but there will come a day when you are as old as your parents and grandparents. How good will the tattoos look on wrinkly sagging skin? I've heard the colours bleed after a while too, so your tat may well become a smudgy undefined mess later on in life. Old people can actually see what they look like so they probably don't want to look worse than absolutely necessary.


I once saw a guy on the beach on Ko Tao who had one of his arms tattooed entirely black from shoulder to wrist. Perhaps he'd grown tired of his tatts and decided to opt for that instead of expensive and painful laser removal but believe me, in swimwear that dude looked absolutely ridiculous!

I've got an idea. If people want to have "artwork" on their skin why not get the tattoo artist to draw pictures on you with indelible felt-tipped pens instead? Painless, no risk and you could change the design according to current mood, mindset, philosophy,lover and clothes. If tats are *out* and pure unblemished skin is *in* next season it won't matter a jot.

If that's way too radical and innovative an idea then they do temporary tattoos on the islands too... I find the colours very garish and unattractive but at least they won't be there for the rest of your life!

If you do go ahead and get one then as madmac says make very sure that the place has scrupulously good hygiene and try and find people who've had tattoos done by the artist so you can see what his work is really like and ask if they had any problems with infection etc.

Opps so sorry jon_mak_mak. Got you two mixed up!

Nope I've got no tattoos. The only ones I've seen that I quite like as artwork are some traditional Tahiti ones I saw once... on a young, rather good looking Tahitien man. ;-)

Yes but is it art? ;-)

http://www.grimmemennesker.dk/data/media/2/too_many_tattoos.jpg