Where to go in Thailand

I am Igo, webmaster of the ShopArt artists group, Germany. I made the small webpages for Greentree Resort, View Rock Resort and Beer's House just for fun and for no commission earning reasons, what may be the idea behind many other travel advisory websites. I also answer incoming e-mails, if customers may contact ShopArt in case of the resorts' e-mail postbox may be down or stuffed with spam. You probably will arrive at new BKK International Airport, Suvarnabhumi in the Southeast of Bangkok, which end of Sept. 2006 replaced the old Don Muang Airport in the North. As always: Avoid to go with people who try to offer you cheap taxi service, as they charge much more and are very insecure. On the lower basement you find an official taxi counter, where you can book taxis in all directions for acceptable prices. If you want to take a taxi into town or even far more away, a trick is just to go up to the departure platform and catch an incoming meter-taxi outside, dropping passengers there. But you should be quick, as taxis from outside may face problems if trying to find new customers returnway to town. In general: never forget to ask for the approximate price before entering a taxi. F.e. taxi to Kao San Rd. is about 350 Baht, taxi to Ekamai Eastern Bus Station is about 200 Baht. But if you are not in a hurry, better is just to take one of the white Airport Route Express shuttle buses and let you drive over to the narby new Airport Bus Terminal. There you find buses going permanently in all directions, even to far away destinations. Bus Nr. 556 goes to Kao San Road (stops at Rajademneon Klang/Peace Memorial, fare = 35 Baht only) and ends at Southern Bus Terminal, from where buses start to the South-Western Seaboard with its Islands Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao and also Krabi and Phuket. Bus 552 goes to Ekamai Eastern Bus Terminal, from where buses start to Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard in general with its Islands Koh Samet and Koh Chang. A direct Shuttle Bus to Pattaya leaves at 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., and there is a second one going also at 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. And an other advice: Leave your gold necklaces and bracelets at home, as gold and ladies' pocket snatching has become a widespread sport amongst Thai youth gangs especially in the tourist areas on the mainland. A second advice: Take an old spare Nokia cellphone with you. Charging it with a rechargable prepaid Thai simcard may cost only 6-8 Euro, and then you can phone cheap within Thailand and also abroad, then predial 009. Best services are One2Call or DETAC, and phone shops where you can buy sims and refill cards you will find everywhere. For me in Bangkok the Banglampoo / Kao San Area is the best area to stay as all interesting sights are nearby. It has a fantastic shopping area and nearly no redlight scene around. The streets backside and left side of the temple on top of Kao San Road have some good guesthouses. My favorite guesthouse to stay is "Banglampoo Place", clean double with aircon and bath only 500 Baht, fan double only 320 Baht. (Phone +66 (0)2282 9632 or -3, web: www.banglumpooplace.netfirms.com. To get there you have to go up Kao San Road, pass along the Temple on top and walk further to the main street on the river, Phra Atat Pier. Turn right and pass the big tower on the river. Then short after on right side of the street you will find the entrance. Anyway: take enough earplugs with you ... and your own lock, as doors can be opened easily. (1 Dollar US is about 33 Baht, 1 Euro is about 49 Baht, 1 British Pound about 70 Baht in the moment, Jan. 08). If arriving in the evening and findig out that guesthouses are occupied, just ask a Tuk Tuk Taxi to drive you to "Mit Paysarn Hotel", which is just 4-5 streets more to the right on the other side of the channel (offer 40 Baht, thats excellent for the short way). This Hotel is big with a joined guesthouse on the opposite side of the street, and very seldom booked out. Rooms with aircon there are about 400 - 600 Baht. To see the 3 most important sights of Bangkok, you go from Kao San Road down to the river (5 minutes), take the Express Boat to Grand Palace or Wat Pho (big old Monastery). At the Wat Pho Pier there is is small ferry bringing you across the river to Wat Aroon, all ferries are very cheap. For Grand Palace or Wat Phra Kheo, what is the same, you need shoes and long trousers, as the King sometimes lives there and foreign visitors should look nice. Entry fee about 200 Baht for tourists, Thai citizens are free. If not having you can get shoes and trousers for free on the entrance, but leaving then 500 Baht deposit behind. Two weeks is not much time for Thailand, but if you are looking for wide and loneley beaches, its better you start with Koh Samui and after some days taking a speedboat or the catamaran ferrey boat oneway, going to KohTao, lasting about 2 hours. Proposal for 2 weeks in southern part of Thailand: Go from Bangkok with night train (clean sleeping beds inside, price between 600 - 700 Baht, booking directly at the long counter row inside the Huanlampong Train Station) 800 km to Surat Thani. Arrival about 6 a.m. in the morning. Then take the local bus written "Surat - Nathon" on. It drives to car ferry and brings you directly to Nathon, harbour of Koh Samui, about 150 Baht all together. Two second, new possibilities is to take the Seatran Car Ferrey (150 Baht incl. bus-transfer). Buses to ferreypier start from Suratthani from 5.30 a.m. till 5.30 p.m every two hours. You can get there from trainstation by local bus or by taxi. On the ferreyboats there is an aircon relaxing room and restaurant. Or take the Lomprayah High Speed Catamaran, which has now a new office direct on parallel street of Khao San Road in BKK. More about this see their website lomprayah.com. Lomprayah now connects the Islands Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui and starts as well as from Chumphon as from outside Surath Thani. And they have their own buses starting daily form Khao San Road at 9 p.m. When having arrived in Nathon (Koh Samui) you can take a "Songterm" (local Taxi, 50 Baht) which goes to Lamai. Don't leave the taxi down in the Lamai Beach area, wait till it comes up again on the circle road, driving further to Chaweng. About 200 meters after having come up to the mainroad again, jump out at "Lamai Resort" or Beer's House. Lamai Resort has big bungalows with shower and toilet directly on a fantastic and quiet beach for about 500 Baht the night. Left side along the beach there are some more resorts, one of the next is "Beer's House", for my opinion the best place to stay. Phone +66 77 230467 or 231088, bungalows 350 Baht with toilette and shower, 150 Baht without toilette inside but with collective toilette and shower nearby. Lamai Resort and Beer's House you can see on second panorama view picture when clicking back-button above or below. From Beer's House it is a 10-15 minutes walk into the Lamai downtown scene, many shops and bars there and good restaurants. Another possibility is to rent a bungalow at Maenam Beach, for example Shady Resort, which is about half way between Nathon, the capital of the Island, and Chaweng Beach and very quiet. Big bungalows with fan are about 400-600Baht, very big ones with aircon are about 1000 Baht the night. (Phone +66 77 425392). Maenam Beach is good for swimming, as the beach descents there quickly into the deep water. To have some amusement in the night you should rent a motorcycle, which is about 150 Baht for one day. So in the daytime you can do Island touring and in the evening you can drive over to Chaweng, where some of the best open air discos of the island can be found. If you dont want to spend some extra time in Bangkok, then make the booking for the flight directly from Bangkok Donmuang Domestic Airport to Koh Samui with "Bangkok Air". 2way ticket about 6.000 Baht. Or fly 1way and return by Mini - or VIP-Bus to Bangkok (= Krung Thep, as Thais call their capital), Khao San Road, about 400-500 Baht complete way back from Samui or Koh Tao. Then at the end you have time for sightseeing BKK and shopping at Kao San Road and surrounding area. From Koh Samui Airport you can take a local taxi also to "Lamai Resort". Advice: don't travel with suitcase, a rucksack is better. Good ones like Loewe or Jack Wolfskin can be bought also on Kao San Road for about 800 - 1400 Baht. Anyway: all you need you can buy while travelling, and cheap laundries can be found everywhere. It is raintime in Thailand when arriving on Koh Tao July - December, and they may have stormy days then and no speedboats going. But fisherboat ferrey and express boat will do. Not too many people will be there in that time, so no problem to find a good bungalow. On other way - instead of Lomprayah or train - to go to Koh Tao is to take the Ekawin Expressboat from outside Chumphon starting 7.30 a.m.. By the way: The Ekawin agency has two guesthouses of its own, where guests can sleep for free if arriving in the eveneing and taking the Ekawin ferreyboat the next morning. If you are looking for an adventure, then ask for the High-Speedboat with 4 x 200 HP Yamaha engines. It starts at 7 a.m. from the river and costs also 400 Baht. Train from Bangkok to Chumphon takes about 9 hours, starting about midday, arriving in the evening. If You take the night train to Surratthani station (station to go over to Koh Samui, Golf of Siam, or Krabi, what is at the Andaman Sea), you arrive at Chumphon 4 o clock in the morning, thats not very good. Take a guesthouse in Chumphon, best is Suriwong Chumphon Hotel, straight forward from train-station, after about 200 meters first crossing to the right - 2 hotels are coming, Suriwong is the second.. Room only about 220 Baht with shower and WC. They have also internet service inside. You can go in the morning only with local bus (10-15 bath) to "Talua Koh Tao", this means horbour to Koh Tao, what actually is a small pier in the river outside Chumphon. (Lot Mee Talua ?? means: where is the Bus to harbour.) Local bus takes about 30 minutes there. And then the fee for speedboat may only be 350 Bath. The speedboat starts directly left side of the bridge crossing the river, and there the bus stops too. If you go with agents, catching you or picking you up at hotel in the morning, you may pay about the same for transfer and passage. Arriving in the evening, you can also take the night-slowboat, 200 Baht. Starts midnight, takes about 6-7 hours, but can be very cold in the nights of December and January. Another possibility, to go quickly from Kao San Road to Koh Tao, is taking the VIP or Mini-Bus combined with Ferreyboat transfer, organized by Seatran Ferrey Office. You find it on the right parallel street of Kao San Road (Rambuttri Road), directly in the Viengtai-Hotel (...best hotel in that surrounding, with swimmingpool, 1.600 Baht the double with big breakfast buffet. Phone: +66-2- 280543445 or 2818153). The Seatran Ferrey transfer from Kao San Road to Koh Tao is only 600-700 Baht, incl. ferreyaboat passage. Bus starts at the evening and arrives in the morning at Chumphon. Ferrey boat is leaving at 7.30 a.m., arriving at 9 a.m. at Koh Tao pier. Problem sometimes, that bus arrives too early in Chumphon and too late on the way back at Kao San Road. Koh Tao is the third island in the Koh Samui island chain in the Golf of Siam: Koh Samui - Koh Phangan - Koh Tao. It has a very long main beach starting from harbour but not very wide (Sairee Beach). Best place to stay there is "Seashell Resort" but quite expensive now. If you want to go immediately to Hin Wong Bay, then after boat arrival have a look for the black offroad car of View Rock Resort. It will take you for 50 Baht as well to Greentree Resort or to their own resort, just 500 meters behind "Greentree Resort". If not finding, you can phone View Rock Resort: mobile 081 2294307 or 081-2294829 and they will pick you up then. To make reservation there better take +66 (0) 77-456548 or 9, as mobile is only connected when Nao is in front of the hills in the horbour area. The Hin Wong Bay is rocky and has no beach at all. Anyway its worth to have a look at, as it is really nice and quiet there and good for snorkelling. Only 2 bungalows of 6 at Greentree have shower and toilette inside. Reservation normally must not be done, as there is the neighbour resort View Rock Resort and a third one, which offer huts too in Hin Wong Bay. However, if you want to feel safe, phone View Rock Resort at +66 7745654-8 or -9, or send them an e-mail: viewrock@hotmail.com. And dont make any booking in advance with people on ferreyboats or at the train stations trying to convince you for early decision. Better have a look first, and then decide. If you want to scuba dive there can be done arrangements at View Rock Resort. Their diving partners, situated at Sairee Beach, are Koh Tao Divers, Mr. Yong Boonmee, Phone 077-456094, e-mail: kohtaodiversint@hotmail.com. Fins, goggles and snorkels they have also in Hinwongbay. Really nice and nostalgic place for some days. If there are some 4-5 people, the resorts can arrange a boat trip round the Island with many snorkelling stops. Costs about 600-700 Bath for a boat for one day. Joe and Noi from Greentree Resort are not online, but they have telephone now, as the bay is now connected to the elictric line of the island. However you can send and e-mail to Ting and Nao from Viewrock-Resort nearby, who cooperate with Greentree Resort. Toilette and shower are collective for all at Greentree, but very clean always. Two bungalows now have toilette and shower inside. Greentree and Viewrock Resort have no sandy beach, as they are located directly in a rocky bay, surrounded by rock coves and corrals (see panorama view, Greentree is at the right side on top of the rocks. Not to be recommended to people with small children or babies, as they could fall down the platforms when playing on.) To go down to the sea you have to descend many stairs. (Dont forget a good pocket-lamp for the night). Therefor it is so cheap, the bungalow for two persons in Greentree is only 150 - 200 Baht the night. I dont know how much more information you need, but some good links are at www.shopart.com/thailand/anschrift.html , however you will get there anyway if you click this page forward. Nevertheless you should buy a good inside travel guide in advance at home. And, if interested, click here and have a look into some pages of the diary, which Mats from USA sent to me. And here some more hints: If coming to Chiangmai in Northern Thailand and looking for a quiet accomodation for a reasonable price, have a look at Chiangmai Inn Guesthose in Road Chaiyaphum, 15/1 Soi 2 (see map). phone +66 (0)53 251400 or +66 (0)53 251401. The double with fan, toilette and warm shower is about 200 - 250 Baht only. The Chiangmai Inn people organize good trekking tours to the forests near the Burmesian border and to the hilltribes (3 days 1500 Baht). People who want to combine their Tailand holidays with learning should have a look into here: Fruitcarving: www.privatecarving.com | Thai Traditional Massage: www.tmdmassage.com | Thaicooking: www.geocities.com/thaikitchencentre | Jewelery Making: www.nova-collection.com | Woodcarving: Nopradol's Wood Carving College.

Artists A - Z | ShopArt Home