Careful you don't bring a wife back with ya.

But I wouldn't need to leave the internets to achieve this, would I HTC???

the whiskey has amphetimines in it.

thailand diy tour circuit

i spent two weeks in phuket..so thats all i could really tell you about. um, it was hot and muggy and the food was really good and cheap and i swam alot and got sunburnt.

cheap cheap beer

I was all planned to go in January until I had to get major dental surgery that cost a heap. Evil Egg has heaps of good ideas about Thailand.

some more things are coming back to me now (as holiday was about 6 years ago) - if you take photo of lady boy they will run after you wanting money - keep a tissue in your pocket for when you get an inevitable case of diarrhea 'cos not alot of toliets have toilet paper). - dont touch the local cats and dogs. yucky.

Been twice, going again in Feb for honeymoon.

Love that place. Friendly people, super cheap, good food, nice beaches.

Just gotta stay away from the usual tourist traps (Pattaya, Kho San Rd, Patong Beach on Phuket)

I love Ko Samed (small island that Thai's with money go to...not full of westerners).

Look on travelfish for info, or wikitravel.

I so badly want to go back to Thailand. In 2005 I spent 2 weeks in Phuket in a resort but did heaps of day trips, took a boat to the islands around cambodia & snorkled, went to 'James Bond' island, caving in canoes, buckets & strip clubs on Bangla (?) rd, so much more... I loved it!!! The only thing i hated was people trying to sell me stuff & being very much in my face.

I got back a couple of weeks ago. Fucking awesome.

I agree, that you should stay well away from the tourist places as much as possible, and try not to get sucked in to too much shopping. If you wanna shop, plan to spend a day or two in Bangkok on your way out -there's a market in bangkok (about the size of canberra) which sells 'everything you can buy in Thailand' called JJ's (well, thats what the white folks call it) - this will save a lot of fucking around and money.

If you get too hot and polluted, jump in a taxi - they are almost free, and dont listen to folks telling you not to tip taxi drivers and other service people, you live in a country where a person can make a nice living washing other peoples dogs - so why not tip these lovely folks.

Buy and eat every banana pancake you can find.

Have a look at every hotel room/bungalow before you pay to sleep in it.

Try not to carry too much shit, its way too fucking hot.

Avoid hiring a car.

Eat where everyone else is eating. (watch the fuckin chilli!)

And, if you're gonna give motorbike riding a go (and havent before), then give yourself some time somewhere quiet to figure that shit out before you go busting moves on the buddhist superhighway...

aaah banana pancakes! i forget about that delicacy.

tuk tuks!!!

I might be getting married there at the end of next year...

I'm already plannng that trip Wonky :)

don't play cards unless you're a silly fuck who wants to lose all their money!

also don't play pool.

a friend of mine (a sweet, slightly but not completely naive boy) just got fleeced out of $8000 in thailand, because he agreed to a friendly game of poker that he thought was free of money bets. i don't know why the fuck you white people love to gamble so much in asian countries, but if you don't want to get burnt or intimidated, i don't see why you'd take the risk!

i don't know why single dudes wouldn't bring a chick back,

asian birds are hot!!!

You get to play Connect Four for drinks at the bars there too. Don't think you're going to win either...

ko samet & ko chang are not as hectic as the islands over to the west, but the beaches aren't as picture postcard. you have to go to a mall called mbk in bangkok. mental!

Thanks MrsL-we've spoken with the embassy a number of times and it seems that we have to wait until we get in to Bangkok and queue at the Thai air offices to work out what they can do. We've spoken to Thai Air a number of times and it's impossible to get a straight answer over the phone, so apparently we can't do anything in advance and just need to become part of the Bangkok masses, hoping that Bangkok doesn't get dangerous

that sounds like a horrendous situation BV

all the best, I hope you can get out of there soon

Fuck that. I'm not going anymore... I don't care if it's over in the next week, there'll still be bullshit to deal with months from now and I don't want to be caught up in it!

One thing which has become clear over the past few days speaking with locals and doing some reading - the 'yellow shirts' are actually best described as 'fascists' - they want rule by an elite dominated by royalists and the military.

OK, looks like my flight has been cancelled anyway and that should mean a full refund. But they can't confirm anything for a few days yet... hopefully there won't be any crap with the airline to deal with, I no longer want to go even if I could!

Today's SMH

Qantas has now announced a second relief flight to leave tomorrow (from Phuket). Qantas had said seats would first be offered to Qantas and British Airways customers, and then to Australians on a first-come first-serve basis

Customers in Thailand who wish to travel on any relief flight must register by calling Bangkok on +66 (0) 2627 1800 or direct to Australia +61 3 9834 6826.

Most people at the airport had been able to board the (first relief) flight, with the handful who missed out being booked into hotels for the night, Sky News said.

BV you will be stoked to here that on Today this morning Andrew Bolt essentially saying that australian's should harden the fuck up if you are stuck there, saying if you really wanted to get out you'd just go down the road to KL or singapore to get home, stop expecting the Aust government to fly you out.

nice.

hope you and the missus are doin' okay and that you have gin.

Send Bolt my best ''fuck off'' regards and tell him to polish his Captain Obvious badge. If it was possible to get on a bus/train/cab to KL, with the hundreds of people already trying to do that, we would have done so. 3 foreigners have died in the past 2 days getting driven to the border.

We've been told by Thai Air that we're going to be here for at least a further 3 days, contingent on the restarting of the airport. And a word when booking holidays with a travel agent, make sure that they are going to be available to discuss reiseuing tickets at all hours of the night, because when you don't book directly with the airline, they don't want to deal with you directly...

Got my refund this morning. Even with the protesters gone and the airports reopen, I didn't want to risk going at a time like this. I'll go when things calm down... or are at least functioning properly. If either ever happens.

They've fucked their international reputation that's for sure...

that's a good thing for those of us who are thinking of going anyway.

Bolt's posting today looks remarkably sensible so perhaps I was wrong to be rude

Today brought some relief - a friendly Thai hotel has offered to let us stay without charge for a night, which is very kind (and will mean less things to fight with travel insurance about). Also, many many more smiling Thai faces around today and lots of Thai people saying ''hurray, the airport's open!''.

Bolt's posting today looks remarkably sensible

yeah maintain the ''democracy'' that gave rural voters a ''voice'' and put Thaksin's brother-in-law in power. that's clearly the strategy that will take Thailand forward.

good one BV!

finally managed to get on a flight out today

We have our trip set for early April. Can't wait!

Itinerary looks like being 2-3 days in Bangkok, 4 days in Koh Samui and nearby islands then up to Chiang Mai for a week where we'll be for Songkran, the water festival.

Any idea if stuff's open/happening during Songkran or should I just bank on everything stopping and people doing nothing but throw water at each other?

I also want to go to Pai for a couple of days so if anyone can recommend accommodation for there and also for Bangkok and Koh Samui that would be ace!

you're only rich once so go online and book and fancy hotel for bangkok, it's worth it cos it's so cheap

my friend wants to stay at the Atlanta in Bangkok I think. It's totally budget but looks like it has character. I think we're gonna live it up in a resort on Samui though.

who'd you get flights with? i'm going early may via malaysia. chiang rai, north, then middle and then a few days rest in ko samui (staying at a friends house - woohoo!)

Koh Samui better than Phuket for relaxing resort style?

Haven't got flights yet but probably Thai Airways to Bangkok. For the internal flights we might go budget - Air Asia or Bangkok Airways probably. There's also Nok Air and a couple of others but I haven't looked at them yet. The Rough Guide website is pretty helpful.

if you've got limited time just fly around, it was dirt cheap to buy tickets online from airasia, when i was there 12 months ago at short notice even. there are multiple cheap airlines to chose.

if you're going to ko samui, nick off from there and go to the north of koh phan nang (or however it is spelt) it's an enjoyable hour or so on a boat and much nicer place.

budget hotels in bangkok are ok, but again the expensive ones are so cheap for a short holiday that i know which i'd be booking at to escape the crazy dirty city outside.

anyhow it's all fun and cheap and the food is great