Thailand for Christmas -2.5 weeks

I'm SSSOOO jealous.  You're going to have a ball.  You're wise to book a couple nights on arrival and you'll need to decide where you'll be for New years and make sure you've got accommodation for that as well.

My wife and I have been twice and we enjoyed it immensely.  We were planning a 3rd trip this Jan but our youngest Dtr is expecting so my wife can't go away until she knows all is well.  Anyways:

Chiang Mai is great but for a short trip maybe a bit out of the way.  The train (2nd class sleeper/overnight) is an experience.  Lots of rockin and rollin not much sleeping but still interesting.  Check out Seat61.com for ideas of time and price.

We also took the train to the south to Surat Thani then caught a bus to Khao Lak (just north of Phuket).  Later we learned we could have taken the train to Trang and then a mini-van to Koh Lanta.

Koh Lanta (Khlong Nin Beach) was great and beautiful.  We stayed at Sunset Bungalows (www.thesunsetbungalows.com) It's right on the ocean and a fan only room was 800baht/night or with A/C 1400baht.  I think the current rate is 35baht = $1US.  The beach is 2km of pure sand, the water is warm and in a total of almost 60 days there we never saw a rough day - although there were a few days when the jellyfish were annoying.  Lots of nightlife.  Some swedes we befriended slept every day to noon and went out all night every night (you'll meet more swedes than any one else).

Koh Lipe is very nice as well but it is several hours by speedboat further south of Koh Lanta.  We loved it there as well.

We spent time in Phuket mainly just passing through and same with Krabi.  Phuket is very touristy with lots of Russians and people looking for western amenities.

In Bangkok - ride the Chao Phraya river ferry.  13baht each (37cents) for a great tour.  We also liked Wat Arun on the far side of the river (take a cross river ferry).  If you're there on a weekend go to the Chatuchak market (go by skytrain to Mo Chit station and you're there).  At the market if you see something you like buy it because you'll never find it again.  Also visit MBK market downtown and have lunch in the top floor Thai food court (very different from what we're used to).

On Lanta - take a tuktuk to old Lanta town and have lunch.  Eat at a muslim restaurant near the 7/11 or have a roti for dinner right beside the 7/11.  For night life on Khlong Nin beach go to Mong Bar or any of the others along the beach.  If you get a chance go see "Job 2 do".  It was a free show on the beach when we were there, kind of Thai/Jamaican but very good.  Also you can arrange a day trip to Koh Rok for snorkeling, a decent lunch and for real dinosaurs (well REALLY BIG monitor lizards).  They also have Muay Thai Boxing shows often.

There is too much to tell you.  If you have any questions just pm me.

In 3 months we took almost 4500 photos plus videos.  My wife posted 100 pics on Facebook.

1hr professional massage at Sunset Bungalows was 300baht (less than $10). I usually tipped 40baht as well.

Large Chang beer 80baht (prices varied from 80 to 150baht) or pitcher of Chang 110baht.  A must while watching the sunset everyday.

Typical meals were 150baht.  And at Sunset their coffee shakes (so good) 60baht.  I loved banana pancakes, bacon and orange juice for breakfast I forget how much but 150baht or less and their OJ is very different/great! from ours.

We averaged 800baht/night for accommodation (as low as 500B to as high as 2200B)

Snorkeling day trip from Lanta was 1250B each.

On Koh Lanta check Sunset bung for New Years and if they're full check White Rock (not on the beach but very nice).  If they're full I'll give you more options.  You may not get what you want but there are so many places you'll be able to get something.

For more ideas go to YouTube and type in Koh Lipe, or Khlong Nin beach, or Chao Phraya ferry or anything else you can think of to see what it looks like.

I have tons more info but see what you think of this and then ask more questions.

It's been almost 20 years since I've been to Thailand so I don't have any clue what it's like today.  We went to Phuket and rode the bus over the mountain to Pa Tong Beach.  The beach was awesome and there were a lot of european tourists there.

i just know i'm super jealous.  i went for work a few years ago and have been DYING to get back, and new year's is exactly WHEN i want to go.

enjoy! 

I've taken the train north to Chiang Mai and south to Koh Tao, Kho Phagnag, Kho Samaui, etc. Took a tai cooking course in Chiang Mai, I think. It was a lot of fun. We just cooked and ate all day after visiting the market to buy the food. I highly recommend the cooking class.

We also went on a Trek for 3 days/2 nights in Chaing Mai closer to Phrao and that was a great part of the trip.

I think you might need to be there a little bit longer to really get into the Thai boxing. I'm not sure though. Thailand really caters to tourists, so you can probably find something. We ended up just watching a match.

We really only booked our first night and had absolutely no problems finding accomadations as we went. I think we saved a lot of money that way too. That was 2004 though, so things might be different and we were younger, so we didn't really mind staying in huts with no hot water. It was hot. I lukewarm shower was enough for me.

I noticed a bit of difference in the cusine in the north and south. Both were delicious, but if you love seafood, go south.

Do you know where you'll be staying on Koh Jum?  We stayed at New Bungalows and it was quite nice, very inexpensive (650baht/$21 for a nice bungalow).  The restaurant there was very good and reasonably priced.  Great sunsets looking back at Koh Phi Phi.

We found Koh Jum to be more wild compared to more populated/touristy places like Phi Phi.  Lots of monkeys and crabs plus one day I came out of the restaurant to see the cook looking over to my left so I looked over and there was the biggest (HUGE!!) lizard I've ever seen.  It was an 8' or more monitor lizard looking for lunch.  The only problem we had on Jum was there was nowhere to sit other than to lie on the sand. 

If I didn't suggest it in my previous reply you should go to "Tezza's Blog" and read his page on Koh Jum.

I've taken the train to Chaing Mai from Bangkok and then from Chaing Mai to Chumpon to go to Koh Tao. Travelling by train was great. The food was decent on the train, it was pretty comfortable and we took overnight trains, so we slept and woke up at our destination.

I took a thai cooking course in Chaing Mai. That was pretty nice too. We went to the market in the morning and then spent most of the day cooking and eating.

Besides Bangkok & Chaing Mai, I've spent time on the islands of Koh Tao, Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Samui. I think I enjoy the cusine of the south more as there is more seafood.

We didn't book anything and had no trouble finding places to stay. Maybe some of the nicer bungalows were booked, but we had no trouble finding something nice. This was 2004 though and nice just meant a private bathroom really. We were spending about $4-$10 per night on accommodations.

Thailand is quite touristy and I'm sure still relatively cheap, so it seemed like wherever you go, you could do almost anything you wished. Food is great everywhere. I think less visited places might offere more Robinson Caruso type feel, but there will still be enough nightlife.

I've never been to Koh Lanta, Ko Lipe, Krabi, Phuket, so can't say anything about those places.