Hi,

Just wanted some advice, I am wanting to plan my honeymoon to Thailand and just wondered if anyone has been and where they would recommend to go, neither of us have been before. I have been recommended the Golden Triangle which includes 4 nights in Bangkok, 3 nights in Chang Mai and 7 nights in Phuket. Any other suggestions/recommendations would be much appreciated.

Thanks x

I thought the Golden Triangle was the area at the north of Thailand that borders Burma and Vietnam. It was a drugs area. I've been there and there's not a lot to it.

I did a tour of Thailand a few years ago.

Bangkok is worth visiting for the amazing palaces and temples. Have a ride in a Tuk Tuk and visit the red light district - it's quite fun really and safe. There's some great open air markets.

Chang Mai is also good for markets but I wouldn't stay more than a day really.

There's the old ancient capital of Ayutiya (probably spelt wrong) which is an area of ruins and buddahs. Good photo opportunities. It's also not far from the floating markets which should not be missed. You get in a canoe/gondola which is paddled around for you to different markets on a river and you buy from traders - local handicrafts, wooden vases - plenty of haggling to be had.

I didn't go to Phuket so can't comment. Avoid Pattaya - it's full of US marines and prostitutes.

I would love to go to Phuket!!! We wanted to go but booked jamaica instead. I think Phuket looks lovely.

a friend of a friend of mine has just come back and said she wished she'd have saved the money and gone to benidorm instead cos its not much different. think she wanted a bit of culture and it turned out to be very touristy. can't remember where she went but i'm sure it was phuket! so that didnt help you much i guess but thought id say it anyway lol sorry x

i wanted to go but said phuket & went to blackpool instead

the Thai Golden Triangle - which is what the OP is referring to - is quite a busy tourist spot these days is where the borders of three countries meet - Burma/Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. Close by is China and it is possible to sail up the Mekong to go to China from here. The Golden Triangle of such notorious infamy as an opium producing spot is a far larger area, encompassing parts of China and Vietnam too.

I've been and it's not an especially inspiring spot. The hour long drive down to the Chiang Kong border crossing with Laos is beautiful though, one of my very favourites in Thailand.

but I wouldn't have thought the Golden Triangle was a particular inspiring choice for a honeymoon. I'd suggest the hill town of Mae Hong Son if you want to mix up mountains with beaches. You can fly up there direct with PB Air from Bangkok or else go with Thai Airways from Chiang Mai very cheaply - less than twenty quid. The alternative is a seven hour bus ride from Chiang Mai, beautiful scenery, but too much bother really.

Avoid Pattaya - it's full of US marines and prostitutes.

there's hardly any US personnel in Pattaya these days. Sometimes a boat comes in to the nearby deep water port of Sahattip and is greeted at the dock by dozens if not hundreds of Isan prostitutes looking to make a killing (just like foreign ships are met by whores in Singapore and Hong Kong) but it's not like it was 30 years ago. Same with the Philippines. The massive Clark air base and Subic Bay bases closed down years ago. The US have scaled down their prescence in SE Asia compared to a generation ago.

these days most white sex tourists in Pattaya tend to be British, German, Scandinavian, and increasingly Russian.

but as in tourists in general in Thailand, by far the highest number come from other countries in Asia. White tourists often don't tend to notice this, I think because they just mistake most of the large number of Chinese and HK tourists for Thai.

don't bother with a package. It's easy to sort out your own flights, you can easily book your flights online and make reservations for your hotels, too.

if you have two weeks, I'd suggest a nice comfortable hotel in Phuket - go there straight away with budget airline Air Asia - then you can fly (quite expensively) straight up to Chiang Mai from Phuket with Bangkok Airways, thereby avoiding going back to Bangkok and wasting time unnecessarily. A couple days there, then head to Mae Hong Son, a lovely rustic small town set in beautiful scenery, and with many walking tours to do.

then fly back to Bangkok for your last two or three nights. Any more specific questions, just ask. I know Thailand and how to get around it very well.

I would recommend Thailand, bangkok has to be seen , but not for too long, stay somewhere nice and see if you can hire a guide to take you round the temples Chang mai , was as stated in a previous comment good for market, we bought silver jewellery (http://http://www.point925jewellery.co.uk/pg910/News-Features.html)there, an interesting town with a hill temple.but not a lot to do, some nice restaurants along the river.
We then had time on Koh Samui, Chang mai, pleaseant not too busy, really nice beach about a miles stroll up the coast. deserted, quiet , nighttime, head to the beach, they scatter cushions on the sand, light candles and serve drinks, Also nearby full moon party once a month - well worth it. Really rated the holiday, and not full of lager morons.:cool:

i went last year and i certainly wouldn;t book a package tour there, i would do 3 days max in bangkok- you can do all the major sights in that time, then head to one of the islands- ko samui would probably be the best one if your on a honeymoon- its less developed than phucket (which is like any major holiday place in spain really), i would try to get upto chang mai OR - get across the border to laos- i loved it there- vientiene is a really nice capital city and really chilled- you can have 2 days there easily :D

there's hardly any US personnel in Pattaya these days. Sometimes a boat comes in to the nearby deep water port of Sahattip and is greeted at the dock by dozens if not hundreds of Isan prostitutes looking to make a killing (just like foreign ships are met by whores in Singapore and Hong Kong) but it's not like it was 30 years ago. Same with the Philippines. The massive Clark air base and Subic Bay bases closed down years ago. The US have scaled down their prescence in SE Asia compared to a generation ago.

these days most white sex tourists in Pattaya tend to be British, German, Scandinavian, and increasingly Russian.



It's about five years since I was in Pattaya and there were loads of marines there then. The only Brits that were there were the tour party which I went with. Nevertheless it is a haven for open prostitution and lady boys. You could buy erotic CDs from stalls set up on the pavements. A really seedy town which I'd not want to return to.

Hi,

Just wanted some advice, I am wanting to plan my honeymoon to Thailand and just wondered if anyone has been and where they would recommend to go, neither of us have been before. I have been recommended the Golden Triangle which includes 4 nights in Bangkok, 3 nights in Chang Mai and 7 nights in Phuket. Any other suggestions/recommendations would be much appreciated.

Thanks x

we went this xmas & new year, went to singapore for 2 night then Phuket, best hoilday we've ever had. ogint again this year,
Bangkok - Landmark Hotel Koh Samui - Centara Grand Beach Resort, really cant wait, Koh Samui my mates went a few years ago and they said it's better than Phuket so really looking forward to it, hope you have a great time!!! :D

+You could buy erotic CDs from stalls set up on the pavements.+

sex toys and pornography, like gambling, are illegal in Thailand. They are far more easily available in Sheffield than Pattaya. Not saying they are impossible to buy in Thailand, but you certainly don't see them everywhere, and not all that often at street stalls.

The prostitution does offend some, but every human settlement in the entire country - right down to the tiniest village - has a brothel. The market to tourists only represents a tiny fraction of the total trade, though it is of course that which is most visible to foreign visitors. Foreign visitors on packages seldom visit the classic Thai 'fishbowls' - entertainment complexes with rooms with two way mirrors behind which sit dozens and in some cases hundreds of girls with numbers stuck to their dresses which the Thai men scribble down on a piece of paper, and hand in to the desk. Very rarely do you see a white face in any of those.

I was in Pattaya and Chonburi province 2 weeks ago for the umpeenth time. There's loads of Brits in Pattaya. Loads, and I'm talking residents, not just tourists. Loads in Samui and Phuket as well. The #1 white visitors to Thailand are British (it used to Germany in the 1980s ; Britain became #1 sometime in the mid-1990s).

there's still a slight US military prescence in Thailand but very little compared to days gone by, when Thailand repaid the debt they incurred to the United States by declaring war on it (and Britain) on 25 January, 1942, in the Vietnam war era by allowing their country to become a huge American base.

it is for this reason that even tiny, tiny towns in the NE region of Thailand have working airports today. They used to be USAF bases.

Hi,

Just wanted some advice, I am wanting to plan my honeymoon to Thailand and just wondered if anyone has been and where they would recommend to go, neither of us have been before. I have been recommended the Golden Triangle which includes 4 nights in Bangkok, 3 nights in Chang Mai and 7 nights in Phuket. Any other suggestions/recommendations would be much appreciated.

Thanks x

It depends what you want to do but I can hazard a guess if it's your honeymoon ;)

In my opinion you can't go wrong with Phuket, when I went about 4 years ago it was paradise. I stayed in my own "house" that had it's own chef and maid to tend to my needs as well as a private beach and it cost me the equivilent of about £10 a night. Complete luxury for peanuts. I'll definately be going again once I finish uni.

-Michael

Perhaps not a good idea to go in the near future given the political instability. We have been to Thailand twice over the past three years. If I were you I would stay less time in Bangkok (given the pollution and nothing very interesting) although some may recommend it for its shopping opportunities.

We went to both Phuket and Krabi and found the beaches in Krabi to be much better. Although if you are staying in top notch resort villas in Phuket then you will enjoy the privillege of private beaches.