My GF and I are from the U.S. (not MAGA)… going at the End of April. Doing an expedition tour, but, definitely plan to explore some on our own, especially getting local food/street food.
Advice?
If some strange dude called Daffy gives you a map to a remote beach, don’t go.
Almost nobody will get this
My name isn’t Richard 😉
Appropriately placed hyphens can be useful. At first glance I read this as “…first time-traveler to Phuket,” and thought it was some sort of joke from a Doctor Who fan, or similar.
Good advice on the title anyway. I made an edit.
I spent 9 days in Thailand back in 2015 with a group of friends, so things have likely changed some. Part of our trip was to Ao Nang, same region as Phuket but way less touristy. A few things we learned:
- The tap water is perfectly safe to drink everywhere you go. Thailand has great infrastructure.
- Thailand was never historically colonized by white people, and as a result, they don’t have a lot of cultural suspicion and awful historical events associated with white people. Everyone we interacted with was genuinely welcoming and wanted to practice their English.
- There are a lot of scammers, pickpockets, etc in Bangkok. Get a money belt.
- No, you really don’t want to go to the snake show or ping pong show. At best, you’ll see some gnarly things. You may also get robbed. We listened to the advice of the tour guide we hired for exploring Bangkok and stayed away.
- When and where to haggle prices. Established stores, food carts, restaurants, etc generally do not haggle. At merchant stalls on the street, haggling is expected, and it can be insulting if you don’t attempt it. Most merchants had a calculator on hand, so language barriers weren’t an issue. They typed their asking price, you shook your head and countered with about 50-60%, then you generally settled on their counter of 75% of asking. It was a fun ritual to go through, and left both parties to the deal happy.
- The cats and dogs everywhere are cute but also riddled with parasites. Be wary.
- The best pad Thai I ever ate cost about 2 USD and was made by a woman and her young daughter in a tent on the side of the street.
I look back very fondly on the trip I took with my friends and all of the wonderful things and people we met throughout Thailand. I hope you have a great time!
Hey, thank you so much. We aren’t doing anything in Bangkok.
Unfortunately, we’ve decided to postpone for another time. We’ve been advised that the Iran war has really interfered with things in Thailand and even our flights were no longer guaranteed.
We’ll definitely try to visit in the future. (If there is one).
Ah dang, hopefully you have the opportunity to go in the future! Stay safe out there
Ty. Also, be safe.
They have a taxi cartel who have artificially inflated the cost of taxis so if you find one who doesn’t rip you off get his phone number and call him every time. Ask your hotel if they know a guy.
You can get a local SIM for your phone at the airport.
Ty. My phone has ESIM.
My advice? Buy a one-way ticket.
Well, yes, I certainly would like to move to be near my extended family in Norway.
However, my GF has 3 young adult daughters that she would never leave behind. None of them are going to leave the U.S.
TIL Thailand is near Norway :P
Ha, yeah, both tropical, right?
I certainly would move to Norway if things evolve and it becomes an option.
I hope you make it through all the fascism. Take care!
Thx
