Any safety tips on backpacking to Thailand?

[henavs]

Seeking advice from experienced backpackers...

Planning for a 10 days or more backpacking/photography trip to Thailand by end of next mth with a couple of frens...Will bring DSLR with just 1 wide angle, 1 prime, mini tripod...

I heard some negative things about the safety of such trips... :sweat:
Any one care to share some tips on how to travel safely, especially those who had been on photography trips?

Thx

 

[jonlou]

hope u're not going to the southern part of thailand.... or anywhere near there... i think the violence there is still on-going.....

 

[AReality]

Which part of thailand u plan to go ?

 

[henavs]

hope u're not going to the southern part of thailand.... or anywhere near there... i think the violence there is still on-going.....

uhm...is it near the border there :sweat:

 

[henavs]

Which part of thailand u plan to go ?

The proposed route is Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son & kanchanaburi...

 

[ParkertR]

that sounds good~ btw, i live in Saraburi, Thailand.. im singaporean, studying theology here and taking pictures hehe~

bangkok shouldnt be a problem... was just there last weekend. You can stay at the "white lodge" its cheap... or you can go down to khao san road... they've got cheap lodges there with a no prostitution rule so u'll b free frm nagging pimps.

Ayutthaya... nice place for shots man~ recommend going either in early morning or late evening. u'll have to pay to enter ruins but most people just walk in anyway haha~ if you have a conscience, PAY alright...

Chiang Mai.. don't forget the Night Bazzaar there!!! Good for pictures and also shopping. Just bargain!!!

Mae Hong Son... been there but can't remember what i did there... haha was on the way to chiang mai.

Kanchanaburi... u might wanna go river kwai from bangkok.... it's quite far from Mae Hong son u know? :S well, just my 2 cents worth.

The food (roadside) is nice and edible. u shouldnt get a bad stomach... just make sure u eat COOKED food.

Khao Pat Gai -- Fried Rice with Chicken is not bad~ u should try it. should cost 20 Baht.

gd luck with ur trip!

 

[Ah_Seng]

Well, one thing I don't do is reading your map in the open.

It invites trouble becos you are telling everyone, you are kind of dis-oriented..

Hope it helps...

 

[reachme2003]

The proposed route is Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son & kanchanaburi...

i do not know thailand like the back of my palm, but mae hong son and kanchanaburi is like long way from each other. correct me if i am wrong with my geographic thailand.

 

[AReality]

Went chiang mai last yr. Places that you should NOT go.

Doi Inthanon - Thailand's Highest peak
Hot Spring - Somewhere east of Chiang Mai City.

 

[henavs]

that sounds good~ btw, i live in Saraburi, Thailand.. im singaporean, studying theology here and taking pictures hehe~

bangkok shouldnt be a problem... was just there last weekend. You can stay at the "white lodge" its cheap... or you can go down to khao san road... they've got cheap lodges there with a no prostitution rule so u'll b free frm nagging pimps.

Ayutthaya... nice place for shots man~ recommend going either in early morning or late evening. u'll have to pay to enter ruins but most people just walk in anyway haha~ if you have a conscience, PAY alright...

Chiang Mai.. don't forget the Night Bazzaar there!!! Good for pictures and also shopping. Just bargain!!!

Mae Hong Son... been there but can't remember what i did there... haha was on the way to chiang mai.

Kanchanaburi... u might wanna go river kwai from bangkok.... it's quite far from Mae Hong son u know? :S well, just my 2 cents worth.

The food (roadside) is nice and edible. u shouldnt get a bad stomach... just make sure u eat COOKED food.

Khao Pat Gai -- Fried Rice with Chicken is not bad~ u should try it. should cost 20 Baht.

gd luck with ur trip!

Those are excellent guides, ParkertR... :thumbsup:

Oh, thx for the food tips...Dun worry, i used to eat roadside food back in my home country, most are even beside long kang/drain somemore...
I wonder how i could survived back then...:hung:

Anyway...Thx a lot...

 

[henavs]

Well, one thing I don't do is reading your map in the open.

It invites trouble becos you are telling everyone, you are kind of dis-oriented..

Hope it helps...

Oh, crap...i always do this... In S'pore when I 1st came here...:embrass:


Thx, i'll take note of this...

 

[henavs]

i do not know thailand like the back of my palm, but mae hong son and kanchanaburi is like long way from each other. correct me if i am wrong with my geographic thailand.

Ur rite, its to the west of Bangkok...

 

[henavs]

Went chiang mai last yr. Places that you should NOT go.

Doi Inthanon - Thailand's Highest peak
Hot Spring - Somewhere east of Chiang Mai City.

Ic... is it too dangerous? or boring?

 

[King Tiger]

uhm...is it near the border there :sweat:

Watch the news just now, situation seems bad at Southern part of Thailand.

 

[Witness]

take care of ya documents and cam stuff..bring a copy of receipts....study the terraing there before goin out....

know where and when to go...

pick up basic self def ...

cheers!

 

[leadwe]

This happened many years ago when I took a backpacking trip to Thailand. When boarding overnight coaches, you should be careful of your belongings while sleeping (quite commonsensical but...), even though the coach could be just fellow backpackers. Some of my fellow travellers had their S$ and US$ stolen from their wallets with the Thai baht still intact... that's wonderful skill considering the money was stolen in total darkness during the overnight trip.

 

[Ah_Seng]

take care of ya documents and cam stuff..bring a copy of receipts....study the terraing there before goin out....

know where and when to go...

pick up basic self def ...

cheers!

Need to attend ops order or any AOP? :bigeyes:

 

[Clown]

thailand is generally safe. must safer than europe.
travel like u would travel when in malaysia.

cheers

 

[ParkertR]

i'd agree to that... been living here studying for a year now with trips on and off back home to SG. one place you might want to check out is Khao Yai National Park in Saraburi... it'll be on your way up from BKK to Chiang Mai... everyone has to pass Saraburi to go up there. I'm at Saraburi hehe~ Alright... Khao Yai is a nice place to stop on the way up... no kidding. IF ur a nature freak... you got all the nature there man... all sortsa birds, wild boars... you name it. If you have the time to go up to Chiang Rai... the mountain people there... woohoo! the houses! U should have a look at it urself. Then head on to the Thailand/Burma border there. The houses are built along the mountain side... *looks so scary... if the stilts fail... the whole house will go down the ravine that's like... REALLY DEEP*


nat

 

[henavs]

Watch the news just now, situation seems bad at Southern part of Thailand.

oh, tat's bad, bombing again...

but we'll see how it goes till end of next mth...