[Dave]

Lovelmr,

The places you mentioned that you will be visiting are quite safe and many tourists frequent them year round. The places that have had the most problems over the past few years are the four southern most provinces – which are: Yala, Pattani, Narathiwas and part of Sonkla…and even then its not like all of these provinces are unsafe.

You will find the Thai people very friendly and helpful – you can check out additional info on my Bangkok article here: http://www.davestravelcorner.com/articles/bangkok/index.htm

…and if you have other questions about what to see, travel in Thailand or anything in general about Thailand let me know.

Regards,

~ Dave

[Dave]

Layne,

If you have not found this website yet – take a look: http://www.kokood.com – it has alot of good info about Koh Kud and the beach front bungalows and or resorts.

I stayed at Nghamkho Koh Kud Resort – info here:
http://www.kokood.com/Ngamkho_Koh_Kood_Resort/index.HTM (there is a map on that page to for reference).

They have a nice small bay, very quiet – nice bungalows – there are resorts within half a mile to a mile just south of that resort that are actually on nicer beaches with better clearer water in the bays – one photo I took just south of this resort is here:




If you arrive on a weekday M-Thursday or a Sunday afternoon you probably won’t have any problem finding accomodation. When I was there people were having no problem switching hotels to different locations around the island. Since you are arriving at the tail end of the “higher season” if you arrive on a Friday or Sat you should look at making reservations as the weekends can still fill up. There are many resorts on Koh Kud – of which many offer package deals (food, hotel, snorkeling trips etc).

Do not hesitate to ask if you have more questions. I hope this helps

Regards,

Dave

[Dave]

No problem – it is very easy to send things to and from Thailand and *very* reliable. I have been sending things to Thailand from the States to a small village and to Bangkok for about 7 years and never had any problems. There are parts of Thailand – typically some rural areas that I’ve heard have had problems with mail being taken or lost – but to or from Chiang Mai or Bangkok there is absolutely no problem. If its larger than envelope size the post offices will provide (for a small fee) boxes with string you use to tie them together.

Due to another small business I have selling Thai products, I have also sent packages Internationally from Bangkok and Phuket before and never had any problems. Small post offices are all over – you shouldn’t have any problem finding a post office in any of the towns or larger cities.

You can view the Thailand Post Office website here: http://www.thailandpost.com/newweb/index_en.asp

Have an awesome trip 🙂

Regards,

~ Dave

[Dave]

Aloha – sounds like you are from Hawaii 🙂

It will be warming up pretty good in March or April anywhere in Thailand – so prepare for heat and humidity. This year we’ve been lucky as it was particularly cold in Dec and Jan and part of February – but its much warmer now at least in Bangkok.

Ko Chang is very nice, not as touristed as Samui (Samui can be really touristy) and Samet and some of the other southern Islands in the Krabi area. However, one place I highly recommend is Koh Kud or Koh Mak – near Koh Chang. These islands, especially K Kud are AWESOME!! Very FEW tourists, pristine beaches, clear water and beautiful fishing villages. I was there last month – you can rent motorbikes and drive around the islands – parts of the islands only have dirt roads or trails – typically for K Kud in the past you would need package deals. You can take snorkel trips from any of the islands – as there is a central protected dive/snorkel park that is accessed by K. Chang, Kud and Mak.

I’ve been to K. Chang several times – also a very nice island with excellent beaches – but a little more touristy.

Here are the schedules for the trains from BKK to C. Mai – http://www.chiangmai-thai.com/train_schedule.htm – with such a late night arrival you will have to take a train the next day – train station is located in BKK’s chinatown district – this is where you catch the train to Chiang Mai.

Buses from BKK to C. Mai typically leave from Bangkok’s Mor Chit bus station – Mor Chit is the last skytrain stop on the Sukhumvit Line – and Chatujak Market (big weekend market) is located in the same area. Typically buses will run until midnight, or maybe a little later.

I have alot of information about Bangkok on my Bangkok article – if you haven’t seen that yet it is here: http://www.davestravelcorner.com/articles/bangkok/ You can use the table of contents or “next” link in the upper right hand side or lower right hand side to scroll through the information.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Regards,

~ Dave
Dave’s Travel Corner

[Dave]

Let me know how long you will be in that part of the world – I am planning an extended trip for 2008 and part of 2009 and that is one part of world I have not yet been to. I was among the 7100+ islands in the Philippines recently and was very impressed by the beaches and tropical islands – from what I’ve seen of Fiji, it is just as impressive it not more so.

Regards,

~ Dave

[Dave]

You can also check out our listings of Blogs of Travel websites here: http://www.davestravelcorner.com/links/index.php?mwa=id:18

Thanks!

Regards,

~ Dave

[Dave]

Typically hotels or higher end guest houses have lock rooms in which they will store your luggage – sometimes for free depending on how long you need it – I know recently I used Suk11 (http://www.suk11.com) to keep my bags in their locked room for about 10 days, but this is just one example – as there are many hotels and guest houses in Thailand that offer this service…just ask your hotel/guesthouse if they do.

Regards,

~ Dave

[Dave]

Alex – you can defintely explore parts of Africa by yourself or with a friend. Be sure you have the appropriate visas ahead of time – as many African countries do require a visa (depending on your home country). I have been to Africa several times – always by myself and never with a tour group.

If you are always moving from place to place, the travel costs do add up in Africa. Probably $25 to $75 per day depending on how you like to travel.

Regards,

~ Dave

[Dave]

Check out our sailing links here: http://www.davestravelcorner.com/links/index.php?mwa=id:507

Also consider crewing – more links here: http://www.davestravelcorner.com/links/index.php?mwa=id:59

and if you need more info regarding sailing let me know – my brother just returned from a 6 month trip, most of which involved sailing in Europe and in Mexico.

Regards,

~ Dave

[Dave]

Hope you had a good trip to Costa Rica – as you are probably back by now. I’ve been to Costa Rica several times – and have been wowed by the friendlyness of the people. Parts of San Jose can be a little creepy esp at night – but most areas in Costa Rica are pretty safe. Compared to the other Central American countries Costa Rica is more middle class and on a whole there is less poverty.

Great beaches, rain and cloudforests, volcanoes (Arenal), and National Parks – also be sure to check out the excellent gold museum in San Jose (Museo de Oro) http://www.museosdelbancocentral.org/inicio_eng.html

I also enjoyed my time at the Monteverde Cloud Forest and went on many hikes. I even saw the colorful Quetzal.

Regards,

~ Dave

[Author]

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