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Hello everyone, I'm thinking of travelling to Thailand next year... I've been there 4x in the past but didn't have much impression cos I didn't plan for those trips... first one was a visit to some missionaries in Chiangrai, second one was a work trip to Nongkhai, third one was family trip to Phuket, and fourth and last trip was SAF exercise... wah haha... Thinking of taking my family there next year... got a few questions which I hope those who travel often to Thailand can help answer... 1. When is the best time to travel to Thailand? Jun or Dec? Reading online tells me that Jun is hot and humid and wet, while Dec is dry and cool. But Dec is peak travel season while Jun is down period. 2. Looking through the web, I was thinking of doing the trip this way: Singapore -> Phuket (beach) -> Bangkok (city) -> Chiangmai (highlands) -> Singapore. I'm basically plotting to go from South to North. A few related questions to such an itinerary: a. I know I can fly from Singapore to Phuket direct, and from Chiangrai back to Singapore direct. What about within Thailand - Would flying domestic flights from place to place be the only possibility? Is it drivable? I could rent a car in Phuket and drive? Does it make sense to drive to Bangkok? Or can take train? Or is bus the only public transport option besides flying? Which airlines should I consider if I fly? Which car rental company should I use if I self-drive? Which bus transport company should I use if I bus? And rail? b. How many days should I spend at each place? I was thinking of 3-5 days each... so that would make my trip 17-18 days if I spend 5 days at each place. Enough to do for 5 days at each place? Not interested in temples, prefer nature, markets, gardens, and places of interest that are highlights of each place. 3. I am totally lost when it comes to where I should base myself in each of the 3 places. Any suggestions are welcomed! For background: a. For Bangok, I have stayed there 2x, first time was Siam Square Novotel (but that hotel must be quite ancient now) and so I know it's like close to the mega malls, MBK, and second time at Pratunum (but I can't remember what was the hotel name and I didn't really see the place). Back then there was no MRT or underground or any such thing. I'm sure Bangkok has transformed since I last was there. And in any case, I was there only for 1 night or so as a transit. b. For Phuket, I remember staying at Club Andaman. It's no longer around. But I believe it was along Patong Beach. I was just reading on Tripadvisor from a German tourist that the traffic jams in Phuket (particularly along Patong Beach and to/from airport) are horrendous, plus Phuket is filled with lots of PRCs, Russians, and Indians which makes it very unplesant. What's your experience. The last time i was there I remember taking a car around visiting Kata & Karon beach on my last day and finding all of them very quiet and deserted. c. Never been to Chiangmai. 4. What do you consider as the must-sees in each of these 3 places? 5. Some caveats: a. No water activities. My wife refuses to get onto a ferry. So visiting Phi Phi or Koh Samui is out of question. We stick to Phuket strictly. b. I got 2 little kids. I need to bring travel strollers along like my last trip to Japan. c. Child-friendly activities would be very helpful. d. No massages & questionable activities. e. I'm on a tight budget... heh heh... Thank you very much!

I'm thinking of bringing my parents and kids (total 6 of us) for a short vacation in Dec. My parents are in their early/mid 80s, and my mother can only walk very slowly, and not too long distance. They are also scared of cold, so we're thinking of going to one of the Indochina countries, for maybe 3-5 days. (After we come back, we'll likely go for another trip maybe a week or so, to Korea, but without my parents, who cannot tahan the cold...) I'm not familiar with any of these countries, so am hoping that anyone here who is, can provide some advice on which of Bangkok, Cambodia, Vietnam is nice and easy to go around? Kids are in S2 and S4, so have outgrown the theme park stage. I know it's not easy for their interests to match nicely with the grandparents, but they're quite close, so should be able to accommodate/compromise a bit. Any advice or suggestion is welcomed - as i'm just starting to read up and find out on this. Thanks.

Hi all Just wondering if anyone had driven from SG to Bangkok before? According to Google Maps, it can be done and the distance is approx. 1850km. I know logistically and financially it is really dumb and waste of time to do so as a flight to Bangkok is only 2 hrs from SG. and budget airlines $$ are cheap. But I just thought the trill of actually driving to Bangkok from SG, and that you are the only SG plate car driving around the big traffic jam city of the world, the feeling would be great haha. I just wonder if there's any potential issues when crossing from Malaysia to Thailand borders. Is our insurance covered in Thailand? And I assume there's no problem using their fuel... Most of their cars uses E20 gas, meaning there's 20% Ethanol mixed into the gasoline. Their max grade gasoline is at 95 octane only. Their regular at 91. I have a close friend in Bangkok but she has no idea if the idea is workable or not... TIA

I have been planning this road trip for a couple of months already. Read through the various blogs of ppl who have done the same road trip. Also find out what is the current procedure to cross the Thai border at Sadao. Booked the hotels, printed and filled the necessary forms to cross into Thailand by car. Arranged with my brother to come along with me for the drive up to Bangkok, then he flies home from Bangkok. My wife will fly into Bangkok and join me on the trip back to Singapore. So its basically chiong all the way up and take the scenic route back while enjoying the drive. SG -> Hatyai -> Surat Thani -> Hua Hin -> BKK -> Hua Hin -> Surat Thani -> Hatyai -> Ipoh -> KL -> SG The day before the set off, filled the car to the brim and took photo of my odometer as this is going to be a very long road trip. 6th July 2019 (Saturday) Kiss and hug my wife goodbye and set off at 4am to pickup my brother. I didn’t want to set off so early but my brother wana avoid the causeway jam. There were indeed no jams at all and we are into NSHW. I took the first drive. Stopped over at Pagoh Reststop for pee and topped up TNG card. We switched drivers, my brother took over the drive. Next stop was Tapah Reststop as the sun begin to rise. Fuel the car to the brim and I drove now. Our initial plan was to stop at Alor Setar and enter Thailand the next day. But since we are so early, might as well try to enter it the same day. By 1pm, we arrived at Changlun town. It is the last town in MY before reaching the border. It is only 10km to the border. We went to the Petronas station for fuel and to get our 3rd party Thai insurance and white card. Then drove further ahead to a coffeeshop for lunch, our first meal of the day. We had bak kut the and was pretty disappointed as there is no pork ribs. Owner said the ppl here are stingy and not willing to pay so cannot cook pork rib. So funny. Anyway, just fill the tummy and move on. Arriving at Bukit Kayu Hitam, MY side is a new custom and immigration building. No tolls/road charge/VEP to be paid. Just stamp passport and we are off, same as SG/MY crossing. However as we exited the building, we are stuck in the jam already. Traffic has built up from the Thai side till MY custom. Inching forward every few 5-10mins, it was painful. When we were near the Thai immigration checkpoint, the police ask my brother, the passenger to alight and go through the normal walk-in immigration. He did the same for cars around me, asking passengers to alight. When I was just four cars away from the counter, I messaged my brother to check where he is in the human queue. Alamak, he still queuing at the outside of the building, not yet even enter it. So I did what everyone in front of me did, I called my brother to come over to my car and we will clear immigration together. The process is very weird. You drive up to the counter, everyone alights from the vehicle and stand in front of the counter to clear immigration. The immigration officer don’t care how many ppl in the vehicle, he will just process your documents. So thatz what everyone did, calling their passengers to join them at the counter. The human queuing also has those tour buses passenger so would take longer time. After having my passport stamped, I proceeded to the counter in the next building to “import” my car into Thailand. There was no queue at all here. I walked up and let the officer process the documents. He printed out the importation form and told me to let officer sign and remember to return it once I exited Thailand. As I begin to walk away, the officer shouted at me to come back. He kept saying let officer sign and point to his back, the other guy seating behind him. I tot I was to drive the car up and there is an officer at the gate to sign it. So I handed the form to the officer to sign and he also reminded me to return the form upon leaving Thailand, otherwise 10,000 baht fine. By then, there was a guy walking to me and told me that my car has breakdown as my brother was unable to start the car. Therefore there was a jam at my lane. Oops, went back and saw my brother trying to start the car to no avail. Then spare remote I passed to him got no more battery juice and he don’t know how to start it manually. Faster start and drove off!!! Took us a total of 2 hours to clear this Thai immigration. Woohooo, we are in Thailand. As we were stuck in the jam, I quickly made an online booking with The Regency at Hatyai for the night. We gave up our hotel in Alor Setar and went straight into Hatyai. Hatyai is 50km away from Sadao border, the drive there was smooth. Not much traffic jams. Using Waze to guide us there. The Regency has underground private carpark and it is in the night street stalls area, just opposite Lee Gardens Plaza hotel. Very well known area. The hotel room was dated, like in the 80’s feel. We rested in the hotel room till dinner time and proceeded to take a tuk tuk to Greenway market for dinner. After that we came back to the hotel area and walked the street stalls. Then we rest for the night. Makan photo here : https://www.mycarforum.com/topic/2711591-makan-in-thailand/?p=6711758

Up to 600 Thai vendors when Bangkok's Chatuchak market comes to Bukit Timah If you’re a frequent visitor to Bangkok who can’t get enough of its famous markets, especially Chatuchak, you’ll be happy to know that we’ll be getting a version of it in Singapore next year – albeit for a limited period. Chatuchak Night Market Singapore will take place from Feb 4 to May 3, 2020, at The Grandstand on Turf Club Road in Bukit Timah. The market will open Tuesdays to Sundays from 4pm to 10.30pm. The 40,000 sq ft space can hold up to 272 stalls that will provide F&B; retail such as handicrafts, fashion, home décor and antiques; as well as services from a mix of Thai and local vendors. According to Imran Mohamad, who is part of the organising team, 30 to 50 Thai vendors will be brought in every week on rotation to make up the 600 from the country that will be selling their wares throughout the duration of the market. One such vendor is Rooftop Barbers Studio, a certified master barber who will be providing artisan gentlemen haircuts. There will also be several hundred seats for visitors who want to enjoy the street food and drinks on the premises. Visitors will enjoy free parking and free shuttle services from locations in Clementi, Toa Payoh and Sixth Avenue to the market. This is the first time that Chatuchak market’s brand will appear outside of Thailand. The local version is the brainchild of Keith Tay, founder and director Chatuchak SG, who used to run a boat noodle business in Singapore. Another famous Thai market export has already hit our shores; Artbox recently held its third iteration in Singapore in mid-November with over 300 regional and local curated entertainment acts, retailers and artworks by visual and expressive artists.

BANGKOK (BLOOMBERG) - Thailand, already facing its worst coronavirus outbreak since the start of the pandemic, is considering cutting its prison population by as much as 16 per cent to counter the rapid spread of infections among inmates and workers in overcrowded facilities. More than 10,000 new Covid-19 cases have been reported in about a dozen densely packed Thai prisons. These latest clusters have pushed the country's daily case count to record highs twice in the past week, including on Monday (May 17) when more than two-thirds of the 9,635 infections were reported in prisons, official data showed. The outbreak in the correctional system reflects conditions in many parts of metropolitan Bangkok, where infections have spread quickly in dense slums, crowded construction sites and even a government-housing complex. The slow rate of vaccinations has added to the challenge facing the authorities. "If we can't get enough vaccines or if we can't contain the spread quickly, we'll have to think about reducing the number of inmates in the system through early release," according to Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin. "They're already incarcerated. They shouldn't have to suffer more than that." With about 311,000 inmates, Thai prisons are running at 5 per cent above official capacity. More than 80 per cent of those incarcerated face charges for narcotics violations. The Justice Ministry is looking at a special early-release programme for about 50,000 inmates, that could include the use of electronic-monitoring systems and adjustment of criteria. However, Mr Somsak said that the ministry's current priority is to administer vaccines to inmates and correctional officers to cut infections. In the longer term, Thailand's drug laws will be changed to allow shorter jail sentences for minor offences and to focus more on rehabilitation, which will reduce overcrowding and costs, he said. if anyone recall the news a few years ago... thailands prison conditions damn atrocious 2019 jail conditions....................... if the 2021 jail condition is not any better then........................................ https://mothership.sg/2019/12/thailand-prison-video-leak/

A fire broke out at Thailand's famous Chatuchak weekend market on Sunday (June 2) night, resulting in two injuries and damage to 200 shops. The fire, which started near Gate 1 of the market, was reported at around 9.15pm, and the blaze was brought under control by firefighters around one hour later, according to the Bangkok Post. About 20 fire trucks were deployed to the scene in Chatuchak district, The Nation reported. Witnesses said they saw flames and heard sporadic explosions. According to the market's website, Gate No. 1 is located near sections of the market that sell mostly books and collectibles, as well as food shops and cafes.

Diners at a vegetarian eatery in Bangkok were shocked to find minced meat in their noodles, so they made a report to local authorities. What the authorities discovered during an inspection, however, was far more grisly. The extra ingredient was human flesh instead of minced pork or beef. When the police rushed to the deserted eatery, they found its kitchen walls splattered with blood and its floor covered by pieces of human flesh. A further check of the premises revealed that the body of a 61-year-old man was dumped in a septic tank. The disfigured victim was identified as Prasit Inpathom, a frequent patron of the eatery who was last seen having drinks there on Oct 21. According to reports, Prasit sustained grave injuries from a fight with the eatery's boss. He was hit in the head with a blunt object and had multiple knife wounds on his body. Preliminary investigations revealed that the eatery's boss had attempted to dispose of the body by cooking and serving it to customers. Police are now on the hunt for the suspect. ** some photos at the link ... RA **

I am not sure whether this has been brought up before. Kindly advise any place in Thailand (Bangkok) to shop for car accessories.

hi guys i believe those of you who been to BKK must have seen similar advertisements below: http://www.narry.com/index.php?option=com_...1&Itemid=14 GENTS (3 suits) Latest & finest imported wool, silk, linen 2 Suits (cashmere, gaberdine, merino & mohair wool) 2 Shirts (egyptian pinpoint, oxford cottons, thai silk) 1 Summer Suit (linen, cotton, lightwool) 2 Silk Ties 1 Silk Kimono Double Side 2 Leather Belts Wonder if any of you tried this before, or have any good one (with Shop name and address) to recommend? Thanks and have a good day!

A bomb exploded outside a religious shrine in central Bangkok late on Monday, killing at least two people and wounding scores more, according to an AFP reporter at the scene. Body parts were scattered across the street after the bomb went off outside the Erawan Shrine in the downtown Chidlom district of the Thai capital. "I can confirm it was a bomb, we can't tell which kind yet, we are checking," national police spokesman Lietenant General Prawut Thavornsiri told AFP. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11807583/Explosion-rocks-Bangkok-close-to-Erawan-shrine-with-reports-of-casualties-live.html Update: A bomb blast in a busy tourist area of Bangkok has left 12 dead, injuring at least 20. The blast took place just after 7pm local time, with emergency services racing to the scene. Images shared on social media have shown destruction of the surrounding area, and bodies lying dead in the street. The explosion, in the Rachaprasong intersection of central Bangkok, was confirmed by local police to be set off by a bomb. Eyewitnesses say that bodies in the streets are being covered with white sheets as police investigate the area.

Hi guys, First time trying to rent a car in Bangkok Anything to look out for and which are the more reliable rental agents What is the total deposit required and additional charges? E.g. how much is their insurance with 0 excess And I read just produce our Singapore driving licence will do I check for 5 days 4 nights at Hertz is less than sgd $200 for yaris equivalent . Likely moving only around bangkok, yes I know mrt is easier but intend to try out driving a car in bangkok

Singaporeans going to Bangkok, take note. According to one Singaporean who travelled to the wildly-popular Thai city recently in May 2018, a new kind of scam is allegedly going on at the airport there. This is copied from the Facebook User’s post: I don’t usually write such long posts on Facebook but the terrible experience at Suvarnabhumi Airport during my recent trip over the weekend has prompted me to do so. What I want to achieve is to raise awareness and to prevent more people from being caught in the same situation. I was travelling with 13 other Singaporeans and we landed in Bangkok around 9.40am on 18th May. Everything seemed fine, as per my previous trips to Bangkok – we went through customs, collected our luggage from the baggage claim area, and then proceeded to walk through ‘nothing to declare’. When we were about to exit the airport to head over to our AOT transport (to be clear, we were already out of transit area, about to exit the airport, so that’s where the public is free to walk around), we got stopped by Thai officers, and they asked me “how many of you?” and I replied “14”. I saw the change in expression followed by “oh, can you follow me to office?” With nothing to hide, we followed them to the Excise Department office. They told us they were going to search our luggage. Again, with nothing to hide, we agreed. Some of us came out relatively quickly but we soon realised 2-3 of us were asked to stay in the office with their passports confiscated. Background info: 14 of us walked out together in a group, carrying 6 bottles of Balvenie 16 which we got from Changi Airport Duty Free. Each bottle was packed individually in sealed bags to be carried on board the plane, and each bottle came with an individual receipt. However, 3 of such sealed bags were placed in 1 plastic bag, which meant 2 of us were carrying the 2 plastic bags (containing 3 sealed bags each). So, we are all aware that the alcohol allowance for hard liquor to be brought into Bangkok is 1L per pax. Were we well within our alcohol limit/allowance? You would think so, but NO. They told us we could be charged with tax evasion because only 2 people were carrying the alcohol (even though all of us said we were travelling as a group of 14), and that we LITERALLY were allowed to only CARRY 1 per person. They wanted to fine us up to THB 75,000 (~SGD3,160) BUT we were told they will lower the fine to THB49,000 (~SGD2,065) IF we paid IMMEDIATELY. Note: CASH ONLY, no cards allowed – they told us to get cash from our credit cards OR change our SGD and told us where the ATMs and money changers were. They even threatened to take all of us to the police station if we do not agree to pay the fine. Allow me to emphasize one more time – 14 of us bought 6 bottles of hard liquor. We managed to get them to lower the fine to THB 33,000 (~SGD1,390), not that I’m complaining we got a lower fine but isn’t it weird they could adjust the fine amount? We eventually paid the fine because we were in a foreign country afterall and it was extremely difficult to reason with them when they were threatening ‘jail’ in no time. They were definitely rushing us to pay up. Despite paying the fine, they only returned 2 bottles (out of 6) to us. We also realise that one of the officers was ‘stationed’ at the baggage claim area while we were there and was probably eyeing us the entire time but waited till we have gone through customs before stopping us. To highlight, the officer eyeing us at the baggage claim area eventually ended up at the airport exit, SUSPICIOUS MUCH??? That officer’s area of duty comprise of both INSIDE and OUTSIDE, and they could switch their duties as and when? While we were stuck there (the longest 90mins ever…), we saw a number of people being escorted to the Excise Department office too, comprising of a group of 10 (bringing in 8 bottles which is still within the allowance!!!), a couple (well, apparently it is not okay for the guy to carry the bottle on behalf of his girlfriend/wife), and another smaller group before us. Think about the amount of THB collected over that 90mins. By the way, there was a man from the Taiwan embassy who came up to me 20mins into this incident, asking me if I was Taiwanese. Apparently he snapped a few photos of us standing OUTSIDE the Excise Department office and perhaps he was going to help us if we were Taiwanese. However, he got called out by the Thai officers and they demanded him to delete the photos he took in a PUBLIC SPACE. They even took down his details and demanded to take a photo of his pass. After the episode, we found out from some of our (Thai/Singaporean) friends that they do this to both locals and tourists, that the officers in the airport will go out of the way to find reasons (even the 200 cig allowance) to justify the fines they impose on you. In my opinion, it was absolutely unfair. To my surprise, nothing came up when I tried searching on google for people with similar experiences, which means many people out there could still be unaware since we can’t be the first.

Full report coming up soon.

Any good tailors to recommend my colleagues are asking me to go to romeo and juliet tailor quite near to baiyoke sky prices ard 40 per shirt how does this compare to pinky tailor i heard pinky is good but more expensive intend to make around 15 shirts and 4 pants so savings can be quite big if i find the right tailor who has good quality and reasonable prices. thanks all in advance for contributing.

Hi, I intend to bring my extended family for 1 week bangkok stay during june holidays. Anyone know of a good place (apartment will be ideal) for 1 week stay for 8 people (5 adults, 3 children). 2 to 3 bedrooms near skytrain will be ideal. thanks.

Any bros got ghost story to share about Berkeley Pratunam Hotel? I'm going to stay there next week, so I hope to know which room to avoid. So far, i googled, only advise I've got was to avoid level 13.

now got thai airways promotion deals, booking nowwww Source: http://www.../explore-thailand/thai-airways-promotion-deals-fly-mastercard-thailand-songkran-2017/

So what's the backstory on this hotel? Initially read/heard it was the hotel with a big fire, but after digging, found out the hotel with fire wasn't Asia at all, but a nearby one called FIRST Hotel, which is still there today. It seems lots of ppl mistake the First hotel's fire for Asia Hotel. Link to First Hotel fire story: First Hotel Bangkok Hauntings So anyone with any backstory to why Asia is so creepy? map of Asia / First: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=first+hotel+...mp;t=m&z=17

Video catches grenade exploding in Bangkok as riot police try to kick it away http://youtu.be/JC21FhYgP9s

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Tata-Motors-managing-director-Karl-Slym-falls-off-Bangkok-hotel-dies/articleshow/29426972.cms Tata Motors managing director Karl Slym falls off Bangkok hotel, dies TNN & Agencies | Jan 27, 2014, 12.25AM IST NEW DELHI/BANGKOK: Tata Motors managing director Karl Slym died on Sunday after apparently falling from a high floor of a five-star hotel in Bangkok. Slym, who was scripting a revival strategy for the company, had gone to Thailand to attend a board meeting of the firm's unit there. A company spokesperson said a postmortem would be carried out on Monday. Details about the accident were sketchy. Bloomberg quoted a company spokeswoman as saying that he fell from the city's Shangri-La hotel, where he was staying, Slym, 51, a British national, was known to be an affable and highly-focused manager. He was the head of GM's India operations before joining Tata Motors in October 2012. He was the first expatriate and the fourth managing director of the $100 billion Tata Group's flagship company, Tata Motors. "Karl (Slym) joined us in October 2012, and was a valued colleague who was providing strong leadership at a challenging time for the Indian auto industry. In this hour of grief, our thoughts are with Karl's wife and family," Tata Motors chairman Cyrus P Mistry said in a statement. Tata Motors has been going through a rough patch particularly as buyers shunned the low-cost Nano after its spectacular debut in March 2009. It's other cars such as the Indica and Indigo too have struggled in a market hit by the economic slowdown. As part of a restructuring exercise Slym last week had announced a voluntary retirement scheme to trim costs. Slym, who had a Master of Science in Business Administration from Stanford University, was not new to challenges. Between 2007 and 2011, he had steered GM India through very tough times. Hit hard by the global economic slump after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, GM had gone bankrupt in the US, denting consumer confidence even in India. He soon came out with an answer to instil confidence among buyers, unleashing the 'Chevy promise' campaign, where he appeared in ads with his hand over the heart, promising to offer free maintenance and service for all GM cars for three years after payment of a nominal amount. The scheme worked for GM India. Although, Slym left for China, his stint at GM India had come under scrutiny a few months ago after the government ordered an enquiry over the recall of Tavera. Slym returned to India within a year, but joined Tata Motors. In an interview with TOI last Wednesday he exuded confidence and said the company may be down, but not out. In what was perhaps his last media interview, Slym also told TOI that he was confident that the Nano would bounce back in a modern and young avatar, and had detailed plans for new launches. "We are confident of regaining our second-biggest Indian carmaker position as we move ahead with new plans," he had said. Besides work, Slym loved cricket. He was upset of not getting a Mumbai Indians T-shirt of his size ahead of the 2013 IPL final match. "His death comes at a time when the company seems to be close to turning the corner, with new designs and a new petrol engine family, which hasn't been Tata's strong point," Anil Sharma, an analyst with IHS Automotive was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. Tata Motors recently introduced a new petrol engine for its passenger vehicles and has been planning to launch a new hatchback and compact sedan this year, its first new branded passenger vehicles since 2010. "It (his death) comes before his efforts bear fruit. We should be able to see the results of his work in a year or two," Sharma said.

As above, where can i find places that sell car accessory in bkk? thanks in advance. Preferably in sukhumvit area

This what sign ah? Me noob le

Hi all, I'm heading to Bangkok at the end of August. The company who was suppose to settle my accommodation backed out last min so just need some recommendations. I've stayed at Asia Hotel and i love the location, but i went to their site and its like $82sgd a nite! is there anywhere else i can make a bookin for this hotel cheaper or anyone can recommend a hotel in the same location? appreciate the help guys Cheers! Russ

Hi guys, I want to know if there is any travel agency to book cheap air tickets to bangkok