On this page you will find some hints and tips about holiday in Thailand.
People who saw my homepage had send me emails and it's the result of questions
I get and answers I give in the last years now.
Hotels you will find in all categories. In Phuket it's the best to book hotelrooms in your

country - or in internet - , if you like to stay on a  level like in our widths. Locally are these
hotel rooms - about off the category of 3 asterisks in the German travel catalogs - by far
more expensive and heavy to get, since by the travel enterprises occupies to a large extent.
Who does without luxury, simply to live wants, may be set into the plane  and look up
locally. Starting from a simple wood hut  everything is to be had. Who takes a simple
accommodation, should have a mosquito- net.
Who like to live without luxury,  can jump into the plane and look up locally. Starting
from a simple wood hut everything is offered. If you take a simple accommodation,
don't forget a mosquito- net.
If you will fly without transfer reservation airport - hotel to Phuket  - all the same whether
with or without hotel reservation - you should hold yourself after the customs inspection
on the right hand to go to the informationdesk. There you can tell the beach you like to
travel to and buy a ticket for your taxi which will have a small price. If you do not buy at the
informationdesk it may be you will have a higher price (up to 300 %).
Beaches: At Patong Beach quarter is allways rush hour and you will see this sort of people
who like to have there own radio at the beach. If you like to have silence and love the
nature there are many other beaches like Kata Beach, Kata Noi Beach, Karon Beach,
Rawai Beach...........
Chalong is the port of Phuket, nevertheless there good accommodations but in Chalong Bay
you cannot swim.

The building site warning given here in the years 2000 and 2001 for the Karon Beach could
be omitted. Some new hotels developed.

up - to - date:In Phuket you have to reckon with building
sites. At the best be in contact with your travel agency or the
Hotel. This concern Karon Beach and the Village Karon also.


Fortunately no speech can still be here from the
"mass tourism" - in contrast to the Patong Beach -. The Chalong Bay (Ao Chalong, the port
in the south Phukets) received a new pier, so that also at ebb-tide of the changes from ship
to country and without mud crossing takes place in reverse. It is in the comparison to the old
a "luxury pier". The vehicles of the dive operators (and naturally also with guests to ship trips
the etc..) bring in now into a type turning point, at whose end stepped out and will unload. On
the other page drive special busses - which operate only here - near around luggage and humans
to take up and to the end of the pier drive. At the sea-lateral point of the pier the ships come
on, which load or will unload even are.

Trips: much to recommend are a daiy trip with the sea canoeto the Phang Nga area.
Relative not treated topics and further details guess I the attendance the large references
on my link pages .
For divers the scubalinkpage is special .
Similans : the Similan islands consisting of nine islands are uninhabited and nature
protected area. Up to a guesthouse of the Thai government (island Nr.4) and
a Ranger station created for the monitoring of the area (Donald duck
Bay) does not give it houses. There is no hotel on the Similans! In some German
Travel folders is Similana in the supply. A hotel system on the mainland in the
separatingness of the Thai rain forest, this hotel has nothing to do with the Similan islands.
Outside the hotel is there only the jungle.

Some Kilometers south of it were many Hotels build during the last four or five years. It's placed
beside the National road west of it. The Hotels are between jungle and beach, most medium-priced.
I mean it's a good place for relaxing. But there is no 24 service or restaurant in Hotel, from 10.00 am
some of the Hotels areas are without lighting.
The "village" in this area is build by the following:
right and left of the national road are restaurants, Mini Markets, travel agencies, three internet cafes,
some banks and dive shops, dive shops ......... I have been told it's 26 dive shops, I have not counting
it, but I think, it could be more.
Because there are two wrecks only in the near, I advise against here. The aforementioned places
should be explored in silent with one liveaboard boat in 3 to 4 days or longer from Phuket. From
Khao Lak out goes it by pick up some kilometers to Tap Lamu in the south and then with speed
boat to a diving ship waiting before the Similans. "Speedboat is painful and they spread out
tablets to be taken. Relaxing after my first dive of a day I could saw this poor wimp people on the
dive boat listened to the briefing at 11.00 am. That means, they could not have more then 2 dives
a day, if they like to be back until 8.00 pm.
Khao Lak I advise to nature lovers who wants to travel in the jungle of the Khao Lak National Park
and to this people who like to relax only.
Divers I advise to travel to Phuket !

To Similan islands see my diving pages, please.
Round trips: For round trips the North of Thailand is recommended much. After a visit in
Bangkok with the airplane to Phitsanulok, from there with bus and jeep over Sukhothai,
Lampang and Lampoon to Chiang May, there you will have your first riding on elephants .
Over Chiang Rai the trip will go into the golden triangle, three-landhit a corner at the
Mekong River between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, where a boat route on the Mekong
takes place. Following depending upon provider the eight to ten-active round trip should to
relaxation one bath vacation, e.g. at Phuket, follow.

If you like to take your roundtrip in the South of Thailand , it would be a good idea to visit
the national parks for example  Khao Sok, Khao Luk and Tham Bokkarani.
Recommend  as accommodation are in the Khao Sok national park the  " Tree
Tops River Huts ", the meals are very good. The huts are build in trees, are very simple,
but good , directly at the river. In the national park are very often power failures, do not
forget a pocket lamp, oil lamps are for free on the rooms.
Nevertheless I had to set a warning: don't make a trip with the guide from the " Tree Tops
River Huts ".  I made such a trip and after one hour across jungle country steep up the
mountain I was near a circulatory disturbance. Before the trekking it was told of a second
guide for such situations for going back to the lodging. But there was no second guide to
lead me back, thus I had on february 9th 2000 to wait alone in the jungle 2 hours until the
group came back .
I had a little practice in jungle trekking from former journeys to Norththailand , Cuba and
Costa Rica , thus it was not so hard as for a beginner who was never before in a rain
forest. Nevertheless it was a crying shame and irressponsibility .
At the best you explore the Khao Sok by canoe.
The Trip I made you can book by tour operators - without the jungle trecking - ( 4 days ).
It starts in Phuket, shows you the west coast of this island, goes through Khao Luk, Khao
Sok and Tham Bokkarani national parks , to Ao Nang and Krabi.  The accommodations
in Ao Nang are to find in many travel brochures as quarters in Krabi. On the trip the Phang
Nga area was explored by canoe , but the guide paddled only, not the guest. I like to
clear up in this context, during the sea canoeing tour shown on my sea canoeing page
the guests had to paddle too. If anybody had never done it before, he/she will learn it.
 

Money: Cash is not without  risk. Credit cards are accepted at hotels , you get ready
money at banks. Because they have credit card crime they sometimes do not accept
credit cards , for example one day long. In this situations it's well to have traveller
cheques too (American Express, Thomas Cook) for a time of 2 - 3 days .
 

At present (November 2001) informations of the german Department of State tourist
should carry along the passport, not leave it in hotel safes. If you cannot show your
passport by controls or round-up by police you may will be imprisoned for one night.
Copy of the passport will do it too, but copy the visa you get by your entry (tourist
stamp) too.

Tipps for divers with technical problems: Warm Water Divers in Patong. There e.g. in
February 2002 the battery of Aladin Pro (old model, it must be soldered) unproblematically
within 10 minutes was changed for me (Rat-U-Thit 200 Pee Road across the run into
of the Soi Kebsub).
For clock problems Mr. Watch at the end of the Patong Beach is a good address
(Thaweewong Road between Sawatdirak Road and Hat Patong Road).