Backpacking Abroad - Travel info for backpacking in Thailand, Laos, China & Vietnam

What is the cost of accomodation and food on Phi Phi island?

Kan, Nov 07, 2005

http://phiphicabana-hotel.com/ was our accommodation while in Phi Phi. We paid £10 ($18) a night for a wooden bungalow with room service, clean bedding and towels daily, full buffet breakfast and a fridge in our room.

Cost of living out there was dirt cheap. A meal for 2 in a restaurant with drinks was about £8 total. Hiring a long tail boat with driver for the day was about £12 and this was the best way of being shown all the islands including Maya bay where The beach was filmed. Also the Long tail boat drivers know where all the best coral is for snorkelling.

Where’s a good place to stay on Koh Phangan?

B-Prime, Feb 17, 2008

Head to Thong Sala if you want to chill a lot more. It’s a lot cheaper at 500-700 baht/night for a 2 bed with toilet by the beach. If Mr. Lek still runs the Reggae Bar there, I know that he offers a taxi service to all the lunar parties that tends not to have any trouble at checkpoints. Haad Rin is Khao San on the beach, and only worth it for a day or two trip from somewhere else on the island. If you do that, just get a cheap place at the Nana Guesthouse for the night.

ProdigalSon, Jan 31, 2007

My favourite beach is in the North-East corner, called Thong Nai Pan. I have some friends that run a circle of bungalows (100-300baht) there called Thai Terrace. Within sight is a beautiful and very quiet beach.

What are the beaches on Koh Phangan like?

ProdigalSon, Jan 31, 2007

Haad Rin is the beach where the full moon party is. This part of the island has a beautiful beach (with the softest sand I found on the island) but is overdeveloped and crowded with tourists. It’s like Khao San Road on the beach. So, if that’s not your thing, I recommend checking out some of the more remote beaches on the island. My favourite is in the NE corner, called Thong Nai Pan. I have some friends that run a circle of bungalows (100-300baht) there called Thai Terrace. Within sight is a beautiful and very quiet beach.

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Tags: Accommodation

How much is departure tax from the airport in Thailand?

ReindeerF, May 17, 2008

It’s actually included in the “Taxes & Fees” of your plane ticket now. There’s still a departuure tax in Cambodia, The Philippines and Laos though.

What is Khao San Road in Bangkok?

Pompous Rhombus, Oct 22, 2007

In Bangkok there’s Khao San, which is the established tourist ghetto. Lots of cheap accommodation, bars, stores, street vendors, etc. It’s a bit of a zoo, but it has a lot of conveniences and is your best bet if you’re on a budget. You can find something reasonably nice elsewhere in the city for 500-600 baht a night, but I don’t really have any specific recommendations.

What should I see in Beijing?

ProdigalSon, Jul 23, 2006

You must see the Great Wall. If you can, take a bus a few hours outside of Beijing and check out the unrestored parts of the wall in places like Simatai. Whatever hostel or hotel you’re staying at will probably have tour groups arranged. Aside from that, check out Tiananmen Square and the surrounding stuff, but Beijing tends to get boring pretty fast for a large city in China, in my opinion. The National Museum is really disappointing, when I went most of the place was dedicated to an exhibit on Peru. What else…there’s a decent club there called Cargo that’ll have good shows on weekends.

What is there to do in Kunming?

Tom Smykowski, Mar 19, 2007

When I went to Kunming, I did the standard Stone Forest visit which was nice. A lot of people seem to head West from there to Dali and Lijiang. When you head up to Chengdu, you’ll find plenty of stuff to do around Sichuan. The city is full of food, bars, clubs, historical sites, and all that.

Cognitonaut, Feb 05, 2008

Kunming is actually kind of warm right now, like 15 degrees in the afternoons. It never really gets too bad here, I guess. Went to the Stone Forest and China’s largest valley cave, they were pretty spectacular but hell of expensive. e cool shit. It took an hour of wandering and random bus riding plus another internet cafe to find the hostel i was looking for, and then I had to sleep on the floor in the library because there were no beds available.

Do I need a visa for Thailand?

ReindeerF, March 2008

There are several ways to enter Thailand as a tourist. If you’re from any of the usual host of developed nations, you can simply show up and receive a stamp allowing you to remain in The Kingdom for 30 days. If you show up and happen to be from a nation that isn’t on the preferred list then you must go through the Visa on Arrival queue at the airport.
On the other hand, if you wish to make plans in advance you can also visit or write to a Royal Thai Embassy or Royal Thai Consulate in your country and receive a 60 day or 90 day visa there. However, there are some considerations to make should you desire to stay beyond 90 days.

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Tags: Visas

Is it safe to use my credit card in South-east Asia?

Spog, Mar 12, 2008

Credit card skimming is not unknown and it’s undetectable. I always seal my credit cards in an envelope before leaving them anywhere, so at least I will know if someone has swiped it and I can get it stopped.

ass is my canvas, Sep 06, 2007

You may also want to call your bank and tell them your card is going to be doing a little vacation overseas so they don’t put a hold on it thinking it to be some suspicious activity.

Is it customary to tip taxi drivers?

Is it customary to tip taxi drivers here? Last night I was going to tip my airport driver 50 baht or so, but I noticed he was telling me the 40 baht tolls were 50 baht and taking a 10 baht rake, so I didn’t. Otherwise I was going to tip him a buck or two. Is this standard or should I not tip? When do I tip/not tip?

Spog, Sep 05, 2006

If the taxi driver screws you on the change, don’t tip (it’s rare that they cheat you). If you are going by meter (as you should), round up to the nearest 10baht in there. Bad traffic - throw in an extra 10 baht. These guys make very little and rising fuel costs have screwed them.