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

I want to see a more cultural side of Thailand, rather than just hit the beaches.

Pompous Rhombus, Aug 18, 2007

Chiang Mai is probably the most culture-y type place, but it’s up north in the mountains, not near the beaches (very nice place to visit, I went there last week).  Along with being a big centre for Thai culture, it’s probably the most known for trekking as well.  If hill-tribes are your thing there’s plenty of that, but don’t expect to see anything too original. I’m personally not big on the “people-zoo” thing, but I can tell you that if you want more authentic hill-tribe experiences, try somewhere else.  If you just want to go hiking, maybe ride an elephant or two, Chiang Mai should fit the bill nicely though.

What’s a good place in Bangkok to get some clothes and a good quality daypack?

Pompous Rhombus, May 12, 2008

For clothes there are plenty of options… it depends on whether you’re after T-shirts/jeans or tailor-made stuff. MBK is a huge mall at Siam Square that has a lot, and there’s a mall entirely for clothes called Platinum in Pratunam, one stop away on the Skytrain. Jatujak sells pretty much everything under the sun and would be a good bet as well. Someone else could probably make a recommendation for a tailor.

ReindeerF, May 13, 2008

I made a recommendation a while back for a place called gmcstyle.com. You can also check out this post on buying a tailored suit for more information.

Khao San Road sounds like a place that’s changed a lot to make westerners feel at home. I want to see a different culture.

Pompous Rhombus, May 12, 2008

It has, but so has a lot of Thailand, especially the islands and beaches. (And anyways, Siam Square is arguably even more tailored towards foreigners than Khao San, just the older, more affluent kind.) If you’re coming looking for an unspoiled paradise, you’re about 20 years too late. I got tired of Ko Chang (which really isn’t even all that bad) after a day and left for the Northeast, which is a lot more “Thai” Thailand if that’s what you’re after.

What are the bugs like and am I likely to want to buy a bugnet over there?

spog, May 16, 2008

In the country, there are all kinds of interesting insects, all of which will happily ignore you.

You’ll encounter:
1) mosquitoes which will give you annoying bites. they can easily be driven away by repellents and vaporisers and

2) big cockroaches which will not hurt you, but they will carry off your backpack.

unhealthyman, May 16, 2008

Don’t bring a bugnet. I would risk stating that everywhere you stay would have mosquito netting either on the windows or over the beds. Lugging a mosquito net around with you is a major ballache.

Thailand is a relatively low risk malaria area anyway and if you are sensible with repellent you should be fine.

Should I bother looking for cobra-blood milkshakes, monkey knife-fights and donkeyshows, or is that asking for trouble?

As for the depraved shit, should I bother looking for cobra-blood milkshakes, monkey knife-fights and donkeyshows, or is that asking for trouble? I’m honestly having trouble wrapping my head around being able to walk in off the street and get popped in the forehead with a pingpong ball.

spog, May 16, 2008

It really depends if you like seeing naked ladies or not.

ReindeerF, May 16, 2008

“cobra blood milkshakes”? Am I missing something? I thought I’d heard of everything.

spog, May 16, 2008

What kind of pussy drinks it with milk? Cobra blood (in China) is supposed to be served with rice wine.