Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug of Montreal
DWB... that was a little awesome  Of all the things I've heard about Thailand, none of them has been as grim as the picture you just painted. I'll jailbreak my spare phone here and take it.... just in case. The busses... we're flying to just about everywhere so this shouldn't be a problem. Is it bad, though, that after reading your warnings that I kinda want to take one for fun?? |
Don't get me wrong, Thailand is
awesome, I live here and love it. But I just like to tell people about some of the realities of the place before they come so they have a better chance not getting scammed or harmed, as many people do. I feel if I know about such things and don't share them with people I know who are coming, I wouldn't be doing my duty as a good human.
It's not always sunshine and roses in the land of smiles, so a little beforehand knowledge is a good thing.
As far as your electronics, I wouldn't bring anything you're not willing to lose,
unless you are staying in 4 or 5 star locations. If you're staying in bungalows on the islands, security is very lax, if at all, and theft is common. Even many of the maids have sticky fingers so don't leave any small cash laying around. The police won't help you if something gets stolen, other than take a report, so you're pretty much on your own. A good rule of thumb is, don't tempt them. Don't let them see what you have and don't travel with too many expensive items if you're not staying in top of the line hotels. All of that said, I personally have never had anything stolen from a bungalow but know several people who have been cleaned out. But I did catch my long time maid trying to steal cash while I was sleeping.
As far as bus travel goes, I used to do it until I was here a while and saw what was happening. Now I won't touch them.
Two recent deadly accidents that I can think off off the top of my head...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...land-bus-crash
http://www.chiangraitimes.com/news/4541.html
You'll have a BLAST on the islands. They are BEAUTIFUL. And Feb is a great time to go, the weather will be perfect.