Six Week Trip in Vietnam and Thailand

[jugarporlaplaya]

Hello Backpackers

Comments

[lean968]

I was in Thailand and Cambodia in November. I didn't get down to the beaches in Thailand, but I highly recommend northern Thailand. Chiang Mai was a little boring for me because I'm not really into shopping, but it was still a nice city. My favorite place in Thailand was a little village a couple hours north of Chiang Mai - Pai. I also loved Kanchanaburi in Thailand, although it was a little touristy. I flew from Bangkok to Siem Reap, and getting a visa at the airport was the easiest thing I've ever done in my life. It only took a couple minutes - no bribing and no questions asked. In Cambodia we went to Siem Reap/Angkor Wat (Angkor Wat was cool but I didn't really like Siem Reap much), Battambang, Kompong Chhnang, and Phnom Penh. I liked all these places but didn't love them. The people everywhere we so friendly, though. For vaccinations, I got a Hep A booster, TDAP, and Typhoid. I also used Malarone for my malaria pills. None of this was required but it was recommended. I had no problems with the Malarone at all - would

[jugarporlaplaya]

Thanks. I've heard mixed things about Chiang Mai (that it's touristy, dull), but I'm hoping to get in a cooking class and some hiking, as well as visit an elephant sanctuary while in northern Thailand. Can I do these things in Pai? Do you mind if I ask how much you spent on vaccinations?

[lean968]

You can definitely do those things in Pai! There may be fewer companies to choose from, but there are still all the same options. We (my boyfriend and I) did a 2 day trek and rode an elephant (although it was just a ride, didn't really get to interact with the elephants). Meanwhile my boyfriend's mom stayed in Pai and did a cooking class at Let's Wok with T. It has a website but I can't seem to find it, so I'll look it up in my journal when I get home if you're interested. T is the guy who runs it, and he's really awesome and has an adorable dog. I know there's at least 1 other cooking school in Pai too. There are also other outdoorsy things you can do. We really wish we would've stayed longer so we could've gone rafting

[jugarporlaplaya]

Thank you so much! I'd love to get that website, if you can find it. $550 is a lot, but definitely reasonable for the peace of mind/stomach :-)

[lean968]

Here's the website for the cooking school. Now that I look at it, it's incredibly uninformative

[jugarporlaplaya]

Thanks so much! T looks like a friendly and fun guy, so I'll definitely look into it! I'm sure I'll have more questions, and if you don't mind I'll e-mail you.