You may be wondering why things have been so quiet on the blog lately. It’s not that I’ve given up blogging, rather I’m now writing for about.com and blogging for them. Take a look at my Go Thailand website and see for yourself. The website and the books are meant to be complementary, so there’s a mix of familiar and new information.

Speaking of books, the new Moon Bangkok is now out! The book has some gorgeous photos and plenty of information about traveling in Bangkok.

The last post on this topic generated a lot of traffic and since I’d taken the lazy way out and sent you over to Greg’s blog before, I wanted to address it in a little more detail.

Like Greg said, Bangkok can be cheap, but it’s not that cheap. Sorry folks, the days of $2/night guest houses have been over for decades. Head to Bangladesh for that (seriously).

Today 34B = $1.00, 47B = 1 Euro, 55B = 1 GBP

But let’s say you are on a really tight budget, and want to know how cheaply you can visit Bangkok and still enjoy seeing the city.

Sure, everyone wants comfort and convenience, but if it’s a choice between traveling on the cheap and not traveling at all, always go with the latter! Below I’ve worked out the realistic minimum you’ll need to spend if you visit Bangkok for three nights.

Sleeping

The cheapest guest houses I’ve seen in central areas lately are 250B per night. That’s about $7.50 in US dollars. For that price, you’ll get a small room, a fan and a shared bathroom.  Expect some dinginess, a sketchy bathroom and a walkup or slightly inconvenient location. Still, not such a bad price. At the end of the day so long as the sheets are clean and there’s running water, it’ll do.

For twice the price, things get a lot better. It won’t be the Oriental, but 500B will often get you your own bathroom and even air conditioning.  Though budget travelers gravitate towards the Khao San Road area or Soi Ngam Dupli, you can find 500B guest houses all over the city.

Cheapest sleeping for three nights: 750B

Eating

Eating in Bangkok is still very inexpensive and you don’t have to sacrifice anything if you want to eat cheaply. The best food in Bangkok is street food and you can find it practically everywhere. It’s freshest, tastes the best and it’s a lot more interesting to eat outside with the rest of the city than in some fancy, air conditioned restaurant.

• A cha yen or café yen (iced tea or iced coffee) is about 12B and it’ll taste better than anything you’ll find at Starbucks.
• A plate of som tam and some rice is about 25B, noodle soups and other dishes are similarly priced.
• Snacks, like fried bananas or a bag of fresh fruit are about 10B.
• A small bottle of beer is about 30B.

You can easily eat breakfast, lunch and dinner for 100B, 150B if you have a big appetite. Add another 30B for bottled water.

Cheapest eating for three days: 400B

Getting Around

If you are on a really tight budget, stay close to the places you want to spend your time and take advantage of public transportation. If you’re here for a few days exploring the city’s biggest museums, wats and other cultural sights, pick a guest house near Phra Athit Road or Khao San Road. You can walk to the sights or take a quick bus ride.  When you want to get to Chinatown or the city center, hop on the Chao Phraya Express Boat. Get off at Surawongse for Chinatown or transfer to the Taksin Bridge stop on the Skytrain for the rest of the city. The boat is 17B, Skytrain to the center of the city is 25B (depending where you get off). A round trip to Chinatown will cost only 35B, to downtown 85B.

Cheapest getting around for three days: 150B

Getting There

If you’re coming from the airport, the cheapest way to travel is by public bus. Take the free shuttle from the terminal to the Airport Transportation Center, then hop on a public bus to your destination for just 35B. If you’re staying in the Khao San Road area, take the 556 to Democracy Monument. From there it’s about a 10 – 15 minute walk depending where you are staying. Check the list here for other destinations. Be careful not to confuse the more expensive airport express bus with the public bus. And stay tuned, because when the Airport Skytrain Link finally opens in a few months there will be another inexpensive option.

Cheapest round trip from the airport: 70B

Admission to Sights

Don’t forget the cost of admission to museums, wats and the Grand Palace.

Admission costs for sightseeing for three days: 800B

Total for 3 days and 3 nights

2,100B or $60 US

Caveats

• Nightlife. If you want to go out at night, you’ll probably spend as much money on drinks and snacks as you will on accommodations. Figure a beer costs anywhere from 30B up depending on where you go.  If you’re going somewhere nicer, you may pay an admission charge.
• Traveling at night. The Express Boat stops running at around 7 p.m., so if you are staying in the Khao San Road area, plan excursions around that or budget additional cash for a taxi home.
• Taxis and Tuk Tuks. Don’t take a taxi unless the driver turns the meter on. In most of Bangkok this is not a problem, but it is a problem in the Khao San Road area. Many taxis will flat out refuse a meter fare and ask for exorbitant rates to take you anywhere.  Tuk tuks don’t have meters but are usually very inexpensive, unless of course you’re in a touristy area. A fair price for a mile long tuk tuk ride is 50B maximum. If you can’t get that price, walk away.
• Doubling up. A double room is almost always cheaper than two singles, so… make some friends if you’re traveling alone.

Ko Hae, photo courtesy of Linda True

Before I moved to Thailand I was never a snorkeler. I didn’t really see the point of looking around under water while you floated on the surface breathing through a tube. Why not just dive? Well, in doing the research for Moon Thailand, I found myself on many a boating trip scouting out islands.  On one trip, the guide plopped a mask on my face and a snorkel in my mouth and dragged me out into the water.

Wow! Who knew you could see so much from just below the surface? On my very first snorkeling expedition I saw not only amazing coral gardens and plenty of tropical fish, but reef sharks!  And I realized that I’d been so misguided before. Snorkeling is cheap, easy and doesn’t require much gear or any training. If you wear a life vest you don’t even need to know how to swim to do it.

Now whenever I’m near the water I look for chances to bust out my snorkel and ask everyone where the best places are.

Last weekend we were on another sailing trip off Phuket (you can read about the last sailing trip here) and spent some time on Ko Hae. This little island is just a few miles from Chalong Bay on the southern end of Phuket and the snorkeling is amazing. It’s sometimes called Coral Island, and for good reason. There’s so much coral and so many fish that at low tide you can just walk out into a few feet of water and look down (watch what you step on though!).  A little farther out there’s a drop off to about 12 feet and that’s where it gets really good.  Lots of healthy, colorful coral and plenty of fish, star fish, anemones and other creatures. It might not be the absolute best spot in Thailand, but it’s easily in the top 10.

So, if you’re in Phuket, head over to Chalong Bay and get a boat to Ko Hae. You can rent a snorkel on the island (it’s only a day island, no accommodations) or even a glass bottom canoe if you don’t want to get wet.

File this under silver linings on the dark cloud that is the global economy — Thai Airways is offering a great travel deal for passengers coming from North America, Europe, Australia or New Zealand.

Buy your international ticket on Thai Airways for travel between March 1 and October 31, 2009 and get a free domestic flight plus one night hotel. So, if you’re flying into Bangkok but want to go to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, or anywhere else Thai flies, the flight’s free, and so is the first night at one of their selected hotels. Click the link on the photo to see the conditions, and make sure to either book with a travel agent or call Thai Airways directly to make sure you’re following all the rules to get the deal.

As always, do the math before booking. Domestic flights are generally inexpensive, especially if you’re flying on Air Asia, Nok Air or one of the other budget airlines. If you get a cheap international flight on another carrier, it may be a better deal to book that and just buy the ticket and hotel separately.

And you do, sort of. For the most part, the Thai food you get at Thai restaurants outside of the country is at least reasonably close to the real stuff. But the good news for travelers heading here is that there are scores of other dishes that rarely make it out of the country.

The fantastic foodie blog Chez Pim has a new post about Pad Grapow, worth checking out if only for the photos!

Pad Grapow is a very common dish here in Thailand (a lunch time staple, really), but one of those things you rarely find abroad. Head to Chez Pim for the eye candy and recipe and then head here to sample the real stuff!

If you’ve got Moon Thailand and you’re heading here for vacation, do yourself a favor and read through the chapter openings before you plunk down any non-refundable deposits. Keep an open mind about where you’re going. Not too many pages, and we get lots of props for the writing, so it shouldn’t be too painful.

Why? Let’s say you want a beach vacation. Your cousin/neighbor/boss/secretary just got back from Ko Samui and raved about it at the last family gathering. You’ve got it stuck in your head that Sumui is the place to go, so you book the flights and buy the guidebook. Maybe you spend a couple of hours on the plane reading about Ko Samui before you get there, or consult it for places to eat and excursions, but you ignore the other chapters.

But what if you’re not just like your cousin/neighbor/boss/secretary? She’s 15 years younger than you are, or has two kids while you have none, or hates partying while you love it, or has a lot more cash to dispose of on vacation. Hmmm… maybe Samui isn’t the best choice for you after all. Thailand has lots of different beaches and islands to choose from. Maybe your perfect beach getaway is somewhere else in Thailand, somewhere you’d never even heard of. I want you to have a wonderful time in Thailand (really, it makes me sad when people spend tons of time and money and are dissapointed) so read up a bit and then decide.

PS – I’m not picking on Samui, it is the perfect beach for some! But for others its Ko Lanta, or Krabi, or Ko Chang.

Just a little tidbit to get you to click over, and no offense meant if you are a bearded hippy :

…if you spend time on Khao San Road, you’ll likely run into some bearded hippies who chastise you for spending more than $5 a day on a place to sleep, but less than $40 on some good weed.

The Village Farm and Winery, one of three wineries on the tour

Bet you didn’t know Thailand produces wine.  Well it’s true, and there are a handful of lovely, charming wineries near Khao Yai National Park, just a few hours by car from Bangkok.

Three of them, GranMonte Estate, the Village Farm Winery, and the PB Valley Khao Yai Winery, have joined together to offer a wino wine tour weekend on July 25-26.

For 4,900B per person, you get transport from Bangkok, tours of the wineries, guided tastings, one night lodging, food, and unlimited wine.

Back up a minute.

Does that say unlimited wine?

Sure does.

I don’t know about you, but I could easily drink $145 worth of wine in a weekend. Kidding! But I know some people who could. Even if you can’t, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth on the food, accommodations and transport alone, and it’s an excellent way to spend a weekend seeing another side of Thailand. Contact any of the wineries at the links above to book.

If you can’t make it in July, no worries, as all of these wineries offer tours at all times of the year.  And if you’re not in Thailand, you can still try Thai wine. Monsoon Valley wines (produced by Siam Winery, which is unfortunately not part of this tour) are specifically blended to pair with spicy, full-flavored Thai foods and are available in some parts of the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. If you happen to be in New York, you can even get them delivered from this company.

There’s a new iPhone application for tourists visiting Thailand. You can download it here. I haven’t had a chance to test it out yet since I don’t have an iPhone ☹ but it’s supposed to search for sights, entertainment, hotels, transport, restaurants, ATMs, etc. near your location and map travel routes.

It’s $9.99 and no word yet on how comprehensive it is. As all you guidebook buyers know, content matters more than presentation, though someday soon we will have our great content available electronically, too. Until then, I’ll try to give this app a test spin. If you get a chance to try it out, please share your experiences and thoughts.

Poo-ket

There is no “f” sound.

Phi Phi is pronounced:

Pee Pee

Again, no “f” sound.

It’s not your fault. The Thai-English transliteration system is really confusing. I cringe when people mispronounce Phuket since most people end up calling it Foo ket, or Fu ket. You can imagine how funny and awkward that sounds, tho Phi Phi sounds a bit awkward when pronounced correctly until you get used to it.