First international trip to Thailand. Any suggestions?

[kuku1687]

Thanks for inputs shared. I am there from 23rd early morning to 31st evening.

1. Any suggestions on places to visit in Bangkok & Pattaya?
2. Planning of doing Bangkok & Pattaya only since flights from Bangkok to Phuket are costly- probably due to Christmas & New Year. Am I missing much?
3. Any suggestions for hotels in Bangkok & Pattaya which are decent (nothing fancy but decent hotels at good price)
4. Tips to tackle scams, frauds, etc.

1) If you plan on doing just 2 cities than take a bus to Pattaya moment you land in Bangkok from the airport itself. It will cost 143 baht per person and the bus itself is nice.
2) Download and activate grab. Purchase a sim to use the internet so that you can use grab. Don't use tuk tuks when you get down in pattaya.
3) Check if your hotel is close to North Pattaya Bus stop or jomtien bus stop and get down accordingly.
4) Carry a no markup debit card for cash withdrawal.

 

[aayusharyan]

Any suggestions on places to visit in Bangkok & Pattaya?

In Pattaya:
1. Alcatraz Cabaret.
2. Light bullet Shooting Range.
3. Frost Magical ice of SIAM.
4. Avoid Walking street, (since you are going with Wife)

In Bangkok:
1. Wat arun
2. The Grand Palace (Remember to wear full sleeves and jeans. Shorts and cut sleeves are not allowed)
3. Wat Pho (They have that large sleeping buddha statue)

If you have time, you can book a 1 day trip to some nearby place. It's pretty good. I recommend https://www.klook.com/en-IN/ to check the tickets and all.

 

[aayusharyan]

Tips to tackle scams, frauds, etc.

Hahaha, avoid Boom boom people. 🤣

 

[_ayush]

Any suggestions on where to find best INR-THB exchange rates? Based out of Mumbai. Thinking of BookMyForex.

Dont convert all of your INR to THB directly. Just take like 1-2k THB per person(since visa is free now). Rest take USD or Euros. You will get a much better exchange rate this way.

 

[_ayush]

In Pattaya:
1. Alcatraz Cabaret.
2. Light bullet Shooting Range.
3. Frost Magical ice of SIAM.
4. Avoid Walking street, (since you are going with Wife)

In Bangkok:
1. Wat arun
2. The Grand Palace (Remember to wear full sleeves and jeans. Shorts and cut sleeves are not allowed)
3. Wat Pho (They have that large sleeping buddha statue)

If you have time, you can book a 1 day trip to some nearby place. It's pretty good. I recommend https://www.klook.com/en-IN/ to check the tickets and all.

Also mahanakhon skywalk in bkk.

 

[aayusharyan]

Also mahanakhon skywalk in bkk.

Ohh yeah, I think tickets for these needs to be booked in adv. 🤔

 

[aayusharyan]

Dont convert all of your INR to THB directly. Just take like 1-2k THB per person(since visa is free now). Rest take USD or Euros. You will get a much better exchange rate this way.

Everyone suggests this, but in this process, aren't we paying double conversion? First INR to EUR/USD and then later to THB?
Isn't it better to just withdraw using a 0forex DC at an ATM?

 

[abhiver]

Everyone suggests this, but in this process, aren't we paying double conversion? First INR to EUR/USD and then later to THB?
Isn't it better to just withdraw using a 0forex DC at an ATM?

In my experience, zero Forex DC is always better. But if you like to bet on exchange rate difference then converting to USD at lower rate and then using USD on higher is a good plan

 

[skchamp]

Dont convert all of your INR to THB directly. Just take like 1-2k THB per person(since visa is free now). Rest take USD or Euros. You will get a much better exchange rate this way.

Can you tell where to exchange USD in Thailand? Don't want to fall for touts.

 

[skchamp]

1) If you plan on doing just 2 cities than take a bus to Pattaya moment you land in Bangkok from the airport itself. It will cost 143 baht per person and the bus itself is nice.
2) Download and activate grab. Purchase a sim to use the internet so that you can use grab. Don't use tuk tuks when you get down in pattaya.
3) Check if your hotel is close to North Pattaya Bus stop or jomtien bus stop and get down accordingly.
4) Carry a no markup debit card for cash withdrawal.

So you suggest doing Pattaya first directly from the airport and then coming back to Bangkok?

 

[_ayush]

Can you tell where to exchange USD in Thailand? Don't want to fall for touts.

Definitely not airport. You will find a lot of money exchange there. Just look around a bit and exchange where you get the best price. Exchange rate also depends on area you are in. We exchanged once in BKK in Sukhumvit. And couple of times in Pattaya. In Pattaya rate varied quite a bit. The rate near Walking street was not good compared to some other exchange in not so popular area.

 

[_ayush]

Also might I ask why not visit Krabi or Phuket instead of Pattaya?

 

[aayusharyan]

So you suggest doing Pattaya first directly from the airport and then coming back to Bangkok?

Pattaya is more party place and Bangkok is more touristy places like temples, museums and stuff.
You decide what you want. I would recommend do Bangkok first.

 

[kuku1687]

So you suggest doing Pattaya first directly from the airport and then coming back to Bangkok?

Yes that will be better

 

[skchamp]

Also might I ask why not visit Krabi or Phuket instead of Pattaya?

Wanted to but very high flight rates due to new year probably.

 

[kuku1687]

Wanted to but very high flight rates due to new year probably.

If you still really want to explore you can plan via bus. You will basically use hotels just for sleeping. So sleep two days in bus and plan 2-3 days at Phuket and take the island tours or local sight seeing and come back sleeping via bus. You will save 2 days of hotel expense. 8 days is bit extra for Bangkok and Pattaya. Lots of Buses are available from Bangkok to Phuket as well and it's economical too compared to flights.

 

[Viper1057]

Yeah bookmyforex is good.. not sure much about Mumbai... Orient exchange, thomascook also can be checked.. but bookmyforex is good a they do home delivery and there is very less price difference

Can you tell me what is the mcc code for orient exchange or which card you used to pay for it and if you got cashback/reward points using it?

 

[gamersgzb]

Can you tell me what is the mcc code for orient exchange or which card you used to pay for it and if you got cashback/reward points using it?

I have never bought currency using cc so can't comment.. either neft or cash..

 

[SHUB11]

What are charges to engage a Thai lady friend for a night fun ?

 

[aayusharyan]

What are charges to engage a Thai lady friend for a night fun ?

Anywhere from 2-3K THB to 8-10K THB. Depends on what you are looking for.