i am visiting thailand for 1 month in february 2012 and am looking for any ideas for travel, am interested in visiting river kwai and golden triangle. also a few places down south trang and ko phi phi. May be some elephant trekking and watching a thai boxing match. do u have a web site for any tours u run as the ones on the internet are mostly for 2 people i am travelling alone. or any reasonable tour operators.

would appreciate your help

aidan

to the forums. I tend to recommend that people travel independently to Thailand and then book individual tours when they arrive, from local travel agents, say, on the Khao San Rd, or up in Chiang Mai - shop around for different prices as similar tours can be priced differently. Buying an all-encompassing tour from the UK, or even individual ones, will cost you an arm and a leg, as you'll be paying a UK middle-man with all its various overheads.

It would be good to have a definitive on how to book to see a proper Muay Thai match at Lumphini. I got conned, well, sort of, by being sold a ticket to a series of matches which started out as young kids fighting!, then some "pro" fighters with fake moves (like WWE wrestlers!), and finally ending up with some people in their early twenties fighting. But all were amateurs. It was an interesting experience but I would rather have seen a proper fight with all the noise and gambling that goes on in the crowd!

Hopefully someone can direct you on how to book tickets for a pro fight in Bangkok.

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Thailand is one of the easiest places to get tours. In Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Phuket you will be able to obtain tours from local travel agencies usually cheaper than buying tours from outside Thailand. Even some hotels have tour desks. Just find the nearest travel agency from your hotel and choose from a list they have. Choose a tour in the morning and leave that afternoon or evening for some. Or, they will pick up at your hotel the following morning. These are shared van tours that leave pretty often and you can just go by yourself.

Tours to River Kwai, Hell Fire Pass and cemetery are easy to get when in Bangkok. In Chiang Mai you can sign up for the Golden Triangle and Long Neck Women Villages. Also in Chiang Mai you will find trips involving elephants and trekking. Out of Pattaya you have Nong Nooch, Flight of the Gibbons and Night Safari. One tour I liked in Phuket was the James Bond Rock tour.

For Bangkok if you young, maybe in school or just out of school, Khao San Road is a popular area to stay in. But other areas like Siam and Sukhumvit Road also have cheap hotels and hostels too. Plus you can also use the Skytrain. The Skytrain can connect you with the Airport Rail Link, the subway, Ekamai bus terminal, MBK, Chatuchak, Sukhumvit shopping and nightlife, Patpong Night Market and more. (No Skytrain in the KSR area. No rail service after midnight.)
UrbanRail.Net > Asia > Thailand > Bangkok Metro
Skytrain (BTS) - Bangkok hotels and travel guide to Bangkok, Thailand

Wait until you get to Thailand to change any money over to Thai baht for the best rate. Bank money changers available at the airport 24 hours a day. If you need hotel suggestions also mention a price range.

Good luck.

Im heading out to Thailand on February 1st with Bangkok my first stop, heading out there alone so gimme a mail and let me know your plans!