Thailand Question

Dedicated exclusively to field herping.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
simpleyork
Posts: 513
Joined: March 6th, 2012, 12:45 pm
Location: utah

Thailand Question

Post by simpleyork »

In the works of putting somekind of trip together with my wife so we can take some time off from the kids fora week or so. I kinda through out the idea to my wife of visiting Thailand as I would Love to see water monitors in the wild. Anyway I was talking with a Co-worker of mine from there and he says it is tourist safe. Just wanting to get other opinions as far as this go, Would it be a safe place to travel, us being American?
User avatar
Antonsrkn
Posts: 971
Joined: June 10th, 2010, 2:38 pm
Contact:

Re: Thailand Question

Post by Antonsrkn »

Would it be a safe place to travel, us being American?
Yes. Supposedly some of the provinces on the Malaysian border are considered unsafe, I don't know as I haven't been in those areas... but the rest of Thailand is pretty tourist safe.
User avatar
Martti Niskanen
Posts: 363
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 11:19 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Thailand Question

Post by Martti Niskanen »

simpleyork wrote:Would it be a safe place to travel, us being American?
Very safe. Also, your nationality won't make any difference (might if you were russian). Thais are culturally conservative, even though it doesn't always seem like it and as a couple, you'd have to make quite an effort to get into real trouble. Just do your homework when deciding where to go and try not to get scammed too badly by taxis or tuktuks (farang price).
If you go to Bangkok (love it or hate it), you can see water monitors in the canals and especially in Lumpini park.

Antonsrkn wrote:Supposedly some of the provinces on the Malaysian border are considered unsafe, I don't know as I haven't been in those areas.
Not so much in practice as the trouble isn't directed towards tourists. It's unlikely that anyone on a week or two's trip would end up there anyway.
User avatar
Martti Niskanen
Posts: 363
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 11:19 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Thailand Question

Post by Martti Niskanen »

Double post.
simpleyork
Posts: 513
Joined: March 6th, 2012, 12:45 pm
Location: utah

Re: Thailand Question

Post by simpleyork »

Martti Niskanen wrote:
simpleyork wrote:Would it be a safe place to travel, us being American?
Very safe. Also, your nationality won't make any difference (might if you were russian). Thais are culturally conservative, even though it doesn't always seem like it and as a couple, you'd have to make quite an effort to get into real trouble. Just do your homework when deciding where to go and try not to get scammed too badly by taxis or tuktuks (farang price).
If you go to Bangkok (love it or hate it), you can see water monitors in the canals and especially in Lumpini park.

Antonsrkn wrote:Supposedly some of the provinces on the Malaysian border are considered unsafe, I don't know as I haven't been in those areas.
Not so much in practice as the trouble isn't directed towards tourists. It's unlikely that anyone on a week or two's trip would end up there anyway.
Crap, my wife is 100% Russian though being adopted at age 14 into an american family speaks very good english
on another note though, my co-worker takes his family there for a month each year and is so excited that my wife and I might go, he's willing to guide us around if we go during the same time.
User avatar
Antonsrkn
Posts: 971
Joined: June 10th, 2010, 2:38 pm
Contact:

Re: Thailand Question

Post by Antonsrkn »

Crap, my wife is 100% Russian though being adopted at age 14 into an american family speaks very good english
I doubt that would be an issue at all. I'm Russian and while I have no accent having grown up in the states I didn't make it any sort of secret that I spoke russian and didn't think twice about chatting with someone in russian while I was there, or if someone asked where I was from I probably said born in russia but raised in the states. For what it counts, I encountered no ill will whatsoever from locals or anyone else, i don't expect your wife would have any problems either.
User avatar
Martti Niskanen
Posts: 363
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 11:19 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Thailand Question

Post by Martti Niskanen »

simpleyork wrote: Crap, my wife is 100% Russian though being adopted at age 14 into an american family speaks very good english
Don't worry. I didn't mean the nationality itself would cause any problems. Just the behaviour of brash, new-money russians that tends to ruin every tourist destination they visit anywhere in the world. Russians are generally disliked in Thailand by both thais and expats as they're often loud and obnoxious and push up prices of products and property in the more touristy destinations. Last (and only) time I was in Phuket, the locals complained about russians all the time, so the stereotype and prejudice is strong. Of course all/most russian tourists aren't like that, but their reputation has stuck.

Still, even if you were the loudest, most obnoxious russian, there still wouldn't be any trouble. People just wouldn't like you. No reason to worry about safety in Thailand.

Whereabouts in Thailand are you planning on going to?
simpleyork
Posts: 513
Joined: March 6th, 2012, 12:45 pm
Location: utah

Re: Thailand Question

Post by simpleyork »

not sure yet, Def. Bangkok, still talking with my friend from work to see what he thinks. he mentioned the Rose Garden, and Safari world, but I would love to see some wildlife in the forests not just at tourist attractions.
User avatar
Martti Niskanen
Posts: 363
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 11:19 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Thailand Question

Post by Martti Niskanen »

simpleyork wrote:not sure yet, Def. Bangkok, still talking with my friend from work to see what he thinks. he mentioned the Rose Garden, and Safari world, but I would love to see some wildlife in the forests not just at tourist attractions.
Skip the safari parks as you can see them anywhere. As an experience, you can't go wrong with Bangkok. A massive mess of millions of people combined with history and great food everywhere. Herp-wise there's the Thai Red Cross centre, which is a bit so-so. Unfortunately a week doesn't give you much of a chance to do much else than Bkk. If you get enough of Bkk, the easiest way to see a bit of nature is to get a bus to Kanchanaburi in the west. Culture, up north to Ayutthaya.

Going on a herp trip next week, but want to go to Bkk now :)
User avatar
jonathan
Posts: 3689
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:39 am
Contact:

Re: Thailand Question

Post by jonathan »

Obviously something can happen anywhere, but compared to most places, I consider Thailand very very safe.

If you have limited time and are going to Bangkok, then I would recommend Khao Yai as a place to see real nature. And yes, the Red Cross Snake farm is better than most of the tourist attractions.
JohnU
Posts: 21
Joined: March 26th, 2011, 4:12 pm

Re: Thailand Question

Post by JohnU »

I just got back from a 1.5 week trip in Thailand. We spent about 3 days in Bangkok, 4 days near Khao Sok National Park (highly recommended), and 3 days on the island of Koh Lanta. I felt pretty safe the entire time and we loved the wildlife, people, and food. I would not hesitate to move there if I thought I could make a decent living, we will most likely travel there again at some point.

The thing about traveling Thailand is that it was just so easy. Even in the less touristy areas it is almost always possible to find someone that speaks English and everyone (except one homicidal, con-man, cabbie) was very friendly.
User avatar
jonathan
Posts: 3689
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:39 am
Contact:

Re: Thailand Question

Post by jonathan »

John U - can you share a little bit about what you liked so much about Khao Sok?

I liked Khao Yai a lot because

* it is close to Bangkok
* has multiple options for very cheap accommodations right in the middle of the park
* you can get around the park without a vehicle (hitchhiking, bicycle/scooter rentals, and plenty of good trails within walking distance of all accommodation options)
* there is strong herp diversity and strong mammal diversity, with some nice "highlight" species being a real possibility


Some of our own highlights there were gibbons, civets, porcupines, trogons, hornnbills, water dragons, vogel's pit vipers, crocs, lots and lots of deer (barking and sambar) and a good diversity of frogs (at least 10 species). Other people see retics, burmese pythons, king cobras, kraits, flying dragons, elephants, dhole, and a few other cool things fairly regularly.

What are the best things about Khao Sok? If I get some time back in Thailand, I might return to Khao Yai, but Khao Sok was the 2nd-most recommended place to me.
User avatar
withalligators
Posts: 329
Joined: June 29th, 2010, 6:50 am
Location: northern Westchester co., NY

Re: Thailand Question

Post by withalligators »

Khao Sok should be the number 1 most recommended to you.

You will encounter no dangerous trouble in Thailand. Worse that will happen is you will overpay for some things, and if you are a real sucker you might get scammed. It's a great travel destination, but the travel time is a hard pill to swallow if you are only going for one week.

Enjoy!
Post Reply