THAILAND
Thailand is one of our favourite countries, with something for everyone - beautiful beaches, gorgeous scenery, jungles, friendly people and delicious food.
Thailand is also a country that is very easy to travel in, no matter what your budget is. Accommodation is available in all shapes and sizes, everything from a basic wooden hut on the beach for a few pounds per night, to a luxurious spa hotel for a few hundred. There is no doubt that you can get much more for your money than in many other countries and the standard of hotel is generally very good.
There can be no country in the world that offers such delicious food for such a low price. A delicious green or red Thai curry with rice can be very low priced, even in a nice restaurant, and it has often been said that it is difficult to get bad Thai food. Even the Thai meals we had which weren't as good as some we'd had, were still better and much more flavoursome than most other food. Don't be scared to try it, and although some of the Thai food is incredibly spicy, most places will offer mild dishes or tone them down for you if requested. Fresh seafood is cheap and delicious and although western type food is generally more expensive and can vary in quality, it is still widely available and usually much cheaper than at home.
Useful forums on Thailand:
Trip Advisor Thailand Forum
Fodor's Thailand Travel Forum
Travel within Thailand
Travel within Thailand is easy and generally inexpensive. Because Thailand is so well established as a tourist country, the quality and frequency of transportation is very good.
It is relatively cheap to fly between the main tourist areas and there are a selection of airlines to consider for your internal flights. We have used Nok Air (where we flew on the cutest plane I've ever seen!) a couple of times (from Phuket to Bangkok) and have been perfectly happy with the service. We used Thai Airways to fly from Bangkok to Krabi, Bangkok Airways to travel from Bangkok to Trat and have also used Air Asia for that journey and for our flight between Phnom Penh and Bangkok and had no delays or problems. However, watch out for low luggage allowances when making your booking. We were charged for excess baggage by Air Asia in 2008 which was annoying as we had less in our bags than on our outward journey where we weren't over the limit. It wasn't a huge amount but it's still a bit frustrating when that happens. Nok Air advised us once that we were slightly over the limit but they weren't going to charge us, which was nice. As long as you know it is a possibility and remember the flights are cheap anyway.
Thailand has a well-maintained rail system that reaches the majority of the country with a selection of different classes, from coach to private sleeper, and different services, from regular to express, although even the express service is not particularly fast. This website has lots of useful information for people wanting to travel by train in Thailand.
For budget travellers, there is a good bus system in place, with links to just about anywhere you want to go and daytime or overnight services. When you're in Thailand every tour company and hotel tour desk will be able to give you advice. Motorbikes are widely available, very cheap to rent and very popular. Just be careful on the roads.
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