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Hi, I'm considering going to Thailand for Songkran next year. I've heard that Chiang Mai is the best place to experience it, though I'd appreciate others' views on that. My plan is to go for three weeks, starting in Bangkok, having a visit to Siem Reap and Angkor for a few days, and finishing in Chiang Mai for Songkran. My questions are: Q. Can I travel directly from Siem Reap to Chiang Mai, or will I need to get back to Bangkok? In which case, how far in advance will I have to book travel from Siem Reap to Bangkok, and Bangkok to Chiang Mai? What methods of available transport can I book in advance from the UK? Q. Although I don't have a beach holiday in mind, it would be a shame not to visit a beach for a couple of days, especially as it's going to be really hot in April. Are there any within about 2 or 3 hours of Bangkok that are worth visiting? Thanks!
re Siem Reap - Chiang Mai: I tried to find out last summer, whether there was a direct connection, because I considered going from CM to Angkor. As it seemed there is none. The fastest connection is by plane via Bangkok. By bus you can hardly avoid going via BKK, all other routes will take longer and need several changes of the bus. re beaches: to my experience the best beach you can reach in less than 3 hours is Hua Hin (about 2 1/2 hours by bus). Pattaya is nearer, but the beach is rather poor, compared to Hua Hin.
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Q3.the best beaches near bangkok are on ko samet theres no competition any nearer
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Ko Samet is ok, but the question was which beaches are within 2 or 3 hours from BKK, and Ko Samet is more than 4 hours!
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Well, your trip sounds very doable, even if you wanted to go everywhere by bus instead of flying. The question is how you want to travel, really. If you want to go by bus, you can almost definitely arrange that same-day when you get there. If you want to fly, you should probably book that in advance. If you're wanting to hit a nice beach and don't mind using buses a bit, you could take a meandering path from Bangkok to Siem Riep (or on the way back) stopping by either Ko Samet or Ko Chang. If that sounds like something you'd be up for, you'd probably want to check a guidebook to see what kind of route that would entail, and how easy you could get buses from the cities involved. I'm afraid I haven't backpacked that particular route, so I don't know much more. As far as Songkran goes, Chiang Mai is definitely the place to be for that. It's a madhouse waterfight through the entire city, especially if you're along the canals. I walked out on the street and within, oh, 15 seconds I was drenched. People are packed along the side of the road or into pickups, and everyone is shooting or throwing water. No measly water pistols there. Keep in mind that since it's the holiday season, transportation will be slower and definitely more crowded. Factor that in to your plan, whatever it turns out to be.
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Thanks, I was considering either getting a sleeper train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai or going by train or bus via Phitsanulok for a couple of nights (to visit Sukhothai).
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