Post: #1

I figured this needed its own thread:

Getting There
We flew to Phuket from Bangkok. There are a ton of flights from BKK-HKT so you shouldn’t have to pay more than $150 r/t. I would skip Phuket completely. It is overrun with the worst kind of tourists, mostly loud, fat, drunk Brits/Americans/Australians looking for pros. I was there a few years earlier for a wedding and stayed 1 night in Patpong and was completely disgusted. There are some nice isolated honeymoon type spots on Phuket if you’re interested

Accommodation
Anyways on to Ko Phi Phi stayed at a place called Phi Phi Banyan Villa. Probably on the nicer side for Ko Phi Phi but I would avoid. They are very strict about bringing guests back to the hotel at night and have about 4 security guards checking names off of a guestlist. (Been meaning to write a posting on tripadvisor about this, but the Roosh forum trumps them every time Actually there are quite a few hotels owned by the same people so I would avoid the whole chain of them strictly for that reason. There are 1 or 2 luxury hotels as well but they are generally on their own private island so far away from the action, so I would avoid those too. I would call hotels up beforehand and specifically ask about the guest policy before booking a place.


Nightlife
The great thing about Ko Phi Phi is that there is only one real area with nightlife. I don’t remember what the area is called but it’s obvious once you get there. All the bars are on the beach and pretty much everyone hangs out there. It’s kind of a all night, the worlds about to end, dance party vibe. Being well dressed, smooth and talking a good game doesn’t work very well here. What worked best for us was drinking buckets of red bull vodka combined with adderall and proceed to go jump around like a monkey and take over the party. Goes against what I usually stand for but it seemed to work here when usual tactics failed.

Like I said earlier the island is filled with Swedes, generally on the younger side. Probably 19-23. They’re very friendly and will hangout/flirt with you all night but like Deb-A said they’re very hard to close. I had some success with this gorgeous Serbian girl while I was there, but she wouldn’t do much…girls and their morals these days. Other than Swedes, the second largest group would be Danes, followed by equal amounts of Australians, Canadians and Brits. Met very few Americans there… I didn’t see any pros on the islands so if you looking for that I would stay on Phuket. Also if you look over 30ish and/or out of shape I would maybe reconsider coming here. It’s a very young crowd and the older looking guys in my group were definitely at a disadvantage. The better looking/more in shape u were the better u will do.

One thing to be on the lookout for is when the full moon party is. If you’re looking for wall to wall people, partying their asses off check out Ko Pha Nan which is on the otherside of the peninsula. Ko Phi Phi loses a few people to that during full moon, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you are looking for. There is still a smaller full moon party on Ko Phi Phi and it is still pretty good. (I’m not a fan of huge crowds, so the party on Ko Pha Nan wasn’t something I was interested in going to) One of my friends did make the trip over and had a blast.

One last thing I think the vibe is very different in the summer time (can’t confirm this though) but I don’t think you’ll get the large amount of Scandavian tourists during their summer. They come obviously to escape the cold. I was there in March.


Other things
You can hire a fantail boat for really cheap (prolly less that $20) and they will take you around the island. Or you can hire a speedboat for about 4x as much and you’ll be able to see about 4x as much. Also watch the movie “The Beach” before you go. It was filmed in Ko Phi Phi and you can take a boat to the island where it was filmed. It’s a nice beach but they’re nicer beaches around.

Definitely check out this place called Papaya to eat. We ate there probably about 4 times. Easily the best food we had on the island. Prices are cheap. A full dinner with apps and drinks is probably like $10. Also if you’re in BKK you can get suited up relatively cheaply. If you’re interested I have the name of some tailors I used. I didn’t really like BKK much I thought it was kind of trashy, but the islands were awesome!

Post: #2

Good info. Serbian girls are gorgeous, but getting a result usually takes time. The best time to visit the full moon parties is a couple of days before, during the warm up days.

Agree about missing Phuket, been to Thailand 5 or 6 times and never went there

Post: #3

This is pretty good timing. I'm flying out to Koh Samui in a couple of days. Figured I'd spend a week there and a week in Koh Phi Phi.
Could you recommend a place to stay in Phi Phi or the best part of the island? I have about a 35 euro budget a night.
I'm surprised that you think the Scandinavians are hard to close. I always thought they were the easiest.. especially in holiday mode?
Any other tips would be appreciated.

Post: #4

Good sheet.

If you guys had a week and a half and had to choose one island in Thailand, which one would you pick?

Criteria: Beauty, Beaches, best nightlife and best girls?

Time frame: late March, Early April

Would it be Koh Samui?

Ko Phi Phi ?

Or another one?

Post: #5

the full moon party ko phan yang (sp) is the best party i have ever been to in the world...

having said that was when i was young.

gmanifesto u cant go wrong with phuket-phi phi (both close to each other)

samui-ko phan yang (both close) 10 mins in speed boats

how long do you have?

Post: #6

(01-07-2012 04:20 PM)garygroundwork Wrote:  the full moon party ko phan yang (sp) is the best party i have ever been to in the world...

having said that was when i was young.

gmanifesto u cant go wrong with phuket-phi phi (both close to each other)

samui-ko phan yang (both close) 10 mins in speed boats

how long do you have?

I am brainstorming on a week and a half in BKK and a week and a half at an island (I can't leave the country for long periods of time right now).

The full moon party sounds a little to "mainstream" for me.

Any others?

I will look into some of the ones you mentioned, good work.

Post: #7

(01-07-2012 10:03 AM)BTman Wrote:  I figured this needed its own thread:
Like I said earlier the island is filled with Swedes, generally on the younger side. Probably 19-23. They’re very friendly and will hangout/flirt with you all night but like Deb-A said they’re very hard to close.

Swedes on vacation being hard to close? Does. Not. Compute.

What specifically was your problem with them? Worried about what their friends would think? Not enough liquor? I'm at a loss here

Post: #8

I wasn't that impressed with Koh Samui, too touristy and i was there in May.

Koh Phangan is a sleepier version of Koh Samui like Koh Samui is a sleepier version of Phuket.

Post: #9

(01-07-2012 11:56 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:  I wasn't that impressed with Koh Samui, too touristy and i was there in May.

Koh Phangan is a sleepier version of Koh Samui like Koh Samui is a sleepier version of Phuket.

So what were you impressed with?

Post: #10

nice write up.

I heard the full moon party was a sausage fest.

Post: #11

(01-08-2012 06:48 AM)Rurik Wrote:  nice write up.

I heard the full moon party was a sausage fest.

Most open public parties like that usually are. Eg. New Years Eve street parties etc before and after the fireworks

Post: #12

(01-08-2012 12:23 AM)Soma Wrote:  

(01-07-2012 11:56 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:  I wasn't that impressed with Koh Samui, too touristy and i was there in May.

Koh Phangan is a sleepier version of Koh Samui like Koh Samui is a sleepier version of Phuket.

So what were you impressed with?

Haven't found my perfect Thai island yet. Koh Samui was more touristy than I expected so I guess that disappointed me. It was still fun.

Koh Samui vs Koh Phangan

Beaches even
high end options, nightlife and women Samui wins

Phangan has a more relaxed hippy vibe with less nightlife options. Bouncing btwn the two is a good option.

I got screwed and my fishing trip was rained out 2 or 3 days in a row so I was stuck in Koh Samui longer than I wanted to be.

My main knock on Samui would be that I saw too many tourists for my taste and that was in May, not the high season. Usually i'm not a "if i see other gringos this place sucks" kind of guy, but when half or more the people you see look like you.......
Ko Tao has nice diving and more chill than Koh Phangan, also close by.

Hope this helps some, look forward to hearing about ur trip.

Post: #13

(01-08-2012 11:15 AM)redneckpunk Wrote:  

(01-08-2012 12:23 AM)Soma Wrote:  

(01-07-2012 11:56 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:  I wasn't that impressed with Koh Samui, too touristy and i was there in May.

Koh Phangan is a sleepier version of Koh Samui like Koh Samui is a sleepier version of Phuket.

So what were you impressed with?

Haven't found my perfect Thai island yet. Koh Samui was more touristy than I expected so I guess that disappointed me. It was still fun.

Koh Samui vs Koh Phangan

Beaches even
high end options, nightlife and women Samui wins

Phangan has a more relaxed hippy vibe with less nightlife options. Bouncing btwn the two is a good option.

I got screwed and my fishing trip was rained out 2 or 3 days in a row so I was stuck in Koh Samui longer than I wanted to be.

My main knock on Samui would be that I saw too many tourists for my taste and that was in May, not the high season. Usually i'm not a "if i see other gringos this place sucks" kind of guy, but when half or more the people you see look like you.......
Ko Tao has nice diving and more chill than Koh Phangan, also close by.

Hope this helps some, look forward to hearing about ur trip.

Well you live and learn. To be honest that was a little naive. Thailand is an international tourist hotspot and Koh Samui is well known for being among the most developed. What were you expecting? It's almost funny.
I know exactly what I'm getting myself into thats why I am going there. There are plenty of other places to go in Thailand if you want to experience real culture.

Post: #14

(01-08-2012 11:54 AM)Richie Wrote:  

(01-08-2012 11:15 AM)redneckpunk Wrote:  

(01-08-2012 12:23 AM)Soma Wrote:  

(01-07-2012 11:56 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:  I wasn't that impressed with Koh Samui, too touristy and i was there in May.

Koh Phangan is a sleepier version of Koh Samui like Koh Samui is a sleepier version of Phuket.

So what were you impressed with?

Haven't found my perfect Thai island yet. Koh Samui was more touristy than I expected so I guess that disappointed me. It was still fun.

Koh Samui vs Koh Phangan

Beaches even
high end options, nightlife and women Samui wins

Phangan has a more relaxed hippy vibe with less nightlife options. Bouncing btwn the two is a good option.

I got screwed and my fishing trip was rained out 2 or 3 days in a row so I was stuck in Koh Samui longer than I wanted to be.

My main knock on Samui would be that I saw too many tourists for my taste and that was in May, not the high season. Usually i'm not a "if i see other gringos this place sucks" kind of guy, but when half or more the people you see look like you.......
Ko Tao has nice diving and more chill than Koh Phangan, also close by.

Hope this helps some, look forward to hearing about ur trip.

Well you live and learn. To be honest that was a little naive. Thailand is an international tourist hotspot and Koh Samui is well known for being among the most developed. What were you expecting? It's almost funny.
I know exactly what I'm getting myself into thats why I am going there. There are plenty of other places to go in Thailand if you want to experience real culture.

I went there in low season and i didn't expect half of Europe to be there. So yes i'm naive and you're a genius.

so in your infinite wisdom where else would you recommend that meets G Manifesto's desires but is less touristy than Koh Samui?

Post: #15

I was at the same Island with a girl though last year first week of feb. Attest to the fact that a lot of swedish and norwegian girls were there - with a ratio of easily 2:1 - when we went out at night, the girls were drunk and had this look on their face that they are really really desperate to get hooked up, even then i didn't see guys doing approaches. Having said that, I being with a girl - did not game there anyway so cannot testify the fact that girls were easy or not.

Have no idea about koh phangan for full moon party - but definitely prefer phi-phi island to pick up nice young hot blonde chics than phuket.

Post: #16

I was last there before the Tsunami... I think things have changed a lot. But I think Koh Lanta and Phi Phi are still pretty good. Touristy enough to keep you entertained but not too much. I won't be going to Phuket for obvious reasons. I wont be doing the Full moon either... these events always attract a certain kind of douche. I am only starting in Koh Samui because it has had good reports on the forum. Normally I probably would have avoided it.

Post: #17

(01-07-2012 11:06 PM)P Dog Wrote:  

(01-07-2012 10:03 AM)BTman Wrote:  I figured this needed its own thread:
Like I said earlier the island is filled with Swedes, generally on the younger side. Probably 19-23. They’re very friendly and will hangout/flirt with you all night but like Deb-A said they’re very hard to close.

Swedes on vacation being hard to close? Does. Not. Compute.

What specifically was your problem with them? Worried about what their friends would think? Not enough liquor? I'm at a loss here

not sure what it was to tell u the truth...I think between about 6 of us only 1 guy banged and she was pretty gross. It might have been because we were a bit on the older side (27-32) It also could have been because we were trying to talk to these girls like American girls. Like I said above the night we had the most success was when we started making a fools of ourselves on the dance floor...


G,
Richie has it 100% right above. Phuket and full moon party seems to attract douches...

Post: #18

(01-08-2012 12:52 PM)Richie Wrote:  I was last there before the Tsunami... I think things have changed a lot. But I think Koh Lanta and Phi Phi are still pretty good.

cool, those two and Krabi are close too, always wondered if Krabi would be good to hit.

Post: #19

(01-08-2012 02:43 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:  

(01-08-2012 12:52 PM)Richie Wrote:  I was last there before the Tsunami... I think things have changed a lot. But I think Koh Lanta and Phi Phi are still pretty good.

cool, those two and Krabi are close too, always wondered if Krabi would be good to hit.

If you guys had to pick one, and one only, which would it be?

Krabi
Ko Phi Phi
Koh Kanta
Ko Samui

Or another one.

Don't worry, I am going to avoid the full moon party like tuberculosis.

Post: #20

You could split your time across Phi Phi and Samui like me. Perhaps for you 4 days in each. But I will let you know in a few weeks time which is the best one. But it's defo between those 2.

Post: #21

(01-08-2012 03:58 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(01-08-2012 02:43 PM)redneckpunk Wrote:  

(01-08-2012 12:52 PM)Richie Wrote:  I was last there before the Tsunami... I think things have changed a lot. But I think Koh Lanta and Phi Phi are still pretty good.

cool, those two and Krabi are close too, always wondered if Krabi would be good to hit.

If you guys had to pick one, and one only, which would it be?

Krabi
Ko Phi Phi
Koh Kanta
Ko Samui

Or another one.

Don't worry, I am going to avoid the full moon party like tuberculosis.

I take it you mean Koh Lanta? Koh Lanta is a lovely island, sort of place though you take the Swedish bint you met at Ko Phi Phi, nice beach, good to rent a motorbike and scoot around.

If you're looking for Thai girls then Samui I suppose, if you want Swedes then Phi Phi hands down

Post: #22

G,

I'll be in Koh Lanta in a week (currently in Bali, leaving for BKK tomorrow). From all I've gathered Koh Lanta supposed to be the least exploited of those you mentioned. I'll break it down when I get back.

Post: #23

Three days is enough on Lanta, its not so big, with no real nightlife to speak of(at least not 5 years ago). As I said, more of a couply place. There's a nice beach, a National Park, etc

Post: #24

Phi Phi is tiny, and its absolutely overrun with tourists. It was very different say 3 years ago, they didnt have all those Pagn Ngan style beach bars all along Lo-Da-Lum Beach. There was nothing there, it was pitch dark at night, you could bang there! I couldnt believe it when I went back last year. That said, its naturally one of the most beautiful places ive ever been, and the trip to Phi Phi lae / maya bay is lovely. And Ill second Papaya restaurant, its been the best restaurant on the island for years.

Lanta is bigger but still not the size of the ones on the other side of Thailand, Koh Samui and Koh Pagn Ngan. Its nice, more chilled than Phi Phi and you can rent a motorbike and zoom around. Both are in Krabi provence, and you can get a ferry between them easily. Ri Lay is another beach area nearby worth a look. Krabi town itself is a regular Thai town, which has some cool falang hangout bars ands some big Thai night clubs that are nuts and fun, particularly if you can speak some Thai. Buy a bottle of Johnny Walker with some thai friends and the local girls will be interested! They have hot springs in Krabi and there is a cool Bhudda on top of the mountain that is fun to climb.

Id choose to spend your time on either the east or west sides (so Krabi, Lanta & Phi Phi or Pagn Ngan and Samui) to avoid having to take a long journey across the country. So pick one or the other. Overall Id recommend Phi Phi for a few days of partying and diving, and then Lanta and maybe Krabi. You can fly cheaply to either Phuket or Krabi and then take the ferry to Phi Phi, Lanta etc.

If you´re looking for a beach paradise, the closest I found on Koh Lipe. Its much further south, near the Malay border. You need to get to Satun and then take the ferry. When I was there (maybe 4 years ago) there was no lighting or concrete streets, just a fishing community and a few backpacker style places and one fancy resort. Its beautiful and has a lot of beaches. I spent my time fishing with the Chaolay (kinda sea gypsy dudes), barbecuing fish and getting drunk on the beach. I brought a girl with me, my friend couldnt find one there as it was so sparsely populated. But it could have a starbucks and mcdonalds for now as fair as I know. If you needed to get down there fast you could fly to Trang and you might be able to get a boat from there.

chuk dee kap!

takeda

Post: #25

(01-08-2012 03:58 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  [quote='redneckpunk' pid='140727' dateline='1326051838']
[quote='Richie' pid='140672' dateline='1326045132']
.

Don't worry, I am going to avoid the full moon party like tuberculosis.

i don't know what its like now but 10 years ago it was crazy fun..

sure there are shitloads of douche bags there (especially with 10,000 drunk/drugged up people on a beach)but it doesn't mean you can't have a good time. not only are there douche bags but alot of really great people from all parts...

if i travelled to avoid douche bags i would have never experienced phuket, bali, cancun, pattaya, medellin, parts of europe.

anyway if your young and like a party u will have a blast. i couldn't do a full moon party now but im glad i experienced it in my early 20's.crazy.

btw i have never been to krabi but heard great things aswell as ko samet...really mellow place..quiet and tranquil.