luckyg

Looking for your advice on where to go in Thailand,

I live in UK and run an online business so just want to go to Thailand and rent an apartment and work half the day and the rest of the day chill out on beach etc.

Never been to Thailand but simply looking for somewhere with an apartment by the beach with a good internet connection and maybe a city to explore on the weekends.

Where would you recommend?

Thanks

ex reg

Why not take a look yourself and then check here.

luckyg

Take a look throughout Thailand? Because that would take me months and I need to work every day. Cant take time off to do that.


Just looking for someone who can tell me where is a nice place to go, not so touristy, just a nice vibe by the sea with good internet access.

thanks for your input though

bakedbean

I can tell you that you can get half-decent internet connection (at a price) in Phuket but what lets you down is the frequent powercuts. No power, no internet.

luckyg

Thanks Baked,

From searching the past few days, If I am stuck I can buy a mobile dongle although really wanted to use voip from a fixed lien internet connection.

Have been looking at Phuket. Seems very touristy and possibly a mini pataya? Which is not what I want. The next town down I think is Karong? Which might be a little quieter but still want to find somewhere not so touristy.

Will keep looking.

bakedbean

Hi lucky. I'm not very hi-tech on internet. You may want to search through some postings on thaivisa forum. Just do a google, you can find it. It's full of different sub-forums.

I can never understand why people think that Patong is Phuket. It's just one town on the island, very touristy and trashy IMHO, but some folks seem to like it. Certainly not my cup of tea.

If you don't want so touristy, take a look at Kamala, Kata Noi, Chalong, Rawai, Nai Harn. Karon you are referring to (above Patong), touristy but not as bad as Patong. Kata Noi and Nai Harn have gorgeous beaches. Kata is worth a look also - touristy but a nice feel - and a nice long beach.

Cape Panwa is spectacular. The Thai PM holidays there. He clearly knows a thing or two.

But... Phuket not the only place. A lot of people like Samui and Krabi. If you want very quiet, try Phang Nga.

Lots to discover. Enjoy!!

nonthaburi

It all depends on what you want and what you are prepared to pay for. Are you going to have a car or are you going to be reliant on taxi / bus mafia ( ooops I meant public transport ). I think you might be looking at it the wrong way round. If I were you I would consider living in a town or a city where there will be good internet and electricity and stuff like that and having a beach within easy access. The only problem with places like Phuket, Samui, etc is that they are such a rip-off and the Thai people there aren't a good representation of Thai people as a whole because they have in many cases moved there to get the easy money from the foreigners. Scams are everywhere in places like that. The other thing with these places is that they do shrink very quickly and there isn't really that much to do there once you get past the beach and bars etc. Maybe that 's what you want though. But I would definitely recommend staying in a city, a lot cheaper, more access to decent food and supermarkets. Have you thought about Chumporn or Surat Thani. Both are quite large with islands or mainland beaches not far away. What sort of budget are you on ? Just my thoughts anyway. As they say in Thailand it's " up to you " !!

Jockstar

Krabi is by far one of the most beautiful parts of Thailand. IMHO. Not sure the about the internet down there. But i'd say it would meet your requirements.

nonthaburi

Krabbi is definitely one of the most beautifil spots in Thailand !

Alexor

I like Karon Beach, just far enough away from the anal passage of Thailand... Patong.

If you're not convinced about Phuket, you should check out Hua Hin. The beaches are nowhere near as nice as Phuket, but it's a lot more laid back. Decent Internet too.

Bijilo123

Good reply from Alexor re Phuket.

Just be extremely careful - if you are working then you need to have a work permit and the immigration / police / DTI or whoever they are are having a field day catching Farang at work!! Recently a Brit (?) opened a bar in Pattya and because of a staff shortage poured a pint , was photographed and is in custody.

Read Stickman - google it - it reveals all about thailand.

GraniteGuy

I'm a big fan of KhaoLak. The beach is nice and the town has yet to be ruined by tourism. It's around 8 hours drive from Bangkok, or 3 hours from Phuket.

nonthaburi

Wouldn't worry too much about work permit etc. If you're going to be working online then I take it you're not working out of an office with Thai staff and a bricks and mortar business. My advice to you is to not tell anyone what you are doing, Thais and foreigners alike. Keep things too yourself and no one is the wiser. Stay off the radar. For what you will be doing there is no way you will get a work permit so it's a risk you're going to have to take. The example above is for someone in a physical highly visible position so I don't think it's too relevant to you. So many people working on their own on the internet here now whether it is online day trading or selling stuff online. The people who get caught working without work permits are nearly always foreigners in bars restaurants in tourists areas or teachers without proper documentation because they aren't qualified.

p.s. said it before in another post, stay away from Phuket it is a s@#$hole

nonthaburi

Think Hua Hin is over-rated myself, it's close to Bangkok and that's about it.
Pranburi or Prechuap a bit further down might be better. IMO the beaches are nicer, it's less developed and as a result of that it's cheaper too !

bakedbean

Oy now you tell me this is a S@#$hole.... Cape Panwa in the deep south of Phuket... gorgeous place... even the Thai PM goes there for holidays...