I loved Chiang Mai. When you get there, you can either rent a moped to drive or just hire tuk-tuks or a song-tau to get where you want to go. tuk-tuks seat 2 people and a song-tau can hold up to 12 or 15. They are usually cheaper too. (Never pay more than 10 baht for a ride. on a song-tau, 5 baht is enough) You can also go hang gliding in the mountains. That was amazing. Of course, visit the night market open 6pm-6am. Avoid the day market, or at least only go once. And when you go, get cheesecake from the bakery. Strawberry was my favorite. They also have mango. Also try to go to the Sunday market. They have all kinds of amazing hand-made stuff there. Great food (take pepto before you go) and there's a cute little clothing store that has all natural clothes and accessories for men and women. It's called Chiang Mai Cotton.

They have western hotels in the city, the Lotus hotel and the Chiang Mai Orchid. The Lotus is nicer, but the Orchid is cheaper. They are both good and you get to use a toilet in your room, rather than waiting your turn for the squatty down the hall.

Don't worry about not speaking Thai. Some people know a little english. Especially in the markets. They know numbers and stuff. They know enough to rip you off. But the hotels also have these cards that say "Take me to ________place" on one side in English and Thai and "Take me to ________hotel" on the other side so that there's no confusion.

Down the road a little way, there's a place in the airport plaza with a movie theatre in it. (like the 4th floor or something) and they show movies in English with Thai subtitles. For the equivalent of 5 USD, you get "emperor seating" which includes complimentary lychee juice, a blanket and pillow, and a big red reclining chair. There's about 10 of them in the theater so they might sell out, but $5 is a lot of Thai money. Normal seats are around $2.

Hope this helps and I hope you have a good time. Chiang Mai is my favorite place in the whole world.

You're talking about a party vacation. Every destination you have mentioned is a tourist trap designed to make you happy in a warm climate. They have nothing to do with visiting Thailand.

I hope you have a wonderful vacation. It is a beautiful place.

I liked Chiang Mai a lot.  It has a night market that stretches on forever.  I also loved Koh Tao, which was the island where I learned to scuba dive.  I heard Phuket is actually pretty overpriced for Thailand since it is a popular tourist attraction.  A lot of friends recommend everyone to go to Koh Phi Phi instead because it is a beautiful island and it isn't as populated as Phuket. 

I went through the tourist trap.  When I was in Bangkok and tuktuk driver drove my friend and I to a travel agent and she sets up everything I wanted to do for 2 weeks, including trekking to minority village in Chiang Mai (with elephant riding and bamboo rafting) and scuba diving certification on Koh Tao (which is something that I've been wanting to do forever).  Since my friend and I had only 2 weeks in Thailand, it was a really good deal.  Everything worked out to be cheaper than it would be if I had planned everything myself.  But if you have more time to explore Thailand on your own, then I recommend it doing it the backpacker way.  Just go to hostel and learn as you go along. 

I was iffy about Thailand before, but once I read your post I said Phucket, I'm going to Thailand because the island looks pretty nice.  Maybe I'll go for an extended trip and tell my boss to Phucket.

krystalchill24_7@xanga : Wow, thanks so much for the advices :) I'm going to Thailand this April too, and ur words are very usefull!!!

Ok just so we know.. Puhket does not look like that lol.

I've been to Phuket and Bangkok NUMEROUS times. I love both. Phuket, is quiet and nice if you're at one of the resorts. The beaches are wonderful and the food is to die for. There's a place on the beach that we went to almost daily. The nightlife downtown is pretty lively. I personally enjoy the cross-dresser shows. If you're up for something different they are hilarious and great. The shopping is great as well. There is a jewelry shop on one of the corners that's really bright and well lit and they have really nice purses in the back if you ask. There were so many shop-owners there who were so nice, I was there a year after the tsunami so they talked about that a lot, and it was a great experience.

Bangkok is a large city, very busy. I suggest shopping at MBK. I was there for an athletic event so I didn't get to do much more shopping but Bangkok is known for their silver. My mother and friends would often take one of the 12 dollar flights from Singapore to Bangkok just to shop for the day.
I never got to go to Chang Mai but my sister did and she loved it.

If you're looking to go anywhere else around Thailand, I suggest flying Tiger Airways to Singapore. It's extremely cheap to get there, and a completely different SE Asian experience. The food there is the best I've had in my entire life.

@Shopgirl0393@xanga - So true! The fruit carts were soooo good! Can't  tell you how many bags of pineapple I went through!

@littlepiggie818@xanga - Come to think of it, I've heard from somewhere that Koh Phi Phi might be better too. I'll check it out. Thanks! I plan to stay in a hostel while I'm there. Those are fun and you meet great travellers along the way.

You did a lot in Thailand so I'd say you got your money's worth. And how awesome to say you got your scuba diving certificate in Thailand. Congrats!

@Lordv16@xanga - You're right. Everything in a country can be enjoyed, touristy or not. I read your post about the Full Moon Party. Awesome! I loved reading someone's first had experience. I'll definitely try to make it there. Thanks for sharing! 

I've been to Thailand but have never ventured outside of Bangkok. Phuket and Lopburi sound cool.

@whitneyxxxx@xanga - I'm definitely going to take your advice and try flying Tiger Airways. $12? That's so awesome!

Thanks for suggesting the cross dressing shows. I think I'll make a plan to go see one.

I thank u so much to traveled in Thailand coz i'm Thai Girl.