Phuket/Samui... any other places?

Hi all,

My partner and I spend a lot of time in Thailand, and we love hanging out for a few months a year there...

In particular, we have spend a long time in BKK, Samui, Koh Pangan, Phuket and have travelled out through Burriram and Ubon Rathitani to Loas.

We are heading back to Thaniland for another 2 months soon, and while my partner in crime would like to head back to Phuket, I would like to explore some new places...

Can anyone recommend some different places to hang out?

We don't want to go too 'island' this time or too far off the beaten track, as we need to make some business. So please only recommend towns that are 'lively', have lots of things to do and see, and places that have a wide selection of restuarants, etc.

I guess the obvious suggestion is Chiang Mai - especially as neither of us have been there... but I'm not sure if you'd wanna spend 2 months there...

Any suggestions?

Cheers!

i have lived in thailand for three years, and the best place i've visited is krabi and the surrounding islands, hands down its the best and is only about 2 hours from phuket by bus or you can even fly in directly from bangkok. It has a great night life and a beutiful surrounding rainforest if you want to get away fromt he beach If you want somewhere quiet, go to koh lipe in the koh tarutau national park, it's in the deep south however, so it takes a while to get there, but it's virtually unknown and untouched. enjoy!


p.s.- don't go to chaing mai for more than a week or two, it can get very boring once you've seen all the sites, but pai, which is very close by is very chilled out and has a great atmosphere.

There are quite a number of provinces in the northern region that you can travel trough. Chiangmai as a start, flow west to Tak, up to Mae Hong Son, eastward to Chiangrai and then back to Chiangmai. I am sure you will find interesting sights along the way.

i did travel with a friend to koh samet some time ago, but since is not a popular choice among tourist,is calm n peaceful on the island, not as commercial as samui n phuket. i spend 2 days on the island n really enjoy it. u can get there by taking a bus from bangkok follow by a boat to the island. u can choose btw a ferry or speed boat, ferry had certain timing but is a more economic choice. the speed boat is fast n can stop at the beach u r staying in but cost more.try to get someone to share the speed boat like i did to cut cost. the food there is nice n cheap. accomandation is cheap too ard 400b. there are restaurants along the beach which u can sit back n relax, enjoying the breeze while enjoying ur meal. pls take note that the restaurants only operate at night. is good to learn some thai before hand cos the local don't really speak english. Enjoy!!!