Just a little tidbit to get you to click over, and no offense meant if you are a bearded hippy :

…if you spend time on Khao San Road, you’ll likely run into some bearded hippies who chastise you for spending more than $5 a day on a place to sleep, but less than $40 on some good weed.

Here’s one of his gems:

10. Don’t wear a nice watch, for that suggests a fat wallet and also makes a target. I learned that lesson on my first trip to the Philippines: a robber with a machete had just encountered a Japanese businessman with a Rolex — who now, alas, has only one hand.

8, 13, and 15 are solid advice.

Trust me, you want to read the rest. Take it for the humor it is, then head over to his blog, On the Ground, for some thoughts on why we (and by we I mean Americans, but it really applies to everyone) should travel abroad more.

Cathay Pacific is offering a great deal to Bangkok. Fly between September and November for just $810 RT from LAX or $1060 from NY (including all taxes and other charges). If you’re flying to Singapore, it’s about $1 cheaper, but why fly there when you can come to Thailand? Seriously though, this is one of the cheapest prices available right now, and Cathay is a great airline with convenient connections.

I particularly like his tips on subscribing to Google News Alerts (with all the tumult in Bangkok this should be mandatory) and checking SeatGuru.com (especially if you’re flying from North America and will be in your seat for 20+ hours) but click through to read the rest of his advice.

One thing I want to add is this — when booking flights, check all the websites but also contact a travel agent. Remember those? If you book through a travel agent you often pay an additional booking fee but:

1. You don’t have to book immediately to get the fare. The agent can usually hold your reservation for a day or two before you have to commit.

2. If you have some flexibility, they can suggest alternate routes or dates that will reduce costs.

3. They know layover rules and how to take advantage of them. When we take long flights, we often like to add in a day in a different city en route but websites don’t offer that option.

3. Not sure why, but I’ve found they often get much better rates than I can ever find. We just booked a trip to Delhi and Mumbai for mid-May. We needed an open-jaw RT from Bangkok to Mumbai, Mumbai to Bangkok and when I priced it on the internet it was around $500. Our travel agent here got the tickets for around $300. Go figure.

Anyway, it doesn’t cost anything to ask and compare, right?

you don't even have to eat it on the street if you don't want to

In most parts of Thailand, you can’t walk 100 meters without stumbling upon a humble looking merchant cooking up something, often using just a small pushcart as a kitchen. Around lunch or dinner time, crowds of people often stand in line or sit at the impromptu tables often set up nearby. If you grew up, as I did, in a city where street food was limited to hot dogs, sausage sandwiches and pretzels around Fenway Park, it would seem a little strange that everyone, from all levels of society and all walks of life, would be waiting in line in the hot sun to sit on a plastic stool and eat food cooked out on the sidewalk. There’s an air-conditioned restaurant across the street! The food’s not even expensive. Come now.

Well, my Boston sensibilities don’t always work so well in Thailand. And if everyone’s doing it, from laborers to hi-so foodies to old timers, there must be a reason, right? Though street food is very cheap and certainly convenient the real reason is even simpler than that – street food in Thailand is good. Whether you’re eating a plate of khao ka moo (slow braised pork over rice), or munching on some sai krok Isan (Isan fermented sausage) or just trying your basic som tam (spicy papaya salad), the street food version going to be better than what you’ll get at that restaurant across the street. A lot better.

Lots of people ask me whether it’s hygienic to eat food that’s been made out in the open. Some people choose to avoid street food altogether for fear of getting sick. If you have any doubts, watch a street vendor preparing a meal. It’s all there out in front of you, not hiding in the back of a restaurant.

Street Food Tips

• If you’re worried about getting sick, stick to foods prepared using fresh ingredients and high heat (except khao ka moo, for which you really should make an exception!).
• For the best street food during lunchtime, follow the office workers. Clusters of street vendors pop up wherever there are lots of people looking for lunch.
• Noodle soup and som tam are ubiquitous, but opt for something a little different if you can figure out how to ask for it. Worst case, approach a vendor selling whatever it is you want to try and just smile and stand there looking hungry. Someone will help you eventually.
• Don’t expect much from street food in very touristy places where Thai people aren’t eating. I’m thinking of the counterfeit phat Thai noodles on Khao San Road. That’s not really Thai street food. That’s tourist food.
• If you don’t feel like eating outside, ask for it to go and eat it in your hotel. Say “sai tung” or “kraab baan”. Or point to a plastic bag. Street vendors are preternaturally deft with plastic bags. Anything can be prepared to go.

When writing the Thailand books, how do you decide what goes in and what doesn’t go in?
All travelers are different. What one person thinks is the perfect vacation another might not like at all. Things I enjoy or think are really cool might not appeal to every reader. And people have different budgets and time constraints. So I try to include destinations, sights, food, accommodations across a very broad spectrum, so everyone finds things they are happy with. But whatever I include, it has to be the best option available, whether it’s a five star resort or a $15 bungalow, street food or a fancy restaurant. The only rule is nothing mediocre or disappointing unless I’ve warned the reader in advance and there’s a really compelling reason to include it.

I was just fact-checking some information for the new Moon Bangkok and came across this deal at one of my favorite funky hotels, Reflections Bangkok — 1,500B per night for any room. Reflections is a really special property, as each guest room has been designed and decorated by a different local artist. Obviously, not the right choice for someone who wants to come back from a day of sightseeing to straightforward, neutral surroundings, but those of you looking for a quirky, arty place to hang out or otherwise interested in the modern art scene here should check it out.

Reflections Room 408, how cool is that?

There are plenty of other great deals around. As I come across noteworthy ones, I’ll be sure to post them but if you’re planning a trip now make sure to have a look at hotel websites of properties you’re interested in.

Budget Airlines

The Phuket to Bangkok flight we missed was an Air Asia flight and we knew we were going to miss it hours in advance. We were on a sailboat in Phang Nga Bay and couldn’t move any faster. When we got mobile phone reception, we called Air Asia and explained our situation, but because it’s a budget carrier, we were SOL. Though they wouldn’t change our flight they told us there were about 10 seats left on the next one and that we could get our tickets at the airport.

When we got to the airport, there were tickets left, but they were almost three times the price of our original tickets, and we did not want to spend $200 each to take a one hour flight. So then we scrambled. J went to the Nok Air counter, I ran to the Thai Airways counter. No love there. Nok Air has scaled back operations and didn’t have any more flights that day. Thai Airways had only standby seats in economy, or $250 seats in business. At about 4:55 p.m. we got to the One Two Go desk, and they did have seats, for only 2,000B (less than $60). But the flight was leaving at 5:30 p.m.

J took our passports and bought the tickets, I ran downstairs to where the other J and S were with their luggage and we got in line at the check in desk. One Two Go was really accommodating. As J was paying for the tickets upstairs, they checked us in downstairs and told us to get to the gate.

All should have gone fine from there except that we thought our flight was delayed and decided to grab some Burger King before boarding. What were we thinking? Well the flight was delayed, but not by much, so as I was biting into my Whopper Jr. and chatting with some other American travelers about their Semester at Sea, the ticket agent rushed into the BK, pointed at us and yelled – Four passengers to Bangkok, board now!

Yikes.

We made the flight and weren’t even the last to board. So thanks Mr. anonymous late dude who saved us from the scorn of the other passengers.

Regular Carriers

So this morning my sister missed her flight to LAX. There’s nothing much I can say other than don’t drink long island ice teas and stay out till 2:30 a.m. before a 6:45 a.m. flight and then fall asleep on top of your phone so you can’t hear the alarm ever schedule a flight for 6:45 a.m.
When we woke up, at 7 a.m., we called China Airlines immediately (okay, there was a little cursing before the call). The agent in Los Angeles put my sister on the next available flight, which happens to be tomorrow afternoon. No hassles, no problems. C was on a very restricted ticket (she got an $800 RT from LAX) but they rescheduled it anyway. Thanks China Airlines.

Others I know who have missed flights in similar situations with other carriers have had the same experience. Though they don’t advertise this, and could probably charge you if they wanted to, regular carriers will usually put you on the next flight, without charge, if you miss yours.