Written By: Roy Watts

For several years there has been no air link to Thailand. In June 2010 Thai Airlines introduced a direct flight from Johannesburg to Bangkok, making this popular destination even more accessible.

The islands off Thailand’s coastline have an awesome reputation for being amongst the world’s favourite holiday destinations. Close to 50,000 South Africans a year enjoy this highly developed ‘Resort Culture’ along with the superb weather, the friendly demeanour of its Buddhist nation and the unbelievable tariffs enhanced by the fact that their low season coincides with our winter. These are all vacationers who go despite the fact there is no direct flight linking Johannesburg with Bangkok, and are prepared to endure a time consuming and tiresome ‘dog leg’ to get there. This great inconvenience is about to end in June when Thai Airlines launch direct flights from Oliver Tambo Airport to Bangkok. This will also introduce another dimension of Thai Travel for people looking for additional facets to the famous island luxury lodges. For those with an adventurous outlook, there are some wondrous times to be had at unbelievably low prices. As a primer for exciting possibilities ahead, here is a random selection of aspects that will broaden the scope of holidays in Thailand – and make a serious assault on the costs.

Bangkok has a palpable energy that emerges at touchdown in the dramatic Meccano chic airport. The first big surprise is the low price of ground transportation, and how far you can travel on a taxi or tuc-tuc for a fistful of the local currency (which when converted mentally by a simple division of 4, turns out to be a truly meagre Rand offering). Although this city is the hub through which a wide variety of travel paths cross, it is in itself a very exciting place. First up we discovered the Pathumwan Princess – a very reasonable and totally unique leisure biosphere linking a luxurious hotel to a seven story shopping mall. The complex covers a huge city block with a top deck slab supporting an astonishing selection of amenities such as squash and tennis courts, a well equipped gym, a jogging track, a beautiful spa, an enormous swimming pool and a couple of Jacuzzis. A virtual Country Club right in the middle of a bustling metropolis. And next door in the internally linked mall are seven modern cinemas, hundreds of restaurants and all manner of shops ranging from classic to kitsch.

Our other great lodging experience was the Amari Watergate Hotel, a wonderful destination for businessmen featuring an entire Executive section whose sole purpose is to provide all the convenience of the guest’s office facilities back home. These are but two of the marvelous accommodation choices available in a vibrant city at the crossroads of international business and holiday travel. And before signing off on hotels let me urge one and all to proceed to the Sky Bar on the 55th floor of the Sentara Hotel. Here on an open air deck behind a glass barrier you will sip exotic cocktails against one of the most spectacular backdrops in the world – guaranteed!

Chiang Mai has been a popular destination for a long time and offers a wide range of adventurous activities, along with all the usual cultural and culinary fascination. Internally, Thai flights are also incredibly inexpensive, and we flew in for R450 on Bangkok Air. This is probably priced to serve the local population as air fares to the islands are not pitched at the same low economic level.

When seeking alternative ‘value for money’ travel in Thailand it is essential to work through someone who knows the place really well. We work with an ex South African owns an adventure company. He is based in Chiang Mai, speaks both English & Thai and has lived in Thailand for 23 years. He sees the new Johannesburg – Bangkok direct flight as a great opportunity, and is busy creating golf, and family adventure packages for the SA market. Some of the wide range of outdoor activities include hill tribe trekking, jungle walks, mountain and quad bike trails, and kayaking safaris along the rivers of the North.

Thailand is a golfer’s paradise. Rising alongside the frenetic expansion of high end lodges and spas, has been a corresponding explosion of golf course developments – over 200 in all! Many of these are resorts within themselves, and dotted around the country is a selection to satisfy the most demanding aspirations, designed by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Greg Norman and Nick Faldo. They all have superior lodgings, great restaurants, wonderful spas, well equipped gymnasiums and cerulean pools. And on Koh Samui, the Santiburi Golf Course which stretches across a series of hills has to be one of the most unique venues in the world, with nary a level fairway in sight. Chang Mai is ringed by a host of magnificent facilities all offering amazing packages which must make them contenders for the best golfing vacation value in the world.

The Islands in the south are always going to be one of Thailand’s main attractions, and to get there usually involves a flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui costing approximately R3, 000 return. But here’s a better idea. Lomprayah is a highly efficient and reliable company who operate a fleet of luxury buses and high speed catamarans. They have set up an infrastructure of jetties, offices and taxi services for the express purpose of ferrying tourists to the islands with maximum comfort and minimum cost. A typical journey would start at 6am from their depot in Bangkok when tourists board one of their air conditioned buses with reclining seats. Some six hours later the entourage arrives at the Pier in Chumphon to board one of the company’s express catamarans for Koh Tao, the first island destination – arriving at 2.45pm. Passengers can elect to disembark, and enjoy this SCUBA diving Mecca of the south, catching the same ferry days later for the second stop which is Koh Phangan. This ferry gets there daily at 4.10pm. Those that have remained on board will get to Koh Samui – the final destination – at4.40pm. Here a fleet of taxis waits to transfer passengers to their nominated hotels (all included in the overall price).

As a sidebar to this suggestion, I mention that to maintain standards of comfort infinitely better than flying economy; passengers should pay an extra 50 baht (or R12 in Afrikaans) to sit in spacious comfort in the air conditioned VIP lounge upstairs, leaving the back packing masses on the lower deck. There is also a special lounge beyond that in some of the newer vessels, where one can be cocooned in leather upholstered luxury for the princely sum of R40. At the end of the day, by going the Lomprayah way, you avoid all the hassle of air travel, you have the option of island hopping en route, and at a two way cost of R300 you will enjoy a saving of R2,700 per pack. Most importantly for me, I didn’t have to squeeze my 1.92m frame into the impossible seating parameters set by the airlines.

Finally back in Bangkok before you return, I have one final suggestion. Take a taxi to the Lebua Hotel and proceed to the Sirocco Bar on the 67th floor. There whilst you are blown away by one of the most spectacular vistas you will ever see, salute this safe haven for a South African Rand that has such a tough time in other international destinations.