It's a fantastic time to be in Thailand. (Although any time is I suppose). I would always go for the Phuket sandbox because being locked up in a room for two weeks is hell. Phuket is not my favorite place but because of Covid without the mass tourism I think I would enjoy it more than I would have two years ago. And then after that you can go anywhere. It's fantastic without the crowds, 100% like the alleged "good old days" just with better availability of coffee and croissants.

@Peter **********

"Chiang Mai is a ghost town". Sure. 🙂 Maybe if you want it to be.

@John *********

I really cannot understand this mindset. What Thailand are you living in? For most people it's a lot better than it used to be, especially retirees. Remember all the harping about 'the good old days'.. well this is extremely similar, without mass tourism, lower prices and also some of the downsides that people forget about, like not having 30 low cost flights every day.

David Broadfoot the angriest my son ever got in his life was when he was 5 years old and I replaced the straw with a chopstick. ;)

^ There is no alcohol ban, however bars/pups/karaokes/etc. are not allowed to open, and restaurants are not allowed to serve alcohol.

That's the official line. In real life, your mileage may vary. Especially if you're okay drinking beer from a mug. Like a Viking.

Congrats for finding a Muslim run hotel. ;)

Drugs are frowned on more universally, though.

Maybe a (certified) translation of your wife's birth certificate, and marriage certificate. This may be needed for certain things in Western countries.

Although typically a translation can't be too old when using it, so unless you have plans to arrange specific things then it's probably not worth the bother.

@Mitchell ******

If you're African you're not Farang either. Unless caucasian from South Africa, etc.

Buy at duty free, transfer into Ice Oi Ichi Tea bottle bought from the pharmacy. (Comes with free ice tea).

Tell shop attendant you're only going as far as your first flight because otherwise they're going to spend 20 minutes figuring out if duty free items are allowed to transfer.