Just booked Thailand for October, and starting to plan! A few questions for the group:
1) Any restrictions on travel within Thailand? We only have 10 days there so planning to start in Bangkok and then go to Chiang Mai and Koh Samui before returning to Bangkok for our flight home.
2) any pointers on must do’s in any of the cities we are visiting?
Thanks in advance for your help!

Look at the itineraries for tour companies like gadventures.

My wife and I took motorbikes through much of the Chiang Mai loop (Chaing Mai-Pai-Mae Hong Son and back). Many cool sites on the road to stopover (waterfalls, temples, views etc). In Chiang Mai, check out Doi Suthep

Mikey do you need to know how to ride, I’m assuming! Tbh at does sound fun

Sabeen If you go up to Doi Suthep, you can also see Bubhing Palace and the village of Doi Pui up higher. You can get a songthaew taxi at the north gate of the walled city. It’s cheap.

My wife had never ridden one (she got more of a scooter, Honda click), but she got the hang of it quickly after riding a few hours in Chiang Mai side streets. By the end of the trip, she was a pro. It was a blast. You get a certificate if you make it to Mae Hong Son.

Mikey question; do you require a motorcycle license to drive one?
I have, but my sibling doesn’t.

International driving license. You can get one at CAA (https://www.caa.ca/.../travel/international-driving-permit/). Most shops won't ask you for one, but if you are pulled over at a checkpoint without one, police will fine you.
CAA.CA
International Driving Permit - CAA National

Are you hosteling or staying in nice places? I’ve got lots of hostel-imsg advise…

Drew thanks! Staying in nice places! Got a pretty good handle on hotels but looking for can’t miss things to do

Thailand is fully opened. Was there 2 months ago, but wished I stayed longer than 4 days, on way to Vietnam.
I recommend the train market and death railway River Kwai.
Will definitely go back, as early as next year.

JClaude is 5 days in each country too short?
We are landing in Hanoi, but would love you head over to Chiang Mai for 5 days…

Yes too short.
In Hanoi, must eat Bun Cha, where Obama and Anthony Bourdain ate

JClaude If you are going to Vietnam.. head to Hoi An. It's beautiful and Cao Lau is a dish that you can only find there

That is a lot for 10 days! Thailand is pretty easy to get around in and English is commonly spoken in larger centres. Eat khao soi in Chiang Mai and visit the Saturday or Sunday Walking Streets there. If you have time, spend a night in Pai, in the mountains outside Chiang Mai. Smith Residence is a good location to stay in Chiang Mai.

Susan it’ll be jam packed for sure but we’ll get a little downtime at the beach at least. Thanks for the recommendations

highly rec night train from bangkok to cm. it's clean, quiet and safe. also saves time (if you arent flying).
tho it's bit far, pai is totally worthwhile; it WILL eat up a few days. so perhaps not on this trip...

Hye We spent one night in Pai from CM, not that far.

i felt it would be far, as part of 10 days travel, that's all, esp one way trip does eat up most of a day (i took the mini bus both ways), but it is doable, yes-
i was supposed to be there for 2 days, i ended up staying for 7 so HAHAHA

Hye I think it’ll be hard for this trip but will definitely keep it in mind for future! We are doing a 3 day connection in Dubai to visit family and friends so that cut into our Thailand time a bit too

Sabeen yeah i would defo save pai/northern thailand as a trip of its own; i did 2.5 wks in thailand, bangkok and north only, and felt that i could have had more time personally-
HAVE A FANTASTIC TIME, the food is amazing! it really is! i stopped buying tropical food in toronto after this trip HAHAHA

Hye And Pai is the reason I have a motorcycle license now. That minibus can be hell if you are in the back. The 526 turns wete more fun with my Honda.

Hye Pai is one of the best places to get really chilled out. I prefer it to places like Phuket. Same with Krabi Town over Ao Nang.

Going to Thailand in February. So checked it out and you need proof of vaccination or a pre-arrival negative PCR test. But look again before you go in case things change.
I’ve been before and in Chiang Mai the you have a great Thai cooking school for a day lesson on a farm outdoors: Thaifarmcooking.net
In Koh Samui make sure you check out the Fisherman’s Village Night Market
THAIFARMCOOKING.NET
The first and original Thai cooking school at an organic farm since 2001. Learn to cook healthy Thai food at our organic farm.

Karen sounds awesome! Definitely would love to do a cooking lesson!

Sabeen you won’t regret it! They send you home with a cookbook!

Karen that’s so cool, thanks for the reco!

Advice,
Mark Allan?

In Chiang Mai I would recommend Karen tribe native elephant (you can look them up on their Facebook page). It's a day trip and it's amazing if you are interested in spending a day with elephants. You won't be disappointed.

Paulina yes! I saw that on the elephant nature park page! We booked the day visit to the actual park a couple of hours ago!

I wouldn’t spend much time in Bangkok. We only spent one night and that was enough. Phuket (Rawai) was the most amazing time of my life. We went to Big Buddha, an elephant sanctuary, the Phi Phi island boat tour and booked an experience through airbnb where a local took us to the night market, on a cultural tour to show us graffiti and architecture and to a couple different local bars.

Currently, you just need to show proof of vaccination for entry into Thailand. There are no restrictions on domestic travel. I would recommend visiting Chinatown (Yawwarat Rd), the Srinnakarinda Train Market (not easy to get to, but totally worth the visit), Asiatique, and Icon Siam in Bangkok, in addition to the temples. If you have time, take a day trip to Auyttaya. You can take a cheap train ride or easily hire a taxi (Grab or Bolt apps can be downloaded on your phone and are similar to uber).
In CM, there is a really nice lake just outside of the city called Huay Tung Tao. You won't see many tourists there and it's an amazing spot to spend the afternoon (food and drinks available). If you can, I also highly recommend hiring motorbikes as you'll see much more of the city this way. As others have said, visit the night market and eat lost of Norther Thai food, especially Khao Soi.

Krista is the street food safe? Trying to decide if I should take some dukoral before I go?

Sabeen, it’s probably safer than most restaurants. Most local people eat street food, so it doesn’t sit out for too long. If you’re worried, choose the stalls that are busiest. You can also get really good food for super cheap in mall food courts. I the 9 years I’ve lived here I’ve had food poisoning twice - once from a decently priced restaurant and the other was KFC

Good to know! I think I’ll try the stalls that seem to have high traffic then! It’s crazy that some of the stalls are recognized by Michelin!

Sabeen, there is soooo much good food here! Do you know which area of Bangkok you’ll be staying in?

Krista bang rak I think both on the way in and on the way home

Sabeen, that’s a nice area. Lots of stuff to see and do. There are good restaurants there, too. A couple of night markets (my fav).

Krista I’m really looking forward to it! It’s my first time in south east Asia!

Sabeen, you’ll love it! Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to help if I can

Sabeen You can never go wrong taking Dukoral as a preventative. It has helped my wife immensely, who is much more prone to intestinal problems.