what to wear

Hello there,

We%26#39;re off to Bangkok and Koh Samui for our honeymoon in about 9 weeks and i%26#39;m really confused as to what i can wear without offending anyone. I keep reading different advice so what i really would like to know is; can i wear vest tops and shorts during the day and are flip flop type shoes acceptable for day time and night time? Also at night do i need to keep arms and legs covered because of mosquitos? I know for visiting temples we should have knees covered but what about arms and feet?

I know this has probably been covered so many times before but i have read so much conflicting advice i don%26#39;t know what i%26#39;ll need to take!

Many thanks

what to wear

The only places with strict dress codes are the Grand Palace (and one or two other temples) and a few top-end hotel restaurants/bars. Thais are quite modest people so don%26#39;t wear anything too low cut, or too short shorts/skirt in Bangkok. In other temples think about what you would wear in a church.

In Samui, you can be relaxed but beachwear is suitable just for the beach, and topless is not liked by local people. In the evening, if you are vunerable to mosquito bites, then wear long sleeves and long pants - but that is up to you.

what to wear

Topless is not liked on the beaches or round the pool.

As well as wearing repellant at night for mossies I intend to wear some during the day in Samui as they are having a real problem with Denuge fever at the moment. there is no vaccination against it and it is passed by mossies during the day. The symptoms are flu like with aches pains etc. If you suspect that you have it do not take ibupropen. The very young elderly and people with suppressed immune systems are at danger of fatality from it.

It is for this reason that i would never consider taking very small children.

Bangkok and samui have been highlighted recently in the news as bad spots for it.

covering up is needed for temples etc.

Don%26#39;t know whereabouts in Ko Samui you are staying but we stayed in Choeng Mon and found the dress very informal. I took a few dresses but most people seemed to wear cropped trousers on an evening and I mostly wore my flat sandals as we usually ate at one of the beach restaurants. Lots of people were wearing flip flops or crocs. I always wore shorts and vest tops during the day apart from when we were in Bangkok where I wore trousers and a short sleeved top for visiting the Grand Palace and temples. It was quite hot on a night so I didn%26#39;t wear long sleeves but did take my deet spray with me to keep the mossies away.

Hi we just came back and i lived in my shorts and bikini in the day and just casual wear at night.Unless you are having a night at a quite posh place i wouldn%26#39;t worry.I wouldn%26#39;t bother to dress up too much for walking aroung the town.Worth chucking in a few smart pits incase you want to go to the cliff top restruant or somewhere similar.We stayed at the imperial Samui it was fantastic.They is a little place 2 hundred yards down the road called the gormae resturant.Lovely food you can have a starter 2 main meals and 4 drinks for 750 barh.Just watch the prawns they are very expensive.You can get stuff washed dead cheap as well.Got all mine done before we came home.Wher are you staying?

Hi

Thanks everyone, that makes things a lot more clearer, and thanks for the advice regarding Dengue fever, never used mossie repelant before so must make sure we%26#39;ve got plenty!

We%26#39;ll be staying in Bo phut so hopefully i can wear casual clothes for day and night time there too.

You will find that you don%26#39;t wear any formal stuff. It is much too humid and hot and it looks out of place.

Comfort all the way.

in bangkok the grand palace and wat pho were the only places i encountered that were fussy on clothing which is understandable.

in koh samui (chaweng) you can wear flip flops day and night. and its too hot to be wearing alot of garments. so you can def get away with wearing singlets, shorts and bikinis around the streets.

I would be careful with the bites.I hardley ever get biten and I got 55 bites in one night.(yes I counted them yes i%26#39;m sad lol)But they really flared up and i have dark areas now where I was biten.That was over 3 weeks ago.Have had cold like syptoms since i%26#39;ve been home.really achy arms at first.Feel better now just seems to be on the chest now.Thats scarey might go to gp and get checked out.I might just be a little parinoid though.But if they like you cover up as its really not worth it.Monkey balm worked well if you get bitten.Te hotel also gave me something that smelt like mint and tcp not sure what it was though.

I do tend to attract little critters that bite so what would anyone recommend to keep them at bay? I don%26#39;t really want to have to keep arms and legs completely covered up if its hot.

I always take insect repellent with 50% deet to keep the mozzies away and never wore long sleeves on an evening as it was too hot.