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[Sadken]

A friend of mine is heading your way in Feb for a couple of weeks and was looking for some recommendations that have not been trampled to death by the Lonely Planet conveyor belt mob.

Lend a hand?

Ta.

[wix]

The easiest thing to do is visit all the places not mentioned in the Lonely Planet

Seriously, the vast majority of Lonely Planet toting travellers visit just a few places in Thailand -- about half a dozen islands and beaches in the south and east and Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Pai in the north.

Thailand is a big country and that leaves plenty of places to be explored without having to deal with the crowds. Isaan is a vast area that is hardly visited and there is only scant detail about it in guidebooks. In the north places like Phayao, Nan, Phrae and Lampang are worth visiting. While plenty of people visit Sukothai fewer make a visit to the nearby Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet.

If you really want to avoid the crowds head south for Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. However, please be warned that this area has problems with terrorism and there are risks involved in travelling there. That said if you inform yourself about the situation and can accept the risks then you will find plenty of interesting places to visit and locals that are very happy to see a foreign visitor.