Unless someone has a serious lung condition avoiding CM is not necessary.

Are you serious mate? These people are going to be on holiday and you don't see any reason for them to avoid what was on numerous occasions last year officially the most polluted city in the world?? I live here but don't stay here March & April as I value my health + I have the option to get out and take it as does everyone else who possibly can. Those that remain walk around in masks and stay indoors with windows sealed as possible. Everyone here knows the value of a N95 mask and what PM2.5 refers to.

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/air-pollution/chiang-mai-has-worlds-worst-air-quality-as-fires-rage-in-the-north
https://prachatai.com/english/node/7976
https://www.nationthailand.com/national/30365763
https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/air-pollution/counting-down-pms-7-day-deadline-in-chiang-mai-so-far-no-change

The comment 'you could say the same for Laos and northern Vietnam too' is valid. Chiang Mai gets the headlines as it's a recognised tourist city but it's the entire north of Thailand, Vietnam, Burma and to a lesser degree Vietnam that is effected and last year the pollution was bad from mid February right through to mid May and there's is absolutely zero possibility that the same period next year will be clear but we pray it's just 2 months not 3. March I'll be in Japan and April on the beach in Bang Saphan.

Pai Thailand is listed in the Pai Thailand is listed in the Top 15 places to Party in SE Asia, which also includes Bali and Malaysia places too.,., which also includes Bali and Malaysia places too.,.

I think this is that website

Haven’t you heard…? Pai is incredible! When you’re traveling around Thailand, it will be pretty damn hard to find someone who doesn’t think Pai is absolutely amazing. That includes me. The whole city is so relaxed and chilled out. It’s truly a backpacker / hippy’s paradise. While many will often claim that “Pai is not what it used to be” or “Pai has changed so much” — the Pai that I visited was still pretty awesome. These were some of my favorite spots in Pai.

This is exaggerated . Tourist town since early to mid 2000's , not a 'hippy paradise' . I was there last year and its got even more commercialized , and the amount of cars and traffic !!! There are plenty who like it but easy to find also people who definitely don't think its amazing . I am one of them - there is not much there. Its not a party town in the sense anyone goes there particularly for night life or partying . They go to Pai because of its overblown reputation as some 'super chilled' wonderful place to hang out . There is night life of course but its sort of incidental , its not whats drawing people there.
That website is a bit hard to take seriously . Sorry can't accept it as reliable evidence.

Why Is Pai Popular Thread

I included Chiang Mai because I’ve heard such amazing things, and how beautiful it is... it also has the elephant sanctuaries which I would like to see

I also doubt he will have trouble entering the country again (and especially if it's just a one month jail term for something as innocuous as flying a drone in a restricted area, which is hardly the crime of the century). No one was hurt, nor did he intend to cause any harm. Although what he did wasn't a wise decision, to me it's laughable that it could even be considered a jail able offense. Not that I would do what he did, but if I were in his situation, I would have paid off the authorities to avoid jail time and bringing unwanted media attention to me.

Also, many parts of Myanmar operate like a country within a country. Even if you were banned from entering Myanmar with a visa, you wouldn't be prevented from making a day trip to one of the border areas from Thailand as they just stamp your passport without looking at any information contained within (or from entering at Tachilek and proceeding on a 14-day border pass to Kengtung), casinos located in Myanmar territory but accessible by a bridge or boat from Thailand, or entering ethnic minority militia controlled areas for which you don't need a passport. Technically, sneaking into the country is very easy - not recommended but easy. You could easily make it to the interior of the country but without a passport and visa, wouldn't legally be allowed to check-in to any accommodation. The only exception is in the militia controlled areas, particularly those close to the border - they don't care about your visa status as the hotels that are operated there belong to foreigners such as Thai businessmen who own the casinos (or Chinese for that matter) and they mainly serve their respective compatriots.

#8, have flown into Thailand off an international flight and luggage NOT xrayed on arrival.

Westwood, sorry I didn't make this clear.

Many (most?) airports X-ray your luggage before it get to the carousel. The Bangkok Post back in 2017 said that Thailand would be getting such a system. Not sure if it in place yet, but you wouldn't know if it was.

Don't be fooled, most Custom Officers aren't psychic, they just have good intelligence.

Probably only a matter of time before most national parks are closed. In other countries like Thailand, the government closed all national parks days ago. Sad, but not surprising.

Hey all!

Thank you so much for your feedback, it's been super helpful in our planning process. We just booked our plane tickets there! We'll be headed to Bali on 10/17/18 and are planning on having a much more open ended/flexible itinerary based on weather and how much we enjoy any given place. We have some cities that we're definitely interested and a general flow that we plan on following. Our general outline is as follows:

US --> Indonesia (10/17)
-Bali
-Jakarta
Singapore
Malaysia (depending on time/weather)
-Penang
-Malacca
Bangkok
Northern Thailand
-Chiang Mai
-Chiang Rai
-Pai
Laos
-Luang Prabang (Slow boat)
Northern Vietnam
-Hanoi
-Ha Long Bay
Central Vietnam (super weather dependent)
-Hue
-Da Nang
-Hoi An
Southern Vietnam
-Ho Chi Minh
-Mekong Delta
Cambodia
-Phnom Penh
-Phu Quoc
-Siem Reap
Eastern Thai Islands (anywhere else around Bangkok we might be interested in)
-Ko Lan/Ko Phai/Ko Sichang
Bangkok --> US (~12/19)

We were definitely overly worried about dates/plans and have realized that we will have to play a lot of things by ear. Booking our tickets there was a big step for us and we can't wait to get started on our trip!

Ok, thanks to everyone who replied. We think we're getting closer to an itinerary and I'm hoping people can comment now on my suggestions. So we'd like to do slower travel meaning take our time. Let us know if this is still quite ambitious. We have about 3 months.

Thailand:
Arrive in Bangkok head down (bus?) to Ko Pha Ngan and Koh Lipe to hang out in the islands for a bit.
Then fly up to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai for a weekish.

Myanmar:
They fly to Mandalay and explore Myanmar for a couple of weeks.

Laos:
Fly, bus or train (?) to Gibbon Experience
Bus to Luang Nam-tha, Luang Prabang, Nong Khiaw

Vietnam:
Bus to Vieng Xai, Pathet Lao caves, Mai Chau, Dien Bien Phu, Sapa, Hanoi Halong Bay.
Bus or train (?) to Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Mui Ne, Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong Delta to....

Cambodia:
Boat to Chau Doc and
boat to Phnom Penh
Boat to Battambang
Bus to Ankor Wat/Siem Reap

Then off to the Philippines....

This is a bit of a round about trip, but we miss out on a lot of the stuff in the middle of Laos and Cambodia. Again, I ask, is this too ambitious for 3 months? We are sorting through the visa's right now so if you see any issues with what I'm proposing for that as well please let me know. We do want to see the beauty of these places, slow down and be near the water when we can.

Also, is it possible to go in and out of the countries? For example: Thailand is a 30 day Visa not Required. If we go out of Thailand within 30 days, could we come back again and get another Visa for 30 days?

Normal price and go for it. For absence of taxi scams all over Vietnam, take the green MAI LINH taxis, of impeccable reputation