Thailand has long been popular with the financially challenged visitor. There is a reason for that. It's cheap, cheap, cheap. Not only that, but the quality of infrastructure, services and activities on offer is world class. This alluring combination made it one of the first and most popular destinations for the emerging backpacker generation.

Now there are certain places favored by those for whom money and the not spending of it is an important part of their trip. Veritable colonies of young people sharing their own culture, dress sense and tiny, tiny budgets gather in modest cafes to spend as little money as possible. The Banglamphu area of Bangkok, Pai in the northern mountains and the island of Koh Phangan are portals into a parallel world where thrift is the ultimate virtue. 
 
For those who want to keep cost down on a daily basis the three most important considerations are accommodation, eating and transport. 
 
Whatever the area, there will always be cheap hotels and guest houses on offer. In some places such as Chiang Mai or Koh Phangan they are very easy to find simply because there are so many of them. In other places such as Phuket or Pattaya they are less numerous because the tourist industry is geared toward the better heeled traveler. This rarely presents a problem because budget travelers are creatures notorious for their desire to be with their own kind. 

 
On arriving in Bangkok head for the world famous Khao San Road. This bustling little street is at the heart of an ever expanding district of cheap guest houses, restaurants and souvenir stalls. Prices of rooms range from about 100 baht for a shoebox sized windowless partitioned cell to 2000 baht for a decent and elegant hotel. 200 baht to 500 baht should get you a perfectly adequate, clean and safe room in a well run guest house. Khao San Road itself is noisy so it's worth looking in some of the streets around or crossing over Samsen Road at the western end of Khao San to the area now called Rambuttri village or even a little further on to Phra Arthit on the river. 
 
In Chiang Mai accommodation is amazingly cheap and often astoundingly good. For 250 baht (if you look) you can get a clean and well serviced room in a converted house. For 500 baht expect, virtually, resort standards. The majority of guest houses are on the roads leading off from the Thapae Gate in all directions. Elsewhere in places such as Mae Hong Son, Mae Sariang, Chiang Rai, Chiang Kong, Kanchanaburi, Ayuthaya, Sukothai or Trat there will always be an area devoted to the needs of budget travelers where specialty foods, cheap accommodation and laid back cafes (relentlessly playing Bob Marley) will be concentrated. In places such as Pai and Koh Phangan, which are devoted to catering to the budget end of the market, cheap guest houses are more numerous than rice farmers. 
 
Transport in Bangkok is plentiful and slow. If you are not near the sky train or subway the best way to get about is by metered cab. They are cheaper than tuk tuks and much less suffocating. 
 
Around Thailand the bus network is fantastic and very, very cheap. On tourist routes some transport will be specially laid on for backpackers. These are often scams and you would be better off taking a regular bus. The Bangkok to Chiang Mai night bus is a case in point. They are often related to guest house operations and operators will apply pressure on passengers to go to certain places. The buses from Morchit bus station are a better bet and they run frequently. 
 

The trains are a little more expensive but are a great experience. The three main lines are to Chiang Mai via Nakhon Sawan, to Nong Khai through Isaan and the line heading south to Hat Yai via Surathani. If you get a sleeper then you will have your own curtained off bunk with fresh sheets where you will be plied with an endless supply of food and drink. The stations built at the beginning of the twentieth century are often very scenic in themselves. 

 
Air travel around Thailand has got a lot cheaper in the last few years with the arrival of budget carriers such as Nok Air and Airasia so flying is now a viable budget option. 
 

There are few countries in the world where the food is so cheap, so plentiful and so clean. Anywhere you go you can get a meal for thirty baht to a hundred baht. And it will, most likely, be delicious. For a people as fixated on eating as the Thais woe betides the vendor who produces a meal that is 'mai alloy' or 'not tasty'. Street vendors, small cafes and restaurants are everywhere. In tourist areas you can get western food at good prices. A steak may be about 150 baht. In Pai in the north an excellent bread making culture has emerged amongst the resident budget minded expats, so brown rolls baguette and seeded loaves are all available and all fresh.

 
Local beers, such as Chang or Leo, are relatively cheap in Thailand. They are also quite strong on chemicals so if you want to avoid a very sore head then it might be worth paying a little more for a foreign brand such as Tiger. Singha beer, which used to be dreadful, has in recent years been the subject of a makeover and is relatively painless. Local spirits such as Sangthip, whilst cheap, remain lethal. 
 
Although Thailand is promoting itself as a boutique destination, it is not ignoring the budget travel end of the market. For the backpacker, Thailand remains one of the best bargains in the world. 

Thanks for information:cheapthaitravel.com