hi Stephen
Food in Thailand is excellent. I probably even prefer it to Indian food- which as you know is wonderful The exchange rate has had an impact on prices for Brits but it is still cheap to eat out. I haven't been to Thailand in February- can't because of my work. But if I could I would probably try Phuket and Krabi. Will leave that for the experts though.
Its visa on arrival so far, far easier than India Have done DIY easily enough in Thailand but must admit haven't just booked a few days but can't see any problem with that.

Very easy to book hotels when you're there especially if you have internet. Have booked on the day in the past. We make use of latestays.com which has late availability a few weeks before visit. There are plenty of other sites as well. Also contacting hotel directly can sometimes get you a good deal.

Febs a good time to go. We head for the Andaman coast line - Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lak, Lanta as we find it better than the eastern sea board (Hua Hin, Samui etc).

Hi Stephen

You sound like my wife and I, only were not middle aged!

We started in Goa and India then progresed further East. We just returned from Krabi (Nov 09) on the Andaman Sea side of thailand and thoroughly enjoyed it. The weather was excellent, 30 degrees from 9am to 4pm followed by an hour of solid rain which then cooled things down for the evening.

We found that it is more expensive than India (Incl Goa) however this was in the main resorts that are very busy and active. We hired a moped and went out of town and found places of similar price to India but you have to be willing to travel about a bit. We stayed in Aonang and most of the resteraunts were similarly priced. Aonang is quite a busy place and has quite a bit of nightlife so if you are looking for a quieter place then make that clear to the tour operator. We used tropical collections and they were very helpful. however resorts that are further away from main town centres can some times charge more rather than less. We travelled to a lovely beach 20km up from Aonang near Tup Kaek however the hotels and restaurants were double the prices to Aonang, which in turn were double the prices of towns and villages near krabi town.

Phulet and krabi and Lanta are all very close to the hundreds of limestone islands that are dotted in the sea and make for excellent day trips to visit and snorkel etc... so we would recomend this area. i will leave to other experts who have been to ko Samui etc to let you know what they are like but whatever the decision we are pretty sure you will really like Thailand as the scenery and people are just the best!

enjoy your trip