was in thailand in 2004. you looking for nice and pricey or cheap? in bangkok all the backpackers start off on koh san road. cheap guest houses and plenty of nightlife and backpackers from all over the world. great time. just ask a cab to take you there and your options are plenty for places to stay. Also lots of go go bars not to far from there. but beware, also lots of lady boy go go bars!
a cheap way to get around if you can figure it out is the boat systems. its also pretty fun.
phuket. lots of fun to be had there. just get downtown on the beach and there is block after block of bars, booze, and DRUNK backpackers! from there i belive you can hop a snorkoling boat trip to the island where the movie the beach was filmed. costs extra to get onto the beach but it is a beauitful place.
now, if your REALLY looking for a party hit up the Full moon lunar party in phangan. its an island off the south east of the mainland and it is SICK.
http://www.fullmoon.phangan.info/
you can get there a couple of ways. the fast boat, which is kinda pricy but only a few hours. or the route i took, the slow boat. all night long trip. not only is it cheap but you get a feeling of what the slave ships must have been like. crouded, about 3 or 4 feet high and sometimes scary chit! but hey, its all part of the experiince.
umm, thats all i can think of right now but if ya want to know more let me konw. ill try and get some pics up soon.