Thailand

One of the more popular destinations in Southeast Asia among tourists, Thailand has rightly earned her spot as a top travel destination. Whether you want to explore the city life of Bangkok or relax on one of the many islands, Thailand has it all and of course in my opinion the best cuisine in Southeast Asia. With so many places to see in Thailand we decided for our first time in Thailand to split our week by spending half our time on the western island of Phuket and the other half in the bustling capital city of Bangkok.

We flew into Phuket from Kuala Lumpur on a Monday afternoon. Phuket is pretty big for an island so the taxi ride (do be careful which taxi company you use. It is recommend to use the official government service located outside most airports.) from the airport to our resort in Karon took over an hour in rush hour. The driving culture in Bali and Thailand is pretty similar and from the outside eye doesn’t make much sense, who has the right of way I will never understand. This was reason number 1 we didn’t risk driving ourselves. One interesting cultural difference that happened to us twice is the taxi driver will stop in the middle of the journey for gas. He won’t ask the passengers he will just stop the meter and then go for gas. The first time it happened to us, you can bet we were a little terrified as to what he was doing, especially as the engine is left running as the gas is put into the tank.

We stayed in another amazing 5 star resort in Phuket, averaging again $25 each a night, located in Karon, an area on the bottom of the western side of Phuket. We were in a great location right in between the other two popular areas of Kata and Patong. The highlight of our hotel was that we were right next to an outdoor food market that had some of the best Nutella crepes (or pancakes as they call them) ever. We frequented the stall enough that the young boy who worked the stall everyday soon recognized us. The Nutella crepes are just the beginning of the amazing Thai cuisine. Thailand was the only Asian country that we did not get sick of the food after a few days. From green and red curries to delicious Pad Thai we could have stayed for weeks before we started to miss Western food.

Besides trying all the wonderful food and lounging by the hotel pool, we did venture out to go elephant trekking, because when in Thailand you have to. I vaguely remember riding an elephant at the zoo when I was younger, but elephant trekking in Thailand is completely different. We had a guide to lead the elephant, but instead of walking the elephant with a leash, he would sit on top of the elephants head to guide him. For us there was a bench attached to the elephants back, but the guide decided it would be a better experience if we took turns riding bare back on the elephant’s neck. Similar to horseback riding, but a whole lot scarier, especially when trekking through the Thai jungle. We survived though and the experience was well worth it, even if we ended up smelling like an elephant for the rest of the day.

Elephant Trekking

Another day trip we took was out to the island of Ko Phi Phi which is off the east coast of Phuket. The ferry took about 2 hours to get us to the island and with a tropical storm on its way it wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences (que the motion sickness.) Once we were close enough to see the island we had to disembark the ferry and hop on smaller long tail boats to get to land. That was by far the coolest part of the trip. There isn’t a whole lot on Ko Phi Phi besides the island resort, but out of all of the beaches I have been to, Ko Phi Phi is by far the best. With white sand and bright blue water that is at bath temperature, we could have stayed forever.

Longtail boats

Now remember that tropical storm that was on its way on our journey over? Well we almost outran it. We had boarded the long tail boats to get back to the ferry, and at this point you could see the storm coming. The water was rougher and the sky was dark. We were literally about to be the next boat to board the ferry when the rain started. Heavy rain. The waves and the rain were too rough to get up close to the ferry so we were stranded at sea until the rain calmed down a little bit 20 minutes later. By this point though we were soaked and had come close to tipping about 100 times. I give props to the drivers of the long tail boats though who managed to safely get us back to the ferry. The 2 hour ferry ride back wasn’t a whole lot of fun soaking wet and we were more than happy to get back to our hotel rooms and into a warm bath and fuzzy robes (because we could.)

Ko Phi Phi

Our next stop in Thailand was Bangkok, because no trip to Thailand would be complete without a stop in its world renowned capital city. Bangkok was a lot different than we expected. We decided to try out the public transportation system from the airport to our hotel and were left in awe. We first had to board a bus to get to the metro station. The system of payment on buses in Thailand is built a lot on trust. We boarded through the back door and then took our seats. When the bus started to move again a lady with tickets came around to collect your money. So much more efficient then making sure everyone pays before boarding the bus. The metro rail was also impressive. The first thing we noticed when waiting to board is that everyone forms neat lines to board, no pushing or shoving, whoever is there first is first to board. The metro is also spotlessly clean. Not what we were expecting from a city like Bangkok. I was very impressed and maybe the US can take a lesson or two from the Thais.

Now Bangkok was a lot busier than Phuket being a big city, so we had to adapt back to being harassed on the streets again. Tuk tuk, tuk tuk.. no thank you. Massage, massage.. no thank you. And so on. The shopping in Bangkok was a lot better though than in Phuket and not quite as expensive. We spent our first night walking around one of the biggest markets in Bangkok right outside Mo Chiat station. And then we spent our first morning with a trip to the famous Damnoen Saduak floating market. The shopping wasn’t that great at the floating markets, but the setup is something to see. To get to the more exclusive shops you can hire a long tail boat and have your guide take you to the different shops along the waterways.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

That night we decided we’d try and experience some of Bangkok’s famous nightlife. While on our way out we of course stumbled across another night market and ended up shopping a bit before venturing further. Bangkok is known for its nightlife and red light districts and we ended up leaving a bit disappointed in it. It was hard to just find a bar to drink at without a “show.” And being harassed at every corner if we wanted to see a ping pong show was beyond annoying. While Bangkok was fun to see and does have some of the best shopping, I would go back to Phuket long before I made another trip to Bangkok.