Bangkok and the Beauty of the South of Thailand!

We kept hearing that Thailand was one of the cheapest, yet most beautiful places to visit with lots of strange fun to experience. That in a nutshell was our experience in Thailand. 

We only had 9 days to experience the most out of Thailand, so in true style, we jam packed our days. Our adventure began in Bangkok. We arrived at midnight, which gave us sometime to rest and wake up early to do a walking tour of the city and see it’s many Buddhas and temples. 

We began with the Grand Palace, followed by the Emerald Buddha which was close by. The Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) is not featured because pictures were not allowed.

From there, we took a ferry to Wat Arun, The Temple of Dawn. This renowned temple is attractive in its striking pagoda decorated with multi-coloured porcelain fragments.

We continued on to see the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, another famous temple around that area.  

This is the walking tour we followed in Bangkok: http://www.thaiwaysmagazine.com/bangkok/do_it_yourself-tour/walking_tour_rattanakosin_island.html

Once we were exhausted from walking, we took a break back in the hotel, freshened up and headed out on the town to the popular Sky Bar at Lebua State Tower. It was made popular because a scene from the movie Hangover II was recorded there, but aside from that, it’s a beautiful rooftop located 63 floors up with an amazing view of Bangkok and the river. 

The following day, we took a day trip to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. This is one of the more popular markets to visit located about 2 hours from Bangkok (assuming there are no traffic jams). What’s super cool about this market is that you get on a long tail boat and paddle your way throughout the river seeing goods sold by locals, such as fruits, vegetables, souvenirs and clothing. The locals do an amazing job at reaching out to you from their vendor spot along the edge of the river. Negotiating from a boat and buying things on shore was some of the strange fun we had on this trip. 

You can read more about the floating market here: http://www.passportchop.com/asia/thailand/damnoen-saduak-floating-market-tour-bangkok/

After spending a full day of souvenir shopping and trying local foods in the floating market, we decided that we haven’t had enough time on a boat and booked the dinner cruise on Chao Phraya River. The river cruise is a great way to see key Bangkok landmarks lit up at night. It’s also a great way to try a variety of Thai dishes and hear live music paired with traditional Thai dancing. Just a warning, this was SUPER touristy, but worth it. 

During our last day in Bangkok, we decided to venture out of the city and visit the Khao Yai National Park. It’s located approximately 108 miles northeast of Bangkok. It’s one of Thailands most visited national parks because it has five vegetation zones and one of the few remaining monsoon forests in Asia.  It’s home to more than 153 different species of animals and birds, including 200-300 wild elephants as well as endangered Asiatic black bears, tigers, leopards and barking deer, just to name a few. We didn't see any of these, but it is great to see the park knowing that wildlife is out there. Our tour included a cooking class, which was an amazing traditional Thai meal that we had for lunch, as well as walks to the waterfall and an elephant ride. 

You can't leave Bangkok without enjoying a Tuk Tuk ride, so that night we went out for dinner and drinks and enjoyed a strangely fun Tuk Tuk ride. 

The following day we left Bangkok and flew to Phuket, one of the more popular cities in the southern cost of Thailand. We spent our first day enjoying the resort, beach and pool. 

That evening we went to the Phuket FantaSea show. They call it the ultimate cultural theme park because it’s a combination of a theme park (focused on Thai culture), a zoo and a circus.  The park offers elaborate shows with elephants, a buffet, an animal exhibit & shopping. If you like theme parks and cultural shows, you’ll like this, if you don’t, skip it. 

The following day we visited the Old Town of Phuket. It’s fun to see the original streets and great to souvenir shop, drink and eat. There is a lot to see around the city of Phuket, including amazing temples and Buddhas. The Big Buddha is worth visiting because it's on top of the mountain and offers a great view of the city. It also has lots of historical information on Buddha and his teachings.

When the sun set, we hit Bangla Road which is in Patong Beach. This is where the party is, and where anything you want (literally anything) you can find. This is where the strange fun continues. As you walk through the road, which is closed to vehicle traffic, you find a festival of neon lights, loud music and cheap beer, $1 - $3 USD to be exact. You’ll see lots of street performers too and since most of the bars are outdoors and open-fronted; you hear a mix of loud music as you walk through it, just watch out for the ladyboys! There are several go-go bars, pubs, restaurants, and the famous ping-pong show too, which was the highlight of the strangest things we encountered in Thailand. 

You can’t say you experienced Thailand without visiting its amazing islands. Since our time was short, we chose two-day trips, one to Phang Nga Bay, which included a visit inside limestone caves and kayaking and the other to the Phi Phi islands.

Phang Nga Bay, also known as James Bond Island, is popular because it was the location used for part of the movie “A Man with a Golden Gun”. But to be honest, the best part of this day tour was the kayaking around and underneath the limestone cliffs that lead us to a hidden mangrove forest. The stalactite formations in the caves were really cool to see also. 

During lunch time, you disembark in a Muslim village called “Koh Panyee" which is a village build on stilts over the water, it’s basically a floating village. From there, you visit monkey island, which sounds cooler than what it really was. We just saw a bunch of monkeys on the beach from the boat, which were pretty active and aggressive, so beware, and then a final stop to Naka Island to swim and relax in a secluded beach. 

The trip to the Phi Phi islands included a stop at Koh Phi Phi, which was the site where Leonardo Di Caprio’s movie “The Beach” was filmed. I must say, I was a bit disappointed since it’s no longer a virgin beach like the way you see it in the movie since it’s now full of vendors and tourists. I don’t regret going though, aside from the busyness, it was still beautiful to see. 

Our last day in Phuket was the most memorable for me and it wasn’t because of anything I saw. That day, my boyfriend proposed! Yes, to my surprise after an amazing 9 days in Thailand and before we continued our journey to Cambodia, he popped the question. 

Here are some pictures of one of the most memorable days of my life! 

A quick recap of our itinerary in Thailand is below: 

Sat: 3/26 – Arrive Bangkok – Do city tour and night out
Sun: 3/27 – Damnoen Saduak Floating Market & dinner cruise on Chao Phraya River
Mon: 3/28 – Visit Khao National Park
Tues: 3/29 – Arrive Phuket
Wed: 3/30 – Spend Day at hotel & FantaSea show
Thu: 3/31 – ½ day trip to the Old Town of Phuket, night out at Patong Beach
Fri: 4/1 - Day trip to Phang Nga Bay
Sat: 4/2 –Day trip to Phi Phi Islands
Sun: 4/3 - Depart Phuket 

If you’re wondering how easily this can be done, how much it costs and who I used, I can send you my full itinerary. Just email me for the details. 

My itinerary includes: 

• Tour company used for Khao National Park, Bangkok Dinner Cruise, FantaSea Show and Phang Nga Bay. 
• Travel visa requirements – who needs what and where to get it
• Hotel, restaurant and nightlife recommendations in Bangkok and Phuket
• Currency tips
• Best time of year to visit 
• What to pack and wear
• Other places to visit in Thailand if you have more time
• Unlimited amount of questions you can ask me for your travel