Thailand

Thailand has been on my bucket list for a while for a number of reasons – the food, the beaches, elephants!!! My sister decided to move there half a year ago, so it was the perfect time for me to visit! As soon as I saw the ticket prices drop, I booked flight over! During my 2.5 week stay in Thailand, I island hopped the three largest islands in the gulf of Thailand, Koh Tao, Koh Phangan, and Koh Samui, and ended my trip with a few nights in Bangkok. Each place had something special to offer and is definitely worth making room for in your itinerary!

DO’s: Visit during low/dry season for best prices, least tourists, and sunny weather. Always carry water. Ask around for favorite local spots and try hole in the wall spots. FRUIT SHAKES EVERYDAY! Leave footwear at the door before entering most places. Bargain fairly at markets. Watch your belongings. Order buckets when pregaming (a giant drink in a bucket.)

DONT’s: Don’t drink tap water. Don’t argue with locals/pick fights – there are gangs but also it just isn’t nice! Don’t sunbathe naked/skinny dip. Don’t only explore the main tourist strips. Don’t bargain too low. Don’t wear Buddha for style. Don’t use reef harming sunscreen. Don’t litter.

Koh Tao

Koh Tao was my favorite out of all the places I’ve visited in Thailand. With my sister having lived there for a while, having her show me around definitely played a part in that. I went in May, which is in-between low/high season and dry/wet, so it was slow but still dry for the most part! It was overcast part of the time, but didn’t rain much. In my opinion, Koh Tao had the best Thai food, beaches, hikes, and nightlife! For such a tiny island, there’s so much to do and I would highly recommend visiting!

Getting there: My first destination in Thailand was an island called Koh Tao. To get there, I flew from Oahu, Hawaii → Osaka → Bangkok → Chumphon, and from Chumphon I took a ferry to Koh Tao. I booked my ticket to Bangkok for a little under $500 through http://www.skyscanner.com on Air Asia but had to pay an additional $170 for check in luggage. I’ve flown on a handful of budget airlines and they have all been amazing, but after factoring in my luggage prices I would have definitely booked with a different airline that had more benefits (phone charger, snacks, etc.) at least for the international flight. To get to Chumphon, I booked a ferry and airport shuttle through http://www.lomprayah.com for around $25.

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During the day: Koh Tao has some incredible beaches and viewpoints. San Nuan Beach is a beautiful cove surrounded by palm tree’s! Swing on the palm tree swing and take a dip with fish that swim right up to you! Nearby is the View Point Resort which has an infinity pool and outdoor shower over looking the ocean. We got some cold fresh coconuts and enjoyed them poolside. Also, take a day to explore Koh Nang Yuan and Mango Bay! Head to Sairee beach to book a boat taxi to take you there and back which will cost $15 per person. I recommend going as early as possible since bigger tour boats start arriving around 10:30 and the viewpoint and beaches will be packed after. Hike up to the peak for a gorgeous view of the tiny island! “I’ve never sweat this much in my life” was something that went through my head at least once a day in Thailand, but it was 100% worth it and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! Be sure to bring a snorkel and explore the lively reefs and crystal blue waters. When your taxi boat drops you off at Mango bay, snorkel over to the hill side restaurant for a fresh smoothie break and an unbeatable view of the bay! At the south end of Koh Tao there’s a viewpoint of the whole island called John Suwan. After your hike, before heading to the more popular beach, Freedom Beach, continue down the unlabeled path for a secluded secret beach! You’ll have the clear waters and white sand beach all to yourself! Another unique cove is Au Leuk, where you can swim with baby black tip reef sharks! It’ll cost about 100 baht ($3) to get in, but it comes with a drink (soda, juice, water, etc.), and shaded lounge chairs. A couple at a time, baby sharks will swim near the shoreline right along side you! End your days with a massage at Wind Beach Resort for resort quality massages with affordable prices! For 300 baht ($10), it was the best $ for quality massage that I got on the entire trip. Be careful of cheap massage places, the quality might not always be worth it! Wind Beach Resort will give you clean clothes to change into and finish with tea.

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Nightlife: Beach bars line Sairee beach, each having their own unique vibe – think boujee boho to spicy chicken wing contests! Many had bean bags, mats, chairs, and tables on the sand so you can enjoy drinks with your toes in the sand. The sunsets right in front of Sairee beach, making it perfect for sunset cocktails! After sunset drinks, head to some dancing bars/clubs. With so many options, you’ll definitely find your favorite type of music and atmosphere without having to pay any cover fee’s. Tip: Check out a 711 after for drunchies and try the grilled cheese sandwiches or garlic bread that they toast to perfection for you!

What to eat (you’re going to want to trust me on this): PAD THAI, obviously. Mint Kitchen had amazing Pad Thai and Thai Tea! Definitely get Pad See Ew and a fruit shake from Mama Piyawan’s which costs about 100 baht ($3) total but is the best I’ve ever had! A little hole in the wall place with a few tables that you might not think to go to, but trust me, it’s a must! Mango sticky rice from Su Chili’s and Thai Curry Pizza. If you’re looking for a cute cafe to relax in with healthy food options, A.C (essential), wifi, and the sweetest owners, check out The Factory Koh Tao. For a fancy dinner with sunset views, head to Barracuda at Darawan for Sunday roasts with complimentary desserts, charcuterie boards, oysters as big as your hands, and passion fruit mojitos! The whole property is Instagram worthy and the food is worth the extra $!

Where to stay: View Point Resort is a great option if you’re looking to spend a bit extra on a luxurious place. The whole property is stunning! Get a cottage for around $70 a night, or share a private pool villa with friends for around $300+ a night! If you’re going the budget friendly route like I did, you can get a nice and clean room for about $25 a night at Living Chilled or Savage Hostel. If you will be going out at night a lot, I’d recommend finding a place in the main area, Sairee. The dirt roads and steep hills can be pretty sketchy to drive on at night.

Transportation: Moped is probably the best and most cost efficient way to get around the smaller islands depending on where you’re staying and how many people you are traveling with. We rented one for 200 baht ($6) a day. I don’t think I would trust myself driving one but since my sister had been living there, having her drive made things easy! When considering if you should get a moped or car, be sure you’re comfortable driving and familiar with the road rules as there aren’t much stop lights and defined lanes. Moped crashes are pretty common and throughout my stay I would see tourists bandaged up from crashing or falling.

Koh Phangan

We based our trip here around the Full Moon Party which was definitely a highlight of our trip! It’s a beautiful little island definitely worth exploring in addition to partying. Just driving around the island, you’ll be amazed at how beautiful the palm tree lined roads are! It was a quick trip to Koh Phangan, but we made memories we will never forget!

During the Day: Explore the island on moped and take in the natural beauty! Head to Chalok Lam Beach for a white sand beach with a palm tree swing. Continue along the road to another leaning palm tree for sunset! I recommend getting there early because there will probably be a line of people waiting to take pictures. If you need a snack break, check out the unique atmosphere at Koh Raham Restaurant and Beach Bar. This bar sits on the beach, with swings on every tree, hammocks over the ocean, and stairways leading to waters full of fish you can swim with! Make sure to save time for sunset a little further down the road at Amsterdam Bar for an Amsterdam like experience, obvi. This bar can get packed, so head there earlier for a good seat. This two storied bar offers sunsets views on each level, a swimming pool, food and drinks, and joints! Although it is illegal in Thailand, certain places pay off the right people and you can openly buy and smoke on premise. If you decide to save it for later, be sure to smoke in private as you risk getting caught in public.

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Nightlife: Try to plan your stay on Koh Phangan around the Full Moon Party! It’s well known and popular for a reason! It’s held every month at Haad Rin Beach. The night before is a Jungle Party to get you in the mood for the next night! Neon body paint is a theme at these parties, so be sure to wear clothes you’re okay with getting dirty or getting paint on. These parties are WILD and so much fun! It’s all good vibes, good music, and you’ll find some amazing drunchies on the streets at the Full Moon Party! Haad Rin beach is a strip of bars and clubs, with performances inside and outside! Get ready for fire dancers, fire jump rope, fire limbo – fire everything! Be careful entering these events as there might be people trying to sell you drugs. From what I’ve heard, many are undercover cops waiting to arrest people. But that’s okay, you’ll find many street vendors for cheaper priced buckets before heading in to the event!

What to eat: Street food at a night market is always a good idea! They always have a wide variety of food and have the freshest seafood! Bubba’s Coffee bar is a MUST and the perfect place to start the day. I’m still thinking about their pancakes to this day, plus they have the friendliest staff who will make you feel so welcomed!

Transportation: We rented mopeds for 250 baht a day and it was really easy getting around since there wasn’t much people on the roads for the most part. Getting to and from the Forest and Full Moon Parties, we took Tuk Tuk’s for about 100 baht each way! Be sure the get the one with lights and loud music to get you hyped!

Koh Samui

Koh Samui is the largest out of all the island we’ve visited, and from we heard and experience is all about the resort life. From what we experienced, it was that and so much more! Koh Samui has so much to offer, from waterfall hikes, to elephant sanctuary’s, to markets where you can find anything immaginable!

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During the day: Visit some beautiful temples like Wat Plai Laem and Big Buddha! Shop around the nearby street shops for great souvenirs and gifts. I found a beach hat for about 300 baht ($9) and a dress for 150 baht! After walking around in the heat, hike up Na Mueang Waterfall 2 to swim in fresh water pools overlooking to jungle! Avoid the animal tourist traps at the entrance that offer elephant trekking and photos with a drugged up tiger. To interact with elephants, visit somewhere ethical like the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Koh Samui (elephantjunglesanctuary.com/samui)! Although reservations are pricey $3000 baht or around $90, its a pretty standard price and worth it. All elephants are rescued from places that didn’t treat them properly. In small groups, you get to learn about them, feed them, and bathe with these amazing happy animals! Plan a day trip to Angthong National Marine Park, where you can see the green lagoon and hike up the a viewpoint of the many islands in the marine park! You can easily organize a trip there at any travel agency office, where we got a deal for 1200 baht (around $36) when it usually costs 2200. We went on an overcast day, so the water wasn’t as blue as we imagined, but it actually worked out since it wasn’t as hot as it could’ve been while we hiked up to the lookout points! The first view point was of Green Lagoon, and we kayaked over to the start of the next hike up to the lookout point of all the islands in the marine park! Once you’re back on Koh Samui night markets are a MUST. Out of all the markets we visited in Thailand, Fishermans Village Night Market was our favorite! Open from 5-11pm every Friday, you can get a whole meal + dessert for under 100 baht! Not only did the market have amazing food, but also a variety of items for souvenirs and gifts – I would definitely get all your shopping in here!

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Nightlife: We kept reading that Koh Samui had some of the best nightlife in Thailand, and although we had a lot of fun, we felt it definitely didn’t compare to the other places. We went on a Friday night during slow season, which could have been a factor to why it was so slow. We still had a great night out in Chaweng, partying at the popular Arc Bar!

What to eat: After a night of partying, visit Karma Sutra bar & kitchen or Karma Resort and try the “Thai Breakfast”. A tasty rice soup that will bring you back to life! Have street food as much as you can, so much to choose from and all amazing. Definitely visit Mr. Kom for the BEST Pad Thai you will ever have! The Tom Kha Kai and flavored milk drinks are also soooo goooOOooOd!

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Where to stay: Somewhere with a nice pool is definitely the way to go! We had a 2 bedroom villa at Melissa Villas on Airbnb with a private infinity pool for $143 a night including service and cleaning fees. It. was. incredible. Coming back to that pool with a view of the ocean, jungle, and town was unbeatable! After a few nights, we moved closer to the beach to Eden beach bungalows which costed about $70 a night. It was such a cute and picturesque resort that greeted us with fresh coconuts! It was in walking distance to Fisherman’s village and a 400 baht taxi ride away from Chaweng. Karma Resort next door had the most amazing infinity pool which we ended up getting some food/drinks there and using a couple times!

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Transportation: Koh Samui is larger than the other islands, so the streets are much busier. If you aren’t confident driving a moped, I’d recommend renting a car. We rented a car since our first airbnb was on top a steep hill where our only options were that or getting private taxi’s which probably would have been a bit more expensive and inconvenient. We had a car for three days when we knew we would be driving around a lot. The other two days we took taxi’s or called a ride through the grab app which is similar to Uber.

Last Stop: Bangkok

For our last stop before heading home, we traded the tropical mountain views for the city skyline. For us, Bangkok was all about eating everything in sight at the markets, and of course, the nightlife! So many people and so much to do!

During the day: For us, Bangkok was all about the markets, and for many the shopping! Terminal 21 in a massive mall that will have anything you need. Each floor has a different city as the theme which makes it fun just to walk around! However, we were more interested in the markets, which are a huge part of the Thai culture. The market choices are endless, all with different things to offer. We went to the Amphawa Floating market and Rot Fai Market. We took a boat tour for 50 baht each around the Amphawa floating market and 5 surrounding temples to get a deeper understanding of the Thai culture and what locals do. These markets are especially great for food, but not so much if you’re looking for souvenirs or gifts.

Nightlife: You can either have a fun boujee night out at rooftop bars, or Hangover style at Khao San Road! You could even do both in a night but you might not want to wear your fancy outfits to Khao San Road as its PACKED and you’re bound to get it dirty making your way through the streets and bars. Some rooftop bars have dress codes, so be sure to dress accordingly! Either way, it’ll be a good time! We went to Khao San Road twice, where we tried scorpions and accidentally whip its! The streets were lined with people trying to sell “laughing gas” which we thought was just helium. We didn’t do enough to feel much since we split a large balloon, but we ran into a guy who did it for 6 hours straight! He was there when we were partying, and still there after we left to get Burger King and came back (which btw has the best taro black sticky rice pies)!

What to eat: Street food!!!! All day everyday! There are street vendors everywhere offering so many different types of food for amazing prices. Our favorites was from the Rot Fai Night market which seemed especially popular for the seafood!

Where to stay: We stayed in an Airbnb in Sukhumvit, which is near the shopping mall Terminal 21, and about a 400 baht taxi ride away from the airports. The location was great as it was close to many eateries and rooftop bars, a cheap taxi ride away from Khao San Road, and it had an amazing infinity pool!

Transportation: Taxi’s, tuk tuks, and rides through the Grab app are so cheap in Bangkok, so we stuck to that instead of risking driving ourselves in that traffic. Getting a metered Taxi seemed much cheaper, but we noticed some Taxi’s will say metered, but won’t actually use the meter and they ask for a price beforehand. For the most part, we would always agree on a price before getting in and just based it off the prices on the grab app. To get to some further away destinations like the Amphawa Floating market which was an hour and a half away, we took a taxi to and from the Southern Bus Terminal, and got a bus ticket for 70 baht to take us the rest of the way.

Thailand flew by so fast, and I really wish I could have spent more time there exploring other places. Everything (except the bugs) was amazing. The beaches, hikes, food, culture, and the people. I’ve made some incredible memories there with some good friends, and I will definitely be going back!