6 Weeks in Thailand: My Route & Recommendations
I had a blast in Thailand. I knocked quite a few things off the bucket list and tried to experience the best of what “Amazing Thailand” has to offer.
First off, here’s where I went:
I flew into Chiang Mai and spent a few days in the city before heading to a rural Karen village where I volunteered with Daughter’s Rising. Then I went back into Chiang Mai for a few days before catching a bus to Chiang Rai. In Chiang Rai, I got severely ill and spent most of my time in a dark hotel room. Once I started feeling better I completely re-routed my plans. I was supposed to catch a 2-day slow boat to Laos and do the south of Thailand after Laos and Vietnam. However, after 6 days with my head in a bucket, I re-evaluated my desire to sit on a boat in the middle of nowhere for two days. The desire was less than 0. What I really wanted to do was get on a flight home and call the whole thing off, but I’m stubborn and I wasn’t ready to call it quits…I don’t really quit. And since getting in the ocean has done wonders for me in the past, I knew that’s where I really needed to be. I jumped on the next plane to Surat Thani. There really isn’t much to Surat Thani, it’s kind of just a transit point for the islands. I got on a ferry to Koh Tao, where I got absolutely stuck because I loved it too much. Yep. My love for the travel and the adventure was restored. I wouldn’t have ever left if I hadn’t met some cool friends who made the call that we had to get our lazy asses off the beach and get on a boat to plop our lazy asses on a different beach. We took an overnight ferry to Koh Phi Phi, got a little party out of our systems, and jumped on another ferry over to Koh Lanta to recover. And I really do mean recover because I got food poisoning yet again. This time on a travel day. I’m so glad that ferry had windows…From there I went back to the mainland to check out Ao Nang/Krabi/Railay Beach. Kissing ocean life goodbye for a bit, I took a bus to Khao Sok National Park. I stayed in a floating water bungalow, trekked through a dangerous cave, and disconnected for a few days. Before leaving the country I, of course, had to check out Bangkok. I was pretty nervous for this one because I’m really not a city girl, but I was pleasantly surprised! Then all of a sudden my visa had run out and it was time for me to skip town. Next destination: Vietnam.
If you’re thinking of going to Thailand, feel free to shoot me a message for any guidance or recs!
Where I stayed:
Chiang Mai – Hostel Lullaby, The Cabin Backpackers, Homestay
Chiang Rai – I don’t really recommend the places I stayed…
Surat Thani – There are better options than where I stayed…
Koh Tao – Slumber Party Hostel Beachside – cutest dorms ever
Koh Phi Phi – All I can say is don’t stay on the beach
Koh Lanta – Blanco hostel
Ao Nang – K-Bunk center
Khao Sok National Park – Secret Hostel (It’s aight. Good not great. They’ll help you organize an overnight tour)
Bangkok – Back Home Backpackers – Nice and away from the chaos but still well located. I don’t recommend staying on Kao San road.
Must Do’s in Thailand:
Take a cooking class
- This is kind of a “must-do” everywhere you go. Thai food is soooo mf tasty and there are so many dishes to choose from. I became obsessed with Khao Soi and ate it for a week straight. My only warning: go with an empty stomach because you will make 4 courses and want to eat it all. The one I went to was at Thai Farm Cooking School. They pick you up from your accommodation, take you to the market to pick up ingredients, then out to the farm for the lessons. It was super cool and a highlight of my trip. They even send you home with a booklet that has all the recipes.
Visit elephants
- See, this one is a tricky one. You want to be really careful about where you go or if you do it at all because of how they treat the animals. The whole idea of animals in captivity for tourism is a hard pill to swallow. But the reality is, there are no more wild Asian elephants. They’re all in captivity, it’s a matter of whether they are being treated well or not. Pay attention – are they being injured? Whipped? Are there chains? Do they seem in distress? Are they being fed well? Do not ride an elephant.
- I went to Chai Lai Orchid because they are a social business and your money funds Daughters Rising and the local village. The elephants are owned and trained by local Karen families. The elephants here have been rescued from abusive centers and while they recognize that a true sanctuary would be for the elephants to be far away from humans, this is the closest to a sanctuary they can get. Look out for my interviews with people there in posts to come and check out my last post about my time there.
Bamboo rafting
- This was pretty fun! You get to go down the river on these long bamboo rafts and somebody paddles ya. But prepare yourself- you will be completely wet. My friends Malida and Sandar took me, and we had a blast.
check out some muay thai
- So, this one is a bit difficult for me because I do not like to watch people get hurt and have really never understood the appeal of fighting like this professionally. HOWEVER…. Idk what kind of hypnosis they put in that fight music, but I got sucked in. It’s pretty entertaining. They’ve got this music going on and a hype team in the corners between every round. I hadn’t intentionally sought this out. I just ran into it at the night market on a Saturday night with a few friends. We were offered free entry and thought “Hey, let’s just check it out.” At first, I thought I couldn’t watch but after a few rounds, I had my hand up in the air cheering.
- I also took a Muay Thai class that was offered at my hostel and that was pretty fun. It can never hurt you to know a little self-defense.
shop
- Duhhhhh. They are so many amazing markets full of artists, cool knickknacks, clothing, and just random things that you’ll want to buy. Leave room in that suitcase.
get scuba certified
- Koh Tao is world-renowned for this. It’s the cheapest place in the world to get your open-water certification- but that doesn’t mean it’s shady! I felt completely safe, and everything was very professional. Do it do it do it. I went with Goodtime Adventures and can’t recommend them enough.
Go On an island hopping boat trip
- These are offered on the islands over in the Krabi area and you just need to hop on one. Do you feel the safest? Not really, no. But you see some super cool things, snorkel, and it’s one of the highlights of my trip. I saw the bluest and greenest waters.
Get a massage
- In fact, get one every day. They’re everywhere and they’re always open. Treat yo self…then do it again!
party
- Thailand is a great party spot, especially the islands. That’s kind of all there is to do on Koh Phi Phi.
visit temples
- There is a plethora of temples in this country. And they’re beautiful. But don’t pressure yourself to see them all. Just put on a few on your list. Seeing temples in Southeast Asia is like seeing churches in Rome. You should check out a few, but certainly, by number 7, you feel like you’ve seen what you needed to see.
rent a scooter
- Now for safety purposes, I cannot advise you to do this. Obviously, be smart with your decisions. I promise you, in every hostel I walked into there was at least one person who had some kind of gnarly injury from a motorbike accident. DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for anything that happens on that bike and I urge you to exercise caution. BUUUUT it is a good way to get around and explore the islands.
Things I purposefully did not do:
- Ping pong shows
- Something aint right about this. It feels degrading to women and chances are there’s some level of coercion. I don’t think it’s safe and chose not to support this attraction.
- Tiger stuff
- I just don’t think it’s right to cuddle a tiger.
- Disrespect locals/the culture
- Be mindful of where you are. Be eager to learn and slow to judge. Remember, YOU are a GUEST here. This is not your territory so don’t come in and act like you own the place.
Added some more to the ASIA scrapbook recently. Check it out and see my Instagram for more videos, pics, and updates to come.
Okay bye love you have fun
Joj
