Thailand | South East Asia Travel Guide

The first stop on our South East Asia travels was Thailand.

We only visited the North of Thailand: Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai and Pai. We originally planned to go to the South later on in our trip, but we never made it there. That's a future holiday!

Bangkok

Our journey began in Bangkok. Now, I did like the city, but a couple of days would have been enough. It's very busy and a bit smelly, which is surprising because it was actually quite clean, but all the new smells from the street food we were experiencing became a bit overbearing. We ended up staying 5 days because I got ill, the dodgy belly hit me straight away, but luckily that was the only time I was ill for the rest of the trip. So, we did stay too long, but it couldn't have been helped.

What to do in Bangkok

We explored quite a lot of Bangkok and hiked our step count up quite high by walking all around the city. We even got lost at one point and ended up in proper local part of town, but we quite like getting lost, you see so much more.

Temples

We visited a lot of temples, including Wat Intharwihan, also known as Big Buddha (it really was a big buddha), and we walked to the top of the Golden Mountain, which not only had a beautiful temple at the top and surrounding the bottom of the hill, but it had a lovely view of the city. The work that must have gone into creating them is so impressive. I really wanted to see the reclining Buddha, but we never got the chance to and I was too ill during our last couple of day to go. 

 

Kho San Road

This is an absolute must. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before -  a road full of bars that is quite quiet in the day, nothing out of the ordinary, but at night it becomes a haven for the drinkers, lady-boys and all those looking for the party scene. You can barely walk down the street it's that full! There was even a crocodile being cooked (not sure how I felt about that). We only did it the one night because it is absolute carnage. We both tried a scorpion while we were there. James had a small one and he said it tasted quite meaty. Whereas I had a bigger one (that's right, BIGGER!) and mine was really crunchy and tasted like a very dry ready salted crisp, which was surprising.

The Grand Palace 

The Palace was beautiful, but I was a little disappointed that we were only allowed to walk around the grounds. I was hoping to see inside the Palace too. I had a bit of a dilemma here as well. I was wearing a new pair of trousers which I had only bought the day before. As I bent down to put my shoes back on after leaving the temple it happened...they ripped all under the crotch. One massive whole! Thankfully I had brought a scarf in case I had to cover my shoulders, so quickly, and hopefully, discreetly, I wrapped it around my waist to keep my dignity. Not ideal!

What to do in Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya was a very quick trip. We were only there one night, but it was all we needed. It was much calmer than Bangkok, which I preferred, but to be honest, if we didn't go I feel like we wouldn't have missed out on much. I still wasn't feeling 100%, which potentially tarnished my experience there, but there didn't seem to be much to do.

There were the ruins of the old city because it is used to be the Capital of Thailand, which was nice to walk around. Our last couple of hours there, before hopping on an overnight train, were spent at a bar with a local, who we had met on our last night in Bangkok. She brought us some local cakes from her own cake shop, which was a lovely surprise.

Boat trip around Ayutthaya

I do love a boat trip. I was a bit sceptical of this one at first because it was just a like a large canoe that rocked every time someone moved, but I soon got used to it. We were taken around the city and stopped off at a few temples and ruins and it was nice to see how the locals along the river live.

What to do in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai was my favourite place in Thailand. We stayed in the old town, which has a river running through the middle of it, making it very picturesque. It was lovely to just walk around all the little streets with hidden cafes, bars and salons where we treated ourselves to a Thai massage, which is both painful and relaxing, but so worth it.

Dui Suthep

James had seen enough temples after Bangkok and Ayutthaya so he wasn't really interested in seeing Dui Suthep. To be honest, the main reason I wanted to go was to see the view of the whole city because it is up a big hill. So, I headed off on my own. There were organised Tuk Tuk's that take you there, which was quite handy. The temple was beautiful, but the view is what made walking up those steps worth it. There was a market at the bottom too, so I couldn't resist having a mooch before I headed back and treated myself to a pashmina for just £2.50!

Chiang Mai Zoo

The one thing James had his heart set on doing was going to the zoo. I wasn't sure what to expect from an Asian zoo, but it was actually pretty good. It was a lot bigger than I thought, we did so much walking, and we got to see many animals we had never seen before, including some exotic birds, kangaroos and pandas.

Muay Thai Boxing

One night we decided to check out the Muay Thai Boxing. I didn't really know what to expect, but what I didn't expect was a bunch of kids beating each other up. We didn't realise it was a children's competition, but they were badass!

Jungle hike and Elephant Sanctuary Tour

This was by far our favourite part of our time in Chiang Mai. I couldn't tell you what the tour was called because we booked it through a travel agency where we booked multiple things at once (big mistake). The tour included pick up from our hostel, along with the rest of those on the tour and taken to the point where the trip began.

We started with bamboo rafting, which was a lot of fun, and then set off on a hike through the beautiful jungle. It was tough but amazing. We spent the evening with a local family who cooked us some delicious food and we all chilled around the campfire getting to know one another, we even had a sing-a-long at one point. We had such a good night. It was good to be away from technology all night. I didn't have the best nights sleep though. We were all in one room and were lying on a very thin mattress on the floor, but it's all part of the experience.

The following day we had another hike back down, where we ended up at an elephant sanctuary. We got to wash and feed the elephants and I loved every minute of it. There was the most adorable baby elephant there too!

Night Market

The Night Market was so much bigger than I ever thought it would be. It was so busy too. We met up with the gang from the tour and explored as much of it as we could. It was too big and too busy to see all of it though. There was a huge range of stalls, selling clothes, trinkets, art, food, all sorts.

What to do in Pai

Pai was an experience just to get to. The road there from Chiang Mai has to be the windiest road I have ever been on. Would not recommend if you're feeling even just slightly nauseous. Pai is a small hippy town that was so chilled. James wasn't feeling too good, so we spent a lot of time chilling, so it was a good job our hostel had a pool.

Canyon

I really wanted to see the Canyon, but while James wasn't 100%, it was only a quick trip. We weren't even wearing suitable shoes, we were both in flip flops. So we just soaked up the view rather than risk walking along the narrow paths.

Food Night Market

The night market in Pai is by far the best market of the entire trip. I still dream about the food on offer there. From chicken on a stick to giant filled jacket potatoes, to amazing curry wraps. Everything we tried was delicious and there was so much choice.

So, that's Thailand. Have you been to the places I've mentioned?
Next up, Laos.

Faye
xoxo