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May 2023 – Thailand

It’s hot, humid, sticky and highly uncomfortable. In a few days it slowly grows on you, so you end up wondering what’s next. Let the Thailand adventure begin!

At least this is what i wrote in my journal after day 3 of staying in Bangkok. 🙂

It took a long time for us to visit South-East Asia, but here we are. After covering most of Europe, spending a sabbatical in South America, moving to the Netherlands and just settling in and enjoying the slow pace of life over the last years, the clock was ticking for a new adventure.

Here i’ve put together all the useful tips for planning this trip. We had no idea what to expect in terms of costs, what’s worth trying in a couple of days, what are the popular destinations, let alone what would shock us the most. 🙂 So if you’re a first time visitor, i hope this will come in handy for your first holiday in Thailand.

ARRIVAL

I’m counting hour by hour till my 12-hours flight lands. Try to sleep every now and then in between music and movies, but no luck. I look around to check what else i can do. The other travellers, mostly solo backpackers or golden-agers, are either chatting to each other, or landed in dreamland already. More music for me, i guess.

We touch ground on what seems to be early morning in Bangkok. Go through passport control, visa check and then rush to buy a local SIM card. Phew, back online. At the end of all this, George is waiting for me with a huge smile. He’s already been here with work for 2 weeks. When we finally go outside the airport towards the taxi area, i get why he was smiling: he knew what was coming. 🙂 I nearly pass out from the scorching heat. I mean, after going through jungle in Brazil, i thought we would be ready for anything, but this is another level. No joke, it is HOT! If Bangkok is not the hottest city in the world, it has to be in top 5.

And this is how our Thai adventure begins.

WHAT TO VISIT BY DAY

Temples

• Grand Palace
• Wat Pho
• Wat Arun

The last official count says there are over 40000 temples in Thailand. Easy to imagine that with just a regular walk you will bump into them everywhere. Looking behind the architectural aspect, they reflect much more. It feels like Buddhism is deeply intertwined with the Thai culture in such a harmonious and natural way, that is part of everyday life. Some of the most majestic temples of Bangkok are, besides popular touristic destinations, also places of worship.

If you’re only for 1-2 days in Bangkok, make sure you put the Grand Palace (containing The Emerald Buddha), Wat Pho and Wat Arun on the ‘do not miss’ list.

Museums

• National museum Bangkok
• Jim Thompson house
• Muangboran the Ancient City

If you want to dive deeper into Thailand’s history, there are plenty of options. From a tour of the national museum, to learning the history of silk trade, to exploring the world’s largest open air museum, you cannot get bored in Bangkok.

Markets

• Floating market (Damnoen Saduak, Amphawa)
• Railway market (Maeklong)
• Weekend markets (Chatuchak)
• China Town

A Thai market is a sight to behold. In China Town you will find anything that crosses your mind, while at night the place transforms into a food paradise.

Depending on whether you enjoy crowds or not, you will either be fascinated or you won’t know how to get out of there faster. 🙂

Other activities

• Shopping malls 
• Thai massage

As we found out pretty quickly, shopping malls are the easiest (air conditioned) escape to hide when the sun hits in the afternoon.

Siam Paragon is the biggest in Bangkok, offering high end shopping, fancy car showrooms, food courts, the Sea Life Ocean World, a Cineplex and Madame Tussauds Bangkok, all under one roof. There are many other malls all over the place. We spent half a day in Iconsiam, but could have easily spent the whole day in there. Plus, the night view over Chao Phraya River is a great way to close an exhausting round of shopping.

End the day with a relaxing treat. It is said nothing compares with a Thai massage, and for a good reason.

WHAT TO VISIT BY NIGHT

• Rooftop bars
• Rooftop pools

As we found out a bit later, the best way to completely escape the heat is to hit the streets at night. Well, that took a while to figure out, almost our entire holiday. 🙂 But we got there in the end.

Our stay in Bangkok ended at Above Eleven, with a breathtaking view from the 33^rd floor terrace of the Fraser Suites Sukhumvit hotel.

Here’s a list with the best rooftop bars in Bangkok. We’re definitely starting with the fun part next time.

POPULAR DAY TRIPS OUTSIDE BANGKOK

POPULAR DESTINATIONS TO FLY

Popular beaches: Patong beach (the main one in Patong), Freedom beach (harder to reach but more spectacular)

Day trips to: Phi Phi islands, Similan islands, James Bond island

WHERE TO STAY

Because accommodation is SO affordable compared to Europe, we looked for 4-stars hotels for both Bangkok and Phuket. Guess what, the total cost was still less than for a medium ranged hotel that we would normally choose elsewhere.

BEST TIME TO VISIT THAILAND

Let me repeat: we didn’t know what extreme heat is, until landing in Bangkok in May.

Lesson learned: the best time to travel to Thailand is the cool and dry season, between November and March, when temperatures are only ~30 °C. If you cannot stand scorching heat, avoid April-May. At 40 degrees during the day (with a real feel of 50+), and 30 degrees at night, we eventually started going out only at night.

The rainy season is between June and October. However, the worst time in terms of climate means you’ll be able to enjoy less crowded beaches and more affordable accommodation. Every choice comes with a price, right?

BUDGET

• Airplane tickets 2×1000=2000 EUR
• Accommodation 700 EUR
• Food 250 EUR
• Transport (taxi, tuk-tuk, boat) 150 EUR
• Entertainment 120 EUR
• SIM cards 2×15=30 EUR/valid 1 month

*for 10 nights/2 pers.

TIPS