Two years ago, I was lucky enough to fulfil one of my dreams and travel to South East Asia to the visit the most incredible country I have ever set eyes on, Thailand. It's a destination that had always appealed to me and in my opinion covered all bases for a trip of a lifetime, although in hindsight it was honestly so much more than that.
Thailand is situated in South East Asia and bordered by Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia it covers 513,115 square miles that I can honestly say has offerings to suit everyone. Typically, I normally enjoy quite quiet holidays but I was desperate for an adventure and aspiring to see the culture, the areas of westernisation, the serene clean beaches and the more rural areas of Thailand, I travelled from Southern Thailand to the North to experience all of the different aspects.
My journey took me from the wonderful city of Bangkok which if I'm honest, wasn't quite how I expected it to be in the slightest. Far from the small city I initially had pictured in my head, Bangkok is a bustling city full of sky scrapers, fantastic designer and wholesale shopping malls, fun attractions including a city zoo, more Diamonds and Tailors than you could possibly imagine, restaurants and bars to suit everyone, incredible culture and is extremely diverse in that it's home to both the wealthy and unfortunately like so many areas I saw in Thailand, more deprived areas. I took the opportunity to stay in a couple of different districts within Bangkok, to see a wider perspective and thoroughly enjoyed both aspects for completely different reasons.
Bangkok is absolutely incredible and although unfortunately just before I had arrived in Bangkok, Thailand had been struck with the devastating Thailand floods, and so activities that I had planned to do i.e. the floating markets weren't available to do, this didn't effect the high spirits of the Thai locals in the slightest and the streets continued to bustle with manic shopping, flowing conversations beween locals and tourists, whizzing Tuk Tuks and street markets all in full swing.
Throughout the whole of Thailand and not just in Bangkok alone, culture plays a huge a part of Thai locals day to day lives and they have quite honestly, the most impressively built, beautiful Temples that are fortunately for us, open for all to view. A Tuk Tuk driver spent the whole day taking us to visit the majority of the most popular sights and Temples in Bangkok, including the Sleeping Buddha, in exchange for some fuel tokens he would collect at a couple of extra souvenir/tailor/diamond warehouse stops (this happens alot!), and whilst diamond shopping wasn't high on my backpacking agenda, I really enjoyed taking in all of their culture and felt very much at peace whilst in their highly respected, tranquil surroundings.
From Bangkok, my boyfriend and I took a quick flight and made our way down to Koh Samui, where we spent a couple of quite days in a "cheap as chips" beach bungalow close to a Fishermans village, taking some time out and relaxing from the city speed of Bangkok, before getting a ferry over to Koh Phangnan for yes, you guessed it- the famous Full Moon Party.
We stayed local to the beach where the celebrations of the monthly Full Moon Party occur, but in a completely idyllic setting on clear Blue sea and fine White sand. Only a few minutes away from the neon lights and over flowing buckets of Vodka and Red Bull, you would have never have guessed we were on the same island and that's what I love most about Thailand; not only is there always something going on but you can be in the hustle and bustle and back to a tranquil and relaxing setting in no time at all.
I've said it to a few people and strongly feel that the activities westerners tend to want to see and do (Elephant trekking, Tiger and Monkey feeding, Treks and Beaches) are all available to experience pretty much all over Thailand, but I jumped at the opportunity to do most of them in Koh Phangnan and spent the days leading up to the Full Moon Party, which was a whole experience in itself, Elephant Trekking, feeding baby Monkeys, getting up close and personal with Tigers, searching for Crocodiles and Snakes and riding on top of a Jeep taking in the beautiful Green scenery whilst catching some extremely bright rays, throughout the high points of the Island.
After admittedly going a little wild in Koh Phangnan and consuming one too many bucket cocktails, we hopped back aboard the ferry and headed back to Koh Samui where we stayed in yet another beach bungalow, in a slightly more built up area- Chewang Beach. Chewang Beach was homed with a strip of bars, shops, fake designer handbag stores and every food chain you could possibly imagine. We took day trips to the most beautiful of Waterfalls and beaches and saw the Big Buddah, even more Elephants, Tigers and Monkeys and a few other famous tourist attractions, including the Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks.
Continuing our tour of Thailand, we booked an internal flight and flew overland to the West, where we visited Krabi, Phi Phi and Phuket. Similarly to Bangkok, Krabi was slightly different to how I initially thought it would be too. Other than taking a visit to the Old Town, I didn't feel there was really too much to do, but it was great to use as a base to visit the most amazing islands I have ever laid eyes on; Poda Island, Tup Island and Chicken Island, which I highly recommend you visit, should you decide to visit Thailand. These are the serene postcard beaches that you see in the brochures and each offer the most picturesque, dreamy of settings. Caught at the right time, when the tide is out you can actually walk to and from a few of them and so if you're looking for quiet and beautiful White sandy beaches to occupy your time, this is where you'll most likely love the most.
Phi Phi was my personal highlight of the trip and is a beautiful island full of the most friendly of faces. One sandy beach to the beach on the opposite side of the island is a super short distance to walk, which is handy being that it is a pedestrianised island where there are no vehicles at all, which is quite honestly the most refreshing feeling. Watching fire shows whilst the sun set and laying back in a bean bag on the beach of an evening really appealed to us and we ended up staying much longer than intended but made the most of extended visit by trekking up to stunning view points, watching Thai Boxing through the nights, making friends that we are still in contact with now and using it as a base for trips to other islands such as Maya Bay, where The Beach was filmed, and Monkey Island, where many a hour was spent snorkelling and lounging around the clear Blue reefs in inflatables with a cocktail in hand.
Phuket was by far the most westernised part of Thailand we had visited and had we not known what to expect, we probably would have been a little taken-a-back. We started off our trip about twenty minutes from Patong, but with beaches that were pretty reminiscent of beaches I had seen on previous holidays with lots of families, vast amounts of tourism with endless sun loungers and water sports, we decided to move on up to Patong for a short visit before heading to the north of the country.
Patong by day and Patong by night were almost two different trips. Patong by day was the perfect destination to lay out on the beach, sipping juice from freshly cut fruit whilst catching some rays before a spot of shopping, a trip to Starbucks and in our case Go-Karting, but Patong by night was quite similar to the rest of Thailand with endless bustling street markets and bright lights and lovely Thai children approaching you for competitive games of Connect 4, though with the addition of a crazy walking strip homed in the centre of the town, full of bars and entertainment that showed a somewhat slightly more daring and out there side of Thailand, which had I not expected to see it, probably would have come as quite the surprise.
Nearing the end of our thirty-something day trip, we headed up to Chiang Mai, which is in Northern Thailand and is almost a whole world away from the what in comparison, seemed like the chaos of the South. A lot more Green and fresh in the air, Chiang Mai was the perfect ending to our trip before heading back to the very lovely Bangkok. Whilst in Chiang Mai, we experienced what seemed a little more like "real Thailand" in some ways; we visited a fair few areas where English wasn't spoken which I loved, visited the Long Neck Tribes which was a real eye opener for me and visited more local style markets as opposed to the tourist intended markets that are vastly spread throughout Thailand. We also took the opportunity to take part in a Cooking School, which my boyfriend was ever so pleased about and shopped alongside the locals for our delicious fresh ingredients and learnt how to cook some of Thailands signature dishes in an outside kitchen with a really lovely local family.
The food in Thailand is absolutely incredible and whether it be from a street stool or a restaurant, every dish is delivered with impeccable standards and tastes divine. I'm the first to admit that I'm not usually the most adventurous when it comes to cuisine, but I tried foods so out of my comfort zone every single day and I am so pleased that I did. Thai people put so much love and passion into their foods and with the great hospitality that they continually offer, I was left amazed with so many of my dishes.
I saw a fair bit of Thailand, but I'm so, so desperate to see more. I can honestly say that I've reminisced about it every single day since visiting and have recommended it to so many people, so much so that my brother and I have booked for my parents to go in October, so they too can experience the delights that we have both been fortunate enough to see.
With the beautifully hot weather and delicious cuisine, the admirable culture and idyllic beaches, the street crepes and the Chicken Pad Thai available on every corner and the easily accessible full body massages that cost around 200baht (about £4), there is so much that Thailand has to offer and if any of those factors appeal to you, then I very highly recommend you consider a trip.
If you do fancy a trip to Thailand, Malaysia Airlines now offer double daily Airbus A380 flights in and around South East Asia and over on their Facebook page, they're giving you the chance to win two tickets. With 5 Star Service from some of the worlds best Cabin Crew (which coming from an air hostess herself is a big claim!) and with the the superb baggage allowance that they offer, you'll be sure to have the time of your life and will also be free to bring back cases full of souvenirs, market stall buys and stunning tailor-made dresses/suits.
If you fancy being in with the chance of winning two tickets to Thailand head over to their
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Thailand blog post to win (one vote accepted per category)! Each vote will be very much appreciated, good luck!
Have you visited Thailand or do you intend on doing so? I would absolutely love to hear all of your stories, experiences and thoughts.
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