Thailand

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Travel Guide and Tips: Bangkok

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Bangkok is the bustling capital city of Thailand. Filled with temples, floating markets and the popular Khao San Road, it's a crazy city to be in. 

Things to do

Khao San Road

This is the backpacker haven of the city. Head here if you're looking for something gear towards tourists. You can find bars, restaurants, hostels and local stands selling pad thai and insect here. There are tons of souvenir shops selling clothes and trinkets. 

Floating Markets

The area around Bangkok has tons of floating markets. Some will be bigger or more authentic than other. Amphawa Floating Market is a popular one to visit. To get there, you'll need to take the BTS to Victory Memorial. Catch the mini-bus there to get to the market. It costs 160 baht and takes around two hours to get there. From here, you can join a boat tour to see the market. 

The Grand Palace

This if for all you temple junkies. As the previous home to the Kings of Siam, the Grand Palace is now a popular attraction in Bangkok. Spend the day walking around the numerous different sections. 

Entrance fee is 500 baht. Remember to dress respectively (shoulders and knees covered)! 

Sky Bar

For all you wanting to live it high, literally. Made popular by The Hangover, Sky Bar is one of the highest rooftop bars in the world. The drink prices are pretty steep though. You don't need to buy a drink to access it. You can just head up to see the view. 

Siam Square

This is the perfect place for shopaholics. Siam Square has different malls within it. We mostly stuck to MBK Centre, since it has both tourist stalls and shops that locals use. Explore the different floors to find an abundance of clothes, electronics and souvenirs. If you head outside, you can find neat food trucks as well! 

Where to Eat

Soi Rambuttri

This street is parallel to Khao San Road and is filled with street vendors. Head here for slightly cheaper prices. We were just happy to find a place that sells Khao Soi! 

Where to Stay

At Home Guesthouse

Located near Khao San Road, At Home Guesthouse has reasonable prices. For 600 baht, you can get a private double room with A/C, fan and ensuite washroom. It's clean and they offer towels with the room. 

Happy Travelling! 

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Travel Guide and Tips: Koh Tao

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Koh Tao aka Turtle Island is a small island in Southern Thailand. It's widely known as the best diving and snorkelling spot in Thailand. It definitely has more of a laid back backpacker vibe to it. 

We ended up staying by Sairee beach, since it was more affordable than the rest of the island. 

Things to do 

Dive

If you want to dive in Thailand, Koh Tao is a great start. There's tons of dive shops here. I mean, there's TONS. You'd probably have a hard time choosing one if you didn't already have a recommendation. If you want to get certified, you'll need to choose if you want to get PADI or SSI certified. That should narrow your search. 

We didn't end up diving because we were feeling pretty run-down. Plus, it takes 3-4 days to get fully certified. Although, we were planning to go with Roctopus since they train you in groups of four. 

Lastly, Koh Tao used to be a great dive spot, but it's overrun with tourists now. If you have the opportunity to dive in a different country, I'd choose that. 

Snorkelling

Since we didn't dive, we opted for snorkelling instead. It's more affordable, can be done without training and gives you a taste of what it's like underwater. There are tours advertised throughout the island at tourist agencies as well as hostels. They're all more or less the same. It costs 750 baht for a full-day trip. It includes your transit, snorkelling equipment, lunch, water and fresh fruit (watermelon and pineapple).

Sairee Beach

What we noticed was that Sairee Beach isn't really a great place to hangout. The sand is coarse and taxi boats are parked by the shoreline. This makes lounging and swimming a bit more difficult. However, if you want to walk by the beach and enjoy the view, it's good. A lot of restaurants, hotels/guesthouses and diving shops line this beach, so it makes a nice nightly stroll. If you wanted a good place to swim, I'd recommend Koh Chang.  

Massage

There's tons of massage parlours throughout the area. There was even one beside our guesthouse. The prices will range depending on the parlour, so keep in mind that you get what you pay for. Since we don't need a luxury experience, we went for a cheaper place. To give an idea, we paid 350 baht/hour for an oil massage. 

Nightlife

The nightlife here is pretty good. They'll have fire shows on the beach and the bars will be crowded. 

Where to Eat

Rose Garden

Since this was beside our guesthouse, we came here almost every morning for breakfast. It's alright, with decent pricing. Nothing really stood out to us. We went out of convenience in the hot weather. 

Cafe de Lotus

This is a good lunch or dinner spot. It's by the beach, so you'll have a nice ocean view. They have lunch deals with includes a meal with a drink. Our favourite dish here was the massaman curry! 

Food stands

Along the smaller streets by Sairee Beach, there are a few food stands have offer cheaper meals. We usually stopped by the stands selling banana and chocolate rotees for dessert! Yum! 

Where to Stay

Pranee Guesthouse

We stayed here for a four nights and switched rooms quite often. A fan room costs 700 baht and an AC room costs 1300 baht. If you can afford it, an AC room is ideal in the sweltering heat. We stayed in a fan room for three nights, and then got an AC room for the last night. 

There rooms here are pretty roomy and the washrooms in the fan room are pretty nice. I like that the shower has a small wall separating it. Since the fan is small, it doesn't move the air too well, so the room is really hot. I recommend opening all your windows, but either way, it's going to be uncomfortable unless you're use to the heat. 

Happy Travelling! 

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Snorkelling in Koh Tao

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We originally were planning to scuba dive. But after Nepal, our body was so beaten up we didn't think it was worth it since it takes 4 days to get certified. 

So, snorkelling seemed like a better fit for us. There are tons of tourist agencies offering scuba diving. They're all more or less the same. It's a full day trip for 750 baht which includes transportation, snorkelling gear, lunch, fresh fruits and drinks (water, coffee tea). The tour takes you around the island to Shark Bay, Aow Leuk, Hin Wong Bay and Mango Bay. They also take you to Nangyuan Island, but you'll need to pay a 100 baht entrance fee. 

That seems like a pretty good deal right?

Our Experiences 

Let me preface this by saying that you get what you pay for. It's alright, since it's only 750 baht + 100 baht entrance fee. 

You only get about 30 minutes at each stop, which isn't too much time to actually see much, since you'll need to swim to the area and back. Since we were running behind, we missed out on Aoe Leuk and went straight to Hin Wong Bay. 

Shark Bay

This is supposedly the best spot to see sharks. Not the big scary ones, but the smaller ones. Unfortunately, we didn't see any nor many other fish. The water was choppier than expected, so it was hard to swim out and back in time. 

Hin Wong Bay and Mango Bay

These ones were a bit better. If you swim out closer to the rocks, you'll see more coral in that area. Granted, most of the coral is dead, so you won't see much. But there are still some fish searching around for food. 

When you swim back to the boat, you'll noticed a lot more fish. I realized that the guides will feed the fish so you'll see them. We ended up having lunch at Hin Wong Bay. It's just a container of rice, a fried egg and basil beef which isn't bad. 

Nangyuan Island

Nangyuan Island is popular small island off the coast of Koh Tao. It's makes an excellent day trip with its stunning views. Since it was part of our snorkelling tour, we didn't bother with trying to visit it. 

If you paid the 100 baht entrance fee, the tour will drop you off here for about 2 hours. Since we skipped one of the bays, we ended up spending 2.5 hours here, which is more than enough time. 

The beach here is quite unique, since you have water on both sides. It's a good place to lounge on the beach and catch some sun. However, I found the sand a little too coarse because of the coral, so I wouldn't recommend visiting if you were just swimming. 

I enjoyed snorkelling here to the most. We found a spot by the rocks closer on the opposite side of the dock that has a lot of fish. Since the water is shallow, you can actually see a lot more that goes on. 

Things to keep in mind

Make sure you get a good set of snorkelling gear. Mine was leaking, so I had to switch it up after the first stop. 

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Transit Guide: Koh Chang to Bangkok

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Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand, and the most popular hub for transit. 

How to get there

We ended up booking a ticket from a travel agency for 500 baht, including pick-up and the ferry ticket. It takes around 8-9 hours to get to Bangkok. 

We were picked up by a mini-van and taken to the dock to board the ferry. The ferry took around 45 minutes to reach the coast. Once we got off, we took the free shuttle to the main land where we waited for our bus. 

You'll be given an option of taking a mini-bus or a big bus. The mini-bus is more uncomfortable, but you'll get to Bangkok faster than the big bus. Since it arrived earlier, we opted for the mini-bus. Just note that they wait until the bus fills up before it leaves, so we left a little late. 

About half-way through, we had a short food and washroom break. We got dropped off by Khao San Road. 

Happy Travelling! 

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Travel Guide and Tips: Koh Chang

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Koh Chang is Thailand's second biggest island. It's located on the east side of Thailand, closer to Cambodia. It's a great pit stop if you're travelling to or from Siem Reap. 

We stayed at Lonely Beach in Koh Chang. It has more of a backpacker's vibe, which is great for people on a budget. 

Things to do 

Hang out at Lonely Beach

Just a short walk from the town, Lonely Beach is a great place to relax and cool off in the water. It's not a long beach, but the water is calm and shallow, so it's the perfect place to swim. 

Klong Plu Waterfalls

If you're feeling adventurous, head to Klong Plu waterfalls for hiking and swimming. Just take a taxi over to the waterfalls. You'll need to take a short 600-metre hike in, but you'll be greeted by a waterfall. Jump in to swim and cool off. There's fish that nibble at your feet. 

There's an entrance fee of 200 baht for adults or 100 baht for children under 14 years. 

Nightlife

Lonely Beach is known as the party beach and it really is. If you head into the centre of town or the beach, there's tons of bars opened late. You might be able to catch a fire show as well! 

Where to Eat

Stonefree 

Located in the centre of town, this is a quirky restaurant filled with interesting (and phallic) chandeliers. The owner has two dogs and also plays the drums! We usually grabbed breakfast here at a decent price. 

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Cafe Del Sunshine

This cafe is opened early, which is great for those who are catching an early bus. Their prices are a bit more expensive than Stonefree. They also serve a delicious lava cake with cookies and cream ice cream! 

Where to Stay

Stonefree 3 Guesthouse

We ended up booking a double room here for 450 baht. It's a very basic room right in the centre of town. The room is small with a big bed, mosquito net and ensuite washroom. Just note that the washrooms in this area aren't flush toilets. You'll need to use a bucket and pour water to clean it out. It's not so bad. 

Part of the room is open, so insects will probably get into your room. We used duct tape to cover a hole where ants kept coming in.The walls are really thin, so you'll hear everyone. The guesthouse is also located right near the bars, so it's definitely not ideal if you're looking for a quiet place. Otherwise, it was fine. 

Paradise Cottage

Had we known of the conditions of Stonefree 3 Guesthouse, we probably would've booked here. It's 400 baht for a private bungalow. And from what I heard, the conditions are very similar. It's just located five minutes from the town, so there area is more secluded. They also have hammocks to relax on with a beach view! 

Happy Travelling!