Travel Guide and Tips: Bangkok

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. 

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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! 

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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! 

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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. 

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Happy Travelling! 

Travel Guide and Tips: Koh Tao

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!