Back from Thailand and I have to say, it is certainly a place I would recommend. Many friends originally questioned my decision as to why Thailand and expressed their uneasiness about the extremely long flight. I’d be traveling, quite literally, half way across the world. My response was, why not? I had wanted something a little more adventurous and “less safe” for quite sometime and after a friend mentioned he wanted to plan a trip to Thailand I immediately told him to count me in. There was a total of about 20 hours of flying time there and about 17 back. We left JFK with a stop in Taipei, Taiwan before we landed in Bangkok and despite everyone’s warnings against the long flight, it was actually quite pleasing. I slept for most of the trip then watched 2 movies and we landed.
Bangkok for the most part is exactly what you’d expect. A busy metropolis with a few tourist attractions. There are a few temples to visit, the floating market (which we didn’t get to do), some parks and other than that it’s just a regular city. I did of course stop in at Rajawongse (upon high recommendation) to get a tailored suit made. The first day was spent exploring a bit of the city and my first of three visits to Rajawongse. At night we visited the rooftop bar at Banyan Tree Hotel and roamed a bit around the city. The second day started with us taking a small boat trip up the Chao Phraya river with a stop at the Wat Arun temple. We were then dropped off at a small port near the Palace and jumped on a Tuk Tuk. The Tuk Tuk driver took us to Wat Intharawihan where you can find the standing Buddha. From there we had him pit stop at ARC (Asia Reservation Center) so that we could book the rest of our trip. We then left ARC to visit another temple before heading back to Rajawongse for my second visit, first fitting. After that we had dinner and headed to the airport to fly north to Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai was my favorite place. During our first full day up north we went to Tiger Kingdom to visit the tigers and get pictures with them. We got to sit with the big ones and pet the smaller ones. We left there and headed to the night Bazaar, however it was late afternoon and they were only starting to set up for the night. We still caught a little bit of what it’s like and did some shopping. The next morning we were picked up to head out to our 2 day, 1 night jungle trek. By far the most fun I had while in Thailand. We trekked up the mountain for about 3 hours to a small village where we stayed that night. We were a group of 13 so we got to meet some cool people from around Europe. We were fed their food and slept in what looked like a few dozens of uneven pieces of wood nailed together. Although the night was cold and restless, I woke up feeling pretty energized and loose surprisingly. After some tea and coffee we hiked back down the mountain for another hour and a half to meet our transportation that would take us to the elephants. Rode elephants, had lunch and then off to the bamboo kayaks we went. There we rode down the stream where we were picked up and taken back to our hotel. We ended up meeting back up with our new friends that night to head out into Chiang Mai’s nightlife. We went to go watch some Muay Thai fighting and then partied the rest of the night. The next morning, if we can call it morning since it wasn’t even 6am yet, we woke up to catch our flight south to Phuket. I was still tired and had only gotten about an hour or two of sleep so I slept the whole flight.
We got to Patong Beach, Phuket, around 1pm. Settled in and then went out to explore the town. We took a stroll through the mall, down Bangla Rd, where all the bars and clubs are, and ended up at the beach. We relaxed for the rest of the day as the following day we had our trip to the James Bond island. Our second day in Phuket we were placed in a boat with about 50 other people and we set sail for James Bond island, stopping in 2 other islands prior to that. The third day was similar as the second, only we were in a speed boat with about 30 other people and we were headed for the Koh Phi Phi islands. Looking back now, we would’ve ditched the touristy rides and found a local with a boat to take us for a few hundred Baht. Phi Phi island hopping consisted of snorkling, feeding monkeys, visiting Maya Bay, 2 other islands and finally ending the day on what can only be described as an island bar. It was a small sliver of island, practically all sand, with a bar in the middle where everyone was just drinking and enjoying the sun. We ended Phuket with some relaxation on the beach.
We flew back to Bangkok for one day. I paid my final visit to get my second and final suit fitting, filled out a shipping form, and off I went.
It was a great trip and I certainly plan to go back someday to visit Krabi, Koh Samui and repeat my visit to Chiang Mai.
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