Thailand

After an absurd amount of procrastination, my post from my tour of Thailand is here!

Thailand has been in my bucket list for ages now. Plans have been made but have fallen through multiple times. This time we didn’t take too much time. In a month’s time tickets were booked, itinerary made and we set out. Did a lot of reading so I could cover most of it. But as it often happens with well made plans.. this went awry quite fast. So we had to make a lot of changes in plans on the go. We landed early in the morning and the hotels weren’t okay with early check-ins so I booked a trip to the Floating market and the train market.

It was so hot there, the little puppy was sitting inside the fridge

The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market – The pioneer of all floating markets, Damnoen Saduak continues to offer an authentic experience despite its increasingly touristy atmosphere. Imagine dozens of wooden row boats floating by, each laden to the brim with farm-fresh fruits, vegetables or flowers. Food vendors fill their vessels with cauldrons and charcoal grills, ready to whip up a bowl of ‘boat noodle’ or seafood skewers upon request

Maeklong Railway Market – This was an interesting experience. I have seen videos online but it was quite pleasant to have experienced it first-hand. Took a much needed nap in the afternoon and then set out to explore the malls. Finished the day with a foot massage.

Pratunam Night Market

We came back from Phuket in the afternoon so set out to experience the Pratunam Market. Most of the shops were closed by 4 PM. So though we didn’t see much, the sheer size of it was quite mind boggling.

Kept the last day to see the palace and the Emerald Buddha. However, it turned out to be a Buddhist holiday so the temple was closed for tourists. We just got to see the palace. Having been inside the palaces in India & Europe, I was expecting the same here. But we just got to see the exteriors so was quite disappointed with that. The heat also really got to me so explored it really fast and made a quick exit.

Had heard a lot about the Chatuchak weekend market so was excited to see it. It was huge! Chatuchak Weekend Market has reached a landmark status as a must-visit place for tourists. Its sheer size and diverse collections of merchandise will bring any seasoned shoppers to their knees – this is where you can literally shop ‘till you drop’. Would need all day to explore it. They mostly had touristy knick knacks. So didn’t really catch my fancy. Given a choice I’d spend more time at Pratunam.

How to Get to Chatuchak Hop on the skytrain (BTS) to Mo Chit station, take exit no. 1 and follow the crowd until you see rows of canvas stalls selling clothes. Turn right while continuing to follow the crowd and you will see a small entrance that leads into the market (clothing section). Another option is to take the subway (MRT) to Chatuchak Park station (exit no.1), then follow the crowd until you arrive at the small entrance that leads into the market (clothing section). For the plant and flower section, get off at Kampheng Phet MRT station (exit no. 1).

The highlight for me in Bangkok was the amazing food and the daily foot massages

• Where we stayed at Bangkok

The Key Sukhmvit – Was pretty decent. We got upgraded to a bigger room on the first leg of the journey. Got to experience the actual size of the tiny room in the 2nd leg of our journey.

• Where we ate – Since we stayed in Sukhumvit, we mostly ate around this area itself. There was quite a selection of cuisines.

1. Baan Khanitha Thai Cuisine – My very first experience with Thai cuisine. I know, I know
2. Green Garden – One of the best food experiences. The crab curry was to die for!
3. Izakaya Hanako – Japanese Cuisine. Again first venture into Japanese cuisine. The salmon was very good. Loved the Kobe beef and garlic rice too!
4. Banjoo Korean BBQ – Korean food. This was a barbeque at the table. Loved the accompaniments more than the actual barbeque!

Yellow Crab curry at Green Garden – My favourite meal there

Kobe beef at Izakaya Hanako

Banjoo Korean Barbeque

Krabi

After researching a lot, settled on staying on Railey Beach and it was a great decision. Booked a sunset cruise from one of the locals. It was a bad idea. They broadcast it saying 7 islands sunset cruise but took us to only 3-4. The reason I booked the cruise was coz I wanted to see the bioluminisent Plankton but I didn’t get to see it. They said too much light and what not. So, that was disappointing. Thought we’d do the Phi Phi islands tour from Phuket.

Chicken Island

Morning Glory – I don’t usually like greens. But I loved this dish. Ate it almost everyday

• Where we stayed

Booked ourselves in Railay Bay Resort & Spa and it was an amazing experience. The restaurant was right on the beach and it really had a breakfast with a view.

Railay Bay Resort and Spa

• Where we ate

1. Railay Bay Restaurant – Though I ate prawns at many places, this place had the best.
2. Treehouse bar – Amazing live music. The vocalist was very good. Had a great time and we were among the last to leave.
3. Lucky Restaurant & Last Bar – Caught a fight unexpectedly.
4. Skunk Bar – A cute little bar on walking street where we had our last cocktails before leaving Krabi.

Treehouse Bar

Skunk Bar

Phuket

Ferry ride from Krabi to Phuket. An amazing thing to note here is that we had mobile network throughout the journey and on all the islands that we toured.

Patong Beach

We took a ferry from Krabi to Phuket and reached quite late in the evening so couldn’t do much on day 1. The ferry was supposed to start at 2:00 PM but came only at 3:30 PM and we reached Phuket around 6:00 PM. It was raining on and off so canceled the Phi Phi island tour. Will leave it for the next visit. The constant travelling and heat finally got to us. So we just explored the Patong area a bit. Tried out Parasailing for the first time. It was exhilarating. We paid 2K Baht for 3 kms. Forgot to take pics in the rush. Lazed on the last day and set out to the airport. Back to Bangkok.

Where we stayed – Bandara beach villa – we had booked ourselves in the resort but took one look at the villas with the private pool and upgraded to it. Best decision ever!! The video of the room is above.

Where we ate – Since Panwa beach is quite off the beaten path, we had dinner on both days at the in house restaurant and it didn’t disappoint. Had Lobster on the first night and it was awesome!!

Leaving you with this lovely view from our room at Bandara Villas.

Do let me know what you think in the comments!