Wanderlust Series #3 - Thailand
Hello!
Welcome to the third entry of the Wanderlust Series. This post is about my experience in Thailand. It's not a long one i'm afraid! I wasn't a cool earthy backpacker...just a bog standard tourist visiting my little brother on his travels.
So our trip started in Bangkok, we had booked direct flights with Eva Air (who were fab) and just our first night in the city. Unfortunately we didn't get to see any of Bangkok but I can say the hotel and the food were amazing!
The next day, we took a domestic flight to the popular area of Ao Nang, Krabi, where my brother was staying. Ao Nang was great. The beaches were beautiful, there were plenty of places to slip away and explore or just chill out. I'm not personally a beach person so didn't spend loads of time there but for beach people I can imagine it would be almost perfect. We hired kayaks and explored the famous rocks, finding secluded mini beaches. And a horrendous '7 Island Boat Trip' that I can't bring myself to talk about! Just be sure to book with an agency if you do a boat trip...
As for sightseeing...there are good sights and bad sights. I experienced both. So, Tiger Temple was one of the first. We arrived on the back of a knackered old pick up, driven erratically by an angry Thai man. The place seemed to be abandoned, with half buildings and a couple of small souvenir stores. Tiger Temple actually killed my spirit. It was 1237 steps to the top. I guess you're thinking "it's not that bad". Actually it was. The steps varied in height. I'm pretty short and struggled to get up some of them. I actually had to sit on a step and pull myself up. I moaned all the way up but quickly shut up when we reached the top and looked out at the incredible view in front of us. Just amazing.
The elephant trek. Now, you may see the amazing photographs and all of the promo for these treks and not think twice about it. I would strongly encourage you do. I've never hated something so much. I was naive in going in the first place but once you're there it's hard to back out. I won;t go into details but these places don't exactly treat the animals well. Don't give them your business.
After 7 nights in Krabi, we took another domestic flight to Koh Samui. I've gotta be honest...it wasn't my favourite. I found the town far too busy and 'in yer face' with Brits/Americans. It was all very 'sports bar' and ping pong show. If you like that sort of thing...you'll be in ping pong heaven. We stayed just 15 minutes from the town in a lovely hotel.
The island isn't big and I felt it was very touristy. We managed to visit some of their beautiful temples, the 'Big Buddha' and have a wander but i was disappointed :(
I'd love to go back one day and explore Thailand further. Have you been? Where would you recommend in Thailand?
Leave your comments below, let me know :)
Stacey
XO
(Check out the colour difference!)
So our trip started in Bangkok, we had booked direct flights with Eva Air (who were fab) and just our first night in the city. Unfortunately we didn't get to see any of Bangkok but I can say the hotel and the food were amazing!
The next day, we took a domestic flight to the popular area of Ao Nang, Krabi, where my brother was staying. Ao Nang was great. The beaches were beautiful, there were plenty of places to slip away and explore or just chill out. I'm not personally a beach person so didn't spend loads of time there but for beach people I can imagine it would be almost perfect. We hired kayaks and explored the famous rocks, finding secluded mini beaches. And a horrendous '7 Island Boat Trip' that I can't bring myself to talk about! Just be sure to book with an agency if you do a boat trip...
As for sightseeing...there are good sights and bad sights. I experienced both. So, Tiger Temple was one of the first. We arrived on the back of a knackered old pick up, driven erratically by an angry Thai man. The place seemed to be abandoned, with half buildings and a couple of small souvenir stores. Tiger Temple actually killed my spirit. It was 1237 steps to the top. I guess you're thinking "it's not that bad". Actually it was. The steps varied in height. I'm pretty short and struggled to get up some of them. I actually had to sit on a step and pull myself up. I moaned all the way up but quickly shut up when we reached the top and looked out at the incredible view in front of us. Just amazing.
The elephant trek. Now, you may see the amazing photographs and all of the promo for these treks and not think twice about it. I would strongly encourage you do. I've never hated something so much. I was naive in going in the first place but once you're there it's hard to back out. I won;t go into details but these places don't exactly treat the animals well. Don't give them your business.
After 7 nights in Krabi, we took another domestic flight to Koh Samui. I've gotta be honest...it wasn't my favourite. I found the town far too busy and 'in yer face' with Brits/Americans. It was all very 'sports bar' and ping pong show. If you like that sort of thing...you'll be in ping pong heaven. We stayed just 15 minutes from the town in a lovely hotel.
The island isn't big and I felt it was very touristy. We managed to visit some of their beautiful temples, the 'Big Buddha' and have a wander but i was disappointed :(
I'd love to go back one day and explore Thailand further. Have you been? Where would you recommend in Thailand?
Leave your comments below, let me know :)
Stacey
XO
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