2.5 Weeks in Thailand

It’s been a while! I just got back from two and a half weeks in Thailand with a friend and wanted to break down some of my top tips for traveling in Thailand and recommendations for things to do & see in Chiang Mai, Krabi, Koh Lanta, and Bangkok.

1. Chiang Mai Recommendations
2. Krabi Recommendations
3. Koh Lanta Recommendations
4. Bangkok Recommendations
5. Top 10 Tips for Thailand

Chiang Mai Recommendations

Chiang Mai had chill smaller city vibes with great night markets and street food. I’d definitely recommend it for a first trip but don’t think it’ll be a repeat spot for me.

Some top recs for Chiang Mai are:

• Walk around old town (I’d recommend staying here) & eat street food. Huen Phen was a great spot to eat with a lot of unique northern dishes, super cheap, almost cafeteria style.
• Take a cooking class. (Viator has great options.)
• Go to the Sunday night market (one of my TOP items from the trip).
• Go to Mystique (insanely cool bar).
• Do a day trip to the White & Blue temples. (These are both very unique and SUPER worth it, particularly the white temple, which is more of an art installation.)

Krabi Recommendations

We were in Ao Nang…which, honestly I wouldn’t stay there again. If you do stay in Ao Nang, stay away from the water by at least a few blocks because the beach is full crowded tourist Waikiki vibes.

We LOVED Railay beach (and Tonsai) and I would try to stay in Railay next time I went to this area. The only way to get to Railay & Tonsai is via longboat, so you’d have to wade into the water with all of your luggage but I think it’s definitely worth it. These two areas are right next to each other and a climbing mecca, so we had an amazing time climbing there through the climbing schools. Railay also had a great but very sketchy hike and Phra Nang Beach was the nicest of our trip.

We went to James Bond island which was fine but I wouldn’t make it a top destination, it’s quite crowded.

Koh Lanta Recommendations

Koh Lanta was super chill! There’s not a ton to do but it’s a very chill beach town vibe. I would highly recommend NOT staying in the north area (Long Beach) and instead staying on the southern half of the island. The southern half is chill beach bars and more rural, while the north my friend accurately described as Myrtle Beach – very concrete, dusty, and crowded.

As some activities I would recommend in Koh Lanta:

• Rent a motorbike and take a look around the island (Lanta Old Town was a fun shopping area).
• Book a snorkel tour (Koh Haa and Koh Rok are the best spots).
• Chill out on the beach with a drink and relax.

Bangkok Recommendations

Honestly, we found Bangkok a bit overwhelming but this was near the end of our 2.5 week trip and we were getting a bit worn out. It’s definitely a cool city with a lot to see but VERY crowded in malls / on the street and the streets are LOUD.

That being said, we went to some really cool theme bars, some cool neighborhoods, and sick rooftop bars! It’s definitely a big city, so go expecting that vibe.

We stayed in Chinatown and if I stayed again, I’d recommend staying in the area around FEST Restaurant instead, I think that’s the Phrom Phong neighborhood. It had really cute restaurants, shops, and bars and felt a bit more bougie (not luxury, but apparently it’s a big expat area and felt more curated).

Some other areas I’d recommend checking out are:

• The Iron Fairies Bar. This was our top bar of the trip! Magic themed and great live music (they were playing alt 90s hits). Hex Bar was another cool magic-themed speakeasy I would recommend!
• centralwOrld mall. Going to malls is definitely one of the top Bangkok activities and this was our favorite. It had Kinokuniya and a Carebear cafe.
• Thanon Ram Buttri. This is a cool street for walking around & grabbing street food or a drink at night. It’s very close to a BIG party street (that’s the next one over) and I wouldn’t recommend that one as it’s very loud, young, really overwhelming.
• Chatuchak Weekend Market. This market is MASSIVE – enough that you’re definitely not going to see all of it. Still it’s worth checking out! The full market is only open on the weekend during the day but sections of the market are open during the week. They have sections for furniture, live animals, vintage clothes, local beer tastings – honestly anything you could ever possibly want. I’d recommend grabbing a coffee at Omise Cafe.
• Warehouse 30. This entire neighborhood is very cool and industrial artsy, so I’d recommend walking around and grabbing breakfast at Sarnies (several locations throughout the city). Warehouse 30 itself had a bunch of very cute galleries and a great coffee shop with one of our favorite stores inside of it.
• Soi Cowboy. A neon fantasy of a street, we were in love. Definitely one to go to at night. We just walked through and we got enough of the experience, but very cool.
• Any rooftop bar. There are lots! They have great views and some have good happy hour specials.

Top 10 Tips for Thailand

1. Carry toilet paper on you at all times. While I didn’t run into many non western toilets, using a spray instead of toilet paper was the norm and not all bathrooms had toilet paper. In most places, you weren’t allowed to flush toilet paper down the toilet.
2. Carry cash on you (and be ready to haggle). I am the worst haggler and just don’t do it, but there was definitely an expectation that you would haggle and I could tell a few times that I was overcharged. Even with the upcharge, things are very cheap in Thailand but if you want to buy food from the street stands (and you do), keep some cash on hand at all times! I’d recommend taking out about 5000 Baht (about $150 USD)/person/week.
3. If you’re going to temples, bring long pants & a cover up in a tote. It was VERY hot so we usually just wanted to wear tank tops and bike shorts everywhere but, if you’re a woman, you need to cover your shoulders and legs before entering the temples. Honestly, the temples got to be very same-y to us, so we only went to a few beyond the very unique ones, but this is something to consider.
4. Drink orange americanos. Dude, I dunno, it sounds gross but they’re amazing.
5. Download Grab and Bolt. We got the recommendation to use Bolt through most of Thailand as the cheapest option for ride shares but in Bangkok Grab was the only service that seemed to work well.
6. Buy an eSim for your phone BEFORE you leave your home country. Don’t be an idiot like me and wait until you’re in Thailand, sometimes that doesn’t work well.
7. The monkeys are not your friend. They are, in fact, terrifying.
8. You probably don’t need a converter. If you’re from the US or Europe, your plugs should just work!
9. Book half-day experiences in advance (that you can cancel). We were honestly sapped after our full-day tours and ended up doing cancellations for some of our experiences. Viator was awesome for being able to book and cancel, would highly recommend.
10. Be careful what sunscreen you buy. Firstly, sunscreen in Thailand is expensive, even compared to the US. Secondly, I accidentally bought some with skin whitening and, for the two minutes until I could successfully wash it off, I looked like a mime.