Thailand: Bangkok, Phuket & Chiang Mai

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Kicking things off in Bangkok

Let me begin by saying Thailand was originally slanted to be in April 2019 as a Birthday trip for my big 4-0. However, in the process of deciding on a Labor day weekend trip we discovered about a $150 difference between our planned Europe trip and this one. Also, I wasn't really hyped over the thought of Europe due to an upcoming trip in October that I would be taking with family to Italy.

So we purchased tickets out of IAH (I had to check on my storage unit there anyways) to BKK for around $650 roundtrip on AA/Cathay/Japan Airlines. The cost was about the same out of most major cities. We planned on spending a couple days in Bangkok, Phuket and ending it off in Chiang Mai (to visit a friend who moved there). The hoppers were fairly cheap (ranging from $41 to $64 being the expensive flight from Chiang Mai to BKK) We choose Bangkok Airlines due to baggage inclusion, lounge access, and meals inflight (even for short hauls). The trip would be a total of 9 days- keep in mind that it can take 1-2 days to travel to Asia depending on location, layovers and delays. It took us roughly 24 hours to arrive into Bangkok. I had lounge access through Admirals club so meals were pretty much covered at each airport we had a layover in- which was great for charging electronics and grabbing a bite that wasn't airplane food.

We landed at BKK at close to midnight. We were able to get through customs in under 30mins. Be sure to keep the paper visa they give you (second half) because you will need it upon departure when it's time to return to the States. They had ATM’s and money exchange places everywhere (careful when picking the ATM because there are some expensive ones that are not tied to a bank and the fee is higher). In my sleepy state they caught me slippin’ this time. There is a tour stand when you come out of immigration. They are moderately price but rule of thumb is that it’s better to book direct when you get into town because you can usually get a better price. We took a city booklet so we could check out our options.

There are many shopping spots, duty free and places to eat. Right after baggage claim there is a food court to the left (once you go to the lower level for Taxi’s). You purchase tickets upon entry ($100 TBH for 9 Tix at 10 TBH and 2 Tix at $5) that’s about $3.40 in USD. You use the tix to purchase food and drink (food was as cheap as $35 for a meal and drink was about $10 each) roughly $1.50 USD. There was a large selection of everything and they also had a section where you could purchase a fresh smoothie.

Once we finished there it was close to 2AM and we found our way to the Taxi's. You have to take a number via an electronic ticketing system. It will read off which station to go to for your taxi. We also learned there is an additional 50 THB charged onto the fee. We got to our taxi and headed to the hotel- another thing they don't tell you is that you have to pay our of pocket for the tolls. It was an additional 75 THB. By the time we reached our hotel the cost was roughly $420 THB. Normally, you can negotiate with them a price but leaving from the airport wasn't as easy. I advise downloading GRAB prior to arrival and just use that instead- then it can be charged to your credit card and you know the price upfront like Uber.

Our hotel was the Ibis Styles Bangkok: It was a real nice set up and the price was $12 USD. I highly recommend this spot for the location alone! It was near a 7-11, a ton of shops, massage places, street food, restaurants, and other hotels. The hotel was very clean and included a breakfast buffet that was delicious. They were also kind enough to store our luggage the next day while we went on our tour to the Floating Market. There were also a ton of taxi’s and Tuk Tuk’s in the area waiting to service folks.

We called downstairs to get more info on the Floating Market and discovered the following info:

Tour: By Private Car ($1,000 TBH) and Original Floating Market and Temple ($2,000 TBH)- You can negotiate a much better deal. We were tired and not thinking at all so we got “got” in my opinion but it is what it is...always offer lower and find a middle ground. Compare with prices online- you can also booked at your hotel (which isn’t always better to be honest) or through one of the billion tour kiosk all over.

The drive from our hotel was 1.5 hours with little traffic (2hrs on the return with light to moderate traffic). Once you arrive you can customize your tour. There was an elephant riding option (that we totally passed on) and a few other temples you could add on to your trip. The floating market had food, souvenirs, paintings etc... you basically stop at each area and negotiate the price of items you want to buy. They always started off high and we usually offered half the amount of money to them and haggled from there.

The tour itself was nice and lasted about an hour- there were a ton of photo opts in the boat. Our driver waited for us and at the end took us back to our hotel. We spent the evening walking around the downtown area taking pictures until it was time to head to the airport.

Pictures from Floating Market & Temple

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Next up: Phuket...then, Chiang Mai

We had a late night flight on Bangkok Airways to Phuket. We were able to get a taxi quick and they wanted $500 TBH but we settled on $400 TBH (which included the $75 TBH for tolls). I think we will use Grab next time or at least in Phuket.

The airport was easy to move about- pretty small terminal (A and B) and the airline has a lounge that is included in the price. They don’t have a lot but there are snack like food and drinks. We chilled there until about 10 mins before our flight boarded and then headed to our gate. The flight left on-time and we arrived a little after 11PM. The grab from the airport was going to be around $1,000 TBH- but we saw a kiosk that offered a lesser price (800 for a private car). We took advantage of that just because it was late and all.

The hotel was pretty decent (Paripas Hotel Patong) it was next to a mini mart and a bunch of places for shopping and food. Ideal location for sure. The check in was easy (after midnight when we finally arrived) and the rooms were small but decent for the price. Since we didn’t plan on staying in the room much the lower rate was good for us ($152 for three nights). We looked at some tours offered in the lobby but they seemed high- we crossed checked online with the same companies in the booklets and found the exact same tours cheaper! The next morning we got up real early and had breakfast (included) which was decent: simple items hot and cold, coffee and an omelet station on the outside patio. We ended up booking the 1/2 day City Tour at like 2AM and followed up with emails to the company in the hopes they don't overlook the booking. There were two times: 7AM and 12PM- obviously we chose the afternoon tour! They called us and confirmed everything and let us know what time to be ready in the lobby. On day two in Phuket we opted to go on the James Bond Tour- You can read about both of the Tours in Phuket under the Experiences section or by clicking here the link: Phuket Tours.

After a day of touring the city we finished the evening off with an excellent dinner at a nearby spot (there is no shortage of places to go for noodle dishes) and full body Thai Massages.! The following day we did the James Bond Tour (refer to previous link) and upon returning to the hotel we decided to explore our surroundings. While shopping we were approached by a vendor who wanted to show us some "name brand shoes and bags" and involved us following him to a secret door covered by a curtain, that led us to a secret room. This room had almost every athletic shoe knock off including the YEEZY's (which he was willing to part with for a good price of $100 instead of $1,000). There were a ton of Nike's and Jordan's. The other room had designer handbags such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors etc...it was like being in New York. All the locations allowed for negotiations but some were fixed on the price. Also, many of the vendors prefer not to take credit cards unless the purchase is large (they will also add a 3% fee and a minimum purchase price). It's better to just have cash anyways so you can really haggle and get the best price for the merchandise. We wrapped things up around 11:30PM because most of the stands closed at 11PM. The street food vendors were still operating and of course the bars and clubs. We arrived back to the hotel around midnight (because we are old ladies at times) and packed up our stuff because we had a morning flight to Chiang Mai.

Operating on very little sleep (the theme this trip) we struggled to get up around 6:45-7AM to begin our day. We wanted to grab hotel breakfast before heading to the airport for our 11:10AM flight to Chiang Mai. Seeing how we didn’t really know how traffic would be (and couldn’t recall how far we traveled from the airport upon landing) we wanted to give ourselves at least an hour 30mins travel time with plenty of time to get through security, hang in the lounge and leisurely make our way to the gate. We tried out grab and our driver was there in under 5mins. We had to haul ass because we didn’t think it would be so quick! While travel boo was talking to the driver I was wrapping up checkout. We had to wait until we received the “all clear” before we could leave- which meant someone had to go physically check the room and say it was okay (i.e. Damage free).

The airport ride was under an hour and the cost was around $1,000 TBH (which is about $30 USD) Phuket is pricey compared to Bangkok. The alternative was a private driver ($800-$900 TBH) which we got from the airport at arrival. Anyways, there is a shuttle bus that leaves the airport and the public transportation (it takes about 2 hours from Patong) that are way cheaper if you have the time and patience.

The airport itself is small (and there is only one in Phuket vs the two in Bangkok). Note: the airline lounges are on the 3rd level and outside security. We got through security and then realized that in order to chill in the Bangkok complimentary lounge you had to go back out to the lobby area. Since we had over an hour to spare (and security lines were almost non-existent) we had time. Note 2: don’t expect too much in the Bangkok Lounge here. They had some basics like coffee, juice, water, a few pastries and someplace to sit and charge your electronics. That’s about it- still it was a “nice to have” included with your ticket. Also, another “perk” of Bangkok airlines is a complimentary meal onboard regardless of flight time. On our flight from Bangkok we received a mini seaweed type salad, water, coffee and tea for drink options. This flight we received a mini meal which included fresh fruit (papaya and pineapple) and a chicken noodle dish...could have been more flavor to it but at least it wasn’t super salty. Considering the flight is under two hours- it was a nice “snack” to have without additional cost.

Once we arrived at the Chiang Mai airport- we were able to get a Grab (for as low as 175 TBH) and head for the hotel. We chose the Royal Peninsula Hotel Chiang Mai. It was about 20mins from the airport and right in the city. The inside of it looked like an old dormitory. It was spacious, clean and had a nice balcony view so we really couldn’t complain. We had time to relax before our Thai Cooking class. We booked the class through a recommendation and they had the option of two morning classes and an evening class. We thought doing the evening class would be fun and not too taxing. You can read more about the class and see everything we cooked under the Experiences section or by clicking the link: Thai Cooking.

After the class we met up with a travel friend of mine who I met in Iceland back in 2016 who now lives in Chiang Mai. We had drinks at a rooftop bar with buy one get two free drinks for their Happy Hour! She brought along friends who also lived there and we had a great time. We ended the night visiting a Roti spot (my first time experiencing it) and I feel like I've been missing out in life!! It was great and I highly recommend visiting the Guu Fusion Roti & Tea.

The next day we had a quick breakfast (included) at our hotel. They had a full spread, many options and pretty good (can't complain considering how inexpensive the hotel is). We brought our luggage to the font desk for them to store while we meet our tour guide for the half day tour we booked through the hotel. The cost was about $38 and included a visit to the Bhubing Palace and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. You can read about it if you click on the link: Chiang Mai Tour.

Afterwards, we had time to change clothes at the hotel (restroom) and order our Grab to the airport. We had plenty of time to hang out in the Bangkok airlines lounge and charge our electronics before boarding to head back to Bangkok. This was pretty much the end of our trip. The next 24 hours would be layovers and airport lounges. Our flight from BKK was at 8AM so we picked a hotel that was closer to the airport (well...closer than being downtown). It was a really cool set up- it was modeled after an old theater and one half was hostel and the other hotel. We stayed on the hotel side and our room was very spacious! We had a lower level and upstairs (where the beds were) it was a mini apartment. It was too bad we wouldn't do more than sleep. It was called the Prince Theater Heritage Stay Hotel and it was roughly $60-$65 a night. It was located in an alley like street and since we came at night we couldn't see if there were things around but in the morning we had street vendors setting up along the sidewalk. So, if you consider it you may want to see what is around the area-but know that the hotel itself was nice and spacious.

I LOVED Thailand and so glad I went ahead and booked now rather than next year! I will return and probably included a few other nearby Countries and stretch the trip out longer. Going to Asia takes a day or two so doing just a week or 8-9 days still isn't enough time to really see everything (while adjusting to the 12 hour time difference). Then again, maybe it's just my old age talking...lol.

Know B4 You Go:

No Pre-purchased Visa Needed to visit
You can book a nice, clean, breakfast included hotel for cheap
Stick to bottle water- to error on the side of caution
Food is pretty cheap, street food in particular is cheap and good
Mango Sticky Rice is EVERYTHING
They don't use Uber or Lyft- "Grab" is their version. We preferred this over Taxi's since trying to agree upon a price had its challenges
The currency used is Thai Baht (THB)
Try to book your tour once you arrive (if possible) for the better deal
Depending on your bank fee's consider changing money over once you arrive. If you don't have fee's then obviously pull from the ATM. I got hit a few times using the ATM when I arrived- I bank with Chase so that's the first problem.
Massages are a must! They are cheap (like $7 to start) and you can negotiate price and services (just like everything else).
We saw a rat as big as a kitten and we saw big dead roaches... it's the norm
When negotiating I always countered with half the price they quoted (ex: seller states $400 THB I counter with $200 THB ($6-$7).
The restrooms are standard in hotels/restaurants but as you explore out or do tours you will see the squat toilets (hole in the ground). I always bring sanitizer, wipes and tissue and suggest you do the same just in case. Many times you have the spray gun in place of toilet paper
Going in Aug/Sept is the rainy season but it only rained maybe one or two days and only for a short time. The weather app on our phone was usually wrong.
There are some recommended vaccinations- If you plan to do street food and haven't gotten a Hep A shot you may want to consider it a month before going. I think the shot is good for 10years.
If you plan to hop around the flights are really cheap. I recommend Bangkok Airlines because they have a lounge with snacks, WIFI and include baggage fee.
Many time people will put their hands together and bow slightly with greetings and services
You gotta ride a Tuk Tuk!
There are beaches, a great night life (Bangkok was crazy at night), you will see the "Lady Boys" some of the most decked out in appearance, be respectful of the temples and customs, dress modest and careful not to show too much (don't be mistaken for a street walker).
Thai is the official language but many people understood and spoke English (at least in the tourist areas).
Between Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai: Phuket was the most expensive, then Bangkok and lastly Chiang Mai in regards to transportation and shopping (we met many expats in Chiang Mai where housing is extremely affordable with a US income)
If you go to Monkey Island...BEWARE!!! They are aggressive and will come for you if you have something they want (they like plastic). A monkey chased my friend for her plastic bag and water bottle. DO NOT feed them if you see them on the beaches either
Bug Spray is your Friend- bring it in place of perfume
If you want to see the Elephants check out the Ethical Sanctuaries like Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai or Boon Lotts in Sukhothai, Thailand

Be sure to check out my blog: "General Travel Tips" for info on how to prepare for any trip!