Thailand Tourism – Why you need to visit?

Tourism in Thailand is booming. Let me explain why and how you can make Thailand your next holiday of a lifetime. It was my first time in the country and only my second time in Asia but what an incredible place. A huge array of different things this country has on offer to explore, relax and unwind. As you may have noticed I was lucky enough to visit 2 places in Thailand on this trip. I believe this is a top tip as you will be getting the best of the country. In my view visiting the capital city, Bangkok and then the coast and beaches in Phuket. It’s clear to say our Thailand holiday was amazing and yours can be too.

I have broken the article down into those two sections. Bangkok and Phuket to help you in case either isn’t your cup of tea. But I will stress, if you miss one of these destinations off your travel list then are missing out!

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Thailand Tourism in Bangkok

Make no bones about it, Bangkok is a mega city and is the capital city of Thailand. It has a population of 9.7 million people which in fact is 12.6% of the country’s population, it’s pretty busy. However, after now visiting this city to me this is what makes this city so amazing and enchanting. It’s hectic, it’s crazy but that’s why I fall in love with this place. Its smells, and its pollution can make your eyes sting. However, it is a magical place. It has incredible people and was ranked No.1 most visited city in 2019. With 22.7 million tourists and believe me, I can totally see why Thailand ranks No.1 as a holiday destination. If I could I would totally be there again in flash.

Our trip itself took place in January 2020. This is one of the best times to visit Thailand. Through-out the 2 weeks I was there the temperature didn’t drop below 35 degrees during the day, it was HOT! We flew from London Gatwick and changed planes in Doha. We then arrived in Thailand early afternoon. I have broken down our 7 days in Bangkok with all the headlines you will need to make your trip as incredible as ours.

THINGS TO DO

It’s the main reason you want to check this destination out, right? We had a blast in Bangkok and below I listed all the things I did on my trip.

Chatuchak Weekend Market

It does exactly what it says in the title. It is a market only on at the weekends so please remember that if planning a visit! It’s the largest open air market of its kind in Thailand. You can literally buy anything from clothes, bags and monkeys. YES, I mean actual monkeys! It is a truly epic place to visit and it is HUGE. We were at the market for 6 hours in total and only got three quarters around. There are hundreds of eating places and the food is worth trying, I had some coconut ice cream from a coconut. I will stress, you do need a good amount of time to visit. As I mentioned before we were here for 6 hours and that didn’t include travelling to and from. It’s easy to get to from the centre of Bangkok using the sky train (more on public transport below) just like we did.

Some of this market won’t be for everyone. They have wild animals on sale here in not very good conditions. Therefore I would avoid these areas if you find anything like that distressing. I visited in January and it was HOT, so I warn you that the Market is in the open and does get extremely humid walking around. There are seating and eating places dotted about and even a little Mall. We took refuge because it was air-conditioned, however so did most other people. It gets extremely busy so get there early! 

A FEW TIPS –

1. The further into the market you go the more expensive items become, for example I saw a t-shirt I liked so picked one up in the middle of the market for 800THB, as we were leaving we stumbled on a similar store selling the same t-shirt and that was only 550THB. Be Aware, make sure you shop around and look before buying anything.  
2. You can haggle with the vendors, we managed to buy some cool stuff in the market and managed to get the vendors down in some cases by a lot – I brought some fridge magnets for some family members marked at 75THB each I wasn’t sure which one I liked the best out of the 2 different designs so because I was reluctant to buy the vendor said I could have both for 100THB. A bargain I couldn’t refuse!
3. Use the sky train to get there and back. It’s easy, air-conditioned and quick from central Bangkok.
4. Get there early, it’s a huge tourist attraction and by mid-morning the entire place will be packed with hundreds of people. 

Grand Palace (Royal Residence) and Reclining Buddha 

Thailand has a royal family. There residence much like Buckingham Palace is a huge tourist attraction in Bangkok. In fact it’s the No.1 attraction in the entire country. Meaning the crowds flock each day to this amazing building and it’s worth the visit. You are able to walk around the grounds and visit the temples within the palace walls. This was a new experience for me as I had never been into a Buddhist temple before. Seeing as the main religion in Thailand is Buddhism I wanted to get a feel of this culture and do something new and different. The palace is everything and as grand as you expect it to be. The attention to detail in the décor is out of this world. You certainly need to see it to believe it. It’s so worth a visit and make a day of it. Just outside the palace a little further down the road in walking distance about 10/15mins is the Reclining Buddha. Another temple again but this one is HUGE! The grounds of this temple are outstanding. A nice place to find a little quiet time amongst the craziness of Bangkok. The Grand Palace cost 500THB to enter and the Reclining Buddha cost 350THB to enter (I have more info below on costs and budgets). 

A FEW TIPS –

1. Make sure you arrive early or much later in the day. The tour buses start arriving around 10/10:30 until 4pm and the place is open from 9am until 6pm. I opted for the earlier start. We got there at 9am and there was already a large queue of people waiting to get in. By lunchtime the place was packed with tourists. If you plan on going later just be aware you won’t get to see everything. You won’t have time but will manage to see the main things.
2. Make sure you cover up. For both the grand palace and reclining Buddha you will need your legs to be covered at all times. They are really strict on this trust me, we got caught out. The guards will pull you in and stop you entering if your legs are not covered. This goes for woman, children and men. There is a shop just before you enter the palace that sells leggings for men and woman. But be warned they are expensive.
3. Be aware of the scammers. You are in the most tourist spot in the entire city and there will be locals waiting to scam you. Again I talk with experience I got scammed. They dress like policeman and might approach you and ask where you might be heading. Just tell them the Buddha and they will reply with something like, “it’s closed at the moment for prayers, come with me and I will take you on a tour first”. Will a real policeman take you on a tour? NO, it’s a scam. Just politely say no thank you and slowly walk away.
4. Getting there is easy, again use the sky train or the river boats. The river boats are fast and cheap way to travel. We used a river boat and it was great to see the city from the river in a tradional tail boat. We can say we had a ride along the famous river Choa Phraya. (It’s just like the Thames running through London).

Chinatown

If like me before heading out to Bangkok you would have done some research (Tip No.1). You would have discovered that Chinatown in Bangkok is a pretty special place. It’s the oldest district in the entire city and one of the largest Chinatown’s outside of China in the world. So I was totally not going to miss this while we were there. I visited Chinatown twice in the 7 days we were in Bangkok to really get a feel of the district. I wanted to see it during the day and night. It is a totally different place day and night so depends what you are after. It’s busy 24/7 so that doesn’t change but at night there are 100’s more people around. The streets come alive with eating places, drinking places and sellers wanting you to buy their goods. I have to admit, when we got out the underground and headed up out the station I thought we had arrived in Beijing! The entire area was completely different to what I had just seen at the other end. Everything was in Chinese, the smells and the atmosphere. It is so worth a trip just to see and feel it. We had a wander around, grabbed some food had a few drinks and just tried to take in the entire place. It’s so worth a visit if you have the time. There are little lanes to wonder of into all selling slightly different things from food to clothes. All just off the the main street.

During the day when I went, although it was still enchanting it didn’t give me the same feeling. A few nights before was so much better so I am glad I saw it at night first otherwise I might not have even gone back.

A FEW TIPS –

1. I much preferred the area at night. Once it gets dark it does get very busy and very “rowdy” with tourists so be prepared.
2. It’s much easier to travel there via the underground. It gets so busy during the evening and night time. Traffic jams are common and could end up costing you a fortune in taxi fares. I recommend using the underground, Chinatown has its own station. It’s popular with tourists and when arriving at any station around the city just make sure “Wat Mangkon” is the station you need for Chinatown.
3. I highly recommend taking some time to eat some of the street food on offer, it doesn’t get much better! 

Wat Arun, Siam Mall and Lumphini Park

Wat Arun is another temple that sits right along the river. The only way to visit this cool place is to take a boat ride across the river, you can do this as part of a tour if you want to, 99.9% of the hotels in Bangkok will offer day trips and include Wat Arun with the Reclining Buddha for example. I managed to get a local to take us on his tail boat thanks to the help of our room keeper who told us about the taxi service and where to grab them from. Wat Arun isn’t as big as the other temples but it still worth a trip to see the amazing structures and Buddha shrines, it was also cool learning about the temple and how it all began.

Siam Mall is a huge shopping complex in the heart of the city, it is to be expected as any other Mall. It has all the shops you could ever want from designer shops like Prude and Gucci to more high street stores like WH Smiths (Yes, I am not kidding we saw one) and Super Dry. It’s 11 storeys and has a glass floor on the roof and a rainforest with waterfalls and ponds with fish. It even had car show rooms inside! Again the easiest way to get there is using the BTS Skytrain as Siam Mall has a stop all to itself. There are hundreds of eating and drinking places in the Mall and all air-conditioned so gives a little relief from the intense heat outside.  

Asiatigue and National Museum

Again these are worth a visit if in the city and you have the time. Asiatique is an entertainment complex right on the river’s edge. It has eating places, bars and clubs, shops and even rides to have a go on. We got there late afternoon and stayed for the evening after dark as the entire place comes alive. It never really sleeps but it seems to change a gear as you head into the night. There are amazing views of the city from the river’s edge and some great places to shop and eat, I just found it a really cool place to sit and people watch. We had some food and ice cream, the ice cream was amazing! We had ago on the big wheel and watched some street performers, a very cool place to hang out and make some memories.

The National Museum is a great way to immerse yourself into Thai culture and learn all about Thailand, it’s people and how it has become one of the most visited countries in the world. They have artefacts dating back thousands of years on display and many of the displays are interactive which gives it a cool edge, you can watch videos of older generations and learn what it was like living in Thailand all those years ago. You can learn some of the language and why it’s important and the staff are extremely helpful, they have audio tours for free in many different languages so you will be able to truly immerse yourself. I loved spending the few hours here we did and the museum is open air, some parts have roofs to protect the artefacts but the majority of the museum is open which also adds to the experience of the day. The museum is not far from the Grand Palace in fact we walked it and it took about 15mins although in 40 degree heat that wasn’t easy but worth it. There is also a little restaurant inside for drinks and food.  

Bangkok Food and Drink

Thailand is one of the best countries in the world for food and drink, it’s on every street corner and in every place you visit and my biggest advice here is if you are working to a budget then stick to the street food. I promise you the street food is restaurant quality all over the city, for 85% of our time in Bangkok we used street food markets. They are everywhere and extremely popular because the food is so amazing, they cook it from fresh ingredients right in front of your eyes and it tastes as good if not better than some of the restaurants we tried. Even if it’s just once, PLEASE try the street food you won’t be disappointed. I wanted to mention not all the food is extremely spicy either, I can’t eat spicy food. Of course there are many options for spice if that’s your thing but not everything is spicy and all the items mentioned below I ate and were not spicy at all, when ordering food from the street vendors ask them to add a little or NO chilli/spice they look at you a little crazy but are happy to go along with your choice.  

Here is just a few examples of the street food I ate for the 7 days in Bangkok and all this food pictured below was served on the street.

I would say like any country around the world Thailand is famous for certain dishes and if your anything like me while you are visiting a destination I must always try the local cuisine and in Thailand the most tradional dish you will find is a Pad Thai (Chicken, Pork or Prawn among others), mango sticky rice (believe me, it’s out of this world) and of course the Thai Green Curry (I had extra mild). If travelling to Bangkok I recommend trying out all 3 of these dishes during your stay.

Now, I would also like to point out at this time if you are not used to eating this type of food like me then many people say be prepared for the aftermath ie. Spending a little longer on the toilet. They say it happens to everyone and they couldn’t be more right! It only lasted 8 hours because we took some Imodium with us but just bare that in mind. 

Whenever I go on holiday or take a trip I want to do something for the first time, those of you that follow my blogs will know my motto by now, “when was the last time you did something for the first time?” and it’s something I always try and stick to no matter where I go. What about something extra special? Bangkok offers some extraordinary places to eat and drink and I do recommend this place…

CRU Champagne Bar (Central World)

When will you ever be able to say you had come cocktails or champagne on the roof of 59 storey sky scrapper? You can do that right here, it’s a bar perched on the roof of the Central World Plaza in the heart of Bangkok and it provides an incredible view of the city at night and a great atmosphere to chill out after a busy day of sightseeing around the city. You are able to relax and unwind and enjoy the moment.

A FEW TIPS –

1. Booking a table is advised, you don’t have to but it means if you do you are guaranteed a place in the bar. As you can imagine it gets very busy and extremely popular especially on Friday and Saturday nights
2. There is a dress code, no shorts or flip flops. Men must wear long trousers/jeans with closed foot wear. Woman are able to wear long dresses or evening wear.
3. It’s not cheap! This is a real luxury, drinks are expensive but it’s always worth something having a moment to indulge and not care about the costs, besides if you followed some of my tips you would have saved a little to spend here. It’s really worth it  

Public Transport in Bangkok

OK, you are in a major capital city which sees approx. 22million tourists a year. The public transport network in Bangkok is fantastic for that very reason, there are 2 main ways to get around, one is the BTS Skytrain which is a train service that runs above the city streets and the other is the MRT Underground network both of which I used through-out the 7 days and had no issues at all. The trains are clean, reliable and cheap, all the things you want in public transport. Between the skytrain and underground you can access the major tourist places within the city as they have stations nearby, they don’t always have both so it’s worth checking when doing some research or asking at your hotel. I would also recommend where possible using the river boat taxis like I did, if the place is in walking distance from the river then get a boat it will be quicker and much cheaper than a taxi.

If public transport isn’t your thing or you’re a little nervous about using it for the first time, don’t worry. You can always get around on foot or taxi, but I would avoid this where possible the roads in the centre of Bangkok as you can imagine in any capital city is crazy and there road laws are pretty much non-existent so driving is sometimes dangerous and extremely stressful if doing it for the first time. I am so glad I didn’t hire a car or drive anywhere.

If I have not convinced you to use public transport then I recommend using GRAB. It’s an app and works in the same way as UBER in the UK – its Thailand’s version. You are able to book a taxi ahead of time and see which ones are in the local area, it also allows you to confirm the price of the journey you are about to make before making it which is important in Thailand as taxi drivers will try and rip you off. Just search GRAB in your app store when you arrive in Thailand and it will come up, download it and away you go. This will come in extremely handy on the next part of the trip in Phuket as Public Transport isn’t as good. 

Thailand Phuket

So we had the best time enjoying the capital city and it was now time to check out a different side of Thailand so we headed for Phuket by plane from Bangkok airport to Phuket International which took about 1hr 20mins with VietJet a local low budget airline, they were perfect and recommended.

Phuket is the second most visited place in Thailand, it’s an island and home to the countries best beaches and diving spots making it the 2^nd top tourist destination in Thailand, in 2019 just under 10 million tourists headed for the island of Phuket and as you read on you will no doubt see why.

THINGS TO DO

The first things I noticed after arriving in Phuket was the entire feel of the place, it was completely different from Bangkok. Phuket had much more of a relaxed, calm sense about. More of a holiday vibe until the evening that is, then the entire area becomes a crazy place and packed with people. I also noticed there was much more of the Thailand Sex Tourism on display here with massage shops, sex shops and lady boys on every street corner, but we are in Thailand and some of those lady boys looked beautiful.

Pa Tong Beach

It’s the main tourist hub and stretch of beach on the island, it also has the most hotels, restaurants and entertainment places on offer. We were extremely lucky that our hotel was right on the beach and we had access to the beach via our hotel which was a lovely touch, the “strip” as I like to call it was the main road connecting the north to the south of the beach and runs the entire length of the beach front and is packed with market stalls, shops and eating places all the way along the choice is all yours, however be prepared for the employees standing on the pavements trying to usher people into their restaurants or bars. Just carry on walking – don’t stop and polity say “no thank-you”.

The beach is wonderful, it’s pure sand and there is plenty of water sports to enjoy if that’s your thing. There are also sun loungers you can rent and little bars directly on the beach to grab a drink and a little snack.   

A FEW TIPS –

1. Get there early. Unfortunately if you are hoping for a day at the beach you need to grab a spot because by lunchtime it will be packed with people and there isn’t much space left. I’m not great at sitting on beaches all day so we only used to stay for a few hours each day before all the crowds arrived.
2. You will get harassed by locals trying to sell you stuff. I think this happens everywhere in the world, it certainly has been the case for me on the busiest beaches around the world. Just remember, they are local people trying to make a living. Just politely decline and ignore them they will move on pretty quick – don’t start a conversation with them you will never escape!
3. My advice is to head to this beach and watch the amazing sunset. We managed to grab some pictures that will last a lifetime and by this point a load of tourists have left the beach to start preparing for the evening so it’s not as busy.  

The Great Big Buddha of Phuket

This really is a site to see, it’s a huge statue of a buddha which sits on top of a huge hill toward the middle of the island. It’s a great little morning adventure to take a look and stare and wonder at the marvel of the statue and read about its power and influence within the country and how it has been standing for so long. I spent about 4 hours here, there is a little gift shop and toilets if you need them and the views that look out across Phuket are stunning.

A FEW TIPS –

1. Public transport on the island isn’t as good as Bangkok, it is there and you can get a bus to the Buddha but it will take a long time because from Patong there isn’t a direct bus, you need to change. So arrange a taxi with your Grab App – make sure you agree the price before you travel there and in some cases your driver will wait for you like he did for us.
2. There is a lot of walking involved so I recommend better shoes than flip flops!
3. You are heading into the island and away from the coast, you will encounter local wildlife in the form of monkeys that live on the hilltop and they love nothing more than to steal food and drink from tourists. Prepare yourself, drink from the fountains provided and don’t get your food out because the monkeys will take it! 

Siam Niramit Show

I arranged this through the hotel concierge desk when we arrived it wasn’t something we had planned to do or even knew about before we went, it’s part of the joy of talking to people and finding out where the best places to go and things to do, we got told about this by one of the taxi drivers and when I saw a leaflet on the desk at the hotel they pointed me in the direction of the concierge desk and it was booked and what an evening it was.

This is an evening adventure and the good thing about booking through a concierge desk is transport is always included in the price and you get picked up right from our hotel lobby which is perfect. When you arrive you get booked in and get your tickets and once you walk through the gates I was already in awe and could have stayed there all night! The backdrop and scenery were amazing, but that wasn’t even the start of it. Part of the tour was also food, as it was pretty late about 6ish we headed for the dining room and found tables of food from every part of the world in a buffet style set-up you just go and help yourself and we sure made the most of it. After food we had a wander around the Thai village, it was a manmade village but from years ago with actors living like they would have done and you could get involved – we painted and sowed and helped feed the fish – we had a little boat ride and it was really cool and totally unexpected. Then it was show time and it’s a show like nothing I have seen before, it’s a walk through time with the history of Thailand and the culture but with the costumes, special effects and lighting it was a magical experience. There was even rain and a real waterfall on stage!

A FEW TIPS –

1. I am not 100% sure if you can book the tickets yourself so I would say if your hotel has a concierge desk then book up an evening you won’t regret it. If your hotel doesn’t have a concierge desk then don’t worry there are hundreds of tourist huts along the beach front offering day trips and tours for just about everything, I am sure they will be able to hook you up and it might even be a little cheaper.
2. Take your time when you get there, honestly I was blown away by the amount of things there was to see and do.
3. You are NOT allowed to take any cameras or phones into the auditorium. The guards search everyone that enters and all personal belongings must be kept in lockers before you enter. It’s totally fine so please don’t be alarmed I just wasn’t prepared for it!

Thailand Elephant Sanctuary

Of all the days in Thailand we had this will be something I will never forget, In fact in all the things and places I have had the pleasure to visit I will remember this one forever.

Elephants in Thailand are like horses in the UK, they are the working animal for local people but this comes at a price and many are miss treated and sadly neglected which is where this sanctuary comes in and they rescue the elephants and care for them for the rest of their lives. You will see just wandering around Thailand elephants being chained up and locals offering elephant rides, it is in-fact bad for the elephant to ride them and no animal should be chained to anything in my view. This sanctuary was amazing, I had never been this close to an elephant before and during the day we got to feed them, gave them a mud bath, washed them and even played with them in the most beautiful of settings. We got picked up from our hotel and taken to the sanctuary and we were taken back to the hotel, we even got fed as well after a hard days graft with the elephants. We learnt about them, why they were there and how they arrived and got to really understand why this sanctuary was so important for the protection of this animal. I highly recommend this activity for anyone, it really is a memory I will never forget.

A FEW TIPS –

1. You will not find any local hotel or tour operator running day trips to this sanctuary, you have to book online via their website where everything is taken care of.
2. It cost 2500THB per person (approx.. £62) for the afternoon with all food and transport included and all that money goes back into the sanctuary to care for more elephants – well worth it.
3. Make sure you wear appropriate clothing for the day – I got a little caught out which is why I am only wearing shorts. But I would recommend a pair of swimming shorts and t-shirt that you don’t mind getting dirty and also some flip flops you can easily get off and on. The t-shirt helps because I got a little sunburnt and wish I had worn one.  
4. Take insect repellent with you and a water proof camera – YOU WILL NEED THEM

Phi Phi Island Day Trip Adventure

This was another day trip I arranged through the hotel concierge desk when we arrived, I saw a few posters in the hotel lobby and read the leaflet and it seems like a really cool trip to take so I spoke with the concierge desk and booked it up.

To my delight it wasn’t just a trip to Phi Phi Island, we visited a number of islands that day including Maya Bay (the location of “The Beach” Movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio), Monkey Island which is a little piece of land surrounded by sea which is home to monkeys and no-one really knows how they got there. We also visited Phi Phi Island itself and went to the most secluded beach in the middle of the Ocean I have ever been to, I felt like Tom Hanks in Castaway it was a mound of sand in the middle of the sea and was beautiful we also had time to Snorkel and they fed us with plenty to drink also. Our tour guide was great, really knowledgeable about the area and came across fun and entertaining we also got chatting to other members on the tour as that was our group for the day.

Public Transport in Phuket

As I have mentioned before, although Phuket does have public transport it isn’t as good as Bangkok. We only used public transport twice in the entire week and that was using the bus from the airport to Patong and back again, a taxi would have cost 1000THB from the airport instead the bus which took around 45minutes cost 150THB which is a huge saving and it doesn’t take that long and drops you off directly in the middle of Patong so easy to get to any hotel or hostel in the area. I do recommend getting the Grab App for your visit to Phuket or even hiring out a little motorbike, there were loads of tourists using them and it seemed like a good way to beat the traffic during the day and get around the island.

I never had a problem using the Grab App the entire time we were in Thailand and would use it again if going back, the best thing about it, it tells you the price before you get into the taxi you can chose if that’s the one you want. I would also recommend using a TukTuk when in Phuket especially if you just wanted a ride around the local area they are a local form of transport and really fun!

Phuket Food and Drink

Phuket is no different to Bangkok in this regard, we always eat at local food markets and we were lucky there was a really good one just outside our hotel, we did eat a few times in some restaurants after getting some good recommendations from people but you just can’t beat the street food in Thailand. 

Here is just a few examples of the street food I ate for the 7 days in Phuket and all this food pictured below was served on the street.

How much does Thailand cost?

IT’s important I know, you read the above information and suddenly you start seeing pound signs flashing in your head but one of the amazing things about Thailand itself is that once you get there it is cheap to eat, drink and get around because the exchange rate is so good. I can’t begin to tell you how important it is in making every pound last you while you away but also making sure you don’t miss any moment that will last a lifetime. Below I have set out what each part of the holiday cost but also maybe more importantly how you can make your money go further if visiting Thailand.

Cost for the trip; £3,189 (2 Adults Accommodation and Flights)

• London Gatwick to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
• We flew with Qatar Airways on this trip and stopped over in Doha for 3hours.
• In Bangkok we stayed at the Anantara Sathorn and Phuket we stayed at Holiday Inn Resort

The above price also included breakfast each morning in both hotels and transfers from Anantara in Bangkok both ways. We also went in prime time, or “high season” which was January 2020.

 We took £1,000 Spending money each (so had £2,000 between us) so figured that would be £1,000 per week spending money for the time we were away. What’s fantastic is, even with all the stuff we did as mentioned above we still came back home with £763! Meaning we only spent £1,237 for the 2 weeks away in Thailand.   

This is what I am saying, the country itself is very cheap but you can make your money go even further by following a few simple steps and tips.

A FEW TIPS –

1. DO NOT EAT in restaurants. I can promise you the street food in Thailand is amazing and it’s cheap and it’s restaurant quality. Mostly you are looking at 60THB – 100THB (£1.50 – £2.47) for some decent street food although for example in Chinatown we had a Pad Thai as pictured and it only cost 40THB (£1).  
2. If going to Bangkok use public transport. Use the Skytrain and Underground it’s much cheaper than getting taxis across the city as mentioned above in the transport section.
3. Haggle! Most sellers in Thailand will always haggle a better price with you, I know some people are not good at it but you really don’t need to have a degree. If you truly believe the price is too high for what your buying then haggle with the vendor but also remember they do rely on this money to feed their families and we don’t want to commit daylight robbery, just use some common sense and be prepared to walk away.
4. Thailand is one of the back packer’s destinations, which means there is cheaper accommodation around the city in the form of hostels if you really wanted to keep costs down instead of hotels. These can range from £55 – £80 per night much cheaper then hotels in the city.
5. This goes for any destination you may visit so when doing your research check out when is “peak season” as it might be cheaper to travel in “off peak season”. Each country around the world will have busier times and not so busy times to travel so getting this right could also save you money. Thailand peak season is December/January/February as that is when the country is at its hottest and driest.
6. Check my Top 10 Travel Tips to see many different ways to save money.

THAILAND SUMMARY

As mentioned through-out this blog I have included the links below which I hope you will also find helpful as I did.

This is the link to my TripAdvisor page with more in depth reviews on the hotels, Airlines and Airports plus other activities:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Profile/Stick1985?fid=c31546e6-7d3e-4289-935c-d2b919352ddc

This is the link to the Elephant Sanctuary in Phuket we volunteered at:

Green Elephant Sanctuary Park Phuket (en)

This is the link to the hotel in Phuket – Holiday Inn Resort.

https://uk.hotels.com/ho134398/?q-check-out=2020-10-01&FPQ=2&q-check-in=2020-09-30&WOE=4&WOD=3&q-room-0-children=0&pa=7&tab=description&JHR=1&q-room-0-adults=2&YGF=2&MGT=1&ZSX=0&SYE=3

There is no doubt that Thailand is one of the best holiday destinations in the world and it’s so easy to see why millions travel to the country each year. It has everything you need to have a wonderful holiday and make memories. You can see why people keep coming back year after year as there is so much to do, if you want sea, sand, diving, relaxing, amazing food and sunshine pretty much all year round it’s hard to argue that Thailand could be the No.1 destination in the world but I must say, for me it will always hold a place dear to my heart and becomes 1 of the top 3 destinations I have ever been too and I urge you to try this incredible country and it’s amazing people for yourself.

Until Next time….