General
- GRAB - Basically Uber
- Local SIM - AIS tourist SIM from the airport
Bangkok
Food
- The Bangkok Heritage - Good food but recommend sharing with a friend as the portions are not exactly small
Things to do
- Chatuchak Weekend Market - Lots of street food and shopping (all have similar prices)
- Pai Spa - Thai massage with herbal compress was nice
- Siam Discovery
- Food court on 2F requires a card to order (and then returned)
- Siam Square - All the shopping you need
- Wat pho
- ⚠️ Be careful of anyone who tells you the temple is closed for a few hours and proceed to offer you some boat ride!
- ⚠️ Remember to dress appropriately
- Huge reclining Buddha but crowded. Purchase a stack of coins at the entrance to drop in the 108 bronze bowls along the wall.
Excursions
- Amphawa Floating Market (wiki)
- Only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Famous for seafood; Try the Giant Prawns! I also had great Scallops
- My tour included a night time firefly boat tour which was really nice but mosquito repellent is a must!
- Maeklong Railway Market (wiki)
- It's crazy to me that the train runs through the market. However, it's a very unique experience to see everyone move out of the way for it to pass through!
- There's were so many Chinese tourist that the vendors speak better Chinese than English
Koh Samui
- GRAB charges an extra fee here but it's better than the taxi monopoly since they charge quite a bit even to go a small distance
Food
- Art Cafe by June
- Coco Tam’s
- Fire show at night in front of the beach (was Monday for me)
- The tables right of the DJ booth had the best view (at the time)
- Lek thai seafood
Things to do
Scuba diving
- Silent Divers
- Offers Nitrox
- Sail Rock - Hope to see a whale shark!
- Koh Tao - HTMS Sattakut Dive Site (shipwreck)
- Chomphun Pinnacle
Chiang Mai
One of my favorite cities
Food
- Huen Muan Jai - Try the Northern Curry with a side of sticky rice
- Huen Phen - Best Khao Soi I had
- Mr. Kai Restaurant - I had the Squid Khao Soi with a fried egg
Things to do
- Cabaret Show - Inside Anusarn Market
- Elephant Nature Park
- No riding park for rescued elephants. Highly highly recommend!
- Northern Thai Cooking Course - Green Mango Salad, Khao Soi, Larb Muang Moo, and Khao Tom Madd
- Fah Lanna Spa - Hands down, best spa!
- Small House Thai Cooking (Class)
- Arm is a great guy! Around the corner from him, it's possible to buy a 1L cup of thai ice tea (I asked)
- My experience was with a very small 10 person group and 3 elephants. We fed, bathe, and walked them around.
- Tha Phae Walking Street - Sunday only with lots of street food. Night market starts at 5pm?
- Tops Supermarket
Chiang Rai
- Would like to come back cause spent a half day here
- Green Bus - VIP seats, coach bus with a toilet
Food
Things to do
- Wat Rong Khun (White Temple)
- Get off at "Old Terminal" the stop before Chiang Rai (if taking Green Bus)
- Really unique temple. Recommend sunglasses due to glare. Everything closes at noon for a lunch break.
- You can purchase a "leaf" to hang on a tree (to make a wish) if desired
- Wat Rong Suea Ten (Blue Temple) - Smaller than the White Temple and was built in the 90s ZZZ