#BBMTRAVELSTHAILAND

{Bangkok}

One of the deciding factors in my decision to take on this journey and venture out of my comfort zone was the opportunity to travel while on breaks from teaching, and Thailand was at the top of my travel bucket list. Shortly after arriving in Korea, our first long break that could facilitate the  6 hour flight into Bangkok was booked for our 10 day winter vacation.

Our flight left on Christmas day, which luckily made being away from home for the holidays a little easier. We woke up on the 26th ready to explore Bangkok and see everything.

{Day One}
Our first day started with a ride on a tuk tuk to the river where I was surprised to find out Bangkok operates a great deal via boats on an inner city water way. We hopped on a ferry on our way to discover the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

Walking through the gates of these grounds was like entering a magical place where everything is made of gold and sparkling in the sunlight. It’s hard to even put into words what a truly stunning place it is.

Our next stop was Wat Pho or The Temple of the Reclining Buddha. This site was far less crowded than the Temple of the Emerald Buddha had been, and while it too was opulent, it had a much more peaceful feeling that I really enjoyed.

As day one in Thailand concluded we ended our day with some pad thai, a beer, and a quick walk through the night market; ready to start day two. 

{Day Two}
Our second day in Thailand was to be a short one as we were scheduled to catch a flight to Krabi  that night. We decided to spend our next day in Bangkok at the Chatuchak Weekend Market. One word to describe the market…INCREDIBLE. As some one who is partial to a market; Korean, Thai, farmers, or otherwise, I could have spent my entire trip to Thailand browsing that market and been completely content. My only regret of the entire trip was packing my bags to the brim and not allowing enough room for extra souvenirs, though I have every intention of going back to that market at some point in the near future.

We enjoyed a smorgasbord lunch at some of food stalls, before wandering our way out of the market. Then it was back to our hotel where we grabbed our bags before heading to the airport and continuing the trip in Krabi.

 

{Krabi}

{Day Three}

Waking up in Krabi on day three we were eager to get to the beach and relax after our busy days exploring Thailand.  We hopped into the hotel’s shuttle {please read: we hopped into the back of a hotel staff member’s pick-up truck} and drove about five minutes or so to the beach… a.k.a. paradise.  The morning was spent soaking in the sun followed by a  beach side lunch of pad thai and mojitos.

After lunch we decided to take a ride on on a long tail boat and head to Rai Leh to check out some more beaches. On our walk from one beach to another we were greeted by monkeys. Real, wild, uncaged monkeys just making their way across the island along a fence. And thus began my 15 minute career as a national geographic photographer.

We spent the rest of the afternoon on Rai Leh relaxing and kayaking until sunset when we headed back to Ao Nang to explore the small town at night.

It was a quick day spent, however, one of my favorites of the trip. There were monkeys after all. The next day we were off to Ko Phi Phi.

 

{Ko Phi Phi}

Day four in Thailand was mostly a travel day with the morning spent in Ao Nang and a long ferry ride over to Ko Phi Phi. We made it to the island for sunset, a bit of beach time, a late dinner and some island exploring. Getting off of the ferry, Ko Phi Phi was already very different than the main land of Krabi had been. It felt more touristy, yet still like we were in a different world. There are no cars on the island, and it’s made up of twisty and turny brick roads filled with people, shops, and carts. It took nearly our entire stay there just to feel like we knew our way around. While it didn’t feel quite as authentic as our stay in Ao Nang had, it was a cute island none the less and certainly had its own highlights. Small yellow flag garlands welcomed us above all of the main streets, the beaches were out of this world, and the tree house bars were really exciting.

{Day Five}
Our first full day in Ko Phi Phi we were, once again, determined to relax and enjoy the sun.  Goal accomplished; we even managed to squeeze in some beach side cocktails and snorkeling before dinner.  Can you say over achievers??

{Day Six}
This was our last day on Ko Phi Phi and was once again only a half day as we were going to be making our way to Phuket that afternoon. We had a great breakfast at our hotel before exploring the island and checking out all of the little shops. We even managed to hike up to the viewpoint at the edge of town. Potentially not the best idea on a sunny afternoon with temps in the high 80s and nothing but travel planned for the rest of the day…but hey, still worth it for the views. We made it back in time to relax for a bit and grab a smoothie in the tree house bar we had come across a couple of times. Then it was finally time to catch our ferry to Phuket for NYE.

{Phuket}

{Day Six Continued}

After landing in Phuket we caught a shuttle to our hotel, explored for a bit, booked a reservation to see some elephants the next day, and then got ready to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

Of course we stopped for a cocktail or two on the way to the beach, but the celebration there really was the highlight. When we arrived hundreds of people were lighting and sending off paper lanterns with a wish for the new year. After a few failed attempts and with some help from the locals we managed to send one off successfully. Fireworks started at midnight filling the lantern spotted sky. The crowd was an odd mix of foreign families frantically avoiding  the drifting fiery lanterns drunken college boys failed to send off successfully, and locals celebrating the new year, and surely enjoying the entertainment brought by the crowds.  While the beach was swarming with people, the experience was still somehow surreal. Celebrating NYE in Thailand with close friends is something I’ll never forget.

We closed out the evening with one last cocktail on a beachside bar, a crape from a charming little street lady, and a scooter taxi back to the hotel.

{Day Seven}

Day seven in Thailand, which was also the first day of the new year, was all about elephants. We left in the morning and made our way along the beach to attempt elephant trekking. So here’s the deal with elephant trekking. We were assured that the place recommended by the hotel treated their elephants nicely, and the people who worked there were kind enough and treated us well, however I can’t say it’s something I’ll ever do again. It was incredible to be so up close and personal with the animals, but seeing them all geared up takes away any warm and fuzzy feelings the experience could bring. For anyone looking to spend a day with these creatures, please look for an elephant sanctuary rather than an elephant trekking encounter.

A late flight out of Phuket meant we had the afternoon to explore. For me that was a fish pedicure, one last Thai massage, and a very indulgent lunch. A few hours of blissful relaxation before heading back into the city.

{Amphawa}

{Day Eight}

On our last day in Thailand we wanted to check out a market. After doing some research we found one that was supposed to be relatively obscure so we could get more of an authentic feel for the city. We packed our day bags and made our way to the bus depot to try to catch a shuttle to the Amphawa floating market.

Getting the bus tickets was surprisingly easy and we were even left with time to check out a local shopping area where the prices of accessories in Thailand got the better of me, and I left with a new pair of shoes and an unhealthy amount of sunglasses. But where else can you buy sunglasses for less than a dollar?! No regrets.

We hopped on our little bus and ventured about an hour and a half out of Bangkok to the small town of Amphora. While I don’t think I could pick a favorite day from our trip to Thailand, this market was definitely high on my list.

We were greeted by a street lined with vendors and quickly found what we dubbed as the food aisle of the market. We sampled a few different items like mochi ice cream and these delicious cheesey potato balls. Perhaps not the most traditional Thai foods, but definitely tasty. After our bite to eat we explored rest of the market which was made up of hundreds of little shops along a canal.  Both sides of the market were connected by small bridges and had sweet older Thai women cooking and selling food from their little floating boats.

After exploring the market for a while we decided to take a boat trip down the river around dusk to see the sunset and fireflies. They’re known to have trees that light up as if they have Christmas lights because of the amount of fireflies living near them which was really cool to see, though impossible to photograph.

I have to say my favorite part of the day was this cruise. Not because of the sunset or the fireflies, but because the boat took us down a part of the water that backed up to people’s homes. It was beyond fascinating to see what local people were doing in this tiny little Thai town on a Saturday night. We saw families having dinner outside, a man working on his river boat, people watching tv, women cleaning, men sitting on their docks with a beer. It was so interesting, and I’ll admit a bit creepy, to have a glimpse in on what these people who live here were doing, and to see the similarities and also stark differences to life in the U.S.

We ended our night with one last run to the “food aisle” of the market to grab some snacks for the hotel and then made our way to catch the last bus and head back Bangkok.  I love a market, and  with our flight leaving early the next morning, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience to close out our incredible trip.

 …

And there it is. Eight days exploring Thailand and memories for a lifetime. I cannot wait to venture back and see more of this unbelievable country.