All posts tagged: Thailand

The Ultimate One Month Thailand Itinerary

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Thailand is high up there on many people’s travel wish lists and it’s popularity is growing year on year. I had a bit of an up and down time there, but one thing is for sure, I felt like I went on a bout 5 different holidays. Each place I visited is so wildly different, and some of them were not at all the sun, sea and unprotected sex stereotype I had in my head. I have some really happy memories from my month here, and I’m not saying I’m a expert at all, but here is a fun month-long itinerary for anyone planning a trip to Thailand. Bangkok – 3 days You’ll probably fly into Bangkok so make the most of it. I found it very hot and crazy – it’s definitely not the most relaxing place but if you know where to look you can have lots of fun. Read my guide to Bangkok here   Chiang Mai – 4 days After Bangkok Chiang Mai is a welcome bit of calm, it’s such …

Koh Samui – My Thoughts

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Full disclosure, I kind of went to Koh Samui for a boy… which went tits up, but the airport is here so you may end up needing to go too. It’s a disgusting place, but despite this I did have fun, but I would never, ever go again, even if you paid me. If you’re British let me say this one word to you ‘Benidorm’, or another one ‘Magaluf’ . It’s a chavvy old place in Koh Samui, with a lot of fat, sunburned families with braided hair walking round eating McDonald’s. And it kinda smells. I first stayed in a beach hut (Free House beach bungalows) in Bosphut because it was right next to the hotel of a boy I’d been on a date with in Chiang Mai and we’d arranged to meet. It was super boring and dull there, full of couples, with literally no entertainment but I was cool with that as I just wanted to turn my little hut into a loveshack. Sadly I got blown off come date time (the …

Koh Phangan & Why You Should Skip The Full Moon Party

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When I was first planning my trip to Thailand The Full Moon Party was high on my bucket list, despite hearing more horror stories than glowing reviews, I mean it’s a big party on a beach, how could that not be fun right?! My trip to Koh Phangan started interestingly when the hostel we’d booked (Wild & Wandering) was completely closed when we arrived, like chains-and-a-huge-padlock-round-the-front-doors closed. We waited in the blistering heat for 20 minutes and then went next door where we were told the owner had done a runner. Great. Now, accommodation during the Full Moon is way more expensive and hard to come by so I was lucky to find Lazy House Shenanigans (don’t let the name put you off) which is such a cool hostel with a pool and great sound system. You also get a free bucket everyday you stay, free entrance to the water park (which saves you £20) and a free BBQ on Full Moon day.   Koh Phangan itself is really pretty but there are a lot …

Koh Tao I Love You

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Koh Tao was the first time I saw the sea in Thailand having spent half a month up north in the wonderful Chiang Mai and Pai, so it was exciting for that reason alone, but also it’s a flipping wonderful little island. Read on for my hot tips. Where to stay I stayed in GoodTimes Hostel which is *right* on the beach, and when I say ‘right on the beach’ I am not kidding, it took me all of 10 seconds to run into the ocean each morning. The dorm rooms here are pretty luxe and have balconies overlooking the beach. It’s a little pricy for a hostel at £11 a night but worth it for a couple of nights as a treat. Where to party Sairee Beach is full of great bars and clubs and if you walk along the shore then you’re bound to find somewhere to party. Personally I loved Rock Bar, and if you walk by outside enough you’ll get a ton of free shot tokens which can all be redeemed …

Pai – Thailand’s Best Kept Secret

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Let me first start by saying Pai is a f*cking magical place and you should all go, like now. It’s also the place I honed my hula hoop skills and the place in which I was welcomed to my hut by a man bearing *literal* crystals (when I asked what the different coloured gems were for he relied “healing”, “what all of them?”, “probably”.). Yes it’s a hippie commune by all intents and purposes, yes you may laugh at the impossibly zen staff there who float by with coloured dreads and tanned skin, but it’s so much more than that. Despite my bohemian tendencies, a hippie I am not, career hippies bore me, it’s kinda passé and they listen to the most boring music. Pai welcomes all; from the dreadlocked stoner to the bucket-hatted shuffler and all have a bloody great time. My fondest memory is being high in the pool listening to Rihanna ‘Wok’ and watching an american girl practice her interpretive dance skills for an hour – no judgement,, that’s not very Pai. …

Living in a Bikini When You Don’t Have a ‘Bikini Body’

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One of my biggest trepidations about going travelling, especially to Thailand where I am now, was my body. I’ve spoken previously on the blog about rejecting the media’s portrayal of the perfect female form, and I do stand by that. It’s just hard to wash away 20 years of body neuroses in an instant. I went travelling right after Xmas. With the Christmas weight of a girl who knew she wouldn’t be home for a long time. I honestly thought I’d lose weight in India due to Delhi belly but sadly/gladly the food was so tremendous I gained weight! Even a bad case of food poisoning didn’t make a dent in my behind. And so the time came to shed the layers and get into beach life in Thailand. Honestly the first time I put in a bikini I had a nervy spasm. You know when you look at your body and think ‘who even is that?’. Inevitably when you’re in a tropical paradise there will be beautiful lithe women who make you feel inferior, …

Chiang Mai, Thailand – What to Do & See

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Chiang Mai in the North of Thailand is a definite must-do on your Thai backpacking trip or holiday. Plus it’s a pit-stop on the way to wonderful Pai (more on that later). To get there from Bangkok you can fly but there’s an a/c overnight train for just £18 which is very comfortable. Chiang Mai is a super cool, chilled town and full of backpackers and ex-pats read on to see what’s the sitch up in CM. BARS & CLUBS Because we all need a Chang now and again, right? One note, all the clubs and bars in CM close at midnight but they’re all a short walk from each other. Zoe’s Zoe’s is a sprawling indoor/outdoor complex of several bars to suit all but the most niche music tastes. Great for chilling out in the evening and catching up with friends. Zoe’s in Yellow, Rajvithi Road, เชียงใหม่ 50200 Spicy This club opens a little later most nights so you can dance away to floor fillers until 2am. Lots of talent here too. Chang Moi, …

What To Do in Bangkok

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Let me start by saying I wasn’t immediately sold on Bangkok, and I’m still a little unsure – it’s busy, hot and sprawling and did I mention relentlessly hot? Seriously, it’s the only place I’ve visited that somehow manages to get hotter at night. Anyway, I gave it a fair crack and here’s what I suggest you do with 2 or 3 days in BKK. Don’t stay any longer or you’ll go cray. STAY AT NAPPARK If you’re backpacking in Thailand you’ll probably start off in BKK and you’ll most probably wanna stay around the backpacking mecca that is Koh San Road, however it is very mental there. So stay just round the corner at Nappark Hostel which is a luxe alternative to really scuzzy traveller digs. It has great bathroom and shower facilities, which you’ll need and is under £10 a night. Nappark Hostel, 5 Tani, Talat Yot, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10110 JJ GREEN VINTAGE NIGHT MARKET This was far and away my favourite thing in BKK, a huge, sprawling night market much like Streetfeast …

En Route To… Thailand

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I am currently at New Delhi Airport, ready to fly to Bangkok. I’m super excited to get to some beaches, meet my old housemate Sinead (who will be flying from the UK to Bangkok in a few days) and go to the Full Moon Party! India was amazing, read all my India travel posts here and I’ll see you in Thailand.

Movies to Get You In The Mood For Travel

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I’m currently in that wonderful (sense the sarcasm) no-man’s land of waiting to jet off on my one woman trip to the world. Of course waiting means saving, and saving means no shopping, no Pret and no beers down the pub lest I drink away my air fare. So, what’s a girl to do with all this spare time? Netflix and Chill TO THE MAX of course. Here are my top 5 flicks to whet your appetite for travel… The Beach Firstly… WHEN IS LEO GOING TO WIN AN OSCAR?! Seriously, give the guy an award already. Anyway, this early Leonardo Dicaprio movie, directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) shows off the Thai backpacking experience wonderfully; the squalor, the noise, the new friends, new crushes, music, blue skies, blue seas, white sand… murder. Sorry for the spoiler. If you can watch the first three quarters of The Beach without wanting to book a one way ticket to Bangkok then you’re a stronger person than me. The Darjeeling Limited You’d have to be a cold-hearted, unromantic dullard to …