3 weeks in Thailand on the way home from Hong Kong

After finishing up my time studying in Hong Kong, I thought I would make the most of being in south east Asia and cheap flights, so met up with a friend and spent three wonderful weeks exploring the south of Thailand. I would have loved to have done the north, but didn’t have enough time and decided it would be better to spend more time in each place to properly see it then rushing around just to tick off the whole if Thailand.

Phuket:

I spent 2 nights in Phuket as this is where I flew into. Phuket was probably my least favorite place in Thailand, I stayed in Patong with felt to me quite ‘trashy’ and more of a party place with little culture. However, the old town Phuket was very nice, with cute old buildings, markets, restaurants and temples. The main reason we decided to stay in Phuket was to go to an Elephant Sanctuary that was ethical. This was a highlight of my time in Thailand, was such a magical experience and we felt that the charity was ethical and the elephants seemed to be well looked after (they were all rescues). The company was called Phuket Elephant Sanctuary. I really enjoyed the activities I did in Phuket, but Patong was not my favorite and one day there was definitely enough.

Krabi:

Accommodation- Cosi Ao Nang: one of the best accommodations I stayed at in Thailand, great location and very comfy nice beds with a pool area and bar.

Activities:

• Phi Phi Islands day boat tour (booked on get your guide): Included Maya Bay, Phileh lagoon, Monkey Beach, Phi Phi Don and Bamboo Bay. This was a great way to see so many places and was the bluest water and nicest beaches I have ever seen.
• Fire Show on Ao Nang Beach
• Ao Nang Landmark Night Market
• Railey Beach

Restaurants:

• Ko Dam Kitchen
• Bamboo beach club- really nice for sunset
• Family Restaurant
• Ao Nang Landmark Night Market

Khao Sok National Park

Khao Sok National Park is the oldest evergreen rainforest in the world, it has breathtaking lakes, caves, wild animals and mountains. This was the best thing I did in Thailand, such a unique place, never done anything like this before and it felt like a movie set. I did it with the company Smileys, which was great.

With Smileys you stay in Khao Sok town the night before, which is really cute, full of wild monkeys, elephants and other nature (the restaurant called Pawns in the town is the best thai food I have ever eaten). Then the next morning you get a bus and then a long tail boat into Khao Sok National Park to floating bun-gallows which you stay on, this is such a unique experience. The tour included, all meals, kayaking, swimming, sunrise safari, waterfall trek, boat rides all around the national park and an excursion into a cave.

Koh Samui

Accommodation- P168 Hostel: In a really good location and very clean. Stayed here for 4 nights.

Activities:

• Big Buddha- Wat Phra Yai & Wat Plai Leam
• Pig Island- get long tail boat there. Stunning beaches.
• Fisherman Market- really good food stalls and souvenirs.
• Zip lines through the jungle

Restaurants:

• Jungle Club- amazing views of the whole of the island.
• Coco Tams for sunset- has a really good fire show every night and a good dj, good to go to just for a drink. This is on the beach.
• Salt Society- good for a dink at sunset.
• Fisherman Village- market stalls.

Koh Tao

Accommodation: Indie hostel- we stayed here for 5 nights, in a great location and has a nice rooftop and restaurant. You can also book a lot of things through the hostel, like taxis (no grab here), jungle party and day trips.

Activities:

• Sairee beach- really nice beach in main area and has free fire show every night.
• Snorkeling tour day drip (booked on Get Your Guide)- Went to Nang Yuan Island (climbed to view point), Mango Bay, Laem Thian, Au Leuk bay and Sark Bay. Saw lots of coral, fish, baby sharks and turtles.
• Freedom Beach
• Snorkeling at Shark Bay
• Secret Bar- the best sunset I have ever seen.
• Gift Organic Cafe- postcard painting.
• John Sewan Viewpoint (near freedom beach)
• Jungle Party
• Koh Tao famous pub crawl

Restaurants:

• Bagel Mingle
• Legand- thai food
• Muma Tams- best thai restaurant
• Centrico Mexican

Bangkok

I was in Bangkok for 2 nights and only had one full day there, which definitely not enough time to see it as it is such a huge city. It is a bit of a shock to the system coming from small relaxing islands to such a chaotic bustling city and was quite overwhelming but I still managed to see a lot of it in the short time I was there.

Activities:

• The Grand Palace- lots of other temples and palaces around. (you need to be wearing long clothing to be let in)
• Bang Sue Junction- huge vintage shopping place. (this was my favorite thing I did in Bangkok)
• MBK- 8 story shopping center, a lot to see there and great for souvenirs.
• Siam Centers
• Tichica- rooftop bar. (really cool view of the city)