There is so much to say about my Thailand trip, I had to break up my posts into 4: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, beach town and general tips for Thailand travel. Because there is always a camera glued to my hand, you can get an idea of our trip with this video we made:
- The most golden tip I can give you is to get a business card with an address from your hotel to show taxi drivers getting you home. Also get your hotel concierge to talk to cab drivers picking you up to ensure they are going to the right spots.
- Check to see if your hotel has laundry service and use it so you can carry on bags, Thailand is hot. Hot weather clothes are small. It will fit. (We did fly home with an extra duffel bag of gifts and souvenirs)
- Buy a lot of things. Thailand is so cheap, it is super fun to buy a bunch of stuff at markets.
- Hand sanitizer. A lot of it. All day. We even used it to wipe down utensils before eating street food.
- Clothing for temples: women need to cover their knees and shoulders. Buy elephant pants once you're in Thailand, They're loose and breezy. No flip flops allowed, but I did see some people getting away with that one. If you are a woman and you're not dressed properly, they will not let you in or will make you wear a weird robe-like thing that looks hot and ridiculous.
- Negotiate tuk tuk/cab/any transportation prices before the ride starts. It sounds more difficult than it is, we'd just walk up and say 100 baht to go whenever and they'd usually just say ok.
- Be aware of your surrounds but we really never felt threatened or unsafe.
- Bathrooms are terrifying - BYOT bring your own toilet paper always because they probably won't have any. Again with the hand sanitizer here, there might not be a sink with soap for hand washing. So much hand sanitizer.
- Bring bug spray - mosquitoes weren't bad in Bangkok but I got eaten alive in Chiang Mai. You can also buy it in Thailand, there are corner stores everywhere.
- Everything is outside, even restaurants, you'll get used to the heat. Pack cool clothes but men should bring at least one pair of pants. I wore a lot of sun dresses, workout clothes and then elephant pants to temples.
- Hotel wifi is usually pretty good. Before leaving the hotel, screen shot maps of where you want to go to show cab/tuk tuk drivers.
- Drink lots of water whenever you can, the heat makes you need to hydrate. But... keep in mind how terrifying public bathrooms are so drink for peeing convenience.
FOOD TIPS: every region has a completely different and amazing cuisine so pay attention and ask your hotel for restaurant and ordering recommendations.
- In Thailand you order several different dishes and share, you don't each just order one thing per person. And if you're like me, you'll be order A LOT. Everything is so cheap so get adventurous and try a lot of things.
- Street food: eat it but be mindful of the stall's cleanliness and make sure the food is fresh. Don't eat something that has been sitting out.
- Bangkok: Eat grilled prawns, pad thai, chicken satay and papaya salad.
- Eat mango sticky rice everywhere. As often as possible. You unwrap the rice, pour all the coconut milk on the rice and then eat it with a bite of mango. It will blow your mind.
- Chiang Mai: Eat Khao Soi (as often as possible), Tom Yum soup, whole fried fish (in restaurants, not stands), cashew chicken and panang curry. Khao Soi is the best food I've ever tasted. Sausage is a Chiang Mai specialty, we tried it and didn't love it but maybe that's just the spoiled Texan in me.
- Don't order Khao Soi in Bangkok and don't order Pad Thai in Chiang Mai. Each region does its own cuisine exceptionally well but doesn't do another region's cuisine well. Stick to the region's specialty.
- Don't order beef. In any capacity. Ever. You won't die or anything but its gross.
4 minute video summary of our trip:
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