Perks of being a girl traveler in Thailand !!!

Travel to Thailand always brings thoughts of shopping and more shopping. I have been zillion times to various parts of Thailand for work and leisure but never have I experienced Thailand in this unique way like i did this time. I'm an Corporate Event Manager by profession, Dance choreographer cum artist by passion and globe trekker by choice. Here is an insight on how exciting can any journey get if you wish and think only for happiness. This journey starts with my visit first ever to a super wonderful place called CHIANG MAI in Thailand. This is the city of mountains in Thailand - not many people know Thailand for its mountains and peaks. Thai airways gave me a perfect connecting flight to this city from Mumbai. The vehicle i took from airport to my hotel was a BIG C Extra as they call it. Basically an ISUZU with extra space in the back to keep luggage. I had comfortable stay at Chedi Chiang Mai hotel - an impressive low rise 5 star hotel which will give you boutique experience. The riverside pool surrounded by lotuses just made my day as soon as i entered the property lobby. Then I comfortably checked in and had peaceful nap to refresh myself for first evening. You cannot miss the night market when you are in Chiang Mai. Small lanes are fully lit up as if its diwali in thailand - the night market starts by 7pm and ends by late midnight. Many locals setup small and big stores by road side attracting locals as well as foreigners to purchase their hand made items - you will find all kinds of things from bags, purses, candles, lights, souvenirs, fragrances, clothes and yummy FOOD and desserts. Not to forget even Royal Enfiled bikes and their spare parts are on display for buyers. My fav thing is definitely the lights , small coin purse and yummy corn on the cob with local chang beer. I also came across this huge shrine looking place which i thought was a temple but to my surprise it was a complex of night bazar which had more shops to make you spend your money. I could not resist myself and these amazing handmade shawls from locals. The more i shopped through the night, the more i was tempted to try local street food. After all the shopping and eating - it was pee-time and i ran from one street to another to find public toilet. Unfortunately all public toilets had closed down as it was nearing 1am in the morning.Luckily due to local help i found an automatic toilet right behind the small shops of the night bazar and for 10 baht coin i relieved myself and could relish most tasty strawberry ice-cream on my way back to my hotel.

The second day of my trip started with an adventurous bargain for tuk tuk price to go up the mountains. This tuk tuk driver who looks like bruce-lee in someway (atleast to me) was such an entertainer he kept singing songs, guiding me places of interest and so on. The plan was to visit Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep - most enchanting sacred temple of northern Thailand flanked by serpents as a mega architectural entrance to the temple which leads everyone to climb 306 steps stairway to the golden shrine. On the way to the shrine small shops sell lotus blossoms to offer to lord buddha. When you reach the top - you will see mesmerising small flowering trees, small shrines, rock gardens,monuments and white elephant statue. There is another lizard like guardian statue which catches a lot of attention of local children. The golden shrine which looks like chedi is the main attraction of this place. On my way back i bought golden bangles made by local woman. The shrine enlightened my soul so deep that I had no other agenda on this day other than calling it an early night.

Next day i planned to leave Chiang Mai and set my journey to Bangkok city which was my all time favorite destination for 3S :) SHOPPING, SHOPPING and more SHOPPING. i took metro from airport to city to cut through traffic and reach my hotel asap. The decision was really good as I reached my hotel in less than 30 mins near the bustling shopping area of Pratunam. This area is shoppers paradise. From street shops to malls to wholesale complex - you will not be disappointed at all. You just need to know the place to find your liking when you are in Pratunam. There are different lanes for different types of products here - called SOI in local language. You should visit the wholesale complex before you enter the street shops as you will find awesome deals for buying clothes, bags, shoes, etc in bulk. Best thing to do is to always go in groups of 3 or more to such places because you have to pickup minimum of 3 pieces of same product to avail jaw-drop cheap prices. My kind of shopping is picking up 3 different colors of same piece and team it with accessories. You cannot miss the accessories galore which was just next to the building of my hotel - Centara water pavillion hotel. From earrings to necklaces to bangles to clips - you will find all gliterrati and top fashion products in this complex for really amazing prices.The pink pussy (i know the name sounds weird) is one local brand for accessories and it has too many shops in the city and cannot be missed for sure for its sheer variety and amazing discounts everytime. One should also remember there are set of shops which open up on the streets in the morning - they packup by 3pm late noon. The same place then taken over by another set of sellers by 4pm and they operate till 9-10pm. The sellers who start at 4pm usually throw insane prices to attract sellers to them. i would recommend to try this deal for sure. skirts, tops, pallazos, one pieces - everything i have picked up @ 100 THB per piece which is only 200 INR and so awesome. Guys dont be disappointed - I also found this place which has more than 50 street shops of mens wear right from tshirts, belts, comfortable day wear pants, wallets, etc. Again you have to buy in set of 3 or more to avail huge discounts. I picked up 10 superhero and avenger tshirts at 1000 THB - 2000 INR. This place is near Baiyoke tower. When in Bangkok one should try sticky rice and raw mangoes from local restaurants. I went to nearby place for awesome local dinner. Tom Yum Soup is something i never miss when in Thailand. Fried chicken & local chicken skewers which are available on the street side for 10 THB each is again a must try. The spicy sweet chilly sauce they serve with these are just amazing.

Next day in Bangkok city was for visiting Golden Buddha, Reclining Buddha and Emerald Buddha. The way from Chao Phraya river to see these temples are the best. Bangkok city offers pillion rides to solo travelers for a decent price. I took a ride with a local guy on his scooty bike to drop me to the river side. Then i booked a ticket for a ferry boat to see these temples which are all on the river side. Each temple has so much divinity and so much peace - you will be in an aura of eternal bliss. The Reclining Buddha is the most recommended one if you are short of time during your visit to Thailand. One recommendation for ladies and guys please cover up your arms if you are wearing sleeveless to temples - they consider it quite inappropriate to show naked arms to temples. Always carry shawls or dupatta for savior. Late evening I set my wandering mind to some fun by visiting Pat Pong market - this is again a night market but full of pubs, clubs and live sex shops and massage parlours - you can say everything that you want to grab and want to lose is right here. I went to grab some chilled beers. All the shops around had lady boys flashing menus of various live shows of nudity. It was so much fun you know you are talking to a man who is dressed/enhanced himself to be a woman and wants to compete with your natural beauty. Throughout the evening so many lady boys approached me to ask me how i have such pretty eyes and what i do for our long hair, etc. Finally some of these ladyboys became my friends and they took me to see the live shows which i didnt enjoy at all because all I could see was their struggle to put up this life look so glamorous. This life for them was not easy. This was made believe because they believed in themselves and their courage to entertain people each day. I also took out these ladies for some casual beer time to a nearby place and laughs we had over senseless topics was something i cherished the most. Never knew only talking and laughing over beers and snacks can be a wonderful way to end my journey in Thailand this time.

Finally it was end of my journey to Thailand and i had two bags full of shopping, new clothes with new soul and refreshed memories to take back home to my friends and family. Last day i had planned to checkout the nearby malls and see what technological gadgets were in store. MBK mall was on my list. Travel to airport was another task as i could not have taken metro this time because of heavy bags - so taxi to airport was the only option but a very long and tiring journey especially starting from city at 6pm. It took me 1.45 mins to reach airport. Must warn everybody to start early from city for your airport route otherwise you will be stuck in traffic forever. I reached airport just in time and realised i had no time to enjoy massage in the city. So I headed straight to the massage zone as soon as i checked in and finished my security check. The Duty free at Bangkok airport is another paradise for shoppers - it has all brand shops and mostly they are on sale from victoria secrets to bobbi brown - you will find your kind to shop. Must try are the local flavored coconut chocolates and dried mangoes which you can take back home. My travel neck pillow which travels with me to all countries is bought from this duty free airport.