10 Days, 16 Islands! - A Solo Trip, Backpacking Guide to the Best of Thailand #BestOfTravel

I flew Bangkok to connect with the first hub of my itinerary. Got to spend a few hours because of the long layover. I got to see some temples and had a good Pad Thai to eat in the city centre with my mates, Alex & David and rushed back to the airport to catch a flight that destined Phuket. Eating street food there was my catch for not spending out of my budget. So I followed it everywhere I went. And it turned out to be a good news as I ate variety! I got to try squids, oysters and crabs which were a part of their street food culture. And they gave me a weird feeling before I ate them but I never thought some of their meat would be so smooth and sweet on my buds :)

Phuket that tends to be my first hub island for covering almost 5 islands. Got me a bed at the Slumber Party Hostel by Bodega at Patong Beach which turned out to be cheap and fun! Just to tell, Bangla Walking Street ain't for kids in the late of evening :p But to find the best deals to tour the islands I bought combined tickets for each island from a single tour operator. I bargained him up to 2200 THB altogether. I almost tried to find places that offered beds around 300TBH per night. And it's interesting that decent hostels offered such a price even for spot bookings. :D

I took a ferry from for the Similan Islands which included a 90 min drive to the Bang Rong Pier, right in the morning and got myself a starstruck with the beauty and clear waters to dive. I took a day out for these gorgeous lands and mini forests to trek which was easy to hang around. They even displayed some rubber cultivation and agricultural demonstrations around the jungles.

The Koh Yao islands do not have any popular viewpoint or a landmark but that makes it a low crowded place to spend time with ease. And this won't hurt your pocket. And the best part was having jumped from a decent heighten cliff at Koh Yao Nai guided by one of my local friend, Mr. Chuck.

This piece of land comprised less of beaches and more of floating restaurants and grounds covered with lush greenery. I had some good oysters at one of such setup. I ended my day here with a dive at the coast of the Andaman Sea. Getting here was not a big deal it takes a ferry/private boat from the Rassada Pier(Phuket). It was better to book ferry tickets there and not pre-booking them I feel as they were easily bargained.

Took a transfer to this Island from Phuket with a two-hour ferry ride and was breathtaking to have stepped into gazing the tranquil waters and surrounded by sights of green dense hills. One of the best beaches of Thailand is supposed to be here. It cost me 350TBH for the ferry ride. There's a street filled with food marts near the entrance of the Phi Phi Pier.

Since I took a day tour of Phi Phi Island & Maya Bay inclusive, I further came down to this spot which was filled with tourists all around. This place didn't take much time of mine to have visited well. And it is said to be shut from September 2018 for the reason being an overcrowd. It cost me another 150 TBH for a ferry ride to this part of Koh Phi Phi Islands as the distance ain't far between them.

We started off playing drinking games and egging on each other for a point to have a healthy hair, proven. Koh Poda was a huge rock which stood tall under the sparkling tranquil waters which were almost a treat to have seen. We climbed up at a viewpoint which was quite a difficult but an adventure task.

Hanging around this island for a short while and hogging some fried rice was nice! We were told to guess the story about this rock and it was nice listening to some stupid ones. They say the rock took this shape naturally and was there for decades.

We swam upon the deep waters of this island. Snorkeled, and tried to relax in the waters. Tiger fishes were in a large numbers to have been seen and touched here. Diving our heart out is the major thing I miss! It is important for me to mention this that none of such island hosts banking facilities and it was better to get cash from the town or the bigger(hub) islands. It costs around 220TBH as a withdrawal fee in almost every ATM. Many of the stalls and shops in Thailand weren't accepting cards much or might have charged a percent of the fee so it was best to transact for cash every-time. And I found it better to take a decent bulk money out or get the foreign currency exchanges at the airports. That always helped me save a tiny percentage of the budget. And it was always safe to not carry precious and valuable items while touring beaches and while participating in island activities.

A good thing about this beach was the caves that had secret spots to visit and swim as well. Climbing some of them is a difficult task when done barefooted but its the only good way to hike them. The rocks found around the caves gave a shape of a melting one. Railay had a story of a princess who people worshipped for the beauty and faith of the island that may save humans from the destruction or drowning of the island any day. We drive back to the hostel witnessing a beautiful sunset on our way. It was supposed to be one of the amazing tours out there.

It takes approximately an hour to reach Koh Tao form Koh Pha Ngan. One should pay not more than 250 TBH for a normal ferry ride to Mae Haad Pier. Ah! Koh Tao seemed liked a pretty fable land and had one of the best sites to snorkel in Thailand! I took half of the day to be here and that turned out to be pretty sufficient with a good Thai food. Mango Rice is one of a good dessert which indians may love having it. Much love to Chuck for lending me his snorkel kit. But the waters here are a treat to watch and to be in. I fell in love with the colors they wore. You almost get a chance to swim between the fishes here on their coasts. A highly recommended place to be!

I returned back to Koh Pha Ngan Island then, and it was the night of this Festival! The dates are usually announced in advance on their website here: Half Moon Party Festival. But you get a 100TBH discount if you purchase the tickets online. It costs around 1400 TBH as an entry fee for this festival. Almost a crowd numbering up to 5000 are here to party! It is a great experience for trance lovers! People sell you buckets for around 150 TBH that goes enough for your system to get the party started! :p Besides that, you have a good bunch of activities awaiting you on this island. The beaches are truly amazing and suit best for the sunset. One of the best treks were to the Bottle beach in the north. One of the best views to get yourself an easy relaxing time.