Whacky girls trip to cracky Thailand

THAILAND is usually known only for Bangkok and is thought of as shady ,all about partying etc etc
But there's much much more to the kingdom of Thailand than just Bangkok!
I spent 2 days in Bangkok, 3 days in Krabi and 3 days up in the north (Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai) and all 3 locations are entirely different from each other!
Bangkok is indeed a bit shady and good for party animals and well other things.
Krabi is too beautiful to be described in words with all the pretty islands and perfect scenic locations.
North is more about culture ,the soulful and peaceful temples, the safaris, the mountains etc.
And I had the privilege to explore it all in 10 days under 50k!

TOURIST VISA :

You can get visa on arrival for about 2000 baht which costs about 4500 INR!
But there's a long queue for voa and everyone's exhausted from the flight already so I'd suggest to apply for a visa from here itself!
Visa in India also costs comparatively less!
So if you're on a budget trip or a newbie, get your visa well in advance to be on safer side!
Visa here costs only 2500 INR

Just go to the thailand embassy and submit the documents as mentioned.
You're usually asked for :
1] Photographs
2] Return tickets and hotel bookings prints
3] Bank account statement of past 6 months, you must have a balance of at least 45-50k in your account or else visa is likely to be rejected
4] Your itinerary for the no of days you're travelling
5] Passport

THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE GOING TO THAILAND:

1] People of Thailand don't understand English much so it's very difficult to communicate.
You need to be really patient with them and try not to get pissed if possible :P remember you travel to relax and enjoy so don't get into unnecessary arguments due to misunderstandings.
You'll need Google maps every moment ,so go for an unlimited data plan, you'll easily get a sim at the airport in 200 Baht
Try to learn a couple of thai words if possible.

2] Bangkok is specifically for party lovers, there is not much to explore in Bangkok  so 2 days are more than enough in Bangkok!
It is a bit shady indeed so be careful about the places you're going to be visiting especially if you're a female solo traveller or going in a girls group.

3] Bargaining is really important! You don't wanna end up paying unnecessary money to anyone!
So do your research, make sure your internet is always working!
Look it up and bargain and go for the rates you think are appropriate!
Do your homework!

4] There's an Uber counterpart in Thailand ,it's called Grab! Check the prices in grab everytime you book a tuk tuk or a private cab!
Go for public buses if possible everytime, they're good ac buses and the cheapest option!
Make sure you know however where exactly to get down!

5]You must stay at hostels not only for budget travel but to meet people from around the world!
It's truly one of the best things about staying at hostels!
Also the prices are around 600-700 INR on an average
Do proper research on hostelworld and Tripadvisor.com
I booked all the hostels through hostelworld app!
Read the reviews and facilities carefully and book it!

6]There are many places which shutdown by 5-6pm in Thailand! So you've got to check timings everytime you go to visit a place!

7]If you're in need of any thing ,there's a 7/11 shop at every corner in Thailand
7/11 shops are open 24 hours and they help you with everything be it sim cards/food/ products/water/tickets or anything for that matter!
7/11 rocks!

8] Food is oddly sweet everywhere you go! You have to specify that you want spicy food or whatever!
There are indian restaurants everywhere in Thailand, they are a bit expensive thou.
For vegetarians ,the options are very less as far as local Thai cuisine is considered so always carry chips, packets of Maggi and pasta with you just in case!
There are many hostels which provide self catering services where you can cook your own food in the kitchen so you can carry some stuff for sure and cook it!
You can always opt for fresh fruits and juices which you'll find throughout the Thailand nevertheless!

Don't over plan and enjoy the trip, it's a blast always! 🌸🌈
Never a dull day in Thailand!! 👻
I've tried my best to break down the itinerary properly and keep it simple & short!
Any suggestions are more than welcome! 💫

DAY 1!

BANGKOK

BANGKOK

CHIANG RAI

from Krabi again we took an early morning flight to dmk ,post that we took a flight from dmk to Chiang Rai!
We reached Chiang Rai by afternoon, by late afternoon we freshened up a bit and took a bus to the white temple!
It's entrance fee is around 50baht pp!
It's magical inside out!
It's the most unique temple to ever exist I believe,it was totally worth it!
We hitchhiked our way back from the temple!
Public transportation is only till 5pm!
There was no grab available in the area either ,we couldn't see any tuk tuks or anything in the area!
So we had to walk back, got a ride Midway fortunately which was a great experience! :D
We explored the streets of Chiang Rai for the rest of the night!

CHIANG MAI

we took an early morning bus from Rai to Mai at around 6:30- 7 am in the morning!
The tickets get sold out real quick so you have to book them at least two-three days prior.
There's a green bus app using which you can book the green bus tickets even from India which costs about 200-300 baht pp.
But you need to get a physical copy of the same,which you can get at the bus station or any of the 7/11 shops in Thailand. (Their charge is 25 baht)
We reached Chiang Mai by afternoon!
We decided to go to the Chiang Mai zoo on that day!
It's quite majestic with lions and tigers pretty much almost in open!
It had pandas ,penguins and koala bears too! :D
There's a sealife aquarium inside of it for which you have to pay separately (220 baht pp)
The zoo costs around 150 baht pp!
You have to pay extra 100 baht for pandas ,rest is free!
I'd recommend people to visit the zoo and the aquarium! Totally worth it!
We used grab in north everywhere,it's totally cost efficient with a great service!
Once we reached hostel, we again partied hard that night! Chiang Mai has some of the best pubs n bars where everyone parties hard!

CHIANG RAI

So we again took a green bus from Mai to Rai , dropped our luggage at the hostel we were staying at the day before (the owners of the sook hostel were kind enough to let us do so ,they din't even charge us for the same)
We took a tuk-tuk to the iconic blue temple of Chiang Rai! Blue temple is positivity and peace goals!
The Buddha statue is really mesmerizing and the temple gives nothing but positive vibes!
We sat there for a while and took the tuk-tuk to the black house (bandeau museum) explored the place a while!
Then got a free ride to singha park!
It's pretty huge and nice! There was a music festival that day at singha park, we chilled there for a while!
Got back to the hostel, headed toward the Chiang Rai airport as we had a flight back to Bangkok the same night!
We reached Bangkok around 11 pm and had booked zzz hostel right next to the airport!
One of the pilots was kind enough to show us the way and help us reach the hostel!
Hostel owners were nice and extremely helpful!
Zzz hostel had amazing accommodation facilities

BANGKOK

We had kept one day at the end for shopping!
I wish we had roamed some more instead!
So anyway we took an A3 bus from airport in the morning which cost about 50 baht pp!
It dropped us near the pratyunam market!
We had an amazing meal at McDonalds!
Roamed in the streets of pratyunam!
Visited almost all malls of Bangkok!
MBK, Siam paragon, Platinum ,Central world etc etc
The clothes were okayish. Honestly we get much much better quality clothes in India and at much better rates!
We were highly disappointed!
I'd suggest to shop in the street markets instead and buy souvenirs and stuff which we might not get here rather than clothes and stuff which we pretty much get all around the world everywhere!
I got customized souvenirs for some family members and close friends from there!
We got back to the hostel to catch a 2 am flight to Mumbai in a few hours!
We were extremely sad to be back home! :(
We had the time of our lives nevertheless!
We travel not to escape life but for life to not escape us! 🌸🌈

📸Instagram : @wanderfoodlove :)