Hello!
If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that i've been travelling Thailand for the past few weeks (sorry for the amount of posts if you do follow me, just had to be done x) and I had the most amazing time! Beauty wise, it's definitely up there, on the same level as Iceland (same same, but different) there's such beautiful views, I found it a little overwhelming at times. Travelling Thailand has been on my list for such a long time and when I dropped out of uni, I had a little 'fuck it' moment and booked my flights with the last of my student loan. (I'd advise telling your parents before you book a flight to Asia with whats left of your money. Didn't go down too well when I told them one afternoon, ha. Wait until I tell them I got another tattoo out there.. just kidding, not this time x)
I used this three week trip as a taster for when I go travelling for a long time, which I plan to do in the near future, and i'm so glad I did it because even though i've been before, it's been completely different circumstances and now I've learnt so much I'm so excited to put my backpack on again! (not literally, they're a pain in the bum)
So here are my top 10 tips:
1. DON'T OVERPACK!
I'm awful when it comes to packing, I always find myself thinking: 'but what if I need this?', 'maybe I will just incase', 'what if I regret not brining it?', 'this will definitely come in handy' (I know, I have a problem).
The night before my flight to Bangkok, I was just chucking things into my backpack and not thinking about it, so my bag was so heavy, it was a struggle to even get to the airport, let alone walking with it in thirty degree heat for half an hour! When we arrived at our first hostel, I tried to sort through my things but I couldn't part ways with a lot, as to me, it was just like throwing money away. I did leave my hair dryer and straighteners behind as soon as we got there though (I know what your all thinking, why on earth did you pack those?! Well, they were travel ones okay, and I'd seen someone else pack them so I was like, yeah i'll take mine too, just trying to justify it now lol).
You definitely don't need them! Most of the time hostels will have hairdryers if you ask, and as for straighteners, just give ya hair a break. (It will thank you I promise) and honestly, no one really cares about hygiene when you're out there, let alone caring about your hair looking flat.
The markets in Thailand are also amazing, and it's gutting when you see the top of dreams but you don't have enough space in your bag for it, or you spent too much money on clothes at home and can't afford it. (both of which happened to me, every market stall I went too). So, don't bring too much with you, you honestly don't need hardly anything at all, and if you do need something, you can always buy it when you're there.
If you're struggling with what to pack, try looking at youtube videos of what people took with them. Kinging-it is a great travel channel that I love and really recommend. (although, this is where I found someone else taking straighteners, so just ignore that bit)
2. BOOK IN ADVANCE
Now I know a lot of people just travel without any plans, and that's great, and also what I intend to do when I go, but If you can book anything in advance then my advice is to do it as a lot of the time it's cheaper. The further ahead you do it, the cheaper it can be.
We booked our flights and our boats to and from the Islands online, and when we got to the pier the price to pay on the door was 400 baht more than what we payed, which works out an extra £10. This may not seem like a lot, but it adds up! (That could be your food for the week, or that can get you like 3 vodka buckets. Worth it, if ya ask me!)
If you do book in advance though, find an internet café and print off you're tickets or receipt. Most of the time you can show your phone, or they'll print it for you, but you might come across some staff who won't accept it. It only costs around 10 baht to print in most places, so, very cheap!
3. BEWARE OF SCAMMERS
Or as I like to call them, dickheads. Not everyone will try to rip you off, but it will happen a lot so be careful.
When we first arrived in Bangkok airport, a friendly man who's lived in Thailand for a while told us to always ask to put the metre on when getting a taxi. So off we went and got in the first taxi we saw, not knowing how much a taxi to our hostel was supposed to cost. The driver offered us a price of 600baht but we were consistent with asking the driver to put the metre on, thinking we knew what we were doing. The journey was quite long and we'd just been on a plane for a day so we fell asleep in the taxi. I kept waking up and thinking 'oo that metres gone up a lot, ouch'. I could also hear the driver laughing, and now I know he was probably laughing at us (twat, karma will get you x). The fare ended up costing 900baht including the toll prices. We messed up massively here, turns out falling asleep in your taxi is the worst thing you can do. The owner of our hostel said that the fare should've cost us around 400-500baht and the driver rigged the metre when we weren't looking, which was the whole way because ya know, we were tired (btw Born Free hostel is a great place to stay in Bangkok, 10/10 would recommend).
Always check what the normal price to pay for everything is, a lot of the times its more expensive for tourists which is normal, only to some extent. You can always haggle a price too! If you're staying at a good hostel (or your posh enough for a hotel) then ask the staff there, they're usually so helpful.
4. KNOW HOW TO HAGGLE
This fits in with tip 3, comes in so handy when getting a taxi anywhere, or when buying pretty much anything. We are now pro's at this. We've got our technique down to a tee, (along with battering our eyelashes). Whoever you're buying anything from will most likely give you a very high price to begin with, after all, they want the highest sale possible, so there will always be room to haggle the price down a little bit.
Decide on how much you're willing to pay for the item/taxi and then say a much lower price. You can then meet in the middle, which is what you were going to pay anyway, and sorted. Don't push your luck though.
Look around at prices too (this is also similar to tip 3 but that one was getting a bit long, so i'll just talk about it here x) We were mostly good at doing this until we were in Koh Phi Phi, and our hostel (Blancos beach bar, don't stay here) persuaded us to go on their boat trip which did include all of the places we wanted to see, but other places were doing this same trip for half the price and we really wished we'd looked around first.
Still worth it though!
5. EAT LOTS OF FRUIT AND VEG (or bring Dioralyte)
Yeah, your mum was right all along.
The change in food can affect you, (especially the amount of rice you're going to consume) so make sure you still try and eat a little healthy and get your fibre in, or you might find yourself trying to explain constipation to a Thai lady working at the pharmacy. The lady's face when I said "me... no.. poo?" was a picture, she just replied with "um, constipation then?". Why I didn't just say that in the first place I don't know. (not a great moment in my life). The markets sell amazing, cheap fruit so eating healthy is no problem, just make sure it's clean because you might end up with a travellers tummy (you might shit yourself in other words) which is also not pleasant, and it can have you running to the toilet at the worst times (like in the middle of checking in, or on an overnight train where there is no toilet, just a hole, a handle, and the whole cast of A Bugs Life, gd times x)
Remember that hand sanitiser and Dioralyte when you're packing!
6. DOWNLOAD MAPS.ME
Maps.Me is an app that lets you navigate without any internet. It will be your saviour. All you have to do is download the map for your area when you do have internet and your good to go! It tells you how to get everywhere, and you can pinpoint all of the spots you want to visit so you don't forget any, like you can have a look at the top temples to visit in the area and mark them all. We used this a lot these past three weeks, honestly so worth it.
7. FACTOR 50 IS YOUR BEST FRIEND
As i'm writing this, i've got a t-shirt wrapped around my arm because it's bright red, and a burn on-top of a burn is not fun.
I was so careful the whole time, and luckily this, and burning my face were the only times I got burnt. I'd used a spray suncream for my face that usually worked so well (La Roche Posay, factor 50) but I didn't realise it had run out so it left me a walking, blistered tomato.
I would advise taking suncream with you from home because most supermarkets in Thailand sell suncreams that have whitening in them (unless you want to stay pale, then by all means go for it). If you're pale like me, take a factor 50 with you, the sun is so strong in Thailand, it will save you having to bathe in aloe vera.
8. DON'T STROKE STRAY ANIMALS (when drunk)
Right so, there are a lot of cute stray animals in Thailand, cats and dogs wherever you look. I'm such a sucker for them, and couldn't help myself so i'm going to be a hypocrite here. I'd had the rabies jab and everything and i'd advise you to get one before you go away too. You can never be too careful with stray animals, the last thing you want is to catch an illness off of them.
When you're drunk leave the animals alone because they will bite you. Here's a lovely picture of me getting bitten by a cat on my way to Spicy (Chiangmai club, great after zoe's) a real kodak moment....enjoy. (I know it looks like i'm smoochin' a cat, but I promise i'm not, it jumped up at me at the perfect moment haha, too funny)
10. RESEARCH THE HOSTELS
If you haven't heard of Hostel World yet, get yo self on it! I've used it for a while now and it never lets me down. You can download the app so it makes it easier to book hostels from wherever you are around the world. Theres so many to choose from and you can read all of the reviews from previous guests to make sure its right for you. From the different ones we stayed at, hostel world was so accurate, the ratings were honestly spot on. You can book private rooms, mixed or female dorms (I'd always go for mixed, it's much more friendly from my experience)
When you go to book your hostel, only book one or two nights, that way if it's not for you, you can leave without wasting any money. And if you love it, you can book more nights at the reception.
(I'll be writing another post on where I stayed, and which were my favourite hostels soon!)
There's my top 10 tips that i've learnt from the past few weeks. I'm so glad I did this mini trip as I feel so much more prepared for my longer travels around Asia and the rest of the world in the future. It's making me so determined to save as much money as I can from now until then, so I can keep travelling forever! Found my happy place I av.
Lots of Love,
Kate
x
Pin for later!.....
So here are my top 10 tips:
1. DON'T OVERPACK!
I'm awful when it comes to packing, I always find myself thinking: 'but what if I need this?', 'maybe I will just incase', 'what if I regret not brining it?', 'this will definitely come in handy' (I know, I have a problem).
The night before my flight to Bangkok, I was just chucking things into my backpack and not thinking about it, so my bag was so heavy, it was a struggle to even get to the airport, let alone walking with it in thirty degree heat for half an hour! When we arrived at our first hostel, I tried to sort through my things but I couldn't part ways with a lot, as to me, it was just like throwing money away. I did leave my hair dryer and straighteners behind as soon as we got there though (I know what your all thinking, why on earth did you pack those?! Well, they were travel ones okay, and I'd seen someone else pack them so I was like, yeah i'll take mine too, just trying to justify it now lol).
You definitely don't need them! Most of the time hostels will have hairdryers if you ask, and as for straighteners, just give ya hair a break. (It will thank you I promise) and honestly, no one really cares about hygiene when you're out there, let alone caring about your hair looking flat.
The markets in Thailand are also amazing, and it's gutting when you see the top of dreams but you don't have enough space in your bag for it, or you spent too much money on clothes at home and can't afford it. (both of which happened to me, every market stall I went too). So, don't bring too much with you, you honestly don't need hardly anything at all, and if you do need something, you can always buy it when you're there.
If you're struggling with what to pack, try looking at youtube videos of what people took with them. Kinging-it is a great travel channel that I love and really recommend. (although, this is where I found someone else taking straighteners, so just ignore that bit)
2. BOOK IN ADVANCE
Now I know a lot of people just travel without any plans, and that's great, and also what I intend to do when I go, but If you can book anything in advance then my advice is to do it as a lot of the time it's cheaper. The further ahead you do it, the cheaper it can be.
We booked our flights and our boats to and from the Islands online, and when we got to the pier the price to pay on the door was 400 baht more than what we payed, which works out an extra £10. This may not seem like a lot, but it adds up! (That could be your food for the week, or that can get you like 3 vodka buckets. Worth it, if ya ask me!)
If you do book in advance though, find an internet café and print off you're tickets or receipt. Most of the time you can show your phone, or they'll print it for you, but you might come across some staff who won't accept it. It only costs around 10 baht to print in most places, so, very cheap!
 |
| Don't have a picture of the boats as I had my head tucked into my life jacket the whole time, trying to not to puke, so here's a lovely picture of our legs above the trees. |
3. BEWARE OF SCAMMERS
Or as I like to call them, dickheads. Not everyone will try to rip you off, but it will happen a lot so be careful.
When we first arrived in Bangkok airport, a friendly man who's lived in Thailand for a while told us to always ask to put the metre on when getting a taxi. So off we went and got in the first taxi we saw, not knowing how much a taxi to our hostel was supposed to cost. The driver offered us a price of 600baht but we were consistent with asking the driver to put the metre on, thinking we knew what we were doing. The journey was quite long and we'd just been on a plane for a day so we fell asleep in the taxi. I kept waking up and thinking 'oo that metres gone up a lot, ouch'. I could also hear the driver laughing, and now I know he was probably laughing at us (twat, karma will get you x). The fare ended up costing 900baht including the toll prices. We messed up massively here, turns out falling asleep in your taxi is the worst thing you can do. The owner of our hostel said that the fare should've cost us around 400-500baht and the driver rigged the metre when we weren't looking, which was the whole way because ya know, we were tired (btw Born Free hostel is a great place to stay in Bangkok, 10/10 would recommend).
Always check what the normal price to pay for everything is, a lot of the times its more expensive for tourists which is normal, only to some extent. You can always haggle a price too! If you're staying at a good hostel (or your posh enough for a hotel) then ask the staff there, they're usually so helpful.
4. KNOW HOW TO HAGGLE
This fits in with tip 3, comes in so handy when getting a taxi anywhere, or when buying pretty much anything. We are now pro's at this. We've got our technique down to a tee, (along with battering our eyelashes). Whoever you're buying anything from will most likely give you a very high price to begin with, after all, they want the highest sale possible, so there will always be room to haggle the price down a little bit.
Decide on how much you're willing to pay for the item/taxi and then say a much lower price. You can then meet in the middle, which is what you were going to pay anyway, and sorted. Don't push your luck though.
Look around at prices too (this is also similar to tip 3 but that one was getting a bit long, so i'll just talk about it here x) We were mostly good at doing this until we were in Koh Phi Phi, and our hostel (Blancos beach bar, don't stay here) persuaded us to go on their boat trip which did include all of the places we wanted to see, but other places were doing this same trip for half the price and we really wished we'd looked around first.
Still worth it though!
 |
| This moment made up for being ripped off! |
5. EAT LOTS OF FRUIT AND VEG (or bring Dioralyte)
Yeah, your mum was right all along.
The change in food can affect you, (especially the amount of rice you're going to consume) so make sure you still try and eat a little healthy and get your fibre in, or you might find yourself trying to explain constipation to a Thai lady working at the pharmacy. The lady's face when I said "me... no.. poo?" was a picture, she just replied with "um, constipation then?". Why I didn't just say that in the first place I don't know. (not a great moment in my life). The markets sell amazing, cheap fruit so eating healthy is no problem, just make sure it's clean because you might end up with a travellers tummy (you might shit yourself in other words) which is also not pleasant, and it can have you running to the toilet at the worst times (like in the middle of checking in, or on an overnight train where there is no toilet, just a hole, a handle, and the whole cast of A Bugs Life, gd times x)
Remember that hand sanitiser and Dioralyte when you're packing!
6. DOWNLOAD MAPS.ME
Maps.Me is an app that lets you navigate without any internet. It will be your saviour. All you have to do is download the map for your area when you do have internet and your good to go! It tells you how to get everywhere, and you can pinpoint all of the spots you want to visit so you don't forget any, like you can have a look at the top temples to visit in the area and mark them all. We used this a lot these past three weeks, honestly so worth it.
7. FACTOR 50 IS YOUR BEST FRIEND
As i'm writing this, i've got a t-shirt wrapped around my arm because it's bright red, and a burn on-top of a burn is not fun.
I was so careful the whole time, and luckily this, and burning my face were the only times I got burnt. I'd used a spray suncream for my face that usually worked so well (La Roche Posay, factor 50) but I didn't realise it had run out so it left me a walking, blistered tomato.
I would advise taking suncream with you from home because most supermarkets in Thailand sell suncreams that have whitening in them (unless you want to stay pale, then by all means go for it). If you're pale like me, take a factor 50 with you, the sun is so strong in Thailand, it will save you having to bathe in aloe vera.
8. DON'T STROKE STRAY ANIMALS (when drunk)
Right so, there are a lot of cute stray animals in Thailand, cats and dogs wherever you look. I'm such a sucker for them, and couldn't help myself so i'm going to be a hypocrite here. I'd had the rabies jab and everything and i'd advise you to get one before you go away too. You can never be too careful with stray animals, the last thing you want is to catch an illness off of them.
When you're drunk leave the animals alone because they will bite you. Here's a lovely picture of me getting bitten by a cat on my way to Spicy (Chiangmai club, great after zoe's) a real kodak moment....enjoy. (I know it looks like i'm smoochin' a cat, but I promise i'm not, it jumped up at me at the perfect moment haha, too funny)
 |
| Please don't avoid me, I don't have rabies now xoxoxoxo |
9. DON'T LISTEN TO THE WEATHER APP
If you're planning your trip around the weather, then don't. The whole time we were expecting rain (we were in monsoon season) and that's what the forecast was telling us, but we were so so lucky with the weather, most of the time it was opposite to what was forecast (and still, not much of a tan for me ffs). If there's an island you want to go to but the weather doesn't look good, my advice is to go anyway because more than likely it will be beautifully sunny!
Only listen to the weather if you're just about to go on a hike up a mountain and it looks like theres a storm coming. Don't go up that mountain please, you'll get caught in a horrible storm like we did!
10. RESEARCH THE HOSTELS
If you haven't heard of Hostel World yet, get yo self on it! I've used it for a while now and it never lets me down. You can download the app so it makes it easier to book hostels from wherever you are around the world. Theres so many to choose from and you can read all of the reviews from previous guests to make sure its right for you. From the different ones we stayed at, hostel world was so accurate, the ratings were honestly spot on. You can book private rooms, mixed or female dorms (I'd always go for mixed, it's much more friendly from my experience)
When you go to book your hostel, only book one or two nights, that way if it's not for you, you can leave without wasting any money. And if you love it, you can book more nights at the reception.
(I'll be writing another post on where I stayed, and which were my favourite hostels soon!)
There's my top 10 tips that i've learnt from the past few weeks. I'm so glad I did this mini trip as I feel so much more prepared for my longer travels around Asia and the rest of the world in the future. It's making me so determined to save as much money as I can from now until then, so I can keep travelling forever! Found my happy place I av.
Lots of Love,
Kate
x
Pin for later!.....
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