TOURING THAILAND IN 30 DAYS WITH A FRIEND
I started the trip on January 12th, 2018 from Mar del Plata.
DAY 1 Bangkok. It is a long trip from Argentina and several hours of waiting flights at the airports. That is why once we arrived at the hotel we rested for a while. We went for a walk through the little streets near the Rambrutti Village hotel and I had some foot massages (highly recommended).
The hotel has an excellent location and attention. In addition, for breakfast it has an infinite variety of delicacies, it has a swimming pool on the terrace ( we did not have the opportunity to use it). We spent only two nights there because we changed hotels, the reason was not because we were dissatisfied but to reduce costs. We stayed at the Adamaz House which is practically around the corner (in less than three minutes you can get from one hotel to the other). The latter is a small but pretty place, run by its own owners. It is very clean and you can also drink infusions and eat homemade cookies at any time, since they leave it 24/7 to tourists to serve themselves on a table at the entrance. The breakfast has a great variety of options.
DAY 2 We did a full-day excursion to “The Train” where there is a fascinating market on its tracks, it is amazing! It’s amazing how the merchants set up and put everything away from their stalls on the train tracks because they are literally on the train tracks. You have to get up early to do this excursion since they pick you up at 6:30 am to be able to see it, the train passes between seven to eight o’clock, so it is advisable to hire a tour which includes visiting the floating market the very same day, which is an attraction that you can’t stop doing. We bought the tour at the stall next to our accommodation.
In this market, you can eat tropical fruits and traditional dishes that will be cooked in the boats. It is an experience that you will not be able to live anywhere.
There are several floating markets, (the one we visited was the Talingo Chan market.) Talingo Chan is one of the closest markets to Bangkok. Here you can see how Thai life is from a different perspectiven. This market opens only on weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
DAY 3 We visited the Grand Palace in Bangkok and Wat Phra kaew. If you want you can hire a Spanish speaker tour guide, it would be convenient for you in case you do not speak English and you want to know its history in detail. You can also do both places on your own (we did it).
Remember that to visit the temples you must wear something that covers your shoulders and avoid wearing shorts or clothing above the knee. In some temples, they rent or give you a kind of robe that covers your shoulders and legs. The Grand Palace in Bangkok temple did not have that option.
In general, the best Thai massages are done in temples, you should enjoy them at least once, they are different from the ones you probably know.It combines different techniques and stretches. A massage session usually lasts about an hour. The best massages are the ones performed in Chiang Mai.
The Grand Palace in Bangkok is a complex of buildings that served as the official residence of the kings of Siam.
The Great Royal Palace will take you several hours to go through it, it is better to go early, because there are always long queues to enter. There is one of the most important temples, the Wat Phra Kaew where visitors can appreciate the Emerald Buddha.
There are several areas within the Grand Palace, the one that I recommend to go through is the central area and temples, not only for the Wat Phra Kaew, but because there you can appreciate their outstanding architecture. The time to visit the Grand Royal Palace is from 8:30 to 15:30.
Wat Arun is a temple that stands out for its tower,not only for its location but also for its stunning architecture. It is located near the Royal Palace ,for that reason,visitors can perfectly visit the three places on the same day. ( we did that). It is considered one of the most beautiful temples in Thailand, the ideal way to enjoy the visit is to take a boat trip on the Phraya River and see the temple from the water, especially at sunset.
At night, after a nice and relaxing shower, we walked through Khao San Road, also called the backpackers’ street. There are endless stalls. You should not leave this place without trying Pad thai, a typical and really delicious food, (I tried this food several times). Likewise, eating in a restaurant is very cheap too.
DAY 4 We visited the Golden Buddha:
It is the most important golden statue in the whole world.The statue is located in the heart of Chinatown. The best way to get there is by boat which is a very nice experience and the other option is to take a Tuk tuk, a typical means of transport from there.
At night, we went to the Sky bar ,Bangkok, where the movie Resacon 2 was filmed. In this bar you will have a spectacular view of the city night lights. There is a dress code there so people must be very well dressed. It is a very expensive bar but if you want you can go up for free. It is not compulsory to drink or eat anything there.
DAY 5 Travel from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi. One of the options to go there is to travel three hours by train. The other option is to go by minibus or van ( we chose the latter). If you travel at the weekend you should buy the ticket in advance.
The day we arrived there we relaxed and stayed at the Noble Night Hotel which has an incredible pool. If you have enough energy you can visit the Natural Park and its waterfalls, many visitors rent bikes and do this trip.
We walked to the bridge over the River Kwai and the WWII cemeteries. The bridge is an icon of Thai (short for Thailand).
DAY 6 Temple of the Tiger Cave, it is located 15 km away from the city, there are several tourists who rent motorcycles and arrive at this place.
This place is famous for its seated Buddha of approximately fifteen meters and its dragon’s mouth temple Pagoda, you have to climb endless stairs where the temple and the Buddha are. If you are tired, you can go up and down in the chairlift or go up in the chairlift and down the stairs.There is no doubt that visitors will enjoy the sunset, the temple gives a lot of peace and people will be able to hear the bells in the background.
DAY 7 Kanchanaburi -Ayutthaya we did this journey by bus. This city was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, making it one of the most visited places in the whole country. We stayed at BanAne Gong, if someday I went back I definitely would stay there without hesitation.
DAY 8 We visited temples on a full-day tour . It is almost impossible to visit them all if one does it independently, so it is ideal to hire a tour to have the chance to see these temples.
Death Railway
Market on the tracks
Palace Wat Phra Kaeo
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
DAY 9 Ayutthaya Sukhothai. We stayed at Home Sukhothai. It was the shortest stay since we arrived and we hardly slept because the next day the transport picked us up at 5 am.
We rented some bikes to do a tour to the temples.
It is a very picturesque circuit with a beautiful lake where the temples are reflected in the water.
DAY 10 We traveled to Chang Rai. from Sukhothai and stopped at the Boom Búa homestay.
That day we visited several agencies and came to the conclusion that at the corner of the hotel was the best place where they offered us a full-day tour for a very good price for the next day.
DAY 11 We did a full-day tour to the three temples, if you do not travel by car , hiring a tour is the best option, otherwise by travelling on public transport you will not have time to visit all 3.
The first one that we visited was the Wat Rong Khun known as the White Temple,
The White Temple was opened in 2016.It has an impressive construction and it is one of the icons of the city. It is a monument that shines with the reflection of the sun, since all the statues are white. At the entrance, visitors must go along a bridge called reincarnation where on the sides there are outreaching hands and skeletal faces that look like they are screaming and asking for help, representing pain. To get to the center that represents happiness you must go through the arch. It opens daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Visiting the Blue Temple is free.The temple is surrounded by blue murals. There is a very singular Buddha which is standing, not sitting or lying down like the rest of the Buddhas.
In general in every single temple that welcomes visitors there is a rule: leave your shoes at the entrance. We were lucky that there were several children from different schools and we enjoyed listening and seeing them singing.
At the end of the corridor, on the right, there is a gong, that’s what Thais call bells. It is medium size and visitors can touch it. It generates a very warm sound that invites people to relax.
Finally, we visited the Casa Negra Museum that can be visited from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is 12 km from Chiang Rai. Next to the ticket office, there is a booth for former war veterans, where you can collaborate and talk with them. In this museum, there is a black central house surrounded by gardens where there are buildings decorated with different details with the skins, bones and shells of different animals. I personally did not like it, I found it creepy.
The tour ends in the golden triangle where 3 countries share their borders Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.
This area was known for opium cultivation. A typical photo that tourists take at this point is at the door of El Triángulo de oro or Golden triangle. Once people cross the door and after some steps they can have a good view of the three borders.
DAY 12Tour to the city and got a massage.
DAY 13 We traveled from Chiang Rai to Pai, which was a journey of approximately eight hours. There are very few lines of public transport that make a direct connection to Pai. The other lines stop at Chiang Mai and then continue to Pai. They are minibuses or vans of no more than 15 passengers. The road has a lot of curves so I took dramamine. The journey to Pai is exhausting so be ready for that.
DAY 14Pai is a rainy area, the best months of the year to visit the place is from November to February. I fell in love with it, it has a unique vibe and it’s a small place with very warm and friendly people.
Full-Day tour to the caves of the Lord, where you enter sailing on bamboo rafts. Be careful inside, you might find some bats.
That day we also visited the Pai canyon, the ideal time of the day is to go at sunset, where the sun gives the mountains a red color creating a unique view. It is an incredible place with amazing views and it is only a few kilometers from the city (almost everyone goes on a motorcycle).
The same tour took us to the Chinese town (Santicjon) which was a village of Chinese mountain tribes, refugees. We could say that it looked like a version of Chinatown. We were very lucky to see a newly married couple taking photos in their traditional clothes.
We visited the Chedi Phra That Mae Yen, a temple with a privileged view of Pai.
DAY 15 That day I went back to the hot springs and visited Yuan ViewPoint. It is an extremely romantic place, where the typical photo is a giant heart surrounded by a field of flowers. Romantic visitors buy little heart-shaped cards where they write down their couple’s names and hang it on a tree. On the terrace of the place, there is a house where you can have a traditional tea that is served in handmade teapots.
DAY 16 For trekking lovers, the Pai Canyon and Ma Paeng Waterfall areas are ideal for this activity. You can get there with the songthaew (which is pronounced sontaau), vans with wooden bench seats. That day I had the chance to spend a few hours at the Fluid Pool, which is five minutes from downtown.
Riding a motorcycle, I went to Tha Pai Memorial Bridge, which became a landmark of the place. It is a bridge built of iron and wood by the Japanese during World War II on the outskirts of Pai. I think that it looks like a typical bridge from a war movie.
During the night, it is very attractive to walk along the main street where there are several stalls to buy crafts and typical foods. Pai is a typical hippie town.
DAY 17 from Pai to Chaing Mai. I think that it is an exhausting and dangerous journey due to the amount of curves and because in general the traffic drivers drive very fast. Sar Home is a well-located accommodation. At the entrance of the accommodation, they have a tourist stand that sells very cheap tours.
DAY 18 We visited the Elephant Natural Park, which is a rescue and rehabilitation center for animals. It is a full-day tour. We made a reservation in Argentina since it is a very popular sanctuary that tourists should visit. It is a unique and an unforgettable experience.
Here are elephants that are rescued from a bad treatment by tourists who want to take a ride on them around the city causing them to be victims of traffic accidents (I hope you act responsible, make a positive contribution by protecting elephants and avoid doing these kinds of activities). If you want to buy this tour you must enter to the following link www.elephantnaturepark.org
DAY 19 In the morning we went to the women’s prison that is located in the heart of the city. What do you think is the reason for that trip? The answer is so simple, it is the best place to get good massages. It is usually open from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They do not accept to make a reservation a day in advance, but they are appointments for the very same day. I recommend going first thing in the morning to make a reservation since the place has a very high demand of clients . This job is taught to them so they can be rehabilitated and so when they finish their sentence they can be inserted back into society and work. Only when they have six months left in prison they start working in the prison and that salary is given to them when their sentence has ended. It is a social program that helps inmates to not break the law again. That day we visited the historic center where there were more than three hundred temples. Once visitors leave the wall, they can visit the Wat. Inthakin you will not waste much time there because it is too small, but worth visiting, there are always people praying and meditating.
Other Temples are the Wat Phan Tao which is located near the Wat Chedi luang, it is the most revered in Chiang Mai, where you can find a bamboo path.
Ayuthaya
White temple Wat Rong Khun
Golden triangle
Pai
Sukkothai
Elefant Natural Park
DAY 20 We visited the Doi Suthep National Park.If you want to enjoy the beautiful view of the place ,It is better to go there on a sunny day instead of a cloudy one. Don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes and clothes. The main thing there is a pagoda and a white elephant that carried a relic of the Buddha to death. There are several bells that almost everyone touches because locals say that it brings good luck.
DAY 21 We visited the place of the giraffe women with a full day tour. It is somewhat controversial. Although it is a tourist attraction and generates income for women, it is still painful for what they must go through. They have to wear their neck rings all day even when they are sleeping or bathing in the place, there are several craft stalls. It is an ethnic group only for working women.
DAY 22 Traveled from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani, we stopped at The Siri Palace, as we were the first Argentines to stay there, they gave each of us a T-shirt. It is a very long trip, it lasts almost ten hours, a good idea, it is to travel at night so you save one night. We travelled from the bus terminal to the accommodation by tuk tuk.
That day we arrived at the place in the afternoon and only visited the city center. Summer is the best time to visit this city.There is a shopping mall that sells very cheap clothes that is right in the center. We booked the cheapest tour at the hotel for the next day..
DAY 23 Excursion to the lagoon to see the lotus flowers.
The best time to see them in their total splendor is January or February. It is a tour that starts very early since the flowers can only be seen from 6 am to 11 am. The lagoon is about 50 km from the city, it is a freshwater lagoon with millions of lotus flowers that generate like a carpet. The Buddhas call the lotus flower the resurrection flower because it emerges from the water. Once the excursion is over, you must visit the Thai Chinese culture, which is a place where you can find different Chinese activities. if it is not time to see the lotus flower, it is not worth going to Udon Thani.
DAY 24 from Udon Thani to Bangkok and then to Krabi as there are no direct trips to these places. It is a ten-hours trip by train and it goes very slow. We chose taking a plane. Tourists should buy flights in advance in order to get a better price. We arrived very late and the next day we had an early flight so we decided to stay a night at the Dong Muang Boutique, the bathroom was shared but the breakfast was very good.
DAY 25 Flight from Bangkok to Krabi, we stayed at the Boom to guest house which was highly recommended. The attention was excellent and the guest house very well located with a private bathroom. Guests can also have lunch and dinner there for the cheapest price the most delicious food in the place.
That day we bought a half-day excursion to Blue Lagoon to the Landlady, which is one of the most fascinating places on the Thai coast, where you can see incredible flora and fauna framed in a water color that seems to be from another galaxy. From the boat, you can see countless monkeys. There is a magical moment in which the boat stops and people go snorkeling, the amount and variety of colorful fish you see in the warm water makes you think to never leave the water. At night, we went to visit the market and had dinner at a pad thai street stall.
DAY 26 Full Day tour to the beach where Leo di Caprio made one of his films, again we bought it to the Landlady because she offered us a discount for staying in her guest house.
DAY 27 Flight to Krabi Bangkok and then Argentina,My friend continued travelling but I arrived in Mar del Plata on the 12th after spending a whole month abroad.
Liberando Aves
