We always intended to visit Thailand while we were in Southeast Asia, the only question was how long we would be there. Initially, we thought we would tour Vietnam for one month then switch to Thailand for a second month. After some research and discussion, however, we decided to go deep in Vietnam for 8 weeks which cut Thailand to just over 2 weeks.

Now that our 2 weeks are up, we can confidently say we needed more time. The food is delicious, the islands are beautiful, the nature is top tier, and there’s so much we didn’t get to do.

We planned our entire visit to Thailand while in Vietnam and we were feeling some serious decision fatigue. As a result, instead of trying to research everything about the country, we pretty much just picked cool-sounding places that had good weather. The resulting itinerary started us in a city (Bangkok), took us via train to nature (Khao Sok National Park), then finished with island relaxation (Koh Lipe).

Touring

Bangkok

Cooking Class and Food

After 8 weeks of eating Vietnamese food, we were pumped for delicious Thai food to switch things up. Not only did Bangkok deliver, but the food was also our favorite thing about the city. Surprisingly, one of our favorite restaurants was actually in a mall food court which is, apparently, not that unusual for mall food in Thailand.

We took an awesome cooking class to maximize our time around/eating delicious food. As usual, we found a really exceptional experience on AirBnb where we made Pad Thai, Tom Yum Soup, Massaman Curry, and Mango Sticky Rice.

Not only was the food delicious (some of the best we had in Thailand), we cooked it all from scratch. And when we say from scratch, we’re serious–we even made coconut milk by squeezing water out of shredded coconut.

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Mall Culture

Bangkok has reached peak mall. They’re packed, they’re lively, they’re actually interesting.

In the U.S., most malls are full of clothing stores, jewelry stores, and bad restaurant chains. In contrast, in Bangkok, the malls are six floors, full of people, have a wide variety of stores, and actually make good food in the food courts.

Temples

We visited a few temples and, other than having to cover our shoulders (:D) we really liked them. Of the temples, our favorite was Wat Arun at night.

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Khao Sok National Park

After Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh City, and Bangkok all in a row, we were ready to get out of cities and into the countryside. Lucky us, Khao Sok is a 14-hour train + 3-hour bus from Bangkok (did we get far enough out??).

We stayed in a tiny town just on the edge of the national park. In fact, this town is so small that there’s only one main road–it’s even smaller than Quill Lake! On arrival, we immediately knew we’d made a great choice when we found this view from our balcony.

Night Safari

Our first trip into the adjacent national park was on a night safari. During our 3 hours in the park, a local guide led us around small jungle paths, pointing out animals as he spotted them. As it turns out, pretty much everything in the jungle seems to be venomous or poisonous and he had a lot of fun making sure we knew it.

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Day Hike

The next day, after returning from our night safari, we hiked through the jungle for 7 hours with another guide. Once again, this guide had a bit too much fun pointing out all the venomous stuff in the jungle. We had no idea, but it turns out that even the bamboo secretes a sap that makes you itch like poison ivy.

Along the way, we saw playing monkeys, various bugs, and a few lizards. No tigers, unfortunately, but even most of the guides have never seen one. At the end of the hike, Wyatt went for a swim in the river before we turned around and made our way back to the entrance.

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Lake Trip

Finally, we finished off Khao Sok with a day trip to the local, beautiful lake. Many visitors opt to stay overnight in floating bungalows but we weren’t in the mood to sacrifice basic comforts (electricity, internet, comfy bed, good food) so we only toured for the day. On the day trip, we swam in the lake and hiked to a river cave.

All things considered, we should have skipped the lake trip. It’s 9 hours but 4 are on a bus and 2 are on a small, uncomfortable boat. As a result, we barely had time to enjoy our hike or the lake.

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Koh Lipe

The beautiful island of Koh Lipe was our final destination in Thailand. This Island is tiny (you can reach anywhere on the island in <30 minutes of walking) but the beaches are gorgeous, the snorkeling is excellent and, thanks to being a pain to reach, it’s not crowded.

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Observations

5 Hour Speed Boat

We noted above that getting to Koh Lipe was a pain. For some reason, we decided to take a 5-hour speed boat from Phuket and, we have to say, it was NOT a good choice. Here are some reasons, in case you ever feel inclined to try it out:

1. The operator was NOT safe–there were not enough lifejackets on board for every passenger.
2. Speedboats, even passenger versions, are not large enough for ocean waves. We were smashing into waves so hard we thought the boat was going to break. Even worse, the people in the back of the boat got SOAKED (for 5 hours).
3. Our boats were overcrowded–think bus seats with 3 people to a seat.
4. We were not on time, both trips took over 6 hours–i.e. flying from Boston to SF.

So… yeah, Koh Lipe=Amazing, Speedboat=Terrible.

7/11 Density

The 7/11 density here is unreal. They’re on every street corner. No, really, look at this picture with two 7/11’s facing each other across the street.

Kitchens

We learned that it’s not unusual for apartments here to have no kitchen. As in, no kitchen in the building, let alone your own apartment. Fortunately, street food is super cheap, but imagine not being able to cook, even if you wanted to.

Gambling Men

All over SEA, we’ve seen men chilling on the sides of streets, gambling and drinking. In contrast, we’ve never seen women in groups except for taking care of kids or working.

Jungle Nature is Hardcore

There are trees that eat other trees. Everything is poisonous or venomous or both. We swear that every other thing the guides pointed out was deadly in some way. What gives? Why is nature so much more intense out here than in New England or Saskatchewan?

Conclusion

Thailand was awesome. We really love the food, everything is better developed than Vietnam, and the people are less desperate for money, making them friendlier in random street encounters. As a result, it revived our enthusiasm for travel and we absolutely want to return for island hopping plus time in the north. Next up is, Cambodia, our final stop before flying home!