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Two years ago to the day, my husband and I arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, which marked the beginning of a 3 week long journey through this magnificent country. We had just gotten married a few days earlier and we had chosen Thailand as our honeymoon destination. Since neither of us had ever been to Southeast Asia before, I have to admit that I had a few concerns when it came to visiting this new and daunting continent.
On a previous website, I wrote a blog post listing 5 things that scared me about visiting Southeast Asia for the first time and 5 things I was actually excited for. This post was titled “My first trip to Southeast Asia: what I’m afraid of and what I’m looking forward to”. I thought it might be fun to take another look at this post now, two years later, to see if my fears and hopes from back then were somewhat justified.
Things That Scared Me
1. The culture shock in Bangkok
Just flip through the pages of any Thailand travel guide and one of the first things you will read is how Bangkok is such a loud and chaotic city. I worry that Thailand’s capital might be a bit too overwhelming for us and that we’re heading for a major culture shock.
The verdict
It wasn’t that bad. Actually, it wasn’t bad at all, but we did take our precautions. We spend two full days in Bangkok (four nights), one day at the beginning of our trip and one at the end. The first two nights we stayed in a hotel near the Chao Phraya River and we could easily hop on the river taxi – there was a stop right at the back of our hotel. We payed a fixed price (0,40 € per ride) and the boat stopped at all the temples we wanted to see. The infamous Khao San Road was at a walking distance from our hotel. No looking for taxis or tuk-tuks, no negotiating a price, no driving through the city’s chaotic traffic, it was all very relaxing this way. In the afternoon, when the weather got too hot, we could just relax in the rooftop swimming pool of our hotel.
Our last two nights in the city, we stayed at a luxury hotel near Lumphini Park, in a completely different part of the city. Since it was our honeymoon, we felt like we owed ourselves a little splurge. On our last full day in Bangkok, we got around using the metro and the skytrain. We avoided chaotich Chinatown on purpose. We thought that might be something for a second trip.
2. The food
I know this is something most people are looking forward to (and I am too, really), but I’m a little worried that the food won’t agree with me. I have irritable bowel syndrome and this basically started in Egypt, so I’m always a bit hesitant when it comes to traveling to countries with a different cuisine. Also, I’m not really a fan of spicy food.
The verdict
I can be short on this one: I had no reason to worry. The food was amazing and I never got sick. I did ask my food to be “mai pet” though which means not spicy.
3. Health and hygiene
When we decided to go to Thailand, these are some of the questions that I asked myself. Can I drink the tap water in Thailand? Is it safe to eat streetfood? Will I get sick from a mosquito bite? Should I be worried about finding a clean bathroom? After some research I was able to reassure myself, but I do hope we won’t run into any creepy crawlers.
The verdict
Again, I probably worried too much. In most places, it is perfectly safe (and yummy!) to eat the streetfood. I wouldn’t recommend drinking the tap water though, but the same goes for a lot of countries. I did get several mosquito bites, even though we were constantly wearing mosquito repellent (they must’ve liked me as much as I like Thai food), but I didn’t get sick. However, if you wish to become pregnant, I’d recommend getting yourself and your partner tested for Zika after you return from Thailand or just wait a couple of months.
Now, about those creepy crawlers, sadly there was a cockroach staying in one of our hotel rooms (I guess he didn’t know the room was already taken). I wasn’t too happy about that, these insects really give me the creeps. We also encountered huge spiders in a cave in Khao Sok National Park, but I just tried very hard to ignore them (which wasn’t easy because my husband couldn’t stop yelling: “wow, look at those huge spiders!!”). We even saw a couple of scorpions, but they were deep fried so they didn’t scare me anymore. 😉
4. Transportation
I hear it’s very easy to get around in Thailand with a lot of buses, trains and cheap taxis to choose from, but right now it just seems like a hassle. We normally drive a rental car when we go on a road trip or ride the subway when we go city tripping. Having one means of transportation during your whole holiday just seems like a lot easier than always having to figure out which ride (or flight) is your best option. I also wonder how safe it is to rent, and drive, a scooter in Thailand.
The verdict
This one was a bit more difficult. I had done research on how to get around in Bangkok and we had booked a cabin on the night train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, but in Chiang Mai we had to get around using the red taxis and it wasn’t clear how much you had to pay for them or what was a fair price and we had a feeling that we were being ripped off more than once. We didn’t like the fact that you constantly had to negotiate a price, we’re really not good at that. When we arrived in southern Thailand, we had given up on trying to find the cheapest way to get from point A to point B and we arranged private transportation from the airport in Krabi to our hotel near Khao Sok National Park. We paid 50 € for a 100 km ride and free bottles of water during the ride, which wasn’t too bad.
I prefer to have our own (or rental) car available when traveling through a country because it makes things just so much easier, but in Thailand it just made more sense to travel without a car. This sometimes resulted in frustration when we were trying to find the best way to get around a certain place or to get to our next destination. We did rent a scooter when we were staying on the island of Koh Lanta. I was too afraid to drive myself because I had never done it before, but my husband didn’t mind taking the wheel. There were however a couple of times when I thought I would die at the back of that scooter. Though my husband did his utmost best to drive as gently as possible, I guess scooters just really aren’t my thing. If you’re not a scaredy cat like I am, scooters are probably the best way to get around in a lot of places in Thailand.
5. Luggage
I always overpack. That’s a given. This is not a problem when you’re staying at one hotel during the whole trip or when you have a rental car at your disposal that can also function as a storage room, but in Thailand it might be easier to pack light. In general, I just find it difficult to pack for a place I’ve never been to.
The verdict
Oh, the things I worry about 😀 Well, I did overpack. Of course. We were one of the few tourists traveling around in Thailand with actual suitcases instead of travel backpacks. It would probably have been easier with backpacks…
Things I’m Looking Forward To
1. Elephants
Definitely elephants. The Asian Elephant is one of my favourite animals on this planet and they just happen to live in Southeast Asia. I am very much looking forward to seeing this huge land mammal in its natural habitat.
The verdict
What can I say? It was AMAZING!! We had booked an activity with Elephant Nature Park, which is an elephant rescue and rehabilitation center, and got to hang out with elephants for a whole day! We got to feed them, walk with them, play in the mud with them, bathe with them and simply just watch them. I also touched an elephant for the first time ever, a very memorable experience. I always have my concerns when it comes to animal tourism, but we tried to look for an animal-friendly activity. I can’t stress this enough: please DO NOT RIDE THE ELEPHANTS!!
2. The food
Yes, the food again. While I am worried that I might get sick, I’m also very curious about the food in Thailand. I want to try new dishes, savour new flavours and just experience the local cuisine which is an important part of the Thai culture. I’m excited to try pad thai, green curry, mango sticky rice and more.
The verdict
It’s simple: the food in Thailand is just amazing!
3. Buddhist temples
Thailand is very different from any country we’ve ever been to when it comes to culture and architecture. It’s the first time we’ll be visiting a country where Buddhism is the main religion and I’m especially looking forward to seeing the colourful temples.
The verdict
I loved the temples! We saw the most beautiful temples in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The details of the decorations will blow your mind! So will the size of some of the Buddha statues. In Ayutthaya we visited the ruins of ancient temples. The ruins were also extremely beautiful, do not miss this when you travel to Thailand! It’s only a 2-hour train ride away from Bangkok.
Be sure to cover your shoulders and knees when visiting the temples in Thailand. To visit the Wat Phra Kaew (the temple of the Emerald Buddha near the Grand Palace in Bangkok), you are even asked to cover your legs entirely. My husband was wearing capris (shorts that reach below the knee) and he had to buy pants before he could enter (they do sell pants at the site). When you enter the actual temple, you need to take off your shoes. Do not climb on Buddha statues or point your feet towards them (when you sit down in front of a statue, sit with your legs to one side or sit on your knees). Also, do not touch monks, especially if you’re a woman.
4. The islands
When I think of Thailand, the first image that comes to mind is that of a white sandy beach, ligned with palm trees and maybe a huge limestone cliff rising up from the water. Though I’m not really a beach person, this is a sight I want to see with my own eyes.
The verdict
It was just as I had expected: beautiful but very crowded, especially Railay Beach. If you know before you go that you’re not going to be the only person there, it’s easier to deal with it. We are both not the kind of people to lie on a beach all day so we really just came to see the beauty of the beach and the limestone cliffs and because we had anticipated the crowds, we enjoyed our time on Railay Beach. We opted not to visit Maya Bay (famous from the movie “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio) because we had heard it is overrun by tourists.
Instead we got up early and chartered a private boat at Ao Nang Beach to take us to two bounty islands (we paid 800 Baht which is about 23 €). We left the beach at around 8 a’clock and were one of the first people on the island of Koh Poda. It was a beautiful paradise island with palm trees lining a white sand beach. Sadly, I lost my wedding ring in the ocean while snorkeling. And I had been married for two weeks… When we arrived at our second island, it was already packed with people (we did lose a lot of time looking for my wedding ring, but it was a lost cause).
5. The jungle
On our previous travels we’ve encountered many different landscapes, from beaches to deserts to mountains, but the jungle is a new experience for us. I’m excited to see what nature looks like in Thailand and who knows, maybe we’ll run into some wild monkeys.
The verdict
We did see monkeys! Not in the jungle though (we heard them but did not see them there), but at our hotel near Khao Sok National Park. One of them even stole my tempura scampi from my plate while I was eating. I’m very glad we decided to add Khao Sok National Park to our itinerary even though it was a bit out of the way. We spent one night in a floating bungalow on Cheow Lan Lake and the surroundings were simply breathtaking. We didn’t realise when we booked our 2-day trip in the national park that there were going to be so many people on this tour. That was a bit disappointing to say the least. Imagine going on a nice quiet jungle walk with 60 people! Nevertheless, we very much enjoyed our walk through the jungle and through a cave where we found ourselves up to our necks in water, it was a lot of fun. Though I might consider booking a private tour next time, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it for the world.
