A GUIDE TO SOUTH MAINLAND OF THAILAND

Thailand is the one of the most beautiful und stunning countries I’ve ever been to. In two months traveling around there you kinda get into the flow and learn so many important things about the county, the people and how to make the best of your holiday in Thailand.Let me first give you a little guide about the places I’ve been visiting in Thailand and share my personal experiences. In another blog article coming soon I’ll sum up really important tips that probably saved my life in this paradise.

Most flights from overseas will arrive in Bangkok. Choosing a good airline is essentially because you can end up sitting for 10 hours on the plane without leaving, so things like good food, a feeling of safety and the possibility to choose ones seat in advance will make the flight a lot more enjoyable. Booking the flight longly in advance saves a lot of money.

BANGKOK. Some people immediately fall in love with this city, but frankly I was happy to leave it after a few days. If you are spoiled living at the countryside, Bangkok seems to be a huge monster, always noisy, always moving, the smell of CO2 in the air, cars and people everywhere, it’s quite shocking. In my opinion, it’s best to leave this city immediately at the beginning of your trip, and then turn back at the end when you know the country and its customs better, to bed in that mega city. So it’s probably best to book a hotel near the airport for your first two nights to handle the jet lag and then leave Bangkok.
My journey first brought me to HUA HIN. I took one of the Lomprayah buses that also go further straight to the south-eastern islands of Thailand. But as I had a lot of time, this step led me to getting to know the Thais better. Hua Hin has a beautiful beach and seems like new-built for the tourists, its infrastructure is very modern with so many cafés, bars and of course Hotels.

KRABI. Back to the mainland, my next stop was Krabi. I fell in love with the awesome Thai markets there, and Krabi really has lots of them. Taste the best fruits you’ll ever have eaten. My favourite are also the Chinese sesame balls, they’re too good. From Krabi, you can take a day trip to the Emerald Pool with its beautiful crystal clear water.

RAILAY. You can only reach Railay beach by boat, which is already an adventure for itself passing the beautiful rocks in the sea. Watch the monkeys on the way to the beach and if you’re adventurous enough, climb up the hill to Railay beach lagoon – but take good shoes, it’s a steep and stony path up there. Arriving at the beach, you will be impressed by the clear blue water and the rocks that tower above it. There  are also a lot of caves in Railay, like the Diamond cave. But on a sunny day, Railay can be really crowded.

AO NANG. You can also start your Railay trip from here or take a boat trip to some other beautiful beaches around. Ao Nang is a small town full of shops and beautiful restaurants at the seaside. There’s also one of the best hostels I’ve been to, the iDeal Bed Hostel.

KHAO LAK. This one is a very good town for shopping with all its big markets where you can buy everything, clothes, souvenirs and faked brands ;-).  There’s also a pretty cool german Café that I didn’t miss to visit, and they really have great bred and cakes that I almost had a lack of in one month only eating Thai food – but which is still great of course!

Khao Lak was completely destroyed by the tsunami in 2004, and there’s a museum and a memorial to not forgetting this sad and horrible happening. If you’re in this region, you should also have its past in mind.

CHUMPHON. This is the town where all the ferries to the islands Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui depart. But it’s not only a thouroughfare, but also a really lovely town with great markets and a big shopping mall. I’d recommend you to stay at the Chalicha Resort, a great hotel with huge rooms, room service, a pool, it’s own restaurant and bikes for rent to go to the beach.

Here’s from where my journey lead back to BANGKOK by train. Now that you got to know Thailand better, you will also understand Bangkok a little better. When you’re there, there are of course also a few things you shouldn’t miss. Koasan Road is famous for being a great shopping mall – and you can really buy everything there, but don’t forget to trade, of course! Bangkok has a lot of beautiful markets and flower markets where you can get lost and forget the noise outside for a while. What you should absolutely visit is Grand Palace, with its stunning temples and impressing building of gold. Bangkok is a place where you can leave your money and be a real tourist, driving in a tuctuc, taking pictures and then coming home with so much to tell about this beautiful country of Thailand.