Before traveling to Thailand, I looked up several packing lists. My husband and I wanted to go to Thailand because it was different, "less American" in our minds than our trip to Western Europe. In searching for packing lists I started to realize how different from America Thailand could be. The list contained things like activated carbon pills (I knew activated carbon is consumed when you think you've been poisoned, so this was quite a disturbing find) for food poisioning. Lists had hand-sanitizer or travel toilet paper because many bathrooms don't have soap or Western style toilets (I read a few articles on how to use a squat potty and contemplated cancelling our trip). Through all this research, I had to remind myself that Bangkok is the most traveled to place in the world, and I didn't think it could earn that prize without amazing sites, great food, and decently healthy tourist returning home. So I headed much of the advice I read online to avoid unhealthy bowels, and both my husband and I returned home unscathed. 1. Shoes
Shoes were the hardest things to pick for our time in Thailand. We went to Thailand during the wet season (May/June - October), so I knew I wanted waterproof shoes. We were sightseeing, so I needed them to be comfortable to walk in all day. In Thailand, most temples and homes require you to take off your shoes upon entering, so I both wanted something easy to slip off, and not too expensive to mind leaving as I explored the temple. I looked at hiking sandals, but they seemed to rugged for the outfits I planned to wear.
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We did the optional full-day tour which included a trip to Buddha Cave Temple (Suwannakuha), also known as Monkey Temple, Ao Phang Nga National Park, where we opted to take a "canoe" tour, and a visit to James Bond Island.
In Bangkok, "night markets" were actually markets at night; they were places to get souvenirs, good street food, and the craziest thing you see there is people selling laughing gas (I learned that touristy locations are places for illegal activity, because it gets too complicated to arrest and detain foreigners). The Patong "Night Market" was not a "market" as Westerners would call it. Another name for it is the Walking Street, which is more applicable. The main street there's no produce or souvenirs to be found, and it's definitely not a place to take the kids,
You cannot go to Thailand and not meet some elephants. This is the day I was most excited of for the entire trip, and it did not disappoint. We did a full day with Tours with Tong; the most expensive one day tour, but well worth it (comparable animal excursions here in the USA are at least double the price and don't include nearly as much). The tour we did specifically was VIP Tigers and In Love with Lunch. I would highly recommend both the tiger and elephant part of this tour, as well as our wonderful guide Lily, who took the most amazing photos (and they were on our iPhone/camera, so they were free!). However, the tiger portion is less for the faint of heart (thrill seekers and animal lovers only).
We went to Thailand with Affordable World. On the second day in Thailand, we had a tour of a coconut farm, Damneon Saduak Floating Market, and Gem Factory included in our tour.
We booked this tour through Affordable World.
Our first day was all about Bangkok temples. Thailand is mostly (about 95%) Buddhist. We started the day with the included part of the tour. We went to the Temple of the Golden Buddha (Wat Trimitr) and the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho). Then we went on the optional tour to see the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which are located in the same complex. Also part of the optional tour, we took a motorboat ride on the Chao Phraya River and saw the riverside Temple of Dawn (Wat Arun). I love planning trips. When I create trips I map out all the sites my husband and I would visit that day, how we would get from one site to another, and approximately how long we would spend at each site. I never care if we do exactly what I planned; I just hate spending vacation time figuring out what we're going to do. So in this blog I will detail the apps I use to plan my vacations.
Planning the timeline was fun in the beginning. Eventually, it got down to the tough decisions and became tedious. There was so much we wanted, and it all had to squeeze together. I was surprised to see what a small portion of the timeline the wedding was. Much of it was prep-work (my day before was also hectic with eyebrow threading, mani-pedis, the rehearsal, and rehearsal dinner).
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AuthorHi! I'm Amber. I love spreadsheets and painting. This blog is where I post about my crafts and adventures. Archives
November 2018
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