Thailand in August

BANGKOK

legend: ° worth seeing; °° not to be missed; ^ can be skipped: ^^ to be avoided

BANGKOK In Bangkok (2) we booked at the Twin Towers Hotel (2)° (88 Rong Muang, Pathumwan) very nice, super luxurious and convenient for getting around. Cost of a triple 63.50 per night without breakfast (which done at the hotel costs for 3 people 987 bth --) 20 euros, a disproportion compared to the rest).

Stunned from the trip and full of sleep we decide that before 18.00 we won't move, but after a good sleep and a little swim in the pool and a here we are ready to play explorers and we venture out on foot around the hotel. DON'T DO IT!! The smog, the traffic, the heat and the general chaos are not worth the little walk. We immediately understand how to solve it. Everywhere you'll find TUKTUK drivers (like Ape Piaggio) a 3-seater vehicle, that will take you anywhere you want for a ridiculous price. Be careful though not to let yourselves be intimidated because they tend to take you where they want, in a kind way but they play dumb. Always negotiate before getting in (since if one doesn't work out, there are so many..) The cost of a tuk-tuk ride can vary but the lower it is, the more suspicious you should be because they want to take you to their silk or precious stone sponsors.

We had adopted the technique of making the offer ourselves (100 BAHT - NO STOP)… it corresponds to 2 euros which for them is a lot so they always accept, it's a slightly high figure because you can even get down to 60bt but you have to waste a bit of time negotiating and you don't always feel like it) which is more or less the same amount you spend on a taxi. DIFFERENCE in a taxi you stay cool and don't breathe the smog but you get stuck in traffic, in a tuk-tuk you race like a madman, you overtake everyone even on the wrong side and on the sidewalks but in 5 minutes you've arrived where you wanted. Your choice.

We head towards the MBK shopping center (2)°, 7 floors enormous and fullfull of merchandise of all kinds, as a first day we got lost.

On the top floor there's the dining area with dozens of choices including a multi-ethnic self-service, we had dinner at OISHI° (fried prawns, fried rice with soy, chiang beer and hot mint tea) with 523 baht for 3 people (11 euros for 3).

BANGKOK

SATURDAY 9 First real day of vacation, we set off to explore the city. By tuk-tuk we have ourselves taken to the Oriental Pier Chao Phraya River°°, it's the pier of the riverboat that goes along the river. It's much more convenient than going around the whole city by tuk and it's also less expensive. 22 baht = 0.40 euros Finally at the Tha Chang stop here is the Royal Gran Palace°° ancient royal residence and the Wat Phra Kaew (2)°° the temple of the emerald buddha, absolutely worth visiting, it's a wonderful thing 100 baht.

ATTENTION: 1 – covered clothing: men with long pants, t-shirt is fine no tank tops, for women a sarong is also fine to put over shorts (the important thing is that the legs aren't visible), t-shirt no tank tops. If you don't have suitable clothing you can rent it for a negligible amount inside the palace before buying the entrance ticket (20 baht).

2 – be very careful not to get fooled. Around the attractions there will be more than one person, very kind and very helpful and smiling who will provide you with information about the palace, the road, the hours, your clothing and so on. In the end they'll tell you that today the palace is closed for restoration or is closed because the monks are praying or any other excuse just to entice you, while waiting for the palace to reopen, to take a tour of other temples organized by them. IT'S NOT TRUE!! The palace doesn't close, you don't even see the monks so even if they eat or pray it's irrelevant, the clothes are rented at all hours and inside the palace from nowhere else. We, knowing beforehand, said we only wanted to take photos and slipped away and inside the palace we had confirmation of the attempted deception.

The problem is that you don't notice because they're all very kind, smiling and helpful.

As for the Palace there aren't enough words to describe it, spectacular!! It takes a morning to visit it.

After the visit, exhausted from the heat, we went in search of food, if you have the stomach know that there are street vendors practically on every corner selling snacks (including cockroaches), but after discovering that some names no longer existed (Ton Pot – LonelyPlanet guide) we settled into a little place that served salads….

In the evening, after having tramped far and wide and visited the Wat Arun (2)°° the temple of dawn, entrance 50 baht (to get there get off at Tha Tian and take the extra ferry) and the Wat Po (2)°° the temple of the reclining buddha (perhaps even more beautiful than the Wat Phra Kaew), we decided to take refuge in the MBK shopping center for a little stroll and then dinner at Pratunam^ (to orient yourselves it's the area at the foot of the Bayoke Hotel the tallest skyscraper in BK) in an Indian restaurant. Pratunam is the paradise of stalls selling counterfeit brand clothing. The Ralph Lauren and Lacoste shirts are perfect 100-200 bth. Always negotiate!!

from BANGKOK to CHIANG MAI

SUNDAY 10 / MONDAY 11 This morning we set off with the intention of going to the station to buy train tickets to go north to Chiang Mai. As usual the tuk-tuk drivers are chatty and when we tell them where we want to go they take us despite ourselves to a TAT agency, the tourism office. Here we explain that we're not interested and that we want to go to the station to take the train. We set off again and end up in another agency (meanwhile the morning has flown by) Here exhausted we explain our intentions to go north by train but we're told that the train is all booked because the 12th is the queen's birthday and there's a big celebration (will it be true??). A bit annoyed we let ourselves be convinced to leave by coach departing at 18.00 overnight journey arriving at 06.00, the agency is Atta, departure from Pratunam.

Stressed by the effort of negotiating we go to visit the Jim Thompson House (2)°, a typical colonial house very beautiful, cool and calming 100 baht each.

Then, unable to take the heat any longer, we shut ourselves inside the shopping center at Pantip Plaza°° the apotheosis of electronics! 5 floors of items, cameras, memories, hard disks, computers, etc. purchasable at almost half the price as in Italy.

In the evening we leave Bangkok to go to northern Thailand, direction Chiang Mai. Goodbye Bangkok.

CHIANG MAI We're always a bit distrustful but the bus journey proved to be super organized, mind-blowing but super organized. They give you the blanket, the pillow, they give you food and drink but the air conditioning is truly excessive, thank goodness I had 2 little sweaters and the little silk scarf around my neck!!!, rest stop with meal voucher at a service station in the heart of the night (terrible!!!) and then finally at the first light of dawn we arrive in Chiang Mai at 5 in the morning when whoever is coming to pick us up is waiting for us at 6, what a nightmare!

Finally like 3 zombies sleeping standing up we arrive at our hotel and dive into bed for a while!

Our hotel (which we had booked from home through the agency) is very nice, the Raming Lodge (2)° cost € 49 for the triple with breakfast. The choice was excellent, the hotel is nice, well-kept, (it also has a pool), buffet breakfast, but above all it's very close to the center, just outside the walls so we finally get around on foot.

After a good sleep we venture into the center, but the rain surprises us because here in this season it's very hot but it also rains every day.

We begin visiting some temples; Chiang Mai is a small city surrounded by walls forming a square layout, there are very many temples and they are interesting because they are older than in Bangkok and their architecture is influenced by the Lanna and Burmese civilizations. We visited first the Wat Pan On° and Wat Phan Tao°, then to console ourselves from the (warm) rain we went to eat Mexican on Loi Khro Road. In the evening we went on a spending spree at the Night Bazaar°°.

Chiang Mai

TUESDAY 12 For today we booked an excursion that includes a visit to the Maetaman Elephant Camp°° work camp, a ride on the backs of the elephants inside the forest 100 km from Chiang Mai, rafting on the river with bamboo rafts°, a visit to the Mae Ram Orchid Farm orchid museum and a visit to the Mae-rim Tiger Kingdom tiger zoo (2). The day was memorable, an unmissable emotion (the elephants are very tall...) It's hard to describe this day in a few lines, but we definitely recommend it (at 344 euros).

In the evening we went back to the Night Bazaar, the shopping paradise... clothes, fake bags, fabrics, wooden handicrafts, you can't contain yourself... All purchases are cheaper here than in BK, always haggle but never aggressively, you'll notice you'll make better deals with a smile and courtesy. In the end don't quibble over the baht, in fact if you calculate the amount in euros it's a ridiculous figure, for them it can be a substantial amount. For example, we bought Ralph Lauren t-shirts (very well made), the starting price 400 bth got down to 200 bth (4 euros), for them it was still a great deal, otherwise if you shoot too low they refuse.

WEDNESDAY 13 / THURSDAY 14 / FRIDAY 15 Today torrential rain, (discovered because the sidewalks are so high, because the streets flood completely and the water reaches above the ankles) and we visit two more temples Wat Mahawuan°, Wat Jetawan° Monument of the 3 kings, Wat Phra Sing°, Wat Chedi Luang°, Wat Chiang Man°, but by now we're starting to be satiated and despite their beauty they start to all look the same to us. In the evening we head to the Wararot Market, very characteristic and not at all touristy, and then more shopping at the night bazaar. Right opposite we found the Galare Food Center°°, a truly original option for dinner. Imagine a square surrounded by about ten stalls each with a different culinary specialty.

The procedure is as follows: at the cashier you buy a booklet of 10 tickets worth 10 bth each, then head to the food you like best, look at the price and hand over the corresponding coupon. Easy and fun. Thursday it doesn't rain and we seize the opportunity to go up into the mountains to visit Wat Phra That°° at Doi Sutep, then we come back down to Wat Jet Yod°, beautiful with different architectural styles. We found ourselves in Chiang Mai all these days because we had miscalculated the travel, to visit it 3 days max are enough, or else push on to Chiang Rai or Doi Inthanon national park. We didn't do other excursions because it always rained.

Ko Samui

SATURDAY 16 / SUNDAY 17

Finally we're off again, at the airport we have the flight to BK and connection with Ko Samui, sea! We've arrived!

SAMUI

Ko Samui, fantastic island, dream sea, palms... there's everything you see in the catalogs. We booked at the ALOHA RESORT (2)° in Lamai Beach. Cost of a triple 95 euros per day, breakfast included. The resort itself has nothing amazing but it has a pool and a fantastic sea view. The stretch of beach turned out to be the most beautiful on the island, very close to the Hin Ta & Hin Yai rocks°. In fact at Chaweng^ there are too many people and the water is too shallow, further down there are stones, further on the algae, and instead here it's perfect: palms, fine sand, wide and beautiful beach, few people, clear and very warm water. Get a Thai massage on the beachfront (250 bth) What can I say...

A paradise! For lunch to stay in shape you'll have to content yourselves with a pineapple, (watch how they prepare it for you, they're masters) cost 40 bt and in addition they'll give you little bananas and coconut. Or you can try some strange skewers prepared on the spot, very spicy and served with lettuce and walnut salad. We dined the first evening at a restaurant with tables on the beach, candlelight, romantic, ate so-so, the second evening we went to the center of Lamai at the Shamrock Irish Pub°, with live music and food with good value for money. After touring Bangkok and Chiang Mai, the center of Lamai seemed to us small and of little importance, mostly pubs and venues that late in the evening become a hangout for sexual entertainers.

MONDAY 18

Today we're off on an excursion we booked inside the hotel. We did the tour of the Ang Thong National Marine Park islands (2) (3)°°, touristy but very well organized and worth doing. The visit to these islands, being a protected marine park, can only be done through authorized agencies. The choice was between a boat of 50 people at a cost of Baht 1700, or with the fast speedboat for 10 people 2000 baht. We chose the speedboat which allowed us to be looked after more attentively and to get ahead of the others in the group on the excursion.

Departure from the hotel at 8.30 with the gathering of all participants at the port of Bo Put^, a quick breakfast that you can definitely skip and distribution of strange pills for seasickness... it's up to you. Departure with the speedboat hugging the northern part of the island heading for Ko Wao°° for a fantastic snorkeling in the clear waters, (clownfish, sea snakes, rays and corals... An uncontaminated earthly paradise!

The equipment is provided by them, water shoes recommended). From here we went to Tai Phow Island to do a kayak tour inside numerous caves. Fantastic! It's lunchtime and so we disembark on a deserted islet in the center of the archipelago where in no time at all a buffet is set up that we found to our liking. Once satiated we took a little tour of the island, a nap, a swim since the water is boiling and even if you haven't digested... And we're off again for Mae Koh where with a short hike of the island, you climb (sandals!) and reach the Green Lagoon°°, a saltwater lake of emerald color, no swimming because there are little sharks. On the way back a short visit to some associated venues and an excursion of your choice between the elephant camp or a quad ride.

TUESDAY 19 / THURSDAY 21

Total idleness on the beach, pineapple and thai massage°° as usual and for dinner we went wild. We went to the Bauhaus, a characteristic place where at the cost of 5000 baht (100 euros) we had 3 lobsters (one kg each), one grilled, and two boiled. We were ecstatic and devoured everything without restraint while they, given the enormity of the expense, honored us all evening. We recommend it.

It's worth taking a trip to Ko Phangan for the Full Moon Party, wilder and less touristy than Samui, you can rent a motorcycle or have yourself taken around the island in a tuktuk or to the waterfalls inland, however we agreed that Lamai Beach is better...

Back to Bangkok and back home...

BANGKOK

FRIDAY 22 / MONDAY 25 Tonight we leave again for Bangkok; at the airport, which is all open-air and made of wood, they offered us a nice buffet. Arrival at 18.00 back at the Twin Towers. This return to Bangkok after resting at the sea was traumatic and we don't recommend it, too much smog and confusion after the peace and nature of the sea. Anyway here we are for another four days to make the most of.

First stop: Chinatown°° - this neighborhood is extremely chaotic, smelly, crowded and fascinating, with very narrow streets, goods and materials piled up everywhere.

After a while, dazed by the chaos, we took refuge at the National Museum° (air conditioning), interesting - cost 10 baht

We visited the Sukhumvit^ market in search of clothing, but we didn't like the market.

Second stop: Dusit Park° - where there's the zoo and the Vimanmek palace (1) (2)°°. Splendid royal palace entirely in teak wood - cost 100 baht. From here we moved to Chatuchak (2)°° where only on Saturday a truly magnificent market is held. Here you can truly find everything: from animals (dogs, cats, iguanas, monkeys, crickets, grasshoppers in bags, snakes...) to living room sets that you can order and have shipped home. A place that will make your head spin...

Visit to Wat Saket° known as the golden mountain, It's a temple on a hill all covered in gold paint, from which you can enjoy the panorama of Bangkok and Wat Suthat° (the giant swing).. From here we went to the Pahurat^ indian market, specializing in fabrics.

Last day: to finish in beauty we took the Chao Phraya°° Express boat at the Tha Oriental Pier stop near the Oriental Hotel to the Nontabhuri^ terminus with the intention of making a jump to Ko Kret, so we crossed all of Bangkok.

NOTES: Weather: we went in August, a season not recommended because it's the period when the rains begin. But we always found splendid weather, rain in Chiang Mai, but only a slight nuisance while on the island of Samui August is considered the best period and so it was. High temperatures but above all the nuisance is given by the high humidity. Not a shadow of mosquitoes anyway equip yourselves for safety. As for health we had no problems even related to food, however as always it's recommended not to drink unbottled water. We only did the anti-typhoid and anti-tetanus prophylaxis.

Language: English mandatory

Food: we who are not picky liked everything even though after a little while Thai food tends to get tiring; for those who want, there's no shortage of Mc Donalds and pizzerias, but we avoided them. Everywhere we found cleanliness and courtesy

Total cost of the holiday for a family of 3 people (2 adults + 16-year-old son): plane tickets: for 3 people round trip Venice / Bangkok € 3,240.00 hotels: Bangkok – Twin Towers € 63.50 per day for the triple, breakfast not included Chiang Mai – Raming Lodge € 49.00 per day breakfast included Ko Samui – Aloha Resort € 95.00 per day breakfast included Our total expense including excursions, internal flights (BK/Samui 293.50 for 3) purchases, museums, trips, meals, and various total 20 days 3 people € 6,452.00

If you want advice, impressions and various or if you want to leave us your comment contact us at our website alpatom@libero.it

We recommend the guides that gave us the indications on the places to visit: Lonely Planet Thailand, City Book Bangkok, Routard Thailand.

the Travels of AlPaTom