Greetings Daizies,

It’s been a little over a week since my most recent trip to Thailand and there’s so much to share! Lots of new elements that made this trip exciting: celebrating my birthday outside of the country, first time going to Asia, and first non-solo trip in over a year and a half. I spent 7 days in Thailand with 2 friends, where we had about 4 days in Bangkok and 3 days in Phuket. Time to get into the experience:

Pre-Trip

This trip came about in the early spring when November seemed SO far away. November rolled around in a blink of an eye and it seemed like I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get everything together before my flight. I was up all night prior to my flight buying last-minute items, crocheting my hair, and packing. But low and behold, I made it to my flight and wasn’t rushing to the gate this time, look at me!

We booked our accommodations for the trip about a month from when we were to arrive in Thailand. We picked out the areas by using Google maps to locate the neighborhoods posted on Airbnb and their distance to nightlife and key attractions. For Bangkok we optimized for being closer to Khaosan Road and for Phuket being within walking distance to the beach, Patong beach was a priority. 

I looked up the currency exchange rate before going to Thailand and memorized the fact that 30 BAHT = about 1 USD. For this trip, I opted for getting money from the ATM once I arrived in Thailand (mindful that payday was ON the 15th when my flight took place lol). The week of my flight I was doing forward-thinking and trying to block off any colds coming my way. It seemed like everyone around me was just coughing up a storm so I made sure I was drinking EmergenCee, green tea, and taking vitamins every day leading up to the flight. The flight from Seattle to Seoul was the longest flight of my life, a grand total of 11 hours and I’m glad I was doing a lot of immune system strengthening prior to it. I was so happy when we finally arrived in Bangkok. 

Being in Bangkok

[PIN IT]:

Bangkok blew me away with its advanced infrastructure and density of the city. Bangkok was like another New York City or something. Very very busy, lots of buildings, crazy traffic. I think I was expecting from Bangkok what I got from Phuket, beaches, trees, and nature. On almost every street you’ll notice shrines of the royal family in beautiful golden decorations. Post-trip I was intent on learning more about the current public view of their government and found some interesting perspectives on Twitter.

Right away I was drawn to the food in Thailand. It was very digestive friendly and I liked the chicken pad Thai and even fell in love with the microwavable chicken meals from 7/11. The food never disappointed. Speaking of 7/11, it was literally our best friend throughout the entire trip! Here you could rack up on snacks, water, and quick meals on the go.

For transportation, we mostly used a ride-share app called Grab. It was suggested by our Airbnb host and we found it very convenient and inexpensive. The estimated arrival times can be iffy though so be mindful of this if you REALLY need to get somewhere on time. Our Grab going to the airport for Phuket just never arrived so we ended up taking a taxi. 

Things I Did

Day 1

• Chatuchak Weekend Market
• JJ Mall
• Massage treatment 
• Khaosan Road

Spent hours upon hours at the malls and shopping lol. I think Bangkok wore me out with shopping centers haha. The first stop was Chataruk Market which I think was the BEST place to buy everything. Since it was the first stop, I held back from buying a lot of stuff, plus I had to make sure my bag was under 50 pounds for when flying to Phuket. But I definitely would’ve bought more of the main things like sarongs, the famous Thailand pants, and small trinkets. As I postponed shopping things got more expensive and hard to find. Not super expensive but the price for the pants was 200Baht in Phuket versus the 100Baht in Bangkok. Definitely do all your main shopping in Bangkok. Chatuchak is a weekend market so be sure to time your visit for a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. 

JJ Mall was reminded of a large B&I, if you’re from Tacoma you’ll know what that is. But this shopping mall seemed authentic and where many of the locals shopped. I enjoyed the food court food. In a lot of the malls, the purchasing process for food is through a meal card that you buy from a stand within the mall. You first load the card with the amount of money you want and then go to the individual restaurants to buy the food. 

Day 2

• Breakfast Story 
• Grand Palace
• Central World Mall

Plan ahead when going to locations that are spread out across the city. We stayed in the Sukhumvit area which was about 25-30 minutes *allegedly* by car to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho palaces. With traffic, it took about an hour to get there during the day time. We made it JUST in time before the Grand Palace ticketing closed and had a decent hour to explore the beautiful landmark. 

Tip: Be sure to wear clothes that cover your knees and arms when visiting the palace. I carried a lightweight scarf with me for palace days to cover my arms. There are also stands nearby where you can rent garments to wear for your visit. 

Day 3

• Take Care Nails 
• Su Esthetic Spa
• Wat Pho Palace – Temple of the Reclining Buddha
• Sing Sing club

Su Esthetic spa was my favorite massage in Thailand! Spent $30 for a 1.5 hour long massage, facial, and herbal stomach massage. 

I didn’t look at photos prior to visiting the Reclining Buddha so I was shocked to see that it was HUGE! I thought it would be maybe 10 feet tall, but I later looked it up and it’s 50 feet tall and 150 feet long! 

 

The Fun in Phuket

[PIN IT]:

I think I’ll always remember Phuket where I enjoyed being a carefree black girl having fun on my birthday dancing all night long. On my birthday eve and birthday night, we went out and shut the town DOWN! It’s times like that that I’ll remember forever. Looking and feeling amazing, dancing on stage, staying out till 4 and having to wake up in a few hours for a boat tour to Phi Phi islands, and then literally doing the whole thing over again for round 2! What a time to be alive!

Spending my actual birthday in Phuket was definitely the right move. At first, I was torn between which city I should spend it but Phuket was described as a party beach town and since I love beaches, that was how I made the decision. 

Things We Did

Day 4

• Arrived in Phuket from a quick 1-hour flight
• $6 massage
• Booked tours to the Elephant Sanctuary and Phi Phi islands

Day 5

• Big Buddha 
• Elephant Sanctuary
• Jet Skis at Patong Beach 
• Phuket Nightlife – Bangla Road 

 

Started the day relatively early to make sure we hit all of the intended things to do. It was helpful to book a taxi driver for the day to wait for us while we were visiting the Big Buddha. It’s about a 40-minute drive from the Patong area but worth the visit for sure. You can see a beautiful view of the water and the city as well. 

The Elephant Sanctuary tour was about a 4-hour trip where we got to feed, shower and play with the elephants. They are so gentle and calm animals. I loved interacting with them. The elephant we spent time with the most was named Nina and she could eat so many bananas!

 

After the day’s activities, we got ready for our night out at Bangla Road. The entire road headed to the beach is filled with lights, bars, people, and music. There are shops along the way for souvenirs as well. There are some package deals you can get at one of the main clubs. We went with buying the 9pm – 1am open bar and seating ticket at Illuzion nightclub for $24. A good deal considering cocktails are typically $12.  I rang in year 24 and guess what… they played 24K Magic right at midnight! Across the street was Sugar club which played our fav dancing songs, rap, trap and more. That became our go-to club. We spent the rest of the night there and had a ball!

 

Day 6 – MY BIRTHDAY 

By God’s grace, we made it in time for our 7:45 am tour to Phi Phi Islands after being out all night. The trip included a boat ride to tour about 5-6 stops in the area. We visited Maya Bay, Monkey Cave, and my favorite part was snorkeling! The iconic Phi Phi Islands photo opp wasn’t possible since there’s been so much tourism that the area had to be closed down due to pollution. So just saw the view from the boat lol. Still a good time though indeed. 

My Diana Ross dress came out to play for a festive 24th bday outfit. I got ready for a night out at Bangla Road again. Enjoyed dancing the night away and living it up!

Day 7

It was time to say goodbye to Thailand. I did some last-minute shopping on Bangla Road and got some lunch. Towards the end of the trip I found a new favorite: yellow noodles and chicken spring rolls. I enjoyed the last of the heat and sunshine and headed to the airport!

Thailand definitely lived up to my expectations and it was the perfect way to spend my birthday. I would definitely go back again and spend more time in Phuket. I just had a really amazing time and have thought about it almost every day since coming back. For sure one of my top 5 trips! If you are thinking about going to Thailand, put it at the top of your list.

As always,