Despite the 20+ hour plane ride it took me to get to Thailand…It was well worth it!

There is plenty to do in Thailand ranging from having a romantic night walk on the beaches of Katathania, Phuket or partying and going to wild “Ping Pong Shows” on Patong Beach. While in Phuket, I stayed at the Amari Phuket Resort. The resort felt like paradise, it sat right on Patong Beach with a great view of the mountains. The customer service was excellent and the staff was very polite. They even removed their shoes before entering into my hotel room. This practice was very new to me. Throughout all of my travels, I never witness a hotel staff member remove his or her shoes before they entered my room. The food was amazing especially their morning breakfast buffet; and if you didn’t want to venture off the resort for dinner then that was okay because every night they offered a tasty “fresh out of the sea” seafood buffet.

Phuket Islands

 Me at the Amari Resort in Phuket

Besides the beautiful beaches, you can take a one (1) hour flight from Phuket and head to the city limits of Bangkok. Bangkok has tons of night clubs, shopping centers, restaurants, and massage parlors. In Bangkok, I stayed in the heart of downtown at the Aetas Lumpini Hotel. The hotel food was great, it taste better than most of the local restaurants in the area. The hotel is also near a ton of stores, massage parlors, restaurants, and just about a 10minute cab drive from the night clubs. If you have U.S. dollars your money will go far in Thailand; 1 USD = about 32 Thai Baht. The taxis are also very cheap especially the Tuk Tuk taxis. The cost usually ranges from $3-$5 to get to most places. However, you do want to be careful riding in the Tuk Tuk taxis because they are built like golf cars without any doors. The Tuk Tuk taxis go all over including on the highways and side streets. Riding on a Tuk Tuk taxi without any doors on a busy express way was a true adrenaline rush!

In my opinion, the Thai food in Thailand has more spices than the Thai food made in America. If your body is not use to a lot of hot spices then I would recommend you ask the cook/chef for light or no hot spices on your food. If you like to taste all types of different foods and delicacies then you might be up to trying Thailand’s barbequed rat. Yes, barbequed rat is a delicacy in Thailand. It cost more than chicken, pork, or beef per pound.

 Piles of Barbequed Rat!

Rat anyone? I was just brave enough to pick it up but I did not taste the rat.

Bangkok and the other surrounding areas of Thailand are dressed with beautiful Buddhist temples. It is also home to the largest Reclining Buddha in the world. Thailand has over 30,000 Buddhist temples and 95% of the people in Thailand are Buddhist and the remaining 5% are Christians or Muslims.

The largest Reclining Buddha in the world

Wat Po Temple

If you want to get away from the traditional tourist activities that are in the city and want an extreme adventure then you should take a 2 hour car drive to Kanchanaburi. When I visited Kanchanaburi I stayed in a cute Bungalow on the hotel resort called River Kwai Resotel. The resort was surrounded by the river and you actually had to take a boat to get to the resort. The scenery was extremely striking especially at sunset. In Kanchanaburi the elephants walk the streets like cats and dogs, they are everywhere! It is so amazing to see these beautiful animals roam the streets of Thailand! Of course they do have someone riding on them.  Speaking of riding an elephant, that was one of the best parts of my trip! I actually got a chance to ride on top of an Elephant’s head. Though, if you like taking risks and is an adrenaline junky, then I recommend you take a trip to Tiger Temple to walk and feed the baby tigers. The Monks will guide you and escort you while you feed the baby tigers and walk the adult tigers.    

Yes, that is me on the elephant!

Another great place to visit in Thailand is the Floating Market. This market is astonishing and the scenery is just breath taking! You can purchase all sorts of food and souvenirs for a great price.

The Floating Market

After spending a day at the floating market and if you have time you should then head over to the city of Ayutthaya and visit the Bang Pa In Royal Palace. The Palace is absolutely gorgeous!

From the night life, to the beautiful beaches of Phuket, to the stunning temples and adventure excursions; I would definitely visit Thailand again and I recommend others to go explore this Amazing Country!