Exploring Thailand: A 2 Week Itinerary In The Land Of Smiles
It felt so surreal to be back travelling again. When I was thinking of the first country I wanted to visit when our borders opened, I knew I wanted to go somewhere that had beautiful beaches, amazing landscapes and hot weather, so it was a no brainer that Thailand was at the top of my list!
I visited in the rainy season, which is supposedly a lot less busy but there were still quite a lot of people around which was nice, especially after enduring long lockdowns in 2021.
I only had 2 weeks in this amazing country but that was enough time to hit all of the classic spots as well as some new ones and discover why they call this The Land of Smiles.
PHUKET
Upon landing in Phuket, I headed straight to my hotel, The Sea Galleri by Katathani, where I would be staying for my first two nights. I had the hotel pick me up at Phuket International Airport and checked into my Vogue SeaView room which had a king sized bed, a balcony with a hot tub and views overlooking the beautiful Kata Beach.
The hotel has two pools, and of course I had to have a swim in both to cool down after a full day in the scorching temperatures! On my second night here, I was treated to an absolute feast at Sea In The Sky, the hotel’s restaurant located on the rooftop with incredible views over Phuket. I had the sizzling kurobuta set which is a pork dish from Japan, and it was the tastiest pork I’ve ever had! I finished it off with my favourite dessert, mango sticky rice! Thailand has the best mangoes in the world, you can’t convince me otherwise!
After two amazing nights, it was time to head to my second hotel, The Katathani Phuket Beach Resort, for three nights and where I’d be meeting my friend Niko, who I hadn’t seen in four years.
My favourite thing about Katathani Beach Resort is that it’s located right on Kata Beach and also has six pools for guests to enjoy! There’s also six restaurants around the property and five bars. I had lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf after checking in, and dinner later that night at Chanadda Royal Thai Cuisine.
During our time here, Niko got pretty sick with a 24 hour tummy bug, which we assume he got from a drink with ice at a bar on Bangla Road. When the hotel staff learned about this, they were very attentive and constantly checked up on him by calling and visiting the room. I can’t speak more highly of the staff here! They really went above and beyond to make sure he was okay and it was greatly appreciated!
Things to do in Phuket:
The Big Buddha - The 45m high Buddha statue is the most famous landmark in Phuket. It’s located at the top of Nakkerd Hills and offers incredible panoramic views of the southern part of the city. Although it’s free to enter the complex, the statue and staircase is built with peoples’ donations. I felt so at peace being here that I visited twice. This should be on everyones must-do list in Phuket!
Phuket Old Town - Phuket Old Town is known for it’s colourful buildings, street art and the historic Sino-Portugese townhouses. We spent an afternoon cafe-hopping, people watching and exploring the area.
Bangla Road - We spent an afternoon checking out the shops in Patong and walking around all of the bars down Bangla Road. At night they close the road to traffic and it comes to life. The party scene here is pretty famous, there’s many bars, pubs, night clubs where ladies will invite you in for a drink, as well as the infamous ping pong shows. Honestly, it’s pretty sleazy and wasn’t for me, but I think you should see the nightlife here at least once!
Freedom Beach - Freedom Beach was my favourite beach we visited in Phuket. Getting here isn’t the easiest but there are two options: by sea or by land. The first is to rent a long tail boat from the far left side of Patong Beach. It costs about 1200 baht ($55 NZD / $35 USD) for a pretty scenic trip that only takes about 15 minutes. Unfortunately, if it’s too windy and the sea is too rough, the boats won’t go, which is what happened when we visited. The second way is to walk through the jungle. There’s a free route which takes about 30 minutes or a shorter way that’s about 10 minutes but costs 100 baht ($5 NZD / $3 USD) each. We mapped ourselves to The Lek Sand Beach Bar, paid the small fee and started the hike down. Once you get to the bottom, you’ll find some of the whitest sand you’ve ever seen, palm trees and bright turquoise water. There’s shady areas to relax in and a few shops set up to buy snacks and drinks from.
PHI PHI ISLANDS
From Phuket, we took a speed boat to the Phi Phi islands. We booked our tickets to Ko Phi Phi Don through our hotel (Katathani Beach Resort) the night before departure which also included a pick up in the morning. This cost about $60 NZD / $40 USD. The boat trip took about an hour and we had to pay an entrance fee of 40 baht ($1.80 NZD or $1.10 USD). Ko Phi Phi is pretty small and there are no cars on the island, but you can walk pretty much anywhere. We met a staff member from our hotel at the dock and he transported our suitcases to the hotel.
From here, I went off on a solo mission to the viewpoint to watch the sunset. The walk to get here is only about 30 minutes from the main area but it includes over 300 steep stairs which some are about a foot high! At the top, there’s a 30 baht ($1.30 NZD / $0.80 USD) entrance fee which gives you access to viewpoint 1, 2 and 3.
The spot were I took the photos posted below are at viewpoint 2, which in my opinion is the most photogenic spot. There are many large rocks and a jetty for groups of people to relax and take in the views of both sides of the island, but don’t forget to come early because it can get very busy!
The next morning we woke up bright and early and headed out on a private tour around the islands! Unfortunately there was a monsoon this day and it was cloudy and extremely windy (seriously, i’m still getting sand out of my backpack!). After a pretty bumpy ride in a long tail boat, we got to our first destination: Maya Bay.
Maya Bay shot to fame after the 2000 movie The Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio and experienced overtourism with thousands flocking to the national park every day which over time damaged the sea floor. Authorities closed Maya Bay in 2018 and it reopened in January 2022 with limited amounts of tourists allowed to visit and new rules: swimming isn’t allowed, boats can’t enter the cove and visitors must pay an entrance fee of 400 baht ($18 NZD / $11 USD).
Despite the bad weather, Maya Bay is one of the most beautiful places i’ve ever been to! The sand is some of the whitest and softest sand in the world, the water is crystal clear and it’s surrounded by 100-metre high cliffs. Our next destinations were Pi Leh Lagoon and Monkey Beach.
We stayed in the Phi Phi Islands for 2 nights which is enough time to see and experience the must-dos. We stayed at P2 Wood Lodge and ate our way around the island. Our favourite cafes and restaurants were 23 Roasters Cafe, Patcharee French Bakery, Qoori Qoori Cafe, Pirates House Restaurant and banana & nutella pancakes from every stall I could find. I also recommend walking around to Loh Dalum Beach and watching the fire spinners at night.
KRABI
We booked a speedboat through our hotel to take us to Krabi for a couple of nights. After checking into The Pavillions Anana Krabi, we took the free shuttle from the hotel to Ao Nang Beach to check out the area and grab something to eat at Cafe 8.98 before heading to the Tiger Cave Temple, a place that I think everyone should visit when in Krabi!
Tiger Cave Temple is a Buddhist temple about a 30 minute drive from Ao Nang. It’s famous for its gold Buddhist statues, tiger paw prints on the walls of the cave, 360 degree views of the lush jungles and the 1,200 steps it takes to get to the top. The climb can be very strenuous and in the heat and humidity, it would still be a challenge no matter how fit you are! It took us about half an hour to tackle the stairs and reach the summit, where we stayed to watch the sunset.
The next morning we got up bright and early to visit Railay Beach. The best way to get there is by long tail boat, and we bought our tickets at Ao Nang Beach for 100 baht ($4.50 NZD / $2.70 USD) each way. We heard from other people on our boat who brought their tickets through their hotel that they paid twice as much as we did, so I recommend buying them from the pier!
We fell in love with Railay Beach as soon as we arrived. The beach is surrounded by limestone cliffs which attracts climbers from all over the world and there’s also plenty of cafes and restaurants as well as five-star resorts. We grabbed drinks and pad thai at Hawkeye Restaurant, which is right by the beach. We felt like we were in Thai paradise!
CHIANG MAI
We took a morning flight to Chiang Mai to check out the north of Thailand. We stayed at Chai Lai Orchid, a place I had wanted to stay at since I first saw it on Instagram. Chai Lai Orchid is about an hour outside of Chiang Mai and is surrounded by jungle and rice fields. It is here where you can experience once in a lifetime opportunities to get up close and personal with elephants. We stayed here for two nights in the Bamboo A-Frame cabin and also had a room service with elephants every morning where a mahout brought an elephant around to our room in the morning and we got to feed them a heap of bananas. The elephant we had these experiences with is called Seawoy and she is the oldest elephant in the park at 65 years old! These are memories I’ll cherish forever!
Elephant tourism in Thailand is very controversial and I tried doing as much research as I could about ethical elephant sanctuaries and how they’re treated. Based on our time at Chai Lai Orchid, I didn’t see any signs of mistreatment towards the elephants and they’re able to roam around freely but I still recommend doing your own research!
Before we made our way to Bangkok, we spent an afternoon exploring Old City Chiang Mai and one thing that stood out to me was the cafe scene here! We visited Sun Rays Cafe, and went looking for Khao Soi, a spicy coconut noodle curry served in Northern Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. Khao Soi Mae Sai is known for serving the best of this dish in the city and it only cost 40 baht ($1.80 NZD / $1.20 USD).
BANGKOK
We got an overnight bus to get from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. We booked this on 12go for about $20 NZD each and picked our tickets up at the bus station. The trip took about 9 hours and includes a stop for food and drinks, which are included in your ticket.
For our first night in the city, we were hosted by Siam@Siam Design Hotel, a trendy hotel in the Siam district. After spending a few nights in the jungle and a night without sleep on the bus, our stay here was such a treat! We had incredible views of the city from our room, were delivered delicious sweets and we were invited to have dinner at TAAN, a Michelin star fine dining restaurant located on the rooftop! They offer a nine-course tasting menu and we had their vegetarian dishes which were all delicious, especially their mushroom soup which was our favourite!
Aside from the amazing service and hospitality at Siam@Siam Design Hotel, we also loved staying here because of the location! We spent a lot of time walking around the streets and the malls. Our favourite was MBK Center, an eight-floor mall containing over 2,000 shops and even has an entire floor with stalls selling knock off clothes, sunglasses, bags, etc. on the ground floor.
We knew we had to explore some temples while we were in Bangkok and Wat Samphran was at the top of my list! I had wanted to see the Dragon Temple for myself ever since I first saw photos of it many years ago. Wat Samphran is located in the Nakhon Pathom district and is about a 40-minute drive from Bangkok. We got there via Grab, which is like South East Asia’s version of Uber. Our driver was nice enough to wait for us, so we didn't have to stress about how we’d get back to the city.
Wat Samphran is a Buddhist temple and you can get to the top of the building by elevator or by ascending through a tunnel which is the dragon’s body. There’s many other animal statues around the grounds and a golden buddha right next door, which is where I thought was the best spot to take photos.
We spent the next two nights hosted by the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River. Our room overlooked the river and we enjoyed early morning swims and breakfast every morning in the buffet (they also have the best almond croissants I tried in Thailand). I’ve stayed at a few Four Seasons Hotels and this was one of my favourites! The hotel was very modern and the staff were extremely friendly!
They have many world class restaurants and are home to one of the trendiest bars in Bangkok, BKK Social Club. There’s also a complimentary shuttle boat available to guests that goes to ICON Siam which is a massive shopping mall. The fitness centre and lap pool are located on the opposite side of the property, and let me tell you, the gym was equipped with everything you could possibly want! They had it all: numerous cardio machines, free weights, weight machines and they even offer one-on-one personal training!
One thing that also stood out to me was the impressive collection of art work around the hotel. Walking into the lobby for the first time, you could easily think you were walking into a modern art museum. My favourite piece was a giant painting of the Chao Phraya river, which the hotel sits on.
We took a tour of the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market and Maeklong Railway Market with AsiaTours. Our guide was very knowledgable of the areas and it was one of the best experiences we had during our whole time in Thailand. At the floating market, the locals row their boats along the canals to sell their products. While we we were here, we explored the market on foot and by boat and we feasted on spring rolls and coconut ice cream. After the Floating Market, we visited the Railway Market, where people set up stalls along the train tracks. As the train approaches, owners fold up their stalls in seconds and let the train pass through, then they quickly unfold everything! I highly recommend coming to both of these locations when you visit Bangkok!
Later that night, we hit up Chinatown which was our favourite place in the city. We loved walking up and down Yaowarat Road and taking in the sights and smells! The neon signs light up the street at night as it fills up with different stalls selling street food, souvenirs, sweets, fried scorpions, and more! This was another favourite spot in Bangkok. We loved it so much that we came back three times!
On our last night in the city, we checked into the Lebua Hotel. Every hotel room here is massive, has a lounge, massive bathroom, bedroom and your own balcony with views overlooking the city or the river. The price per night can be very expensive, but I think it’s worth it for one night just for the view alone! The rooftop bar was made famous after appearing in The Hangover II, but it was ridiculously overpriced so we headed to Havana Social, a “secret” bar where you enter a code in a phone booth to gain access.
Some of the other highlights of Bangkok were:
Corgi In The Garden - This cafe is what I imagine heaven on earth to be! Corgi in the Garden is exactly what it sounds like, a cafe where you’re surrounded by a dozen adorable corgis. You can pay to get a small bowl of food to feed the dogs during your session (I recommend doing this or else the corgis act like you’re not there). If you’re a dog lover, this is a must do!
Thipsamai Restaurant - This restaurant serves supposedly the best pad thai in the city! We enjoyed it so much that we visited it twice and best of all, the vegetarian pad thai was only 85 baht ($3.80 NZD / $2.30 USD)!
Jay Fai - Jay Fai is the best street food chef in the world and her restaurant books up super quick! She’s the only chef here and cooks every dish one by one. One woman told us she had been waiting for two hours for a table! Thankfully, you can watch Jay Fai prepare her world famous dishes outside.
Even though I spent over two weeks in this incredible country, there’s still so much more I’d love to see and do! I’m already planning another trip back here to visit Koh Tao, Koh Kood, Chiang Rai, Pai and revisit the Phi Phi Islands, Krabi and Bangkok!