Thailand, 2006 to 2019 – Through the Years

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Thailand, what can I say – I LOVE THAILAND, this is my go-to holiday destination when I want to unpack and chill. I’ve travelled and holidayed there several times over the years and with every visit, I like to go to a different island or Province. In this blog, I will share my view on the places I have visited (some in more detail than others), calling out the changes I’ve seen and share with you my highlights and recommendations.

2006 – I first visited Thailand at the end of March, beginning of April. This first trip was not only my first solo ‘adventure’ with Explore (my ‘go to’ travel company) but my first holiday by myself EVER! As the time drew closer, the more nervous I became as I honestly didn’t know too much about Thailand (outside of the films The Bridge on the River Kwai and The King and I LOL! ). So, I did what every great traveller does, I bought a Lonely Planet Guide…

This particular trip had a full itinerary and was called ‘Old Siam and The River Kwai’ with a Koh Samet extension. It covered mainland Thailand, starting in Bangkok with an overnight train up to Chiang Mai and then travelling back down with a 3-day extension on the small island of Koh Samet.

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Bangkok – After a long flight, I arrived in Bangkok early afternoon and was greeted by our Explore tour leader, we headed off to our hotel to check-in. As our ‘welcome’ meeting was set for after breakfast the next morning, I had a little time to venture out for a look around. To be honest, I was a little wary about getting lost so initially didn’t wander too far, I walked alongside a canal and I have to say my first impression was not good. The place smelled of pee, there were little ‘stalls’ (a sheet on the ground) selling items left in hotel rooms such as phone chargers, left over bottles containing shampoo/ conditioner/ shower gel / perfume and many other random items. But the most disturbing thing that I saw was a Thai lady (one of the sellers) walking over to the steps leading down to the canal, lifting her skirt, pulling down her knickers and peeing – in public without even trying to hide!!! Hideous. Did wonder what the heck I’d got myself into… Anyway, after that shock, I headed back towards the hotel but kept on walking until I reached the Koh San Road. This is where a lot of back-packers stay so has several hostels and bars; a little bit of trivia, this road is where the opening scenes of The Beach were filmed. There were (are?) a few used bookshops where you were able to buy and sell your holiday books – it was great because I could pick up additional reading material but better knowing I could bring them back at the end of the holiday.

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On my first full day in Bangkok, we had our introductions with the group, was given our itinerary and a list of optional excursions we could purchase. With these types of holiday, you need to bring your holiday insurance with you so after the welcome meeting we had to show proof to the guide and pay for any extra trips. The optional extras included things like a boat trip, an evening folklore show with dinner and a cooking course to name but a few. We all headed out on our first walking tour, where we visited the Grand Palace and Wat Po (temple of the reclining Buddha). Be warned, at the entrance of the palace we were bombarded by postcard/ book etc., sellers mostly children (more on this in the Tips section). The Palace as you can imagine, is very grand and ornate, a visit is a must. That night we headed off to take our overnight train to Chiang Mai. This was my first overnight train and as you will get to know, not my favourite mode of transport. Being my first experience, it was not only uncomfortable but a bit scary too – did not sleep. This train was air conditioned but the guard, in his infinite wisdom, decided to sleep in between the open carriage doorway which rendered the air conditioning obsolete… We were warned that if we got up during the night to use the toilet, not to accept any food or drink that may be offered by another passenger, apparently this is how you get drugged – thanks, was never going to sleep after that piece of information! So, let’s discuss the toilet, I was totally not prepared for the toilet. This was a metal plate on the floor with a hole and foot depressions where you place your feet and squat. There was a barrel of water with a bowl next to it, the idea was that you fill the bowl with water and pour it into the hole in the floor. I learned to wait.

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Chiang Mai – totally different to Bangkok, still busy but more town like than city and less noisy. Our first stop was the Doi Suthep temple which if I recall correctly has around 300 steps to climb, not ideal after no sleep on an overnight train… Very pretty though once you get to the top and can breathe again. After there we did an orientation walk of the old town which is where I got to see a yellow watermelon – yes, that’s right not a mango but a yellow watermelon (see photo) along with snacks of fried locusts – Yummy! Chiang Mai, at the time, had the largest elephant conservation centre in the country which not only looked after sick elephants but abandoned ones too. Heading back down south to Sukhothai, we stopped on the way to visit the religious memorials of Wat Chang Lom. The only thing I remember doing in Sukhothai is cycling around… What we did next was nuts – we drove to Phayuha Khiri where we boarded a converted rice barge to cruise down the Chao Phraya river.

The barge was quite large and was run by a lovely family, we were to sleep on this thing that had no electricity nor separate rooms (apart from a crude bathroom) but it was all about the experience… Anyway, it was a leisurely trip and to be fair, I had the best meal I had all holiday. When it was time for bed, we were all given bed rolls which were laid out quite closely, next to each other. I am soooo glad that I brought a sleeping bag liner with me. No sleep was to be had because of the heat but what happened the next morning was surreal. When we had ‘parked up’ the mayor of (I think) Uthai Thani invited us all into his home for breakfast and to visit his aviary – well there is no way you can refuse as it was considered an honour and no-one wanted to offend but when you haven’t been able to wash up properly, it all felt a bit awkward.

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There were many temples and Buddhas visited, we learned about all the different positions of the Buddhas in each temple, lying Buddhas, reclining Buddhas, laughing Buddhas, I could go on, but I won’t. There are many palaces, shrines, temples and monasteries to visit but to be frank, you really do get ‘templed out’ and honestly, they all do seem to merge into each other. In saying that, I totally respect the Buddhist monks and the simplicity of their way of life. Not going to bang on about it but it’s one of the most sensible beliefs out there (apparently it is more of a philosophy than a religion…) and every Thai child (well back then and according to our guide) was a Buddhist monk at some stage for schooling, male and female. Anyway, I digress. We visited the war cemetery and the actual bridge over the river Kwai. Obviously there is loads of history about this and it is a good place to visit but let me tell you, do not expect too much in the respect of the visual depiction of the story – Madam Tussaud’s it ain’t – very crude models and scenes but you get the story which I guess is the point.

I can’t quite remember where we were, but the group wanted to eat in the hotel’s Japanese restaurant, as there was nothing on the menu that I could eat, I decided to venture out on my own to the local restaurant our guide had recommended – EEK! So, I rocked up to this restaurant, confidently asked for a table for one and despite my instinct of wanting to order, eat and leave, I took a deep breath, studied the drinks section of the menu and ordered. I then took my time to order my meal, enjoyed the entertainment which was really fun, ate my meal and ordered another drink before heading back. This really may not sound like a big deal but believe me, it was. This was scarier to me than booking the holiday but also more freeing because I knew that if I could sit in a restaurant by myself, relax, enjoy my meal and take in the atmosphere then heck – I can do ANYTHING…

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So excited to share this because for me, this was the highlight of the holiday – totally unexpected and had never heard about it. Bamboo Raft Houses. When I was told we would be spending two nights on a raft house in the middle of the Kwai Noi river with no electricity or hot water, I was not happy, REALLY not happy but when we rounded the bend in the river, we were met with a flower covered pier (for want of a better word) with a host of bamboo houses – total surprise. We pulled up to the jetty and disembarked, we were shown to our ‘raft house’ which consisted of a bedroom and a separate bathroom. There was a door from the bathroom leading to a rear balcony with a hammock. Totally fab! Back then, not sure if it is still the case, these raft houses were serviced and maintained by the ‘Mon’ people who lived up on the land in a village and were native to Burma. The Mon people were (are?) only permitted to work at the raft houses and not allowed to travel around the rest of Thailand. Again, I digress – we were here for two days and nights, there was a ‘Florence Nightingale’ type lamp outside our door for us to take with us to dinner and light the way back to our room – cool. The Mon people put on a special and entertaining ‘cabaret’ type show after dinner. Really was lovely.

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There was yoga if you wanted it, but the most special thing about staying here was in the mornings where you got to wake up to elephants having breakfast and bathing right outside your balcony… I took an elephant ride up into the village where the Mon people lived, and I know that these day’s it’s deemed ‘cruel’ to ride elephants, but they were well looked after and fed. I do think that the West should be more mindful about why poorer countries need to use their indigenous animals to make a living, if they are well cared for what should it matter? OK I’ll climb off my high horse and continue… Went up into the village where I saw actual pineapples growing out of the ground – had never given it much thought before but I would have never believed pineapples grew in this way because they look too heavy. I don’t know if these raft house stays are still available other than for Yoga retreats but if they are, do it, even if only for one night it’s a good albeit hot (in the heat sense), experience.

Please note: If you are travelling on your own you have an option (most of the time) to book a single room, the single supplement for this trip was around £200. If you don’t mind sharing a room with another solo traveller (of the same gender) then you don’t need to go for this option. You could get lucky and have a solo room at no extra cost if there isn’t another solo traveller in your group. Personally, I would never take the chance so always opt for the single room.

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Koh Samet is a very tiny island and not too far from the mainland, located in the Gulf of Thailand, it was pretty good for a couple of days and had plenty of restaurants and bars along the beach – not sure what it is like now but I enjoyed it. Whilst on the island it was Thai New Year, they celebrate with a water festival and what that means is, everyone throws water at each other – insane! When we got back to Bangkok, it was even crazier – the government send out water tankers so the locals can fill up their barrels etc., there were loads of trucks around with water barrels on the back. People then drive around, adults and children alike, filling up their water pistols and just squirting each other. We were in a coach so mostly avoided getting wet, but tourists stuck in traffic in a tuk never knew what hit them. There was a couple who had obviously just arrived and didn’t know what was happening, they were next to us in a tuk tuk in the traffic when a couple of blokes came running over and soaked the pair of them – they could do nothing, too funny! I had seen this all on Samet so thought I knew what to expect but Bangkok, they took it to another level. They would soak someone and then throw what was either a flour or talcum powder pellet at them, it was messy but very amusing – I can say that because I was watching through the window of a coach…

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Koh Samui, November 2011 – This island is also located in the Gulf of Thailand. Having visited Thailand five years before and now with a few Explore trips under my belt, I really wanted, and more so needed, a chill holiday, something where I wasn’t moving from hotel to hotel, no schedule to follow and where I could actually unpack. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a moan – I love my travels and choose to travel that way but sometimes, a holiday where you can just kick back, unwind and do nothing by the pool or on a beach is called for. I know I could venture nearer to home, less travel and would probably be cheaper BUT, having spent time in Thailand I became aware of the large number of solo travellers, all of varying ages, that just blend in. That is what I wanted. I did not want to stand out for any reason, and you know what, this may be true of other destinations but for me, this is where I feel the most comfortable. I had heard that Koh Samui was lively so thought I’d give it a go.

My hotel was pleasant enough (although unremarkable) and at the end of the ‘strip’, where I was staying really was a party town. I did love that there were loads of restaurants and bars to choose from but this was not the type of holiday I was looking for – I wasn’t about to go out and par-tay, a bit long in the tooth for all that 🙂 Anyway, I did have a thoroughly good relaxing time, I’d often sit in a bar with a cocktail reading a book. Not the most exciting of past times I know but it’s what I wanted and really isn’t out of place out there. I felt brave and was proud of myself because it was freeing. It would have been all too easy to stick to the hotel restaurant and bar, elated that I didn’t do that. In saying all of that, I was cautious, I went out earlier than I would have normally if I was not on my own. I wasn’t particularly enamoured by Koh Samui to be honest, it did what I needed at the time, so for that it was good just not memorable. As an aside, this is only my opinion and I stayed in only one area, the island is a good size so I’m sure there are plenty of other places that would make a stay great, plus this was like 2011. This really was my first proper solo trip outside of a group setting so I wanted to be safe and gauge the situation. This was the ‘real’ beginning of my independent Thailand holidays…

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Koh Chang (also known as Elephant island) October 2013 – To get here, you have to fly into Trat from Bangkok and then catch a ferry. This island is near the coast of Cambodia and located in the Gulf of Thailand. It is a bit of a journey but, WOW what a fab place. I booked myself into one of the Centara Tropicana Spa hotels on Klong Prao Beach and it was lush, everything I had hoped for, my room was great, and the hotel’s spa and treatment area was amazing, smelled gorgeous. As there was a massage place directly opposite the hotel, at the end of every day I’d go over for an hour’s foot massage which only cost £5 compared to £16 in the hotel. But I did treat myself to a 3-hour spa package (approx. £75) which was totally amazing and worth the cost. I had made a huge mistake by booking only 12 days for my holiday in Koh Samui which in reality meant 10 days, not enough. So, when booking this holiday, I booked 15 days which meant I had a full 14 nights. Whoop!

The accommodation, location and hotel restaurant exceeded my expectations, loved this place. I hired a moped in my second week (which I could do from the hotel) but quickly realised I should have done this at the beginning of the holiday as the island itself is fairly small and easy to navigate around. One day I would turn left outside of my hotel and drive until the road met the sea, the next day I would do the same only turning right. It was the most fun and pretty exhilarating. I’d stop off at various restaurants and bars for lunch or dinner. I don’t often take photos of food, but I had to of this, I ordered egg fried rice with my chicken satay and what I got was fried egg with rice – made me giggle. The traffic was quite light which made it an easy ride. Please note, whichever direction you ride around the island you have to navigate a really steep hill (mountain) with some sharp bends. I drove very cautiously on these not only because of oncoming traffic but because there was a sheer drop on one side – EEK!

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I drove myself down to the pier and jumped on a boat trip for a couple of hours. On the way back I decided to have a massage, stopped off somewhere and opted for a hair massage – not head massage but hair – big mistake! Yes, it was totally relaxing but OMG! My hair, it was so knotted it wasn’t even funny. It took me ages to untangle and ripped out a lot of hair in the process – that’ll teach me, should have stuck to my daily foot massage…

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Whilst in Koh Chang, I did experience a few downpours which usually only lasted at most, 20 minutes but also had a couple of thunder storms which I love and watched from a restaurant sipping on a cocktail – so cool! One storm in particular that I witnessed had me mesmerised, it as an electrical storm and was magnificent – it lit up the entire black sky a bright blue, I watched the whole thing until it was over – stunning! As mentioned, it did rain a few times but was predominately at night. When it did rain during the day, the downpour again wasn’t for very long and was never cold, within 10 minutes of it being over, the ground would be completely dry. I love Koh Chang and would go back at a drop of a hat, but Thailand has so many places to visit that I need to hold off until I have a few more locations under my belt.

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Krabi, November 2016 – Is located in the Andaman Sea and isn’t an actual island. I booked myself into the Krabi Resort on Ao Nang beach for a full 14 nights. My room was absolutely gorgeous, and the bathroom was amazing, it had a massive glass shower and free-standing tub – loved it. The resort itself was pretty big but was having expansion work going on – this you didn’t really notice (noise wise) and was not disruptive in the slightest. The resort is located at the end of the beach so pretty much private access. Ao Nang beach is a pretty beach, it is quite narrow at the Krabi Resort end but then widens the further along you walk. Once you reach the other end, there is a large rock with a lovely private beach on the other side. You can climb the steep steps to reach the Pai Plong beach which hosts the Centara Grand Beach Resort and Villas, once you get there, you need to sign the security guard’s register. There is nothing to do there but sunbathe as you aren’t (or weren’t) able to use the hotel’s facilities (guests only). It is however, a lovely little beach. The Ao Nang beach location is pretty lively, turning right outside of the hotel leads to a lot of restaurants, bars and shops. I found a particularly good Indian restaurant (Taj Palace I think) which was a bit of a trek from my hotel but totally worth it. Note, there was both a Burger King and a McDonalds but not a KFC in sight…

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I booked myself onto a few boat trips, one of the most notable and recommended, was a 4 island hop boat trip which included Phi Phi and James Bond island. Both worth a visit but have to tell you, there is nothing on James Bond island, the water and scenery is stunning but other than a photo op, nothing! Phi Phi island is also stunning, a lot of backpackers here but it is more expensive than other islands I guess that’s due to its popularity (stemming from The Beach). I also took a trip where I kayaked through some caves which was fun, the only downside is that all the boats were taking people to the same place at the same time to do the same thing, so it got a tad crowded…

Turning left out of the hotel eventually leads to Nopperathara Beach – it’s rocky in places but right at the very end (and it’s a long end) there is small island a little way out in the sea which you can walk over to when the tide is out to sunbathe on. From both here and Ao Nang Beach you can get boat taxis to other islands. If you wish to travel further inland, you can pick up a tuk tuk or shared taxi at fixed rates, the destinations and costs are advertised on boards near the pick-up points. As this place is very busy, and transportation is both cheap and readily available, I wouldn’t recommend hiring a moped unless of course you are a seasoned motorbike rider.

Just outside my hotel is an art studio where you can see the artists working on their paintings. I was taken by two that I watched develop every time I walked past. At the end of my holiday I decided to buy the painting that had captured me from the jump – we negotiated a price, I hate to haggle but it was initially more than I wanted to pay, I did end up buying it for what I deemed was a fair price. Of course, getting home to frame it cost way more than the purchase price… It’s an acquired taste but I love it!! I also, decided randomly, to get a cover up of an old tattoo on the top of my thigh. I didn’t go the traditional route of bamboo but needed this completed asap so went machine all the way. Worked with the tattoo artist a few days before to draw up what I wanted and booked myself in. Result was everything and more. Loved It!

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Koh Lanta, December 2019 – Is also located in the Andaman Sea but to get here, you need to catch a ferry from Krabi over to the island. My hotel was recommended to me by a colleague who happens to stay here for a couple of days every year (moves onto cheaper accommodation for the rest of his stay). This holiday and more so, this hotel was extremely extravagant for me but knowing the year was going to be stressful, I thought I would go all out. I arrived at the 5* Rawi Warin Resort and Spa on Klong Toab Beach for the start of my 14-night stay, was driven around the resort in a golf buggy and shown the pools, fitness centre and spa. I was then taken to my room which I have to say, was fairly high up but when I looked out at the view from my balcony, all was good. I learned that to get up to my room, I didn’t need to follow the road, there were sets of stairs as a cut through. Excellent, as I would easily reach my daily Fitbit stairs goal…

Turning left out of the hotel onto the main road, there really isn’t anything around save for a couple of small restaurants, bike hire place and a Thai Boxing studio. Going right is where most of the restaurants and other bike/tours shops are. To be honest, there really isn’t much to the immediate location but if you are prepared to walk a bit further (or you could get a tuk tuk/taxi), going up past the Tesco Lotus and Seven Eleven, bearing off to the right is a whole slew of restaurants.

Walking along the beach, there is a restaurant quite close the hotel which looked basic, but the food was pretty good. Taking a good long walk along the beach will give you a vast choice of both bars and restaurants to choose from – one bar that I thoroughly enjoyed was called the Majestic bar, great music, atmosphere and cocktails – they don’t serve food but do have an ‘understanding’ with the restaurant next door. Be warned, this is very far along the beach and you may be distracted by the lure of closer bars.

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I did a long boat Mangrove tour with a trip around the island on what turned out to be the only overcast and rainy day during my stay. After the boat trip we went to an Orchid farm (not really into this type of stuff but it was part of the tour), we moved on to Lanta Old Town. It was OK, there was a pier and a quaint street of tourist souvenir shops, not really anything interesting that I wanted to buy but did manage to purchase a beaded ankle bracelet – as you do on holiday… We moved on to a ‘Gypsy’ village, the people make their living fishing, the gypsies from this village originally came from Indonesia. When our guide went off for 10 minutes to pray at the local mosque, we had the option to look around the village but because it started to rain heavily, we ended up just watching a couple of locals build a fishing net with wires and a set of pliers – sounds dull but it was quite interesting, well for 10 minutes it was.

Hired a moped for a couple of days and on the first day, I drove up to the top of the island to Saladan. The North is way more built up than where I was staying, tons of shops, restaurants, bars, hotels – everything. I parked up at the top and went walking around the shops, stopping off to get my hair braided (no beads or colours, just two plaits) and for a drink at a bar that overlooked the sea that had a view of the smaller Koh Lanta island of Noi. On my way back I went to view some of the other hotels I had considered booking, these were all situated on great beaches (Koh Lanta has some of the most prettiest (and cleanest) beaches I’ve seen in Thailand thus far) – 100% booked the best hotel. They did all look great but were too far away from the main restaurants and bars, not within walking distance which I would not have liked. I went on a full day 4-island trip, including snorkelling and lunch, it started by being picked up from the beach – so cool. Our first stop before going on to the various islands was to stop by a cave and swim in the Emerald waters through the cave to a hidden beach. It was pretty dark in the cave and felt a tad claustrophobic, it also felt that I was hardly moving through the water but before panic could set in, there was light. The little beach was great surrounded by high rocks, unfortunately this is the same type of place those Thai boys got stranded in a couple of years ago. So grateful I didn’t remember that at the time… The rest of the trip was great, snorkelling in different areas and going to various beaches, apart from the boat being completely full, it was really worth the money.

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I moved on from Rawi Warin (strangely, I turn into Jonathan Ross when trying to say the name of this resort, the struggle is real!) to the Krabi Resort (see 2016 for more photos) for the final week of my 3-week holiday in Thailand. As mentioned before, my aim is for every visit to Thailand to be in a different location and although I have stayed in Krabi before, to get to Koh Lanta you have to go through Krabi. I didn’t know Koh Lanta so wasn’t sure I should stay the entire 3 weeks but thought I’d break it up a bit by staying in Krabi for my last week and as I had a great experience before, thought I’d stay at the same resort as before. Unfortunately (which I knew beforehand), my previous accommodation wasn’t available, so my room was at the front pool hotel opposite reception. My room was OK and view from my balcony of the pool was pleasant, any other time the room would have been great but this time, it was a total anti-climax, I’d been spoiled by the room on my previous stay and of course, by my 5* hotel in Lanta. To be fair, a 4* is never going to live up to that…

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Krabi Resort, December 2019 – was pretty much how I remembered it however, on the drive in, I did not recognise the road. It had only been 3 years since I had visited before but oh my, what a difference. Turning left out of the resort is way more built up, more hotels, previous dirt roads are now tarmacked – such a dramatic change but for the better, in my opinion. I recognised so many of the restaurants, bars and shops from before but there are so many more. More tattoo shops, massage parlours and of course restaurants. I quickly established my favourite ‘go to’ restaurant which happened to be directly opposite the resort (sounds lazy but it was good). An Indian (and Thai) restaurant called err, I can’t remember, something Kitchen. I should totally know the name as during my 7 day stay, I went there 4 times… I am not someone that takes home leftovers BUT when you have eaten less than a quarter of the meal and they offer to pack it up for you, heck yeah, I’ll take it. Great decision because an hour or so later, was totally hungry again. There wasn’t a microwave in my room, but I discovered an ingenious way (well I think it’s ingenious) to heat up my curry. I boiled the kettle and placed the plastic container in the hot water and placed the hot kettle on top of the naan bread. It did not take too long for my chicken to get hot and the bread to warm. Lush! After that, I learned to order less 🙂

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THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW – In Bangkok, when encountering adults/children selling postcards etc., outside tourist attractions DO NOT say you’ll buy them on the way back out unless you mean it because believe me, they will find you – politely decline even if you have to decline a number of times. When visiting Buddha temples, it is considered rude to turn your back when exiting so back out of the temple. It will probably be obvious that you need to take your shoes off but what you also need to be aware of is, when sitting down in front of a Buddha, do not have your feet facing the Buddha. Either sit on your knees with your feet facing backwards or legs bent to the side – you do not want to offend. If you happen to visit Bangkok during their New Year, know, it is also a water festival so be prepared to get soaked – you just have to take it on the chin, ranting and pleading does nothing…

Vaccinations – Hepatitis A and B, Diphtheria, Typhoid and Cholera. Usually only necessary if travelling around mainland Thailand. If in doubt, check with your doctor or travel clinic.

One thing I learned the hard and painful way is the idea of a foot message on the beach is more than appealing but take heed – any sunblock/screen you may have applied to your legs will have been replaced by baby oil and of course, by the time the massage is finished, the umbrella that you are sat under which was perfectly positioned, no longer covers you because the sun has moved. As you can see by the photo, you do not want to end up with swollen and sunburned legs – not comfortable!

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Be careful when hiring mopeds as although they are very cheap, you could easily become stuck. Generally, my hiring experiences have gone without a hitch, unfortunately on this last holiday, my moped broke down on the second day. I was pretty far away and I was told by the hiring agent that I needed to put the bike on the back of a taxi (truck) and bring it back – they had no intention of reimbursing me and if I left it where it had broken down, I would not get my passport back… someone managed to start the bike for me so was able to drive back (not able to stop) but wasn’t offered my money back or anything. Assess the bike hire places before you decide as not all places ask you to leave your passport as security, but they will ask for a deposit. Note, ensure that you take photos of your bike before heading off to capture any scratches and dents, so you don’t get stung!

If you holiday at the Rawi Warin, please note that you will be asked for a 3000-baht returnable deposit, this was not mentioned to me prior to arrival, not a big deal just be aware. If you need airport or any other transfers that are not already included in your booking, you may want to check out the local travel shops first as they are often a third of the cost of the hotel.

Differences I have noticed over the years from when I first started coming to Thailand. Exchange rates obviously, only 3 years ago I got 49 baht to the pound but on this last trip I got 37 baht to the pound (by December it had increased to 39…). Cost of massages haven’t increased that much, in 2013 I got daily hour-long foot massages which cost me around £5 an hour and now in 2019 they were around £7.50 in Koh Lanta/£6 in Krabi. Manicures and pedicures have pretty much stayed the same but if you want gel nails, then the cost is much like it is a home (£20+). Thailand as far as I am concerned is still cheap, particularly for food but is now no way near as inexpensive as it was when I first started visiting (but that’s more to do with the exchange rate). Boat trips and other such activities seem to have almost doubled (and some) in price in the last 3 years, in my opinion, still a reasonable cost though.

In the Seven Eleven shops, when (re)stocking your fridge be aware that you are only able to purchase alcohol between 11am – 2pm and then after 5pm. It’s my understanding that’s only applicable to this shop.

Approximate Costs

• Rawi Warin x 14 nights in December you can expect to pay between £2,600 and £3,000 for bed & breakfast. Krabi Resort x 7 nights over Christmas for bed & breakfast starting from £800 (based on double/ twin room, excluding offers/deals).
• Private shuttle from Krabi airport to Koh Lanta arranged through Get Your Guide = £67 includes ferry fare (cheapest around)
• Shared shuttle from Koh Lanta to Krabi arranged locally = £12 (hotel was £54 although private shuttle)
• Shared airport shuttle arranged by Expedia = £9
• Mangrove long boat and old town sightseeing including lunch approx. £30 each if purchased locally or £48 via Get Your Guide
• Speedboat 4 island and Emerald Cave including beach side lunch approx. £25-£30 each locally or £37 via Get Your Guide
• Moped hire from £6 per day

*Disclaimer – all prices quoted were correct at the time of my trip. Shared shuttles are per person, private shuttle based on number of people and luggage*