Living in the Crazy Fun and Weird Bangkok

Ancient walls dating back to the 13th century still surround Chiang Mai's city center. Within these walls remain temples almost as old, with some being converted today to hotels and restaurants, making for a thoroughly enjoyable exploration of the area. One of the dining establishments borrowing on these historic bricks is The Faces, located at the Southern edge of the old city. If you want to take a date there, the atmosphere is fabulous, decorated with greenery, statues, and a feel that you've journeyed to another era. The food however, is expensive and below average. That said, we would go back in a heartbeat for the atmosphere, but only for a drink whose higher than average price would certainly be worth it for the experience.

Nai Horn Beach is one of the most gorgeous beaches in the world, and the favorite of most locals on Phuket. Unlike some of the more built up beaches, it is still surrounded by a small tropical jungle, one side of which is supposedly protected until (supposedly because in Thailand, all it takes is one corrupt official ...) Though the beach does have added protection from the Buddhist Temple right by it, and a a large man made lake which cannot be built on without draining it. Nevertheless, the beach has breathtaking surroundings, palm trees running up the mountain on one side, with a nicely built hotel rising somehow with the cliff. An inlet of sea water provides a safe area for children to explore, with crabs and small fish thriving inside. The ocean itself is of course warm and beautiful, with waves for surfing during the rainy season, and more placid the rest of the year. Additionally, it is much less overrun with tourists during the high season than Kata and Karon. Simply th...

While taxis in Bangkok are cheap (make sure to tip the poor fellows a few baht when you're on the meter) transport around the island of Phuket increase drastically in price. Here are a few hard fought tips for you to hopefully save you some of your hard earned money. 1) When you arrive at the airport - don't get a taxi at the counter. The prices are double what a Grab taxi costs. Get a Grab taxi to take you to your hotel. You'll have to walk outside the airport to meet the Grab, as the businesses at the airport enforce the rent seeking behavior of not allowing the Grabs in, but fortunately th exit is a very easy walk through a parking lot. Certainly worth the savings.      a)  If your hotel has the word airport in it - WALK THERE. I swear to you ours was literally across the street, and would have been quicker to walk to than take the Grab. Make sure to do a Google Map search for your hotel's location. 2) Grab Taxi or negotiate-- If you're in a location with v...

Kata Beach- smaller than nearby Karon, water very nice. Very very busy most of the year, even in the low season. One of Phuket's more famous beaches, definitely worth visiting, but other beaches are nicer. Surf Practice Above the beach is a simulated surf zone where water is is expelled from a pressure pump, racing up a hill, and (for a decent fee) allow you to practice balancing upon a boogie board, moving through the flow of water, jumping up to your knees. It is good fun. Elephants Also, nearby and up the hill is an elephant camp where you can go and visit pachyderms. Grade: B

Karon beach, definitely one of Phuket's more famous beaches. A long expanse of white sand, cleaned on a regular basis from the waste of Thais and tourists alike. When we went it was being cleaned by school children in the early AM, and further down the beach by someone likely employed at a nearby resort. Karon is the second largest of Phuket's tourist beaches, and is 3 km long from tip to tip. Definitely a great beach to run down. It gets very very busy during high season though. Umbrellas and a place to place your drink are available for 200 baht.  Grade : A- a squid washed up on shore the long beach- Karon playground equipment near the beach Kata beach

Yanui Beach- Phuket Some snorkeling exists just offshore.  This shore is Rocky on one side and Moore Sandy on the other side of the wall dividing it in the middle. Canoes are available nearby, as well as snacks sold from a nearby shop. Often one finds trash on the beach and in the water, some of which as a good Samaritan, I pick up and place in a plastic bag, carrying it to a trashcan near the road. As always, I wish that people would pick up after them selves rather than letting the plastic get carried out to great Pacific garbage heap. There are far nicer beaches on the island, this is definitely not a must see, but if you go there, by all means enjoy. It is still far prettier than the majority of beaches in the world! 

So, there is a great Two Week itinerary for Thailand  at this link, but it doesn't necessarily take into account if you are traveling with children. To aid in your quest for a great vacation, here is an alternative two week itinerary if you're traveling to Thailand with kids. From Reddit user Adventure_Lover---  I don't know. What do you want to see? Here's one example (good for families/ children older then 8?): Day 1: Arrive in BKK early afternoon. Go to Lumpini park. Walk around, rent a boat on the lake, paddle around, eat street food, sleep. Day 2: Touristy things tin Bangkok. Grand Palace and China Town. Day 3: Dusit Zoo. It's a decent zoo. I like it. I learned things from it, and I think children will like it too. After the zoo, take a taxi to Siam Paragon, they have a place to see Penguins. If they get board, there's Ice Skating next door at Central World. Day 4: Kanchanburi. Rent a car from the airport (relax, driving in Bangkok isn't...

Well, there's at least one on his jeweler in Bangkok. Rama Jewelers.  We entered on a whim. My wife got excited and wanted to have our wedding bands made there, for her a diamond one. and ended up ordering a $2000 ring on the spot.  We had momentary buyers remorse when we went into a nearby jeweler, who promised to create a similar ring more cheaply. We had already put a deposit down and paid for the rain. It took a month to complete. We went in to pick it up and my wife noticed how tight it was around her finger. Apparently we had sized it incorrectly. They explained that perhaps it was because she was now far more pregnant, and thus her ring finger was swollen. We agreed to come in after she gave birth, (presumably her extremities would no longer be swollen) and if it wasn't fitting at that point, they would make an entirely new ring for us. Keeping to the agreement, we came in two weeks after giving birth, and true to their word, they took the original ring, ...

So my friend was very pregnant, and craving fruit, and convinced her husband to take her via motorbike to the market.  Having but one helmet between them, somehow they decided that it was best if t would be worn Ryan who was driving, while our pregnant damsel held onto his waist. Unsurprisingly, this attracted the attention of the police, who promptly pulled them over to question their judgment.   Amenable and apologetic, they paid the fine of 300 baht directly to the policemen, as is the custom in the country. Thai policeman They continued on to the fruit market, and upon arriving, realized that they had no money left to spend.  Lacking bank cards, instead of returning home, they went back the short distance to the original policeman, nicely approached him, and asked if they could get a rebate so that they could afford some fruit.  He pulled  100 baht out of his pocket, and handed it to them with a smile.  Even corrupt police ar...

Bangkok, famous for massage. Competition fierce. And if you're looking for a different experience? Might I suggest Perception (Blind) Massage in Bangkok where you will receive your choice of massages from trained, sightless masseuses. Located in the business district of Bangkok, on the second floor of a building, the walls are grey, and you'll find the barely illuminated room calming, but more so, the masseuses are excellent, perhaps due to having more honed sense of touch and feel of the body, the sense heightened to help counter the lack of sight. On the wall, in a braille like configuration is the name of the business, along with a several placards with motivating thoughts; perhaps not Rumi but well intentioned nonetheless. In addition to the wonderful massage, you are enabling the blind to earn an income and feel a sense of contribution to others well being. In mind my mind, it's a win the whole way around, and something, even if you only do it as novelty, which...

Recently went into the jungle around Chiang Ma on  Flight of the Gibbon ,  the second time in less than a year I have gone on this awesome zipline experience . I highly recommend it. One of the highlights for me was seeing gibbons swinging from one branch of a tree to another. Their agility was astounding! Here is a video I took of my fortuitous sighting. Video : Gibbons swinging from vine to vine Also, a video of my fairly timid mother and how she found the experience. It's a great experience for all! Go do it!

Bangkok, where businesses don't even bother shuttering the windows it's so safe. Buddhist societies are probably the most trusting in the world. It's exemplified by this local fruit and flower stand which think nothing of leaving their storefront totally unlocked for the entire weekend. And while only homeless people in most countries would steal the bananas, the orchids are in fact rather valuable, and would represent a decent loss to the proprietor were they to find them gone. video : the open storefront in Bangkok This is in sharp contrast with Saudi Arabia, a place where, although you could leave your car window open and your wallet on the front seat, and be guaranteed to find it there when you return, the reason for this is quite different: because the penalty for theft is getting your freakin' hands cut off! I'm not advocating leaving your wallet out in the open in Thailand, merely illustrating the general trust which exists between people in Thail...

You stand as a "farang" (foreigner) in Bangkok if you're white. The know with a fair amount of certainty that you have more money than the average Thai person, and the lcoal merchants are always looking to make a few more baht per transaction. durian truck Bangkok Approaching a durian truck, we inquire about a piece of fruit. The grumpy truck owner offers to sell it to us for 480 baht. As it was an especially large piece of fruit we ask if we can have half the fruit. I don't blame him for saying no. But seeing that we also wanted half the fruit, an Indian man in line ahead of us offers to split it with us, and negotiates with the seller. After hemming and hawing, he finally realized that he wasn't going to wring to separate sales out of this, so he cut it in two for the price previously named to the Indian who had been negotiating before us- 400 baht. Just another example of the different prices given to people with white skin, as the brown skinned man wh...

Flight of the Gibbon a zip line sprung between trees in the jungle Location: near Chiang Mia Price: a little over $100 US. Buy from any tour agency Worth it? -- 100% oh my God yes. # recommendation of things to do in all of Thailand, maybe Asia. check out the video below to see why it might be so memorable for you. Video :  Flight of the Gibbon I cannot recommend this enough. Of all the attractions in Thailand this is #1. The beauty of the jungle is immense and combined with the exhilaration and speed of zip-lining, it makes this a must if you are in this beautiful country! 

So you're a company in Bangkok and want to advertise to drivers traveling down a road. Sadly, it appears to be cheaper to pay people to kneel for hours holding up the sign, than to get a metal holder to prop up your message. For more travel adventure stories  

Rule #1- too many people ask the same question about flying here from some distant locale for a week. You'll be suffering from jetlag and regret from the hefty ticket prices you paid for such a such short time. We highly recommend at least two weeks here in Thailand. With that said- here is a link to an itinerary that makes a lot of sense for two week vacationers. Thailand- Two Week Vacation Itinerary  Thoughts or comments leave them below. 

welcome to Maekhamin Waterfall Okay, so it's a couple hours from  Erawan Falls , a decent distance from Bangkok, but soooo worth visiting- Maekhamin Waterfalls. For nature lovers, it's a must, and comes with the distinct  advantage of being far less crowded than Erawan. I suggest renting a car.  There is little to any English spoken in the area, and there are no ATM's so make sure you bring enough cash. That said, the area is cheap and inexpensive, and is a great experience.  Watch the video below and sift through the photos to get an idea of the area's beauty. Enjoy! :) Maekhamin Waterfall- all levels of the falls: National of park Thailand a gentle flow down for more photos of  Maekhamin Waterfall

one of 7 levels of Erawan Falls Only a few hours away from Thailand's sprawling capital lies Erawan National Park, home to a 7 level waterfall. It's SE Asian nature at it's best, and a meditative experience watching the light blue water cascading down the mountains, cleverly changing its course as the jungle's obstacles present.  You get there via K anchanaburi, where you can take a shared van to and from the city, then either hire a taxi or just rent a car and travel up sightseeing the area. You can check out the video below to get an idea of how beautiful the area is.  It's a fabulous experience and well worth the trip! Video :  Highlights of Gorgeous Erawan Waterfall all 7 Levels - national park Thailand

First of all, for as beautiful and fertile a country as Thailand is, the average person here is quite poor. The minimum wage is 300 baht per day, and a decent salary for Thais is the equivalent of $500 per month. That said, there are VERY wealthy Thais for whom money is no object, but the majority of people here live on a very low income.  Which is why I am always so amazed to see so much wasted food here. Growing up, I thought it was a sin not to finish all my food because so many people go without, but on my honeymoon in Koh Kood, a beautiful but hard to get to island an hour and a half off the coast, I saw a group of wealthy Thais leaving most of their Expensive meal at a resort untouched. I was aghast, it included a plate of super expensive seafood fresh from the ocean, left on the plate exactly as it arrived. would leave crab claws and shrimp untouched It's hard for me to account for. I wanted to chase after them and chastise them for waste/ find out how they could poss...

Thailand is known for having three seasons, hot, hotter, and hottest and when you're lucky a healthy dousing of welcome rain, usually lasting only several minutes, which softens the ground and cools you off.  However, occasionally the precipitation can turn into a monsoon, and walking outside is the equivalent of being drenched by a shower turned onto the highest volume. Clothing is instantly drenched all the way through, and your shoes and socks will quickly suffer from mildew and jungle rot. Bring the shampoo if you want to wash your hair. For someone who truly enjoys the moisture of a tropical shower, at these moments, I find an umbrella a necessity.