My 3rd time in Bangkok within 18 months was still as exciting as my first trip to the capital of Thailand in may 2018. We only had 1 week off to choose a travel destination for the All-Saints holidays in november. We were craving for sunshine, as autumn had already kicked in at home.

As I’ve never been to a thai island, we went for Krabi and Phi Phi as it was supposed to have reached the end of the raining season. The high season of the lower south-west coast of Thailand shoud start beginning of November.

Bangkok. (part I)

We landed on an early sunday morning around 05:00am in Bangkok. Passing the customs & immigration was flawless. There was barely no traffic around that time, and a cheap taxi-ride took us straight to our first accomodation “Vivit Hostel”, which was located within walking distance from Kao San road.

We already booked a night at the hostel for Saturday, so that we could check-in around 06:30 in the morning. After a one-hour nap we headed towards our first floating market “Taling Chan”. It took us less than 15 minutes to reach the market by cab. Using the mobile-app “GRAB” makes life cheaper and easier in Thailand, and many other asian countries.

“Taling Chan” is the only floating market that is located in the heart of Bangkok. I guess it’s not the most beautiful market, but it’s the less touristic one. We really felt among the locals, as we were the only white folks around. They merchants were mostly selling food (thai dishes) on their boats, and handing it over to the customers on the floating wooden platforms.

You could find the usual souvenirs, jewelries, spices, and clothes that you would find on any market. However the local scenery and the lovely women on the boats made it a different experience. “Taling Chan” was definitely worth checking out.

After the floating market, we headed towards our favorite market “Chatuchak” followed by the Ratchada Train Market (night market). On our second visit of the train nightmarket, we finally figured out, that you could get the famous instagram shot of the scenic market from the 4th floor of the nearby shopping mall. Pass through the entrance of the mall, take the escalator to the 4th floor and step inside the parking lot. On the edges of the parking you will notice other visitors taking a photo of the colorful market stands.

To end our first night in Bangkok we visited the quieter parallel road to Kao San called “Rambutrri Alley” (Soi Ram Butri) and enjoyed a few cocktails at the ending part of the alley.

Bangkok. (part II)

After visiting Krabi and Ko Phi Phi during the week, we headed back to Bangkok for one last night on our Thailand trip. We decided to book a night at the charming hostel “Time Sabai 134”. After having spent a bunch of nights in 4 different hotels/hostels in Bangkok, Time Sabai 134, made it on top of my list. If I get back to Bangkok I will definitely book a private room with them, as the hostel is located only 5 minutes away from the lively area of Kao San Road, which gives you many options to opt for, for example Rambutrri or Phra Athit Road which offers a few music bars.

On our last day we headed back to Chatuchak weekend-market, which surprisingly was a lot busier on friday night, then on the usual sundays when we visited the market. After the shopping tour we headed to a hip bakery shop called “A pink rabbit & bob” where we enjoyed a carrote cake and a well prepared americano. After the piece of cake we moved towards the rooftop bar of the hotel “Sala Rattanakosin”. It was my second visit at the rooftop bar, as it’s one of the few places where you get a beautiful view on Wat Arun Temple at night. They turn on the lights of the temple at 18:30 (6.30 pm). Enjoy the drinks and the views!

Krabi (Ao Nang).

Krabi was supposed the become my first thai-island-feel holidays, even though it’s still attached to the mainland. The main shore along the beach of Ao Nang definitely looked like the scenery I knew from travelblogs & tv, except for the weather, as rain season hadn’t come to an end yet.

On daily basis the rain kicked in around 4pm in the afternoon, for one or two hours. In the morning we had summerish weather.

We decided to chose our accomodation in Ao Nang as it was supposed to be more lively than Railay Beach. In my opinion Ao Nang wasn’t that lively by the end of october. There was one tiney alley that had the feel of Bangkok’s “Kao San” or rather “Soy Cowboy” as the road was packed with escort girls. The bars right across Ao Nang’s beach, looked like american sports bars filled with pool tables and loud music. None of the places were really packed the nights we passed by, and they didn’t look very inviting.

We spent most of nights at a local food court, and one tiny open-air bar just next to it. The bar was run by a couple of outgoing and funny thai women. The cocktails were only 150 bath which was about 4 euro, and they played traditional molam music all night long. As soon as we took place at the few stools on the bar, they asked us to play our music on their wifi speakers. I love interracting with local people over a drink or two, as you get to know funny facts of their culture and daily life.

As for the rest Ao Nang didn’t seem to be that interesting.

We booked an island hopping tour, which turned out as a disappointment, as far as the snorkeling goes. They advertise the tour as a boat tour, followed by snorkerling. The water was so cloudy that you barely couldn’t see anything in front of you. There was almost no aquatic life at the spots where they let the tour-members out of the boat. One of the island had a tiny beach, that was just big enough to carry all the tourists on one spot for an hour, where lunch got served around midday. The food was okay, but far from delicious. We made the best out of it, and took a sunbath on Hong Island, which looked pretty at first sight. However there was a big construction ship parked between the main rocks of the lagoon, that totally ruined any photo you’d take of the surroundings.

If we would have known better, we wouldn’t have signed up for the tour.

The same day we participated at another thai-cooking class. Vanessa and I already did the class in Chiangmai. We almost cooked the same dishes as the ones we did on the previous class. At the end, I was glad, as we were thought a slightly different way how to prepare the curry pastes and coconut-soup. The cooking class was 1300 bath per person (around 35 euro). The transfer from and to the hotel was included in the price. At the end of the class, each one got a book with all the recipes. Check out “Siam Cuisine Thai Cookery School” for further informations.

We were so busy during our one week in Thailand, that we didn’t manage to book a scooter to discover the area on our own. Because of that, I can’t really tell if Ao Nang is worth visiting or not. For the few days, that we spent on the shore, it didn’t seem that appealing to visit it a second time.

The transfer from the Airport to the hotel was around 150 by van (per person), or 700 for a private taxi.

Ko Phi Phi.

To reach Ko Phi Phi from Ao Nang, we had to book a ferry, which was 350 baht per person. The boatride took about 2 hours to reach the docking-pier of Phi Phi Island. At first sight we were amazed by the beauty of the island: blue clear waters, palmtrees in front of the resorts, a walking path on which many people were walking barefoot, lots of wooden huts… all these details that gave you the feel of an island.

Tourist wise, it wasn’t too packed. During the day, the main streets were much busier, than in the evening. After 6pm, you did notice that many people had left the island, as we were told that the last fairey to Krabi would leave at 15:30 (3.30pm). Was it still low-season during our stay? We couldn’t tell, as November was supposed to attract many visitors. At night the streets were rather empty. A handful of bars were filled with younger crowds. The beautiful restaurants were left almost unattended. We didn’t care too much.

On our first day, we visited the two View-Points, which was a pretty though exercice, climbing hundreds of stairs with 34°c degree. The hill was quite steep, but the effort was all worth it. On top of the hill you get an scenic view all over the island. After all my travels, this view definitely made it to my top 5 most scenic spots.

As the streets seemed deserted at night, we headed towards the venue “Reggae Bar”, a crazy dive bar, where you see live muay thai fights, and the visitors can earn a free bucket (filled with booze) for 3 rounds of sparring with another spectator. Even though the “amateur fights” with helmets and shin-protectors, were less impressive than the thai fights, they still were entertaining enough to make us watch almost 7 fights.

Snorkeling was definitely on our checklist for Phi Phi. We booked a longtail-boat for 3 hours. The booking was only 1500 bath for the two of us. The boatman confirmed that we could do the trip from 07:00 til 10:00. You get the benefit of chosing your starting time if you book a privat boat. I really don’t see the point of booking a tour with a speedboat, if you have 8 other people on it. We got the chance to leave the bay at 07:00 and reach Maya Bay, famous spot from the movie “The Beach”, only 20 minutes later. We had Maya Bay all for ourselves for over half an hour, til the first tourists reached the spot as well. It was a pleasure snorkeling on that famous spot, with lots of yellowish fishes among us. The beach of Maya bay was still not accessible, as the government decided to ban human traffic on the beach for about 2 years, to let the reef and aquatic life recover from mass tourism.

It was my first snorkeling experience with aquatic life below my feet. The boatman took us to 4 different spots. It was mostly us with two or three other tourists enjoying life underwater.

Our accomodation “Mama Beach Residence” had the perfect location for being on the lower west side of the small island. It was 10 minutes walking away from the main pier, where all the cruisers docked in. Surprisingly the sea was still crystal clear in front of our hotel, despite the numerous boats floating by. We had a wonderful frontyard patio with a wonderful ocean view from our room. For 80 euro a night, with sea-view, we couldn’t complain, and were totally happy. The breakfast, which we usually miss around 90% of the time, was quite delicious. Lots of homemade pies and cakes, fresh juices, .. all you can ask for.

After our “snorkly” morning we headed back to Ao Nang on with the last cruiser-boat at 15:30 (3.30 pm), where our trip came to an end. We packed our stuff, and took the flight to Bangkok next morning, where we just spent another night.

Thailand never disappoints. This was my 3rd trip to Thailand within 18 months. The kindness of the thai people, the best asian food (nex to japan), and the cheap prices makes me always coming back. Maybe on our next trip we will take classes for a Tok-Sen training, or I’ll get my back covered with traditional bamboo sak yant tattoos. Godspeed! Til’ next time.