Thailand Diary: #ThisIs30

I was turning 30 and I knew I wanted to celebrate my birthday abroad. But where to?  I wanted the perfect balance of relaxation, learning, reflecting, and turning up for me and my girls. Thailand was a no-brainer! And it’s been on my bucket list for a while, so it was the perfect destination. I chose Bangkok and Phuket, as the cities to explore in Thailand with four of my close girlfriends. A lot of planning went into this trip because there was so much I wanted to do, that had to be jammed pack into one week. I’m going to give a day-by-day overview of my trip and also share my itinerary on my page. If you can, I definitely recommend spending 10-14 days to travel to Thailand, including travel days. There was so much to see, and I had the best time, I only wish I could’ve spent more time there. Here’s how my trip went…

Day 1: Thursday – Bangkok, Thailand

We Arrived in Bangkok at 1 a.m. after a 21-hour trip from Chicago with a layover in Hong Kong. The worst thing that could happen to a person on a trip happened: LOST BAGGAGE!!! It was the worst. Four out of the five of us, had our bags lost. After talking with baggage claim for almost an hour, we realized our bags were not coming for some hours. We left the airport and checked-in to our hotel and went to sleep. Until our bags arrived, we toured the city in a Tuk Tuk, which is a fun way to taxi around. Money spent on taxis can add up quick, I found that sometimes the price can be hiked up because it’s obvious we’re tourists, so try to bargain prices with the taxi driver when you can. We also found yummy and cheap meals for $1.50 (U.S. dollars), SO CHEAP & SO GOOD! Long story short, we got our bags at about 5 p.m., so we had to reshuffle some things on our itinerary. It was my birthday, so we continued as scheduled and got dressed for my birthday dinner. My sister made dinner reservations at Sirocco Sky Rooftop Bar at Lebua Hotel, and the views from this rooftop were AMAZING! The Lebua Hotel has multiple rooftop bars with great views! I was also surprised by my friends and sister with the most beautiful birthday cake (thanks y’all), and we went to a lounge to party afterwards, which concluded the night. I had so much fun and forgot all about the craziness of losing our bags that morning.

Day 2: Friday – Bangkok, Thailand

This was a long and busy day, because we had to reshuffle some activities from Day 1. We started our morning at 6 a.m. We had a pre-booked tour scheduled to pick us up from our hotel and take us to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market for local shopping, which is an hour away from the city. The floating market was such a great experience. We visited a coconut sugar farm, went souvenir shopping, and tasted local food from the market. We got back to our hotel at about noon. And next on the agenda was visiting the Grand Palace, which was one of my favorite sight-seeing. I recommend going early in the morning to avoid the crowd. Also, make sure to dress fully clothed, because they will make you purchase cover-ups. After the Grand Palace, we went to the Temple of Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho), which is about an 8-minute walk from the Grand Palace, and only costs $3 (U.S. Dollars)/100 THB (Thailand Baht). After the temple tour, I ended the night by getting one of the infamous Thai body massages, which is very reasonably priced (another one of my favorite parts of the trip). The massages are a MUST!

Day 3: Saturday – Bangkok to Phuket, Thailand

We had another very early morning start, to catch our flight to Phuket. As I mentioned, this trip took a lot of pre-planning because of our jam-packed schedule (#TeamNoSleep). We booked a roundtrip flight though AirAsia Airlines, which cost only $60 U.S. dollars roundtrip (there were roundtrip flights even cheaper, but we were very specific with our arrival time) and we landed in Phuket at 5:00 am. We checked-in to our villa, and had breakfast and drinks before our next adventure. (FYI: Phuket is an island and there are geckos everywhere, so don’t be surprised if you find one of those little fellas in your hotel room). Our next activity was a visit to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary! We pre-booked this activity as well, which costs $70 (U.S. Dollars) per person and includes lunch of traditional Thai food and a nice souvenir. The elephant sanctuary company picked us up from our villa at 11:30 am and let me just say Chang (which stands for elephant in Thai) are the friendliest giants ever!! I’m totally against elephant trekking camps, so if you ever visit Thailand, please choose not to ride the elephants and opt for a sanctuary instead, where elephants have been rescued (#SaveTheElephants). You will have so much more fun bonding and playing with them at the refuge sanctuary. We fed the elephants, bathed them in a mud mask, which is good for their skin, and played with them. The staff was great and it was a blast! Definitely a highlight of my Thailand trip. We returned to our hotel at about 4:30 p.m. We had dinner, and dressed up to see about the nightlife in Phuket. We went to Patong Beach, which is a street full of bars, clubs, and ping pong show, and had a great time at the club.

Day 4: Sunday – Phuket, Thailand

Our morning started at 7 a.m. with breakfast. We pre-booked a Phi Phi Island Tour ($56 U.S. dollars per person), and we were picked up by the tour agency at our villa by 8 a.m. We toured the islands by speedboat and our first stop was Phi Phi Leh Island. From there, we monkeyed around on Monkey Beach, and yes there are actual monkeys everywhere. Be careful to keep your personal belongings close, because they will snatch it and run (FYI the monkeys love shiny things). A lady had her very expensive sunglasses stolen from a monkey while we were on the beach. We then relaxed, snorkeled with colorful fishes, and went swimming at Maya Bay, which is the beach featured in the movie “The Beach.” We discovered Loh Samah Bay and Pileh Lagoon, did some sightseeing at Viking Cave, and enjoyed a great lunch at Ton Sai Bay. Our next stops were Phi Phi Don Island, then Khai Island where we enjoyed swimming, fish feeding and leisure time. The views and sights were UNREAL at all of the island stops, you have to just see it for yourself. We returned to our hotel at around 5 p.m. We went to Patong Beach to enjoy the nightlife.

Day 5: Monday – Phuket to Bangkok, Thailand

Our morning was very relaxed. We ate breakfast at our hotel and lounged around at our villa’s infinity pool, which had breathtaking views. The next adventure on the agenda was a visit to the Tiger Kingdom Phuket. Tigers are my all-time favorite animals, so I was so excited but still slightly terrified for this activity. The Tiger Kingdom was only 15 minutes from our villa, and the price to interact with the tigers are $30 for the large tiger, $25 for the medium sized, $20 small or baby tigers and $45 for the biggest Sino-Portuguese tigers (U.S. dollars). Of course, we went with the biggest because…’Go Big or Go Home,’ also the biggest tigers are also the oldest, meaning they are more tamed than the younger tigers. Also, meaning they are probably big enough to swallow a person whole, but less likely to do so. Keep in mind that you probably will only spend about 30 minutes at the Tiger Kingdom and 15 minutes interacting with them. The staff let all five of us go into the tiger space together, and we were so stiff walking in and tried to not to make any sudden movements that could trigger the tiger, it was hilarious to say the least. We were able to pet the tigers, lay on the tigers and pose with them. The staff took great photos of us, which is provided to us on a flash drive and included with the entry price. I’m glad I was able to experience interacting with a wild animal, it was definitely one of my bucket list items. After the Tiger Kingdom, we had lunch at ‘Phuket No. 6 Restaurant,’ which had the best Thai food I’ve had yet in Thailand. I had the seafood fried rice. After lunch, we relaxed at our villa and watched the sunset to conclude our time in Phuket. We departed Phuket and flew back to Bangkok, arriving at 11 p.m. We checked into a hotel near the airport, because we had an early morning flight back to Chicago.

Day 6: Tuesday, Bangkok, Thailand

Departure Day! We woke up early to catch our flight to head home. It was another long journey, with a layover in Japan. During that time, I reflected on my new age, my amazing friends and family, and the culture, people and great time I just experienced in Thailand. It was definitely one for the books, and I’ll never forget it, and honestly haven’t had a trip to top it yet. Feel free to contact me if you want to learn more or want a customized planned trip.

Watch my Thailand Video Diary here: https://youtu.be/oLrQfVV42Kg