Thailand Guide

Oh, Thailand. The mecca of backpacker tourists and where all the locals wear elephant print.

Koh Samui

A small island with a bit of an upscale feel. The people on our flight over may have even been wearing Gucci that wasn’t fake. One thing that surprised me was Grab, Thailand’s version of Uber, doesn’t operate on this island, so transportation is either renting a scooter or paying a hefty price for a cab.

Eats

McDonald’s: Go here for the insanely good chicken (iykyk), stay for the pineapple pie.
Padan donuts & taro milk (found at your local 7/11)

Sights

Hat Chaweng Beach: In Nov of 2023, this was the warmest ocean water I have ever experienced. Super shallow, perfect for floating in.
Bo Phut night market: A fun night market with a great selection of goods.

Koh Tao

Another small island, which you can get to from Koh Samui on a turbulent ferry. This island is known for its dive sites and diving certifications. Grab also doesn’t operate here.

Eats

Monkey Cup: Incredibly charming establishment run by sisters. They can make you just about anything, from hamburgers to top-tier pad see ew and sticky rice.

Sights

SUN SUWAN 360° View: Charming viewpoint that charges an admission fee but in exchange, you get a free drink at the top. You could easily spend a few hours here reading and just watching the waves/sunset.
Go Diving Koh Tao – Scuba & Freediving Centre: We did their open water & deep water three-day certification. One of the highlights was doing all of our training in the actual ocean – no itching to get out of a swimming pool to get into the ocean. Juan was an amazing instructor.
Small View Point: I stumbled upon this viewpoint as I was exploring around the island, and it’s not a must-see, admission fee without any drink reimbursement, and looks similar to Sun Suwan 360 views.
Ao Hin Wong: This is such a unique spot. The road descends until you’re at the shoreline of a rocky beach. When I was there, it was storming, and the waves were incredible. When it’s calmer, they have snorkeling gear and a few restaurants.

Bangkok

Eats

Thipsamai Padthai Pratoopee: Revered as being the original pad thai in Thailand. It’s good, not amazing. TBH I was almost more impressed with the coconut smoothie they had. The range of pad thai in Thailand from “please get this out of my mouth I have an aftertaste of bile” to “this is so insanely good” is remarkable.
Namtaohuu Pu Pla: This is a must-try dessert place. You pick the ‘broth’, e.g., soy milk, ginger tea, and then add in various toppings, tapioca balls, sweet potato balls. It’s such a unique experience and is a wonderful treat.

Sights

Chatuchak Weekend Market: Check the hours before going; they have some availability on the weekdays as well. This is my favorite outdoor market I have ever been to. They have 15,000 stalls with different sections focused on art, food, etc. I could go here every day for a week and have the best time.
Queen Sirikit Park: This park is absolutely stunning and right across the street from the market. If you’re lucky, or cursed from birth depending on how you feel about lizards, you may just see a water monitor in the water.
Wat Trimit Witthayaram: Especially with all of the incredible wats from Cambodia as a precursor to this temple, I wasn’t super impressed.
Khao San Market: (This felt like a kinda trashy backpacker night market, I’m not going to lie.)

Future visit