Hi folks, 

back in december last year it was time for our annual trip to thailand. For us this means kind of the only real vacation time we get so we are always trying to squeeze as much exploration and leisure time into 3-4 weeks as we can. For this time that meant to stay one week in bangkok, visiting Chiangmai in the north of thailand and spend another week doing literally nothing but baking in the sun on phuket for the last week. It wouldn’t be us if we wouldn’t take our cameras with us so head on for the full post for some bangkok street life shots, some amazing food tips for chiangmai and how to best spend a week doing nothing!

 

This was our 3rd trip to thailand in total and as every year we started it in Bangkok. Being in Bangkok for us is basically a chance to get started with our vacation, doing some shopping and trying to explore parts of the city we haven’t seen before. To achieve that we left out all the famous places you heard about and probably have seen if you’ve ever been to bangkok and opted for a walking tour organized by Green Mango Tours. We had an german-speaking (well at least kind of) guide and have been a group of 4 basically just walking through the lesser touristic streets and alleys of bangkok. It was awesome experience walking through the streets where everyone was going about their daily business and experience the bangkok way of life first hand.

After we have been to literally every shopping-center bangkok has to offer (thanks Marie) we took a flight to Chiang Mai which is about 700km north of Bangkok. We decided to get there by plane while staying in Bangkok. You can also get their by bus (approx. 8 hours) or by train (around 12 hours). Both of these options are way cheaper (and I mean they are lightyears cheaper) but they also take so much longer than just go up there by plane (1h). The flight cost us about 120,- EUR but we also gained another day in Chiang Mai instead of being crammed in a train or a bus and since this is our vacation … 😉

Chiang Mai feels like a totally different City than Bangkok. You first notice this when you get out of the plane.  After breathing the air of a 11 Mill. city for a week you really start to appreciate fresh air. In addition Chiang Mai itself feels different, kinda like San Francisco right in Thailand. You see lots of young people doing their thing and a lot of small cafes, coffee shops and amazing places to eat.

We stayed at the LeCanal Boutique Hotel right next to one of the gates leading inside the old town. Its a small but very nice Hotel and a perfect spot to start your very own Chiang Mai adventure. They also offer bikes for free.

On our first day we decided to just stay inside the city walls exploring some of the 200 Temples Chiang Mai has to offer.

Phuket …huh… phuket kind of left us with mixed impressions. We had an amazing time at our hotel (Pullmann Phuket) where everyone did the best to make the time incredible. The hotel complex itself is build into a hill giving you a great view overseeing the surrounding area (and also making for great leg workout if you decided to go to breakfast by foot.). On the other hand we left the complex like 3 times in a week. The beach itself was nice but super crowded but right when you stepped under the palm trees there was rubbish lying around and the remnants of some huts have been everywhere. Past the trees there was a small road lined with your usual line-up of restaurants and massage shops offering all the same at the exact same price point. Speaking of price point, the level you have to pay for food and other things is like doubled compared to for example Chiang Mai. This all adds to making the surrounding area not really worthwhile exploring so we decided to calm down after 2 weeks walking all day and took a real vacation and did nothing. Don’t need to tell you it was amazing.

 

As usual we thank you for taking the time to scroll through all our photos and read about our trip.

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Best,

Alex&Marie