Thailand 2015

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.

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We spent the first days exploring the neighboring streets around our apartment. Sometimes you don’t have to go far or take a tour to get interesting photo opportunities.
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When you’re in Bangkok you should definitely visit the Golden Mount, an elevated buddhist temple in the middle of the city. Go early to avoid the heat and the crowd.
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The descent from the golden mount is a very nice short walk with some great traditional treats.
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For the way to our apartment we used one of the water busses servicing the water ways of bangkok. It is commonly used by locals so you won’t meet a lot of tourists. It is quite a unique experience and also a very cheap and convenient way to get around bangkok.
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Our apartment was situated in a very nice area with loads of tall buildings around, so we used the chance to shoot some time lapse videos from our balcony.
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Marie organized a model shoot at the Pullmann Hotel G so we stayed the night and enjoyed the view. Overnighters in hotels are a great way to get some unique views without over stretching your budget. This was our 2nd stay at the Pullman Hotel G. We love the vibe of the Hotel.
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Even if you do not sleep at the Pullmann Hotel G you should definitely visit there 25 Degrees restaurants. The breakfast and the burgers are simply amazing.
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The mentioned walking tour started with a boat ride to get to the other side of the city.
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For this view we had to climb up a chinese temple tower, but it was definitely worth it to see the city from a new perspective.
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While walking the alleys always be on the look out for photo opportunities and candid moments like this one.
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Selfies are a must, whatever you do! 😉
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The alleys the guide showed us made for some dramatic lighting. And we definitely wouldn’t be able to find these spots on our own.
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When you think you saw them all, go around the corner and you will see a temple you haven’t seen before.
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When you can arrange it, make sure to visit thailand around the birthday of the king, since a lot of the streets will be nicely decorated.
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Even though we haven’t been in the commonly known tourists areas every single one of the residents greeted us with a smile and didn’t mind us at all to take pictures.
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temples, … everywhere!
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We spent our last night in Bangkok at the Centara Grand Hotel. This is the view from the panorama deck at the 25th floor. The Centara Grand is a perfect spot to explore Bangkok. They have an amazing fitness area too with a great view over Bangkok and also the Poolarea is pretty nice.

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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.

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Sunrise at the Wat Chiang Man

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After we arrived in Chiangmai the hotel owner gave us a tip about a arts and craft market and right next to it we found the ristr8to roastery.  And this was by far the best coffee I ever had.  So if you’re in the area and if you love coffee as much as Alex does make sure to give them a try.
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The other day we took an early morning trip up the mountain to see Doi Suthep a temple overseeing Chiang Mai.
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The place tends to be quite crowded with tourists but the temple itself and the view across Chiang Mai are worth it.

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While we explored the inner city of chiang mai we came across this amazing terra-cotta garden. It is stuffed with old statues and also features a cafe where you can sit down, have a coffee and just enjoy the quite and peaceful mood of this place.

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What we first thought would be a raging fire in one of the narrow alleyways turned out to be a few thais roasting coffee.

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We took a bike ride to Wat Suan Dok, a beautiful white Temple in the outskirts of Chiang Mai.

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Beautiful lights at the Wat Phan Tao by night

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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.

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Beautiful view from the Lobby/Lounge area. We spent every evening there drinking a cocktail and watching the sunset.

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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

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  1. HUGO PACILIO sagt:

    OBVIOUSLY THE BEST IN LIFE IS TRAVELING, OTHER CULTURES , OTHER CUSTOMS , BUT TO GO, ONE MUST BE OPEN MIND WITHOUT PREJUDICE, AND THOSE TRAVELING AS YOU ARE OPEN MINDS, AND ONE TRAVELS THROUGH YOU, BY BEAUTIFUL PLACES.

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