One night in Bangkok (and a few in Thailand as a whole!)

Thailand was absolutely wonderful. I was expecting to enjoy it, but I really did not expect it to be so fun and beautiful.

I flew into Bangkok, but after hearing from a friend from Thailand, I decided to go straight to Hua Hin, a resort town about three hours away from Bangkok. Unfortunately, I misunderstood, and thought that he recommended I stay there, but he actually was just listing the closest beach to Bangkok. After speaking to him again, I immediately booked another bus to go down to Krabi.

Hua Hin was nice, but it truly was just a resort town. I spent a day at the beach and exploring town, but that was about it. It was not particularly beautiful, and was mostly an area for Thai people to get away from Bangkok for a few days.

Krabi, on the other hand, was amazing. I stayed in Ao Nang, which was a small area with a little beach. From here, I was able to take a long-tail boat to Railay my first day. This was a beautiful little island with a perfect beach, surrounded by cliffs. It was just amazing. It was almost deserted. After exploring the island for a little bit (and finding monkeys!) I settled into the beach. I met a Canadian guy on the island, and it was nice to have someone to spend the day with. Swimming in the ocean is much more fun with another person!

The second day, I took a large boat to the Phi Phi Islands. I was only there for the afternoon, so I did not get to venture too far. It was a little rainy, so the beach was deserted. I ran into my Canadian pal again, so we hit the ocean in the rain,. It was actually really fun! Unfortunately, I had to go back to Ao Nang at around 3:00. I wish I had more time on Phi Phi! If I could do it again, I would have spent the night on the islands, and done a late night snorkelling tour of the islands.

The following day, I went back to Bangkok for one night before flying back to Shanghai at 7:00 am. I was only able to explore a small amount of the city, but I managed to get some shopping done and was able to sample Thai food and beer. There is a backpacker area in Bangkok filled with people at all times. I spent the evening here, wandering, shopping, eating and drinking. I met the Canadian again, and we had a fun evening of drinking and exploring. I managed to get to bed around midnight, and only had a small headache the next morning for my trip back to China. Overall, I think I survived Bangkok just fine, and I will absolutely be back in Thailand!

 Beach in Hua Hin

On the long-tail boat.

Railay Beach. Just beautiful.

Monkeys!!

Cliffs surrounded the beach.

Long-tail boats were the preferred method of travel around the many islands near Krabi.

Phi Phi Islands. Note all the boats. This was much busier than both Railay and Ao Nang.

A cute little bridge on my way to the hotel in Ao Nang.

Sampling a beer.

I found the Russel from Up in Bangkok!

For reference:

Bangkok was always busy.

One of the many bars. Was not a lie!

The plane that would take be back to China, and end my adventure around Asia.

I had such a wonderful trip around Southeast Asia, and feel so grateful and lucky that I was able to do it. It was incredibly empowering to travel alone, and I learned much about myself, as well as new cultures and lifestyles. Sadly, this trip did nothing to sate my appetite for travel. If anything, it only made me even more eager to explore!

Finally, the song that this post is named for:

Just try not to think of it any time someone says "Bangkok"!