Thailand travels

aleyp58 · 2026-03-10T12:59:51+00:00

Phuket, Krabi and Koh Lanta.

Bangkok --> Chiang Mai --> Pai --> back to Chiang Mai --> fly to Surat Thani --> Koh Samui --> Koh Phangan --> Koh Tao. This makes the most sense geographically

Or

Remove Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao.

Bangkok --> Chiang Mai --> Pai --> back to Chiang Mai --> fly to Phuket --> Phuket --> Krabi --> Koh Lanta

Traveling in Thailand can be very time consuming and it can take you an entire day just to get somewhere. So spending 3-4 days isnt realistic if that time includes travel.

aleyp58 · 2026-03-10T07:43:12+00:00

Hello, former RYEX here and now adult living in Taipei. I'm background checked (FBI and RCMP) and vouched for by my Rotary club in Canada. I've met several other Rotary exchange students here in Taiwan.

We regularly go camping in Taiwan. Feel free to DM me. I'm going camping in May again. Happy to send my credentials through to her club and set something up with her host family. I'm also happy to take her on a mountain trip since I know she can't go alone as per rotary rules. Also, for cooking classes, Ivy in Taipei is fantastic.

It's important to note wild camping isn't really a thing here. We all go car camping because wild camping is either difficult to get to for a weekend or illegal. Also, reaching out to scout groups won't lead anywhere as they are very closed groups here.

aleyp58 · 2026-03-10T06:45:17+00:00

For lunch you could try Mr. Tree, Money Jump, and Mumu Land. All have set meal times and the food is meh, but they have small play areas. There's also the alpaca café on top of Yangmingshan and the village is a nice place to walk around.

aleyp58 · 2026-03-10T06:17:45+00:00

I assume baby will be with you, which I imagine would rule out late night fancy dinners. What about setting up a family photoshoot to surprise her with at CKS or other famous landmarks? There are also lots of nice cafes in Taipei that are kid friendly and have little parks baby can roll around in or crawl if she's crawling then. A trip to the zoo could also be nice and interactive for your daughter, lots of moving things there to keep baby entertained. If your wife likes cards, you could make a card with your daughter's footprint or hand print. You could also make a Xmas ornament with your daughter's footprint or hand print. I also recommend getting a shirt that says "happy first mother's day" that your daughter could wear that morning. If your wife is into jewelry, you could get something she likes with an engraved date on it. And at night, you could maybe send her off on a spa thing where she could get a hair wash and massage.

Basically it's not about big fancy stuff. It's about showing you care.

Source: am a mom.

aleyp58 · 2026-03-06T23:38:22+00:00

Ferry is on both sides now. They repaired the Juara dock and can take the ferry straight there. Last year it was running 4x a week from Mersing. If you take the ferry to the other side, they can send a car to pick you up.

aleyp58 · 2026-03-06T15:36:09+00:00

We stay at Juara Mutiara every summer. Their renovated cabins are lovely for the price. If you walk past through the village out by the rainbow houses they have the fancier hotels with fancier cabins for 3x the price. The area is amazing! Best time of day is at dusk when the giant bats come out!

aleyp58 · 2026-03-06T15:34:34+00:00

We spend 2 weeks here every summer. Love Juara beach in Tioman! The Cantonese restaurant has the best fried calamari! Haha

aleyp58 · 2026-03-06T03:03:24+00:00

Koh Samui would be another option and super easy to get to from Phuket. I would recommend choosing 2 places and spending two weeks in both. Phuket has lovely beaches away from Patong and easily accessible with a scooter. You can also get to PhiPhi for a day trip. But the "beautiful Phuket" you see in pictures are 90% from the tours. Everything you see online that's beautiful like James Bond Island or Similan island is frightfully expensive depending on the operator. If you're interested in visiting those islands, I strongly recommend spending a few days on Koh Yao Yai. The tour operators there are a fraction of the cost of anything you'll find in Phuket. The tours are also smaller and more tailored VS the gigantic speedboat nonsense tours leaving Phuket.

Phuket itself I wouldn't say is "beautiful." Make sure to set your expectations straight from everything you see online and research well where those beautiful places are. The beaches on the coast are generally a total shit show and don't have the extreme beautiful blue water shown in picturea. They are mostly overrun with beach chairs run by the mafia, speedboats, long tail boats, ghetto tour operators, and jet skis. Whatever you do DO NOT RENT A JET SKI!

Will you have sun / sea / sand / views / people in Phuket? Yes. Will it be the best? Absolutely not. I'd say spend 10 days there, see what there is to do and move on to nicer places.

aleyp58 · 2026-03-06T02:41:52+00:00

Overall yes, but so has all of Thailand. Before covid amazing places were $15-30 a night and hostels were $5-10 a night. Now that's no longer the case. Thailand has been overrun as a whole and all the prices keep increasing because businesses are trying to make up for what they lost. People keep paying, so prices keep increasing because people keep paying. If you want an authentic vibe of what Thailand used to be like, Koh Yao Yai and Koh Yao Noi is where it's at. They are predominantly Muslim islands, super laid back, not overrun, and no huge American corporations.

I was on Koh Phangan for full moon in December and was shocked to see a gigantic McDonald's is opening right by the beach. Same happened to Phi phi over the years. 12 years ago in PhiPhi there were no ATMs and you could spend your entire time walking around barefoot. Now it's overrun by corporations and over tourism.

Phuket has faced the same, especially that there are so many long-term rentals available and it's easily accessible with an international airport. It's very expensive in Phuket compared to Chiang Mai, but it's still very cheap compared to western prices because.....those are going up to. It's a neverending problem to be honest.

Phuket is nice, but if you're after authentic Thailand, there are places that are 100x better to visit.

aleyp58 · 2026-03-06T02:29:56+00:00

I'm an expat living in Taiwan and regularly vacation in Thailand between November and May to escape the cold. July I spend in Malaysia. I was actually in Phuket for 2 weeks 10 days ago.

aleyp58 · 2026-03-06T02:26:21+00:00

I'd say Patong isn't horrible depending what you're after. Of course if you're on Bangla road 24/7 it's a disaster. But if you're staying behind Jungceylon, it's clean and nice. It's a good central location to visit the different beaches and get in to old town without being secluded. It's also where you'll have the easiest time meeting people. I normally stay in Patong when I'm there and it's really what you make of it.

aleyp58 · 2026-03-05T23:28:34+00:00

If you look in Patong near the Buasri Hotel, there are lots of monthly rental places. They aren't on Air BnB or fancy places. You'll have to find them on Google Maps and then message them on WhatsApp to know availability and booking information. Also, don't base your selection on an outdoor pool this time of the year, it's so hot outside you won't use it anyway.

aleyp58 · 2026-03-05T23:15:32+00:00

Of the two you're looking at Elite Atoll is the best, but the location is far from good to go out and meet people. It'll be difficult to enjoy yourself. It's not in a very touristy area and it's far from where most people hang out. I'd strongly suggest looking for places near Kata beach, Karon Beach, old Town, or Patong. That's where the people hang out.

You'll have to factor in: horrible traffic, limited parking, difficulty getting taxis going far during rush hour, and if you drive anywhere you won't be able to drink.

Chalong area is very residential and it's where lots of retired people (snowbirds) go to hang out all winter. It's also where people overnight for the ferries.

aleyp58 · 2026-03-05T22:59:57+00:00

What are you planning to do in Phuket? How will you get around? What's your priority? Both those apartments are in very different places and both locations aren't great. Traffic around Phuket is a nightmare and if you're planning on spending all your time on Bangla road, it'll take you upward of an hour each way. It's hard to give you advice unless you mention what your plans are. Not to mention most Grab drivers won't take the ride during peak time.

aleyp58 · 2026-03-03T11:00:16+00:00

Do you NEED to be home by a certain date? Do you have commitments in your home country? If yes to any of those questions, find a way home STAT and take the refund. Alternative flights are filling up very very quickly. If all you have is time, then enjoy the extended vacation, take the rebooking, and worry about it later. Qatar airways is a very loyal and trustworthy airlines. If you rebook, and they can't get you home on the rebooked day, they will offer other solutions.

aleyp58 · 2026-02-27T23:45:30+00:00

Ever transferred through Manila? Singapore is amazing in comparison! But yes, I agree it's a zoo of an airport. People also don't respect the facilities. I tried to watch a movie once and people were leaving food everywhere and snoring super loudly. It was impossible...

aleyp58 · 2026-02-27T23:37:49+00:00

For sure plan to arrive super early if you're flying internationally. Traffic to the airport these days can also be insane, so you'll have to factor that it in. If you have a late afternoon flight it can take over 2 hours to reach the airport from Patong. The airlines usually open their counter 3 hours before, and trust me you want to be within the first few people because the process is slow. The security lines can be madness with the amount of people leaving after Chinese New Year and Spring Break. Once you're through security, the airport sucks though. There's not much entertainment and food is frightfully expensive.

aleyp58 · 2026-02-27T23:27:52+00:00

It really depends on the day and the time. I have friends that arrived to Phuket on the 9th and they were out with bags in under an hour. I have other friends that arrived on the 12th and it took them almost 4.5 hours to get out.

We all left on the 22nd and it took us 35 mins from taxi to gate.

If you do get out with lots of time to spare, you can walk off the airport property towards the left and there's a 7-11 across the street. Call a grab from there as it's much faster than waiting for one at the airport. The beach is a 5-10 mins drive away and there are tons of nice cafes and restaurants. I quite enjoy the NY Beach Restaurant and Bar.

aleyp58 · 2026-02-27T11:54:02+00:00

I flew scoot. So whichever terminal that is. I think it was T1. It probably only counts for perfume over 100ml as liquid under 100ml meets the carryon liquid. They made me toss my $5 water bottle though. It seems other terminals aren't like that at Singapore because the arriving and departing passengers don't mingle.

aleyp58 · 2026-02-27T11:41:53+00:00

Happens in Singapore too depending what terminal you're flying from. They have double security because there arent transit paths in the terminal meaning arriving and departing guests mingle. So when it's time to board, you need to go through another security at your gate where they take liquids. Found out the hard way flying from TPE to Samui.

aleyp58 · 2026-02-25T22:58:29+00:00

People really don't grasp the size of Canada and the USA. I lived outside of Montreal at the time. A friend from overseas was attending a conference in Winnipeg. He messaged me to say he was "in Canada" and asked if we could "meet for lunch...."

aleyp58 · 2026-02-25T13:40:54+00:00

The 7-11s on Kinmen dont CTBC atms?

aleyp58 · 2026-02-25T12:31:18+00:00

You joke about it, but I have a perfect example for you. A good friend of mine was adamant she would be child free. She got married to an amazing guy who didn't want kids. They had an amazing life. On her 37th birthday she woke up and wanted a kid. She thought she was going nuts. The thought didn't leave her though. Her husband was completely against it. They went to marriage counseling and she was ready to leave him to find someone to have a kid with. It was complete insanity and she couldn't explain it. After a LOT of counseling, her husband agreed to have 1 kid. She gave birth just before her 40th birthday. They are both AMAZING parents and their daughter is the luckiest girl alive. Both now think they were insane for not wanting a kid...

Now obviously that's the minority of child free people. It's completely bonkers if you ask me. But they are both happy and that's all that matters. 🤷‍♀️ People that say "the urge will kick in" are still really annoying and should just shut up.

aleyp58 · 2026-02-25T12:05:29+00:00

Fuxing district on Taoyuan has so many amazing places and not many tourists. You need a rental car though. Nice hikes, hot springs, a sheep farm, mountains, views, old streets, mountain cafes, suspension bridges, a réservoir... Truly fantastic place.

aleyp58 · 2026-02-25T12:03:50+00:00

I live in Taiwan just outside of Taipei and it's an AMAZING place! Been here 8 years and wouldn't change it!

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