The land of temples, rice, beaches and much more
Thailand has something to offer for any find of a traveler. It is one of the most visited countries in South-East Asia. It is also one of the first countries to travel abroad for most Indians. Given its proximity, easy visa process and multitude of destinations it was one of the first choices as we began our regular travel
Best time to visit
Dry season of November to April is a good time. Avoid rainy months of May to September unless you specifically want to see the green rice fields
Visa
Indians can now visit Thailand without visa for upto 60 days.
The tourism department keeps experimenting with changes in visa fees to boost tourism. We had 2x visa fees of 2k Baht when we had visited, which was shortly withdrawn later
Getting In
Bangkok is well connected to most large cities. There are two airports- do check which is the right one in case you are planning short connections
Currency: Baht
We had changed currency in India from Ebix cash. You can withdraw from an ATM there is you have card with no/ low fees
Getting around
We took flights between Bangkok- Phuket
Public transport is good for connecting between cities with trains and buses. Within cities, be planned to play it by the ear and go with local tuk tuks
Places to visit in Thailand
- Bangkok
- Phuket
- Phi Phi Islands
Checkout details in a separate post here
What we skipped for lack of time
- Ayuthaya: We were headed to much larger Angkor Wat in Cambodia after Thailand, so gave this a miss
- Damneon Saduk floating market: To see women selling fruits, vegetables and many more things on boats
- Chatuchak market: For the colors and chaos although bit far away from city centre
Things to know
- You will get the sweetest welcome and hospitality in Thailand. They are geared towards a culture where tourists are respected
- Islands around Phuket have Karst mountains like Vietnam, and blue clear waters unlike Vietnam. You can go from Phuket or Krabi and reach them in the middle
- Travel beyond Bangkok into smaller towns of Chiang Mai. You will find green paddy villages, elephant camps, sweet locals and a very different life outside the cities. We couldn’t go as we did not have enough time, but would like to definitely go again sometime soon
- You can travel to Cambodia, Laos by road from border cities, and supposedly even from India via Myanmar
How much does it cost
Around $900 per person for a week from India
- Flights: $350-400; International flights were on redemption; Direct connections by Indigo have made it cheaper now at $300. Domestic flights to Phuket costed $70
- Hotel : $200 at $30-50 each night if you want 3 star hotel with breakfast. We stayed on redemption
- Transport and tour: $80
- Entry fee: $60
- Food: $50. We ate in Indian restaurants mostly
- Visa: $100 (now visa free). We had to get two visa as we re-entered from Cambodia
Thailand is one of the least expensive destinations in the world if you are willing to stay in smaller places