Planning One Month in Thailand

Dividing the country in four areas and allotting a week to each would allow a fair visit, long enough to fall in love with the country and to allow a detailed planning of the next trip.Bangkok: it has the best deals for travelers in Southeast Asia, thus it is the natural center of a trip in the area. Many attractions are within a daytrip distance.Islands and coasts: turquoise waters, fine, yellow sand, blue skies and a few palms to balance the picture, can lead to a serious addiction; they are better kept for the end of the trip.North: the coldest version of Thailand, the north has many of the main cultural attractions and the mountainous areas. A round trip along it would allow seeing the main sights without repetitions; however, it would take a month. In a week long trip the main sights should be Chiang Mai, the Golden Triangle and Sukhothai.Northeast: Isaan is the least visited area in Thailand, despite its very attractive sights. Phimai and Saingam, strange temples and great festivals, Nong Khai and the Mekong Riverside should encourage traveling along national highway number two up to the Friendship Bridge to Laos.

Quick Tips:

Visit Thailand off-season; even in the hot and wet season Thailand is friendly. Moreover, the monsoons have a peculiar characteristic, the rain is limited to 1 or 2 hours a day and usually at a regular time in a given location. Hence, unless you approach certain low areas, the monsoons aren’t an obstacle but a blessing for budget travelers since all the prices go down. Considering that in the high season, the Thais are practically a minority in certain areas of the country; a daily wet-hour is a just price to pay for the opportunity to see it at its best.Don’t limit yourself to one area, only a comprehensive visit to the main areas would allow a full appreciation of the local culture. Dividing the trip into three big loops, the northern, the southern and the northeastern one, it is possible to visit the main attractions within a concentrated month. Thai food is safe everywhere; sitting with a Thai in a street stall and sharing some chilies is the best way to make local friends.

Best Way To Get Around:

Thailand has a great network of roads, it is much better than its railways. The VIP buses provide a feeling of luxury and comfort; trains are slower and of low quality and unlike the buses, have limited places and a tight schedule. While in Bangkok avoid the tuk-tuks; sometimes the driver, instead of taking you to the desired location will drive you to his uncle the tailor. The taxis are reliable but they crawl around alongside the air-conditioned buses, the best deal in town, see my journal Roaming Bangkok for details.Local flights are inexpensive and tickets for them can be bought on the spot in the airports. The best place to buy international flights is Khaosan Road in Bangkok. It is wise to shop around; the agencies in the alleys offer better prices than those in the main road.Beginning the trip in the colder northern Thailand and traveling with night buses would allow an easier acclimatization; arriving at Bangkok at 3am is a rare pleasure.

Under the weeklong constraint to each area in a month long trip to Thailand, there isn't enough time to explore the north, hence a careful planning is essential.

Chiang Mai, the million elephants' city, had turned into the million temples and guesthouses one, and is the perfect choice for landing in the north. Taking a night bus from Bangkok, the city can be reached just before dawn. The buses sold from Khaosan Road are not recommended, the free night offered sometimes in a guesthouse belonging to the same company is not reliable and many stories of thefts from those buses can be heard. See my Roaming Bangkok journal for information how to reach the Mo Chit terminal in Bangkok; from there, buses to the north leave at all hours; they are clean, safe and comfortable.

Once in Chiang Mai, at least two days should be allotted to the city; one to the attractions around the old walls and the second for the attractions in the outskirts, mainly Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. The last is a fabulous temple on the top of a mountain offering handsome sights of Chiang Mai's valley.

Despite the massive marketing of the Thai northern cuisine, especially through specialized courses, Chiang Mai isn't the place to taste it. The other parts of this trip will provide plenty opportunities for that; a well earned R&R in Chiang Mai should be dedicated to what the city excels in: Western Food. It may sound kitschy, but in a long trip abroad we begin to miss food never touched at home; thus, a few nostalgic meals would only improve the overall experience.
All the main international chains are represented here, but the best options are offered by the small places owned by the expats community. The variety is as wide as their origins and most of the time the quality is excellent.

Due to the time limitations, booking from Chiang Mai a round day trip to the Golden Triangle is a smart move, see my journal about that area for more information. Most packages include a visit to Chiang Rai, to the border town of Mae Sai, to the Burmese town of Tachilek, the Laotian market at Don Sao, a short trip over the Mekong and the fortress town of Chiang Saen. No visas are needed for the locations in Laos and Myanmar.

The Mae Hong Son Loop, described in my Mae Hong Son Do It Yourself Journal is beyond the scope of such a trip. However, it can be done in an additional week in the north, at the expense to the visit to the northeast or the islands.

From now on, regular buses from the city's terminals are the best way to continue. From the Arcade (pronounced Akaed) terminal in Chiang Mai, there are buses to the nearby town of Lamphun; the place is worth a half day visit. Leaving early in the morning, Lamphun would be reached in ninety minutes. A couple of hours would be enough to see former home of the Emerald Buddha (see that journal) and to enjoy a trip with the horse carts that define the town in the eyes of most Thais.

Almost three hours from there is Tak. Most buses connecting Bangkok and Chiang Mai pass through its terminal, hence any bus traveling south from Lamphun will do. Once at Tak's terminal, take any bus to the east, to Sukhothai or Phitsanulok and leave it at Old Sukhothai, the former capital of the kingdom, just forty-five minutes away. It is better to explore the ruins from Old Sukhothai; the new town is away from the ruins and has no special attractions. The entrance to the ruins is free after 18:00 and the temples are best illuminated by the sunset light. The next day can be used for a more careful exploration of the ruins; unfortunately, as in many other places in the kingdom, the Thai government discriminates and charges different fees from Thais and tourists. Once this visit is over, take a truck to the new town and from there a bus to Phitsanulok, one hour away.

Wat Mahathat, next to the main bridge above the Nan River, hosts the principal attraction in Phitsanoluk, Phra Buddha Chinnarat. The image is the second holiest Buddha in Thailand and has an unusual halo of flames. Beyond it, the town is a pleasant one and allows experiencing the Thai life in a traditional kind of town.

Phitsanulok is maybe the biggest crossroad in the country, due to its location at the main connection of the North with isaan and Bangkok; thus it is the best place to end the trip in the north. If heading to the south, buses to Bangkok are the best option and if continuing to Isaan, there are direct buses to Khon Kaen and Nakhon Ratchasima.

A quick visit to the northeastern lobe in Thailand’s map means reaching two locations: Phimai and Nong Khai. Isaan has much more to offer, but the first is a unique wonder within Thailand and the second characterizes most of Isaan.

Reaching Phimai

Arriving at Phimai is easy, thus it is even more surprising that so few tourists reach it. From Bangkok’s Mo Chit terminal, take a bus to Khorat, called also Nakhon Ratchasima, the entrance to Isaan. From Khorat’s terminal there are buses to Phimai from the corner bus bay at the backside. The sixty kilometers way takes about an hour and costs 24 Bahts.

Phimai is separated into the new and old cities. The new town has little to offer; it is located 1.5 km from the old town and away from the way to Khorat thus there is no real reason to visit it. When entering the city, the first cluster of buildings at the left side is the local museum. Leave the bus at the first junction after it and you are at the center of the action. If you miss it, the bus will drop you at the new town and you can easily return with a tuk-tuk or even by foot.

The Archeological Museum

Although the entrance fee to the buildings is somewhat high, it is possible to take a look at the impressive collection of statues at an open warehouse. Hundreds of statues block the view of each other and the narrow corridors between them do not allow taking a proper view, but it is impressive nonetheless and the Khmer influence is evident.

Other Attractions

A little after the museum, at the next intersection are the market and the central square of the old town. One hundred meters at their right is the main temple complex. The way to the Saingam Village is the left turn at the main junction, if the museum is at your back.

Prasat Phimai

The impressive Khmer temple looks like a downscale of Angkor Wat, it is a Mahayana Buddhist Temple, and its name originates in the Khmer Vimai, which appears in a carved inscription at the main gate. The complex is rectangular and is surrounded by a boundary wall; the principal tower at its center is called Prasat Phimai. It has a square base of twenty two meters long and a height of twenty eight meters. An elevated, stone made, road leads to the central temple, which is shaped like the central one in Angkor, but smaller, without its richness and without sculpted walls. Around it there are smaller structures. Yet, it is impressive and complimentary to a visit to Angkor Wat, or even exchanges such a visit if you lack the time or means for it. Nearby is the "Red Stone" tower with a base of 11.5 meters and an height of 15.Unlike many temples in Thailand which face the east, Phimai faces southeast, in the direction of Angkor, the Khmer empire’s capital.

The Old Town

Surrounded by the remains of the old wall, which some parts of it, especially around the central square, were restored, the old town is small. The short street connecting the main temples with the outer wall, hosts the guesthouse, the hotel, the restaurant and a big modern temple by the wall; the last is kept by many dogs.

Saingam

Twenty minutes by bike, north of the old town, the Saingam village hosts the biggest clusters of Banyan trees in Thailand, called Sai Yoi (sweeping Banyans). The massive clusters cover a whole island in the Mun River, just beyond a charming little village. In 1911, Queen Sri Phatcharinthara visited the place and changed its name to Sai Ngam, "Area of the Splendid Banyans."
Under such a tree, Buddha achieved enlightenment, thus it is considered sacred to the Thais. Its most visible characteristics are the roots hanging from the branches; once they reach the ground, they create a new trunk. The tree here is 350 years old and has covered a full small island in the local river. Its original trunk, located along the riverside closest to Phimai, is wrapped with colored clothes, a typical Buddhist practice towards old and revered trees. Not far from it, there’s a small shrine used by the pilgrims. A narrow path advances among the trunks, and benches were placed along it for the joy of local couples. The branches from the different trunks are interconnected in an intricate and beautiful way, and create a protective roof.

A Bike

It is possible to rent one at the Phimai guesthouse for 10 Bahts a day. For Saingam, reach the main junction and continue straight ahead (the new town is at your right and the central temples at your left).

Reaching Nong Khai

The fastest way to reach Nong Khai is returning to Khorat and taking from there a direct bus. Depending on the class of the bus and the length of its stops at Khon Kaen and Udon Thani, the trip will take between five to seven hours and is best accomplished at night.

Bang Fai Phaya Nak

The Fireballs Naga Festival takes place in October and provides a good reason for visiting the town. I was a whole week and no fireballs were visible, but that was irrelevant. Dozens of food stalls appear at the promenade and at least two stages host musical groups in the evenings. The Isaan food is fabulous, and besides the expected hits, many tasty variations appear, like the Ma Muang Tam, a variation of the Som Tam salad prepared with mango instead of with papaya. The Mekong gets its share in the festivities; during the day, it hosts colorful boat races and in the night, it is elegantly decorated with Naga Boats, resembling serpents and dragons. People launch Krathong (candles within flowers' crowns) from a small wooden pier, and those float gracefully away into the dark.

Sala Kaeo Ku

No visit to Nong Khai is complete without a stopover in Sala Kaeo Ku, or Wat Khaek as is usually called. East from town, it offers a sculpted interpretation of Hindu-Buddhist mythologies. In a sunny day, it is a pleasant walk from the city center to the temple; just follow Highway 212 eastwards and at kilometer 4.15 (milestones will help with this task), 30 minutes from the terminal, there is a small road at the right, the temple is 200 meters along this road. Every bus leaving the town to the east will drop you at the detour from the highway.
The sights in it are often strikingly bizarre, with huge serpents appearing over the treetops and oddly shaped domes. A diagram of the Hindu Wheel of Life adorns an internal yard and nearby is a tall Buddha sitting under some frightening sized Nagas. Many of the statues that are not part of the Wheel illustrate well-known Thai proverbs, but a solid background in the Thai language is needed to fully appreciate them.

The Markets

The Morning Market is behind the bus terminal and it is worth a visit; the coffee here arrives from Laos and they use similar preparation methods. As in all Thai towns along the Mekong, there is here an Indochina Market in the northwestern part of the promenade; if you are continuing from here to Laos, it is wiser to delay the shopping. There is a small tourists’ center hosting several guesthouses and restaurants by the market’s north end. On Prajak Road, around the Seven Eleven, is the Night Market that hosts many food stalls every day after dark.

The Guesthouse

Even if you stay in another hotel, I recommend visiting the Sawasdee Guesthouse, 402 Meechai Road, opposite the Srikunmuang Wat: its traditional Thai structure has been tastefully restored with much love and care and is a feast to the eyes.

Around Nong Khai

If you are planning to explore inner Isaan, you can travel along highways 211 and 212, which follow the Mekong, or opt for the dry way: go to Khon Kaen in the geographic center of Isaan; it is superbly connected to all its towns. See my specific journals for Traveling along the Thai Mekong and Dinosaurs in the Mall for further details.

Back to Bangkok

Nong Khai is well connected to Bangkok, but due to the length of the trip, I recommend to take a local bus to the next city, Udon Thani. Local buses cost 21B (1hr, 57km) and leave you at the local terminal. A tuk-tuk will take you to the center, where the main terminal is (10B). Udon offers many options for a pleasant afternoon before taking a night bus to Bangkok.

One week in Southern Thailand can be an impossible task to plan; the extensive coasts and islands would take months to explore, thus a painful choice must be taken. However, most of the area has been overdeveloped and the places resemble each other, hence a decision based upon geographical accessibility and closeness to Bangkok is the best approach. Islands or coasts? One island and one coast?

Four islands are good candidates for a weeklong trip to the south:

Koh Phi Phi is one of those magical places that got overcrowd once the word of its existence spread around. Nonetheless, it is worth a look and if you plan your visit carefully – maybe during the off-season – you will enjoy an unforgettable experience.

Phuket – the biggest Thai island has much more than beaches to offer. Its main town, bearing the same name, is a charming Thai-Portuguese hybrid, while the island itself offers beaches open to the Andaman Sea and others which face the mainland and are more protected.

Koh Samui – is the island that began the tourism boom in Thailand and despite all the development, it has an overwhelming beauty. The boat taking you there crosses incredibly turquoise waters spotted with small islets. This view alone will make your trip worthwhile.

Koh Chang – the greenest island in Thailand, offers the calmest surroundings of the main island destinations, despite the fact that finding a free spot along its blue shores is getting harder each season. However, the side facing the Thai mainland still offers many surprises. Its advantage as compared to the other islands in this list is its closeness to the center; it can be easily combined with a visit to Pattaya.

Two coasts are interesting candidates for this trip, Songkhla and Pattaya:

Songkhla, in the deep south, has great beaches and a peaceful ambience; it is perfect for meeting the Southern Thai culture, but its distance from Bangkok will leave no time for other beaches.

Pattaya offers the best deal in Thailand when it comes to beaches: a beautiful coast, water sports, a well-developed town and all that just a couple of hours away from Bangkok. The proximity to the capital transforms Pattaya into the ideal resort while waiting for visas or flights. However, its beaches are hidden under a thick cover of bad public relationships; Pattaya became a synonym for the Thai sex-industry, while reality is quite different. The scene is restricted to a well-delimited area and it is hard to spot unless you are searching for it; in Bangkok, Phuket and Koh Samui the situation is much worse. Being open-minded and visiting the place before deciding where to spend the bulk of your vacation is a proven way to discover a charming location with amazing sunsets over the gulf.

The town can be divided in four parts. Naklua is the name of the northern zone and is mainly a residential area with few open beaches. Jomtien is the southern zone which competes hard with Central Pattaya for the attention of the tourists. The last is the axis separating Naklua from Central Pattaya; there, next to the highway, are placed the two main terminals, and in its other end are most of the supermarkets in town. Jomtien has more beaches than Central, but the last offers better services and is the recommended place to stay in town.

Traveling

Phuket: The island-province is connected to the mainland with two bridges and thus it is very easy to reach it from Bangkok. From the southern bus terminal, Sathaanii Sai Tai Mai in Thonburi (at the junction of Thanon Borom Ratchonni and the Nakhon Chaisri Highway), buses leave to Phuket at all hours. Plan to arrive around 04:30 and an awesome sunrise will welcome you.

Koh Phi Phi can be reached with ferries from Phuket; the island does not offer budget accommodations, thus, if on a tight budget, then it would be wiser to arrive with the first ferry from Phuket and then leaving with the last one to Krabi, on the mainland.

Koh Samui: There are many buses to Koh Samui from the southern bus terminal in Bangkok, which combine a ferry from Surat Thani to the island.

Koh Chang: From Bangkok’s eastern bus terminal, Ekamai, take a bus to Trat from where ferries leave to Koh Chang.

Songkhla: from the southern terminal in Bangkok, take a night bus to Hat Yai and from there a bus or a truck for the last leg.

Pattaya is accessible through hourly buses departing from Ekamai and from the northern terminal, Mo Chit. Be careful not to take the buses leading to Jomtien since they collect passengers along the way and stop in every town along the way – you can use better the extra two hours of the way. The town lacks a good system of internal transportation, the only option is overpriced trucks running along the main streets; therefore, it is wise to place yourself near the center, where all the facilities are easily accessible.

Deciding

Choosing a single destination for a week wouldn’t be difficult; personal preferences should be the main parameter. Splitting the trip between two locations would essentially limit the choice to one of two options:
Phuket and Koh Phi Phi: the first is big and close enough to the mainland to be considered part of it and the second is close enough to Phuket for day trips.
Pattaya and Koh Chang: Pattaya’s sunsets win over all the other locations in this list; a short overnight visit to Koh Chang will diversify the visit.

Most visitors to South East Asia look for something different from their usual surroundings; thus, preaching for a visit to a cosmopolitan metropolis like Bangkok might be seen as an error. However, Thailand's capital managed to keep the gentle spirit of its inhabitants despite its exponential growth during the last century. International chains compete fiercely for a place in its crowded streets, but majestic pagodas in every corner and the peoples' smiles keep the balance in favor of the Thai culture.

Most backpackers' first encounter with the city is through Khaosan Road. A universe by itself, it provides an accurate glimpse onto their world; printed T-shirts with a detailed list of things backpackers are supposed to do while in Khaosan are available there. The T-shirt is taken seriously by anyone around and pinpoints the delusion of an improvised travel through virgin lands. The travel agencies in the alleys around Khaosan offer the best deals for flying tickets. It is a good idea to arrive to Thailand with a one way ticket and then to buy here a Bangkok - Your Hometown - Bangkok ticket; in my case it saved more than a couple of hundred of dollars.

Nearby is the Grand Palace; from the D&D Guesthouse's roof in Khaosan it is possible to get awesome views of it at night. The entrance to the palace is the only annoying part in the visit; locals enter for free while foreigners are requested to pay around five dollars. Since foreigners pay all the other taxes imposed by the local government (through the hotels rooms, the restaurant bills and all the other non-refundable VAT), this is a form of discrimination between people. However, the palace itself is gorgeous and among other attractions, has a downscaled reconstruction of Angkor Wat and the Emerald Buddha. While visiting the north it is interesting to visit the other temples related to this talisman, see my Indiana Jones and the Emerald Buddha journal for details.

The nearby Wat Pho may be the central point of interest for those of us interested in medicinal Thai massage and Wat Arun, in Thonburi, across the Chao Praya River, is the one temple to see beyond the central palace.

Bangkok is not just travel agencies and temples, it means shopping as well; this is the place to stack up before a trip into deep South East Asia. The rule of the thumb here is to avoid shopping in Khaosan Road or in the Chatuchak Weekend Market; an electric socket adaptor costing 5 baht in any electric supply store is sold in Khaosan Road for 120 baht. The Chinese quarter is a bit of a disappointment since it is not different from any other local shopping area. The best deals in town are along Sukhumvit Road and the Silom District. See my journal Shopping in Bangkok for further explanations and details. However, if buying electronic equipment, it is better to reach Singapore, where for a similar budget, you will get better equipment.

This journal had been built over the assumption of a month long visit to Thailand, evenly distributed among its four main areas. That won't suit everyone, and the week in Bangkok creates an opportunity to add a few degrees of freedom to this over-packed trip. If a week in the south is not enough, a week could be used for the Phuket-Phi Phi combination described in the southern file in this journal and then a couple of days added from the week in Bangkok. Pattaya beaches are only a couple of hours away from the capital and thus are the perfect candidate for such an approach. In a similar fashion, more days in the hilly parts of the country may be added by making a day trip to Kanchanaburi and the bridge over the River Kwai. Giving a couple of days to the area would enable a visit to Sangkhlaburi and to the Three Pagodas border with Myanmar as well. Buses to Kanchanaburi and to Damnoen Saduak leave from the Southern Terminal in Bangkok, the closest one to Khaosan Road. Damnoen Saduak is a traditional floating market southwest of Bangkok. It is open every day and attracts mainly Thai tourists. Floating among narrow canals, the vendors offer to the tourists on the piers mainly traditional Thai food and seasonal fruits, while stalls on surrounding warehouses offer souvenirs.