In 2018, I was lucky enough to travel for 3 weeks around Thailand. It was incredible! If you want to travel around Thailand, I highly recommend you do. Even almost 4 years later, I think of the trip so often. It is one of the top places I’ve travelled to. I know that it is a major destination, especially for student/ gap year travellers and backpackers. I didn’t backpack around. However, I feel like the tips in this post will still apply even so!
My top tips:
- Please don’t ride the elephants. If you love animals, then I urge you to not partake in activities like these. Almost always, the elephant has been beaten and tortured into submission in order for these activities to take place. I won’t go into too much detail as it can be very graphic but in order to ”tame” the elephant, they do something called ”crushing the spirit”, which IS as cruel as it sounds. They are babies when this happens, and they are usually put in a cage where they can’t move, lift their heads and have nails and sticks pushed into their feet. If you want to do more research, click here for more in-depth information about what happens. It is just so cruel and makes me upset even thinking about it. Elephants are beautiful, intelligent, amazing animals so don’t deserve this treatment. If you do want to see Elephants whilst in Thailand, then I suggest you go to an ethical elephant sanctuary. The Happy Elephant Home and Elephant Nature Park are two excellent examples of an ethical elephant sanctuary that has rehomed elephants that were once sadly abused. Additionally, please don’t partake in places that offer the chance to have your photos taken with the tigers – they’re most likely drugged, even if the place says otherwise. They’re wild animals, there’s no way that they could be ‘tamed’ to be around humans and not ever attack. Just be vigilant with animal encounters in general in Thailand as they don’t have the best track record with animal rights. Even, if you see people offering the chance to buy the animal to release it back into the water, they will then be caught again and the process repeats itself. I remember we bought some turtles and fish to release into the water, but when I got back home, I googled the tradition and read more about it and realised. It is a Buddhist practice called Marking Merit. Although I do believe it is a good practice, I just disagree with the animals being recaught over and over again.
- Stray dogs are everywhere. This can be very sad if you love dogs, like me. I did buy them food and fed them when I could, but I have heard people say that this can be bad too. So I believe that this is up to you to decide for yourself. My heart just hurts when I see any animal needing care.
- Bus travel is the way to go! We travelled by bus from the East of Thailand back to Bangkok. It was a 3.5-hour journey in total, and for only £5 it was like travelling first class! They had a ‘bus attendant’ which was like a flight attendant (yes, including the uniform) and they gave us food, water and a blanket – the seats even reclined! I could’ve travelled around like that for days, so definitely look into it if you want cheap travel.
- There are a lot of temples in Thailand, as you probably know. It is inevitable to not come across one! If you want to visit one (you probably will – they’re gorgeous) then it’s important to be respectful at all times. In order to go in, you must not show shoulders. I recommend bringing a lightweight scarf or shawl to wear over your clothing. If you do forget, many major temples sell temporary ones to hire.
- 7 Eleven is everywhere! Each 7 Eleven had different food and products to try. They were very cheap too. If you buy food from there, they will even heat it up for you! I really recommend that you try the 7 Eleven milk tea – it was heavenly.
- Night markets are another popular thing for tourists and locals to visit. Here you will find plenty of cheap items such as shoes, clothes, technology and street food…including bugs to eat! One thing important to note is that sometimes some sellers sell weapons such as knives and swords. You most likely wouldn’t be able to take it back to your home country, but it doesn’t stop people from buying them. They are often on display for anyone to touch and look at, with no ‘protective packaging’ which can be a bit scary.
- You don’t need any vaccinations* to visit Thailand but it’s reccomended to get a Tetanus, Hep A and Yellow fever vaccination before you go. I hate getting injections – to the point where I fainted getting mine (not anti vax, I just hate needles haha), but I am really glad I decided to get them beforehand as if I did contract one of these I know I’d be feeling way worse.
- Malaria is common in Thailand, however, just in certain areas. Therefore, I would advise you to have a look if where your travelling is on the malaria map, and take extra precautions just in case. I didn’t travel to any of the areas but I still took bug/mosquito repellent. Ironically, I didn’t get biten the entire time, except from on the way back to the airport on the bus and it was so itchy!!! I managed to buy some Tiger Balm in duty free, which did help, but was so horrible on an 18 hour flight back!
- Visit Terminal 21! Terminal 21 is a huge shopping centre in major cities in Thailand, designed to be like an airport/destination type thing. Each level is a diffrent location, such as Japan, San Fransico and London! I happily spent hours here walking around, not even buying anything but just looking at the design!
- Tuk Tuks are an amazing way to get around. They’re cheap, fast and fun. Beware that you can get ripped off by some drivers, so just make sure to know the average prices beforehand.
- Don’t disrespect the King. He is highly respected in Thailand so if you say disrespectful things, or even stand on money with his face on, you could be facing some trouble.
- There are restaurants everywhere. Specifically, peoples garages. I remeber we had food in a womans nicley decorated garage with Christmas decorations up (it was June) and a horror movie on the TV behind us. I thoroghly suggest you visit these little random restaurants not just for the random appeal but because the food is very good and homemade, and you’re helping the locals by giving them money.
- Don’t take Buddha heads out of the country or even buy them in the first place. It is very very disrespectful in Buddhist culture and it is illegal. I think they would be hard to find anyway for the illegality of them, however it’s just important to note.
- Be aware that if you go to a major beach destination (if you have young kids), that you will probably see strippers dancing on poles in open bars. I remember driving in Pattaya, looking out of the window and seeing them dancing in the open which was a bit of a culture shock. It personally didn’t bother me, but I’m just making people with young kids aware if it’s something they would rather they not like them to see.
If you visit Thailand or have visited Thailand, tell me what you liked the most and what shocked you the most! I’d love to know!
*Covid vaccinations are different. You can not enter the country without one, at the time of publishing.
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