Yes, your absolutely wrong to think I’m not going to have a cheesy Thailand pun as my title in attempt of being funny- obv. Well in case you didn’t catch on to what the post is about, here we go anyways. In the summer, I spent just under a month travelling around south east Asia with my boyfriend- Shane. And what an experience it was to say the least… from being forced to try burnt scorpion, to receiving a death threat from a Thai taxi driver, and experiencing horrendous food poisoning, its’ just your standard trip to Thailand I suppose? Well in this blog I’m going to be sharing some of my experiences and tips with you, so feel free to have a wee read on.
Why Thailand?
Well for one, everyone goes to it, so it must be admired for a reason (yes, I’m a sheep) … and two, your lying if you say it isn’t on your bucket list!
Initially I was extremely hesitant about going away and thought I wouldn’t be able to cope with being on the other side of the world basically. On top of that the whole living out of a suitcase for a month without having my mummy there to do the washing; just wasn’t appealing to me. But here I am, wishing I was back there right now and dwelling on all the class mems I made. In other words, I manned up and would go back in a heartbeat if I could.
So, jumping right in, our trip began in Dublin where we flew to Helsinki and then landed in Thailand- weird I know, everyone usually stops in Dubai as their connecting flight. But when you’re on a student budget and Helsinki is cheaper, it’s the one I’m going to go for. The flight in total was just abit over 13hrs and to be honest I’m not really a big fan of flying. I’ll admit I cried on the first flight, due to the turbulence being a nightmare, I truly thought I was a goner at a stage, but after a ‘few’ G&T’s the nerves were gonzo. Apart from being dramatic, the flight went in quick enough as there was plenty of cracker movies to watch. Marley & Me and The Greatest Showman certainly kept me occupied.
The breakdown of our trip:
Bangkok otherwise known as the land of buckets. I remember just arriving into the city and thinking NUTTERS. You know how on a motorway there’s 3 lanes allocated to fit 3 cars? Well they make about 7 cars fit in that space, and then coming up the side of you there’s Susan on the moped with about 4 of her children crammed on it and none of them with a helmet between them. Was stressin’ for them!
Chaing Mai was OK. I really recommend the ‘Johnny boy elephant sanctuary’. The workers are such good craic and the sanctuary is completely against animal cruelty which is a plus! Although when we were booking the elephants the man told us to get into his van and he would show us some pics- being naïve, we hopped in. After about 20mins sailing around, while the man and his 2 workers were upfront, we started to panic a bit and by a bit, I mean a lot. We assumed the worst and thought we were getting kidnapped, as we couldn’t understand how it was taking so long to see ‘pics’ and why it took 3 men. So anyways we started to tactically plan our big escape, and came up with jumping out of the truck (its like a open back truck thing) at the next red light and make a run for it. Long story short, the wee man’s office just turned out to be situated far away and in the end, he gave us a free lift to our hotel.
Koh Samuai is an example of why I would recommend booking as you go along, as what you see online is not always what it looks like. The hotel on our first night was basically in a jungle, so yes you can imagine all the creepy crawleys etc lingering around our wee bungalow. Just before we went to bed we heard numerous clicking/ tapping on the door, which really sounded like someone was trying to get in. Being out in the middle of nowhere I was not taking any chances! So I grabbed the hair spray and scissors and had them at the ready incase any baddies were coming in to tackle us. Well it turned out that the clicking noise was a lizard. We seen it run along the floor once we turned the lights on and were both standing screaming on top of the coffee table, like 2 big girls. But there you go lizards make clicking noises and they are EVERYWHERE in Thailand.
Koh Phangan is only good for the full moon party- which is mental. Other than that, it’s pretty boring.
Koh Toa was my absolute FAV. This island is the best for snorkelling as the water is literally crystal clear, and the island is so stunning, and much cleaner compared to others.
Phi Phi is picture perfect, although when we went it rained bar one day. So, we went to monkey beach, the monkeys are cute to look at but they are so cheeky and try to sneak on to the boats to hitch a lift back to the islands.
Phuket, I got food poising from pizza and was bed bound. Though, its V good for all your fake trainers (hey, fake it till I make it), if you haggle them down that is.
There you are that’s Thailand for you in a short and sweet version, I’ll not bore use to death anymore.
CYA, Clodagh x
Clodagh McFaul is a final year BSc in Communication Management & Public Relations student at Ulster University. She can be found at: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/clodaghmcfaul/ ; Facebook – https://en-gb.facebook.com/clodagh.mcfaul ; LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/clodagh-mcfaul-592381173/
