Forty-degree heat hitting you from every direction, white sand between your toes, crystal clear blue water filled with tropical fish, all the things we dream about whilst working or studying our butts off! Love a bit of adventure? Don’t want to spend a fortune? Asia has to be your next travel destination! I may be a bit biased as I have now been to Thailand twice and I’m only Twenty-Two, but I think It will always be one of my favorite places to relax, shop and explore. Tropical destinations and money don’t usually go hand in hand however if done right, Thailand is the perfect combination of a tropical getaway without a huge price tag. Adventurous activities are all around you and most are free! Today I’m going to share with you my favorite activities when traveling Thailand with a mix of cheap activities and some that will cost you. All in all, nothing was extremely expensive whilst I was over there, it’s just about knowing where to go and how to create your own cost-free adventure. Here are some of my favorite things to do in Thailand: (In no particular order)
1) Temples Chiang Rai: If you happen to visit Chiang Mai you will notice it is very different from the rest of Thailand, it is not surrounded by gorgeous beaches however it is one of the most beautiful little cities I have ever been too. It’s less crazy than Bangkok but is still modern and
has some awesome malls and markets. I could talk about Chiang Mai forever, however, my top thing to do is a little road trip up to Chiang Rai, the trip up is an awesome drive through the jungle with some cool little places to stop along the way. Chiang Rai is known for its temples and there are temples everywhere! Sadly, I didn’t get to do them all, but we managed
to get to the beautiful white temple officially called Wat Rong Khun. Located in
the Mueang Chiang Rai District this temple will take your breath away. You may have to fight the crowds but it worth it even to just get some nice pictures and feel like a princess. There is a 50-baht entry fee which is $3.00 NZD which is cheap for a day's adventure. As a bonus on our way to the white temple, we found what looked like an abandoned temple. This temple didn’t have a name anywhere, but we were the only ones there, it was free and was like being on a movie set!
2) Chiang Mai: Elephant tour: I dream of going to so many places in the world and going back
to Chiang Mai is still on that list! You can’t go to Thailand and not do an elephant tour! This
one is a bit of a pricey activity but one that takes you out for a whole day and gives you
memories for life! My top tip with doing an elephant tour is to make sure you go to a
sanctuary where the elephants get treated a lot better! This tour was amazing not only did
we get to go white water rafting we also got feed Pad Thai, got to swim, feed and walk
through the jungle with the elephants. Last but not least they took us on a waterfall walk at
the end with a final swim to top it off! It was a full day of adventure. We had the most amazing
tour guide who spoke perfect English and had such exciting energy about what he was
doing! Check out Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Chiang Mai if you are interested in the tour we
did, It cost us about 2,000 Bhat which is around $100.00 NZD. Yes, it is a bit pricey but I loved
it.
3) Markets: Night markets can be found everywhere in Thailand and they almost all sell similar
items, so don’t worry about missing the markets they are on almost every weekend where
ever you go. Chiang Mai had the only market that we thought was a bit unique, it had lots of
handmade crafts rather than your fake handbags and sunglasses. If you are looking for your
classic Thailand market with all the fake branded clothing and accessories (Which we all
love) then Fisherman’s village in Koh Samui has an awesome night market as well as Phuket
which has loads of the same markets to check out. Ask your hotel staff they will know the
best markets closest to where you are staying. The best part about the markets in Thailand is
that there are often smaller ones nearby which the locals know all about.
4) Bangkok: Bangkok is faced paced and down-right crazy if you ask me. It’s a city to shop to
your heart's content and eat until there's no tomorrow. Even if you don’t want to spend much
money, the malls in Bangkok have everything on offer! They also put you in aircon and out
of the heat which is a huge bonus. Platinum fashion mall blew my mind, it’s two buildings
with levels on levels of market-style clothing, shoes, bags you name it! It was like walking
through Ali express! You have to bargain your way through the mall but you are bound to
get a great deal!
5) Koh Samui:
Koh Samui is where I spent most of my time in Thailand and although it is a small island it is tropical and the perfect location to chill out on a beautiful beach and grab a cocktail (Just talking about it makes me want to go back). We found a bar that had a pool looking out to the sea, so one evening we had the pool to ourselves and had a happy hour cocktail. This is a great way to have a cheap fun evening as you are only paying for one drink but get to use the pool and other facilities. Thailand has lots of places like this that let you use their pool and changing rooms if you purchase something. Another great activity is paddle boarding, we got to do this for free as the resort we were staying at offered two boards for an hour, there are activities like this offered all over the main beach in Koh Samui such as Lamai and usually its a pretty reasonable price. Just don't get your nails done or get a massage from the ladies that walk down the beach, as lovely as they are they do rip you off (trust me I know from experience!). Another thing we did for absolutely no cost at all, was swim out to a little island off of the beach, we took some drinks in a little waterproof bag and sat on a private island for an afternoon in the sun!
6) Phuket:
Phuket is a classic location for holiday goers however because we already experienced Thailand's beautiful beaches in Koh Samui and Thailand shopping in Bangkok we wanted to find something new to do in Phuket. While exploring local markets one evening we came across old Phuket town a beautiful little town with quirky painted, century-old Portuguese townhouses. It is a beautiful location to just wander and take pictures, go into one fo the cafes and people watch. The market in old Phuket town has little gifts that match the vibe of the city, bright colours and homemade trinkets just beautiful!
7) Cat cafe: Thailand has cat cafes everywhere! Whilst in Phuket we visited the cutest cat cafe with tones of adorable cats and great cakes. If you buy a coffee and a cake you can hang out with the cats for as long as you like! I love cats and coffee so for me, this was one of my highlights. Visit the cafe called Doo cat cafe in Rawai Phuket if you are keen to check out where we went, the ladies that own it are lovely and let us see there new kittens that weren't yet allowed to join the other cats in the cafe.
Those are my top activities to do in Thailand and to be honest I didn't even scratch the surface! Doing the classic activities that they advertise can be expensive so get researching and get creative because Thailand is so beautiful you can just walk around and explore and you will have had a fun-filled day out! Stay tuned my next Thailand post is all about the top vegan places to eat and trust me if you're a foodie you don't wanna miss it! Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment on your top tips for cheap activities whilst traveling.
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