La Thailand It's a wonderful place and one of the easiest places to travel, especially alone. The people are very friendly, it is a safe country and transportation and accommodation are easy to access for everyone. In all my years as a travel coach, I have always suggested Thailand as the first destination for a solo trip for those who were perhaps looking for a tropical place with a decent social life.
Thailand is a country with more soul, compared to the first time I went there, in 2000, today it has developed offers for travelers with very different tastes. Perhaps not everyone knows that northern Thailand may represent the world center of digital nomads, that is, of all those people who work remotely and do not need a fixed location. For this reason, entire areas, such as chang mayo They have been transformed and have many cafes or restaurants with wifi connection, the possibility of staying in very comfortable places and a decent nightlife, much less rubbish than Bangkok and some islands. Tourism in recent years has evolved by distinguishing itself by interests, for example Thailand is famous throughout the world for rock climbing and specifically the province of Krabi, on the famous beaches of Railay and Tonsai, In this small area you will have the opportunity to learn and practice climbing from wonderful teachers and enjoy a decidedly relaxed and hippie atmosphere.
Thailand is also the country where you will have the opportunity to get a diving license for very little money: Thailand and Honduras compete for the title of the cheapest course in the world. Many people start diving on the Island of Koh Tao or Koh Pangan, which are located in the sea of the Gulf of Thailand, is certainly an excellent idea because there are few currents, good visibility and now, after several years, the underwater fauna and flora have definitely improved since the Tsunami. However, if you are already an expert in the field of diving, I recommend that you spend a few days to Koh Lanta, in the Andaman Sea, is located at a strategic point where the currents gather many fish and the small uninhabited islands nearby offer truly wonderful colors on the seabed. The islands SimilarWithout a doubt they are the best place to dive in Thailand, it is an uninhabited archipelago, the best way to visit them is by boat, if you dive on a liveaboard which is a boat equipped for diving where you can immerse yourself in the blue for up to 4 people. times a day. Alternatively, you can visit the islands in a tent, but remember not to leave anything on the beach because they are outdoors.
Your Thailand itinerary may be influenced in part by the season and therefore relative rainfall. The best time to go there is during our winter, when there is the dry season, in these months on the continental part it will be a little cooler and less humid. However, during our summer we are in the middle of the rainy season, in many cases we could find ourselves in flooded regions, especially in the north. During this season in Bangkok and in the north the humidity can be very intense, the best place to go to enjoy the good weather at sea is without a doubt the part of the Gulf of Thailand and therefore the islands of Koh Samui, Koh Pangan, Koh Tao and the others.
To build a balanced trip to Thailand, I suggest that you dedicate the first part to discovering the culture and the second part to relaxing by the sea. All trips depart from Bangkok Its capital that never sleeps, the city is very beautiful and interesting, if it is the first time you visit I suggest sleeping next to the river, but if you have already been there it may be interesting to move to Sukhumvit, a less touristy area. and also very popular among expats. The most popular area and with the cheapest accommodation is Khao San Road, personally it is not the type of place I would recommend, it is very noisy there are a lot of drunk children and it is not the best in security, but obviously if you are looking for a crazy night it is fine . A good idea could be to orient one of your nights in the capital at a rooftop bar that after the 007 movie has become very popular in Bangkok.
Traveling to Thailand also means trying to learn more about the great empire of Siam and that is why it is essential to visit the cities of Ayutthaya and Sukhothai. Ayutthaya It can be reached in one day from Bangkok because it is less than 100 km away, it represents the ancient capital of the kingdom of Siam, it is possible to visit the ruins of the ancient city although only the religious buildings and therefore the temples remain standing. , pagodas and Buddhist monasteries. The heads of Buddha embraced by the roots of the trees are iconographic, one of my favorite images of the country.
Reach Take a sipHowever, it is necessary to plan the night in the place because several hours of travel are necessary. This represents the most beautiful and important archaeological site in Thailand, its architectural structure is very interesting where temples and rectangular pools alternate, giving incredible plays of light, especially at sunrise and sunset.
The further we go north, the more the landscape transforms into a dense and impenetrable forest. In the area of Father and as I said before, Chang Mai and Chang Rai There are some of the most beautiful hikes that can be done in this country. Be very careful to contact only eco-sustainable operators who put respect for nature first, avoid any type of elephant ride, if your trek is wild enough, you will have the opportunity to encounter elephants freely in the forest. Ethnically, northern Thailand shares the Padaung ethnicity with neighboring Myanmar, whose women are famous for being the "giraffe women." This custom has very ancient roots, from the age of 6 girls were forced to wear heavy iron rings and lengthen their necks, irreversibly breaking their collarbones and lengthening their vertebrae. Obviously, this practice, in addition to being extremely painful, prevents women from many movements. This tradition was “tinged” with the value of beauty, but it was a sign of submission since if a woman was accused of adultery, her rings would be broken, thus causing death from a broken neck. This original practice is practically abandoned, some women wear lead rings, but as necklaces, not enough to break their bones. In Thailand there is only one town where this practice still exists and it is only maintained thanks to tourists who pay to see this strange phenomenon, so please avoid going there to break this chain of pain at least for future generations.
Returning to the islands, I would focus more on the ones facing the Andaman Sea because, in my personal taste, they are the most beautiful. Let's remember that in Thailand there are hundreds of islands, many uninhabited or almost, so at any time you can have an uninhabited or almost uninhabited island, it just depends on your level of adaptation. For the somewhat "populated", I definitely recommend a visit to Isla Phi Phi, although in the years after the film's release The Beach had become a prey to mass tourism, the situation has now normalized. the famous Maya Bay access has been reduced, sharks and much underwater life have returned, here too, travel responsibly, no motor boats with alcohol and loud music, choose long tail boats driven by locals and eat food cooked in the place. One of the most fun islands in recent years is Koh Lipe, crystal clear water and many nightclubs with music and parties, it is a quiet, young tourism, nothing luxurious, from here you can take a multitude of excursions through wonderful nearby landscapes. Also worth a look Koh Boulogne where there is a large French community, you can actually find delicious baguettes. Even if it is often associated Phuket to low-level tourism, I would say that a visit is totally worth it, first because it is a very large, very varied island that hides a thousand little-known treasures and then because the city of Phuket is undoubtedly worth a visit, it is one of the few Portuguese colonial cities and it has a really different architecture from the rest of the country.
Thailand is a wonderful and very varied country, you will never get tired of returning and discovering new corners and new islands, I have been there three times and I dream of flying there next time.
