Wednesday, March 30, 2016

TRAVELING THAILAND - MY TIPS

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog. Cameron and I are currently in Singapore on our way to Bali & while sitting in the airport I decided to write down and few tips I thought I would pass along to anyone traveling Thailand. So far, Cameron and I have only visited the south end of Thailand. So these tricks will include Bangkok and the islands! After we visit Chang Mai & the northern side of Thailand I will definitely update this! 
So here goes! 

  • When arriving in Bangkok, we found there were numerous places to exchange money into Thai Baht, however, most of these places have a high exchange rate. A nice flight attendant told us that the best place to exchange in the airport was on the bottom level at one of the purple banks. We found there exchange rate to be much better than all the others on the main floor 
  • Since on the topic of money and exchanging money, if possible, wait to exchange any money until you are out of the airport. The best bank to go to is SCB & it's bright purple! Also, take out enough money to last you the week, you'll pay less in service charges! & remember, always go to the purple banks! 
  • Taxis are easy to find in Bangkok but they will all try and rip you off! Stick to the pink taxis or the blue and yellow ones & ask them to use their meter!! If you don't ask them to use the meter they will charge you way more! 
  • Never use Tuk Tuks, it's a great experience to try once but from our experience they never take you where you want & always end up charging you more than what you bargained for! (This point is really only for Bangkok, we found all other Tuk Tuks around Thailand to be great!!) 
  • Bargain! All of the shop owners will charge you triple the price the item is actually worth unless you haggle them! A great tip we learned from Cameron's sister was to tell them no & say the other shop owner told you half the price they are offering, if that doesn't work simply start walking away and in no time they will run after you and agree to the price you offered. 
  • Most shop owners while bargaining will show you their calculator and say "how much you pay" ALWAYS low ball it!! My trick was to always say 150 baht unless the item was super cheap! 
  • Bargain for anything! Even hotels! We would 95% of the time end up saving atleast 200 baht on a hotel by just asking "is that best price?" 
  • Use Agoda! It's a great way to book hotels and save a little money here and there. It was a great tool to see if hotels were actually giving you a fair price in person as to what they were quoting online, just keep in mind not all hotels are as they seem online, read the reviews! People from all over the world rate hotels on Agoda and give you awesome advice! 
  • Less is more! Pack as little clothing as possible! I over packed & I hardly brought anything. There is so much shopping here it's crazy! & everything is super cheap! 
  • Pack conditioner, extra sunscreen and aloe!!! 3 things I wish I had packed more of because in Thailand they are either non existent or extremely expensive!! 
  • Keep in mind that you cannot drink the water in Thailand so buying water is necessary, the Family Marts (similar to a 7-11) gives you the best price on water and always have promotions!! 
  • To stick with the tip above, we almost always shopped at the Family Marts over the 7-11. This was because the prices were much better and we found them to be less busy! 
  • This is a tip from Cameron for anyone who will be buying beers.. Buy the Big Chang beers that come in the 2 or 3 packs, you'll get more beer & pay less!! & for my lady drinkers, try the pink Spy's!! There wine coolers! Super yummy and the cheapest drink you'll find! (both always cheapest at the Family Marts) 

& those are all the tips I could think of right now! If I think of anymore I will definitely update this post!! 
I hope some of these tips helped you out on your trip to Thailand! 

xoxo Alicia 

Monday, March 21, 2016

10 THINGS TO DO IN KRABI, THAILAND

Krabi Thailand was by far the highlight of our trip thus far. The province has so much to offer and many of the top things to do here are absolutely FREE!
After arriving in Phuket, I looked back on our time in Krabi and thought I would throw together our 10 favorite things to do in Krabi Province!
Here is goes...

1. TIGER CAVE TEMPLE 


Like I mentioned in my last post, Tiger Cave Temple was amazing!! The views from the top were breathtaking and roaming around the grounds of the temple was so much fun! Not to mention it was all FREE!
























2. AO NANG BEACH & TOWN 

We LOVED Ao Nang, sure it was pretty touristy and pretty busy but we love to people watch and this was by far the best place for that! We loved walking around the town and shopping at night. It was so fun to haggle with the locals and get some great items for super cheap! Ao Nang had a great beach as well, it wasnt the nicest beach we went to but it still had some great views!




3. RAILEY BEACH
Railey Beach was a beach we were thinking of skipping because we heard it was pretty busy and not worth it. However, after running into one of our old friends in Ao Nang she convinced us to head over. After arriving we found it was super busy and packed with tourists but we made our way to Princess Cave, a cave filled with.. well.. you can look in the picture.. in the thai culture this cave is great for praying to the gods if you are looking to get pregnant or having trouble conceiving. Right in front of the cave there was an awesome beach that took us into a really cool cave! Also on Railey there is a hidden lagoon!! If you follow the signs it will lead you to an amazing lookout with a gorgeous lagoon! The hike to get there was long, steep and muddy but totally worth it! If your into rock climbing, there were a ton of great spots to climb! The boat to get from Ao Nang to Railey was only 100 baht, so pretty affordable!




4. VOGUE SHOPPING MALL 
Vogue shopping mall was so much fun! Its located in the heart of Krabi town & is 3 stories. Each level was filled with tons of shops with great deals! On the main level there was a food court where Cameron and I decided to take a night off our fried rice diets and indulge in some pizza!!! The pizza was by far the best pizza we have had!



5. NIGHT MARKETS
Night Markets were & still are our favorite things to check out in each town we go to, We love trying all the local street food and shopping! You can get some great deals if you know how to bargin!


6. DRAGON CREST MOUNTAIN 

This was one place I wanted to see so badly but we unfortunately didn't have the time, we want to do this hike so badly that we might have to make a trip back to Krabi! Dragon Crest Mountain is the highest peak in all of Krabi province. It has some amazing look out points and even a little waterfall. From what we read the hike is pretty intense and takes a total of 4 hours but the view at the top is worth it since you can see all the way to Phuket & the surrounding islands. You must also be careful because we read of a few people running into King Cobra snakes.

7. VISIT KOH LANTA

Koh Lanta was our favorite place in all of Krabi! This little island has so much to offer and had the best beaches we have seen!! The people there were amazing, they were all so kind and welcoming! The food was awesome & there was so much to do!! We loved renting motor bikes and touring the whole island finding new lookouts each time! 



8. ISLAND TOURS
Island tours are pretty popular in Krabi since there are tons that surround the province. The 4 island tour is the most popular and the best place to buy a ticket is from Koh Lanta. It costs around 800 baht each. The tour will take you island hoping and snorkeling all day! A pretty great way to see a bunch of islands in one day


 
9. RENT A MOTOR BIKE & TOUR! 
Renting motor bikes is another one of our favorite things to do! It only costs 200 baht for the whole day!! Pretty great!! We would just jump on our motor bike with no plans and end up at some amazing lookouts! A pretty awesome way to see as much of Thailand as possible for $8 a day!



10. MUAY THAI!!  

Muay Thai... what an awesome experience!! It was a little pricey but totally worth it!! We watched 9 fights and had pretty much front row. Its a definite must see if ever in Thailand!!








Tuesday, March 15, 2016

TIGER CAVE TEMPLE - KRABI, THAILAND

The Tiger Cave Temple was one of my favorite things we have done so far in Thailand.
It's located in Krabi town about 10 minutes outside the heart of the city.
There was so much to do at this beautiful temple it was hard to decided what to accomplish first. You could see monkey's. see beautiful temples on the grounds surrounding the cave, you could go in the actual cave, see where the monks live & of course take the hike to the top of the mountain and see the breathtaking views of all of Krabi.

Cameron and I decided to do the hike first to get it out of the way. The hike is just stairs and there were a total of 2063 steps to the top. Now, it might seem like that's not too many & sure, it didn't take us too long but the steps are steep!!
The hike was a great workout and once at the top the views were amazing!!!







After reaching the top we headed back down and decided to see the sights around the grounds. We watched people feed the monkeys and even got to see a few cute baby monkeys! 

We saw numerous temples and many Buddhas around the grounds. We also stumbled upon a place called Wonderland, We followed the signs and wound up inside a cave! Inside this cave was where the monks lived. They had their own private sanctuary in the heart of the jungle. 
We wondered around and climbed in and out of the paths through the cave. 
We even found a stray cat!! She was so cute and of course loved us so much she followed us around for a while. 






After playing in the caves and seeing where the monks lived, we followed the path further into the jungle where we saw some more monkeys and some amazing parts of nature. The path lead us right back to where we started and we continued exploring the grounds. 

After a long day at the Temple we headed back to our hotel and we couldn't stop talking about how much fun we had! 
If ever in Krabi the Tiger Cave Temple us a must see!!! It was gorgeous and it was free!! An entire day of exploring and all we had to pay was the taxi there and back! 
As a warning, stretch before you climb!! & bring lots of water!! The stairs really make you feel the burn the next morning. 

Here are a few more pictures from our day!  











Friday, March 11, 2016

A WEEK IN KOH LANTA, THAILAND

After a few nights in Ao Nang, Krabi, Cameron and I decided to head over to Koh Lanta.
We decided to spend a week here to really see the whole island. 
After getting off the fairy we took a tuk tuk to Long Beach. We had read great things about this little town and knew it was close to great beaches. Our first night we stayed in a private bungalow about a minute from the beach. Our bungalow was called Lantawade, we paid about $20 which was great! Super affordable!
The bungalow was cute and quite but wasn't exactly for us. 

The next day we took a walk & ended up finding a resort right next door called Raya Lanta Resort. The room was amazing!! It was huge and super clean! We even had air conditioning for the same price as the fan bungalow from the previous night. Not too mention free wifi in our room, something the bungalow also didn't have. We bargained with the owner of the resort and worked out a great price for the whole week. 





The first few days for us were beach days, we would wake up, have fruit for breakfast from a local vendor and then head right to the beach for a full day of soaking in the sun. After a full day in the sun, we would then head back to our resort and relax outside our room either playing cards, reading, or just chatting about life! We loved this relax lifestyle and fell in love with Long Beach and how easily accessible everything was. 
After a few days of pure relaxation we decided to rent a moped and tour the island! We toured the full island and found some amazing look out points and great restaurants! There was one restaurant that we loved so much we need to share! It's called the Panoramic. This place had the best food!! By far the best since we arrived in Thailand, everything was organic and the owner was fantastic!! Not to mention the view was phenomenal! 





We loved touring the island so much that we decided to do it a few more times that week, stopping at new beaches and view points each time. The moped was cheap too! It only cost us $9 CAD for the whole day! After a few days of scooting around the island, I ended up getting super sun burnt so our last few days ended up being relaxation days where we tried to stay out of the sun.



We were lucky to be in Koh Lanta when we were because they were having the Lanta Lanta festival! We went to the festival on our second last night and had a blast!! Tons of street food, clothing vendors and entertainment! We watched an awesome fire show & some great local Thai dancing. We even ran into and old friend, which was actually crazy because who runs into someone in the middle of a crazy festival on an island in Thailand! 
Overall out trip to Koh Lanta was fantastic!! We definitely recommend if you are ever in the area to make the trip to the beautiful island! Tons of great beaches and amazing scenery. If your budget can afford it, I would definitely recommend renting a moped and seeing the whole island! The island is small so only takes at most about an hour and a half to drive the whole thing. However! Make sure you stop at each viewpoint and make it a day trip! There is tons to see and some amazing views!
Here are some more pictures of our time in Koh Lanta! 








Sunday, March 6, 2016

TRAVELING THAILAND - AO NANG, KRABI

Ao Nang... Where do I even begin! This beautiful beach town was probably my favorite place thus far. There were tons of hotels, restaurants, shopping and of course beaches!

We stayed in Ao Nang for only two nights and I really wish we had stayed longer. There was tons to do and see! Our favorite part of Ao Nang was window shopping at night. There were so many shops and tons of tourists out that it was great to people watch!
We even got to see a few lady boys out promoting their show! It was hilarious because they loved Cameron! They kept following him around wherever we went.

There were so many back ally ways filled with bars! It was so hard to choose where we were going to eat, but if you know us, you know that were pretty cheap so we stuck to the street food. The food is so cheap, it cost's us roughly $4 CAD to both enjoy a huge plate of fried rice.
To be honest, we have pretty much been on a 3 week fried rice with chicken and prawn diet!! Its so delicious and cheap, how can you go wrong!

After two days in Ao Nang, we booked a fairy ride from Krabi to Koh Lanta for $10 each that took about 2 hours.

If you are ever in Thailand I would highly recommend Ao Nang, its gorgeous and there is so much to do and see! We are definitely heading back there after our week here in Koh Lanta!
Below are some pictures of our time in Ao Nang! Enjoy!







     





TRAVELING THAILAND - PINE BUNGALOWS, KRABI


 After leaving Bangkok & being on a bus for 12 hours Cameron and I were very happy to arrive in Krabi! Krabi is a province in Thailand that is located on the south end near the islands.
In Krabi we found an amazing place called Pine Bungalows. Pine bungalows is situated on a very quite private beach that was about 15 minutes outside of Ao Nang. We LOVED Pine Bungalows.
We got our own private bungalow for about $15 Canadian.




We stayed a total of 3 nights here and loved every minute. We were roughly 50 steps to the private beach & also had a restaurant on site. The prices were a lot higher then other places we had been to but the food was fantastic and worth the money.
On one of our first nights we took a walk into the small town that was about a 5 minute walk from our small resort. The town had a cute little market where we picked up some fresh fruit and some essentials that we needed. On our walk back to our resort we saw a few signs and people setting up for some big festival, we asked one of the locals what was happening and he told us we were lucky to be in town. There was going to be a huge festival for the next 3 days where there would be a famous Thai band, dancing, food, and tons of shopping. We were so excited!!

























After a good nights sleep we woke up and decided to make today a beach day! We had the water to ourselves and got an awesome spot on the beach with 2 hammocks side by side. After relaxing all day we decided to head down to the festival.
The festival was amazing!! So many great street foods and TONS of shopping! Cameron and I both got some new sunglasses at a combined price of $4 CAD.
As the night went on we decided to go watch the live entertainment and watch the bands play. We sat on the beach and got some drinks and enjoyed the music & entertainment for the rest of the night.








On our last day at Pine Bungalows we decided to take it easy and enjoy the scenery. We relaxed all day on the beach and couldn't have asked for more. After a busy few nights in Bangkok it was nice to unwind on the beach and just relax. We knew that after Pine Bungalows we wanted to stay in Krabi province and check out a few more great places, we did a little research that night and decided our next stop would be Ao Nang!