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
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