TRANSPORTATION IN THAILAND

Getting from point A to point B in SE Asia is pretty easy! There are numerous ways to travel like bus, train, plane, boat or even by car. The way you get there is really up to you and what you can afford. I thought I would share my tips on what I found to be the cheapest and most reliable! 

When traveling anywhere in Thailand my fiancé and I always stuck to taking the bus! The buses are fantastic, affordable and reliable! Depending how cheap you are you can get a pretty great deal. Traveling from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on a VIP bus that included free water, snacks, movies, blankets and pillows & reclining seats cost us 488 baht which is roughly $17 Canadian! Pretty awesome considering the bus ride was 10 hours long. 
The same went for when we traveled to Krabi province which was about 12 hours away. 
The bus terminals are easy to find and we found they always ran on time & never broke down. 

If your thinking of taking the train system throughout Thailand, I would highly suggest to double think that. The train system is never on time, always has delays & usually costs more. We also heard they are notorious for being de-railed. 

If buses are not really for you, another great means of transportation is by plane. The tickets are pretty affordable & you would save a ton of time! For anyone who isn't backpacking or is on a strict time line, the plane is a great option! 
Air Asia has tons of booths around Thailand & you can also buy your tickets online. To get from say Bangkok to Chiang Mai would roughly cost you $60 Canadian & the flight is about 1 hour! 

Boats!! Boats are great if your traveling the islands of Thailand! You get to see some pretty amazing scenery and the price is pretty affordable as well! You can usually hire your own personal long tale boat & haggle them down to a great price. We found taking the public boats from larger ports to be the best price! To get from Krabi to Koh Lanta cost us $4 Canadian & took about an hour and a half! 
An important note I wanted to mention about taking any boat in Thailand is that if the boat looks too full and they keep packing it full, get off!! Ask to take the next boat! These boats often tip or flip due to them being over packed. The boats run every hour on the hour so don't feel rushed! Use your own judgment & be safe! 

As for taxis, car rentals and Tuk Tuk's in Thailand they are always usually affordable unless they scam you! If you are in a taxi, always ask for them to use the meter. They will likely say no because it's too hot and the meter doesn't work but that's a lie! 
If your traveling from the Bangkok airport to Khao San Road (a popular tourist area where you will find cheap hotels & shopping) should cost you no more than 500 baht or $20! Do not let them scam you at the airport! 
As for Tuk Tuks... Anywhere but Bangkok they are a fantastic means of transportation! In Bangkok they are greedy & will never take you to your exact location without taking you to some sort of tourist shop where they get compensation. If you decided to take a Tuk Tuk in Bangkok, just be firm! Do not them stop at other locations and try and use exact change, if you don't have exact change they usually say they don't have change to give you & your out of luck. Also, if a Tuk Tuk driver says they are going to take you to a bunch of different temples that are only open for 1 day - don't do it! It's a scam! & beware of the people on the sidewalk who walk up to you & act like they are your friends & then recommend you to take a Tuk Tuk - these people work with the Tuk Tuk drives to increase their business! 

Overall it's pretty easy to get anywhere in Thailand, it really all depends on you and how you want to travel! My best advice would be to do your research & know how much your willing to spend. Again, we loved the bus system and highly recommend them to anyone who is backpacking and on a budget! 
I hope some of these tips helped & if you have any questions, leave them in the comments below! 
Thanks for reading! 

PACKING TIPS & TRICKS

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog. My last post I covered what I was bringing on our trip to Thailand. Today I wanted to go over a few tips and tricks I use while packing.
These tips not only save space but they also make it a little easier to keep everything organized!

1. Rolling your clothes rather than folding. Not only is this great for saving space but its also great for wrinkles! Rolling your clothes will leave less wrinkles in your clothing so when you arrive to your destination there is no need to iron anything!

 2. To go along the same lines as my first tip, I find rolling my clothes by outfit helps with keeping things organized and also saves space! I do this by lying the largest piece of clothing down first and then lying the other articles of clothing on top and simply folding and roll it all together into a little ball! 

3. This tip is great for people who are going to be backpacking. I like to roll all of my clothes and then put them into packing cubs. Instead of using packing cubs I used plastic bags! Saves you money and also keeps your clothing dry if your bag gets wet. I like to organize my bags by tops, bottoms and bathing suits. This way when I reach into my bag and I need a pair of shorts I can easily see which bag I need to grab. The bags are also great for creating a somewhat dupe for a vacuum seal bag. Just roll and fold the bag as tight as possible! This saves you a ton of room!

4. Another small tip I usually use when traveling anywhere, even on a weekend vacation, is bringing a pillow case or extra bag for dirty laundry. I am a clean freak so I need everything to be organized and tidy and I find this helps me a ton! I love knowing all my dirty items are in one bag!

5. A little tip while packing is to make sure that you have an extra outfit or two in your carry on bag or if you're traveling with someone else, put an outfit in their bag or carry on in case your luggage gets lost!

I hope those 5 little tips and tricks helped while you pack for your next getaway! I will definitely be updating these tips and tricks as I continue to travel because I'm sure I will think of a few more!
Thanks for reading,
Alicia xoxo

MY D.I.Y FIST AID KIT

Hello everyone & welcome back to my blog! 

Today I wanted to share my do it yourself first aid kit for backpacking! 

Sometimes buying a first aid kit can get expensive and I was on a budget so I thought of another way to make my own! Most of these items I already had around my house so this was super easy to throw together! 

A good thing to remember is that depending where you are traveling you will likely be able to buy most of this stuff there. However, I am a crazy OCD freak and I didn't want to be stuck somewhere and not have the things I needed. Im also insanely cheap and knew I did not want to purchase things in another county when I knew I already owned them. 

Below is a picture of my DIY First Aid kit & how I organized it.

So now Im sure your wondering what exactly I packed and why?! So here goes, here is a list of everything I packed and beside why I packed it. 

Firstly, I packed everything in a 1 quart clear zip lock, this was because it will be way easier to get through airport security in a clear bag. Another reason why I chose a zip lock bag was because if anything leaked it would be easy to change the bag & it wouldn't get all over anything else I packed. 

SIDE NOTE - As you can see in the first picture I also put things into smaller individual bags so that it was easier to find the things I needed. For example, if I was sick with the flu I have a little flu bag or if I was cut I have a small first aid bag with band-aids etc! 

This also helps if anything were to spill or leak it will keep the mess to one contained area. 

WHAT I PACKED 

* Tissues - For obvious reasons, also for washroom situations where there might be no toilet paper since here in Canada Kleenex and toilet paper is a luxury item. 

* Vaseline - This was for my fiance as he gets bad chafe and the Vaseline is good for when your legs are rubbing. I also love Vaseline for chapped lips so thought it would be a great item to bring.

MINI FIRST AID BAG 

* Plysporin - Great for cuts 

* Burn cream - I get horrible sun burns so this is from my doctor, great for sun burns and or cuts! 

* Benadryl Cream - Great for cuts. burns, anything really! 

* Band-Aids - Obvious reason 

SICK BAG 

* Advil - I get horrible headaches so this was a must! 

* Halls Lozenges - Awesome for soar throats, or if you start to get sick 

* Benadryl Day & Night Pills - In case we get sick 

* Diarrhea Pills - Self explanatory..... 

OTHER MINI BAGS 

* Q-Tips - Good for applying any medication & also for our ears (mainly my fiances) 

* Eye Drops - Good for dry eyes or allergies 

* Clove Oil - In case we get tooth aches, clove oil helps with the pain - use q-tips to apply to tooth 

* Davids Tea - Cold 911 - Amazing for nipping a cold in the butt! 

* Tea Bags - To use for the tea or in case we need to make our own coffee

* Small Sewing Kit - For our clothes or if our bag breaks. 

* Extra Hair Ties and Bobby Pins - Just nice to have on hand! 

& That's it! Be sure to check back once we arrive in Thailand to see if I ended up needing any of these items and how useful this was! Again, all of these items I already had lying around my house. All I needed to do was put them into bags and draw a little first aid sign on the main bag! 

Thanks for reading! 

alicia xox