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We have just come back from spending a long weekend in Bangkok, and we really enjoyed it! It was an easy and short trip from Singapore, so we set off early in Saturday morning. We got into BKK airport by 10, and decided to take the train into town. Since we were travelling light, we decided to go for a walk around the train station, in a place called Pratunam and its English neighbour, platinum plaza. Pratunam is a neighbourhood where there are tons of little local shops and restaurants.

We did not know the food didn’t open til later, so we had a bit of an aimless walk without finding the stalls! After a little while, Mariana asked a local seller and she explained where the food shops would pop up in the afternoon. In platinum plaza we had a bit of a look around, and this is certainly the place to buy clothes… They have some pretty good deals, and all kinds of local brands! Most of the stuff they sell seems relatively on the small side, but the selection is huge!

By this time, we were starving (having only had breakfast at the coffee bean in changi airport) so we went to a noodle shop that was quite recommended. When we got there, there was a pretty long queue, but in total we only waited about 15 mins. The guy cooking the noodles outside was really on a roll! The speed at which he churned plates out was amazing. They also had some pretty nice pork stew, so we enjoyed the meal. It would have been nice to get bigger portions, but it was good. In the street we also found some nice pandan cakes (looked like pandan Madeleins) as well as some coconut pancakes… Got them hot off the grill!

After lunch, we started walking towards the hotel, going through a few different areas of town. At the end of the day, we had walked about 12k! Not bad at all for a holiday…

The hotel we stayed at was the Lebua at State Tower. Yes, yes, it IS the one from the Hangover 2. As you walk near the hotel, in a nice area of town called Silom, you can see that it looks a bit run down… This worry was quickly eliminated when we walked into the lobby, as everything looked very new and upscale. We were informed that we were being upgraded (if we accepted a city view instead of a river view) and we promptly accepted, as the new floor was on floor 54 instead of 23. The room was huge and modern, and had a pretty nice view of the city. We had booked dinner for 7, but we quickly changed and asked the concierge for a massage recommendation near the hotel as we did not have too much time. They recommended the Silom Bodyworks one block away as a cheap and clean option. The place was pretty decent and really cheap, and we got a foot massage and a Thai massage, it was nice! After relaxing, off to the hotel for dinner!

The hotel has an area called The Dome, which is a group of restaurants and bars spread across the top floors of the hotel (52 and 67). We went for a drink at the sky bar on level 67, were you get an awesome view of the city at night. They claim this is the highest alfresco bar in the world – but I have heard this claim before from 1Altitude in Singapore, one of our favourite bars – not sure who is right, but will do some research! Anyway, I digress… The view is amazing! After a quick drink we went down to level 52, where we had an absolutely delicious dinner at Breeze. The service was amazing, the food was delicious, it was just a lovely experience!

On our second day in Bangkok we got up early and had a spectacular breakfast at the hotel (on the Mizu floor – apparently the 13th, but they changed the name…), and got ready to set off for a day of boat riding, temple visiting, massage, and more!!

On the way to the dock, we ran into a retired police man that gave us some pointers on getting a cheap boat (it might have, actually probably was, a set up to go to a different boat station, but the price was right, the boat was ok, and everything seemed fine, so we went for it). Then, we were off on our first tuktuk ride of the trip! Once arrived at the boat station, we found we had a few hours of boating ahead of us, which included visiting temples and markets. Getting around by boat was actually quite good, as it avoided lots of traffic on the streets… This is definitely a way to move around!

The boat first took us to a very beautiful temple called Wat Arun. It is across the river from the grand palace, and has a pretty nice view from the top. Definitely recommended! We had about 20 minutes there, and then had to catch the boat to go on to Taling Chan, which is an area further out of town that has a floating market. To get there, we had to get through a lock on the river, which was an interesting experience… Think small scale Panama Canal.

The market only had a handful of boats, but it was still a nice experience! Lots of colours and smells, and some very nice food.

On the way back we were dropped off at Wat Pho, which is a huge Reclining Buddha statue… It was very impressive.

Finally, we were running short on time, so we headed for another quick TukTuk ride to Wat Saket, a small temple on top of a hill which was nice, but not the nicest one that day.

By is time we had to get back to the hotel area as we had booked a massage at a place called Divana Spa, Which was just unbelievable. The place was beautiful and the massage was amazing, definitely recommended.

To end the day, after being completely relaxed, we headed for a very nice dinner at Issaya Siamese Club. This was an incredible local dinner. The food and drinks were delicious, and the place is set in an old house that is full of character. Really very recommended. The chef is recognised as one of Thailands best. A reservation is highly recommended. After dinner, time to go to sleep!

On our last few hours in Bangkok, we went to visit the Grand Palace. This is without a doubt the highlight of the trip, and can not be missed on a visit to the city. The different buildings, both religious and political are incredible, and you truly get to see a very wide range of architecture, culture, and history. They also have a periodic changing of the guard which was quite nice to see. The photos do a much better job about showing this amazing place.

After the palace, we had to go back to the hotel to get our bag and set off to the airport. On the way back we also decided to take the train, which was a completely painless experience. This is definitely a cheap and cheerful way to get to and from the city.

Bangkok is definitely a place to go back to. It has so many things to eat, see and do, and we felt that while we got a good taste, we would like more!

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Chiang Mai is one of the main destinations in northern Thailand. To be honest, we decided to go there because two friends suggested, but we were not sure what we were going to find.

Now, I am glad we decided to go. The city is not particularly pretty, but it is packed with very beautiful temples, nice hotels and restaurants and incredible side trips.

– Hotel

We stayed in Ping Nakara hotel and we really enjoyed it. The hotel is beautiful, the staff is incredibly nice, the rooms are nice and spacious and the food is good.

Although it is not within the city walls, it is very well located, as one can easily walk or take a tuk-tuk anywhere.

The hotel has a very good spa. We had some of our favorite massages of the trip there. (Obs.: There are small massage places everywhere in Chiang Mai. We went to Deep Relax and it was nice).

Also, the hotel owns a nearby restaurant/bistro (Nakara Jardin), which is absolutely beautiful and serves lunch, snacks and high tea. We only had dessert and smoothies and they were great (I wish we had gone for high tea).

Just never forget the mosquito repellent, as the hotel and the restaurant are by the river.

– Restaurants

We really liked our lunch at Ginger & Kafe. The restaurant is in the northeast end within the city walls. It has a very nice modern asian style and it serves both Asian and western food. We had the Thai appetizer platter (that was amazing) and a very good set menu. They also make good cocktails and a delicious mango sticky rice for dessert.

There are two nice shops around the restaurant, selling clothes, accessories (nice bijoux at great prices) and decor pieces. The decor store is great!

We also had a very nice dinner at The Whole Earth. The restaurant has Thai and Indian food and everything we ate was very good (fried rice in pineapple and a chicken curry).

For tea and snacks, we loved Kalapella, a little tea shop in Rachadamnoen Street (the city's main street). They have a wide variety of teas, good snacks and a very friendly staff. Good spot for a break from visiting the temples. Also, in this block of Rachadamnoen Street there are some nice shops (loved Eranyara necklace shop – not cheap, but amazing one of a kind pieces).

– Temples

There is literally one temple every 3 blocks in Chiang Mai. Some of them are not even in the tourist maps. It is worth visiting at least one of these small temples, as these are the ones really used by the locals for prayers.

The most important ones in the city are Wat Phra Sing and Wat Chedi Luang.

When visiting the temples, do not forget to walk around the temples in their grounds. There are very interesting things besides the temples themselves. Another tip: you cannot use shoes in the temples, but you may wear socks…

Outside the city, in the mountains, is Doi Suthep temple. It is beautiful and worth the visit. We heard that the sunrise there is beautiful, but we decided to go there as a part of the side trip to Elephant Camp (Maesa) and Tiger Kingdom.

– Side Trips

We booked a private tour with Lanna Boutique Travel to go to Maesa Elephant Camp, Tiger Kingdom, Hill Tribes Village and Doi Suthep. We totally recommend the agency and the tour!

This was a full day visit and it was amazing! It was worth having a guide to organize everything and to tell us about the places.

If you like animals, this is must do trip. You get to touch and hug the elephants and tigers! Do not forget to have change to buy bananas for the elephants and to give small tips (be careful, the elephants are experienced banana thieves!)

In theory, the best time to visit both Maesa and Tiger Kingdom is in the morning, but it was impossible for us. So, we visited Maesa first and then we had lunch in the Tiger Kingdom, which was a pretty good Asian food buffet. It worked fine!

The hill tribes visit was fine, as it is very close to Maesa, but it is not worth a visit just for that.

– Markets

There are famous markets in Chaing Mai. We visited the Sunday market (which is a street market) and it was ok. There are all kinds of products and food, but too crowded for us…

– Trip length

We found that 2 days is enough time to get to see most of the sights in Chiang Mai. We would recommend he city for a visit when in the region, it was a great experience.

Lucas & Carol came from São Paulo last week to visit Singapore, and we planned a little trip with them! They took a few days in Chang Mai (we will ask for a guest post about it later!) and then we caught up with them in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Siem Reap

This is an amazing city, with some of the most beautiful ruins we have ever seen! It all started with us arriving into our hotel, Navutu Dreams, which was absolutely beautiful. The hotel is quite simple in its decor, but everything is impeccable and well designed, service is fantastic, the pool area beautiful and the food delicious. We can really recommend this small hotel!

Once settled in, we embarked on our Cambodian archeological site tour. Siem reap is a great place for touring different sites, as they are all basically in the same area, within 30-40 minutes, so it makes it easy to go around and see many sites! There are probably 30 or more temples in the area!

It's a city that is easy to do on your own by TukTuk, but we booked a private tour, which made things quite easy, and got quite a few interesting explanations, as well as a glimpse into how people live and work. Air condition between temples also helped the journey.

Banteay Srei

This is a beautiful pink temple, which is different to all the others, highly recommended!

• Haven: nice food and a good cause as well!
• Cuisine Wat Damnak: delicious restaurant with a 5-6 course meal.
• Asana: Nice bar in a typical Cambodian house, near pub street.
• Mie cafe: another nice local food place.

Koh Samui

After our Cambodia adventures, we took a flight over to Koh Samui, an island in Thailand. The town seems quite chaotic and not very pretty, but the hotel we are at is unbelievable (Napasai)! The residence we are staying at is really beautiful, with a private pool and incredible rooms. Seriously, we can not under estimate the amazing hotel this is… It is THE place to stay, although it is a bit on the pricey side!

Here, we went snorkeling yesterday in a nearby island, Koh Tao. We booked with a really nice company called 100 degrees east. They took us to 2 very nice diving spots, and showed us a lot of marine wildlife, even a reef shark! The guys at 100 degrees were very friendly and helpful.

 

Phuket is one of the most popular places to go because of its breath taking beaches so we had high expectations.

Mandarava Resort - View from our room

We travel with TigerAir (budget Asian airline) and the journey was very smooth both ways. On arrival we were greeted by the hotel taxi who took us on a 1hour journey to Mandarava Resort & Spa at Karon Beach. The car trip is fine but nothing pretty or interesting to see. Make sure you know where your hotel is because you can end up a long time in the car.

Karon beach is a standard long beach with a little town with local restaurants and bars. We were not impressed at all but at the hotel was very good. Very new, amazing room and facilities.

Kata Noi Beach

We rented a motorbike to get around the island and see other places other than Karon Beach. That was definitely the best idea we had. Only a few minutes drive is Kata Beach and Kata Noi beach both very nice. Kata is bigger with more restaurants and shops but Kata Noi has its intimate charm.

Nothing compared to the beach we went to the next day: Freedom Beach. A tiny almost empty beach that is only reachable by boat that you can hire from Patong Beach (by the way a disaster – don't bother). Make sure you negotiate the price of the boat and arrange a pick up time to return to Patong.

Freedom beach was definitely the highlight of the weekend. Having been recommended by a friend we found ourselves in this empty little piece of heaven. Nothing fancy at all. You, sand, crystal clear water and a little local bar that serve some snacks and drinks.

Freedom Beach

All and all we would say Phuket is OK. Perhaps the whole buzz about it comes from people that venture the boat journey to Phi Phi Island and so on. We didn't have enough days and from Karon would have been a 1h taxi drive to the pier and a 2h ferry ride. Not my kind of holiday. Apparently is faster to get to Phi Phi from Krabi so that is probably an option. The other thing that bothered me a little was how everything seem so artificially created to cater for crazy Russian tourists that are there to party and hook with some Thai ladies.

But there are friends that really liked Phuket so we maybe missed the hot spots.

Returnability: very low
Recommendability: mmm if you find a deal and want a simple weekend at the beach.