7 mistakes I made on my trip to Thailand

What I'm going to say will seem funny, but when I'm going to travel I already know that something will go wrong.

I already commented in another post that the perfect trip does not exist, and this is a lesson that I always carry in my bag.

When Amanda and I planned our trip to Thailand, we had many questions. Which islands to visit, which cities, what to do, what not to do, where to eat, how much money, security and so on…

And although I consider this trip a success, There were many mistakes we made.

(Apart from, of course, situations like being in a van at five in the morning just the two of us with a driver who didn't speak English. But you can't call it a mistake because the trip was incredible lol.)

In this post I'm going to tell you the biggest troubles and troubles we went through, to try to prevent you from going through the same situations on your visit to the country.

I also hope you can see that even the most experienced travelers make mistakes, sometimes even silly ones. It's part of traveling and there's nothing to be ashamed or afraid of.

7 mistakes I made on my trip to Thailand

1. Take a taxi from the hotel

We started our trip in Phuket, and on the second day we woke up early to see the famous Big Buddha.

As we had no idea how to get there, we asked at the hotel's transport desk. They offered us a taxi, which would take us to the location and wait until we were ready to leave.

We thought they were great and booked the tour, and the cost of the car wasn't high. But that's because we were thinking about how much a ride like that would cost in São Paulo or Floripa (where there are practically no taxis and the fare is absurd).

Throughout the trip, we realized that we paid very expensive for Thai values. If we had negotiated with a taxi driver at the stop close to the hotel, we would certainly have spent half the price.

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Not wearing appropriate clothing

On the same tour as Big Buddha, we found that Even though it's not a temple, it was necessary to cover at least the legs and shoulders. My blouse was short-sleeved, but I was wearing denim shorts (after all, it was 8 in the morning but it was over 30ºC).

It wasn't a problem that day, as there was a kiosk at the entrance handing out cloths so tourists could cover themselves.

In Chiang Mai we took an afternoon just to visit the temples, and I didn't have a long skirt and my pants were too hot for the weather. I ended up buying a pair of cool pants with an elephant print, which I wore over my shorts every time I needed to dress more modestly.

In our attempt to enter the Grand Palace in Bangkok (I'll talk more about this later), we both had our legs covered, wearing tank tops, and we put on scarves to cover our shoulders. Although it worked in all temples, we were prevented from entering the palace and were forced to buy bolerinhos to cover your arms. To this day I start laughing when I remember the scene.

Rolling suitcases to go to Railay Beach

Railay Beach is an isolated area of ​​Krabi, and can only be reached by boat. Our plan was to catch a ferry from Phuket to Railay, and spend two or three days there.

We begin our journey from ferry and first surprise: it was necessary to change boats in the middle of the ocean. Everything was fine, we made sure our bags were also on board and we continued our journey.

When we saw the beach, we were taken, along with the other passengers who were going to stay in Railay, to a long boat, that typical Thai boat. It turned out that the bigger boats couldn't reach the sand, and that was the only way to reach our destination. The staff helped us put our bags in the long boat and we left for the beach.

And then, the biggest surprise of all: the little boat didn't stop on the sand, but about 10 steps before. The driver waited for each passenger to pick up their suitcase and walk to dry land. Okay, it wasn't a deep part and the water didn't even reach my thighs, but how was I going to carry a large 25kg rolling suitcase to the sand? HELP!

I looked at Amanda, she at me, and we didn't know whether to laugh, give up on the suitcase or just accept that they were going into the sea.

Luckily an American who was on board helped us and our bags stayed dry and continued the journey with us.

The worst thing about this situation is that I I had already read about this on other blogs, but I thought it wouldn't be a problem. THERE IS! To be fair, it was one of the only times when having a rolling suitcase was a disadvantage in Thailand.

One of the worst things you can do on a trip to Thailand is not taking out travel insurance!  As the country's cuisine is very different from Brazil's, with other seasonings and ingredients, many travelers become ill and need medical attention. Emergencies are also common, as the destination offers numerous adventure activities such as diving, climbing and hiking.

With travel insurance, you call the insurance company and are directed to the nearest partner service center. Most companies already take care of the financial part before you even arrive at the location, so you don't have to pay a penny.

Staying at Railay Beach instead of Koh Phi Phi

One of the worst mistakes I made on my trip to Thailand!

After all the work to get to Railay Beach, we discovered that the place it wasn't our thing (pardon the pun, lol).

It was very small, there was no nightlife and we didn't feel like climbing, the main activity in the region. We took advantage of the first afternoon to sunbathe and enjoy the sea, but decided to visit Phi Phi the next day.

We liked the atmosphere there much more. Bars, restaurants, parties, lively people... everything that Railay didn't have. Unfortunately, we had already agreed on the hotel and it was not possible to get a refund, and there was no way to return the next day before our check-out time.

We concluded that this was a planning error. Nothing happened wrong this part of the trip, but it could have been better if we had chosen to stay in Koh Phi Phi.

Several blogs and even the Lonely Planet guide recommended Railay, as it is less touristy and more untouched, but I only recommend it for couples or those looking for peace. That wasn't our case.

Spend a day in Krabi Town

We had decided to go from Railay to Chiang Mai, a route that would have to be done by plane due to the distance between the regions. The closest airport, however, was in Krabi Town.

It was just a snippet of long boat between Railay and Krabi Town, but we bought a flight that left at 8 am, and it would be necessary to take the boat before dawn so that we can arrive on time.

As we didn't know if this was a possible, let alone safe, alternative, we decided to spend the night in the city to avoid problems on the way to the airport.

Unfortunately, our impression was not the best. I don't know if it was the heat, but we saw practically no one walking the streets, and we were apprehensive when looking for a restaurant to have lunch.

We had a heavy rain in the middle of the afternoon, and spent the rest of the day at the hotel, ordering pizza for dinner (that's another funny situation, have you ever tried ordering delivery over the phone in Thai?). A “wasted” day, which could have been spent at the beach if we had bought a flight for after lunch.

Again, nothing happened wrong, but the planning was not the best.

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Walking around Chiang Mai in the midday heat

I think the title explains it, right?

We arrived in Chiang Mai shortly after 10, and by noon we had checked into the hotel and were ready to explore.

We didn't take into account that it was sunny, cloudless and incredibly hot.

We left hungry looking for the restaurant recommended by the hotel receptionist, and passed several temples along the way. We went into several, and we became tired and hungrier.

At the end of the third temple, I don't know who was more grumpy, me or Amanda hahaha Neither of them are very pleasant when they're hungry.

In the end, even after being fed, we were exhausted and had a headache. We explored a few more temples, more to say we knew them, and ended up going for a massage.

Rookie mistake: we didn't consider the weather and tried to do as much as possible in a short time, without thinking about whether our bodies could handle it. We “wasted” the rest of the afternoon recovering in the hotel pool (difficult!!), and we went out for dinner and got to know the city better at night.

Tackling Bangkok traffic

Bangkok is famous for many reasons, and crazy traffic is just one of them.

I confess that I don't remember exactly why it took us so long to leave that day, but we left the hotel around 11 am to go to the Grand Palace, where the king used to live.

We didn't think it was close to time for people to go out for lunch and that the place was far from where we were staying. We regret it along the way. The traffic was slow, our hunger was increasing and it seemed like we would never arrive.

More than an hour later, we managed to get close to the palace and our driver told us that he would stop there, or we would be stuck in traffic for another considerable time.

We arrived again with the same problem as in Chiang Mai: both of us hungry, in the midday heat and grumpy from the time spent in the car. I don't need to say that needing to buy scarves to cover my arms didn't help much, right? Hahahahahahaha I can't write this and not laugh. BOLERINHOS!!!!

Finally, we managed to get past the crowd of tourists and reach the entrance, where we discovered that the ticket cost just over R$50. We gave up and went looking for a McDonald's.

Yes, we are that kind of person (and it was the end of the trip and no one could handle any more spicy food). We should have left the hotel at a time little less traffic to avoid all stress.

And there they are 7 mistakes I made on my trip to Thailand. There was poor planning, beginner carelessness and several moments of lack of attention.

I hope this post helps you if you plan to visit this wonderful country, and gives you confidence to know that, even if some things don't go as expected, your experience can still be incredible!

And now tell me… What's the biggest mistake you've ever made on a trip?