And Thailand did NOT disappoint!
February 15, 2023
After Vietnam, we FINALLY got to visit Thailand! 🇹🇭 Back in late February 2020, we had tickets to go… but then y’all know what happened. But anyways, Thailand was very long-awaited for us. And it did not disappoint!
Our first stop was Bangkok for ~1 week, and it was an awesome city! On the first day, we got to link up with some friends from Hawaii, as well as a local from Bangkok! We enjoyed exploring the beautiful temples, our local neighborhood (Chinatown), & trying tons of Thai food. One lady’s sticky rice was a standout… and we were dumb enough to eat scorpion 🦂, durian, and live shrimp 🦐!
We probably scheduled too short of an amount of time there, but our plans for visiting Thailand involved diving. After lots of research, Alan ended up choosing the Surin Islands, which are known for having the best diving left in Thailand. So we made our way to a small beach town, Khao Lak. We stayed there for a couple of days before heading to the islands for a 3-day camping & dive trip. And the islands were AMAZING!
We stayed 2 nights and went on 11 dives over 3 days. A couple were with a larger operation, but most were off of the traditional long-tail boats (those little wooden ones) in small groups and to (relatively) pristine locations. And the diving was among the best that we have experienced!! The water was so clear, corals were varied, it had a very relaxed vibe from the guides and operators.
Which by the way were the BEST! They seriously went out of their way to make sure you were happy! We had one of them even stay out in the water with us searching for over an hour just to see a couple of little sharks. And our primary guide even stayed there an extra night to see through our tour. Luv you Ronnie!
The camping was uncomfortable, but it was worth doing! Crystal clear blue water, lots of cool little fish, and even a couple of sharks! At night, Alan and I went for a few beach walks and I got to see my first bioluminescence too!
After an exhausting few days of diving, we went back to Khao Lak and chilled. There we found the most AMAZING Thai food I’ve ever had. This lady made the most perfect Tom Yum & Penang curry.. definitely in my top dishes ever eaten. Hope to go back there one day just to see her again!
Then we left Khao Lak for Phuket… which was… not our thing. We had a few fun days, got our first opportunity to work on a video with a local business, & did a cool hike, but otherwise we just thought it was one giant tourist trap that lost its charm. Maybe that’s just our opinion or we had a weird time or something 😂
Thailand is for sure a fav and we had tons of fun making vids there. Can’t wait to go back! Anyways, we made cool plans with friends to visit another long-awaited country after Thailand, so that’s coming in the next post!
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