12 Essential Thailand Travel Tips | WATCH BEFORE YOU GO ✨

so you're planning a trip to Thailand but you want some more information about what to expect and how to make the most of your time there stay tuned you're in the right place my name is Alexander aing and I'm a full-time travel content creator I've been here on YouTube sharing my Adventures for over a decade and I'm super stoked to share all of my top Thailand travel tips with you here in this video I was recently in Thailand a couple of months ago I spent a month there traveling the country all different regions with my wife and I'm distilling all of my experiences the pros the cons into this video to help you make the most of your next trip to this beautiful country so if you're new here take a second hit that subscribe button turn on notifications so you don't miss out on any upcoming content and if you enjoy this video do me a solid and give it a thumbs up also if you have any questions you need anything answered drop those down there in the comment section but if you want even more more information then grab yourself a copy of my Thailand travel itinerary I've distilled all of my favorite restaurants hotels destinations secret spots attractions activities all of that has been put in one easy to follow twoe itinerary on an interactive map complete with high quality photography and custom voice memos so let me help take the stress out of travel planning and grab yourself a copy today I'd also like to just say a quick thank you to those of you who have purchased my travel itineraries in the past it's really gratifying to see so many 10 of 10 reviews it feels awesome to know that my itineraries and my tips are helping make your travels all the more enjoyable so thank you Thailand is a country of captivating contradictions what do I mean well it's a place that is known internationally for its wild party scene the legalization recently of marijuana and its promiscuous ladies of the night not to mention lady boys but at the same time that coexists with a traditional culture built on thousands of years of Buddhism humility respect and Timeless cultural practices the dichotomy between the who is fascinating to witness personally it's one of my favorite things about traveling to Thailand how it all fits together somehow it does even though these two seemingly opposite things shouldn't work somehow they do but just because the country is permissive doesn't mean that anything goes so stick around until the end of this video to make sure you don't turn the land of smiles into the land of frowns oh no Thailand consistently ranks as one of the most visited countries in the world and with good reason Thai people are incredibly welcoming friendly humble and polite so it's our responsibility as tourists to try to avoid doing any cultural faux Paws anything that might accidentally offend the locals and just basically being good Travelers but there are certain cultural norms that are quite different to the way that we do things in the west I'll share a lot of those later in the video Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country with 93 to 95% of the country identifying as theaa Buddhists but in the south of the country there is a strong Malay Muslim influence predominantly in the southern Islands so it's worth keeping in mind the different practices of these religions whilst traveling in Thailand but before we get into all of the different tips let's let's just do some rapid fire general information that will help you prepare for your trip I highly recommend that you get a SIM card specifically for Thailand now you can go about this in two ways you can get an eim which you can purchase through the link in the description of this video and that's great if you're visiting for one or two weeks but if you're visiting for longer then I highly recommend just getting a local SIM card and these will have many of these will have unlimited data local calls and texts and that's just really useful especially when you're calling a local business inquiring about an activity or a hotel reservation uh not to mention just being able to browse on your phone upload photos to your social media you can get an eim or when you arrive in the airport you can get a local SIM card it is going to be slightly more expensive at the airport but it is right there and it's really really convenient you'll be able to use that data immediately and you're going to want to use that data immediately because you need to download the app called grab grab is basically Thailand's version of uber they do transportation and they also do food delivery in the major cities so once you get your sim card you'll download grab this can all be done in the airport and you'll be able to connect to the internet find where you're going and book transportation to get you from the airport to your hotel just make sure that your phone is unlocked before you leave your home country we should talk quickly about visas if you're just visiting for a few weeks you can enter the country on a visitor Visa it's free so you don't have to apply for anything if you're going to be staying for longer you will need to apply for a travel visa and if you're doing any business or volunteering then you will have to apply for a different visa for that just generally speaking if you're visiting for uh 30 days or less you can just arrive and enter into the country you don't have to apply for any special visas and then ATMs let's talk about ATMs in Thailand the ATMs will charge you an additional fee so your bank will charge you an international fee and then the ATM is going to charge you another fee on top of that that fee can vary anywhere between 5 to $10 us so it can add up quite quickly especially if you're just taking out little bits of money at a time which is why I would recommend taking out uh larger amounts lots of places are starting to accept credit card especially larger restaurants and hotels and I like to use my credit card because I have an airline credit card I use the United Mileage Explorer Plus Card which gives me airline miles every time I make a purchase with it it also has a lot of other perks like free airport lounge access as well as it covers and pays for your Global Entry if you're a United States citizen or you live in the United States so if you're interested in that you can check out that credit card I've linked it in the description and then let's also just talk about weather Thailand has three main Seasons the cool season the dry season and the hot season the best time to visit for travel is during the dry season which runs from November to February this is also the most popular time for travelers to visit the weather is a little bit drier it's not too hot because it's the most popular time of year the prices are higher as well you can visit on the shoulders of that as well and still get pretty good weather with less expensive prices then you have the hot season which is March through May this is when it's the hottest time of the year temperatures routinely exceed 35 to 40° C which is well over 100° and uh there's humidity too so it's it's definitely a hot I visited during the hot season Bangkok was very hot changai in the north was very hot and they were also doing What's called the burn season which is preparing the rice fields so they burn all of the leftover stocks and plants and stuff to get the nutrients uh back into the soil but all that smoke goes into the air and it does get trapped in certain areas so when we were in Chang ma it was quite Smoky uh also in Bangkok bad air pollution and and quite hot so it is a little bit of a gamble um but then when we went down south to the southern Islands the weather was great it was wasn't Smoky it wasn't too hot and we had very few tourists and quite cheap prices for accommodation obviously it's you know pros and cons and then you have the rainy season which runs from May until November this generally is wet across the country but uh in the North in changai area it's not quite as rainy so it could be a good time if you're planning to go there for like trekking it all really depends on what your preference is so is something to take into account okay let's get into the tips tip number one embrace the why greeting typically when you meet someone in Thailand they'll Place their hands together and do a little bow of the head and that is known as the Y greeting this is a show of respect when meeting locals especially elders and monks you can combine that with some local phrases which will really help open doors and cause lots of smiles the first one how you say hello is Saadi if you're speaking to a woman then you'll add C on the end if you're speaking to a man you'll add cop and so it sounds like sad for saying hello to a woman and sadp if you're saying hello to a man C and the cop is added as a little sign of respect if you want to say thank you you say cop and if you are speaking to a woman that's Cuna and if you're speaking to a man it's kop crab if the food is really good you can say aroy and that means delicious and then also you can ask how much and that is T most people in Thailand do speak some English having a couple of phrases is just a great way to open doors to show a sign of respect and to try to engage more with the locals okay number two eat street food fearlessly you don't want to miss out on Thailand's incredible street food thai culture is famous for its incredible Cuisine and one of the best things about visiting Thailand is that so many delicious meals dishes are available for such unbelievably low prices the country really runs on street food locals eat street food um there are Street Food Markets and night markets and that's kind of one of the best parts about visiting is that there are so many incredible dishes to eat and so many great places to eat them when it comes to street food you really want to kind of follow the locals if you see a street food vendor that has a lot of business has lots of locals lot of people eating that's a good sign it's a good sign for Hygiene obviously you want to keep an eye out to protect yourself from getting food poisoning you know if you see a street food vendor that doesn't have many clients and it looks a little bit sloppy it doesn't look like they're keeping a a clean a clean situation then you may want to avoid that one but some of the best meals that I had in Thailand were from street food vendors if you want to learn more about that check out my Thailand itinerary I've linked all of those places all of those restaurants and all of those street food vendors in that guide best part about street food though is that it's ridiculously cheap there are incredible places some of which written up by the Michelin guide including having Michelin stars that do not cost very much at all I ate at a place in changai that was in the Michelin guide it's hitting all of my taste buds all over my mouth it cost less than a dollar so pretty cool some really good food and open your horizons don't just order the pad tie find out about local dishes find out about different styles of food each region is famous for for different dishes I'm thinking about right now when I was in the South I had a steamed fish in a sour plum sauce and just thinking about that sour sauce those plums is making my mouth water so yeah the food is really good eat up eat often and enjoy a quick thing about markets Thailand has always had a tradition of floating markets certain floating markets out side of Bangkok have become extremely touristic uh people are charging a lot of money to take tourists out there all of the prices have become quite inflated due to that rise in tourism um those floating markets are cool but it's definitely worth keeping in mind you know that it has kind of become a little bit of a tourist trap so I would suggest just trying to find local markets when I stayed in Bangkok we stayed right next to a very very vibrant local market called rajawat Market you can check it out in my Thailand Vlog series The the markets there are so cool it's amazing and then lastly in regards to food do not miss out on the tropical fruit there's so much delicious tropical fruit in Thailand especially the mangoes and the most famous and controversial of fruits durian Duan is the fruit which is famous for being uniquely unpleasant for some people in the scent it kind of smells like sweaty gym socks D and gasoline but the flavor is considered by the Thai and many people across southeast Asia as being um the king of all fruits it's incredibly healthy it's got all sorts of antioxidants and health benefits and it's it's a unique flavor so I highly recommend you try it and let me know what you think about dudan in the comment section so take advantage of the fact that you're at the source and load up on tropical fruit tip number three this one's important and I wish I had known about it before I traveled to Thailand get your international driver's license so if you have a driver's license in your home country then that's great it works in your home country technically you're supposed to get what's called an international driver's license before you leave your home country in order to drive in other countries I've traveled a lot I've rented cars in foreign countries I've never really had an issue with not having an international driver's license until I was pulled over on a motorbike in changai and given a ticket for it you want to have your International Drivers License it's quite straightforward thing to do you just contact your local DMV or the place in your home country that gives driver's licenses and you inquire about getting an international driver's license because that way you'll avoid getting a ticket like I did you'll avoid the hassle of having to go to the police and pay a fine and it will just save you a lot of time money and energy tip number four respect the Thai monarchy Thailand is a constitutional monarchy which means the powers of the king are limited and the government is run by elected officials that being said the king is highly respected in Thai culture don't be surprised if you see portraits of the king and the royal family in people's homes in restaurants in government buildings or even on billboards but make sure you don't badmouth the king or the royal family because that's actually against the law there are laws in Thailand which make it a criminal offense to slander the king to talk badly about the royal family and depending on the severity of the case you could be spending time in prison so it's best to just avoid talking about the king in general tip number five pack modest clothing I know you're probably planning to spend your time in a bikini or in board shorts on the beach and that's all good when you're on the beach but remember Thailand is a Buddhist country it's founded in respect and these religious traditions and if you're planning on visiting any of the main attractions most of which are Buddhist temples or monasteries then you're going to need to wear modest clothing that means covering your shoulders uh especially if you're in a tank top that goes for guys and girls and then also covering your knees so no short shorts no tank tops uh this can really be kind of easily worked around by just having a scarf or a Shaw that you can just put over your shoulders if you're planning on doing sightseeing and you're going to go to these s sites if it's really hot I would just pack the long pants preferably lightweight and breathable ones into my day bag and um then just go to the restroom beforehand and get changed and then go in and then when I'm done take them off and swap out sandals are totally fine brought shoes on the trip and I think I wore them once or twice when I was going hiking other than that I was in sandals the entire time it is worth packing some long sleeve stuff just to protect from mosquitoes mosquitoes are present in Thailand and some of those mosquitoes carry nasty diseases like Den fever malaria zika not to mention other ones with long difficult to pronounce names So to avoid getting any of those the easiest way to do that is just to cover up especially in the morning and in the evening when mosquitoes are more active and also just to apply mosquito repellent make sure you have a good mosquito repellent bring it with you before you come and apply it liberally I also like to do a scan of my hotel room before I go to sleep I'll turn all the lights on I'll have a towel and I'll send those little Devils Back To Hell where they belong they tend to kind of hide in the upper Corners down in the lower Corners behind blinds or drapes so just give your room a good scan beforehand and take out as many of those little buggers as you can if you're sleeping in hostels or guest houses chances are they probably don't have uh air conditioning and that means the windows will probably be left open which means the mosquitoes will come in a lot of those places will have mosquito netting but you know depending on where you're staying The netting could be ripped which means the mosquitoes can get in so if you are planning on staying in hostels guest house house it might pay to just bring your own mosquito netting and then lastly you don't need to overpack both my wife and I traveled only carryon for one month in Thailand and that was plenty you can do laundry all over the place there's laundry mats everywhere we went and it only costs a few dollars to have your laundry washed and folded for you so don't overpack pack light couple of outfits really make things interchangeable and pack lightweight breathable clothing not to mention bring your swim drunks tip number six respect Buddhism Buddhism is a vital part of Thai culture so be mindful when taking photos in temples or around temples or taking photos of monks and make sure you never touch religious artifacts without getting permission first Buddhism has been practiced in in Thailand for over 2,000 years when it was believed to be introduced in the 3rd Century BC by two Indian monks Thai Buddhism incorporates elements of indigenous animism and Hinduism which makes it a unique and syncretic form of Buddhism today Buddhism remains an integral aspect of the Thai identity personally I love waking up early and watching the monks go and get their daily alms monks they're not allowed to prepare their food so they go out in the morning and they get offerings from the local community the local community in exchange receive blessings and it's this beautiful interaction that really sets the tone for the day and reminds you that you are in a very different very beautiful culture another little strange thing that's worth mentioning is that you shouldn't buy Buddha statues because it's actually illegal to take Buddha statues out of the country even though there are plenty of places selling Buddha statues they could be confiscated by taii Customs some other basic etiquette to be aware of don't point at people with your index finger it's considered rude also don't point at people's feet or the soles of their feet and don't put your feet on tables or on pillows as it's considered extremely rude and then lastly don't touch people's heads all of those things are considered quite rude in Thai culture and then remember to remove your Footwear if you're entering someone's home or you're entering a temple you'll see there will be piles of sandals everywhere if the sandals are at the door then leave yours there too tip number seven explore Beyond Bangkok I know that that sounds pretty basic but you know the first time I visited Thailand back in 2013 I was on an Around the World trip I won a travel film making contest sent me around the world and I was in Bangkok for 5 days I didn't get to see the rest of the country and Bangkok has a lot to see and do so I really Dove deep into Bangkok itself and it's a fascinating place I mean you know they wrote the song One Night in Bangkok and you know the world's your oyster bangkok's great but it is a huge City it's crowded it's loud it's a little chaotic and there is is pollution so make sure that you don't spend too much time in Bangkok make sure that you spend as much time as you can outside of Bangkok exploring the other regions of Thailand whether that's the north with changai and Chang Rai or coming down to the southern islands kabi puket is quite touristy so be aware I wanted to visit the areas that weren't as touristy that weren't the major tourism draws there uh just because that's usually the way I I like to travel but make sure that you give yourself time to explore outside of Bangkok once again if you need help planning your Thai travels then grab yourself a copy of my twoe Thailand itinerary this can be added or subtracted to depending on how much time you have but it's basically the best of the whole country distilled into one easy to follow itinerary it's got Bangkok it's got Mai it has Krabby and it has the southern Islands so there's a lot to see and do in there and I've shared all of my favorite activities hotels restaurants destinations secret spots as well as additional information that will be super helpful when it comes time for planning your trip so if you need a hand grab yourself a copy of my Thailand travel itinerary it's linked in the description and in the cards of this video tip number eight take a slow slowboat down the meong so the meong river is kind of the main artery of Southeast Asia the meong river is one of the major rivers in the world flowing through six countries for over 4,350 km it plays a crucial role in trade and travel in the region and it's a great way to relax into the slower life of rural southeast Asia so if you're planning on backpacking around southeast Asia and you have a bit more time on your hands then consider taking taking a slow booat down the meong river now you can do meong cruises but most people take the slow booat from Thailand to Lao so if you're planning on visiting Lao then you can take a boat down the meong to get there usually takes about two days and it's a really unique experience if you want to time travel probably the closest thing you can do is take a slow booat down the Mong River and speaking of slowing down let's talk about one of the best things in Thailand in my opinion thae massages for a few dollars almost everywhere in the entire country Thailand is full of massage parlors and they do great work know what they're doing and you can get a 1H hour deep tissue oil massage for $5 us $3 us personally I took advantage of this I got 90minut massages pretty much every single day of the trip and I liked to do the oil and Tha combo and that runs you anywhere from $5 to $10 us so take advantage of the massages get them often get them daily tip number nine practice responsible tourism with so much tourism in Thailand it's obvious that certain people are going to take advantage of that animal tourism is quite big in thail land and there are lots of places of ill repute places where they are taking advantage of the animals to make a quick buck so inform yourself before you go elephant tourism is really popular in Thailand as is Tiger tourism and lots of these places uh they don't practice they don't have good practices and they take advantage of the animals so the easiest thing to do is just to avoid either of those experiences don't ride elephant the places where they do elephant rides the animals are not taken care of and um you don't want to add to that you don't want to encourage it so don't ride elephants there are elephant sanctuaries where you can go and feed the elephants and bathe them I just kind of felt like the easiest thing to do was to leave the elephants be and the tiger selfies don't do a tiger selfie these places is they breed these tigers into captivity it's worse than the Tiger King okay they drug the animals often with you know opioids so the animals are sleepy and lethargic in the wild in a real situation you would not be able to walk up and take a selfie with a tiger so don't do it here the unfortunate reality is that Thailand uses lots of single use Plastics and those are accumulating in the environment especially on the beach um so do your best to avoid those when you can all right tip number 10 join a cooking class one of the best souvenirs you can take back home with you from Thailand is a recipe and there are plenty of cooking schools and cooking classes across the country that will teach you some of the best recipes from Thai Cuisine they'll teach you all the famous ones plus some Regional Classics the way it usually works is you meet up in the late morning with your instructor they take you to a local marketplace where you go shopping for the dishes that you're going to be cooking later and when you're shopping the instructor explains the importance of all the different ingredients how they come together to create the basis the foundation of taii Cuisine and then when you go back to the school you cook usually three courses a starter of your choice a Mane and a dessert take a cooking class learn the recipes take them home with you and that way whenever you feel like you want to travel back to Thailand you can just cook up a delicious dish at home and instantly transport yourself back tip number 11 visit during the festivals throughout the year the ties celebrate many different festivals the most famous of them are sran which is the Thai New Year it's a giant water fight in the streets so people get Super Soakers and it's just a giant wet fun time and then ly craon which is the Festival of Lights that's more of a spiritual one a little bit less of a party and more you know more religious more spiritual there are plenty of different festivals throughout the year so hop online do a quick search and if you can try to plan your trip around a festival also if you're trying to party every month in the islands there is a full moon and when there is a full moon there is a full moon party and the full moon parties can get kind of wild so keep your wits about you don't get too um inebriated and be careful about the mushroom milkshakes okay have fun tip number 12 is use Tuk tucks sparingly they are iconic and when you think about southeast Asia chances are you're thinking about a Tuk Tuk but they can be quite expensive and with the new apps coming out like grab it's always worthwhile to kind of double check ask the drivers how much it costs in a Tuk Tuk uh they might tell you what could be quite a high price then quickly just hop on to the app and show what grab is offering which tends to be less than that and try to get them to match it if it's a long trip it's not really worth doing it in a Tuk Tuk if it's close if it's a short trip then you can do it in a Tuk Tuk do it a few times it's definitely fun it's a fun way to get around but it's not really the the most practical way what about getting from City to city or region to region well you have some options if your time in Thailand is constrained if you only have a few weeks then I would just suggest traveling by airplane there are lots of lowcost air carriers that can get you from Bangkok to changai to the southern islands all in a couple of hours that's definitely the fastest way to do it and the flights can be pretty cheap if you have a little bit more time or if you're on a more constrained budget then consider taking buses or trains there are overnight trains sleeper trains and you can find out all of those by going to 12g go that's like the best website that Aggregates all of the different options to help you plan a cost friendly trip so you can check that out I've linked it in the description of this video if I'm staying in a place for a few days I just suggest renting a motorbike make sure though that you are careful that you wear a helmet um and that you have experience maybe don't Rent One in a city maybe wait until you're on one of the islands and it's a little bit more mellow to kind of figure that out um but it is a really fun way to get around it's the best way to get around there's nothing more enjoyable than you know feeling that tropical wind on your face when you're ripping around the island on a little motorbike okay friends well there you have it those are my 12 essential travel tips for Thailand there's many more and I'll save those for the next video so subscribe to my channel if you are not subscribed already give this video a thumbs up if you found it useful it really helps me out helps this video uh get spread to more people so please leave a thumbs up and drop a comment in the comment section share your tips and if you have any questions drop those down there as well and then once again if you need help planning your Thailand trip then grab yourself a copy of my Thailand travel itinerary all right enjoy your trip I'll see you in the next one [Music] [Music] [Applause] peace

Channel: Alexander Ayling

Views: 74,070

Keywords: Travel, Tips, Travel Tips, Travel Videos, Vagabrothers, Alexander Ayling, Thailand Travel Tips, thailand travel tips 2023, thailand travel guide, thailand travel itinerary, thailand travel itinerary 2 weeks, thailand travel itinerary 4 weeks, thailand travel itinerary 3 weeks, bangkok travel guide, what to know about thailand before going, what to know about traveling to thailand about thailand, travel guide, thailand travel, thailand vlog, thailand girls, thailand street food

Id: 90BWledG2kg

Length: 34min 15sec (2055 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 01 2023