17 things I wish I knew BEFORE visiting THAILAND in 2024

Here are 17 things i wish i knew before i visited  thailand i love thailand and is one of my favorite   countries but there are definitely things i wish  i knew before i visited the country and that's why   i've made this video so you don't make the same  mistakes that we did amelia and i spent two months   traveling thailand and we went from the south  to the very far north and we agreed it was one   of our favorite countries that we've ever been to  it's very easy if you're a first time backpacker   or a solo traveller there are so many people to  meet and it's just an easy great country to visit   let's get on with these 17 things and let's start  with number one and that is the visa so now from   october the first you can actually get a 45 day  free visa if you're from a selected 65 countries   which do include the uk and the usa but this is  only running until the end of march the 31st 2023   so if you're not in that period you'll just  get the regular 30-day free visa you go to   the immigration office to extend your visa and you  must bring obviously your passport but a photocopy   of your passport a photocopy of your visa stamp  and a little passport photo um and a printout of   your flight out of thailand so number two is eat  the thai food honestly it is probably my favorite   cuisine in the world it is so good and the  thai food there is honestly so cheap especially   compared to western cuisines try the street food  and go to the night markets because that's where   you get really cheap great food and there's ones  all over the country and honestly thai people   know how to put on a good night market so number  three is renting a scooter and you can do this   with a driving licence in other countries they  didn't ask your driving license but in thailand it   was quite important because they usually asked to  drive illegally a scooter in thailand you actually   need an international driving license people just  don't seem to have them just rented this bike it's   costing us 200 baht a day and we're just gonna  be exploring the island we've just come to fill   up with some petrol it's honestly the best way  to travel around different islands and different   parts of thailand and highly recommend it just  be very careful in the rain and on gravel then   you can come off so number four is where to  stay and we pretty much use booking.com and   agoda.com for all our bookings we usually search  by lowest price and as long as the rating was okay   we usually went for the cheapest now number  five is something you might not do when you're   in thailand but if you are and it lines up then  you have to do the full moon party it's pretty   much the biggest beach party in the world and for  good reason it is so much fun and a lot of people   on just one beach now if you're backpacking  thailand you probably don't want to book in   advance but for the full moon party you must do it  because if you don't price is going to be really   expensive because there already are even months  in advance and you don't want to be miles and   miles away the taxis and stuff really expensive  in koh panyang if you live quite far away from the   actual beach the other thing is drink the buckets  they're really good and get you drunk pretty quick   we've just got two buckets 300 baht each they're  like little slush puppies so when to go to   thailand so thailand have two seasons dry seasons  and wet season obviously the dry season from like   november to march is pretty much the busiest  time of the year there are so many people   there because it is dry and it doesn't rain that  much saying that it rained quite a lot for us if you go in wet season no prices are much cheaper  there's not as many tourists the hotel we stayed   at was marina phuket and that only costs 24 pounds  in wet season but in the height of dry season it   costs up to 60 pounds a night which is a crazy  difference and so you'll get so much more value if   you go in wet season and also honestly sometimes  it just rains in the afternoon it's not like it's   all day misery like it is here in the uk in winter  now i'm gonna be moving on to scams and things   which you must watch out for so one of the common  scams in phuket that we found we didn't get caught   but our friends did is the scooter scam basically  the police stop you if you're not wearing a helmet   or you're not got an international driving  license or whatever they'll just find a way of   just charging you taking you to the police station  to just get some money off you another scam which   is common in bangkok is the tuk-tuk scam and they  tell you take a tour but then they only take you   like halfway and then to get back right to the  middle they try and charge you loads of money   so just be careful when dealing with tuk-tuks in  bangkok moving on to number eight and if you're   like me i always love to be connected but sim  cards are really cheap in thailand and i got   an unlimited data plan for just 14 pounds or like  i don't know 16 us dollars which is amazing value   and i recommend doing that and we can always be on  instagram just scrolling and stuff so now number   nine i'm going to be talking about itinerary for  thailand now a lot of people fly into bangkok but   i've got a suggestion and why maybe you shouldn't  i recommend flying into the south into somewhere   like phuket and then just making your way all the  way up into bangkok and then further up north and   then you don't have to take any flights it's  probably the cheapest way of doing it if you   fly to bangkok you then have to go south and then  you have to go back up and then north again or   north you know you get what i mean so you're lit  pretty much saving time and cost by flying into   the south straight away now some of the places i'm  going to list the places you should visit and one   of them is kobe p honestly it is a beautiful  island and obviously the beautiful maya bay   is highly recommend checking out it's 400 baht  to go on the beach but it is worth it it's one   of a stunning beach even though it can get quite  touristy another one is pongna which is a lot less   touristy and it's basically like massive limestone  cliffs in the water and then you've got kopanyu   this little floating village highly recommend  checking it out it is awesome another place is   calsoc national park we didn't actually go there  but it is high on our list to go there next time   we are in thailand and then further up north check  out chiang mai it's got amazing night markets   there's lots of different day trips you can do  just out of chiang mai to see the elephants and   other stuff like that now number 10 is about  the thai people they are honestly genuinely   so lovely and actually lovely you know not like  fake lovely like they're just after your money   they are literally so kind and very hospitable  you think about how many thousands and millions   of tourists who have been to thailand and they're  still so welcoming and just welcome you with open   arms to their country thailand is mostly buddhist  so if you're going into a temple make sure you   cover your knees and your shoulders and just  you know show some respect when going into their   places of worship now number 11 is your budget  for thailand as a cheap backpacker not looking   to drink much stay in the cheapest accommodation  eat the cheap food can easily travel on under 20   pounds a day but if you want a little more comfort  than 30 pounds a day will give you a lot more   comfortable stuff obviously you can spend way more  easily but it all depends on the individual don't   feel like you need to spend loads one thing to  keep in mind is the north of thailand is so much   cheaper than the south of thailand if you've got  less money maybe you spend much more time up north   number 12 is about the atm fees in thailand you  usually charge 220 bar which is quite a bit of   money especially compared to other countries  where sometimes it's free or just a smaller   charge way of avoiding this is to go into the  bank bring your passport and obviously your card   and and you can withdraw it straight from the  bank from the people and you usually not charge   for that but yeah give it a go another thing to  keep in mind when at an atm the card comes out   after you've taken the cash i'm hopeless then i  had so many times thai people have come up to me   going oh you left your card in this machine and  i'm like i'm just so dumb emilia will tell you i   do all the time just take the cash remember  the card now number 13 is how to get around   i think thailand is probably one of the easiest  countries to travel because there's tour agencies   everywhere and this is where you can book your  transport to your next city whether that's taking   a minibus or a ferry or whatever then this is the  best way booked with travel agency and they'll   help you or your hotel or hostel they'll also do  it too if you want to go short distances then i   recommend using the grab and the bolt app honestly  it is pretty cheap there and it doesn't mean you   have to like bargain with taxi drivers and maybe  you don't know the price and even if they don't   speak much english so do that and it saves a lot  of hassle now number 14 is thailand's little gem   no it's not place it is 7-eleven 7-elevens are  literally everywhere especially in the cities   around bangkok every corner every street every  like 50 meters has a 7-eleven there's a 7-eleven   here and there's a 7-eleven just there that's  how many 7-elevens are in this city they have   so much range of selection of food and drinks  and iced coffees they're really good iced coke   there's so many different drinks you can  get and i love it in other countries like   the philippines 7-eleven is just not as good it  doesn't have that range of variety of food and   obviously the ham and cheese toasty that thing is  famous this cheese toasty which i got which was   27 baht is the big thing to try apparently  everyone says they're really really good that is actually really good it was really good  but i thought it'd be a little bit bigger because   i could probably eat it in about six bites if  you want to have a cheap lunch then you can   have a 7-eleven microwave meal they're like 45  baht and yeah quick easy way of having a lunch   not spending too much money so number 15 i'm  just going to spit off some quick facts which   you will need when traveling thailand and one  of these is makes they use the us plug socket   so you'll need an adapter from from the uk  or the eu or whatever they also drive on the   left-hand side so like the british not like they  do in america as thailand's so touristy loads of   people speak english an important thing to do is  don't mention the king if you want a fast-track   way of getting into jail in thailand then say  something bad about the king and you'll be   not literally you'll just be put  in jail but just don't mention it   so moving on to number 16 and that is be careful  with the animal tourism seeing elephants is a very   popular thing to do in thailand but some places  aren't that ethical we actually went to a really   good one up in chiang mai and it was amazing it  was an elephant sanctuary and i highly recommend   it i will leave a link in the description  to it down below and definitely recommend   checking it out but some places you can still  do elephant riding which it's not good for the   elephant so if you want to actually look after  them then please avoid these companies don't go   with them it's not fair on the elephants now  number 17 the very last one and that is about bangkok belly you've probably heard of it or if  you haven't other people call it like barley belly   or deli belly just be careful with like radishes  cucumbers tomatoes when they're washing it in the   local water because that's what can make you quite  ill is that water and then wash the vegetables and   stuff so be careful i wouldn't recommend eating  them i was like keep your hands off better to   be safe because the last thing you want to do  especially if you're on a short trip is getting   bangkok belly and basically having food poisoning  it's not much fun other people ask about the ice   we were fine having ice we had a lot of iced  drinks and it was fine but honestly if it's   not a good restaurant then maybe stay away from  iced drinks so that is hopefully everything you   need to know but if you've got any other questions  please leave them down below in the comments and   i will get back to you because i wanna i just  want you to get to thailand it's a beautiful   country and you will absolutely love your time  there thank you so much for watching i hope   this was useful enjoy your time in thailand and  i'll see you in the next video see you then bye

Channel: Joel Friend

Views: 1,056,831

Keywords: thailand, travel guide, travel tips, backpacking, before you go, travel tips thailand

Id: OaNqMvIRNo8

Length: 10min 59sec (659 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 18 2022