I made it all the way to Thailand for my solo budget vacation – so if you have no interest in a budget adventure or fun things of that nature, then I’m sorry – but there’s likely to be a few posts on my experiences here.
If you’re considering going on a life-changing kind of trip, then Thailand is definitely a place that I would recommend. If you’re able to get over the price of the ticket (around $1500 if you want to fly a nice airline like Emirates like I did), once you are here you can expect your money to go waaaay further than it does at home.
For example, in Bangkok I booked myself into the Dream Hotel. Trip advisor had it as a four star hotel, but I would say that it was more like a three. Nevertheless, it was $65 a night and resembled the Dream hotel franchise in the States. It was a nice way to ease into Asia, the room was clean and comfortable, and a delicious breakfast was included. Oh, and the taxi from the airport was only about $6 – just make sure you get them to use a meter because otherwise they’ll try and scam you (not everyone is all smiles in Thailand).
Down the street from my hotel was Health Land – and it was one of the nicest massage spots in Bangkok. The price you ask? BHT500 for the most amazing TWO HOUR thai massage I’ve ever had. That works out to $15.16. Most places, though, only charge BHT250 – about $8 – so you could literally get a massage three times a day if you wanted. And no, these aren’t happy ending spots – although telling by the amount of white dudes walking around with Thai girls, I imagine they are easy to find and leave men feeling happy.
If you like Thai food – noodles, rice, curries and spicy delciousness – you’re in for a treat. You can sit at a nice restaurant and eat enough for 4 people for about $25. If you want to eat “street food” – which is essentially food served by vendors street-side, or more casual little sit-down spots you can eat a great meal for about $3-5. I hired a tour guide for my first day to show me around, and she advised not to eat the street food right away since my stomach probably wasn’t used to the water used for cooking (but you know I was tempted at that price). By the way, my tour guide, Ms.Pary was amazing – and I had her from 8am to 4pm for $150 through BKK Tours.
Bangkok shopping is definitely interesting – with MBK mall resembling more like an inside market with vendors strewn all over the place. Most of the imported goods are not worth buying here, but I did nab a pair of amazing pants made locally for BHT200 – about $6 which I am in love with. I would suggest getting your phone unlocked before you get here so you can use a “tourist” SIM card. Unfortunately mine did not successfully unlock, so I ended up paying about $40 to have it unlocked, and then about $20 for UNLIMITED internet and about 30 minutes of talk time. Everything is more affordable in Thailand!
I just landed in Koh Samui – a beach town, and my flight from Bangkok on Bangkok Air was about $103. Travel within Thailand is also fairly inexpensive and I would say the best way to travel unless you are really trying to be daring and frugal and take the train – but I would rather have that time to zoom around on a scooter – which is $6/day to rent.
If you’re considering planning a trip over this way, I hope this post helped! Everyone deserves to have an adventure in life – especially when it’s this affordable.
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