21 Things I Wish I Knew Before Visiting Thailand 🇹🇭

I want to dive deep into the Thailand travel tips and things I wish I had known before coming to Thailand for the first time almost 10 years ago I won't bore you with standard travel tips like wear sunscreen and remember your passport so let's just get this video started shall we contrary to popular belief I'm actually not a doctor but I have been to Thailand five or six times without having any stomach issues I've seen travel mates and other folks at the hostels have some very bad days it's pretty common for us westerners because there

are some bacteria in Southeast Asia that our stomachs can't really handle so my secret is that around 3 weeks before traveling I'll start taking probiotics and I'll also take them every day when I'm in Thailand again do your own research or ask your doctor I'm not trying to sell you a product and I don't have a cheeky discount code for anything this is just what has worked really well for me and I haven't had any issues traveling to Thailand or other places in southeast Asia and by the way if you end up having stomach problems

they sell hydration packs in all of the 711s in Thailand guys look at this place this is Maya Bay in the pp islands and it's very busy with tourists of course it is look at it it's absolutely magical so my point is that when you go to visit places like Maya Bay Ray Beach and some of the other famous tourist destinations in the south of Thailand there will be other people but does it really matter like would you rather not go and not experience some of the most beautiful spots in Thailand I'm just saying this

because there's so much negativity online about the Thailand being overcrowded and maybe it is just online because whenever I've been to these touristy parts of Thailand I've absolutely loved it and everybody there just seems to be having such a great time a super random one but a lot of shops and restaurants in the more touristy areas of Thailand will ask you to take off your shoes before entering so I'd suggest bringing shoes that are super easy to just slip on and off or just wear flipflops on most of your trip this is of course not

the case in Bangkok or any of the bigger cities but it is the case in a lot of the touristy towns we've all tried standing in some tedious lines to enter a country but what most people don't realize is that it takes some time getting out of there as well because you need to actually go through the same process where they will check your your passport to see if you haven't overstate your Visa so after going through normal security where they scan your bags and then here in Europe You' just be good to go and

be in the airport here in Thailand you would need to go to another checkpoint where they check your passport and see if you've overstate your visa and honestly that process took me about an hour last time I was in Thailand and I've seen online that they are trying to make some kind of eates that we're also used to here in Europe and I think they are up in some of the airports but just know that it can take you quite a lot of time to actually leave Thailand so Thailand is the land of the smiles

but it's also the land of some surprisingly weird lws for example there are some pretty strict deformation laws in Thailand and you can get up to 2 years in prison if you break these laws and it isn't just just like you know some silly old law that never gets used I've actually found some headlines and from time to time I hear these stories about people who have written a negative review of a hotel and then they actually get in trouble so maybe don't give the hotel you're currently staying at a bad review wait until you've

at least skipped town by the way stick around until the end of the video where I'll share my three favorite hotels here in Thailand it's 2025 most people know that riding an elephant is not a good idea and that the elephants have actually been beaten senselessly to get to the level of domestication where it's possible for a tourist to get on its back elephant riding for tourist used to be big business in Thailand so what happened when the Western tourist suddenly didn't want to ride the elephants some places just changed their names to feature like

sanctuary and rescue center and now you can feed or even take baths with these massive wild animals so I'm not saying that all places in Thailand with elephants and the name Sanctuary or rescue center in them are bad but I will quote the world animal protection Foundation who actually just commented on a big Danish influencer who has posted herself bathing with the elephants they said that it's never animal friendly to bathe with the elephants as it's always a stressful experience for the animals there are actual animal friendly elephant sanctuaries in puket but they are always

places where you can't physically interact with the animals so maybe think again if you're coming to Thailand and want to take a bath with an elephant Bangkok is such a cool City but I also know that it can feel a bit overwhelming especially for first time visitors to Thailand who may have just flown for 12 hours to get there so what I always recommend when you're visiting Bangkok for the first time is that you book a hotel near the BTS Sky train or the Metro because one of the things that can make Bangkok feel a

bit overwhelming and maybe a wee bit annoying is the traffic the taxis may be cheap when you can actually get them to use the meter but do not underestimate the amount of time it can take to go just a few kilometers in the Bangkok rush hour and honestly forget about walking because it's just too hot luckily the sky Train which is like the Suburban above ground Metro Works super well and the actual Metro is great as well it's super easy to buy tickets and if you don't want to like learn the the machine there's always

a ticket desk where they speak perfectly English the trains are also air conditioned which you will love and if you want to make it even easier for yourself you should stay at a hotel that is on the airlink line because then you can just get the train out to savan Boom airport which is bangkok's main airport I've actually seen slogans for some of the cheap carriers say something along the lines of now everyone can fly because do IC flights in Thailand are really cheap so Thailand is a massive country and it's not like you can

just grab a taxi from Bangkok and down to the islands so you will need to get from Bangkok and down to the island unless you fly there directly luckily there are flights actually from Bangkok and down to poet and krappy for like $10 us which is crazy so unless you absolutely want to you don't have to take those overnight trains or buses [Music] the flights from Samui airport aren't as cheap as some of the other domestic airports but if you got the chance I'd highly recommend flying out of this tiny airport everything is kind of

Outdoors there are a few cute different little restaurants and bars and we literally saw a lizard living inside the departure Lounge the airport small wooden Pavilions honestly look more like a luxury resort than this Transportation Hub that it actually is so flying from kosam mui airport is a pretty magical experience and the there must be loads of Tik toks and reals if you want to see more from this airport there is toilet paper in the hotels don't you worry but you can't be sure that there will be toilet paper when you're in those tiny Beach

restaurants or when you're at a famous landmark or when you're transferring from puket and up to kaak and Stu at a gas station to just buy snacks and also need the L so always carry some tissues or just commit to the bum gun there are QR code payments in Thailand but you need to have a Thai bank account so cash is still King however you're going to love that there are 711s all over the place because they actually take Apple pay and Visa card and usually there's also an ATM outside of these small shops by

the way and this is very important when you go to take out cash in Thailand you do your thing and then you get the cash and then it takes like 5 seconds before they spit out your card whereas here in Europe you'd usually get your card first and then the cash so I've heard a lot of folks say that they've actually lost their card because they just got their money and then took off and forgot about it so remember to cash first and then wait for your [Music] card as we've established Thailand is a massive

country so the weather you get up in changai isn't the same as you get in puket in January I won't bore you too much anyway but as a quick rule of thumb the wet season is from May to October the cool season is from November to February and then there's the hot season or as they call it in Bangkok the fry season but as I said the country is massive and there's a big difference whether you're in Kang krai or in the north so make sure you do a bit of research before booking that five-star

hotel because it might be in the monsoon season and that wouldn't be nice would [Music] it yes Thai food can be very spicy but there are dos of dishes where you actually season it yourself or it's just not a spicy dish also all hotels do Western food and you can find food from all over the world in the tourist towns just don't mate and maybe don't talk about the royal family in general with the local Thai people the king is also on all the Thai bat nose and it's illegal to step on them and all

the mainstream travel websites that have hired chat GPT as their writer would now tell you to be extremely respectful whenever you hand over money in Thailand but the truth is that nobody really cares in the touristy [Music] areas if you're worried about contamination in Thailand and are afraid of getting ice cubes with your drinks then just know that as long as the ice cubes have a hole in the middle they're factory made and perfectly fine also it's super common to drink beer with ice cubes and I know that sounds appalling but just wait until it's

you who are sitting in 35° Sun on raay Beach and the waer ask you if you want an ice cube in your [Music] beer the Bold app is great for taxis in Bangkok and some of the larger areas in Thailand the normal Bangkok taxis are actually obliged by the law to use the meter but honestly good luck getting those guys to use the meter usually if you're hail a taxi in Bangkok they would suggest the price and now you can try and Hackle that down or get them to use the meter or just use the

Bold app that will be way cheaper it might be fun to wiggle your way through the Bangkok traffic in a Tuk to but the drivers are known to be pretty crazy and Thailand is one of the most dangerous places in the world when it comes to traffic accidents also if the Tuk Tok driver wants to take you to his friend's shop or says that the temple that you want to go to is CL he's not your friend Thailand's luxury resorts are absolutely mental we're talking beautiful Villas and infinity pools with views that will honestly break

your Instagram and if that's your style and budget then go for it but here's a pro tiip if you're working with a more modest budget think about how you'll actually spend your time before booking so let's take a popular place like Aang in kabi show those beach front results look amazing but think a bit about it you'll probably spend most of your days heading down to Maya Beach heading over to raay beach or going to the Hong Islands so you might only be at your hotel for sleeping and getting a little shower so instead consider

this strategy boook a comfortable but basic hotel in busy spots like Aang where you'll be going on loads of day trips and then use those savings to Splash out on a luxurious sword somewhere like COA yay that's one of those peaceful islands where you basically just lie by the pool or the beach and just chill so that's when a fancy Resort actually adds to the overall experience I get it when you first start researching what to do and things to see in Thailand you'll end up with a massive bucket list but spending half your vacation

on Planes Trains and busing isn't the move guys so instead of racing between Bangkok changai Kota and kipe pick a few spots and actually experience them I think there are over 1,400 Islands in Thailand so just take your pick I've also made another video where I share what I think is more or less the perfect two weeks in Thailand Thailand's name in Thai pret Thai actually means land of the free and it's the only country in Southeast Asia that was never colonized by European powers so that explains why Thai culture traditions and architecture is so

distinct compared to its neighbors in in the region there's no fancy way to say this Ty mosquitoes mean business so grab some repellent from any 7-Eleven Pharmacy or street vendor they're literally everywhere and the local Brands work really well I promise to share my three favorite hotels in Thailand so here's the first one this is where you Splurge guys get the private pool Villa and wake up early and just chill out to some of the acoustic Oasis songs while you're wife and kids are sleeping that's a lifechanging experience Lads this is one of the best

hotels in Thailand that isn't crazy expensive in my opinion next up is one of the best places to St in Bangkok the thing about hotels in Bangkok is that it's bloody hard to pick because there are so many and if you got a bit of a budget it's not like it's getting easier but I do feel like I found the best hotel in all of Bangkok here there are two large infinity pools probably the craziest breakfast buffet I've ever seen and the hotel's even got its own walkway over to the Sky Train and you can

also get the airport express train out to bangkok's main airport from here and then we're heading down to the islands again so if you're looking for a proper quiet place near the airport in kosami this is the spot it's such a nice little quiet Resort where you can book a nice Villa with a private plunge pool but there's also a large shared pool a Beach area and to be honest the staff here are some of the nicest people I've had the pleasure of meeting in Thailand have you been to Thailand share your best Thailand travel

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