Hey you guys Phoebe here from Little Grey Box with Matt behind the camera
Are you planning a trip to Thailand?
Known for its stunning tropical beaches
incredible temples, palaces delicious food and smiling locals it's no surprise
that Thailand is a favourite destination for many travelers now whether you're
visiting Chiang Mai in the north, Koh Samui and the islands down in the south
the capital city Bangkok in the middle or anywhere in between here are some
things I think you really need to know before you go most Western countries
simply get a stamp in their passport on arrival which permits you to stay in
Thailand for around 30 days but you really should check the visa
requirements for your country before you go and guys make sure you do not
overstay how long you're permitted to be in the country for there are fines and
restrictions if you overstay your welcome
the official rainy season in Thailand usually runs from around July through to
October so you are probably best placed to plan your trip outside of those times
if you are looking to save a little bit of money going during that down season
might be the way to go one thing you do need to be really really careful of when
you visit Thailand is the heat you want to make sure that you are drinking
plenty of water try to avoid going out right in the middle of the day try to
stick to those air-conditioned spots during those times when you can I like
to carry an umbrella with me I've always got sunscreen on and for me with long
hair I usually need to tie it up to help me stay cool don't underestimate that
heat you guys it is sapping and it will get ya! The local currency in Thailand
is Thai Baht it is advisable in my experience to have some cash and there
are ATMs located pretty much everywhere there's always a convenience store on a
corner or somewhere nearby where you can get cash out. Now just a quick tip
something that Matt and I did a couple of years ago was we switched to a bank
that has zero transaction fees on their card even when we're traveling
internationally if you travel a lot I would recommend looking for something
like that because it has saved us a lot of money. There are lots of
different ways to get around in Thailand of course you can hail a tuk tuk on the
street if you're going to do that just make sure you barter with the driver
before you get in. There are taxis if you go by that route you want to again make
sure that they are going to run the meter so you aren't getting ripped off or
paying too much than you should there's trains and buses I've actually
caught the night train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and it was fantastic it was
so much fun that kind of adventure is something well worth having. There's also
Grab taxi which is a great way to get yourself a ride or if you're proficient
and comfortable and confident you could look into hiring a scooter. Now I
wouldn't recommend hiring a scooter in built-up places like Bangkok it would be
probably more islands like Koh Yao Noi maybe Koh Samui that I would look to do
it personally I wouldn't drive the scooter because I just don't feel
confident but Matt has a lot more experience and confidence than me so I
would let him drive. Please, please, please be safe I would hate for anybody to get
hurt in a scooter mishap. When it comes time to pack for your trip to Thailand
you really do want to keep it light where possible I like to wear lots of
cotton there are lots of really breathable light airy summer dresses I
like to cover my arms a little bit though because I do worry about the
harsh sun and heating me up and burning my skin. I like to wear cotton skirts
sometimes maybe linen shorts and baggy linen tops at the beach you'll
definitely need your swimwear make sure you have a hat, sunscreen, a water bottle
all those kinds of things for the beach a towel etc maybe your floaties. For Matt
he likes to wear board shorts and sweat-wicking tops. Now on our last trip
to Bangkok we did go to a couple of fancy restaurants so if you are planning
on having some of those high-end dining experiences make sure you do have a
couple of nice outfits another thing you're going to need to pack is
definitely a temple outfit especially for women when we get there I'm often
told that I need to make sure my shoulders and my knees are covered and
this is particularly at places like the Grand Palace in Bangkok or temples in
Chiang Mai so make sure you have something that can go past your knees
and over your shoulders and doesn't bare your midriff for shoes and footwear I
recently bought a pair of saltwater sandals and they are designed to go in
the sea and in the water and they have been amazing for me I don't know why I
didn't buy them sooner I love them so they're perfect for all those island
destinations and in Bangkok I really like to have my sneakers with me because
I'm walking around a lot and my New Balance sneakers are just a godsend one
thing to bear in mind with your footwear is that you will be asked to take your
shoes off from time to time so maybe like full lace-up boots like Doc Martens
or your Converse boots probably aren't your friends with all those shoe laces
just make sure that you can get your shoes on and off easily and quickly at
temples and even some restaurants. In my experience Thailand has always been a
safe destination for me I have never once run into trouble or had a situation
where I felt unsafe if there was any moment I was worried about my things
maybe it would just be my backpack in a crowded street market in Bangkok or when
I had to leave my suitcase overnight on the train a little bit far away from me
other than that I've never run into trouble that said I think there's always
an importance on having a common sense approach to safety when you travel if
you get rip-roaring drunk and walk down the back alley by yourself at 3 a.m. in
the morning of course the risk of you getting into trouble increases. Following
on from that in my experience Thai culture is one that is extremely polite
and that's one of the things I love. Now because that's how they are I believe as
a good traveler it's important to match that and when Matt and I are in Thailand
we're always saying thank you acknowledging people bowing you'll see
this a lot, yes, like this. It's just a sign of respect and appreciation. Thailand has
a King now it is really, really, really important that you are very respectful
of the King. The late King passed and the Thai people... I was there shortly after he
did they were heartbroken people were wearing black ribbons as a sign of
respect black armbands the love for the King and the Queen is real. You might
find yourself in situations like at a movie theater for example where at the
beginning they play a short clip and there's a requirement for everybody
in the movie theatres to stand and pay their respects for the King even in some
of the parks around Bangkok that happens so if you do see people doing that just
make sure you join in even if you don't understand what's happening just stand
silently and show the King that same respect. Okay let's talk about this one
because I've gotten into trouble a few times. While some of the toilets are
absolutely fantastic some of the ones in public places are quite rough they can
be quite dirty, you may not have access to toilet paper and all of that kind of
stuff. So I always like to have a little bit of a toilet ready kit in my bag I
carry tissues I've got some antibacterial wipes for my hands I've
got hand sanitizer as well you'll also need to have some coins with you because
in many cases you do have to pay to use the toilet you might want to do some
squats as well to get those legs nice and strong so that you are prepared and
ready to use a squat toilet should the need arise one thing to note is in
Thailand you will often see signs saying that you cannot put toilet paper in the
toilets. Don't be freaked out if you see that it's just that the plumbing in that
spot might not be so great so you just put the toilet paper in the bins
provided. Now for women I really recommend that you carry your own
feminine hygiene products with you so tampons, pads, menstrual cups whatever you
use make sure that you've got that with you because you could find difficulty
getting the kinds of products that you want to use or that you prefer to use
Thailand is all about that hag life you guys so if you are going to a market and
you are going shopping make sure that you get into the spirit and you haggle
with the locals I believe that if you want to ask for a discount the phrase is
something like 'lod noi nah' and you're meant to say it really sad like
'lod noi nah.' Matt does a really good 'lod noi nah' actually I'll have to
get him to show it to you one day. Now one thing I would say especially people
from Western countries like Matt and myself we do have more money than people
in Thailand have it's just the way it is and so we are very mindful that we're
not trying to get a price so cheap that we leave the local person earning a lot
less money than they deserve, yes we want to bargain but not at the expense of
that person's livelihood. I love the Thai language it is so much fun you
can really get into it really like let the phrases fly and I always find the
locals beam with a big smile when you join in now you guys know I do not speak
Thai fluently so what I'm about to say is gonna have a strong Australian kind
of accent on it quite often people like to have a little bit of a roast about
the way I pronounced words from other languages but hey you know it's all
about trying at a different language and there is absolutely no shame in trying
there is a difference between the way that men and women will say words in
Thailand if you were going to say hello for instance a lady would say sawadi ka
Iike a man would say cup. Sawadi kup and what I love about the
Thai language is they have a gender-neutral pronoun and it is huh so
if you didn't identify as male or female you would say hello Sawadee huh hot you
ready Sawadee kup for the ladies Sawadee Kap for the men and sorry ha for
a non-binary friends if you're going to say thank you Kop kun car for the ladies
and you can really get into that car I really like to lean into it
Kop kun car they really get into it for the men Kop kun cup and for our
non-binary friends Kop kun ha and what I found as well and what at one of our
guides told us is that you can use car or four men cup as kind of a polite
acknowledgement during conversation so if I was talking to you as I am and you
were listening to me you might say car like that like kind of a yes I hear you
I understand you that's great respect this one's pretty
straightforward you just can't drink the tap water now when we travel Matt and I
are always looking for ways to cut down our single-use plastics and one of those
is to carry our own water bottle with us unfortunately in Thailand
you cannot refill your water bottle from a tap in the hotel or around the place
the water just isn't reliable to drink we do still take our water bottles with
us and try to fill it up at the hotels for example the breakfast buffet might
have a big water jugs everywhere I go it seems to see options for gluten-free or
vegan or vegetarian or scat Aryan no chicken they're poking
their beef whatever your requirements are I always find that restaurant staff
are so accommodating and willing to listen and help and adjust the food to
whatever your personal requirements may be I do have to say the only one I think
you might run into some trouble with could be peanuts especially if you had a
cross-contamination kind of an allergy you may struggle with that one as there
are quite a few peanuts and tree nuts in Thai cooking if you see monks around the
streets as you're traveling through Thailand just make sure to be respectful
especially women unfortunately women aren't permitted to touch monks I
believe that if we do come into contact with a monk there is a big ritual they
have to go through afterwards we're just too fun for our good lady it is also
really important to note that Buddhism in Thailand is very very very important
and Buddha is revered it's not okay to buy Buddha artworks or Buddha head
statue think about it this way Buddha is God to Buddhist and you are carrying a
statue of their gods decapitated head yeah it's really awkward so what art
works but the statues decapitated head statues Buddha tattoos whatever is not
an artwork Buddha is a god and should be respected as such while you're in
Thailand as you guys know I do have social anxiety shout out to the guy that
said that's just a millennial disease and not a real one mate it's a real
thing I do have social anxiety and what that means to me is that I just
struggled in social situations and I do find crowds really really paralyzing if
you are the same just be prepared it doesn't mean that you can't visit of
course you can you're just gonna have to stick away from those areas like I do
kind of take a wide berth plan your visits to your major sites like the
Grand Palace just outside there's really really busy times I have the most
sensitive stomach it is like a tissue in a hurricane it is just not up for the
challenge in Thailand I have never once had a problem with street food that said
I don't eat me so maybe that's a part of it I'm not really sure but I always used
my common sense judgment I would never go and eat at a street food place that
looks dirty or how do we smell or I didn't
the person was preparing the food freshly or to a high standard so just
use your common sense and you should be fine
street food in Thailand is unmissable if you are really worried about it and
you're somewhere like Bangkok head to a spot like icon sense I am their big
shopping mall because down the bottom there they have an incredible food court
it's all indoors everything's incredibly high standards
of quality and preparation and care for some reason whenever I talk about this
one whether it be here on the website it always seems to stir up quite the hottie
debate so I'm just gonna do what I can which is just to speak to my experience
and my personal beliefs I don't believe that people should take part in animal
tourism experiences in Thailand specifically elephant riding and Tiger
temples when I was younger doing an elephant ride in Thailand was really
really high up on my life travel bucket list was something I desperately wanted
to do but then I found out how the elephants are actually broken in and to
be able to be ridden by tourists and it is a process called crushing now we're
gonna put a link to a couple of videos below if you do want to do an elephant
ride in Thailand I would just encourage you just to watch those videos first and
if you watch them and you still feel like that's something that you can go
through with that's your decision personally after watching them I felt
very very sad and very very sick about how the animals are treated on a visit
to Thailand I did ask around a little bit about it about how the industry is
regulated and I was told that those elephant performance shows and elephant
ride operators are self regulated so the only requirement is for them to have a
vet on staff who says that everything's aboveboard and who pays that vet the
people who operate it so there is an opportunity there or the potential there
or the money to take priority over the animals health and welfare it's totally
up to you what you do with your life I would just as I said encourage you to
research it look into what happens at these places and then make up your mind
yourself oh my goodness there's so many cheap massages and cheap tethers going
on offer in Thailand and I would just say this to you if it sounds like it's
too good to be true it probably is now Matt and I have had more
a fair share of five-dollar massages in Thailand and each time it has not gone
well personally I feel like I would rather splash out a lot more money to
have one really good massage than $5 to have a really cheap massage that leaves
me in a lot of pain and could potentially hurt my body and my back
it's just not worth it and cheap shadows you guys there are all kinds of problems
that could come from that one thing we always do when we go to Thailand is get
a sim card at the airport they have great bundle packages there where you
can get something like three or four gig of data someone have unlimited data and
it just helps us stay connected they're really really affordable find you know
great local restaurants and spots that you want to visit and understand the
context of where you are by being able to Google search it another flame
something I like to do what is the grand palace one of the best things about
Thailand is it is so very affordable you can pay very little for accommodation
and stay somewhere fantastic you can eat cheap out at restaurants you can eat
great street food the beers are cheap it's just such an affordable destination
it's also really good in terms of budget if you do want to have the luxury
experience because the high-end luxury stuff is probably I would say about mid
range Australian prices so you can stay somewhere amazing have these incredible
dinners and not pay anywhere near as you much as you would somewhere like here in
Australia so it is budget-friendly on all spectrums and in terms of
budget-friendly I just want to say I have heard that as a backpacker you can
stay in multi bed dorms without a fan for like one or two dollars a night I
couldn't do that that sounds really intense but if you are on a budget that
could be a great option for you alright you guys that brings this to an
end thank you so much for watching I really hope you have found this video
useful now if you don't already be sure to subscribe and say Sawadee kha in the
comments below have a great weekend and I will see you next week
you