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Image by Marcin Kaliński

Thailand Trip (Bangkok, Krabi & Phuket) 2019

Amazing & Memorable Thailand Trip (Bangkok, Krabi & Phuket)

We (my hubby and me) started out trip from Bangalore on 25th Dec, 2019. Our flight was at 3 pm IST and
we reached Bangkok by 8:30 pm Thailand time (total flight duration was 3.5 hrs). We finished our visa
and immigration formalities which took us another 2 hours. Documents required for visa on arrival – 1
passport size photo, hotel stay, return tickets and passport. Visa on arrival is free till April 2020 else they
charge 2000 Baht/person. Please ensure to keep your departure card safely because you will need it while
departure immigration. After finishing our visa and immigration formalities, we collected our luggage,
sim (pre-booked in Rs 345 via Klook) and took a free shuttle (which our hotel had offered) to the hotel.
Most of the hotels in Bangkok provide free pick up and drop services to the airport within 5-6 kms of
distance. Our hotel – The Phoenix Hotel (5 kms from Suvarnabhumi Airport) was pre-booked by us via
Agoda. Agoda provides better rates than any other website. By the time we reached the hotel, it was 11 pm.
We took good rest to be energetic the next day.

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Booking & Travel Tips

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  1. Use Agoda.com or Booking.com for Hotel bookings & Klook app for Activities booking in Thailand Best offers & deals among all other websites. Don't forget to use coupon codes for best deals.

  2. Documents required for visa on arrival – 1 passport size photo, Hotel stay, Return tickets and Passport. Visa on arrival is free till April 2020 else they charge 2000 Baht/person.

  3. Take printouts of all the flight tickets, Hotel vouchers & Activities . Also carry additional copies of return flight tickets and hotel vouchers to show during immigration at Bangkok Airport.

  4. Pen & Glue/ Stapler to paste photo on Immigration form.

  5. Keep signed and stamped Immigration card with you. They will ask immigration card post end of your trip.

  6. You will get your luggage only post immigration check and security 

  7. You can carry 10,000 Baht/person with you but it is not mandatory. Extravelmoney and Orientexchange provides best conversion rates (approx - 2.28 or 2.3)

  8. Collect SIM from the dtac counter at just Rs 349 with 15GB data (8 days validity) by Showing Passport and Boarding Pass at Bangkok Airport DTAC Counter.

  9. Don't forget to install GRAB App for Cabs in Thailand and download offline thailand maps.

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Day 1 – Bangkok


Travel Tips

  1. Proper full sleeves cloths in Grand palace and Temple.

  2. No extra charges for Camera and mobile in Grand palace.

  3. Beware and avoid the "friendly" tuk-tuk drivers who may present themselves as guides .They hang out near major tourist sites, they'll tell you the temples are closed (holiday, cleaning, the King relatives passed away, local Thai only etc).

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We had breakfast in the hotel and booked a grab cab by 10:30 am to The Grand Palace which costed us
466 Baht. It took almost an hour to reach Grand Palace. We took the tickets which costed 500
Baht/person. They check that we should be wearing proper clothes (no shorts). We spent almost 2 hrs
there enjoying the beautiful architecture, temple (Emerald Buddha) and clicking pictures. It was almost
1:30 pm by the time we came out of the temple. We took a tuk-tuk to the nearest India restaurant (8848
Restaurant and Cafe)
which costed us 70 Baht. We had chicken curry, tandoori roti and lemon soda which
costed us 400 Baht approx.. The food was pretty good and free wi-fi was available in the restaurant. After
finishing lunch, we booked a grab cab to The Sealife Ocean World Aquarium (Siam Paragon mall) which
costed us 107 Baht. We had booked online tickets for the The Sealife Ocean World Aquarium via Klook
which costed us Rs 1462/person for the express line. We reached there by 3 pm and spent good 2 hrs
enjoying the sea creatures and clicking pictures. By 5:30 pm, we came out of the aquarium, changed
clothes and got ready in the mall washroom for our cruise dinner. We took a tuk-tuk (as it is difficult to
get cabs in the evening) to reach the ICONSIAM pier which costed us 200 Baht. We knew it is expensive
but since we had to reach for the cruise on time, we did not have a choice. We had pre-booked Chao
Phraya Princess Cruise (the best cruise in Bangkok) with Indian Buffet via Klook which costed us Rs
1759/person. We reached ICONSIAM pier by 7:10 pm from where we were taken to pier 4 via small boat.
From Pier 4, we were taken to the Chao Phraya Princess Cruise which was good. The timing of the cruise
was till 9:30 pm. We had good fun enjoying the live music, Bollywood songs, cruise dance, buffet dinner
with amazing view. It was indeed a very good experience. By the time we came out of the cruise, it was 10
pm. We took a grab cab (which we got after 30-40 mins of wait time) which costed us 400 Baht and
returned to our hotel by 11:30 pm (due to heavy traffic).

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Day 2 – Krabi

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Travel Tips

  1. Don't forget to take free shuttle from Suvarnabhumi Airport Bangkok to DMK Airport (Passport and Flight tickets are Required) if you are travelling to Karbi or Phuket from Bangkok.

  2. Purchase 5 litres water bottle from any store (7 Eleven or Family Mart stores). It cost you 40 Baht as there is no concept of Regular or free water anywhere in Thailand. (500ml water bottle costs you 20-30 Baht from normal stores).


We had booked 7:40 am flight (Thai Lion Air) from DMK airport in Bangkok to Krabi which costed us Rs
2900/person. We also bought extra 10kgs baggage online (costed Rs 650) because the flight did not allow check
in luggage. Online baggage purchase is cheaper than buying from the airport directly. We checked out
from the hotel at 4:00 am and took the free drop service to Suvarnabhumi Airport. We reached the airport
by 4:20 am and took the free shuttle service from Suvarnabhumi Airport to DMK Airport. Free shuttle
runs from Suvarnabhumi Airport to DMK Airport every 1 hr (from 5 am to 12 midnight) and checks the
ticket of the passengers and passport and allows them to avail the free service. We took the first 5 am bus
and reached DMK airport by 6:15 am. We finished the check-in formalities and boarded the flight by 7:15
am. Since we were tired as we woke up very early (3:30 am) so we slept in the flight (flight duration was
1.5 hrs).

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We reached Krabi by 9:15 am, collected our luggage and took a bus to Ao-Nang which costed us
150 Baht/person and dropped us to our hotel. We reached the hotel by 11:00 am and were super hungry
so we first had fried rice at the hotel café which costed us 60 Baht for 1 plate. We checked in the hotel by
12 noon (The Orange City Resort) which was pre-booked by us via Agoda. We took bath and took good

rest since we woke us very early. We woke up by 4 pm, got ready and walked till the A0-Nang beach which
was 3 kms from our hotel. We spent some time on the beach enjoying the sunset, fire show, walking by the
beach and clicking pictures. We also spent some time on the streets and found good Indian restaurants
and had good dinner (costed 400 Baht) and ice cream (costed 80 Baht). There are many Indian restaurants available (Moti Mahal, King Kitchen, Govinda etc) which provide good service and tasty
Indian food. We booked a grab cab back to hotel which costed us 100 Baht.

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Day 3 – Krabi

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Travel and Activities Tips


  1. Take extra cloths, towels, shorts or swim suits for beaches and islands. You can carry selfie stick with you.

  2. Do not eat heavy breakfast during islands trips in order to avoid vomit in Longtail boats and Catamaran trip. 

  3. Avoid cameras on islands or beaches. It may get damaged due to water. Go pro is suitable for these places.

  4. Take some water proof pouches for mobile.

  5. Don't carry passport or other valuable items during these activities.

  6. Rent a bike or scooty at just 200 Baht for local sightseeing.


We had pre-booked 4 Islands Day Tour by Longtail Boat via Klook which costed us Rs 1065/person. We
woke up by 7:00 am, got ready and had breakfast at the hotel café which costed us 150 Baht. Minivan
came for pick up by 9 am and took us to Nopparat Thara Pier which was just 1 km from our hotel. They
charged 400 Baht/person there for National Park and then divided us into groups by giving us different
color bands. There was a guide available for the boat who briefed us on the activities for the day. He then
took us to the boat and we started by 10:30 am.


We visited Koh Poda, Chicken Island, Koh Tub, Koh More
and Phra Nang Cave beach, enjoyed on the beaches, snorkeled and had good fun clicking pictures and
getting badly tanned. They offer buffet lunch which was not good but since we did not have much option,
we had it somehow. After lunch they also gave some fruits on the boat. There will be vomiting sensation
on the boat so please do carry some tablets or candies for safer side. Also, its better to eat light breakfast
and lunch.

We returned to the Nopparat Thara Pier by 4 pm and we were transferred to the hotel after 30 mins of wait time. We reached the hotel by 5 pm, took bath and rested for some time. By 7:30pm, we went again to the Ao-Nang beach and enjoyed good Indian dinner which costed us 350 Baht. This time we took
free bicycle from our hotel (they kept our original passport). You can also hire bikes for 200 Baht/1 day.
We came back by 10:00 pm and had good rest.

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Day 4 – Phuket


We had pre-booked 11:00 am bus from Krabi to Phuket via BookaWay which costed us 400 Baht/person.
We woke up by 8:00 am, got ready and had breakfast at the hotel café which costed us 150 Baht. Minivan
came for pick up by 10 am and took us to Sea Pearl office and we reached there by 10:30 am. We were
transferred to a bus which started by 10:45 am and reached Phuket (BTS terminal) by 2 pm. From there
we took a minivan to Patong which costed us 50 Baht/person and dropped to the hotel (Tanawan Phuket
Hotel). It is good hotel on the main road with all the amenities (shopping malls, message centers, 7 Eleven
store, street food etc.) nearby.


We checked in the hotel by 3 pm and then had lunch at a nearby Indian
restaurant which costed us 400 Baht. There are many good Indian restaurants available in Phuket as well
so food is not a problem in Thailand. After lunch we walked around for some time and booked a minivan
to the airport for our return trip for 200 Baht/person. Then we had good Thai and oil message (Thai message for 180 Baht and oil message for 250 Baht, discounted price in happy hour). After a good 1 hr of message, we returned to our hotel, took bath, got ready and walked to Patong beach which was 1 km from our hotel.

We enjoyed sunset there, clicked good pictures and enjoyed the count down party on the beach with Chang bear (famous bear of Thailand). We had dinner by 9 pm at an Indian restaurant and spent some time on the Bangla street and Patong beach enjoyed the night life of Phuket. We returned to out
hotel by 12:30 am and just slept.

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Day 5 – Phuket


We had pre-booked Phi Phi, Maya, Maiton Island and Private Coco Beach – Premium Speed Catamaran
Day Trip Lunch Buffet via Klook which costed us Rs 3390/person after discount. We woke up by 6:30 am,
got ready and minivan came for pick up by 7:15 am. We could not have breakfast in the hotel and later
realized that we should not have booked room with breakfast in Phuket. We reached the Boat Ramp

Phuket by 8:30 am where they were providing light breakfast (bread, butter, cookies, tea, juice). We had
light breakfast and then they divided us into groups by giving us different color bands. There was a guide
available for the boat who briefed us on the activities for the day. She then took us to the boat and we
started by 9 am.


We visited Phi Phi, Maya, Maiton Island and Private Coco Beach, enjoyed on the beaches, snorkeled and had good fun clicking pictures and getting badly tanned again. They offer buffet lunch with fruits which was good. After lunch they also gave juice and fruits on the boat. We returned to Boat Ramp
Phuket by 5 pm and we were transferred to the hotel. We reached the hotel by 6:30 pm, took bath and
rested for some time. By 8 pm, we went to enjoy some street shopping and had dinner at an Indian
restaurant which costed us 350 Baht. Later we also had coconut water for 50 Baht which was very filling.
We came back to the hotel by 10:00 pm, packed our stuff and took rest.

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Day 6 – End of Trip


We woke up at 4 am, got ready and checked out from the hotel at 5 pm. Minivan for airport (which was
booked on Day 4) came for pickup at 5 am and we reached the airport by 6:15 am. We had pre-booked our
flight from Phuket to Bangalore which was at 8:40 am. We finished the immigration formalities which
took us 1 hr. Please remember to carry the departure card which you will be getting during the arrival
immigration formalities
. The flight duration was 4 hrs and we reached Bangalore by 12:30 pm India time.
It was indeed an amazing and memorable trip.

Thailand Trip - Wanderlust Blogger: Quote
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