Exploring Thailand

It was a long 6 hours bus ride before reaching the Thailand border but the sights we saw there soon eliminated our tiredness and boredom. What we saw was a long jam of olden push cart vehicles at the checkpoint.

Coming from a developed country, it really surprised us when we saw this hand operated pushcart looking vehicle. Little did we expect to see such a traditional way transportation. And so after an hour of jam at the Thai border, we took another mini van en route to our next destination, Bangkok! We checked in to a really cozy hostel called The Boxpacker Hostel. With bed standards comparable to hotels and privacy within our box shaped dorm, it undoubtedly became our favourite hostel of the trip.

Because we gave ourselves only 3 days in Bangkok, we spent most of our time stocking up on supplies; AKA shopping. Bangkok is no stranger destination when it comes to shopping, the multiple shopping malls there provide a wide array of items to splurge on. Clothes, accessories and scented aroma's, we bought them all. Within 3 days, we splurged almost a third of our traveling Budget.

A Lava stone bracelet i bought from a local Thai Jeweler 

With little money left in our wallets, we decided to travel as cheaply as possible to Krabi, our next destination in Thailand. We eventually took a local bus service which pretty much cost a dollar to the bus terminal before taking a 15 hour coach ride to Krabi.

Our main aim in Krabi was to be adventurous. We explored the beautiful landscapes of Krabi town, toured the offshore islands, snorkeled and kayaked in the sea. We made some local Singaporean friends along the way too.

The Songkran festival started on the second day of our stay in Krabi and my was it an eye opener. It's probably one of the few festivals whereby everybody's inner child acts out. From children to adults and even the elderly, everyone is involved. Before we knew it, were all geared up and shooting our guns away, we had a blast!

Before

After

The thing I enjoy most about traveling Is meeting people from all walks of life. During my time in Krabi I spent the nights engaging in "deep" life talks with Elisa and Andrew, friends whom I made at the hostel.

Halfway through I decided that I needed a detour in my original travel route. I wanted to stay in Thailand a little longer and so I decided to travel Solo to Ko Samui! It was an amazing 3hour boat ride, the warmth of the sun coupled with cooling winds and the occasional spray of the sea, it was superb.

If there's something which I learned about travelling, it would be that plans always change. I originally intended to focus my time on exploring the islands. I started with the Na Muang falls by taking a 40 Minute ride down the highway, while I was there I visited the Na Muang safari park as well.

However halfway through my stay at Ko Samui I fell a little ill and decided to just spend my remaining days chilling at the beach. During my stay there, I learned a lot about the culture of other countries, made some friends and had really cool experiences.

For my last destination in Thailand i headed to Ko Tao, another offshore island which was a 1hr boat ride from Ko Samui. Ko Tao was definitely the most beautiful destination of my trip, the islands and the waters were spectacular.

It was also in KoTao where my love for diving sparked. I took a Discovery Scuba Diving course (DSD) and after one dive, I was in love. When you dive you experience a whole new world which you've never experienced before, you see and feel things that are unknown to you. One word to describe my feelings at that time, Awestruck-ed.

Sunrise captured on board the speed boat while heading to the dive site

The party life at Ko Tao was great too, It was here where I had my first Pub Crawl experience. A Pub Crawl is basically a event whereby you hop around bars while engaging in games and activities. All of these accompanied with great music gave me wonderful experience.

Meeting fellow travelers with similar interests is probably the best feeling you get while travelling. Without knowing it, you start to engage in long conversations and just like that you make a friend for life. For me, I was lucky enough to meet two Travelers, Katherine and Catherine (Yes they had the same names) who studied photography. This similar interest of ours became the linchpin of our long conversations.

From KoTao I took a 2hour speed boat back to KoSamui before taking a long Van ride to Penang. Because i had to rush back for a University interview, my stay at Penang was short-lived. After a night's stay i took a flight back to Singapore. Once again my plans changed.

All things will eventually come to an end, likewise for my trip. I guess I'm really fortunate to have been able to experience so many different things on my first backpacking trip. The different sights, the variety of tastes and the range of sounds, I'm really glad I went for this trip. Here's a picture of a really beautiful sunset taken in Ko Tao.

Any questions for me? Comment and ask about it below!