Thailand is one of the most chilled out places I’ve been to. Although Tourism is one of Thailand’s main industries, there are still places that have raw and untouched beauty. Most of all, I found Thai people very welcoming and friendly. Thailand offers visa on arrival to Indians but to avoid the long queues at the immigration, I took the visa beforehand. Visa processing is quite fast and it took just 5 days from submission to collection of passport at the Gurgaon centre. 

Thailand Itinerary:

Day 1: Land in Bangkok. Stay overnight
Day 2: Fly to Phuket
Day 3: Explore Phuket
Day 4: Explore other Islands near Phuket
Day 5: Take a bus/speed boat to Krabi
Day 6: Railay Beach
Day 7: Fly to Bangkok and back to Delhi

Bangkok:

After a 4 hour flight from Delhi, I landed in Bangkok. The city has a great infrastructure and a thriving nightlife. It is a great place for shopping lovers too. Apart from being a touristic place and a business hub, Bangkok is highly cosmopolitan, with people from different parts of the world living there. There are many Buddhist sites to visit in the city and also the Grand Palace that you can keep in your list. After spending a day roaming around in the streets of Bangkok, it was time to hit the beaches. I took a flight in the night to Phuket. It’s a 90-minute journey from Bangkok to Phuket.

Phuket:

While booking a place in Phuket, please make sure you book a place near the eastern part of the city. This is because all the good beaches are on the Eastern side. I mistakenly booked a hotel, which was cheap but was far away from the beaches. The next day, I had to switch the hotel. Phuket has a lot of beaches. Each beach has a peculiar characteristic. You may choose to stay anywhere based on your preference. I chose to stay on the Kamala beach, which is the beach next to The Patong beach. Patong beach is huge and is full of tourists. Since I prefer less crowded beaches, Kamala beach was perfect for me. It is sort of a lazy beach where time appears to be running slow. There is a small lagoon as well flowing to the sea on the beach. The beach is serene, spotted by many eating joints and foot massage places. Local transport in the city might be expensive if you take taxis. I used the local wooden buses and the bike taxis there. A ride on the wooden buses is very cheap and they run periodically. After spending a day lazying on the beach, I explored other beaches like Patong and the local markets. 

Phi Phi Islands:

After spending 2 days in Phuket city, I started exploring the islands nearby. There are a lot of beautiful islands near Phuket that can be reached using ferries or speedboats. I would recommend using speedboats as they reduce the time drastically. From Phuket, I booked a tour by a local company to visit Phi Phi Islands and other nearby beaches. They picked me up from my hotel and we reached a small port. From there, the speedboat took around an hour to reach Phi Phi Islands. The waters near these Islands are pristine. They color of the water is Sapphire green. The boat took us to Maya bay, which is a small beach surrounded by Limestone hills. It is a breathtaking sight and a great place to take a swim. We spent an hour there. After that, the boat took us to Phi Phi Island for lunch. If you wish to travel to Krabi after Phuket, a good way is to stay overnight at Phi Phi and take the speedboat to Krabi the next day. After the Phi Phi stop, the boat took us to another small island which had a beach and some water sports activities. By evening, I was back in Phuket.

Krabi:

The best of Thailand was yet to come. I took a bus ride from Phuket to Krabi. The ride gave me a chance to explore the countryside of Thailand. It takes around 4 hours to reach there by bus. The buses are very comfortable and cheap. In Krabi, I had planned to stay at the Railay beach. To reach here, one has to reach Au Nang Pier and take a 10-minute boat ride. This beach is not accessible by road due to the hilly geography. It has two beaches: East Railay and West Railay beach. Staying here can be expensive. So I would advice to plan in advance and explore the budget options available here. Railay beach is surrounded by Limestone hills, lush greenery and clear waters. In the evening, the place becomes a fairy town with many eating-places and massage parlors offering ways to relax. There is an option to do Kayaking in Railay. I had a memorable experience when 4-5 small fishes jumped into my Kayak with the wave.

After spending 2 nights in Railay, it was time to go back home with lots of experiences this beautiful land has to offer.