Temples,Tropics & Transport: Some of Thailand's top tourist sites and those less known!

So this was my 10th visit back to Thailand, one of my favourites countries in the world. I love the culture, friendliness and liberal attitude the Thai’s have, not the mention the great food and cheap massages! Whilst starting in Bangkok again (the gateway to the rest of Thailand and much of Asia), I wanted to experience some 'off the beaten track' stuff, most of which I’d read in blogs or seen on Instagram. My base this time was the Marriot hotel in Silom, a short ten minute walk from the hustle and bustle of Patpong and the famous night market. This 5* hotel really was worth it, great location, amazing infinity roof top pool and bar with regular DJ sets on the weekend.

After getting over the jet lag, I downloaded Thailand’s version of Uber, called GRAB, and booked myself a cab about 2 hours south towards the coastal city of Pattaya (about £80 return). Here lies the ‘Sanctuary of Truth', a huge wooden temple complex on it’s own peninsular made entirely out of wood - no nuts, bolts or any metal! It really was very beautiful in person with loads of intricate carvings. The temple itself is Thailand’s answer to the ‘Sagrada Familia’ in Barcelona, and is still under construction, 40 years after it started. You are given hard hats to wear as it’s still a live construction site. The temple has no religious meaning interestingly, it’s more about family, well being and being a good person. Who knew that FAMILY stands for Father And Mother I Love You!? It was 500BHT to get in but well worth the money, even though the journey was long, the notorious Bangkok traffic was awful on the way back!!

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On the way home, I asked for the taxi to stop at the Airplane Graveyard, not far from Bangkok’s International Airport. This place I came across randomly on Instagram and is a plane geek and photographers dream! Dodgy as hell, dusty and dirty, it’s great to wander around for a few hours. It’s on a derelict piece of land near some tower blocks where a family of squatters live. I paid then 300BHT (about £7) and they let me in past the rust iron gate to have a look around. Very random to see a few old planes sitting there, including the front half of an old 747 Jumbo jet! I’m sure the travel insurance wouldn’t cover this place, no health & safety, lots of rust, dodgy ladders and stairs to climb up, but such a cool experience. The family live to the side in makeshift aeroplane huts from the fuselage of old planes. So random to come across this place, you wouldn’t know it was there. I would love to know the history of that 747, who flew it, where, how old and how it got to be in that field etc, but sadly I couldn’t see the registration number as this is usually on the tail end of the plane.

Last on my list of lesser known things to do was the Maeklong Railway market, about an hour from the hotel going west this time and again I hailed a taxi from the GRAB app. I’d seen this place on numerous documentaries over the years. Easiest way to describe it is it’s a normal bustling market, set on a train track, and several times a day, a train comes through it, beeping it’s horn and the market traders quickly pull back their canopies etc as the train trundles by (albeit slowly). It’s a very cool experience to see and it usually happens 8 times a day. You can also board the train at Maeklong station close by, if you want to experience it from another perspective! I’m sure this place has to be one of the most dangerous markets in the world, as there is really no margin for error as the train gets VERY close!

Onto Koh Samui and it’s neighbouring islands which I hadn’t been to before. I've done Krabi, Phuket, Phi Phi etc so I was really looking forward to the Eastern islands this time. Koh Samui airport is tiny and very boutique. Cute baggage belts and so close to the runway you could walk to it, eek! When I arrived I got in contact with www.kohsamuitour.net who i had found on TripAdvisor and had come recommended. I exchanged a few WhatsApp messages with them about the tours I wanted to book and the next day they sent me the vouchers and pick up times. Very good service I thought! I stayed at the Pavillion Suites & Spa located in Lamai beach, about 30 mins from the airport and 40 mins to the departure pier for most of the tours, next to the W Hotel.

First day trip was to the Angthong National Marine Park about an hour west of Koh Samui by speedboat. These can only be reached by boat and are a beautiful archipelago of mountainous islands and rock formations jutting out from the sea, some with stunning beaches and crystal clear water. The snorkelling here was disappointing compared to Koh Tao (explain this later) but the views and beaches were stunning. We had a tour around all the islands before stopping on one for lunch and having the opportunity to climb unto see the enclosed ‘Emerald Lake’. It’s a steep but doable climb up the steps, about 10 minutes, to reach the viewing platform and the stunning bright green lake that’s encircled by rainforest. After this, we boarded the boat again to another beautiful island where we had the opportunity to relax on the beach and swim, or to do the hike up the mountain. We were warned that it was a tough steep trek, about an hour, but were promised the views would be breathtaking. And WOW, they were! I’m not going to lie, I really felt unfit doing this in 34 degrees and high humidity, it was tough going! There are about 5 viewing platform stops on route and each one more stunning than the one before. When you get the final point, the view of all the islands is incredible! It really felt like you were in the heavens and reminded me so much of Halong Bay in Vietnam that I'd done a few years previous.

The next day I got picked up again and we headed out on a speedboat to Koh Toa, the furthest north of the 3 islands and about an hour and a half away. Luckily the water was calm so no sea sickness! We stopped quickly to pick some people up from Koh Phangan (the full moon party island) then on to the small tropical island of Koh Tao. The snorkelling here was amazing! Lot’s of fish and great to see the coral was healthy and not dying. We stopped for lunch at the main town before then spending the next few hours on the private tiny island of Koh Nang Yuan, just off the north western tip of the island. Here you could trek to the viewpoint of the island opposite, simply relax, snorkel or dive. The island is very eco-friendly, no plastic and the entrance fee goes towards protecting it. There is a call spit of land between the two islands which you can walk across, like walking of water kind of! Goes up to your waist in parts but good fun to make the short crossing with everyone else to the smaller island where you can do the short 20 minute climb to the top for some amazing views. However, less of a viewing platform and more of a bunch of big rocks to scramble across to get to the top with everyone else. Definitely a great trip and well worth it.

Last of the ‘touristy’ things was getting a taxi to Wat Plei Laem; an interesting temple complex on the northern tip of Koh Samui near the airport. Free to visit, here you have some giant religious statues and temples, very colourful and a great point to visit at sunset with all the colours shining bright and reflections bouncing off the lake around it. A short walk away is the ‘Big Buddha’, atop a hill and visible when you fly in. Just simply walk up the steps for a great view of the sunset, albeit not as interesting or colourful as Wat Plei Laem down the road. I only had about 20 minutes before the monk was closing off the area anyway!

Lastly, back to Bangkok, and this time rather than stay at one of the standard airport hotels, I booked a night at Ammata Resort, parallel to the runway at BKK. This huge quirky resort is stunning with a mix of different cultural architecture and rooms either overlooking the runway or the lake, with antiques, quirky art and beautiful ‘huts’ dotted around. It’s a great place to explore and dine out at night, and also for geeks like me who loved watching the planes come in to land every few minutes while sunbathing at the pool! The resort itself is so relaxing and peaceful despite the airport next door. They provide you with earplugs at night although I didn’t hear any planes despite them landing throughout the night only meters away. The rooms itself are very quirky and balinese in style, very ‘hut like’ which a huge spiral coned roof and living area, quite spectacular when you first walk in! There is also a high viewing platform you can climb up to see the runways even better! I absolutely loved this hotel and for £150 a night it was’t overpriced and comparable to other airport hotels. The hotel also offers free pick up and drop off shuttle service to an from the airport which is great and only ten minutes away.

Overall, another great visit to Thailand and a reminder as to why I keep going back. I find new things to explore and quirky experiences each time which is why I have a great case of adventure and Wanderlust when there!

sxsx