What to expect: Tropical beaches, royal palaces, ancient ruins and ornate temples displaying figures of Buddha.
We planned our Thailand trip along with New Zealand in 2016. We decided to spend 5 days in Thailand. 2N Pattaya, 1N Bangkok & 2N Phuket.
Day 1: Walking street Pattaya, Alcazar Cabaret Show
On the first day we landed in Bangkok around noon and took a metered taxi to our hotel in Pattaya. It costs around 1200-1500 Baht. Though the most cost-effective mode is to take the bus which costs around 100-120 baht per person, due to our luggage and to save some time we went with the taxi option.
After reaching our hotel (http://www.baboonabeach.com/html/baboona/) we had lunch and then relaxed. This is a great resort on Pattaya beach with great ocean views and also conveniently located near the tourist attractions. In the evening we took a stroll to the Pattaya beach and the most famous red-light district aka Walking Street. This street is famous for its notorious adult shows. There is a wide variety of shows and you can definitely find something to enjoy with your partner or even friends.
After visiting this colorful street we had dinner in one of the restaurants serving yummy thai food along the beach. The best part of this city was the scooter taxi – super convenient & affordable 🙂
We then went to our hotel, got dressed and headed to watch a late Alcazar cabaret show. It’s an impressive show where you will be entertained by bewitching ladyboys – Thailand’s much respected third gender. The 70 minute show packs close to 20 individual themed performances with the glitzy lighting and hi-tech sound system adding a serious punch to the show. Don’t forget to pose with the ladyboys in extravagant costumes after the show.
Day 2: Sea walking, Sanctuary of truth, Big Buddha Statue & floating market.
Pattaya beach offers a lot of water adventures such as snorkeling, sea walking, diving, The next morning we decided to do sea walking, banana boat, parasailing.. the list goes on. Since we had tried most of the activities before we decided to go for sea walking. Our first time here and it was super fun. ‘Sea Walking‘ is an activity that lets you walk at the bottom of the sea and see marine life closely. Even if you don’t know how to swim or are afraid of water, you’re eligible to try it out. Sea Walking is easy and more importantly, an excellent opportunity to experience the underwater world.
After this fun activity we had lunch, dressed up and took a pick up truck taxi to Sanctuary of truth. The Sanctuary of Truth is an unfinished Hindu-Buddhist temple and museum in Pattaya, Thailand. It has amazing sculptures and carvings inside. Truly an amazing piece of art.
The next stop was this huge Buddha statue – Wat Phra Yai Temple.
And lastly after a super packed day we decided to indulge in some retail therapy and what better place than this unique floating market. You can buy traditional Thai crafts & produce sold from boats & waterfront shops. Great place to buy souvenirs.
Day 3: Back to Bangkok – Wat Phra Kaew, street food
Bangkok is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. Our agenda was very simple for this city, visit the grand palace – Wat Phra Kaew and enjoy the famous street food. we decided to save some money by choosing a very simple hotel here.
Wat Phra Kaew, commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and officially as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. The complex consists of a number of buildings within the precincts of the Grand Palace in the historical centre of Bangkok. In 2016 the ninth king of the Chakkri dynasty had passed away just few days before we arrived in Thailand. There was a lot of security around the Grand Palace. This is a very sacred temple and also very strict. You are not allowed to wear shorts or sleeveless clothes and they rent shirts or cover ups. (I had to rent a shirt to cover my sleeveless shirt – See in pic below)
Day 4: Phuket old town
Took a flight from Bangkok to Phuket on and checked in at our beautiful hotel (https://www.thememoryhotel.com/). It had the perfect old town vibe. After relaxing at the hotel we went on exploring the old town. In the Old Town, Thalang Road is lined with colorful 19th-century shophouses and Sino-Portuguese buildings.
Day 5: Maya Bay – Krabi, Phi Phi Islands, Monkey Beach – Phi Phi Don
On Day 5 we decided to take a one day tour with https://www.easydaythailand.com/ that covered all the beautiful beaches of Thailand and also gave us an opportunity to snorkel in the crystal clear waters of Thailand. These beaches are way better than the Pattaya beach and we strongly recommend to include these on your next Thailand trip 🙂
Viking Caves – Phi Phi Leh Island 
Snorkeling @ Andaman Sea 
Maya Bay – Krabi 
Monkey Beach, Phi Phi Don
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