Every year I spend the Christmas holidays with my family and friends at home. But this year an opportunity for a trip to Thailand occurred. The martial arts academy I’m training at was arranging it and it had everything I wanted to explore in Thailand, both exciting places and martial arts training.
We had plenty of experiences, some great and some challenging ones. Therefore I decided to share with you my thoughts on what you should do and where to go if you are going to travel to this country.
Take into consideration
- Language: Language is one of the worst nightmares of any traveller visiting countries that locals don’t speak English. Thai people will mostly talk to you in Thai and in some cases they will know a few words in English. However most of the times you will have hard time understanding them and getting understood by them. At least in order to avoid getting lost, make sure you know the name of the place or street you want to visit and always use maps/GPS/guidebooks. Use these tools to show to the locals. It makes things a lot easier.
- Markets are your friends: Don’t buy things at normal shops unless you really need something. Marketplaces are all over the country and they are amazing. You will find everything and a lot cheaper. On that note, if you are gonna buy food from the markets always buy from the ones that look clean.
- Places: Everyone will tell you Phuket is way better than Bangkok. After experiencing both I totally agree. If you have only a few days to visit Thailand then Phuket is the place. It’s a combination of a jungle and white-sand beaches with blue-green waters. What else can I say? But if you have more days check them both. Now let’s get into details about things you can do.
Shopping
Wherever you go there will be markets, so don’t worry if you didn’t find what you are looking for yet. As we said already everything can be found there, from clothes to electronics to house decorations and anything in between.
Now if you had enough of the markets and want to check out a shopping center there’re also places like that. In Bangkok check out MBK Center, Siam Discovery and Siam Center which are all next to each other.
In Phuket you only need to check out Jungceylon Shopping Mall in Patong because it’s huge and you won’t need to go to another one.
Martial Arts
As the fans of Muay Thai/Thai Boxing know Thailand is the mother of their sport. Therefore it will be a shame to visit this country and not train there. Now it depends where are you staying and what kind of training academy you want to train at.
If you like the traditional ways then you need to find small gyms in the cities but preferably visit a camp at a village. I had the chance to stay and train for a few days at Luktupfah. There you will go through old-school hardcore training.
If you like the modern-style ones there’re a few again to check out. The three of the most famous ones and you will understand why when you check them out are Tiget Muay Thai, Yokkao Training Center Bangkok and Petchyindee Kingdom.
Except of training at Thailand you can also watch live fights of Muay Thai. In Bangkok you can check out Rajadamnern Stadium and Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. As for Phuket you can find near the Jungceylon Shopping Mall the Bangla Boxing Stadium.
Explorations
Are you a fan of exploring places and statues? There’re plenty of both in any city you visit.
First of all I will mention a few places in Bangkok. For the martial artists you have to check out the father of Muay Thai’s statue, Nai Khanom Tom at Ayutthaya. Moreover some great places are the Ayutthaya Historical Park with temples and statues, the Grand Palace of the Thai King and his family, the Boat ride in Chao Phraya River, the Wat Pho and Wat Arun Buddhist temples and the bridge on the River Kwai at Kanchanaburi.
As for Phuket of course they have the famous Phi Phi islands and James Bond island, the Tiger Kingdom, the Monkey Hill, the Big Buddha and magnificent beaches everywhere like Surin beach or Banana beach.
Adventures in Thailand
Where should I start from? There are so many activities to do in any place around Thailand, so choose wisely the ones you really want to experience. Some recommendations are the Muay Thai Live Show, Thai Massage, Elephant Trekking, using Speedboat to visit any island, nightlife at Khao San Road(Bangkok) and Bangla Road(Phuket), Zip-line and using the famous Tuk-Tuk as your taxi service around town.
This is the starting point. Thailand is a beautiful country with countless activities to try out and places to explore. I gave you some ideas to start from but make sure to do a small research depending on where you will stay. Some experiences are once in a lifetime so don’t lose your chances.
Share this article to inform more people and tell us your thoughts in the comments below: What places are you visiting in Thailand? Which adventures are you going to experience? If you have already been to Thailand, do you have any other suggestions to make?