14 TIPS ON HOW TO BACKPACK IN THAILAND
All the tips of a first time tourist in Thaïland!

Bangkok and Ayutthaya
My arrival
I arrived on July 27th to the international airport of Bangkok. From there, I took the train that takes you to Phaya Thaï station. I saw before coming that the bus 59 could take me from there to Khao San road easily. I’ve travelled for a few months in Europe and transportation with Google maps or Moovit was really easy. But in Thaïland, it doesn’t quite work that way. So i asked about 5 people how to get there and fortunatly found two very nice people, called Fuze (the girl) and Poom (the guy) who took me to the Victory monument and asked everyone where my bus stopped. They helped me get a Sim card for the month and were genuinly so very nice. I felt thankful to be surrounded by such good people. I hopped on my bus and got to my hotel.
Khaosan road
Khaosan road is a suuuuper busy street where you can party all night. Our hotel was there so I don’t recommend taking a hotel there for a few nights because the music is so loud, if you don’t party, you won’t be able to sleep. Anyways it was nice to arrive somewhere touristy in order to get acclimated to the country. Also I really enjoyed the pool on the roof and the great view of all Bangkok


Sim card
Every Thaï I met on the road told me to get a sim at the 7/11 supermarket (True move sim). It’s 300 baths for the sim and a week of internet and calls and 300 more for 30 days. There might be cheaper plans at the airport but I haven’t checked those. Might be 500 baths there. Dunno…
*Update: it is 500 baths at the airport, someone told me they got 6 GB for a month. Good deal.
The King
We arrived on the king’s birthday. We wanted to visit a temple that was opened that same day. We were walking down the street, after passing through a security check (far more serious than at an airport), when suddently everyone stopped and waited for the King to pass by car. There were about 6 identical cars so we didn’t even see him. But it was awesome to see how respectful Thaïs are. This wasn’t really a tip, more a btw. But you should know that they love their king, so don’t go lacking respect about him!
Tuk-tuk
Only today have we taken a tuk-tuk for the first time, and it wasn’t in Bangkok. On Khaosan they are acustomed to rude and/or lost tourists and they alwayssss try to take you places because they get a commission. We spoke to one guy and I swear I was repeating again and again where we wanted to go, being clear that we didn’t want to see any other place. So here is what they do. They ask you how long you stay, where you are from and if you have tickets. They will tell you that temples you want to see are closed and even if you think you agreed on visiting a place, they will try to get you to go where they want you to go. I was glad to know that before talking to them.
Prices
I still havent gone around that 100%. But until now we’ve made a few mistakes of asking for too low or paying a price too high. Sooooo.
Long-tail boats in Bangkok for one hour should be around 500 bath (private boat usually)
You should basically divide an initial price by 2 and add a bit. With tuk-tuk (in Bangkok) or cloths or tickets.
Agencies take quite a percentage on your tickets. We didn’t want to get our train tickets from Bangkok to Ayutthaya at the train station (Hua Lamphong station!!!). So we found a nice lady who spoke good english and she took 50% commission! The tickets are initially 65 baths or so, and she took 120. Well, beginners mistake. It’s not much money for us but it adds up. We are now in Ayuthaya and want to go to Chang Mai by night train, so I checked the prices (around 820 baths for an a/c lower bed) so we’ll either go to an agency an find similar prices or just go for a ride to the station.
**Might update this one because they advise you to get those tickets a few days ahead usually…**
**Update: you MUST book train tickets to Chang Mai at LEAST 3 days ahead. Otherwise every single seat is taken! We had to come back at 12, because they update cancellations, so we got second class seats with changing slope for the back, not beds**

Taking a nap on the train from Bangkok to Ayutthaya
Thaï people
Aside from some touristicly involved Thaïs, we have met until now some really nice people. If you ask people on the street for help they will usually be really helpful and happy to be! They are also very curious and ask many questions. If someone didin’t give you the information you needed, don’t be shy and ask around!

We met this kind gal waiting for a bus. She took us to the train station by taxi. Thank you!!
Taxis
Taxis in a city are probably the best way to go around if you don’t want to pay the bus and the tuk-tuk is too expensive. Initial price (in Bangkok at least) is 35 baths and it goes up slowly. We took a Taxi from Khaosan road to the Hua Lamphong and it costed us 50 Baths.
Ps I would never go on those motorcycle not wearing a helmet. Even wearing one I’d be freaking out. They drive like craaaazy!
Food
I admit I am not as adventurous as I should be, but my friend is vegetarian and I stay away from meat and fish on markets or in general. I’ll eat chicken if I trust the place but for now that’s it. The fruits are amazing, especially mangos and I LOVE sticky rice since im a kid so for me it’s paradise. We love to just walk around and eat food on the way. Feels very Thai sometimes.

I try to avoid fast food, but this is just heaven!!
Chabad of bangkok
For jews travelling to Thaïland, I have have one of the best shabat evening at the Chabad of bangkok, almost on Khaosan road. It was cheerful and happy and sending such a positive message to the people attending. It was mainly in hebrew but international people were attending as well.
Accomodation
So we stay in hostels or hotels, but right now we are in a hostel called Slow tree in Ayutthaya and the staff is very nice and polite. Don’t speak fluent english but I love it. But still understand each other and thank you mother technology for google translate. It all works out.
Respect
Being respectful to the people and the place you are traveling to is very important. I read before coming herr that you should never touch a Thai’s head (why would you, right?!) because it is considered the most sacred part of the body, whereas the feet are the most filthy. So you shouldn’t show you feet towards a Buddah or an important person or statue but instead sit on your knees with the feet behind. Also touching a buddhist is disrespectful. In general, smiling and being polite and speaking a few words in Thai like hello and thank you is very appreciated.
Riding on elephants
Please please pleaaaaase DO NOT RIDE ELEPHANTS. Those elephants are mistreated and tortured to please the croud and they end up crazy. It’s not pretty nor human. Don’t take part in this. You can wash them and feed them in parks but that’s it… **I will talk about trekking more once I’ll be in the North**
Summer in Thaïland
We have had one very rainy 10 minutes but touching wood for now that’s it. It is monsoon season but even if it rains every day it shouldn’t be more than a few minutes to an hour. Hope you’ll be lucky!

Don’t try to be brave, wait a few minuts for the rain to stop… Or wear a bathing suit☺
In the end
We are only in Thaïland 3 days l and we learn to adapt slowly and make some mistakes. We are in Ayutthaya and will go north tomorrow night. I’ll write about it during this week. I will also write about what I took with me and what I would have done differently.
That’s all for tonight kids, talk to you in a few days!
Love,
Jojo
