Where have I been? Travelling in Thailand - Bangkok & Koh Phangan Full Moon Party tips | Travel

So some pictures from my time in Thailand! In the last post I mentioned what happened at the beginning of my travels in Thailand, 3 days in at the Full Moon Party my phone and camera both got stolen - slight downer on the holiday! I'd love to say this was an eye opener for me and I learnt to live without social media and yada yada but no, it was just a bit poo - I was on holiday to a place I'd never been to and I could't take any pictures, or safety wise contact my friend if I lost her.
I was pick pocketed while dancing, and as there is basically zero crime in Japan I'd kind of lost my UK street wiles.

By the giant reclining gold Buddha in Bangkok, notice how I was forced to cover up with a provided neon gown but my male friend wearing basically the same length shorts didn't have to...

Anyways, trip wise we flew into Bangkok, spent a day a half there and then took an overnight (11 hour) train down South to Surat Thani, took a ferry over to Koh Phangan and spent about 4 days there. We were meant to then go to Koh Samui and spend 4 days there, but after 1 day on the island we hated it so much we decided to go straight back to Koh Phangan! Samui is extremely touristy, and even though Phangan is too the beaches are beautiful and for Thai standards it was very clean. Samui was full of families, crowded, dirty beaches and the sight seeing spots weren't great. So we then returned to Samui for two more days instead of our original plan, and then took the overnight train back up to Bangkok where we stayed for another 3 days.

My first ever time getting room service in a hotel // 'Penis rock' in Koh Samui (look it up, it's an actual thing)

We also went to see a Ladybody show in Bangkok which was quite cheap and definitely an experience, the costumes/sets are amazing and they mime pop songs in various languages (Chinese, Japanese, English) to appeal to the various tourists in the audience. I did some research though and I feel a bit douchey using the word ladyboy, as they are just trans women who legally cannot change their gender due to Thai law, but are tolerated due to the prevalence of Buddhism in Thai society.



If I went again I would do 3 days in Bangkok at the beginning a nice hotel (5* hotels and the equivalent are extremely cheap, I paid around £120 for 3 nights in mine which was insane), and then go down (flying) and go to Koh Phangan for the full moon party, and to Koh Tao and Koh Phi Phi which are also meant to be extremely beautiful. On our last day in Koh Phangan we took a taxi across the island to Koh Salaad and went snorkelling (my first time) and saw some amazing fish, for about £2 snorkel and flipper rental - definitely recommended.

Finding all the Hello Kitty in Koh Samui // Cocohut Beach in Koh Phangan

THOSE BOOBS. Literally insane.

My tips for Thailand:

- bring tissues and hand sanistiser with you EVERYWHERE, toilets there aren't great

- wear closed shoes i.e converse/trainers if you go to full moon

- keep an eye on your belongings

- bring a rucksack not a suitcase unless you are staying in one place for the whole trip

- bring plasters for blisters/mosquito repellent

- sun cream is absolutely essential

- get a pair of seriously comfy sandals for keeping your feet cool and comfortable while sight seeing

- don't take all your money out with you everyday, squirrel away the rest of it in your hotel/hostel

Hope you guys enjoyed this! Have you been to Thailand? xx