We spent almost 3 weeks in Thailand and visited 4 areas: Bangkok, Kata Beach on Phuket, Railay Beach in Krabi, and Koh Tao.  For more detail on each location as well as getting vaccines in Thailand, see the links to each separate blog post at the bottom of this overview blog post.  Also, be sure to see the pictures from Thailand here.

I didn't take any pictures in Koh Tao.  We planned a lot of our Thailand trip around scuba diving with whale sharks, and when we researched it, Koh Tao seemed to be the place to see them.  It said so on several websites.  Several.  Well, turns out that it's extremely rare to see them here.  I feel really misled even though it wasn't Koh Tao's fault that I didn't see any.  I'd feel better if the scuba diving had been amazing anyway, but it wasn't.  And the island was just like any other party island.  If that's your thing, then go; but if it isn't, I'd suggest spending your time somewhere else.

Krabi is the main town in the Krabi province of Krabi on the west coast of southern Thailand.  Railay Beach is a very small part of Krabi with no roads in or out.  You have to get there by ferry.  Railay is known for its rock climbing.  There are a lot of cliffs hanging over the beach and several climbing companies to choose from.

​My advice for going to Phuket is simple: don’t.  I mean, if you like a beach swarming with tourists (and I mean swarming), then sure – go.  But I urge you to do your research first on which area of the island you want to stay.  Phuket has many beach towns, and then there is the actual town of Phuket.  We stayed on Kata Beach.  We didn’t even go into Phuket Town because we were so miserable with the million tourists on Kata Beach and didn’t want to add to the number of tourists pushing us off the sidewalk.  And they are ALL Russian.  Which is fine… don’t get me wrong.  I have several close Russian friends.  But it was just weird – they were literally all Russian in Kata Beach.  

We LOVED Bangkok.  I rarely visit the same place twice because there is so much to see in the world, but I could see myself going back to Bangkok.  In fact, we’re considering going back as part of this trip.  The street food is cheap and amazing.  There are so many markets to visit, things to do, and temples to see!