Thailand
Phuketting in Thailand
We visited Thailand before I had Jetset Wanderlife, but I’m gonna write a long stream-of-consciousness post, Kerouac style of what I remember:
People worship Thailand. After going, I’m kinda still wondering why even though I did really enjoy it. We ate like kings. We stayed in nice hotels for cheap. We ate like kings. We had 8 course meals. We ate like kings. The beaches were gorgeous. But it’s so bloody far away that I think I’m good with only one visit for now. Here’s what I remember:
Here’s what I remember:
First off, our Chase Sapphire Reserve card rules hard. We signed up, one each, and got enough points to pay for our trip. Yeah, the whole thing. SLC–>LAX–>HK–>Phuket. The flight was wayyyyy too long, but free! Plus we got a couple days in Hong Kong. But yeah, the card has so many benefits that I can’t list them all. If you travel, do it for at least a year, it’s worth more than the $450 fee. Now, on to the Kerouac:
- So cheap. Meals were so cheap that Caitlin ate unlimited seafood and we ordered like 2 appetizers, two main courses, dessert, and drinks for like $8. AMAZING. I consider this an eating vacation.
- Hotels are so cheap too. They claimed to be 3 and 4 star (probably not that nice, but nice) for like $35 per night.
- Be safe. The CDC has a few rules which we followed and didn’t get sick at all. Avoid leafy greens, don’t use ice, use bottled water instead of tap water, only drink sealed drinks, don’t eat from street vendors.
- We rented a scooter and drove from Karon Beach to downtown Phuket. It was incredible. But traffic is so insane. Not like Egypt bad, but crazy. Traffic laws seem to be mere suggestions, and roundabouts are straight terrifying. But so fun.
- Pad thai is so bloody good here…wonder why?
- The Indian food ruled too.
- Red Bull is Thai. It’s not carbonated here but there are so many amazing drinks.
- We liked Karon Beach area better. We did Karon, then Cambodia, then stayed at Patong. Patong is the crazier part but Karon was more enjoyable in our opinion.
- The fish feet sucker thing is fun but not relaxing. It tickles bad.
- MASSAGES! We got like 7 or 8. The “Thai” massage is great but they slap you with their feet and Caitlin ruined a very relaxing, candle-filled room by laughing during this.
- No seriously, massages are like $6 and feel so amazing. I got a foot massage that was so good.
- We used either Lyft or Uber (can’t remember which) to get from the airport to Karon on the first day. It was a tiny bit more than the minibus but SO much better. We took the minibus the next time and they made like a 30-minute stop at a tourist office trying to pressure us into tours when we just wanted to get home. (PS…these are some promo codes, if you use them we both get credits: Lyft: MITCH796650 for $20 off your first ride
Uber: mitchm1041ue for free first ride (amounts vary by location). - Our cab driver barely survived the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004. He overslept, missed his alarm, missed work, and didn’t die. So crazy.
- We took a tour to the Phi Phi islands. All we did is walk around the main drag on Karon and looked for the best price, then found someone who took Visa. It was a great tour. We snorkeled, visited like 50 islands (OK, like 5), and hung out with monkeys. The water colors are incredible, even for someone as colorblind as me. I think we paid like $150 total.
- Just eat, baby!
- It rained SO hard a couple days. So hard that we couldn’t really do anything, so be prepared.
- They have little fruit markets with crazy things I’ve never seen before, and some were delish and some sucked.
- I went parasailing the last day, kinda impromptu. It’s hard to explain how dangerous it is for the guy who goes with you. He hangs onto the ropes as we go up like 50 (?) feet, he’s just dangling there, going up and down the ropes like a monkey. The experience is awesome, I paid $40.
- This is the closest we’ve ever come to missing our flight, and it would have been BADDDDDDD. We found a cab that took Visa, pre-booked, and they bailed. We had no cash so we got frantic and it took SO long to get to the airport. Yes, it was my fault, I wanted to stay in the airport as little as possible. People let us go to the front of the security line, then at customs we just went to the front while a couple people yelled and a couple were cool. Then the lady at the desk said we were too late. Caitlin and I were both in tears and begged and she said simply, “Run.” And run we did, making it literally by seconds. Don’t do that.
- Don’t get bitten by a monkey, I hear it’s painful and expensive to get the vaccinations.
- Speaking of vaccinations, we got a couple before we went, check with ya doc.
- Oh, and I think I got Zika. I’m not joking.
That’s all, folks. Check the pics because they are dope and Cambodia rules.
Oh wait, by the way, Cambodia does visa on arrival, meaning you show up and fill out a form and they let you in once you pay. (So does Jordan, but Jordan costs $1,000,000,000 while Cambodia is just $35). Anyways, you can apply ahead of time and just print it out. I think it costs a few extra bucks, but it saved us a bit of time since we didn’t have to stop and do the paperwork with the rest of the plane. Your call.
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GEAR
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I kinda repeat this section on every blog post, but seriously, this is all stuff we have and use, nothing filler. Below are some of the items we took:
Amazon Prime: C’mon, it’s 2018. Get free 2-day shipping (which was necessary since we always found something we needed at the last minute) and lots of good music and TV/movies which make road trips more enjoyable. Try it free and you won’t be disappointed. Plus, pretty much everything below will ship to you free in 2 days in the USA.
AUKEY Powerbank External Portable Charger: This thing has saved us many times. It’s nice to have around the house, but it’s nicer to have during a long flight or a 12 hour day in Paris. It has 2 USB inputs and charges our iPhones really fast. It’s a bit bulky, but we get 2-3 charges from it each time. SO worth having.
Anker External Portable Charger: Yes, we take 2 portable chargers on our trip. This one isn’t as long-lasting, but it’s much smaller and lighter. It’s a bit annoying charging 2 every night, but really worth it to have charged phones the entire day.
My Pants: Ever since my days braving the brutal Wellington rain in a suit, I HATE having wet pants. These Columbia pants were perfect to put on over my jeans each day. Never got even a drop under them. Well worth it.
My Bag: As I said above, we travel LIGHT. Especially with Wow Air, where things are expensive, having a versatile bag is a must. This bag is not incredibly nice, but it has a lifetime warranty and it can cinch down to unbelievably small sizes. It’s made it through Thailand, Hong Kong, Cambodia, and Iceland with no problems yet.
Towels: These ones are awesome because they fold up small and dry incredibly quick. One of my favorite things we took! We got an off brand, Loinz has an original Packtowl which he raves about. Your call.
Space Saver Bags: These have proved invaluable on our travels, particularly with Wow Air’s tiny baggage limit. It’s amazing how small clothing can shrink down to in one of these! Highly recommended.
Outlet Plugs: Of course, when traveling overseas you need a plug
adapter. We’ve had these exact ones for at least 5 years. We’ve taken them to 4 continents and they’re still going strong. And, they’re super cheap and have everything you need all in one, so you don’t have to bring a bunch of different parts. Highly recommended.
Aux Cable: You probably already have a million of these. Our car had a USB that connected directly to the music, so we could charge our phones and blast tunes at the same time. The longer cable is nice so if someone is in the backseat they can still charge and control the music or navigate or browse Instagram or whatever)
MacBook Air: OK this is probably pushing it for necessities, but I do have to work on the road and it’s perfect to take with us. Small, lightweight, powerful, and mine has a pink cover for good measure.
