Our Favorite Things to do in Thailand. Period.

In our previous post we added a list of the things that we love to do in Thailand that are a tad on the adventurous side. Rock Climbing, Elephant Trekking, Kayaking.  We love them all and enjoy trying new and exciting things.

While these activities aren’t considered adventure or extreme travel, we still find them exciting. Walking around the maze of a big city, trying new food or taking public transit in a place that you don’t know can all be adventures in their own right.

Here are some of our favorite things to do in Thailand, Period.

Reclining Buddha, Wat Pho

1. Visiting the Grand Palace and Wat Pho – A visit to Thailand would not be complete without a visit to These Great Temples. The former Royal Residence covers and area of 218,400 sq. metres; It is Grand indeed and houses the Emerald Buddha (which is really made out of Jade)

Wat Pho is home to the Reclining Buddha at 46 metres long and 15 metres high. This golden beauty is Thailand’s largest reclining Buddha in the oldest Wat in Bangkok.

Wat Arun from the Chao Praya River

2. Taking a boat ride on the Chao Praya River- Many of Bangkok’s major tourist attractions are along the river. Besides the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, there is China Town, Temple of the Dawn, (Wat Arun) the National Museum, The Gem Stone Market and 5 Star Hotels. You can hop on and hop off for the low price of 20 baht (less than 1 US dollar ) for the tourist boat or 8 baht for the local boat. You can even get a day pass to hop on and off as many times as you like for 100 baht.

You can take the boat right to the Taksin bridge where you can catch the sky train back to downtown. Bangkok puts Toronto’s transit system to shame.

Chang Mai Night Market

3. Shopping at Chang Mai’s Night Market-At night the streets of Chang Mai come alive with rows and rows of vendors. The prices seem to be higher here than anywhere else in Thailand, but once you know what to pay for things, you can get them down to the proper price. Half of the fun is the bargaining anyway. With everything to choose from, it is your one stop shopping for every souvinier and piece of clothing that you need.

Slow boat to Thailand

4. Taking the Slow Boat to Thailand - Ride along the Mekong River from Luang Prabang Laos, to Chang Rai – See the Mekong River and meet the local people that live along its shores. Share the slow boat with locals going home from the market and watch life unfold along the Rivers Banks for this two day ride. Bring your own food and drink with you though and a book or some entertainment because it is a bare bones way of traveling. You can take a high speed boat, but what would be the fun in  that?

Firespinner, Thailand

5. Relaxing on a beach in Kho Samui, Kho Lanta, Kho Lipe, Krabi… the list goes on and on. We have wasted away weeks relaxing on the beach, sleeping in our bungalow, playing frisbee in the warm water and then going to find a great restaurant for some fresh seafood at night while we are entertained by firespinners on the beach. Thailands beaches are the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen to this date. Unfortunately, we always compare other beaches to Thailand’s and other countries just don’t have a shot at matching Thailand’s beauty in our opinion.

6. Eating. Thailand has my favorite food in the world. My favorite is Green Curry Chicken. No matter how many times I have it, I still love it. I can eat it 5 days a week. Dave’s favorite is Pad Thai and he always seems to fall back on his regular staple as well.  But Thailand has a huge array of food to choose from.  Fresh seafood, Street Vendors, open markets, merchants selling fresh corn and fruit on the beach and fine dining. It has it all. We love just going to the market and grabbing fruit, getting some chicken takeaway from a vendor and chillin’ out in a quiet corner.

Favorite Thai food besides the ones listed above…Tom Yum Soup, Cashew Chicken, Green Mango’s with chilies and salt, meat satays, Coconut Soups. Mmm, I am getting hungry just writing about it.

Songkran Festival, water everywhere

7. Taking part in the World’s Largest Water Fight - We were lucky enough to be in Thailand on one of our trips during Songkran Festival. It is the hottest time of the year and what better way to cool down than to throw water on each other for days on end. It is a festive time ringing in the ancient New Year.

Longtail Boats in Thailands South

8.Taking a long tail boat out to an island. When people envision boats in Thailand, they think of the long tail boat. A long hull canopied boat.  The propeller juts out into the water creating a (you guessed it) long tail look at the back of the boat. It is one of the most photographed images of southern Thailand.

MBK Centre, Siam Square, Bangkok

9. Catch a flick at the MBK Centre. We can’t help it, we love movies and wherever we go, we always go to a movie. We have been to the cinema all over the world and many times when I think about a particular movie I have seen, I remember where I have seen it. I like how you have designated seating and stand before each movie while watching a montage of the King.

Mui Tai Kickboxers

10. Watch a Mui Tai Match – One day we would like to do some Mui Tai training, but for now, we have enjoyed watching matches. We were lucky enough to see an international match while we were in Thailand a couple of years ago. I am saddened to say that Belarus dominated over the Thai Kick Boxers, however…We felt that the ceremony at the beginning of the match was far better presented by the guys from Thailand.

Wow, two posts about our favorite things to do in Thailand and I feel that we could do a third.  The list is endless of amazing things to do in one of the most beautiful, unique and spiritual countries in the world.

Tell us what your favorite experiences were in Thailand. We would love to hear them!

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