Carrying on my new obsession with chasing the sun I booked a quick trip to Thailand in March 2017. I have never heard anything bad about Thailand from people that have been before; wild? Yes. Fun? Yes. A little crazy? Yes. Would you go again? Hell yes, seemed to be the recurring theme. As this was a last minute holiday with the bestie, I was only in Bangkok for 2 days and Phuket for 5 days.

Flight: I flew with Thai Airways. This was the second time that I have flown with them but again it was a pleasant experience. Their long-haul planes are usually either decked in purple or pink, it is spacious, staff are friendly, the food is good and there are plenty of movies/shows available to watch. What more can you ask for really. Also I have been blessed that all the times that I have flown with them, I happened to be flying by myself and I've always had a empty seat next to me. If they do have space they will move people around. The flight from London to Bangkok is about 11 hours and Bangkok to Phuket is about 1 hour and 20 minutes.


Stay: In Bangkok we stayed at a cute hotel called Ad Lib in Sukhumvit. It is a little hidden away but still only 10 minutes walk away from the hustle and bustle of main street Bangkok. Also we did use Uber quite a bit in Bangkok because it was just easier and price is still decent (compared with London rates). They have a small swimming pool and gym facility which we unfortunately had no time to take advantage of. The only grates I did have with Ad Lib is that our room was quite dark, there was not enough light in there (natural or man-made) and there was no mirrors aside from the bathroom one. Not really ideal for 2 girls when getting ready.

In Phuket we stayed at Cape Sienna Hotel and Villas in Kamala. Phuket has so many beaches but we wanted a quiet and less busy one which was how bestie found out about Kamala beach. I will get onto Kamala later in the post however I will say it was not quiet, at all. Cape Sienna is a beautiful hotel/resort however there were just one too many cons to it. First was the location, in the booking description of the hotel it makes it seem like the beach is just 5 minutes walk away, well technically yes but where it is actually accessible and safe for the public it is more like 10 minutes plus the hotel is on a hill which makes it seem longer in the heat. Another con was 2/3 days in, our shower-room started to have a disgusting sewage smell to it, we complained about it but it took the staff ages to fix. After chasing them up they eventually sent someone from housekeeping to scrub and bleach the shower-room down. I think we worked out that we had to leave the door open after a shower as the ventilation in there is not enough. Also the entrance of the hotel is not ideal, when we arrived with our taxi, there was no-one to help us or greet us. The taxi driver must have had this experience before because he was actually angry at the bellman when they eventually arrived and he complained about the service. The problem is he entrance of the hotel is a set of stairs leading to 2 lifts which then takes you up to the reception.

Side story - New Friends: On our first day bestie was the first one to use the toilet and with no problem, I then happily went in after, sat down on the toilet when I saw something out of the corner of my eye, I turned and looked properly to see a small black lizard. Do you know how fast lizards are? They are FAST, he darted from one end to the other (the toilet and shower facility were separated so it is a small space) and I just ran out screaming. I got bestie to go check it out but she could not see anything, we then called housekeeping to triple-check but it was gone and the only place, was through the small vent. That was that, which was not so bad as you kind of expect these things in places like this but that was not the end. No. On our last night I was in the shower and of course I do not shower with my glasses or contacts in but without them I am blind. Halfway through I felt something on my foot, I looked down and it was kind of black, I thought it was a sticker or something on the bottom of my foot so I lifted my foot up to take it off but as I looked closer I saw, it was actually a lizard clinging on for dear life. I screamed bloody murder and pried it off but I still had to wash off all the bubbles before I ran out. Even bestie could not deal with this lizard (she is a hard nut) so in the end, very embarrassingly might I add, we had to call housekeeping again. This time he found the lizard and plopped it into a small sandwich bag and showed us it happily (probably laughing inside at these ridiculous girls) and strolled out the room with it. Might I add no lizards were hurt, if anything he got a nice bubble bath out of it.

The restaurant at Cape Sienna is right by the pool which makes it somewhat awkward when you are having your breakfast and others are just having their morning swim but it is very spacious so if you did not want to see half-naked strangers with your croissants first thing in the morning there are plenty of other tables in the back of the restaurant. The gym is also a really good size with a number of different equipment, the towels were fully stocked and water available with amazing air-con in the room. I also had massage at the spa, it is quite pricey but I think hotel spas always are, there is however a discounted price for hotel guests. I got the 1 hour aromatherapy massage and it was so good I fell asleep.

Do: The time in Bangkok literally flew by, we were only there for 2 days but our schedule was jam-packed, not to mention we were already running on low fuel having went out the night before flying (AM flights but it had to be done to see The Weeknd in concert, so worth it). After getting our nails done at a nearby salon, we then went for a spot of shopping. MBK, Terminal 21 and Siam Paragon are the 3 shopping malls that we explored but honestly the most exciting part of it was Siam Paragon's Food Hall, it is a total foodie heaven in there!

If you are in Thailand there is no way you are leaving without a massage first. We researched online for spas in Bangkok and found one called Health Land which has raving reviews and for decent prices e.g. I had the 90 minute aromatherapy (full-body) massage for 950 baht, which is roughly £22! The outside of the building looks like a castle and inside is massive, it was clean and staff were friendly. We checked in for our treatments, and were given water and some kind of muscle drops (we thought it was hand oil at first). Afterwards we were led downstairs where we took off our shoes and socks and given slippers before taking the lift to the massage rooms. There were 4 of us and each one of us got our own room which I have to say was slightly scary as it is quite dark down there but you adapt quickly. We were shown our rooms where a towel and disposable pants (which I embarrassingly thought was a headband at first sight) lay on the massage table, the therapist then waits outside for you to shower first before the massage. This was my first time getting an aromatherapy massage but I prefer it so much to a Thai massage as I find that it is too tough on my skin whereas with oil it is much softer. My therapist was quite burly and strong but it was not painful and they will always ask what pressure you prefer. At the end we were all advised not to shower straight away as the oil is good for our skin. When everyone was done we took the lift back to the shoe area where we served tea before leaving. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and would definitely go back here! You do need to book in advance though as it is a very busy place.

To end our first night we went clubbing. The first place we went to was apparently a rooftop bar but it was neither a rooftop nor was it any good, the place was so bright, half-empty and full of Westerners. Thankfully my cousin has Thai friends from Bangkok who then took us to a place called Route 66. This place was so much better! The music, the crowd and the general atmosphere. This place has many rooms with different music and getting to the toilet was a mission itself but once in the toilet there was actually a live band playing inside and some very interesting statues. I have since recommended this club to friends that have gone to Bangkok. One thing to be careful of is at the entrance, apparently if they suspect that you are a foreigner you will get charged a entry fee so when we were walking past the bouncers, my cousin's friend told us not to speak and we were let in without any trouble. Another thing I found surprising is that many clubs in Bangkok close at 2am, whereas in London we have many shutting at 3/4am or even later. 

Side story - Taxi Party: We did not want the night to end so when we were getting a taxi we asked the driver is there anywhere he can recommend that is still open after 2am, he said yes so we all followed him. This driver was crazy. He blasted the music in his taxi, had disco lights on and we basically had a taxi-rave for the 15-20 minute journey, not to mention the actual 'driving' too. That would have been a beautiful end to the night but instead we ended up at some dodgy place where half the group split and me and bestie ended up going home after a hefty discussion about whether we were going to pay the entry fee for the new place or not (thankfully not).

The next day we made a visit to The Grand Palace. We did go quite late in the day, it might be better to go earlier if you can when the heat is not so strong, with the crowd I do not think it will make much difference as The Grand Palace is one of the main attractions in Bangkok. There are also many tour groups that visit here on some kind of package (from what I saw, it includes group photos at key spots, a tour of the palace and then free time to go awry). Trying to get a picture here without someone photo-bombing, takes some serious skills. Another thing to be aware of is dress code! You have to cover up, I went in a calf-length skirt with a vest top and cardigan which was given the okay but my 2 friends were denied entry; one was wearing leggings which is not allowed and the other was wearing shorts. We had to go back out and just opposite the palace is a small shop selling clothes.

To finish our last night in Bangkok I really wanted to go to a rooftop bar and I found one not far from our hotel called Octave Rooftop Lounge and Bar at the Marriott Hotel. When we got there all the good seats were already taken so we had to take our cocktails to a sad little corner, when we had nearly finished our cocktails and were pondering whether to stay for one more, to go back to the hotel and order room service or to go out clubbing again, one of the staff members comes up to us and asks if we would like to move to one of the main couches as it is now free. We happily took up that offer! No more decisions. We then ordered more drinks and some food, and even had a little mini-photo-shoot, with the staff offering to help us take pictures but as it was so dark the 2 of them whipped out their torches to make light for us. It was a really good night and as it was our last night in Bangkok we did not mind splashing out but when we got the bill, all the drinks and food came up to about £90! For the same service in London it would have easily surpassed £200. The view itself from the bar is not great as the night-view in Bangkok does not have many lights but there is a set of stairs beside the toilets and smoking area which has a pretty decent view if you want pictures.

Moving onto Phuket, this next portion of the holiday was suppose to be a relaxing theme so we did spend a lot of time on the beach and lounging by the poolside. Kamala Beach is advertised as one of the quieter beaches in Phuket but I think the problem lies in the definition of quiet and how that differs between one person and another. Even the taxi driver asked us why are we staying in Kamala when there are so many other beautiful beaches in Phuket (no doubt part of it, was him was trying to make business and have us hire him as a guide but still). When we got to the beach all I could see was just rows and rows of those horrible rainbow coloured umbrellas. With many shops and restaurants along the beach front, this place was anything but quiet.

One of the days we did go elephant trekking too. Bestie has done it before and warned me that it is kind of scary but I thought that being in Thailand, this is one of the main experiences. We went to one called Pang Chang Kamala and paid 1000 baht (roughly £23) for 30 minutes elephant trekking. This was my first time being so close to an elephant let alone sitting on one but I never realised how big they actually are and how high up you would be on the seat. The ride made for a very bumpy and awkward 30 minutes, not to mention that as soon as I stepped onto our elephant (Mawi) I felt so sorry for her and how I should have at least taken off my shoes. I saw the marks on her back from the ropes rubbing it and to make matters worse halfway through she stopped and the instructor hit her with a sickle that made a deafening sound. I vowed that when I got back home the very least I could do was donate to an elephant charity in Thailand and to spread the word. In Phuket in general, there are many Chinese tourists doing photoshoots for their wedding but I was surprised to see them even at elephant trekking! A bride in a massive puffy dress climbing onto an elephant is a sight for sure. 

At Cape Sienna they have a bar upstairs called the Vanilla Sky Bar & Lounge, it is not too high up but it does have a beautiful view at sunset so it is well worth visiting if you are staying at Cape Sienna. They also have some funky cocktails there.

The food however was a massive let down. We ordered the grapefruit salad, duck 'spring rolls' and I had lobster whilst the bestie had steak. The spring rolls were not spring rolls and they hardly had any duck in it and my lobster was way overcooked and tasteless. The grapefruit salad was just plain weird. It just shows that high-class does not always mean good quality. Our hotel food was honestly so much nicer and we would have stayed to have dinner there had we not already eaten most of the menu there (woops).

Sorry this was quite a long post and so overdue but I hope you enjoyed reading it ₍₍ ( ๑॔˃̶◡ ˂̶๑॓)◞♡