How To Spend 15 Days In Thailand

First of all, let me say that while we were on vacation, I took over 11,000 photos. To say that we loved our trip to Thailand would be the understatement of the century. The friendly smiles, beautiful colors and delicious food had us falling more and more in love every single day. That being said, we are happy to have air conditioning and toilet paper at our disposal again 😉 I’m doing full day recaps for everyplace we visited (Phuket, Chiangmai, etc), but I wanted to do an “at a glance” trip post for those of you who were wondering about our travel itinerary. Several of you have even inquired about where we stayed, how we traveled and what we did simply because you’re trying to plan trips of your own to Thailand! So today I’m sharing how we spent 15 days in Thailand…

How To Spend 15 Days In Thailand

We flew from Honolulu to Tokyo and from Tokyo to Bangkok. It was A HAUL. If you can afford to do an upgrade, I highly recommend it! Hello, all-you-can-drink alcohol, personal pods for sleeping and delicious meals (customized for people with food allergies–heck yeah). We flew Delta and they were great all around! We arrived in Bangkok and stayed at the Sheraton Royal Orchid. The location was right on the water, so great for ferrying directly to the Grand Palace, Floating Market, etc. It’s not, however, a great location if you’re looking to stay in the heart of Bangkok for partying and nightlife. Dane had a custom suit made in Bangkok and overall, we really enjoyed our time!

From Bangkok, we flew Nok Air (the Southwest of Thailand) and traveled to Chiang Mai.

We arrived in Chiang Mai and stayed at the Le Meridien Chiang Mai. It was the perfect location for the night markets and we felt at the center of some really sweet bars and restaurants. Chiang Mai was where we felt most at home and if we ever move to Thailand–that’s where we are going! We spent a day at Patara Elephant Farm, a day at Thai Farm Cooking School and visited temples, monuments and more. We even had a spa day and discovered the most delicious coffee in all of Thailand!

From Chiang Mai, we flew Thai Airways to Phuket.

We arrived in Phuket and stayed at the Naka Island Luxury Collection Resort. It was a completely remote island resort that offered relaxation and complete luxury. The islands were experiencing a monsoon so we weren’t ever able to leave and see any of the beautiful remote islands that Thailand always advertises. It was the point in our trip when we realized that sometimes you don’t always get what you want — you get what you need. Relaxing is not a strong suit for us, so being forced to practice relaxation was a true test! You can read all about how we spent 3 days in Phuket.

From Phuket, we flew Bangkok Airways to Koh Samui on a VERY TINY propeller plane.

In Koh Samui, we stayed at the Sheraton Samui Resort in the heart of Chewang Beach. Chewang Beach is what I can only describe as a mix of non-stop partying, oceanside resorts and endless coffee bars (and lady boys). We did venture to Fisherman’s Village, but again, the weather was not on our side, so we stayed pretty close to Chewang.

From Koh Samui, we flew Bangkok Airways back to Bangkok.

For our last night, we splurged on a suite at the St. Regis Bangkok with our own butler and concierge service. We didn’t regret one single dollar and one day (when we’re rich and famous), we want to live like that all the time 😉 The hotel is in a great location in what Americans might consider the “garden district”–lots of embassys, parks and very close to Sukhumvit (where many of the tailors are located!).

 

 

 

 

Together, we traveled 8,791 miles (plus, more than 5,000 to get back to Honolulu) in 15 days. It was hot, sweaty and, at times, incredibly frustrating, but it was, without a doubt, the best vacation I have ever taken. Stay tuned in the coming days (and weeks!) for detailed posts on each town, where we ate, what we did and what we bought. I have so many photos, funny stories and tips for anyone heading there that I feel like I could write a book, but for now–I’m going to snuggle #JudyHanson and sleep 🙂