Thailand Travel Guide

Our Travel Experience In Thailand As Indians

Thailand 

I was also thinking the same, and that's why I decided to go back to Thailand for the fourth time, because I think I have that comfort with Thailand, where it's close to home, close to India, and secondly, it's cheap, and it's an extremely beautiful country, and with this idea, I plan my Thailand trip. So if you also want to know that in 2022, after covid, how can you plan your Thailand trip in the best possible way, then this blog is just for you, don't go anywhere because we will decode that if you are planning your trip, then how should you go about it. So guys let's start. My name is Naveen Dubey from YTBHARAT, and I just came back after spending two weeks in Thailand, and what a great time!

In the last two weeks, I explored a lot, from the cities to the wilderness of Thailand, we did everything. And I covered the southern part of Thailand starting from Bangkok to Phuket, and we will decode this together. But today I have a special guest with me. If you can guess, then guess right now because in 3...2...1, we have my travel partner, Dubey Ji with us. how are you feeling being on the ytbharat.com channel in a conversational blog like this? Sapna: Thank you, thank you. Thank you for welcoming me. It's an honorable time. Naveen: Yes, it's honorable time. And how was Thailand?

How was Thailand for you in like 10 seconds? Sapna: You have been to Thailand four times,

it was the first time for me, and I love water. Like you love mountains, and I love water, and I feel Thailand was a mix of jungle experience, and water experience, and so adventurous. It was so offbeat for us from regular Thailand that the whole country does. Naveen: Absolutely. Sapna: And I think it would be really cool to tell everyone how our experience was, and how did we do this, yeah. Naveen: So come on, without further ado, let's just jump in the biggest question, if you are planning a Thailand trip, what are the things to bear in mind. How to book flights? What to do about the visa? What is the process? How much does it cost? We are going to decode all these. I am going to look down again and again because I have made a list of all these questions, and I have kept that list on the floor here,

so that we can read and do it. What will be the flow of the blog? Firstly I will give you a lot of knowledge, after that, we will directly go to the questions that you have asked me on Instagram, and one by one we are going to try and answer them, ok. So first of all, let's get to the first and the most important thing, I am going to Thailand, so how should I plan my Thailand trip?

Thailand Flight Cost

How much would the flight tickets cost? How many minimum numbers of days do I need? Sapna: When is the right time to travel to Thailand for sure? Naveen: That's the most important question. So first of all, let's talk about the flight tickets. And we will go in the flow, the way we planned it. So flight tickets are the most important. My trip was for 14 days, and I was entering from Bangkok, so I thought it doesn't make any sense to go back to Bangkok, so I thought that I would exit from Phuket. So that's how we planned it. We took a flight from New Delhi to Bangkok, Thailand directly, and that cost me around ₹12,000, and coming back from Phuket to New Delhi again, the ticket was for around ₹12,000 again, but if you take a round trip from Bangkok to Bangkok, then you can get it between ₹17K-20K, and you can save money. Primarily because there was no point in going back to Bangkok, because my circuit, my itinerary started from Bangkok, from Bangkok we directly went to Surat Thani to explore Khao Sok, from Khao Sok we went to Krabi, from Krabi we went to Phi-Phi Islands, and from Phi-Phi we went directly to Phuket. So in this circuit, we would have to go back to Bangkok to fly out from there,it didn't make sense, it would be an added expense, so we decided to do the in and out from two different cities.

Best Time To Visit In Thailand.

Sapna: When is the right time to travel? We did it in April. Naveen: Yes, we went there in the month of April. But if you ask us, if you are planning and if this is the right time or not? I think the winter and springtime in India is actually the best time to travel to Thailand. Sapna: So that means from November till early April.

Naveen: Yes. So if you are planning, so you should plan it in the month of November, December, January, February, March, and April, because in May and June, it's like... Sapna: The hottest. Naveen: They are the hottest and then comes the monsoon. Sapna: July onwards, yeah. Naveen: So that means it's the summer season in May and June, so obviously it's not the best. Though it's not as hot as India, the maximum temperature there is 35 degrees, but since it is near the ocean, it gets a little humid. Sapna: Feels very hot. Naveen: Yeah. And then comes the monsoon, and the monsoon is not just about rains. Since it is near the ocean, so because of rains the tides get really high, and there's too much circling of tornadoes. Sapna: And also like, Thailand is known for water sports and everything, so all that is closed, boats are shut down, so you will miss out on a very large chunk of your experience if you go there during monsoon, the wettest time of the year. Naveen: Exactly. So according to us and Google, plan it between November to April,but if you are planning right now also, so the good thing is, since this is the offseason, it will be cheaper during this time. So if you are a solo traveler or a budgeted traveler, then this is the right time for you to explore. This is how I also started, I went during this time when I went there for the first time, to save money. What is the visa protocol Sapna? Sapna: Well we went during the covid time, but I guess, the guidelines have changed. Naveen: I think that's important for you. 

Thailand Visa (Pass)

If you are planning to go to Thailand right now, then the most important thing is, that you have to apply for a Thailand pass at least 5-7 days before hand.Whatever I am talking about, I am putting that in the description below, their links also, so that you can redirect, and you don't face a lot of trouble and problems. So the most important thing is the Thailand pass. We got our Thailand pass within one or two days, but the Thailand pass website asks us to apply 7 days before. So if you are planning, then definitely apply for the Thailand pass 7 days before. Once you get the Thailand pass, then for Indians, the visa is on arrival. The cost of visa on arrival is 2000 Baht, and you have to carry along 2000 Baht in currency. It simply means, you will have to change the currency in India itself in cash, credit cards, Indian currency, or dollars will not be accepted at the immigration, so you will have to pay in Baht, so please remember that at least carry 10,000 Baht already exchanged in India, that will be helpful. We also took it. A funny thing that happened was that though the charge was 2,000 Baht, we were charged 2,200 Baht per person, and on the receipt, they wrote 2,000 Baht, we didn't ask a lot of questions for God knows what reason, but the website says 2,000 Baht, so I think you can check that, and I think it is equivalent to... Sapna: Multiply it with 2.4. Naveen: So it's around ₹5000. So the visa on arrival costs around ₹5,000. Again, the mandatory things for the visa process are the Thailand pass. Documents required for the Thailand pass are your vaccination certificate for sure, your passport. Then you go to the website, please keep these files ready in a pdf format under 2MB, that is how it really works, ok. For the covid protocol, if you are fully vaccinated, then starting 1st May 2022, the covid protocol for fully vaccinated has changed. So now you don't have to get the covid test done before leaving India or after arriving there. But if you are half vaccinated or you are not vaccinated at all, then you have to go through something called a sandbox program, in which you will have to quarantine in Thailand after you land there. So keep that in mind, I am adding the link below for you guys to know better. After landing there, you have to show the Thailand pass. Along with the Thailand pass you have to show your ticket, your immigration form which you will fill there itself, and then you cross the line, then after giving 2000 Baht, within the next 15 minutes you will get a visa on arrival, and then you are good to go and cross the immigration. With Sapna and me, as I said, we went through the test and book program, so we had to quarantine for one day and get the test done, but thankfully, that protocol is no more there. Sapna: For vaccinated people. Naveen: Yeah. Now, the biggest question is the number of days. So Sapna, what do you think is the best number of days that you would have wanted? For you, how many days would you have wanted? Sapna: I wanted 30 days, but unfortunately you get a visa for 15 days only. Naveen: On arrival. Sapna: Visa on arrival is for 15 days only. And I feel that Thailand is too big to be covered in just 15 days, so either you can do north of Thailand or south of Thailand. If you want to do all, then you will miss out on some experiences. So I'd say that, and both need proper justice, full-time and adventures are full, it has so much to offer that you will have to split your trip. So we decided to do south this time because we wanted to do water-based activities, lots of water-based adventures and we were missing the beach, so that's why we picked the south. The north of Thailand actually has lots of jungles, and lots of wildlife, which we will probably have to go to again. 

Naveen: If you ask me, what's the best way to plan it? Then let me first break up Thailand for you. Let's consider three parts of Thailand. North, central, and south. North is Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, the Jungle side, it is called the cultural side of Thailand. That's where the culture started. The central part is all about cities, parties, normal beaches, Bangkok, Pattaya, and Surat Thani. And then you come down to the south where there are Karabi, Ko Samui, Ko Phi Phi, Ko Tao, and Phuket. So this is how the geography is. Now if you want to travel and if you are slow travelers like us and you want to experience it well, it won't be possible. You won't be able to cover north and south properly, because traveling time is slightly more, and we did not travel in flights,we traveled by trains, so it's completely on you how you want to plan it, but I want to tell you how we planned it. We planned for a total of 13 days, and we started our trip from Bangkok. In the upcoming vlogs, I will show you everything in detail, and I am super excited about it. After that, we went straight to Krabi In Krabi, we stayed at Railay beach. From Railay beach, we went to Ko Phi Phi. We did scuba, freediving there. Finally Maya bay has opened, so we experience Maya bay, and after that, we went straight to Phuket, where we closed this trip, and this took us around 12-13 days. On the 14th day, we were in Phuket, and then we flew back. So if you are planning this trip, then that is completely on you, but if you want to mix north and south, then you will have to keep it for 7-7 days and 2-3 days just go away like that, so it gets very tight. So according to me, 14 days are best, but if you are a slow traveler, and you want to explore fully, then I would recommend that you apply for your visa from India, take a 30-day embassy, and explore it comfortably. For people who are weekend travelers,

what should you can do in 4-5 days? I would recommend that you should land in Bangkok. Take a flight to Surat Thani from Bangkok, go to Ko Samui, and then come back to Bangkok. Or you can do the Bangkok Pattaya circuit. Thailand has something to offer to everyone. Sapna: Absolutely! And for all kinds of itineraries. We have something really cool planned where we will be launching our itineraries and you can book them, so more details coming. Naveen: Shameless plug-in! So basically what's happening is, and that's why Sapna is working on this with me. Basically our itinerary, we know that most of you will not be able to plan your itinerary comfortably, because you have to plan your beach trips, take boats, take trains, so we are planning to work with a company, and we are adding the link in the description about this whole itinerary, and how you can book this itinerary,

so I think that is going to be an awesome thing, so good job Dubey Ji on planning this thing out! And the link is in the description, go check it out, sign up there, and somebody from the team will hit you up, and take you through the whole process. Where to enter and where to exit from, ok? I mean, where are the ports if you are going from India? I think there are two ports in Thailand, one is in Bangkok and another in Phuket. And you can enter and exit from these two ports. The flights that go from India, both Indian-based airlines and international airlines go there. We went by Thai Airways, it was a beautiful experience, it was the A380 airbus. My God! Like after so many years, it was great to sit on a big flight after 2 years, and the cost is the same. Sapna: The cost is the same, yeah, and it's also more comfortable. It might be cheaper if you book a round trip with a domestic flight, but the one-way cost is the same if you book either, but it's more comfortable. Naveen: And we came back from Phuket in Indigo, and that cost us ₹12,000 again, and that was smaller plane of three by three configuration. So I think overall, if you find domestic flight flying back from Phuket, and international are only in Bangkok for now, but as the protocols are easing up, more and more airlines are adding up, and the cost is going down, so this is the best time for you to actually plan, because the market is opening up, everything is very cheap, and everything is awesome, so don't forget, go ahead, plan it out, and have a super time. 

Cost Of Thailand Trip

The next question is the cost of trip. If you are planning a Thailand trip, then what is the basic cost of living? Sapna: Our 13-day trip was for about Naveen: ₹1 lakh each. Sapna: A little more than ₹1 lakh because we shopped as well. Naveen: Don't add shopping to it, man. According to me, shopping is everyone's personal interest. I mean, I ended up shopping. I bought a camera bag so that cost me, you did your shopping so that cost you. If you are budgeted then... Sapna: If you are going to travel, then it's about a lakh. Naveen: If you are just getting back a few things for family, then it doesn't cost too much, but I would say on average, it cost us ₹1 lakh per person for two weeks including everything, ok. And I will tell you this is inclusive of what all. This is including our stay, food, transport between the cities, our tours inside different places like Phi Phi, and again a few common things, which we did in common interest, like partying, so that also cost us. So I think all that is included, by the way, party cost is also included, ok, whatever we did. So ₹1 lakh per person for 2 weeks, which breaks it down to around ₹6K-7K per day. Sapna: Yeah. And it's also cheaper if you travel in a group. Like we could book more premium rooms and experiences only because we were three people, and we used to split one room by three, so it became very cheap for us per person that way. So if you end up like being 4 people, 2 rooms, that might increase your cost a little bit. Naveen: So basically, it's more the merrier. If you are traveling solo, then you can stay in hostels. We did not stay in hostels, we stayed in hotels. Again hostels work in the same manner, if you are in sharing  then it cost you less. And if you are eating local food and not becoming too exotic, then trust me, your one meal won't cost you more than ₹250-300. Sapna: But if you are a vegetarian and if you want to eat from a place where you are sure that they have not added shrimp powder to the food, then the food becomes a little expensive for sure, but it's fine. Naveen: We will jump into the vegetarian part for vegetarians. Our next question is about vegetarian food, that's why I called Dubey ji, she is a full power vegetarian. So she will share all her experiences with you about vegetarian food in Thailand, but before that, I will just finish this list, and then jump into the next part. So the cost of living was ₹5,000-6,000 per day when 3 people went together. Sapna: Per person.

Naveen: Yes, per person, which was very decent in terms of the experiences that we had, but you can completely control it, and bring it down to ₹3,000 a night also. It's completely up to you. Stay in hostels, eat local food, travel by slow boats, take trains instead of flights, and the cost will go down. We will jump into the itinerary, and when my vlogs come, you will get to know more detail about how we traveled from point A to B to C. So, please if the Vlogs are already out, then the links are here, start checking out the vlogs because then you will get to know in depth about what we did inside every city. But this vlog is primarily to wrap up the whole trip, and kind of put all our knowledge online and help you guys a little bit, that's the whole plan. So it's slightly generic but vlogs, that's it. The next question is about accommodation, 5-star or budgeted? I would say, experience both of them because in places like Phi Phi, if you are living on the beachfront, then it's way more experiential than staying inside the streets. But if you are living in cities, then definitely go and stay in hostels, because experiences in cities would mean that probably you will be on the 50th floor and see the city, that's it. Sapna: Yeah, and the best thing about living in a hostel is that you get to meet new people, and it's so much fun if you go solo, you can actually meet people who share similar interests, and they can go diving with you, and your trip becomes more fun actually.

Forex  / Credit Card Need To Carry

Naveen: And the last question on this whole list is about finance. If you are going to Thailand then should you take Forex along. According to me, carry a bare minimum of at least 10,000 Baht so that you can enter. Sapna: But cards work, man. Debit cards are great. Credit cards and debit cards both work. Naveen: They work but they come with the baggage. So basically what happens is when you are using a card in an ATM, then in the ATM machine you will be charged two things, one is the charge for using their machine which is 250-300 Baht, around ₹1,000, and along with that, your bank will charge you the Forex conversion fee. So technically the rate right now for Forex conversion is 2.23, and we are multiplying with 2.4, because we were including everything like our exchange rate. But if you have a Credit Card which has a 0% markup on Forex then that's a plus-plus, like I have one, so that was a savior. Also if you take cash in Indian rupees, and you get it converted there, then you won't get the best rates, because obviously, it happened with me at a lot of places, they weren't accepting Indian currency, so it's better to... Sapna: And the ones that were, their exchange rate was very high. Naveen: It was very high. So the best is if you want to take along cash, then convert it beforehand, because obviously, you can change the remaining again when you come back. But if you are like us and you don't want to carry so much cash, then you can use cards, and you can withdraw from the ATM. Remember two things, it should be Visa or MasterCard, that's very important. And secondly, start your International transactions in your mobile banking app, it's not like you will swipe your card and it will work, switch it on, and that is the most important thing. But again, I would like to repeat one thing, again and again, the easiest way to do it is to have a card that has 0% markup. I recently worked with a bank, and I want to mention them, this is not sponsored, I work with them earlier, it's called Neo cards. So the good thing about Neo cards is, it's a debit card with 0% Forex markup. So you can put your money in the Neo card, and then you can use the Neo card, and Neo card has 150 currencies, so it's not like it's only for Thailand, it's a savings account that can be used in any bank. It's not a shameless plug-in, it's not sponsored, I am just giving you wisdom, use it if you want to, Neo cards might help you guys out, ok. Sapna: Yeah. Also, we haven't listed that down, 

Sim Card Facility

Now we should talk about communication, just network and phone, right. Naveen: Oh yes, wow, good stuff! It's SIM cards and how can you be connected. When you go out of India, most of us take international roaming, Airtel and Jio have international roaming there, but 5GB of internet and 100 minutes of incoming and outgoing will cost you ₹4000, ok. Now, this is a good option for somebody who has to attend calls like me. For me, clients call me, brands call me, I might have to pick up the call, and if your roaming is not on, you might have to pay ₹100 per minute. Sapna: Yeah. For someone like me, I was fully off,  like I was totally out of reach. Naveen: So international roaming did not make sense for her. So instead of spending ₹4,000, you would know that Thailand has a culture of 7/11, if you want to eat or drink something, anything at all, just head to 7/11, that is your place. It's not like a mall, it's a supermart where you get everything from foods to drinks to instant food to medicines to cosmetics to alcohol to cigarettes, you get everything. I am listing down everything so that you know about 7/11. And you will get SIM cards also at 7/11. There are two companies, one is True-H and the other is AIS, which are the best when it comes to getting a SIM card. I remember we bought True-H SIM card. Sapna: Very good. Naveen: The best experience was the 5G. We experience 5G for the first time in our life. Sapna: Yeah. Naveen: Download speeds were insane, you can see here. I can't tell you how fast it was. We bought the SIM card for 15 days for 600 Baht, the one that I bought, and I got 30 GB high speed. These countries are not internet neutral, which simply means, companies give money to telecom to promote their app and provide free internet, so I got 30 GB high-speed internet. Sapna: All apps included. Naveen: All apps free, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, not YouTube, that was through data. Sapna: Is that so? Naveen: Yes, YouTube was not included. Sapna: I used YouTube a lot, man. Naveen: So that was being charged from your data, you used to get that message about data. Sapna: Yeah. Naveen: It is charged from data. So that's how you get 30 GB high-speed internet. I thought it would be less for me, I wanted to buy 100 GB at least, but I swear I don't think I was able to finish even 30 GB. Sapna: I watched Netflix also on it. Naveen: Great!

So Sapna got a True-H SIM card for 299 Baht, which had less internet, only 15 GB, but all the apps were free. Sapna: Everything was free. Naveen: Everything was free, but even she didn't have any problem. So I would say, even if you have to work, it was better to buy a SIM card for 699 Baht. But if you don't have to work, then the cheaper one is also better. Sapna: Yeah, both work. Naveen: But please get either True-H or AIS, don't get anything else because their network is the best in the whole of Thailand. We never faced any internet issues. We were getting internet even in the middle of the ocean, that was the best. Sapna: Yeah, while commuting, even in the trains.

Drone Policy In Thailand

Naveen: I don't know if anybody asked this question or not, drones in Thailand. I think, after watching my content, if traveling in Thailand. I did not take any specific permission for drones, to carry my drone to Thailand. The drone that I bought in India, I put it in my check-in bag, and the batteries in the handbag, and I landed in Thailand. Thailand is a very drone-friendly country. Drones are sold there as well. Recently, India banned the import of drones, so I won't recommend that you should buy a drone from there and bring it to India, because if they stop you at customs, then that drone might get confiscated. But if it is your personal drone that you are taking from India itself, then definitely no one can stop you. Always have the bill with you, just in case, anybody asks something. In Thailand, just make sure about three things, don't fly above 60 meters. Though the limit is 120 meters, but either way, I don't like to fly above 60 meters. Secondly, just make sure that you are not flying it in a populated area, not in the middle of buildings. Try and fly it where there are no people. The fewer the eyeballs, the better the drone flying experience, always remember this, because the drone makes a sound when it goes up, everybody sees it, and then you feel conscious, and then anything can happen. So just try and keep it safe. Beyond that, the only place where I think I did not fly the drone was Maya bay in Phi Phi, because drones were not permitted. So wherever you are going, just check the local drone laws there, ask your guide whether drones are allowed or not, if you give that kind of content then fly it. I did not take any permission as such, I will be very frank, but I did not face any problem in flying the drone because I have never flown the drone at a place where it could be inconvenient to somebody else. And that is a very important thing to keep in mind, ok. 

Traveling inside Thailand.

There are three ways to travel inside Thailand. By road, by rail, and by air. Let's take an example.

Sapna: By water also. Naveen: By water also, yes, exactly by water also, how could I forget? We planned to go from Bangkok to Surat Thani because we were going towards Khao Sok National Park. Now, Khao Sok National Park was one of the best experiences, and I think it was a perfect start for our trip, because we had to get into the momentum to create content and to kind of push ourselves to the extreme. So we chose the train for this journey. How can you book a train if you want to travel by train? Because you can take a train to the north or to the south, it's very convenient and trains are great. Vegetarians have to just get their food packed for the train journey. We remember the experience. Sapna: I was starving for 18 hours. Naveen: Not 18 Sapna, it was 12 hours. Sapna: But I didn't eat food. Naveen: Yes you didn't eat food, but the train journey was for 12 hours. Sapna: Yes, but I was hungry for 18 hours. Naveen: Ok. Just make sure you carry food. If you are traveling by train, then I will recommend that you should go straight to the Bangkok station a day before your train. You will get the online listing for all the trains, I am adding the link below where you can check the train timings. Just book a ticket at the railway station, which is confirmed. Since the online websites are the third party, and I've heard, many times train tickets get canceled, it's a big hassle. Sapna: Yeah, and they overbook. Naveen: So just go to the Bangkok railway station and book your tickets, but one day before. We made this mistake, we went in the morning for the night train and it was full. Sapna: Then we had to travel in the sitting chair. Naveen: Yes, we traveled for 12 hours in the sitting chair car instead of a good first-class AC, but the experience was still good. The second option is by road. You can take buses. The third is by air. If you don't have time, you can straight fly down to Surat Thani and take a cab and go to the destination you want to go to. And the last is by sea. If you are going from one island to another then you have two modes of transport. You can take a slow boat or a speedboat. A slow boat is like a ferry. A big ferry that goes on a slow speed. For example, if you are going from Krabi to Phi Phi, then a slow boat will take almost 2-2.5 hours, and the speed boat will take 40 minutes. But there is no AC in the speed boat, it is totally open, so there will be wind and hence you will feel normal. But if you ask me as per my experience, then I loved going on the slow boat. Sapna: Yeah! Naveen: I think it had AC, it was comfortable, and I could do my work. Sapna: It wasn't a boat, it was more like a ferry. Naveen: A very big ferry. So I think this covers our mode of transport section. Sapna: How to bargain and find the best deals while traveling? Well, I don't know if any of you like shop a lot in India, but Sarojini Nagar is your best training, right? If you have been to Sarojini Nagar and you have bargained there, then you can apply all those learnings in Thailand. So Sanya and I bargained for Naveen as well, be it in shopping, be it in even hotel bookings, boats. Even if you want to do adventure sports, there is a lot of scope for bargaining, to make sure if you really want to go on a budgeted trip, then definitely be shameless and you can convince them at your price, just don't be too shameless. Naveen... Naveen: I used to feel very embarrassed. They said 1000 Baht and she straight off said 200 Baht. Sapna: But it worked! And then we sort of settled at 400. You just have to know how to do it, it's full Sarojini Nagar model. Naveen: Yes, full power. Sapna: So yeah, you get the best deals. Honestly, Thailand is a very warm country,

people are really nice. They live on tourism, and they welcome you like family, so it will not be a problem at all. And support them, they have come back after so long, right? Naveen: Sapna, find the best deals while traveling? Sapna: Well, finding the best deals, I personally feel you need to choose the local apps, for sure. Naveen: The first thing is just go around and ask the information centres who are selling packages, take the rates from 3-4 places, and you will get a general idea about the market movement. Do some online research and all will be sweet. I will give you a very good example, in Phuket we did jetski and parasailing, and he quoted 6000 Baht and we did it in 3000 Baht. Sapna: Yeah, that was great. Naveen: So it's up to you how much can you negotiate. Sapna: But I think it was still a little expensive. Naveen: Now what can I say to you, Mishra Ji, How to interact in a foreign land where language is a barrier. Sapna: Your Google translator is your savior. 

Quick Tips

I definitely learn 3-4 things whenever I travel. I actually took a photo of a few things you should know which we will share here. You can see, How to say hello? How to say thank you? How to ask directions? Like few words, you should learn wherever you go, locally you should learn, and like... Naveen: Guys this is vegetarian. Sapna: Anyway, we used to have Google Translator, like he is using right now, and that's very helpful. And you will have internet if you take the connectivity of what we suggested. Naveen: As Sapna said, Google translator is your savior. Sev 2-3 words, take their screenshots. If you are not able to speak it, just show it, that's the best way. I've noticed one thing in Thailand, speak simple English. 'Go Bangkok', or you can say 'go Khao San Road', so the person could understand. If you say 'I want to go to Khao San Road', then the person would get confused. So speak little English like food, vegetarian. 'I want vegetarian' is so confusing for them.

Sapna: 'No fish oil!' Naveen: 'No fish oil!' Sapna: 'No oyster oil!' Naveen: 'No oyster oil!' 'No shrimp powder!' Sapna: Nothing. They put it in everything. Naveen: 

How to explore Phi Phi

The next question is, How to explore Phi Phi without getting confused if there are so many options? Sapna: Phi Phi is a wonderland for everyone who loves beaches, who loves landscape. For you, there's blue crystal clear water and lots of water-based adventures. Naveen: So just bear one thing in mind, Phi Phi has two parts. One is Phi Phi Leh and another is Phi Phi Don. The island where you are staying, eating, chilling, is Phi Phi Don, which is the habitat island, the stay island. And then there is Phi Phi Leh, which is a national park, it has dive sites around it. So people come to Phi Phi Don, and they go to visit places around Phi Phi Leh, where there's Maya Bay, Pileh Lagoon, Viking Caves, and lots of scuba diving and free diving sites. The most important and famous place is Maya Bay, which is finally open after 3-3.5 years, but now when it is finally open... Sapna: It is very crowded. Naveen: It is very commercial also, because now they have made the approach from the back, since they are trying to restore the main Maya bay, and I saw baby sharks there. It's getting restored now which is great. So what can be your best experiential part? Like for us, it was free diving, scuba diving was our primary goal, and then exploring the whole Phi Phi Leh. Similarly, you have to decide that first. First of all, you will definitely go on island hopping. You would want to explore the Monkey Beach, Bamboo Beach, Bamboo Island, Monkey Island, and James Bond Island, these are all commercial places. So you do your own research and figure out, no need to get confused. But I would say if you want to see Phi Phi properly, then give it at least 2-3 days because... Sapna: 2 days would be very less, I feel at least 3-4 days is good. Naveen: Yeah, good enough if you want to do everything like dive, explore, everything, then it will take 3-4 days. I repeat the same thing again and again, if you are really planning for Phi Phi, first choose what is it that you want and accordingly plan for Phi Phi. And that's how you won't get confused, that's how we worked it out. Now the last question which is I think on everybody's mind here. What kind of food is important? If we talk about non-vegetarians, I am pretty sure you guys must be eating seafood, non-veg food, but there is another side which is Ms. Mishra's side, who is a vegetarian. Mishra Ji, if I am a vegetarian and I am going to Thailand, then what would you recommend to me? Sapna: So firstly, let me give you a context. I have not traveled internationally a lot, till now I have been to southeast Asia only, right? And wherever I went, Thailand is still much more comfortable than let's say Taiwan, and here you would get a lot of options to eat,

but you will have to plan it smartly. If you are going to a location, search before hand, which restaurants serve vegetarian food as well. What's interesting about Thai food is that it is not meat dependent, it's more gravy dependent, so most menus are customizable. So if you tell them properly using a Google Translator, no fish oil, no oyster oil, and just use vegetables only. And if you are a vegan, they also give you that option. There are lots of vegan restaurants over there. I eat eggs, I could easily add a little bit of nutrition to my overall food and enjoy my meals. And yeah, my favorite, all-time favorite, if I have to say a few hacks. One is Morning Glory, that's my savior, ultimate savior. In every meal, whether it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I definitely had Morning Glory, and even non-vegetarians love it. The second thing is 7/11. There are a couple of things at 7/11. You get these ready-to-eat  frozen foods there. There were two packs, I will share their images here, you can check these out. Two packs, you can cross-check them, tell the counter person that it should be vegetarian. There are mock meats and all so so you can check it out, soy-based or tofu-based, check that out, and you can get a lot of options. Then you can get like butter toast and all of that. 7/11 is amazing! Just go there, you will definitely get something to eat, you will majorly get sweet things, but you'll get something.

 Naveen: I think if you ask me, I can kind of summarise the veg food, because obviously, I was there whenever Dubey Ji was pissed at me because she was not getting veg food. It's just that, keep two things in mind. If you are taking Thai food then there are a lot of veg options in Thai food, ok? There's no problem. And the good part is, in Thai food, they cook vegetarian food in a vegetarian manner. Sapna: No, not true. Naveen: If you ask them to do that. Sapna: Yes, specifically. Naveen: Let me finish. If you tell them no fish oil, no oyster oil, then they will cook your vegetarian food in a vegetarian manner. And all the commercial restaurants know this now. Sapna: Yeah, they are used to Indian travelers, so they are used to vegetarian food. Naveen: But another context is, if you are eating raw mangoes, don't think that the spice in it is chili. Sapna: It's not chili guys, that's shrimp oil, shrimp powder. Naveen: Shrimp powder. Sapna: Yeah, with oil and all of that. When I ate it for the first time, I was telling Naveen, that there is some weird smell in it. He said, it's just chili, and he really enjoyed it, but I was constantly doubting that there is something fishy in it. And then when you go to McDonald's, you might think that you get vegetarian in McDonald's, no you do not, guys. But Burger King has vegetarian, one Burger where you get a vegetarian burger.

And of course, there are lots of croissants and stuff you can... The one thing my mother taught me when she was traveling abroad. She used to carry a small suitcase in which she carried ready-to-eat food only. So if you don't like all that, and you are very very strict, because sometimes you don't even like the kitchen, and how they sort of cook it, you don't know, you don't trust the restaurant also, you don't know how their cooking the food, or you saw that this is not something you are ok with, then carry your own food. You can carry ready to eat, and that's definitely a backup that you should have. If you're going for 10 days, then always carry food for 4 days at least, so that on the train, sometimes you don't get an option anywhere accept in flights, you won't get an option to choose between veg or non-veg meal, you have to be very specific if you want to eat, yeah. Naveen: Yeah, so I think Sapna has summarised it. From a third person's perspective, if you want to eat non-veg food then you have many options. Seafood is really crazy there, but again, I will recommend one thing to you, if you haven't traveled internationally ever before, and this is the first time for you, then just have a very open mind, and ask if you have doubts because food is very important, and obviously, these countries are very comfortable with eating any kind of meat.It can go up to having crocodile meat. Sapna: Quite scary! Naveen: I mean, it's very important to ask questions, and it's much better to kind of think. I think we made a very long blog Mishra ji. Sapna: We will edit it and make it short. Naveen: We will edit it and make it short, cool. But I think this kind of gives the whole space that what did we do on this trip, and what all can you expect, but as you all know my hard drive has crashed, and that's why this blog is coming before all the other blogs because I need some time to retrieve the data, and get those vlogs on. But if you have reading till here, then thank you so much for watching this blog. Please, what not to forget Dubey Ji?

Sapna: Do not forget to the subscribe this travel blog. Naveen: Ok, so please do this because as I always say, I am because of you, and this world is because of us. Sapna: I hope your Thailand trip goes super amazing, and you can DM us if you have any doubts. Naveen: Yes, the link is in the description. If you want to book the itinerary, check it out, then there is a link below, please go ahead, and feel free to reach out to us. Thank you so much! This is me Naveen Dubey from ytbharat.com and this is our Mishra Ji. Sapna: Little traveler. 

Thank you so much for joining us today.

See you! Woohoo!

Naveen Dubey