When I came across a roundtrip flight to Bangkok from Houston for under $600 back in May (thanks Escape Houston), it was a no brainer for me that this was an experience that had to be done! A few text messages later, I had 8 women and myself booked to go to Bangkok for a week before Thanksgiving.
Travel Tip #1 Keep a tribe that stays on ready. This was a spur of the moment yolo type of thing so I was very excited to get almost 10 people on board to experience Thailand with me.
I am not a travel agent by any means, but I love looking for deals and things to do. Even when my husband and I travel, I do all the planning cause he knows it’s one of my strengths. So, high level, here are the deets:
Flights
I have provided all the airlines we booked for our flights. Google flights will forever be bae! I booked everything through them. I love the ease of it and how you can change dates and all to find the perfect price available. Once you select the flight you want it transfers you over to the airline to complete the booking. Highly recommend it if you are traveling.
Houston to Tokyo/Tokyo to Bangkok – All Nippon Airways (booked through United Airlines)
Bangkok to Phuket roundtrip – Thai Vietjat Air – This flight was $54 roundtrip…yep you read that right… It sort of reminded me of Spirit. The ticket only allowed 1 carry on bag and it was perfect for what we were wanting to pay. We all packed 1 bag and checked our remaining luggage with Aloft. We were coming back to Aloft for our departure day so they were fine with us leaving our luggage there a few days.
Bangkok to Tokyo/Tokyo to Houston – All Nippon Airways (booked through United Airlines)
Hotel : Aloft Bangkok Sukhumvit 11
Transportation: If EVER you are in Bangkok and you want to travel with wifi and a karaoke mic in house, Sam is your guy!!! He came highly recommended by a friend of my sister, and he does not disappoint! He accommodated all of us in his van comfortably and took us every where we requested in Bangkok. He also can refer other drivers to you in other places if you travel while over there. He was the nicest, sweetest, and most helpful! He has What’s App so you can provide him with your itinerary and flight info. Tell him Kelli referred you!
Ok now that I got that out the way…keep reading for Bangkok Adventures with Kelz!
We arrived pretty late to Bangkok Thursday night/Friday morning. It was a 13 hour flight to Tokyo, a 3 hours layover that turned into 5 hours due to an unexpected plane maintenance, then a 7 hour flight from Tokyo to Bangkok. We got to Aloft at about 2am and got pizza from a spot across the street from the hotel. After that we settled in for the night with plans to begin exploring at 9am Friday morning.
Friday – we decided on visiting the tailors, getting a Thai massage, and touring temples/Buddha for the day. Sam had preferred spots lined up. We went to James Fashion International Bangkok. I got a blazer made (I am a Delta so of course I had to get a red one lol).
Travel Tip #2 Everything and I do mean EVERYTHING is negotiation! They start with one price and you start working the down! Shout out to Shante and my husband for the negotiation skills!
From there, we went to get Thai massages! I cannot remember the place, but it was recommended by our driver. It was 800 baht ($26 USD) for a full body no oil 90 minute massage. Now I know what you are thinking…NO OIL??? Do not be fooled! That massage was the best stretch and technique I have ever seen. It showed me that oil is not always needed to get a good massage! They use their whole bodies (arms, hands, knees, feet). It was just what I needed after that long travel day.
Lastly, we got food and did the Wat Pho temple. There, we saw the Reclining Buddha, Sitting Buddha, and Standing Buddha. There was also so many beautiful structures and temples.
Travel Tip #3 If you did not bring a scarf or attire that cover your legs, there is an option to rent a skirt for free to cover up. There are people at the front entrance that try to sell you a cover up. By pass them and get one for free. We returned them at the end of the tour.
This concluded the sightseeing of Day 1 in Bangkok. Our hotel was in a great spot with several bars and restaurants within walking distance. I was a little under the weather after the flight so I retired to bed early to get rested for Saturday!
Here are some pics from Friday’s adventures including travel gear (thanks to @pokniscorner)! Those sweatshirts were a hit in the airports! #getthestampbish (my play on 50 Cent’s “Get the Strap” lol).
Saturday, we got up and departed at 8am for the Floating Markets! It was a nice little road trip outside of Bangkok (we rode for almost 2 hours due to traffic…the Pope was in town). The Floating Market was basically buying from markets on water. We broke up to 4 people per boat and hit many water streets to shop tons of vendors selling clothes, souvenirs, small trinkets, jewelry, you name it! Any time we wanted to stop we just let the driver know to slow down. Remember when I told you negotiations are everywhere…this was no different. I got shot glasses and an elephant made of jade. You could also get food (my niece got mango sticky rice). Because floating market was such a lengthy time with commuting there and back as well as almost 2 hours on the water, we let that be the only organized thing of the day.
When we got back to the hotel, everyone had a little down time before we hit the streets! We did Hennessy shots for 110 baht (less than $5 USD) at Hilary 3.
We ended the night at a bar called Score. They had Karaoke for 500 baht for an hour! We got a private room and had a ball!! The catalog was a little limited, but when you got the right crew, a good time is always had!!
Pics from Floating Market
Bangkok was fun to explore and very inexpensive. Thailand’s baht was 0.33 to $1 USD so we were able to do a lot for a little. Stay tuned for Part 2 when Kelz takes her Curlz to Phuket!
Awesome! I’m so excited to go next year 🙂