People: Unfortunately, tourism ruins a lot. Also the friendliness of people. Thais in the South were often very distant/arrogant and seemed to be looking at us as if we were walking wallets. On Phi Phi I got shouted at (!!) by our tour guide, when just asking for vegetarian food in a normal way – no thanks, for me it’s only Northern Thailand anymore… In Southern Thailand you also meet a lot of party tourists and package tourists – less long-time travellers. But that’s kind of what you expect!

Food: Also the food in the South could not keep up with the North. Everything rather mediocre… The best part were still the night markets which we were sometimes able to find.

Weather: Summer, sun, sunshine – sometimes almost a bit too much heat! 😉 In any case, we always had picture-perfect weather… On Koh Lanta there were a couple of thunderstorms in the end, but during the day it was all nice and sunny again.

Costs: Southern Thailand is much more expensive, than the North. Food, as well as accommodation and transportation (boats) are increasing the spending. And of course also one or the other party night. So I ended up spending 40 Euros/day on average (!!)

Accommodation: As mentioned, there was not a lot of cheap accomodation to be found. Admittedly, accommodation was mostly really nice in return. On average we paid around 600 Baht for a double room, almost always with our own bathroom…

Infrastructure: Busses, mini busses and boats. And sometimes a taxi… Everything was modern, well organized. The only annoying connection was from Koh Lanta across the boarder to Malaysia to Penang. Not too far on a map, but there is (still) no good bus service on this route.

Illnesses: Sometimes food wasn’t too good on my stomach and on Koh Phangan I got quite a throat infection…

Safety: Everything fine…

Highlight: The Full Moon Party and my return to Koh Lanta.

Lowlight: Koh Phi Phi, especially the famous Maya-Bay-day tour.

Click here for all my pictures of Southern Thailand: 

18.03.-19.03.2013 Bangkok

Back in my beloved Bangkok! It was hard to have to leave the Philippines, but I was also looking forward to going back to Thailand and Bangkok, and seeing Mathijs again there.
We only had one day in BKK, running a few errands and going around by express boat; then we boarded a night bus to Chumpon…

20.03.-23.03.2013 Koh Tao

…in Chumpon the next morning we went straight on a catamaran to go to Koh Tao. In 2010, I did my OW diver course here, but it was rainy all the time then, so I didn’t explore the island at all. This time, the sun was beaming and I could thoroughly enjoy my time on Sairee Beach. While Mathijs did his AOW, I mostly relaxed on the beach.

One day, I booked a snorkelling tour. I wanted to save money by not going on a dive, for Koh Tao is not exactly renowned for its diving spots and I’ve also heard that they are very crowded. So it was snorkelling for me this time! It was a good and inexpensive possibility to explore the whole island and see the various places and beaches.

A nice day, but generally I wasn’t overwhelmed by Koh Tao…

24.03.-27.03.2013 Koh Phangan

Our next stop was Koh Phangan, where we mostly aimed for the famous Full Moon Party. The day before (the night before, that is J ) we got ourselves into the right mood by attending the Jungle Experience Party – it’s set right in the jungle, and is much smaller than the Full Moon Party, but really cool as well. The Full Moon Party then was really worth going to; it was an absolutely fun party night, which we spent together with two Swedes. Neon colours everywhere, drinking from plastic buckets, fire shows, clubs upon clubs with different music each…
We wandered up and down the beach, stopping here and there – until the sun rose! An awesome night! J I know there are a lot of negative reviews of this party… But none of us was excessively drunk, nobody offered me any drugs and I barely saw any completely wasted people. MY Full Moon Party experience was a good one. Apart from partying and curing our hangovers, we visited the island a bit, saw a few beaches in the northeast which were quite nice and calm…
Every night we ate excellent food at the Thongsala Night Market, where they sell anything from Thai Food to Sushi and pizza, cheap and good quality…

28.03.-29.03.2013 Krabi/Railey

Ever since 2007, I’ve been wanting to go back to Krabi. Nice detail: we found a room in the same hostel where my sister and I had stayed before – and it is still just as good 🙂 I’ve grown to love Thai food by now, so I enjoyed the night market more than I did last time.
But that’s where the positive changes end… Going to Railey the next day, I was under shock. Even in 2007 it had been fairly touristy, but the small beach in the middle had still been a bit of an insider tip. Not anymore! Tour groups, climbers, kayak tours… you can barely see the beach for people. How sad 😦

30.03.-31.03.2013 Koh Phi Phi

Another comeback… I had also been to Koh Phi Phi before, in 2007, but only on a day trip. This time, I wanted to see more of the island and go on land in Maya Bay. Well… what can I say! Phi Phi solely exists for tourists now. The village is crammed with shops, restaurants, tour agencies, hostels and bars. The beach is riddled with sun loungers and parasols (which hadn’t been the case in 2007!). Surprisingly, we did find good and cheap accommodation, and a bit of calmer beach. BUT. The boat trip to Maya Bay. Was. The. Most. Crazily. Touristy. Thing. I. Have. Ever. Seen. I was speechless for shock and astonishment. I cannot believe how a region could be so completely ruined by tourism!!!! It made me feel sick… All you could ever see in Maya Bay was tourists; you had to get out your magnifying glass to search for the beach among the many legs. And it wasn’t even high season… At any rate, I was keen to turn my back on Phi Phi after a crammed day. Bye-bye, see you never again!!

01.04.-03.04.2013 Koh Lanta

I had been looking forward most to this last stop in Thailand. However, after the recent bad experiences I was worried how my beloved Koh Lanta would have developed… But all’s fine! Interestingly enough (hurray!), Koh Lanta has remained a peaceful place and in the south of the island there are completely deserted beaches.
We did two day trips by motorcycle: Once going to the east coast, visiting the old town and driving across the land, once stopping by just about any beach or bay in the south – and I decided that Koh Lanta is definitively my favourite island in Thailand! 🙂A beautiful island, and a nice ending to my time here – bye-bye Thailand…