Here She Goes Again

I had reserved the taxi pickup from the hotel itself (highly recommended if this is your first time to Thailand). It took a bit, but we found our ride and hopped on.

The drive to the hotel was smooth but what struck me was the number of the digital hoardings will ads all around! They were everywhere! 

After checkin we started looking for food. We are vegetarians and it turns out that there were 100s of Indian restaurants nearby and ready to deliver food. We were advised by the hotel to use a handy app called Grab. That app was our go to to for anything food for the next 9 days. As we ordered the food, the cost of food + delivery charge was less than 10$. 😯

So many Wats : Ayutthaya

The next day we hired a car from hotel tour desk and went about our way to explore Bangkok. We visited the famous Golden Buddha temple.

Our driver/guide suggested we must go to the historical city called Ayutthaya. There are many ancient Buddhist monasteries and lots of history! Since we went with no set plan, we decided to follow our guide. The temples and monasteries were from 14th -17th centuries. Fascinating sights all around!

We took a  boat tour that took us all around the Ayuthaya island where we got to see all the temples on the boat also. It was a very pleasant ride. Highly recommended if you visit Ayutthaya!

Some more Wats were visited after a lunch at a small vegetarian Thai restaurant. Thai food in Thailand  is actually quite simple unlike in USA. I guess we have to add some local flavors to please the gentry here. Total bill: 7$ for 2 people! 😱

Pattaya Beach, Floating Market and Sanctuary of Truth

The next day we visited the famous beach in Bangkok: Pattaya! We wanted to see what makes this beach so special since we had heard so much about this place. It was 2 hrs by car from Bangkok! When we visited there, we found it quite busy and underwhelming. I would skip it if you have visited a beach before in your life. 

We went to see the floating market and THAt was a unique experience.It was like a local fair with a number of food stalls and none of the food was for us vegetarians unfortunately!

There were some shows going on of the local dances and such which was fun. We even clicked a picture with a Thai Lady boy. ha!

The last Wat we visited was the Sanctuary of Truth. It was breathtaking. The entire temple was made of hand carved wood! It was majestic! They even showed us to show how people would carve the wood and built the temple piece by piece. Must Visit!

The Beach : Phuket

Now this was the place I have been yearning to visit. I had heard so much about this place and it did not disappoint! The hotel I had booked was right across from the beach. It was very lively and I had paid extra for the beach view room. More Indian food was ordered  for 10$ (Seriously people, its a must try!)

The highlight of this trip was our  sunrise excursion to Phi Phi Island! We had to wake up at 4 am to get on the boat before the dawn so we could catch the sunrise. It was a small group of people doing the tour with us. They were all so lovely and we tour guides on the boat were extra helping and nice!  We were fed Thai vegetarian breakfast (coconut rice and coffee ). It was heavenly!

The Sunrise and the Phi Phi island were both unbelievable. So beautiful and serene! 

We went on to do snorkeling as well. I was so scared to try at first but one of the tour person insisted on helping me. I am glad I did not let my fear win. It was other worldly experience! I do not have the words to describe the divine connection I felt watching those beautiful ocean creatures in their own homes! 

Elephant Sanctuary

There are many options for entertainment in Phuket. Zoos, some more Temples, City tours, Thai Boxing and even Cabaret shows with Lady boys 😉 !

We chose to go spend time at one of the elephant sanctuaries here. We got to pet and feed and bathe the rescue elephants. They were fun to hang out with. We did a cooking class there and even cooked a vegetarian pad Thai.🤤It was a very satisfying experience. Highly recommended over zoos any day!

Do get a Thai massage while there ( it’s just called massage there..haha) Its  so cheap and relaxing! Even though there are numerous options outside the hotel, I would recommend spas and massages at the hotel for safety if traveling solo.

Overall it was a very pleasant experience visiting Thailand with my mother. I did not book any package tours for this trip as I needed to be flexible with my mother given her age. But people in this country are very respectful and kind esp. when an elderly parent is with you. I would highly recommend visiting Thailand and if possible more than once. I plan to visit again for sure!