Thailand has become one of the top preferences for Indians as their first destination for an international holiday. Honestly, it is a great budget destination with a bucket full of things to experience for a newbie international traveller. The country is one of my favourite places to travel to – there’s so much to do and see there, ranging from Buddhist monasteries to crystal clear blue waters to a vivacious night life and much more. Genetically, Indians love Value for Money in all aspects of their life and Thailand is a great example of a VFM vacation.
Our First International Travel to Bangkok
It all started with a wish to travel out of the country for our second wedding anniversary and we got the right incentive when Air Asia announced a big bang sale in 2013. After a lot of deliberations, we booked our flights to Bangkok for Jan 2014. We opted for Bangkok because it was super accessible, a value destination for us and our itineraries also synced well with our work leaves. It is one of most hassle-free destinations for obtaining a visa and I believe, it’s a great place for couples to explore together.
Tips For A First Time International Traveller
Being road trippers, we usually do not plan much when we travel around in India. Our Mantra has always been to hit the road, follow it and come back. However, being the first international trip, we were a little hesitant of creating impromptu itineraries and decided to plan a little in advance.
Usually, the first couple of questions which pop up in our minds are whether to plan ourselves or hire a travel agent and to travel alone, as couple or join a group. For us, the choice was easy – firstly, because we always prefer exploring things at our own pace; and secondly because we like an iota of uncertainty and the feeling of “it may go wrong” which gives a certain level of thrill to our vacations. Having said that, Bangkok can be easily planned without taking the help of any travel agent.
Look Out For Budget Flights
We would recommend you to book well in advance in order to enjoy real cheap flight rates. We booked our travel with Air Asia almost 8 months in advance and saved a lot of money. If you plan properly and on time, usually Bangkok will cost you less than Kerala considering Delhi as your starting point. Similarly for people in the Southern part of the country, Bangkok is cheaper than flying to Chandigarh or Jaipur.
Get Yourself A Travel Insurance With Wide Coverage
Travel insurance should be an absolutely integral aspect of international travels but is actually one that is usually ignored by first timers. You must buy the right travel insurance to protect yourself against the cost of emergency medical care, delayed flights, or stolen items as well as other common travel challenges like baggage losses. Let me recite our tales to let you understand why having the right travel insurance is so important.
Our travel to Bangkok was planned for the last week of Jan 2014, and just few weeks prior to our travel, nation-wide protests erupted in Thailand with Bangkok as the epicentre. There was a coup d’état that resulted in the establishment of a new government in Thailand, resulting in disruption of normal life. Amidst all this, however, we decided not to cancel but instead stick to our plan.
When we reached Bangkok, we could sense that everything was not good. We were even advised not to visit some places and warned to be prudent with our itinerary. The protest actually hampered our itinerary and being our first international travel, it made us a little cautious of moving around. During our three-day stay, we lived constantly in a slight fear, taking every step only after consulting locals. However, having a Travel Insurance did take some of those worries out of our minds, especially whenever we encountered an ‘if in case’ or ‘just in case’ situation since the city was pretty chaotic around that time. The insurance gave us much of our required peace of mind and we had it as a backup for any emergency requirements that could have happened amidst the chaos. Although we could not explore the city the way we wanted to, we never really faced any kind of travel either.
When you travel, such unfortunate incidences can happen especially in today’s world where people are less tolerant and atmosphere around us is so unpredictable. No matter how much you plan, your itinerary can sometimes not work out. So to protect yourself, I strongly recommend you to select a good travel insurance policy and go for optimum coverage. For Indian travellers, I would strongly recommend Reliance Travel Insurance which has a comprehensive Asia Travel Insurance best suited for South East Asian Countries. It covers medical emergencies as well as emergency medical evacuations which is a great safety net to have. We also liked the feature that offers reimbursements for expenses that occur due to flight delays.
It’s important to note that Thailand is a very safe and travel friendly country, and such chaos is rare. However, we always need to be ready for any unforeseen circumstances so that we can enjoy awesome vacations with our family.
Budget Up Your Accommodation
Being one of the top tourist destinations in the world, Bangkok is packed with a range of accommodation options suited for every pocket. We are mostly budget traveller, but often we look out for moderately better options and hence we opted for Novotel at Silom Road. My biggest reason to opt for Silom area was the fact that it had so many Indian restaurants. Being strict vegetarians, Silom was a revelation for us as we discovered some amazing Indian options, including our very own Haldiram’s which was recently launched there.
Novotel – Silom Road
Thai Visa for Indians
Thankfully, for Indians, Visa is no hassle when it comes to Thailand. We opted for Visa on Arrival and it was indeed a total hassle-free experience. It took us barely 10 minutes to get stamped at the airport. Thailand has the smoothest Visa on Arrival facility for almost all nationalities so you could even plan your Bangkok trip impromptu from any of the Metro Cities of India.
Bangkok in 3 days – Highlights from our Trip
We stayed there for 3 days and 2 nights and despite protests in Bangkok, explored the city and loved every bit of it. It’s a city that embraces you completely – it is big and intense, is fast moving and noisy too. It has a mixed flavour of Mumbai and Delhi and to tell you the truth, we loved it for being so lively and yet grounded. What brings people here is the whole mix of things from the history, street food, and legendary nightlife to the low cost of everything and the friendly, ever-smiling locals.
Boat Trip along the Chao Phraya River
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Visiting Grand Palace and Wat Pho
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Day trip to Pattaya Beach
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An evening at Asiatique The Riverfront – An open-air mall in Bangkok
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We had a great time in Bangkok despite restrictions due to protest. However, we are raring to visit the country again for a holistic and adventurous travel where we get to explore the country without any worries.
Lets dream more, see more, feel more and live more.
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Would love to know what you think about our story of Bangkok, please comment below.
If you feel motivated, please share this blog post with your loved ones so that they can break the mundane cycle of everyday life and explore the world.
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Beautiful pictures . What was the reason for the protest during your stay in Thailand ?
Yes we need a Thailand trip for sure! Loved reading about your highlights from your time there. The boat trip along Chao Phraya river sounds like a good option. So does visiting the beach! Great tips!
Thailand was the first country I traveled to, even though it was a business trip way back in the 1990s. You are right it is easy to access from almost anywhere in the country and works out cheaper than many Indian holidays. No wonder, most Indians choose Thailand or Singapore to be their first international destination.
Sometimes trips like this, with unexpected incidents, can be just as good. I think you were brave to go ahead with the trip during the unrest, but sounds like you still had an amazing time! The river cruise down the Chao Praya sounds great. Silom sounds perfect for vegetarian delights too!
We have been to Thailand once, but did not stay in Bangkok. A friend of mine who went recently shared many similar tips about the place. So there’s a Haldiram too, for die-hard Haldiram lovers.
You definitely have to visit Thailand again. Once I was there for 9 days and even then, it wasn’t enough. There are also other temples that are worth the visit but looks like you’ve done well in 3 days
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Such a great article. Amazing airfare sales is what gets me to most destinations! I have not been to Thailand yet but I will be saving your tips for when I do go!
I have not been to Bangkok. I think I would love the open air market on the waterfront and the boat ride
I’ve never been to Thailand, but I’ve been getting more and more excited about trying to visit, as it seems like a really perfect destination for me especially with regards to value for money. I love the idea of the river cruise down the Chao Praya, and I’d definitely want to visit the Grand Palace. There is clearly so much to do!
Kind of scary that there ended up being a coup while you were traveling in Thailand. My husband was set to travel there for business at the same time and his plans were cancelled because of it. I’m glad you were able to enjoy your visit, though. So nice that it is an easy place for you to travel to from India, and that it worked with your vacation schedule. I’ve been hearing so many wonderful things about Thailand — how friendly the people are and how beautiful a country it is!
I think almost every Indian makes their first (or 2nd) foreign trip to Thailand. The best thing about that country is – the food is amazing, the beaches are lovely, there’s a lot to do and see and the best part is, it is cheap! Your tips on visiting a foreign country are helpful, the only issue is, many people (like me) cannot really book a trip 8 months in advance, I try to do it as soon as possible but 8 months is a long time to make a decision 🙂 Wat Pho and Grand Palace were my favourite in Bangkok too, but the highlight of my trip to Thailand was a visit to Koh Phi Phi 🙂
Thailand is one of the famous country Around the world. There have many historical place and tourist places. I was go there 2 years ago on my lessness per pass. Then I do not traveling there now I want to travel in there so I need many information about this place. Can you give me some information about all there traveling places.
Hey, I loved your post 🙂 Lovely pictures. Thailand is always amazing <3 But I even wanted to ask you regarding the VISA. Are there any seating arrangements as my mother is an arthiritis patient and cannot stand for long in queues.Would you suggest us Visa on arrival or to get of before we leave. Plz suggest 🙂
Thanks Misha.
For visa thing, I am unable to recall if they have any sitting arrangements. I would suggest you take visa in advance to make hassle free for your mother.
Hey thank u for the immediate response. Yes, after knowing this I would certainly do that in advance to make things hassle free. Thank you once again ❤️😊
Awesome pics! I’d love to visit one day. I’m putting Thailand on my bucket list. Thanks for sharing your trip with all of us.