Mind-blowing adventures to be had in Thailand

Aaron Bradford — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:53:23 +0000

Originally posted on Travel Asia - Travel Europe| Bangkok to Krakow.com

Don’t be scared to get a little crazy in this country….it’s made to be mad!

A lot of adventurous types can still get put off by a very un-adventurous travel factor….money. This often means that getting to far-flung destinations such as Asia and Australia are a pipe-dream rather than anything else.

However, there are plenty of opportunities to find a cheap flight online, especially if you are willing to risk waiting to the last minute. Otherwise, try flight specialists such as DialAFlight who can source a cheap flight to Thailand for only £369 (to Bangkok including taxes).

But what can you do once you get there to make the most of this buzzing country? Full moon parties and tuk-tuks around Bangkok all sounding a bit…tame? Too many elephant treks and cocktails by the beach?

Well do not fear. There is still adventure galore to be found in the rich Thai landscape – and plenty of adrenaline-raising ways to experience the views and heritage of the country.

One activity which comes highly recommended is the Tree Top Adventure Park in the forest of Koh Chang and Pattaya. Located amdist the forest but with tree-line views of the ocean, the course has over 30 paths to choose from (…and extremely reliable instructors to trust with your safety….).

I had been tree-swinging before in Guatemala, but there were only two courses and it became pretty limiting. This tree top park is fantastic for real adventurer who want to experiment – or who have been before.

As well as beginner’s ropes and instructions, there are harder tree-line routes for more experienced participants – and once you start whizzing through the forest at top speed, you’ll only want more and more, so expect to get addicted.

For a different kind of rush, if you’re looking for a new thrill in Bangkok, then why not let someone else take the hits for you. I got sick and tired of the endless bars, partying and peddling hawkers – and found the Thai Boxing nights at Lumphini Stadium.

There’s huge atmosphere, pumping music and incredible physical feats – the colour and the taste of Thai culture is a real hit compared to the tourist-trap stuff you get in the city centre.

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photo from Flickr by: Dana Riza

From the bright lights and seedy underground of Bangkok to the lush rainforests and unspoiled islands of the South, it’s easy to see why so many people each year decide to book flights to Thailand. It’s a difficult country not to have an adventure in.

Let’s start with Bangkok. They say that “one night in Bangkok makes the hard man humble” and after spending some time there you’ll understand why. If you want to have an adventure in Bangkok, you don’t have to look far.

Some companies offer cycling tours: this is a great way to see the city, and also a good way to offset the carbon from your flights to Bangkok. It’s not simply a case of a gentle jaunt around the city, however. Bangkok is a very busy place, so you will have to keep your wits about you.

If you’re feeling very adventurous, you might want to step into Muay Thai ring and learn Thai boxing. Although there are professional companies that offer this as part of your holiday, there are some bars that will let you fight another amateur in exchange for a bucket of booze. You may end up with a few cuts and bruises here and there, but isn’t that what adventuring is all about?

Thai food is a culinary adventure too. Searingly hot, fragrant, and full of flavour; it’s probably best to order your food “mai pet” unless you’re the kind of person who orders vindaloo at home and thinks nothing of it. Bangkok has some excellent restaurants, but true adventurers order their food from street-side stalls. To find the best stalls, look at where the locals are eating and take your chances by pointing at whatever looks good.

An hour outside of Bangkok you’ll find the ‘Flight of the Gibbon’ zipline through the jungle canopy, where you get to spend three hours ziplining and abseiling through the rainforest.

Once you leave Bangkok, the temptation may be to visit Kho Phi Phi where “The Beach” was filmed. This is a bad idea, as the island is over-run with tourists. The good news is that Thailand’s coast is teeming with islands and wildlife: you can escape the beach goers by taking to the water and either renting a boat, or going snorkelling. The waters around Thailand are teeming with fish.

There is plenty to do in Thailand’s jungles: from trekking to rafting to kayaking to simply sightseeing. The adventure of a lifetime awaits.

James writes for Skyscanner.net, a Scottish flight comparison company. Skyscanner compare cheap flights to hundreds of destinations worldwide. You can now search for flights on Facebook, using the Skyscanner Flight Search app.

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**Guest post by David “Mr Big” Fysh**

Having spent the best part of a month (not long enough) travelling around India, I was looking forward to getting to SE Asia. Why I decided to ‘do’ India first is beyond me, but alas, it has set me up with the necessary experience, patience and *cough* constitution to see me right in any country SE Asia has to offer. I have never been to Thailand before and I was pretty excited at the prospect. Having batted off the barrage of ‘lady-boy’ this and ‘lady-boy’ that I was ready to experience Thailand for all its worth (Except lady-boys I hasten to add).

I entered the Jet Airways plane in my flip-flops, cut off jeans and scruffy t-shirt. This brought a few scowls from fellow passengers…maybe because I was holding their departure up or maybe it was because I looked like I had just spent 32 hours on a train and 2 hours been thrown around the back of a rickshaw in the bustling city of Delhi. The plight of me became apparent after I used a hot towel to give myself a quick scrub down. The once white towel was black. Actually black. Get me to Bangkok so I can have a shower!

The flights to Bangkok are pretty regular and wells serviced by budget airlines, during the flight I managed about an hours sleep, which was frustrating in itself. It was nothing to do with the comfort of the plane, or the fact that numerous infants decided to vent their spleen throughout the journey. It was more to do with the fact that I was going to be in Bangkok in a few hours and I had no idea at all where I was going. My initial impression of the airport was a good one: very clean, bright and well signposted. 30 minutes later I was reunited with my ‘life in a rucksack’ and I was queueing up to have my photo taken at the visa desk. With the formalities done I was wandering around the 4 levels of the airport terminal, probably looking a bit lost. I hadn’t seen familiar named shops for a while and after eating curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a month, a nice bakery didn’t go amiss!

I found myself on the bottom level of the terminal where there was a plethora of tourist buses coming and going. I figured this is where my next adventure would start. One issue to overcome….where to go!!? Not being totally devoid of all knowledge of Bangkok, I know that Kao San Road is ‘where it’s at’ so I head there. There are loads of people all doing the same as me; Backpacks, dreadlocks (not me!), flip flops, Southeast Asia on a shoestring (purchased from WHSmith in the airport) and hazy eyes from the last journey. The hustle and bustle of Bangkok’s roads didn’t surprise or annoy me. I had after all, been in Delhi and Mumbai previous.

On arrival at Kao San I instantly understand why it has the reputation it does. Row upon row of t-shirt stalls…food vendors and pubs! There are a few ‘gap year’ students staggering around (probably still drunk form the night before) looking worse for wear. I pretend they are not there as I go about my business finding a place to wash and sleep! I knew I was going to be just fine….

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Well one week in Bangkok definitely humbled us. Our senses were stimulated and our awareness took a battering. It turned out to be one of those cheap holidays we’ll never forget! At times it was hard to keep up so we slowed right down with the relief of a fan, an iced coffee, a herbal juice and free baby sitting (Thais absolutely love babies!).

We saw a city of extremes, of street food culture, of tourism and of tuk tuks! I guess Bangkok is like most cities. You have your glamorous, glitzy super shopping complexes and your cultural heritage attracting tourism, and then around the corner you will find half finished developments, dust and grime, hyena type looking dogs (dead and alive) and parked street food vans! We were glad to see where the food vans were being stored before deciding to try the street food on the next street from us. The food looks so tempting (except for the fluro coloured condiments!) but I think our taste buds can hold out for now. Till then its your one million and one tourist restaurants and cafes.

The humidity, the danger tap water and the mosquitos were all new to our daily routine. Washing Zofia with bottled water (because she likes to have a taste of everything!) and keeping her from sucking the floor has been quite a task. She does seem to go after creepy crawlies so maybe she can team up with the geckoes. I on the other hand make a great mosquito repellant.. for others! Both Karon and Zofia got zero mosquito bites while I, despite lathering up with all the poisons I could find, have sustained at least 20 the week we were here.

Our accommodation was just perfect. Located on Sukhumvit Road (the commercial, entertainment and tourist centre of modern Bangkok), SUK 11 hostel was an oasis in the hectic surroundings. The staff were super helpful and friendly and ‘Sophie!’ became a SUK 11 mascot instantly. We got around using the Sky Train, taxis and Karon had the experience of a tuk tuk, although he couldn’t see anything as they are obviously designed for much smaller farang. The taxis are pink and purple and there are no baby seats, rare car seats and traffic is chaotic. Amazing how all your homely rules and regulations don’t seem to matter any more. Ironically everything flows really well.. organised chaos. You just trust that everyone else is keeping an eye out for you. We walked many stretches road side with motorbikes and 4W Drives zipping past. You just hold your breath, suck in your belly and hope those extra centimetres make a difference :)

People are always smiling and they love babies. Although, no matter how hard we try with the pink tops and the beads, Zofia just can’t seem to pass as a girl. The best comments were “Is it a man?”. When I said “no she’s a girl, but everyone thinks shes a boy, probably because she has little hair”, the response was “No, she look like man”. Funny. Although we learnt to say look sow (daughter) sometimes its just easier to smile and nod when they say “Oh, smiling boy”. She’s definitely a little lady to us.

With what felt like a month, a week was too little time to settle, get our bearings, see the temples and please our little lady. It felt like we did so much but we did it super slow. Our most authentic Bangkok experiences were when we decided to walk instead of catching a taxi. We discovered many a soi filled with people working and people feeding the workers and people making offerings to buddha. When we went searching for daily supplies of water and bananas we got to practice our Thai. We visited the Tropical Diseases Medical Clinic to finish up our vaccinations and we put our winter climate luggage into a Bangkok storage facility. We enjoyed doing the latter because we got to feel and see how the people here live day to day. The most confronting sight was the shanty towns right on the rail way line. At first I was astonished. “Babe how close are we to that house!”, then “Theres people right there!”, and then “Their cooking and their children are playing right there!”. They were all within a metre of the rail way line and they didn’t even notice us as we clickety clacked passed.

There are many wonderful activities, sites and sounds to be seen on the tourist trail and in themselves are an awesome spectacle but to some extent the authenticity diminishes when everyone around you treats you like a king. One thing we are sure to do on our return to pick our luggage is to visit with the King at the Grand Palace and see how true royalty is treated here.

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Security, Smiley, Steamy, Street Food…

When we walked through the doors at the Suvarnabhumi airport the reality of what we were doing finally hit home. Up to that point the romanticised version had played out in our minds preparing us for a major culture shock. Although there wasn’t an army of mosquitos waiting for me at the gate, neither Lonely Planet, personal accounts, nor all of the research and reading could have prepared us for the oppresive humidity, the inability to communicate and the crash course in being a fish out of water. The first hour in Bangkok will be imprinted in our memory for the rest of our lives.

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Mind-blowing adventures to be had in Thailand