Travelling alone in Thailand Part 1

Over the last two years. I have been lucky enough to take four trips to Thailand. While these trips were holiday’s you could also call them reconnaissance missions for the possibility of teaching English. I had taught in Beijing previously and also in Prague, and wanted to see if I still had it in me to teach again.

While everyone thinks of Thailand as a paradise place I didn’t immediately fall in love with Thailand. I will go through the places I have visited over the last two years and let you know how I feel.

Flights

Personally, I always fly Thai Airways, economy class. They are relatively cheap, and I always feel comfortable and well-fed. In season these flights can cost up to 2000GBP but out of season they could cost only 800GBP. If you want cheaper, then you could use connecting flights, which are around 400GBP one way.

Seasons

Are you an in-season person or an out-of-season person? I have tried both, and as a solo traveller, sometimes I prefer out of season. This would be the rainy season, which again makes people think. I have to say I have been to Thailand four times, and the rainy season may only mean that there is a four-hour downpour at some point during the day or night.

Now, depending on your personality, for me, one of the greatest pleasures about Thailand, or any other hot country, is that there is nothing better than the rain pouring down while you are warm and in your shorts. I have had many a good beer watching the heavy rain pour down on Khao San Road, or its quieter cousin, street Soi Rambuttri.

I have also been in season, and the only difference is endless, baking hot sunshine and thousands of tourists. Once you have decided on the season and the ticket, you need to decide where you want to go. Of course, you will start off in Bangkok unless you fly directly to Phuket or Koh Samui, which could be a lot of travelling, but it’s good to experience the madness and noise of Bangkok.

Travelling alone in Bangkok

There are probably lists upon lists about where to stay in Bangkok, but I can only talk about my own experiences and the places I have ended up by accident.

As mentioned before, parallel to Khao San. There is a street called Soi Rambuttri. If you want to stay near Khao San road, then of course it is for the young, and it is loud, and there is not much on Khao San road, accept loud DJs at night and an average market during the day.

Soi Rambuttri is lined with very quiet restaurant bars, that have lazy chairs and relaxing vibes. Some bars have live bands about two or three, but there are also some nice , smaller restaurants, cafes, eateries in the surrounding streets.

There are plenty of three and four-star hotels along Soi Rambuttri, and it is also near the Chao Phraya river which is also nice for cafés and river trips. I will get on to the Chao Phraya river later. Here is a selection of places to stay.