Leaving for a big trip immediately after Thanksgiving is sure to be a hot topic at the dinner table.
Hailey Peck
For me, sharing my plans of traveling to Thailand elicited the response “like in the movie 'Hangover 2'?”
I’m happy to report that, while I did visit the same location where "The Hangover Part II" was filmed, I made it back to the U.S. without a Mike Tyson face tattoo — I got an elephant instead — and, unfortunately, without befriending a monkey.
While my experiences may not have been as out there as Alan, Stu, Phil and Doug's, I did return with my fair share of stories and memories.
Here's a look at my recent trip:
Views from a walkway in a Buddhist temple area on Dec. 5, 2024, in Bangkok.
Travel time
Crossing the International Date Line is a weird experience. I left Kansas City in the morning on Dec. 1 and landed in Bangkok on Dec. 3 at 5 a.m. While the flights were long, I essentially skipped a day in the air. Weird.
My route to Bangkok held experiences of its own. I was traveling with one of my friends, and we both love an adventure, which is what led us to leave the airport in Tokyo, Japan during a 7-hour layover.
In hindsight, we could have made it downtown and back in plenty of time, but as the nervous Nellie of the two of us, I had us compromise to a closer location.
Kawasaki was the decision. First things first, we had to navigate the train system without speaking a word of Japanese, which I think we managed fairly well.
Once we arrived in Kawasaki, we kept things relaxed, got dinner, walked around the shopping area a bit and then headed back to the airport.
Since the time was limited, I don’t have much to report on Tokyo. However, the food was delicious.
The one question I left with, though, was for a city so clean, I would love to know where they keep their trash cans. Public trash cans simply do not exist on the streets.
Sawasdee ka Bangkok
Flash forward to another seven-hour flight, we finally arrived in Bangkok — 24 flying hours later. The only thing on my mind at this point is how nice a shower sounded.
But what would a trip be without running into an obstacle? Or at least a two-hour taxi ride that still doesn’t get you to your location.
The view from a bridge in Bangkok on Dec. 3, 2024.
We stayed with a friend, Jena, who was born and raised in Thailand. So, we were just trying to make our way to her apartment about 20 minutes from the airport. Despite all of our attempts at providing the taxi driver with GPS and phone calls to Jena, in circles we went.
Eventually, we were so over it, we ended the ride, got out at a supermarket, got completely ripped off, then took a different car to her apartment.
New meaning for shop until you drop
My first two days in Bangkok can be summed up in two words: shopping extravaganza.
The city has a bunch of malls. So, for a more relaxed adjustment, we shopped, we got massages and we got our nails done.
The inside of one of many shopping malls in Bangkok.
One of the highlights of the country is the conversion rate. Converting money from USD to Baht, your money goes an extremely long way. It is very cheap to visit, which makes it a lot easier to shop.
Yes, I had to buy another bag to check on the way back.
Father’s Day
Unplanned but a bonus of when I visited was I was in the city for Father’s Day, which is a national holiday in Thailand.
Americans are familiar with Father’s Day, which we’re used to taking place in June to celebrate fathers in our lives. Bit Thailand has a bit of a different meaning for the day.
Intricate work lines the outside of a Buddhist temple in Bangkok on Dec. 5, 2024.
Celebrated each year on Dec. 5, the day acts as a celebration for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great's birthday.
We took the day to explore some of the beautiful Buddhist temples. The intricate details are like nothing I’ve seen before.
We also took the time to explore one of Bangkok’s many street markets, where I proceeded to buy yet more things.
Jena and her mom then took us to dinner on the riverfront and a fireworks show to end the night.
The dinner may have been one of my highlights. There was about 10 to 12 people, friends and coworkers of Jena and her mom. Despite not knowing any of them prior and not speaking their native language, it was one of the most welcoming experiences I’ve ever had.
Food, food and more food
I’m hands down a picky eater, so traveling to a country with a completely different type of cuisine was concerning for me to say the least.
I’m glad that Jena and her mom were there to guide us to the best places and order for us.
Dinner cooked by Jena's grandma, which included grilled chicken, egg tofu soup, sticky rice and a Thai omelette.
They stopped telling me what I was eating and instead just told me to “try” and, since I can’t read Thai, I had no way to decipher on my own.
Trying different foods was definitely the biggest challenge for me, but it was worth it. I tried sushi for the first time and had countless versions of noodles, Thai omelets and spices.
My worst encounter was when I accidentally, and very confidently might I add, ate a Thai chili pepper. Tears were shed.
As for highlights, pretty much everything else. Roti, a crispy thinner version of a pancake, may have been my favorite dish.
The best meal by far was when Jena’s grandma offered to cook for us. That may have been the best meal I’ve ever had.
Transportation
Tuk-tuk. Enough said.
In all seriousness, in the span of one day, I took so many different forms of transportation I lost track. From a water taxi to a bus to a train to a tuk-tuk to the Thai version of Uber.
A love letter to Koh Samet Island
As a Midwest girl, being able to go to a beach in December is the best escape. So, naturally, I was excited about our trip to an island no matter what it looked like.
That being said, Koh Samet is a national park and also an island located about a 3-hour drive and a 40-minute ferry ride south of Bangkok.
The beach on Koh Samet Island, Thailand, located about 4 hours south of Bangkok, on Dec. 6, 2024.
Samet is an island of the movies. The sand is so soft and the water so clear you can see the bottom. Many times I saw swarms of fish as they came in with the waves.
Samet was not only breathtakingly beautiful but where I made some of the best memories of the trip.
We all went to the bars on the island both nights we were there, which is where I made friends from all around the world.
On our first night, we went to a little dive bar that naturally had karaoke. Let’s just say, I write for a reason, so being coerced into karaoke was a show for all (and probably not safe for the ears.)
Shoutout to my Swiftie partner in crime.
Friends from Germany, Denmark and Thailand all together on Koh Samet Island.
However, while we were there we met up with two guys from Germany who were friends with Jena. Eventually, our group expanded to include two girls from Denmark whom we met at the bar.
We shared stories and words from each of our respective cultures and languages. It didn’t matter that we were all from somewhere different, we used it to learn and make memories that will last a lifetime.
The initials of the group of friends made on Koh Samet Island written on a signable fooseball table hanging in the bar.
Our little group continued to meet up throughout the rest of our stay on the island whether through playing games at the beach or out at the bars again.
Now I get to say I have friends all across the world, ones who I intend to keep in touch with.
After having to leave the island on the way back to Bangkok, we stopped at an elephant sanctuary.
I rode an elephant. Coolest 15 minutes of my life.
An elephant in the Pattaya Elephant Village in Pattaya, Thailand, on Dec. 8, 2024.
Takeaways
It’s safe to say that the last thing I wanted to do was leave Thailand and come back to 30 degree weather.
As sad as it was to leave, there was plenty to reflect on during the flights back. One of the biggest things I learned while I was there was how welcoming Thai culture is and how hard Thai is to learn.
Thai is a language that uses the same words but saying it in a different tone means something different. Remembering how I do not have a musical bone in my body, it all sounded the same which made learning it very very hard.
Proud to say I mastered Tao though, or turtle. A very useful word to know.
The flag of Thailand sits in front of a Buddhist temple in Bangkok.
Throughout my stay, never did I feel unsafe or as though I was a foreigner. I’ve been to other countries where you just feel like everyone is looking at you as a tourist and the U.S. is susceptible to doing the same as well.
But for as obvious as it was that we were not from Thailand, every person I met and ran into (with the exception of that taxi driver) treated us as though we belonged.
It was something that was really beautiful to see and experience. It didn’t matter where we were from or what language we spoke, we were treated just the same.
So from someone who started the journey with Thailand not being a bucket list place, after visiting I think it should be on everyone’s.
The entrance to one of many Buddhist temples in Bangkok on Dec. 5, 2024.
