Category: Katie’s tips and secrets

What I wish I would have known before traveling to Thailand:

Traveling:

1. 13 hour flights are longer than they seem. A lot longer. 
2. If you think you are going to sleep on the plane, thing again. You will get some sleep, but it will be in like 30-60 minute increments. I even took two Tylenol pm pills, which usually knock me out, and I still didn’t sleep well. 
3. Asian airlines will feed you, no matter how long your flight is. It is wonderful!!  Even an hour long flight will consist of serving you a full meal. Be prepared though, there is no pop on these shorter flights. It is water, orange juice (that taste like Sunny Delight), tea and coffee. 
4. You will have more leg room on the Asian airlines. We flew both Bangkok Air and Korean Air. We had more leg room on the short 1 and 2 hour flights than we did on the 13 hour flight. I wish I could explain it to you. 
5. The weight for your bags is lower.  Yep. It sucks. Your checked bags can only way 20 kg (. lbs). The kicker is, they may also weight your carry on too!!!  You are only allowed 7 kg for a checked bag (. lbs). That being said, I can honestly tell you that the airlines never checked our carry on weight, and THANK GOODNESS!!  When we left Chaing Mai, one of them weighed over 13 kg!  Opps!
6. Don’t assume you get two free checked bags all the time. To get to Thailand, Hubby and I each got 2 free checked bags, for a total of 4 checked bags. We totally thought we would have no problem!  I checked with our travel agent before we left to confirm that we would still get 4 free checked bags when we take our pond hoppers between Bangkok and Chaing Mai and Chaing Mai and Phuket. We didn’t. We only got one each with the weight restrictions above. So we actually borrowed a fold up luggage bag from my parents and packed it in our checked bag. We figured we would use this for laundry once we got to our last stop, Phuket. 

The food:

1. Don’t eat American food. It won’t taste the same and it isn’t worth it. We ate Thai food almost every meal we were in Bangkok and Chaing Mai, except for one lunch where we had McDonald’s because I was Jonzen for a Diet Coke.  Note: even McDonalds doesn’t taste the same. Hubby thought it was the buns lack of flavor, I thought it was the ketchup not having as much flavor. Also, they don’t have Diet Coke. I know, right?  My mouth dropped open too. It was Coca Cola or Coke zero. I don’t care what people say, Coke Zero is NOT a substitute for Diet Coke, or Coke Light, as the Thai call it. 
2. You can get Diet Coke (coke light) and snack foods at the 7 Eleven. Yep, there is a 7 Eleven on every other block. I kid you not. In fact, Hubby really wanted to find a t shirt that had the 7 Eleven logo on it with Thailand or Chaing Mai on it. We couldn’t find one, but it would have been cool!
3. Durian.  It stinks. Don’t let them tell you any different. While walking through the markets, Pin has us try some. It tastes like sulfur. We asked what they use it for or why they eat it!  Apparently they use it in soups and cooking. Hubby thinks it is all a trick to get tourists to eat it!  We did buy some dried durian to bring home for M, who wanted some to put in Kim’s lunch box as a prank. What M doesn’t realize is that I’m going to make him eat some first!!!
4. The food can be spicy. I’m ok with a little spice, but not so much that it makes your eyes water and cleans it your sinuses. For some restaurants, that is a one pepper spicy. No joke. I then stated, hat would be the equivalent of a 2 or 3 pepper spicy. However, they will tailor the food if you tell them. 
5. Try the street food. The best piece of advice on this we got from our Bangkok tour guide, Cathy.  You can eat the street food if you see them cook it in front of you. If it is pre made, don’t eat it!!!  Good advice. 
6. They don’t drink a ton of pop. So if you have a Diet Coke addiction, like I do, be prepared that the cans are small, there are no refills, they don’t have ANY fountain pop, and you will pay at a restaurant around 50-80 or more Baht (so around or over two dollars) for a small can. 

What to bring (and not bring!)

1. Bring a bunch of clothes and underwear!  I had read that the Thai people shower two or more times a day. It is legit. We were sweating so much we would shower at least twice a day, if not more. There is no Target to run and get more. (Target, you should totally fix this!!!). 
2. Adapters and converters. We bought both before we left. We really didn’t need them, except that it allowed us to plug in a ton of stuff into one outlet, which came in handy. They are expensive though, so save your money for the fun stuff. 
3. A go pro selfie stick with stabilizer. I SO wish we would have had one!  If you don’t have a go pro, you definitely want to get one. We saw so many people buying waterproof cases for their iPhones. Personally, I don’t trust them. Go Pro’s are really affordable, especially around Black Friday, and worth every cent. 

In general

1. Be smart and trust your instincts. There are pickpockets EVERYWHERE!!!  
2. You will be somewhat harassed as you walk down the street. Don’t take this the wrong way, it isn’t malicious. You will constantly have to tell tuk tuk drivers and red truck drivers that you don’t want a ride.  Hubby had to constantly tell people he didn’t want a new custom tailored suit. My favorite was when w me were walking down the street and after the 10th time he had been asked if he wants to buy a suit, he said, “I’ve never been catcalled so much in my life!”  I just looked at him and said, “ this is what it is like to be a woman!!!”  
3. Do as much as you can. When in doubt, go to the temples, or the markets or just walk around. If you are like us, we probably will never come back. Get it in now.