Another year, therefore it’s time for another vacation. And for the first time since 2020 I’m finally doing another solo trip! 

For those who don’t know, I’m a huge fan of solo traveling. While there are definitely advantages to traveling with friends, family, significant others, etc. I find that solo travel truly is a magical experience that I hope everyone can experience at least once in a lifetime. Maybe I’ll write a whole post about it in the future, but for now just know this is a journey taken, planned, and experienced by me alone. 

So this year’s destination is… Thailand! I’ve had a couple people scratch their heads about that one. But let me explain the factors that led me to decide Thailand was the perfect destination to head to this summer.

1. Something new: I have done a large amount of travel in Europe. And while I do hope to do more in Africa and South America, I’ve been uncertain about venturing to either by myself (if any other solo female travelers have experiences in either please give me your tips), and Australia is expensive, far away, and can require a huge amount of time to get around. Therefore, a country in Asia was the logical choice. 
   
2. Safe: as hinted at above, I wanted a relatively safe country, especially one where women have expressed they feel they can travel alone without too many problems. Sure, all travel involves risks (I’m sure you’ll hear me tell a couple tales along the way), but I do try to minimize risks where I can. I found a website dedicated to solo female travel that uses a couple factors to rank countries on their safety for women (US travel advisory, UK travel advisory, Global Peace Index, and actual women’s experiences). For those who have been so worried when I’ve mentioned Thailand, take a look at where the US falls on that list in comparison (hint it’s certainly not at the top of the list).
    
3. Affordable: Australia was ruled out largely because plane tickets tend to be outrageous, and prices in the country itself are pretty high. Thailand on the other hand was in the off season, is a cheaper country as it is, and I was able to find a good deal flying out late on Memorial Day weekend and returning midweek in June. I’ve heard some people say “chase the deal not the destination” and I think that is the perfect representation of how I often plan trips. It’s less to do with my dream bucket list, and more to do with what is affordable for me to try something new. 
   
4. Something important to me: one hobby I’ve gotten really into lately is the study of nature, birds in particular, but also plants, arthropods, mammals, reptiles, etc. A number of years ago my family took a trip to Costa Rica, and it was one of my favorite trips ever, namely because we much of the trip was dedicated to seeing the wonders of the natural world and the amazing biodiversity available there. So, I was eager to go somewhere that might also offer those opportunities. Tropical destinations tend to work well for this, but especially ones that have established some amount of eco-tourism (natural parks, protected animals, etc), I visited Colombia a number of years back, and while there certainly is the same amount of biodiversity there, animals had been hunted for years and were therefore extremely cautious around humans. So while I knew there were all kinds of amazing animals not too far away, we saw very few. One of my biggest hopes in Thailand was to visit some of the national parks and see some of their amazing wildlife and plants. 

So with those factors in mind, Thailand was my pick. And sure enough I found a good enough deal to decide it was worth doing. 

But you’re going by yourself? Aren’t you scared? I’ve had a few people question me, and had more wishes of “safe travels” than I normally do. But the reality is I’ve had people question me almost every place I’ve gone. France? Terrorism. Colombia? Rampant crime! Greece? Drug use! And no, I’m actually not kidding. The few countries I haven’t had people say anything about are probably just ones people know next to nothing about (IE Croatia…). 

At this point I’ve traveled to thirty countries, and four continents. Sixteen of those countries I visited by myself. So the reality is I’m an experienced traveler, I know what I’m doing, and I know how to be cautious. 

So, I’ve spent enough time hashing over why I chose Thailand. Let’s breakdown day one.

Well… technically it’s day three? Because the amount of flying it took to reach Thailand had me there two days later. I did look, but I found no direct flights to Bangkok from the United States (if someone finds one, let me know so I can grumble about it). This meant I had to fly to another destination closer to Thailand and then to Thailand itself. And the more layovers you add, the longer things take. Especially when one of your flights (Los Angeles to Taipei) is fourteen hours.

I flew China Airlines, a new airline for me. All in all I give them a solid B+. They served decent food, had some good in-flight entertainment options, and all in all got me where I needed to be with very little hassle. 

Regardless, let’s start with day one of actual travel beyond just flying and hanging out in airports. I arrived in Bangkok around ten in the morning. Not my favorite time to get started on a day of traveling after being jet lagged, but nonetheless it was the time I was dealt. 

I got through immigration, and while waiting for my bag, went to grab my debit card to withdraw some Thai Baht (money) to have on hand. I’d heard most places in Thailand didn’t take credit card (this definitely proved true– only used it a couple times). As I went to grab my card, suddenly I couldn’t find it. I had a brief panic thinking I’d left it home, only to find it had slipped inside my immunization records. Relieved I took out some cash to have on hand, picked up my bag, and headed on my way. 

Now to get to my hotel. 

So normally with big cities I’m good at using public transport. I’ve become pretty expert at metro systems, and even some bus lines I’ve been willing to tackle. But it turned out the hotel I’d chosen was pretty far from metro lines or the sky train, so it meant I’d have to make a couple transfers, some of which would involve buses. It sounded like it would take a while, not to mention possibly be confusing, and challenging with luggage. So I did what I normally don’t do when I travel and treated myself to a ride. 

Initially, my instinct was to go with a taxi, but unfortunately I had pretty big bills, and wasn’t certain if a taxi would be able to change them. I really wasn’t familiar with the money yet. And besides, there was an option I knew might be a little more expensive but definitely easier. 

So I went with another choice. Essentially it’s like the Asian version of Uber, called Grab. I started trying to call for a car, but for some reason my credit card decided it was a time to flake out and not work in the app. I stood outside fiddling with it for a few minutes, but finally had to give up and go back into the air conditioned building to figure it out because even a few minutes of standing still outside in the shade was unbearably warm.

I’d been warned Bangkok was hot and humid, but my goodness people were not kidding. Definitely felt the warmest of any place I’ve ever been before.

Thankfully I did get my card to work and my driver appeared a few minutes later. I’d just gotten in the car and we were pulling away, when suddenly police were pulling my driver over.

I sat there in confusion as they pulled my driver away to go fill out some kind of paperwork. As my driver spoke almost no English, and I unfortunately do not speak Thai (I tried to learn a little but it is a HARD language), I had no idea what was going on. He returned a few minutes later with a paper in his hands. Best I can figure he maybe broke some kind of rule about where the Grab cars are allowed to be or how long they can wait and got a ticket? I’m still not certain. But he was heading in the right direction and otherwise seemed to be doing what he was supposed to (he had a great rating on the app too). So I just sat back, keeping one eye on the route map and the other on the window to enjoy the new city around me.

I arrived at my hotel around noon. I was staying at Lamphu Treehouse Boutique Hotel. Sadly not actually a treehouse (I mean I knew that going in, but still). It was a ltitle early for check in, but I figured if nothing else maybe I could sit for a bit or store my bag and go walk around. Thankfully, my room was ready so I was led up to the fifth floor and shown inside.

The AC felt amazing, even more so when I opened the balcony door to step out and take some pictures. I was quickly realizing the heat in Bangkok was no joke.

Nonetheless, I had a half a day to kill, and didn’t want to spend all of it in my hotel. Initially, my instinct was to try to find a place with AC, but on second thought, most of those museums and such were further afield. And I wasn’t sure I was down for that either. I was wiped out from the long trip. So I figured… keep it simple, go get some water and something to eat. Hopefully use it as a chance to change out some baht for smaller bills to use later. 

I looked for “grocery stores near me” and there was a 7 Eleven just a couple blocks away. So I headed over to that.

I then got my first experience with the joys of crossing Thai city streets.

The street I was on didn’t have a crosswalk sign. So I figured oh well, just follow traffic that should work. Except even when cars weren’t coming one way, they were turning from the other direction. And even when lights were red, motorbikes seemed to still come through the intersection regardless. I stood there for a few minutes just waiting for things to be clear, feeling insanely nervous. Finally I caught a small break and I got across and headed into the store.

My family has always had a tradition in hot and humid places of getting a bag of some kind of chips and a drink. Honestly my appetite disappears when it’s really hot, and those two things kind of help replenish what my body needs when it sweats. 

I also added an ice cream bar for good measure.

Heading out I debated heading back to my hotel, but part of me was worried I’d just end up crashing there, possibly even falling asleep and messing up my new sleep schedule. Okay, well I’d find somewhere outside to sit. Sure it was hot, but if anything it might help me adjust? 

I started walking, not seeing much. Thought about just eating the chips while I walked, but remembered reading somewhere that’s kind of uncouth. And sure, I know sometimes I’m going to look like a dumb tourist, but when it can be avoided I do try to be respectful of others’ cultural norms. 

So I looked on my phone and saw there was a park not too far away. 

I headed in a beeline for that, stopping to take a few pictures of various things I thought were pretty. 

At the “park” I realized it was actually more of a temple grounds. And I had no idea if eating there would be disrespectful. If I pictured going into a church and eating, that seemed incredibly rude (at least in most people’s views), so I opted to not do that.

I saw a man just sitting on a curb eating. But I kept walking, thinking I’d find a bench or something. Just a couple blocks later I gave up and sat on a little curb beside a canal. It was kind of dirty, but it worked, and I was able to eat my ice cream before it was totally melted. 

When I was finished I looked at my map again. I figured I’d go with one of my original plans and go to the Golden Mount, a nearby temple with some good views of the city. It was very close by, which I figured would be good on a day I was jetlagged. I’d also seen it in several guidebooks. 

At the Golden Mount I paid for my ticket and began the ascent up the steps to the temple. It’s quite a climb, but was well worth it for beautiful views and more. Admired the architecture, the serenity of the temple, and Bangkok itself.

I used the bathroom there and had my first experience with being asked to remove my shoes for a bathroom! They provide flip flops for you, but still kind of weird to experience.

Though the climb was great, by the time I got back down, my body was soaked in sweat. I knew I needed water ASAP, and definitely more than the small bottle I’d had for “lunch”. My face was feeling like it was burning, which usually means I’m beet red and people start worrying I’m going to pass out (not usually the case I’m just very Northern European in my heritage and the slightest heat really shows). Regardless, I was feeling kind of dizzy, probably a combo of the jetlag and heat. 

So, reluctantly, I headed back to the hotel to cool down. I grabbed two large bottles of water on the way to make sure I was really hydrated. Back at the hotel, I put on my swimsuit and headed to the pool. 

I spent the remainder of the afternoon just relaxing. It was definitely what I needed. I have a tendency to overexert myself traveling, I very often end up coming home with some kind of bug because my body is just so tired it can’t fight off germs anymore. So, determined not to have that problem, I went ahead and gave myself some grace to relax a bit. 

Dinner time soon rolled around. And right about that time it started pouring rain. 

I’d looked a bit on Tripadvisor to see what was nearby restaurant-wise, but wasn’t seeing a lot of options. Under normal circumstances I’d probably walk around a bit, but with the fatigue and the rain I opted to keep things simple. Tripadvisor did say there was a restaurant connected to my hotel, and it actually had decent reviews. Downstairs, however, there was no indication a restaurant was there. And sure enough there were a few signs in the lobby saying the restaurant had moved and pointing a little down the road. I hesitated, but eventually decided it was worth just getting some food so I could get to bed early and finally sleep (the thing I really wanted to do after such a long day). 

I headed down the road with my umbrella and found the restaurant. I ordered Pad Woon Sen, a dish of glass noodles, egg, herbs, vegetables, and a protein of my choice (I did chicken). It was actually really good and hit the spot. I also had a mango smoothie, which was so refreshing. 

Finally I headed back to my hotel and allowed myself to crash. I definitely was ready for a good night’s sleep in hopes of more energy the following day. I admired the views of the Golden Temple lit up in the rainy night from my hotel room before turning in.

Well, hopefully you’ll stay tuned for future adventures. The first day definitely was less busy after all the travel, but there is so much more I’d love to share with you if you want to follow along!