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thailand

Thailand: Flying from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok

By Mithun Divakaran
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Feb 14, 2022
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Thailand, Travel

Date: 1 November 2019

After 11 days of travelling, I was now on a VietJet flight to Bangkok. I began my trip in Phuket, where I spent two nights on the island before landing in Ho Chi Minh City. I spent nine days in Vietnam, and now I’m flying again.

Clouds over Vietnam sea — We were flying over the Gulf of Thailand

VietJet lands at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Arriving Suvarnabhumi airport Bangkok — I always feel nostalgic whenever I land at Suvarnabhumi 🙂

Whenever I take the travelators at Suvarbahumi (of which there are many to get to immigration), it would always remind me of my first visit to Thailand in 2009, which was my first international trip, and how this blog got started!

I had booked my stay at In A Box Hostel for my arrival in Bangkok. The hostel is just a 1-minute walk from Ratchathewi BTS station. I chose to stay in a hostel because I would be moving to a nicer hotel later, and also, it had been a while since I experienced a hostel. The last time I stayed in a hotel was back in 2015.

I don’t know why, but I can’t seem to find any photos I took of the dorm, and I thought I did. That said, In A Box Hostel looked fairly new and had very nice rooms with clean, comfy beds for 300 THB (₹670/$9/€8) per night in the shared dorm. But this… was pre-COVID. As of this writing, they don’t offer shared dorm rooms, only private rooms.

I don’t blame them. Even if I were to travel again soon, I don’t think I will stay in a shared room (for safety reasons).

Anyway, I had to visit a DJI service center to get my brother’s gimbal repair. Another reason for staying at In a Box Hostel was because the DJI service center was a 10 minute walk away.

I went there and the people were generous to fix the gimbal at no cost! 🙂 That was one of the things I needed from DJI. The other was a drone, something that had been on my bucket list for years. I was waiting for the DJI Mavic Mini, which would have been a great starter drone for me, but the DJI staff told me they weren’t sure of the release date, even though it would be soon.

Indian restaurants Bangkok Thailand — I walked all the way to a shopping center called Indra Square, which had a bunch of Indian restaurants opposite to the mall

Thai KFC spicy chicken rice bowl — I ended up eating at KFC. They had this spicy rice bowl that I wanted to try out!

I always try the local menu at major fast food chains, just to sample dishes I won’t find back in India. The Thai KFC spicy rice bowl was a tad too spicy for my liking.

Ryo camera Indra square Bangkok — Indra Square was filled with tourists from South Asia, buying every thing from clothes to chocolates… even from a camera shop?

Market bangkok shopping complex — The Market Bangkok mall

Whenever I am in Bangkok, I usually try to stay in Sukhumvit and near a BTS (metro station). It’s a very convenient area to be in and the food choices are very diverse. Although BTS fares have risen, I avoid taking taxis to get around Bangkok.

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Kata Karon beaches viewpoint Phuket Thailand

Planning a post-COVID vacation in Thailand

By Mithun Divakaran
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Jul 13, 2021
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Thailand, Travel

As news broke about the ‘Phuket Sandbox‘ experiment starting in July, I couldn’t help but be envious of the privileged few who could fly into the famous Thai island for a vacation. Sure, right now, there’s a quarantine process to follow but if the experiment proves to be successful, the authorities could loosen up the quarantine requirements and open up more destinations in the country (Koh Samui is next) based on increased vaccination coverage and declining cases in each province or island.

Being holed up indoors for what is now going to be two years, with more time spent in front of a laptop than looking away from a screen, I sure could use a Thailand vacation! Not that I wasn’t glad to be with my parents during a crisis, but for someone who enjoys exploring new destinations, trying out new experiences, tasting different kinds of foods… home isn’t where the heart was after having gone through lockdown after lockdown. I wanted to get out there again!

#AmazingThailand

I missed being in cities like Bangkok, which offered the world on your platter, from amazing street food to every international cuisine you could think of.

Fried seafood street vendor Chiang Mai Thailand — From all the deep fried goodies at night market stalls

Tom Yum Goong Bangkok — To sipping on piping hot Tom Yung Goong (one of my favourites!)

Thai Airways flight TG325 inflight chicken meal — Heck, I even miss Thai Airways’ in-flight meals! 🙁

Its amazing night markets… from discovering hip new stores selling fashionable clothing at Chatuchak weekend market…

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Walking around Phuket’s Old Town

By Mithun Divakaran
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Mar 07, 2020
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Phuket, Thailand, Travel

Date: 22 October 2019

I began my day with a visit to Rang Hill viewpoint and once I was done with that, I decided to walk down the hill.

Leaving Rang Hill viewpoint Phuket — But not before I bought a cold mango shake to cool off (it was very sunny!)

How I got down and walked to Old Town is in my vlog* (video blog), which you can watch at the end of this blog post. But it is possible to walk from Rang Hill viewpoint to Old Town in around 30 minutes.

Sino-Portuguese houses Old Phuket — The Sino-Portuguese architecture is present in almost all the houses here, many of which have now been painted in a variety of colours

Phuket island used to have a rich history in tin-mining and many who came to work in the mines in the 18th century were from China, Malaysia and India. Then the Europeans came and the result of all these influences is what you see in Old Town’s architecture.

Teal corridor Old Town Phuket Thailand — Although the buildings are not very big, many of them have now been converted to cafes, restaurants, shops and hostels

Thalang road Old Town Phuket Thailand — Much of the activity in Old Town is by Thalang Road

China Inn Old Town Phuket — I had lunch at this restaurant. China Inn is an old house renovated and now primarily serves as a restaurant.

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