Sawadee, Thailand! - Our 7D6N Itinerary 2017

Chiang Rai - Chiang Mai - Bangkok Itinerary
*Written in March 2017*
Sawasdee ka, everyone!

In February 2017, my sister and I headed north for our long-awaited 8D7N Chiang Rai- Chiang Mai – Bangkok, Thailand trip with our friends! Our friends bought the flight ticket a (two) YEARS ago, but our planning only starts a month before our trip. Still, we had tons of fun.

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INDEX

Jump to specific parts of the post that you wish to read by clicking the link from the index below.

1. Intro
2. Itinerary
   -Day 1 : CR // White Temple
   -Day 2 : CR // Choui Fong Tea, Karen Long Neck
   -Day 3 : CM // Doi Inthanon
   -Day 4 : CM // Elephant Jungle Sanctuary
   -Day 5 : BKK // Chatuchak Market
   -Day 6 : BKK // Terminal 21, Siam
   -Day 7 : BKK // Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Wat Pho
3. Accommodation
4. Transportation
5. Memorable Events

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// TRAVEL VIDEO

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// INTRO

This is our 2nd self-planned trip to Thailand, and it was amazing as the first time!

During the beginning of 2017, 5 of us have been group chat spamming, coffee shop brainstorming ideas and plans for our trip. Though it has been almost months (a year) since we came back, I’m still somewhat overwhelmed by everything. Not to mention tons of photos that still need to be filtered! Hence, I've decided not to write about our Thailand trip, until...

My sister created a 4-min travel video, and we shared the video with our friends on Facebook. Honestly, we were pretty butt-hurt to know that our video gets very little "response," but quite a few numbers of these people secretly PM us for our itinerary. (Brain: whaddahh? D:) Because of that, I've changed my mind, and finally... sat down to write this post for y'all.

SooOOOoooo, if you find our video or itinerary helpful, it will be awesome, like SUPER DUPER AWESOME of you, if you could credit or a shout out or a follow to us (Von and Lin) and my pals (Zoe, Sabrina, Joyce) too! Hahaha. Like what Jakes says, Homies should help homies.

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// ITINERARY 7D6N

A brief overview of our Chiang Rai + Chiang Mai 4D4N + Bangkok 3D2N itinerary.

DAY 01 : BANGKOK - CHIANG RAI

• KLIA 2 ✈ Don Mueang Int’ Airport (appx. 2 hours flight)
  - DMK Airport : Get a Sim Card
  - DMK Airport : Lunch in Airport
  - DMK Airport : Check-in Baggage for next flight

• DMK ✈ Chiang Rai Airport (appx. 90 mins flight)*
  - CR Airport : Taxi to Na-Rak-O Resort

• Activities of the Day :
  - White Temple
  - Chiang Rai Night Bazaar (1st visit)
  - Dinner : Khao Tom Mina Restaurant
  - Chiang Rai Night Bazaar (2nd visit)
  - Back to Na-Rak-O Resort
  - Sleep

*//Note : Unfortunately, we have to take another domestic flight from Bangkok to Chiang Rai because we are a bunch of excited teenage girls who bought flight tickets before planning our itinerary. AirAsia does have a direct flight from KLIA2 to Chiang Rai Intl. Airport. If you plan to go to Chiang Rai and Bangkok, you may consider booking a one-way ticket from KLIA2 to Chiang Rai and another one-way ticket from Bangkok back to KLIA2.


Bunny Tips :
- We purchase our Thailand sim card at DMK Airport. Our sim card is called "AIS Traveller," a package with 7days unlimited internet and 100THB phone credit, it cost 299THB.

- The entrance fee to the White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) costs 50THB per person. Tourists in short skirts and pants are not allowed to enter the temple, but you can rent a Sarong at the opposite of the temple for only 20THB.

- (Not a tip) Once we landed in Chiang Mai intl. Airport, we get to our Hostel by paying an overcharge taxi driver outside the airport. The fare cost 600 THB.




#WHITE TEMPLE & CHIANG RAI NIGHT BAZAAR#


=✧=

DAY 02 : CHIANG RAI - CHIANG MAI

• Na-Rak-O Resort :
  - Woke up and pack our bags
  - Breakfast : Resort lounge area
  - Check out and store our baggage in the resort
  - Hire a Taxi driver for a day

• Activities of the Day :
  - Choui Fong Tea Plantation
  - Karen Longneck Village
  - Late lunch : Pha Nuan Thai Rice Noodle
  - Return to Na-Rak-O to take our baggage
  - Load baggage into the Taxi
  
  - Blue Temple
  - Wat Huai Pla Kung Temple (Kuan Yin Temple)
  - Bus Terminal 2

• Green Bus : Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai (appx 3 hours)
  - Chiang Rai Bus Terminal 2
  - 3 hours car journey
  - Arrived at Chiang Mai Bus Terminal 2
  - Uber/Grab to Arch39 Art & Craft Hotel

• Arch39 Art & Craft Hotel
  - Dinner : At a nearby restaurant
  - Sleep

Bunny Tips :
- Our full-day taxi driver in Chiang Mai costs 2,000THB. Our “full-day” consists of approx. 8 hours.
- Karen Long Neck Village entrance fee : 500THB each.
- Most of the temples in Thailand required tourists to wear appropriately, such as a top with sleeves and long pants/skirt.
- Choui Fong Tea Plantation and Karen Long Neck Village have good insta-worthy/OOTD spots!



#CHOUI FONG TEA PLANTATION#


#KAREN LONG NECK VILLAGE#


#PHA NUAN THAI RICE NOODLE#


#KUAN YIN TEMPLE & BLUE TEMPLE#


=✧=

DAY 03 : CHIANG MAI

• Arch39 Art & Craft Hotel
  -Breakfast : Hostel lounge area
  - Waiting for our Tour guide to pick us up

• Activities of the Day :
  - Doi Inthanon National Park Kew Mae Pan Tour
  
  = Full day Tour (07:30am-5:00pm)
  = 2 hours trekking along the Kew Mae Pan Trail
  = Visit King & Queen Pagoda
  = Visit the highest mountain in Thailand
  = Visit Wachiratan waterfall
  = Hmong hill tribe market
  = Lunch included
  = Day tour end
  = Tour guide drop us back to our hostel
  
  
  - Wat Lok Molee (Temple nearby our hostel)
  - Uber/Grab to Ploen Ruedee Night Market
  - Dinner : Ploen Ruedee Night Market

• Arch39 Art & Craft Hotel :
  - Sleep

Bunny Tips :
- Fun Fact : Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain in Thailand!
- Northern Thai is pretty chilly in general, so do prepare a light jacket. Especially if you’re planning to go hiking in Doi Inthanon National Park (DINP).
- If you wish, paired some stripes clothing to look "sporty."
- Color like orange or red is good to stand out from the blue sky! Lin even matches orange socks with her top.
- Hiking @ DINP is another great insta-worthy spot and a bucket checklist.



#HIKING @ DOI INTHANON #


#DOI INTHANON NATIONAL PARK TOUR#


#PlLOEN RUEDEE NIGHT MARKET#


=✧=

DAY 04 : CHIANG MAI - BANGKOK

• Arch39 Art & Craft Hotel
  - Wake up and pack our bags
  - Check out and store our baggage in the hostel
  - Breakfast : Hostel lounge area
  - Waiting for Elephant Jungle Sanctuary tour to pick us up

• Activities of the Day :
  - Elephant Jungle Sanctuary
  - Half-Day Tour (06:30am-1:30pm)
  - Lunch included
  - Tour drop us back to our hostel
  
  - Hostel is kind enough to let us a shower
  - Teatime : Barneo Dessert bar
  - Back to the hostel and just chill
  - Tuk-tuk to Chaing Mai Railway Station

• Thai Railways : Chiang Mai to Bangkok (appx 12 hours)
  - Dinner and Sleep on the train

Bunny Tips :
- Some keywords for you to mentally prepare yourself before playing with the Elephant, cold water, mud, and poop.
- From what I've learned, there are few camps for Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Chiang Mai, we're located in Camp 5.
- Bring towels, swimsuits and an extra change of clothes.
- Clothes and pants are available to purchase if you forgot to bring any. (Not much selection)
- Shower rooms provided.
- Lunch is also provided.

- Sleeping on the train can be difficult for some (me, for example). It tends to be a little bumpy and shaky. You can try (but not 100% advisable) to eat some motion sickness pill. My friends and I got into full K.O mode and slept through the night. Works like a charm. HAHAHA.



#ELEPHAT JUNGLE SANCTUARY#


#BARNEO DESSERT BAR & THAI RAILWAYS#


=✧=

DAY 05 : BANGKOK

• Hua Lumpong Railway Station
  - Light breakfast : In the Train
  - Arrived at Hua Lumpong Railway Station
  - Uber/Grab to The Posh Phayathai Hostel
  - Breakfast: Hostel's lounge area

• Activities of the Day :
  - Took BTS/ Walk to
  - Chatuchak Market
  - Platinum Mall
  - Dinner : Once Upon a Time
  - Four Face Buddha
  - Central World / Japan Expo Thai
  - Big C
  - Return to Hostel by Grab/Uber
  - Sleep

Bunny Tips :
- Get a Rabbit Card - This is like our local "Touch n Go" card
- Keep an eye on your belongings when you're in Chatuchak Market.
- Some of the shops in the Platinum mall do not have a fitting room, however, they use a large sarong to cover you up if you still insist on trying on clothes.
- This is why it is better to wear light and comfortable clothes when you go shopping.
- We prefer to use Uber/Grab or even local meter taxis instead of Tuk Tuks.
- Tuk Tuks overcharged tourists.



#CHATUCHAK MARKET#




=✧=

DAY 06 : BANGKOK

• The Posh Phayathai Hostel
  - Breakfast: Hostel's rooftop lounge
  - Optional: Pratunam Morning Market (Outside Baiyoke Sky Hotel)

• Activities of the Day :
  - Took BTS / Walk to
  - Terminal 21
  - Lunch : Terminal 21 food court
  - Siam Paragon
  - Dessert : After You
  - Dessert : Bake Cheese Tart
  - Siam Discovery
  - Siam Square One
  - Dessert : Moomin Cafe
  - Takeaway : KFC

• The Posh Phayathai Hostel
  - 7 Eleven - Random Snacks
  - Supper: Hostel's rooftop lounge
  - Chill and hang out at the Hostel rooftop lounge
  - Sleep

Bunny Tips :
- When you're in Terminal 21, check out their toilet for every floor!
- The price of the clothes in Terminal 21 is around the middle-class range.
- You may find items that are cheap, like Platinum Mall, and also slightly expensive items.
- Some / most shops in Terminal 21 do have a fitting room.
- After You Cafe is a pretty popular insta-worthy dessert. So you may need to queue a while.
- They are a few interesting cafes around the Siam area but we didn't visit them.





=✧=

DAY 07 : BANGKOK

• The Posh Phayathai Hostel
  -Wake up and pack our bags
  - Breakfast: Hostel's rooftop lounge
  - Check out and Store our baggage in the hostel

• Activities of the Day :
  - Took BTS / Boat Ride / Walk to (below)
  - Grand Palace
  - Wat Arun
  - Wat Pho
  - China Town
  - Dinner: Random Chinese restaurant
  - 7 Eleven: Random Snacks
  - Return to Hostel

• Don Mueang Int’ Airport ✈ KLIA 2
  - The Posh: Took our Baggage
  - The Posh: Request a taxi to DMK Airport
  - Flight back to Malaysia

Bunny Tips :
- Grand Palace entrance fee cost 500THB.
- Wat Pho entrance fee cost 100THB.
- Traditional Thai costumes can be rent for 50THB in Wat Arun.
- Plenty.. of.. loud... China tourist in Grand Palace...
- We purchase Chao Phraya Tourist Boat One Day River Pass (150 THB) at Saphan Taksin BTS station.
- Click here to download the river pass timetable.



#GRAND PALACE, WAT ARUN, WAT PHO#


#CHINATOWN#

=✧=

#FLIGHT BACK TO MALAYSIA#

-END-

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// 🏡 ACCOMMODATION

We (always) booked all of our accommodation via Booking.com. Since we are traveling on a budget, we will opt for dorms or hostels with free cancellation and/or complimentary breakfast HAHA. We pay for everything by cash during our arrival. Below is the list of Hostel where we stayed for the past 6 Nights in Thailand!

Our total accommodation fee in Thailand: 7 Days and 6 Nights, costs THB 13,640 (RM 1,685) for 5 people, roughly THB 2,728 (RM 337) each. 
*// Note: Price is rounded up to the nearest value. The price may not be the same at the time of your visit. The information we share is for references only.



1. NA-RAK-O RESORT

📍 Sanpanard Soi 2/1, Muang District Chiang Rai, 57000, Chiang Rai, Thailand.

2 Days 1 Night :
Room type: Standard Double Bed and Triple Room with Bathroom
Price : THB 1,900 (RM 235) // THB 380 per pax (RM 47)

Short Review : 
- Breakfast Included.
- Free Wifi.
- A shared resting area and kitchen.
- A fun, colorful, and friendly environment.
- Santorini vibes.
- Owner speaks decent English and she is charming and bubbly.
- The location was decent enough.
- Hence, we could walk around the neighborhood and night markets.

Personal Rating :
Location : 4/5 || Cleanliness : 4/5 || Comfort : 4/5 || Facilities : 3/5 || Hospitality: 5/5


The cute owner and our taxi driver



2. ARCH 39 ART & CRAFT HOTEL
📍 21,21/1-2 Maneenopparat Soi 2 Road, Sriphum, Muang Chiang Mai,, Chang Phueak, 50210 Chiang Mai, Thailand

3 Days 2 Night :

Room type: Family Room with Private Bathroom
Price: THB 4,760 (RM 588) // THB 952  per pax (RM 118)

Short Review :
- Light Breakfast Included.
- Free Wifi.
- A cool, hipster-ish hotel run by fun and young people.
- Chic and modern rooms. 
- The owner speaks decent English and always ready to serve and help us.
- Walking distance to Wat Lokmolee and Chang Puak Market.
- Walking at night was a Lil dangerous since the alley was dark.

Personal Rating :
Location : 3/5 || Cleanliness : 4/5 || Comfort : 4/5 || Facilities : 3/5 || Hospitality: 5/5


This is our room (photo above from Arch's booking.com)



3. THE POSH PHAYATHAI
📍 55/21-23, Phayathai Rd., Phayathai, Ratchathewi, Pathumwan, 10400 Bangkok, Thailand

3 Days 2 Night :

Room Type: Family Room with Bathroom

Price : THB 6,980 (RM 862)  // THB 1, 396 per pax (RM 172)

Short Review :
- Breakfast Included.
- Among 3 of the hostel, they have the best breakfast!
- Free Wifi.
- The owner speaks decent English.
- Cool rooftop lounge area.
- Phayathai MRT is less than a minute walk away.
- 7 Eleven is just next door!!
- Our room does not have any windows, so it's a lil bit stuffy.

Personal Rating :
Location : 5/5 || Cleanliness : 3/5 || Comfort : 4/5 || Facilities : 4/5 || Hospitality: 3.5/5

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// 🚌 TRANSPORTATION

• Bangkok – Chiang Rai  (By Flight)
  Thai Lion Air: 
  - Journey: 1 hr 25 min
  - Time : 12.35pm – 2.00pm

• Chiang Rai – Chiang Mai (By Bus)
  Green bus : 
  - Journey: 3 hours
  - Time : 5.30pm – 8.30pm

• Chiang Mai – Bangkok (By Train)
  Thai Railways : 
  - Journey: 12 hr 50 min
  - Time : 6.00pm – 6.50am

// WITHIN BANGKOK
We purchase a Rabbit card and use the MRT often. We will also use the app, Grab or Uber whenever we are lazy. (lol) Transportation to the Airport is arranged by our Hotel Concierge.


// WITHIN CHIANG RAI & CHIANG MAI
Unlike Bangkok that offers varieties of modern public transport, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai have limited public transport options. So how do we travel within Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai?

1. Most of the time, we get to our destination by hailing a taxi at the roadside or use Grab or Uber.


2. On our 2nd day in Chiang Rai, we hire a full-day taxi driver for 2,000 THB*.
   Our “full-day” consists of approx. 8 hours. We survey a few other taxis before confirming the one we had, and the price most taxi drivers will quote (for tourists) is between 1,500 THB - 2,500 THB. IMO, 2,500 THB is way overcharged and definitely off from our list.

Travelers often get rip off by dishonest taxi drivers everywhere in the world, hence if you’re going to use a Taxi, do negotiate with them or make sure the driver is using the meter.

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// 💖 MEMORABLE EVENTS

The week we'd in Thailand was indeed something! Something we'll tell our bunny about. (HAHA) We're blessed and grateful that we had a chance to travel and bond new memories with our fellow friends. So let me share 3 highlights and memorable events of our trips.



1. HIKING DOI INTHANON

Growing up in a city, I've not exposed to a lot of... nature? Thus, the beauty of nature will never fail to amaze me. Doi Inthanon was the highest mountain in Thailand, the summit reaches 2,565 meters above sea level. The summit was breathtaking, so we took plenty of photos and shared them earlier in this post, but I would like to address something that was hardly captured in pictures. The lower part of the mountain was cold, the summit and some parts of the mountain were not. The temperature differences allow various plants to grow in the mountain.

Here, we saw a rare wild rose called Rhododendron Arboretum, in Thailand, the flower was also known as "The Thousand years old Rose." The red flowers grew and spread along the edge of the mountain, making the scenery beautiful and impressive.  I was told that the flowers only bloom at the beginning of the year, so we were pretty lucky to have a chance to witness its beauty. The mountain hike took us about 2-hour +/-. It was "short experiences," but the memories I'd, will be cherished forever. I'm glad I visited Doi Inthanon.

2. SHOWERING ELEPHANTS

Like I said, I've not been exposed to a lot of nature, haha. To shower in a cold waterfall river and take a mud (poop) bath with an Elephant is definitely, the coolest experience ever. I'm not sure if we are really unfortunate or "blessed," but while we were on our way to the mud pool, the Elephants decide to POOP and PEE right in front of our eyes.

AND WE WERE LIKE, ELEPHANT POOP!! EVACUATE EVACUATE!
We turn our backs and ready to bail, but the elephant guide called us back. There are some people who decided not to continue, but we end up going anyway, with no regrets! Right after the mud (poop) bath, we shower the elephants in the river, but there's literally ELEPHANT POOP floating everywhere! Not only that we were busy pouring the elephant, but we were also busy avoiding elephant poop, and instead of shouting "大象 Da Xiang" (elephant), we were shouting "大便 Da Bian"(poop). HAHAHAHA fun times, fun times.

3. SLEEPING ON THE TRAIN

Sleeping on a bunk bed, dining on the train, meeting new exciting passengers are just a few of the perks why we think sleeping on a train is such a fun and memorable experience. While we were on the train to Bangkok, we meet few travelers, they are friendly and quite chatty, and since we will be spending 12 hours on the train, starting a conversation really helps to pass the time.

That's it for the highlights and memorable events. There's definitely more than 3, but who else got the time to read everything, right? Maybe we could talk about it next time. :)

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// END

Well, we've come to the end of this post! I hope our itinerary helps and allows you to experience Thailand through a computer screen, and hopefully, you have the chance to visit Thailand one day! Anything you wish to know, or if you have any questions, you can leave a comment here, and we’ll try our best to answer. I also wish to apologize if the itinerary is not what you’re hoping for, maybe I missed out a point or two.

Last but not least, if you’ve been to Thailand, do share as well! We'd love to hear them!
Thank You for reading, will see you soon. *Big big hugs*



Till then.

Signing off,
Fattybunbun 🐾



* // DISCLAIMER:  All information, text, and photography (unless otherwise stated) we share/appearing in this blog post is written and taken by our friends and us (fattybunbun.blogspot.com) during our visit to Thailand in February 2017. All information is written is based on our personal experiences and from our personal perspective. Information we share might be changed / not be accurate during the time of your visit. We advise our readers to use our information as a basic guideline/for references only. The purpose of this blog post is to document and share our travel experience with the readers. For a full disclaimer, please click here. //*