Thailand has been at the top of my travel wishlist for as long as I can remember and in June 2019, it’s finally happening… and more!

My brother Ryan visited me in the U.K. (with my other brother Kyle) in May and I think he caught the travel bug… he wanted to return to Europe (Berlin and Prague) and travel together in December. However, with my flight back on December 19th and his finals not ending until December 13th, he decided it wasn’t enough time to do all he wanted, and I agree. If you’re going to come so far, you might as well have all the time you need (within reason).

With the disappointment of not being able to visit me while I was still living abroad, we promptly started planning another trip to southeast Asia, mainly Thailand. Now that I’ve been scuba certified for a year or so, that opens a whole new world of travel and the Indian ocean is quite famous for some of the best in the world, so I was more keen than ever to go.

Ryan let me take the lead in planning and this is was our first draft plan:

  • Spend 4D/5N in Bangkok, Thailand (day one being recover from jetlag, leaving in the morning on day 5)
  • Bangkok to Phuket, remainder of the day to explore Phuket
  • LiveAboard (3D/2N) from Phuket
  • Upon returning from the LiveAboard some days later at 4PM, depart the following evening
  • Phuket to Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia
  • Spend 4D/3N in Kuala Lumpar before departing to Singapore
  • Spend 3D/3N in Singapore

Upon initial research, I calculated out a cost of $2,750 each including a 10% contingency, which has come in handy since I forgot about travel/ dive insurance.

Yesterday, I’ve officially put down a 50% deposit for our LiveAboard: The Junk. It looks a lot nicer than it sounds. The outside of the boat looks spectacular and the inside looks cozy. I mean, it’s no Blue Horizon but after a day of diving, I could sleep fine on a slab of stone.

the-junk-similans

I have also put down a small deposit to visit an elephant sanctuary for a day outside of Phuket the day before our LiveAboard (don’t worry, these places are animal- and eco-friendly). Hopefully I don’t get charged at like on my South African safari last year.

Obviously, this far out, our plans are subject to a lot of change, but the trip will revolve around our LiveAboard, sanctuary visit and likely the massive Full Moon Party a few days prior.

I will keep you all posted probably with three-monthly posts until the trip in mid-June. I can’t bloody wait! It doesn’t feel real.

If you have any tips for any of the places listed above, please let me know!

Photo by Scott Taylor.

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