Thailand is one of the most visited countries in the world. In fact, I read in Forbes that since 2016 Bangkok is the most visited city in the world with 22 Mio. visitors per year! Indeed Thailand is a beautiful country where "East meets West". You have big cities which are very "westernized", but also villages which are still very traditional. I was in Thailand three times already: In 2019/2020 for one week, in 2022 for one month, and in 2023 for 3 months. The second time I traveled the entire country and visited most of the places (but still not all). Most tourists in Thailand visit the Center, the South, and the North of Thailand. Of course, you can also visit the Northeast of Thailand (Isaan) – you will find fewer tourists and much more essence of Thailand over there. I went to the Center, traveled the South first, and then came back to the Center and traveled to the North. You can also come or leave Thailand from or to Laos, Cambodia, or Malaysia if you are traveling to more countries in Southeast Asia.

Bangkok has 8-10 Mio. inhabitants and it’s huge. There are lots of skyscrapers everywhere. I recommend staying 3-4 days in Bangkok.

Things to do in Bangkok: 

• visit Wat Pho: this is one of the main attractions in the city. It’s a huge temple complex, where you can walk around, enter different temples, etc. It reminded me a little of Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, because of the very big area. The entrance fee is 200 Baht (5$) per person.
• visit Wat Arun: this temple is located near the Chao Phraya, the main river in Bangkok. The entrance fee is 50 Baht (1.5$). To get there you can cross the river on a boat, which I liked very much (even if it only takes 5 minutes). The temple is beautiful – you can also climb up some stairs and see the colorful mosaics for yourself. Next to Wat Arun, there is another super nice temple which you can visit and where there are fewer tourists.
• visit Wat Saket: this temple is located on a white hill. We enjoyed it because you have a beautiful view over the whole city from the top of the hill, where you can enter the temple. But you have to get up there first by walking for 15-20 minutes. The entrance fee is 100 Baht (3$).
• Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha (+ free Khon): the Grand Palace is one of the most interesting places to go. Inside you have many temples including the one with the Emerald Buddha. The entrance is 500 Baht per person (15$). The entrance fee includes a visit to the textile museum (which I recommend) and a free entrance for a Thai traditional dance called Khon. Don't miss it, it is really worth it!
• walk around Chinatown and visit the Golden Buddha: Chinatown is a nice place to have lunch or breakfast. You will find monuments and Chinese temples. There is also the Golden Buddha.
• Little India: I particularly enjoyed Little India for shopping. You can find everything you want here (especially if you like "bling-bling" like me :D). There are clothes, jewelry, souvenirs, shoes, etc. And the food is great too! I recommend a mall which is called “Platinum” (got the recommendation from a friend of mine who is from Bangkok). This place is really beyond your imagination – we loved it!
• visit a Floating Market: if you go to Thailand you HAVE to visit a floating market. Unfortunately, most of them are made for tourists nowadays and even the “less touristic” ones are very touristic. We went to Khlong Lat Mayom (on the recommendation of my friend from Bangkok). The market is really near the city, it’s not as touristic as other markets, but still more than we expected. On the market, you can buy fruits, lunch, and souvenirs. We also did a boat tour (100 Baht (4$) per person) which was fantastic!
• visit one of many shopping malls: my favorite one is Icon Siam. The reason is that they have a "cultural market" on the first floor where you can eat food and buy clothes from different Thai regions. You can also have a photoshoot in Thai traditional clothes 
• go on a dinner cruise over the Chao Phraya River: This is one of the most beautiful experiences I had in Bangkok. The dinner is a buffet with different kinds of food. Make sure you book your seat in advance as the ones on the rooftop are usually booked weeks in advance
• party at Khao San Road: Khao San Road is the Backpacker Road/Party Road of Bangkok. You can come here in the afternoon or evening to have a drink. For the New Year's Party, we came here after the fireworks (at 1 am). We didn’t like it, because there were too many people. So, for New Year I wouldn’t recommend Khao San Road.
• have a drink at one of Bangkok's sky bars: Bangkok has so many beautiful sky bars. We went to one called Octave. I really enjoyed the view and the drinks!

Bangkok is one of the top spots in the world to celebrate the New Year. There are so many parties, fireworks, etc. Check out what’s happening in the city and get there EARLY, because everything is so crowded! We went to Thaksin Bridge at 11 pm and it took us at least 30-40 minutes to get through all the people up to the bridge. In the end, we had a good spot and a great firework. Then we went to Khao San Road, which as already mentioned, we didn’t like so much.

We also spent one day in Ayutthaya, one of the former kingdoms of Thailand. You can get there by train for 15 Baht per person (0.5$). The ride takes about 2 hours. To get around Ayutthaya you have 3 options: by Tuktuk, by motorcycle, or by bicycle. The first time I went there I took a bicycle which was ok, but maybe, in the end, a little bit hard, because we forgot that it’s very hot in Thailand. The second time I took the Tuktuk which was more expensive but worth it in my opinion. We were 3 people and each of us paid 300 Baht (8$) for the tuk-tuk for 4 hours. Both times I saw around 5 or 6 temples. There is a main route that you should follow and see all the temples around. Each temple has an entrance fee of 50 Baht per person (1.5$).

Pattaya is a beach located only 2 hours from Bangkok. It's not the most beautiful beach I have been to in Thailand but if you don't have much time to visit the South it's a good alternative. Pattaya has a very bad reputation which I can't confirm. I stayed at Jomtien Beach which is considered the family area or the area for couples as it is more quiet. If you want to party you should stay in Pattaya City.

From Bangkok, I went towards the south. The south of Thailand is full of beautiful beaches and many islands. I spent around 2-3 weeks there and went for some island hopping (traveling from island to island) spending more or less 2-3 nights on each island. My route was as follows: Phuket – Koh Phi Phi Islands – Krabi (Ao Nang and Railey) – Koh Samui – Koh Phangan – Koh Tao

I took the night bus from Bangkok to get to Phuket which took around 13 hours. The price was 650 Baht (18$). To be honest you can get a flight from Bangkok for almost the same price but I try to avoid taking flights as much as possible when I travel. Plus most low-cost airlines are pretty strict about your luggage. I have heard many people complaining that they had to pay more for their luggage than for the flight. Phuket is considered a shady place because there is a lot of prostitution and other stuff going on near the beaches. That’s why I stayed in Phuket town (and also because it was cheaper to stay there). Phuket town is calm, you won’t see much of the shady stuff but it’s far from the beaches. To get to the beaches you need to rent a bike or take a taxi and taxis are very expensive (around 600 Baht (17$) one way). I was lucky because I joined a group of 4 girls and we split the price but if you are alone it might get expensive. With the girls, I went to Patong Beach. It’s nice but to be very honest not the most beautiful beach in Thailand. I think Phuket is overrated. It’s very famous that’s why people go there, but there are much better places to go to. I only stayed there for 2 days and if you don’t have much time I recommend you skip it and go directly to the Phi Phi islands.

The Koh Phi Phi islands are one of the most beautiful places in Thailand. I went there from Phuket by ferry but you can also reach from Krabi. The price is the same around 400 or 450 Baht (12-14$). The main island is very small, there are no cars because you can walk everywhere. On the beach, there are always parties. I recommend you stay in a hostel near the beach – but not on the beach if you don’t want to listen to loud music until 6 am. My hostel was 1 minute's walk from the beach which was perfect – close enough but not too close to the party. I stayed in Koh Phi Phi for 3 days which was great. The island is a little bit expensive but for some days it’s ok. There is a viewpoint for sunset too. The entrance fee is 30 Baht 0.90$. I also recommend you book a Snorkeling Tour. I booked a Fulldaytour for 600 Baht (17$). Ask in different places to get the best price - some people paid 1.200 Baht for the same tour so be careful. The tour takes you to different places which are even more beautiful than the main island and you can also do some Snorkeling! I went to Shark Point, Bamboo Islands, Monkey Beach, Viking Cave, Pi Leh Lagoon, and the famous Maya Bay.

From Koh Phi Phi I took the ferry to Krabi/Ao Nang for 400 Baht = 12$. I stayed in Ao Nang for 3 days and didn’t visit Krabi town. There are a lot of things to do in Krabi but I didn’t have the time to do all of them. One recommendable thing is Railay Beach - this beach is beyond words. I went there from Ao Nang Beach by boat because Railay Beach is only reachable by boat. The ride took 45 minutes and was for 200 Baht (6$) for coming and going back. You can also sleep at Railay Beach but it’s a little more expensive.

I went to Koh Samui from Krabi so I had to take a bus and a ferry to get there. It took us around 8 hours and the price was 700 Baht (20$). I stayed in Koh Samui for 3 days. You can go to the beach there and we also visit the two Buddhist temples (Big Buddha and Plai Leam Temple). They are amazing! There are also some waterfalls to visit. And you shouldn’t miss the sunset – the most beautiful sunset I have seen in Thailand!

From Koh Samui, you can easily get to Koh Phangan in less than an hour for 200 Baht (6$). In Koh Phangan, I just went to the beach and of course to the famous Fullmoon Party. The Fullmoon Party happens once a month (on the full moon) and is one of the biggest beach parties in the world. So if you want to go to Koh Phangan I recommend you to go for the full moon party because there is not much to do otherwise.

From Koh Phangan, I went to Koh Tao for 3 days. The ferry takes 2 hours and costs 400 Baht (12$). In Koh Tao, you can go scuba diving. It’s one of the cheapest places in the world to go diving and most travelers do their open water course over there. The price is around 9000 Baht for 4 days (280$). Other than that you have a lot of beaches. I personally didn’t like Koh Tao that much but a lot of people do.

Other islands to visit are Koh Lanta and Koh Lipe.

The North of Thailand is more about nature and temples. You will find many beautiful cities and natural places. I went there after coming back from Koh Tao to Bangkok. I took the train to Ayutthaya and after spending the day over there I got on a night train to Chiang Mai. From there I visited Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle between Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand.

I took the night train to get to Chiang Mai and can only recommend it. First of all, it’s super comfortable and second you can’t visit Thailand without getting on a night train at least once. The price was 700 Baht (20$) and it took around 12 hours. In Chiang Mai City you can visit a lot of different temples and night markets. I visited Wat Lok Moli, Wat Rajamontean, Wat Chaing Man, the 3 Kings Monument, Wat Chai Phrakiat, Wat Phantao, Wat Chedi Luang, and Wat Phra Singh. You can also visit many sights outside of the city like Wat Doi Suthep and there are many tours.

From Chiang Mai, I booked a Tour of Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle. You can also go to Chiang Rai on your own and spend a night there. But we compared the prices and it was almost the same but the tour also included a visit to the Longneck Karen Villages and the Golden Triangle between Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. So we decided on that. The price was 1500 Baht (40$) including all entrance fees and lunch. We started our tour at 7 am. First, we visited Chiang Rai. We went to the white temple, the blue temple, and the Black House.

In the afternoon we went to the Longneck Karen Village and then to the Golden Triangle where we took a boat trip on the Mekong! I enjoyed the Golden Triangle and the boat tour so much! We came back to Chiang Mai around 9 pm.

 Other places to visit are Sukhotthai and Pai.