This is a follow-up post of how to plan a trip to Thailand and the second in the whole of Thailand series. If you have not read the first post yet you can find it here.
WEATHER AND SETTING THE ROUTE
When it comes to Thailand, or other tropical places, the first thing is to understand what area is better to visit in the season you plan to arrive. Tropical countries are suitable for all year round trips, but in some months it is better to stick to specific areas to avoid too many rainy days.
First of all, I examine the average temperature and mean rainy days in all the relevant areas at several different sites. I make sure that all sites show similar numbers. I found that the weather could be quite a diversion. Different sites can show different data, especially regarding the rainy days. Then I decide what area would be best to visit during the trip.
On this vacation, we wanted to be just at the beaches (as if on another vacation I ever wanted something else). So, according to the weather check I performed, the coastal area with the fewest rainy days in September is the area of the southeast islands: Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao. To illustrate the difference, at that time of year the area of the southwest islands, Koh Pipi and Phuket is significantly rainier.
Average precipitation on Koh Phangan by months
Average precipitation on Koh Phiphi by months
Great, we have the exact destination!
Since the goal was to vacate in pleasant and relaxing places, we decided not to define the route completely and decide on the go if the place’s vibe is suitable for us or we should move. So I booked a hotel only for the first 2 nights after the landing in Koh Samui. And from there we decided we would improvise. I relied quite heavily on the fact that this is the low season in Thailand. I assumed that we would be able to book rooms on the spot without a problem and even get a cheaper price.
It turned out I had made a big mistake. In retrospect, during the Israeli holiday season, it was worthwhile to order the high-end resorts in advance. While most of the beaches were quite empty the luxury hotels were almost full occupancy. The prices of the available rooms were higher than the price I would have paid if I had ordered a few months in advance.
Note to self: Looking back, what I was supposed to do was to choose the hotels I “must” be in, and book the rooms at the highest level (within budget) in each. In addition, extend the time periods between the orders, thus leaving flexibility to stay in other places.
PACKING AND PREPARATIONS
* In the future I will write a post about my packing list method and my packaging tips. But this time we will focus on what to take and what to leave at home.
WHAT TO TAKE
MEDICATIONS
Of all the kinds and of all the types.
It is true that I have met families who spent a long time in Thailand and say that they bought every medicine they needed there. But I am in favor of having whatever medication I need. Because looking for a pharmacy when the kid complains of earaches or something similar is not fun. Combine that with my hypochondria and we get two large bags overflowing with medicine that I brought to this trip. It is something I never spare the room in the suitcase or weight on. I think it is better to carry and not to need than to need and search. As a result, it happens that I often provide first aid to people we meet on the way with my portable pharmacy.
What Specifically Is Important for Thailand:
- For mosquito bites (meaning after the bastards have done their deed). It doesn’t matter how much protection you use or what you put on, it does not prevent stings. Even Jonathan, whom they never touch, was filled with stings by the end of the trip.
- What helped us was Thio Gel to calm the stung area.
- In addition, I would take an ointment to treat bites, such as Aflumycin (generic name: Prednisolone+Gentamicin) (requires a prescription)
- Fenistil gel never worked for me. What works are Fenistil drops (generic name: Dimethindene Maleate). Caution – very somnific! We took the drops at our last night of the trip and almost missed the ferry to the flight to Bangkok. But certainly provides a calm night of sleep without scratching.
* I recently discovered it is also great for allergies in general and allergic snot in particular, especially in young children, for whom usually no treatment provide other than salt water that never helps. - You can take other antihistamine pills as well, like Aerius (generic name: Desloratadine) or Telfast (generic name: Fexofenadine Hydrochloride).
- Another tip to soothe stings for those who travel with babies – diaper cream (Weleda is our favorite) can also be useful to soothe itching, especially if you do not want to load the tiny ones with chemicals.
- First aid – Betadine and bandages. On suchlike vacation, you walk a lot barefoot. On some beaches, there are rocks and coral remnants in the shallow water, and they cause a lot of small cuts. You should keep them from getting infected. A friend, just returning from a vacation in Thailand told me he arrived at a clinic with a double-sized thumb because of a cut from rock that infected.
- For stomach issues. In general, I am not familiar with cases of severe food poisoning in Thailand like you get in India, but many times the change in products, dish styles and different spice levels will do their share and cause stomach discomfort. I think of myself as having an iron stomach but there were still a few days when I preferred to take soothing tablets and avoid the hot Thai dishes. So when the stomach is irritated and does not cooperate with your trip plans:
- Of the gentle family Kalbeten (generic name: Bismuth Subsalicylate), the Forte version is preferred, so you don’t need to take two pills at a time. Or something soothing.
- Of the more aggressive family Stopit (generic name: Loperamide Hydrochloride) or similar.
- Anti-diarrhea syrup for children such as Bitni-X (generic name: Bismuth Subsalicylate) – ask for a prescription from your doctor. (And of course lots of diapers)
Of course, for all the medications you will need to consult your and your children physicians to match the right drug and dosage.
Before traveling, I write to each of our doctors (today you can contact the doctor through an app) that we travel to a specific country, indicate the nature of the trip and ask for prescriptions they consider necessary. I usually get prescriptions for antibiotics, anti-diarrhea, some antibiotic ointment, eye drops/ointment. The child usually gets also ear drops. The prescriptions go directly to the pharmacy system, which you can draw with the HMO card, and you do not need to physically collect them or print.
Of course, if there are special medications that you take regularly or you know that you develop certain symptoms when you are abroad or get on a plane you should not forget them either.
Jonathan, for example, and he will kill me for writing it, regularly spends the first night of our holiday so intimately embraced with the toilet bowl that I begin to develop jealousy feelings, and I am not a jealous person. He is so stressed of leaving his music in Israel and is afraid that when he comes back there will be no one on earth who will remember who Yonatan Rozen is, so he immediately develops a psychosomatic stomach virus, that with years and experience I found that what helps this phenomenon is actually an anti-histamin drug (probably because its soothing ingredients). On the current trip, I got on another trick: a preparation flight. Happening Jonathan had a short flight during the week of our flight to Thailand, and he landed in Israel the day before we took off for, so all the stress was turned to the work-flight and then to Thailand he arrived already neutralized.
Note to self: Find a remedy that calms Jonathan and start giving it to him a few days before the flight.
* Do not refer to the above as medical advice in any form, but only as highlights to pay attention to. Consult your healthcare professional before taking any medicine.
SUNSCREEN
Mainly because using it a lot and the locals take advantage of it and increase the prices of sun-protective products. Take whatever you want: cream, spray, stick, the new invention on the market. I find spray the most comfortable. Especially when I try to apply on Itay when he does not feel like cooperating – spraying, calming the anger of “how dare you do something to me against my will” (let’s remember the child is two and nine, yes?) And move on.
SWIMWEAR
Of course (in plural!). Better have more than one because Thailand is quite damp country and if you stayed with a wet swimsuit in the evening it is not certain that it will wait for you dry in the morning.
DIAPERS (for those traveling with not potty trained children)
Yes, Thais also have babies, and no, they do not wash sheets with poop. Diapers can be purchased but there are no brands we are familiar with at home, especially if the child is used to something specific. I saw children using local diapers that developed really unpleasant diaper rash. Take extra, in case of diarrhea. It is disposable and you can fill in the space that will be freed with shopping (those who will pass through Bangkok).
WHAT NOT
A LOT OF CLOTHES
I significantly reduced the number of clothes I took for me and Jonathan and still returned with some items that we did not wear through the entire vacation. For the most part, at first, you are tempted to buy a light dress/shorts/shirt that you overwear to exhaust through the trip. The clothes you take should be as light and airy as possible, otherwise, you just won’t wear them. In addition, there is a laundry service everywhere and within a few hours you can get your clothes back fresh smelling and folded. Do yourself a favor, pay a few more Bahts for drying in the dryer, as opposed to hanging outside. The yellow stains that stick to clothes from the air do not come down even with the strongest substances. Believe me, I tried.
MULTIPLE PAIRS OF SHOES
If your room is right on the beach and most of the time you spend around the hotel you probably will not need any shoes at all. We have not used shoes in the last nine days. Itay, who was used to walking barefoot, refused to wear shoes even in the first few days after returning home. If you are not planning multiple walks a pair of flip flops is enough.
BICYCLE HELMET FOR CHILDREN
We received a recommendation to take a bike helmet for Itay because motorcycle rentals do not have helmets for children. We rented a motorcycle in four different places and all had a selection of children’s helmets. Some of them even had different sizes.
OTHER USEFUL TIPS
THAI SIM CARD
In all my trips I like to buy a local SIM and not be dependent on the availability of WiFi. Certainly not to pay for the overpriced cellular packages from the Israeli providers.
The recommended SIM in Thailand is True Move. They have reception in most of the remote areas of the islands and the web is quite fast.
You can buy a SIM card at the airport in Bangkok, in Koh Samui airport, or even in all the convenience stores (7 Eleven, Family Market, etc.). We bought ours at Koh Samui airport. SIM card’s cost for unlimited surfing and 10 minutes call is 350 baht for a month. If you want to upgrade surfing speed there are other, more expensive packages. We bought a SIM with faster browsing, but I can not really tell if it was faster or it’s just a way to make us pay more for the same product.
MONEY IN THAILAND
In most restaurants credit cards are not axceptable. Needless to say that in markets you can pay only with cash. So it is better you have enough cash on you all the time.
On the other hand do not overdo it with the amounts, in case of theft/loss. Most hotel rooms have safe deposit boxes and I think it is best to leave there all your unused valuables, such as passports, large sums of money, memory cards, etc.
If you have dollars, there are change points everywhere, just choose the best conversion rate.
If you are withdrawing money from an ATM, note that the commission is crazy – at 220-420 baht, not dependent on the withdroal amount, so you should withdraw as much as you can at one time to avoid excessive fees. Yellow ATMs allow the highest withdrawal amount – 3,000 baht.
Stay tuned for the next parts of the Thailand trip. Subscribe to my newsletter to get notified when the posts are published.
If you liked this post share it on Facebook and pin it to Pinterest for later.
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on pinterest
Share on telegram
