I didn’t know what to expect of Chiang Mai. I knew the major attractions-elephant sanctuaries, hill tribes, temples and shopping- but I didn’t anticipate it being such a large city. And coming from Singapore the last thing I wanted to see on my vacation was a city. Surprisingly, as soon as I stepped onto the Khum Phaya Resort and Spa grounds, the city faded into the background. The hotel itself was beyond tranquil. With the lush gardens, flowing fountains and calming music, the entire hotel seems like an extension of the spa. And coupled with superb hospitality I really didn’t even need or want to leave the resort. It made for the perfect girls trip. We were able to toast at the happy hour, sit around the pool and chat for hours, and of course eat well. It was great because my friends could try all of the local specialties without even leaving the hotel. In fact, I actually had much better food at the hotel than I did at some of the restaurants in town that we had researched and sought out.

I didn’t get to try the spa because I’m pregnant, but it was one of the most impressive spas I’ve seen. They even had a suite with its own sauna and massage beds, along with a private steam room outside (yes, so that’s one inside your room and one in the private courtyard attached to the room) and a gorgeous outdoor tub. Even my room, which was more modest, had a fantastic shower which I did not want to leave. The showerheads were strategically placed so you have complete body coverage and great pressure. So I didn’t necessarily miss the spa because the bathroom was so well equipped. I also loved that my friends and I could step into the pool right from our front porch. As a pisces who loves being in the water, this was definitely one of the highlights for me.

We did eventually leave to explore Chiang Mai, but even that was made easier by the location and services of the resort. We were able to take advantage of the free shuttle to visit the night market and that was a huge plus. We were also able to have the tour company we used for the elephant sanctuary pick us up directly from the hotel. Because of the hotel’s location there were no additional charges for transportation. And anyone who’s familiar with my love of travel knows that I’m always looking for ways to save money while traveling. Saving on transportation costs certainly helps.

I must say I had a great introduction to the Centara Resorts and this experience has made me curious about their other properties. If I received this level of customer service and was able to enjoy the property and relax even if it wasn’t in the most relaxing location, I can only imagine what their properties on the sandy beaches of Maldives, Sri Lanka or Thailand must be like.

I found tranquility at every turn.

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Island hopping near Ko Phi Phi

Everyone has that go to place they travel to a lot. It might not be your favorite, but it’s so easy. You don’t have to plan much, it’s cheap, and you know your way around or feel comfortable. So you end up going, over and over again. Maybe it’s Vegas, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Miami or New York. I’ve seen my share of those places, but since moving to Asia it’s been Thailand. I’ve been there at least 6 times and it’s a great, quick getaway; but is it keeping me from exploring other places? So in honor of the New Year and my goal of seeing the world, I’d like to highlight the beauty of Thailand and pledge to leave it alone for a while and see something new this year.

I first visited Thailand my very first year living in the Philippines. I went to Bangkok, mostly for work, but came back to visit Bangkok again maybe 6 months later. During this visit I got to really taste some authentic Thai cuisine and wander around the city taking in the temples. I would say if you haven’t been to Bangkok before it’s definitely something to see. The sheer size of the city and its population are something to marvel at, and it has great markets and of course the nightlife. But I’m not a huge fan of big overcrowded cities in Asia, so I was immediately more impressed once I drove through the country, heading towards Cambodia. Once outside of the traffic filled city I could just take in the beauty of everyday life.

Tiger Kingdom near Phuket

On the other trips I’ve taken to Thailand I’ve visited the southern beaches of Railay, Phuket and Ko Phi Phi. Both Railay and Phuket are just a one and a half hour flight from Singapore. With tons of budget airlines serving the area it can make for an extremely cheap trip. There are miles and miles of beaches in both places and with lively cities just in the center of the beach communities. You can easily grab a tuk tuk (a three-wheel motorized rickshaw) from your hotel to the center of town for dinner and people watching. As the song goes, the freaks come out at night, and the sleepy towns turn into seedy little places, with ping-pong shows and lady boys everywhere. The music is usually blaring and it really is unlike any place else. While everyone should check it out once, I personally enjoy the dirt-cheap massages and pedicures found right in the same area way more. There is also shopping often side by side the clubs. It’s even a great place for day trips. From Phuket and Railay I’ve gone island hopping, tiger petting, kayaking and zip lining.

Ko Phi Phi’s nightlife has a different feel as you can party all night and when the sun comes up you are just feet away from the beach. No shoes or shirt, no problem. There are fire dancers and muy Thai fights all around keeping everyone’s energy up. I’m not much of a partier, but what I do love about the nightlife is that when you look up from the partying you see just how diverse everyone is, with accents and languages from all over.

Zip lining in Thailand.

My favorite part of Thailand is by far the beaches. On Karon Beach, a few minutes outside of Phuket, I found a peaceful beach with stunning water walking distance from my Air BnB (Watch out for the sea lice though. They make for an irritating experience). Ko Phi Phi is a 45-minute speedboat ride from Phuket and is arguably even more beautiful. The island itself was a bit too busy for me, with lots of construction going on, but the island hopping from there was among some of the best I’ve ever done. My little brother was so blown away by one of the smaller islands that he jumped off the boat and into the water without remembering to take his iPhone out of his pocket. The white sand and blue water with the backdrop of the lush green jungle was apparently mesmerizing.

As you can see Thailand is totally worth a visit, but I think for me it is time to give it a rest. I of course still have places in Thailand I really want to see, such as Chiang Mai, but I think for now it’s time to venture out to see countries I haven’t seen.

So what’s your Thailand? Are you in a travel rut? Comment below.

My brother on Monkey Island

Karon Beach near Phuket. Walking distance from where we stayed.

My brothers on our kayaking day trip from Phuket. We weaved in and out of caves and mangroves.

The post Travel Rut: Thailand appeared first on Maya the Explorer - Expat Blog | Travel & Lifestyle.

Hello my name is Ravi and I am the carnivorous big brother chef!!

Phuket, Thailand
As soon as we touched down, the first thing right off the plane were tigers! No breakfast, just tigers, hot sweaty skin, and melting heat. We hadn’t planned on petting baby tigers, but you know what they say…when in Thailand. Soon after we headed out into a very mountainy area with big buddas, twisty, windy roads, beautiful beaches and the loudest insects on the planet. But before any of us could even think about all of that we had to have our hunger curbed. And to be honest we didn’t stop there. We ate and ate often, all trip, regardless of whether or not we were hungry. So I’m going to share some of the must try dishes in Thailand.

1. Fried cilli crab
This is a must! We had this at the Tunk Ka restaurant of Thailand. They pull all the crab meat out and fry it nice and crispy. It’s covered with a chili garlic sauce that’s kinda of savory sweet with hints of ginger and a nice spicey kick to it. Not to be confused with Singapore’s famous chili crab, this has flavors that are much different and is prepared without the egg thickener.

2. Som Tum
We had this in Koh Phi Phi from a street vendor, no more than 200 feet from the boat we took island hopping.You can find this in different variations all over Thailand. It’s a green papaya and mango salad with a spicy sugar salt combination and fish sauce. The flavors are magnificent- salty, sweet, pungent and fishy, a true umami. It’s crisp, crunchy, cold, refreshing and oh yeah did I say spicy. This dish may have been my number one must try BUT… eater beware because it’s FIERY!! And Koh Phi Phi is already a hot and humid place. It was 90 degrees when we got off the boat but and it made the temperature climb even higher. So maybe try this one at night.

3. Khanom Bueang
Pronounced Kanom Bwen, these are small pastries that look like tacos but are actually Thai crepes. They are made savory and sweet usually with some sort of cream and fish powder and are thin and crispy. I found these tasty little morsels at one of the many night markets in Phuket. They look extremely difficult to make but the lady making these was obviously a professional! One was filled with a sweet coconut cream and topped with lemon zest and the other was a sweet cream with ground shrimp on top. Its a must try not only for the taste but for the performance in the cooking processes. Its indeed an art you wont see anywhere else.

Night market photos

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