In Pictures | A Postcard From Thailand

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust

Our latest travels to Thailand saw us revisiting the island of Koh Samui and this trip we added Phuket and Bangkok to the itinerary to keep things new and interesting. Starting the trip in the seedy back streets of Patong we explored Phuket and the beautiful scenic Phi Phi islands by boat, spotting pods of playful dolphins and avoiding the thieving cheeky monkeys that inhabit one of the beaches. The big Buddha, Chalong temple and old Phuket town provided a dose of culture and history and we threw in some amazing Thai massages and tasty local cuisine along the way. Sipping fresh coconuts became the norm while seeking shade as the intense heat of early May took its toll.

Next stop was the big city, Bangkok the bustling capital of this amazing country was filled with so many different sights and smells. Posh hotels and rooftop bars offer the discerning traveller everything they desire, one minute we were dining at Bangkok’s finest restaurants the next we were eating street food in the busy colourful Chatuchak weekend market, the contrasts this crazy metropolis had to offer was so exciting. It was great fun speeding through the traffic in a brightly coloured Tuk Tuk, or gliding above the busy roads in a much-needed air-conditioned BTS train carriage, then just cruising along the Chao Phraya river in a large water taxi. Mega air-conditioned malls or cheap market stalls offered so much retail therapy choices, so much in fact that we had to purchase an additional suitcase. More temples and lots of Buddha’s in all shapes, sizes and colours as well as a trip to a floating market completed this leg of our tour.

After five days in the busy city the beach was calling again and we headed to Samui to attend a beach wedding. This island is a tropical paradise and just as glorious and relaxed as I remembered, palm trees, fine sandy beaches and delicious cocktails aplenty. A pre-wedding white party kicked off proceedings, the stunning sunset wedding on the beach will be hard to top as will the awesome pool villa we stayed in. Lots of new experiences included motoring through the roads as pillion on the back of a scooter and a Thai style facial, lots of things ticked off the bucket list on this trip.

We convened back in Bangkok on mass for one last night in the mad city, even more new experiences and the other half celebrated his birthday Thai style. A final meal of local cuisine and some last-minute shopping completed our Thai adventure (for now anyway), here’s the first look at our trip in pictures.