No money? Take a trip to Thailand, won’t you?

Let’s face it, when your plans of foreign travel on a shoestring budget is so frayed that even a trip to the nearest cobbler seems a bit too pricey, deciding on where to go becomes a wee bit easier. All those gorgeous (read: pocket unfriendly) places get crossed out of the must-visit list even before you can conjure their beauty in your mind’s eye. That means no Cliff’s of Moher, Salar de Uyuni can wait till I hit a jackpot and as for New Zealand, there’s always LOTR and now The Hobbit as consolation, thanks to Peter Jackson. So when my fellow travel-planner joked about how the only place we could fly to and back on our budget was Calcutta (my hometown), my mind went from being depressed to being seriously desperate. We had to find a place to go to. That’s how Thailand happened. A round-trip to Thailand is actually cheaper than a Calcutta trip. Hearing this, my friend said. “Well, why not? Any place is better than no place, right? The place is gorgeous, and think of all that Thai food we can binge on.” Right! And if we are lucky we just might miss running into our neighbour and their best friends honeymooning there. But idioms like “beggars can’t be choosers” have some grain of truth in them even if they are, well, clichéd. So we got researching. We booked Air Asia, which is the best budget airline, got hotels through Asia Rooms (again, gives great deals) and decided we would die rather than go to Pattaya— the one place in Thailand every Indian tourist seems to know other than Bangkok and even has “authentic Indian” food joints I have been told. Call us snooty but that is one thing we decided to avoid. So, we got ourselves Thai visas and stuffed our backpacks, determined to have a trip worth remembering. So here’s what our itinerary looked like—number of days in Thailand; six. First stop; Bangkok. The thing most people associate with Bangkok is great shopping, but honestly, for us it will always be food. It is a city that starts chomping at 6am and goes on chomping till way past midnight; it is no surprise that Bangkok is often considered the street food capital of the world. Walking down any street in Bangkok is a treat for the senses—the sizzle of oil in a wok, the smell of fried or steamed delicacies, the array of fresh fruits displayed and the flavours of every kind of food imaginable, from pork satay and fish ball soup to grass jelly and mango rice sold in kiosks by the roadside. Everyone knows about Bangkok, so there is really no point in penning much about its wonders, but the wonders of Bangkok are in walking down its sois and tasting its cuisine. Oh, and if you happen to be in the Sukumvit area, do visit Soi 11 and have a drink at one of the many Volkswagon dive bars hitched up along the roadside. Quite cool! Mind you, if you do try Durian, please brush your teeth at least twice! And if you want to try eating bugs start with the bamboo worms; more palatable! So, after one-and-a-half days spent walking, bussing, eating, tuktuking, sky-training, eating and ferrying around glitzy Bangkok, all the while getting a million offers to be taken to “Pingpong Shows”, we decided to head to the historical city of Ayutthaya, situated along the banks of the Chao Phraya river, about 85 km from the Bangkok. The capital of Siam for over 400 years and named after Ram’s Ayodhya, Ayutthaya is now a sleepy small town littered with crumbling yet majestic ruins of Wats (temples) and palaces. It is, of course, easier to hire a car or bike and drive down, but being on a budget meant taking a 12-seater minivan, which dropped us off at the town centre. The best bit about visiting the ruins is that it is never crowded as The Grand Palace or Wat Pho in Bangkok. Needless to say language is a problem. But what’s a journey without your own stint of Lost in Translation, eh? We realized our van dropped us off a good 5km from our desired destination with not a rickshaw or bus in sight to take us to Wat Mahathat and Wat Ratchaburana, both UNESCO World Heritage sites. We had to exercise our dumb charades and take a roundabout walk under the sweltering afternoon sun. It was definitely worth the walk. Looming over the city, the crumbling Buddhist temples are stunning in their grandeur. Beautifully restored and loosely assembled and structured, Wat Ratchaburana, built in the 1400s, spans a lesser area where as Wat Mahathat is vast spread with stupas, Buddha idols and is also home to the iconic Buddha in a Bodhi tree—a pristine Buddha head entwined for centuries in the roots of an old Bodhi tree. It will make you contemplate on the nature of miracles. After remaining land-locked for three days, we decided to head to our next stop— the island of Phi Phi. We took a flight to Phuket. A quick deal with a fellow Phi Phi goer got us a cab ride from the airport to the Rasada pier, where ferries leave for the island every hour till 2pm. After a quick lunch, we boarded the 150-seater ferry and began our one-and-a-half hour boat ride through the breathtaking blue waters of the Andaman Sea. If you have a stomach for serious sun and choppy seas, I suggest you slap sunblock and sit out on the open deck rather than remain cooped up in the airconditioned chambers within because this is a trip where every second is majestic, thanks to the jutting rock structures dotted along the way. A word of caution, if you do take the ferry, make sure you board at the very last second. The luggage section is a mess! Though there is no chance of anyone stealing it, you might never find your bags. When they stow your luggage, they literally pile them. The ones at the bottom are the lost causes and the ferry might leave the pier before you even manage to fish them out. After wrestling with the bags, yelling at the helper grinning and watching us struggle, we got off at the Ton Sai Pier. Koi Phi Phi Don, the largest of the Phi Phi islands, is where all the action is. The main stretch is pretty with narrow roads disappearing into woody hills, littered with cottages run by locals. For those into peace and quiet, stick to the cottages. Closer to the beach, it gets crazy. Imagine the Goa party scene, only concentrated on a single stretch. After sunning all day, the party starts late and goes on into the wee hours. Beach shacks are crowded with tourists dancing and drinking. The island is also known for its fire shows where islanders do unthinkable tricks, which can make fire-jugglers look like novices. Everything is a little expensive, that is to be expected if you have to purchase everything from the mainland by boat, but the food is divine. If you happen to be in Phi Phi, definitely eat at a restaurant called Papaya, which makes the yummiest Tom Yum soup along with some of the freshest seafood dishes ever. And oh! If you can hold your liquor, do try out the 100 Baht drink buckets. A bucket comprises one pint of alcohol, one red bull, one soft drink and a straw. Simply pour it all into the bucket and sip it with the straw. Hangover guaranteed. Phi Phi, however, is not only about partying. There are several walkways, bicycle lanes and endless walking trails that one can explore while taking a break from the sun and sea. There are charter boats that take tourists on day-long-trips to the other islands in the area and offer incredible snorkeling stints. If, like us, you do go to the Phi Phi viewpoint to get a breathtaking view of the island, please, I repeat, please, don’t wear your beach flip-flops for the trip. At the top, it is beautiful. There is only the sound of the wind, the blue sea down below. It is the perfect spot for basking in the surrounding beauty. But we wanted to be adventurous and go looking for a less crowded beach—Rantee. We had read that the only way to reach the beach was by a quick boat ride or via one “pretty” trail winding down from the viewpoint. We were determined to go take a dip in the translucent waters. Hence, we decided to go walking. Unless you are ready for serious hiking (boots, protective hat, bottles of water, endless supply of insecticide et al)—do not attempt it. We thought it to be a charted, proper trail, but it was not. Six-inches wide at one point with a sheer drop on the other side, nothing but tropical jungle—its sights and sounds—for company, the trail is fun, only if you are planning to brag about it. The hike took us an hour. We were dirty, bitten and scratched, hysterical from almost tumbling to our deaths (sarong and slippers, not the most ideal option) but the end was well-worth the price. The sight that met our eyes on finally reaching the clearing was something out of The Beach, the film. White pristine sands, sparkling blue-green clear water, hardly four shacks on the small strip of beach and a handful of backpackers sitting around. Perfect! After catching our collective breaths and digging into lip-smacking crab cakes and beer, and spending hours in the water, we did the sane thing—took a small, six-seater ferry back to Tonsai pier. The next morning, we took a boat out of Krabi mainland. After savouring a taste of some authentic Thai Muslim cuisine (a unique combination of cooking methods and spices which emanates flavours akin to a mix of Thai and Indian) at Bismillah, one of the oldest restaurant in town, we took a shared tuktuk ride via beautiful, wide roads nestled amidst looming cliffs to Ao Nang district in Krabi, which is home to the popular Nopparattara beach. The seascape is similar to that of Phi Phi, cliffs set against an endless blue backdrop. The beachside town is quiet with restaurants twinkling with ferry lights and live music lining the beach, a perfect place to spend time post sundown. On our second day, we chartered a share-boat from the beach which took us to the secluded Railay beach, well known for its limestone caves, its fertility temple, its rock climbing cliffs and of course surf and sand. The best part about Railay? It is completely cut off from the mainland and can only be approached via sea. It also just has one resort (extremely un-pocketfriendly) which means the beach is absolutely empty, with no shacks or food stalls to spoil it. If you do want a bite, you can get it from any of the boat-food shacks anchored on the beach. Yes, locals come to the beach in their own boats and sell drinks and food. Railay is beautiful, especially because a part of it is riverine and has mangrove vegetation, the ancient limestone structures add to its striking beauty. And keep an eye out for those monkeys which come out for a quick bite too, they definitely add to the fun. And if you are lucky maybe you will be able to spot a gecko or two. Back on the mainland, we also got a quick glimpse of a typical night bazaar, with its mix of Angry Birdshaped fish sticks and all other kinds of seafood dishes, quail eggs and what not, gorgeous clothes at throw away prices (yes I did shop. I would be insane not to) and some wicked Thai pop music live acts. After six days of being gloriously tanned and gastronomically satiated (and thoroughly exhausted), we returned home, with a happy heart and a happier pocket. And only two honeymooning Indian couples. Definitely worth a second visit I say!