A glimpse of Bangkok from above

As our flight prepared to land, we caught a breathtaking view of Bangkok, glowing beautifully under the night sky.
Smart planning, smooth trip ✅

We planned our trip around the places we truly wanted to explore and made advance bookings to avoid any last-minute chaos.
✅ All stays prebooked
✅ Main intercity travel sorted in advance
🚌Baca lagi
Early arrival at DMK

We landed at Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport (DMK) around 4:30 AM on a direct flight from Bengaluru.
Everything went fine at Bengaluru airport until baggage check-in, where our luggage exceeded theBaca lagi
Smooth onboarding

The visa process was incredibly smooth. Thailand’s free Visa on Arrival had us cleared in minutes.
✅ Next, we activated our e-sim by scanning the QR at the airport WIFI. I purchased it onlineBaca lagi
Bangkok first: A quick detour

By 6:00 AM, refreshed and with cash in hand, we were ready to step out. Though our stay was in Pattaya, we decided to explore Bangkok first. Following Rome2Rio’s suggestion, we hopped on the A3 busBaca lagi
Must-have apps for your Thailand trip

🚍 Rome2Rio – Just enter start & end points, and it shows all commute options: bus, train, metro, cab, etc.
🎫 12Go – For booking buses, ferries, and trains.
🚖 Bolt & Grab –Baca lagi
First steps in Bangkok

The A3 bus dropped us at centralwOrld, the heart of Bangkok. Surrounded by skyscrapers, huge digital billboards, and that capital city buzz, it felt like we’d landed in Bangkok's version of TimesBaca lagi
Off to Pattaya

After exploring Pratunam, it was time to head to Pattaya. Following Rome2Rio’s suggestion, we took the 511 bus to Ekkamai, reaching in about 20 minutes.
Walking on our way to the bus terminal, weBaca lagi
Mary Jane hits before Pattaya 🌿

After picking up some gummies and cookies, we made our way to Ekkamai Bus Station (also known as Bangkok Eastern Terminal). It’s a hub for intercity buses to the eastern side of Thailand, includingBaca lagi
Happy, high & the best bus ride

As the bus started boarding, I had to calm Sam down, who was laughing and crying at the same time. Meanwhile, I stayed chill, handled the situation with care, and got us both inside our bus.
Once weBaca lagi
Need Yellow

After around three hours on the road, we reached the Pattaya bus terminal.
First thing I did? Opened Google Maps and searched for “bike rental shops near me.”
I called a place named PattayaBaca lagi
Scooter secured, stomachs too

We rented the scooter for one day. The shop charged ฿150 for it and asked for a ฿1000 security deposit. You can either deposit cash or leave your passport as security. We chose the cash optionBaca lagi
Checked-in & Knocked-out

After picking up the scooter, we rode to our hotel in Pattaya Central (about 2.3 km from Pattaya Beach).
We had already paid online, but they asked for a refundable deposit of ฿200 at check-in.Baca lagi
A walk to Walking Street

At night, we left for Walking Street. As the name suggests, no vehicles are allowed beyond a certain point. There were barricades, so we had to park our scooter more than a kilometer away from theBaca lagi
What not to do on Walking Street?

A quick heads-up for anyone visiting Walking Street: you’ll see plenty of agents flashing brochures for “sex shows” and offering entry for around ฿400 per person.
Don’t fall for it. It’sBaca lagi
Seafood paradise… but we passed

Thailand is known for its seafood, and as a non-vegetarian, I was curious to try it, though I’m not much of a seafood person myself. Sam, on the other hand, loves seafood.
Surprisingly, we didn’tBaca lagi
A serene morning at Jomtien Beach

Second day began with a trip to Jomtien Beach.
Our plan was to go to Cave Beach Club, but we found something better—Glass House Boho. It looked more inviting, so we decided to stay there instead.Baca lagi
Wrapping up Pattaya

After checking out, we headed to the bike rental shop to return the scooter.
Racing against time

From Pattaya Motorbike Rental, we booked a Bolt cab to the Pattaya Bus Terminal. Time was ticking and we had a bus from Bangkok to Phuket at 4:50 PM. Missing it wasn’t an option, so we had to reachBaca lagi
Small delay, big worry

Things seemed on track as we reached the bus station around 12:45 PM. Since our Phuket bus was from Mochit terminal, I booked the next bus there, scheduled for 1:30 PM. While waiting, we had lunch atBaca lagi
Made it just in time

We reached Mochit with about 30 minutes to spare. After collecting our tickets from the Transport Co. counter, we grabbed some food from 7-Eleven. With everything set, we located our bus and settledBaca lagi
An overnight journey

With everything set, we began our journey to Phuket.
Both our overnight buses were semi-sleeper, as sleeper bus is not at thing in Thailand. The seats were comfortable enough for the long ride, andBaca lagi
Midnight stop

In Thailand’s buses, I noticed that many ticket collectors were women, unlike in India.
Late at night, the collector approached us with a Google Translate screen, informing us about a dinner stop.Baca lagi
Kicking off in Phuket

Our last day of 2024 began at the Phuket Bus Station, where we refreshed ourselves after the long journey. The next task was finding a scooter rental.
Right at the bus station, we found two hugeBaca lagi
Gearing up & ready to roll

At Som Bike Rental near Old Town Phuket, we rented a scooter for two days. In Thailand, a one-day rental counts as 24 hours. Since we rented ours at 9 AM, we convinced the owner to allow a return byBaca lagi