Thailand - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Koh Phangan: Where Your Dignity Goes to Die (Gloriously) Koh Phangan is one of those places that every backpacker insists you have to visit, usually while recounting a blurry tale involving body paint, a lost phone, and an Australian named Chad. It’s an island in the Gulf of Thailand that has become famous, or maybe infamous, for the Full Moon Party: a monthly gathering that is basically a neon-drenched, sand-covered explosion of chaos masquerading as a cultural event. Spoiler: it’s not cultural. Unless you consider drinking cheap vodka from a bucket and dancing to five different DJs at once a form of art. The Mythical Full Moon Party Let’s talk about the Full Moon Party, because there’s really no avoiding it. Imagine thousands of tourists crammed onto Haad Rin Beach, all wearing some combination of neon tank tops, bad tattoos, and regret. The music is blasting from every direction: EDM, house, reggae, and, for reasons unknown, the Macarena. You’ll spend your night stepping over people...

Koh Lipe: Thailand’s Southernmost Paradise (With Just the Right Amount of Chaos) Ahhh, Koh Lipe, the tiny island in Thailand’s deep south that whispers “Maldives” but occasionally yells “Backpackers Gone Wild.” It's where turquoise waters meet beach bars, and where people come for three days and somehow stay for three weeks, losing all sense of time, direction, and underwear. It’s often dubbed the "Maldives of Thailand", but with less pretension, cheaper massages, and a slight chance someone’s playing reggaeton at 8 a.m. Beaches: One Island, Three Beaches, Endless Debates About Which Is Best Pattaya Beach – No, not that Pattaya. This one’s way better. It’s where the ferries arrive, where the beach bars live, and where your sandals will be stolen within 15 minutes (not maliciously, someone will just “accidentally borrow them”). Great swimming and sunsets. Very social. Sunrise Beach (Hat Chao Ley) – Long, breezy, and slightly more chill. The “I came to do yoga and drink ...

Visiting Koh Samet: Thailand’s Worst-Kept Secret with the Best Sand-to-Tourist Ratio Koh Samet. The island that’s somehow both a beach escape and Bangkok’s unofficial weekend dumping ground. Want to leave the chaos of the city behind? Great! So does everyone else. But hey, at least the water’s blue, the sand is flour-soft, and the hangovers are surprisingly scenic. This place is ideal if you want that tropical island vibe but only have 2.5 brain cells of energy left after surviving Bangkok traffic. It’s close, it’s chaotic, it’s charming, and yes, it’s full of people who forgot sunscreen. Let’s break it down. Beaches: Choose Your Own (Sandy) Adventure Koh Samet isn’t huge, but it’s got a shocking number of beaches for a place that takes 20 minutes to scooter across. Hat Sai Kaew (Diamond Beach) – The main beach. The big one. The party central. Imagine Ibiza, but with more street meat and fewer rules. Jet skis, loud music, fire shows, and tourists burning like lobsters. Fun fo...

Visiting Koh Chang: Thailand’s Tropical Playground for the Mildly Functional Human Ah, Koh Chang. Thailand’s oversized jungle island that somehow manages to be both a tropical paradise and the backdrop to every mosquito’s honeymoon. If you’re looking for white sand beaches, adventurous jungle treks, and the chance to scream at your scooter rental while going downhill with questionable brakes, this is the place for you. --------------- Beaches That Will Ruin Most Other Beaches Let’s start with the beaches, because that’s the only reason 90% of you Googled "Is Koh Chang worth visiting?" (Yes. But also, kind of no. Read on.) White Sand Beach – This is the Koh Chang equivalent of Times Square, except with less neon and more people in flip-flops who haven’t applied sunscreen properly. It’s the busiest, most developed beach, so you’ll find everything from fancy resorts to bars blasting Bob Marley remixes like it’s still 2005. Lonely Beach – Ironically, not lonely. This i...

Visiting Koh Tao: Come for the Diving, Stay Because You Lost Your Passport at a Bar Called “The Bucket List” Ah, Koh Tao, the little Thai island that somehow manages to be a diving mecca, a party hotspot, a hippie hideaway, and a sunburn factory all at once. It’s like if Ibiza, Bali, and your local CrossFit club all had a baby, and that baby lived off mango smoothies and bar crawls. People come here to get scuba certified, find themselves, lose themselves, and occasionally wake up next to a Canadian with a sea turtle tattoo. Let’s dive in (pun 100% intended). Beaches: Yes, There’s More Than One, And Yes, They’re Ridiculously Pretty Sairee Beach – The main strip. This is where the action is. Sunsets, parties, regret, and sand in places sand shouldn’t be. Also the best people-watching spot on the island: expect half-naked tourists pretending they’re not checking their ex’s stories. Ao Leuk – Clear water, good snorkeling, and far fewer tourists. A good beach for when you want to feel ...

Koh Si Chang: Thailand’s Most Underrated Island (Where You Might Accidentally Relax) Oh Koh Si Chang, not to be confused with Koh Chang, Ko Sichang, or “Wait, is that the one near Pattaya?” Yes, it is. But trust me, it’s not what you think. Koh Si Chang is not the wild party island. It’s not the scuba capital of the world. It’s not even particularly Instagram-famous (yet). It’s just... nice. Which, in Thailand, is like saying “this beach doesn’t come with a side of techno and regret.” It’s the island you go to when you want peace and quiet, a little history, and the feeling of discovering a secret spot even though it’s literally just a couple hours from Bangkok. Beaches: All Two and a Half of Them Tham Phang Beach – The main beach. It’s small, sandy, swimmable, and shockingly uncrowded. There’s even a bar or two nearby, in case you suddenly remember your vitamin Beer-B complex. Tiny secret coves – If you’re adventurous (read: willing to walk or scooter over rocks and pray to the map...