Welcome to another post of Behind The Lens! In this section I will be writing a little guide about the places we visit. We travel with a tight budget so that means we have to prepare quite a lot before hand, and that also means that we are able to get to know quite a lot about the countries we visit so I thought that would be a nice idea to share it so you can benefit of it and hopefully save you time. I will include images, tips, hotels, restaurants, routes and many more. Also make sure you check the bold words together with the Tips section to get key information about your trip.

I really hope you enjoy it and find it useful!

EQUIPMENT:

The camera I used was the Sony A7R together with the Sigma 20mm 1.4 and Sony 85mm. The drone I used was the DJI Mavic AIR.

Check out the following link:

>> Get HERE DJI Mavic Air Drone

THAILAND

Where should I go? That is what you may ask about this amazing country with so many destinations and islands to visit. In this article I will tell you few places where to go in Thailand based on my experience there.

First stop would be Phuket. It may sound like a crazy place with lots of people but you can avoid the crowds and discover nice places around. We stayed at the Secret Cliff Villa, a nice place but not the nicest, there is a road between the rooms and the cliffs so is not as idilic as it sounds, however they have a very nice infinity pool and nice food (Thailand cuisine may be one of the best in the world so almost anywhere you go will be nice).

There are a number of beaches in the area that are worth visiting.

Our favourite one is Freedom Beach. It is a quite small and hidden beach near Phuket. Also make sure you visit Kata Beach and Patong Beach. If you like animals there are plenty of sanctuaries where you can touch and see elephants and other animals. Another great spot is Karon Viewpoint where you will have a nice view of the island. As you can see all the spots are just in the south west part of the island so there are plenty of places to discover around.

I strongly recommend the Phi Phi tour, there are plenty of tours for the day to visit the islands but because everybody is crazy about maya bay, there are many chances you will be in a extremely crowded island which is a waste of time. For that reason your best choice is to join the Sleep Aboard maya bay tour. Yes, it is a boat where around 10-12 of you will visit Phi Phi for yourselves. First of all you get to see Maya bay by sunset when tourists are leaving, we had it all for ourselves! Also you sleep in the boat right next to it so they take you there again first thing in the morning before the boats with tourists arrive. Not just this, also they prepare a party in a secret beach and what is more…

you will enjoy of a unique experience:

bioluminescent plankton! In the pitch dark waters you will have to shake your arms to see this magical plankton lighting up. One of my top 3 best experiences with nature ever.

So as you can see, a very diverse and unique tour to enjoy this amazing islands, to be honest, I would say: join this tour or don’t bother to go there. Just google: maya bay crowded, and you will understand why.

Our other destination was Koh Yao Yai and our resort was the Koh Yao Yai Village. This island is perfect for a couple, but not for single people as you will find it too quiet and not much to do. It is amazing in terms of Resorts and beaches and nature but as mentioned before, not much to do adventure wise. The perfect paradise for relaxing and resting. Make sure you rent yourself a motorbike and drive around the island to discover some places, also interact with locals, they are amazingly kind and helpful.

 

Tips

You should move around by motorbike, these rentals are cheap and easy to find and the roads are not bad for driving around on a little scooter. There are plenty of places to eat but make sure they look clean, that will help you not to be sick during your stay. There are plenty of day tours to numerous islands such as phi phi, james bond island, phang nga etc. However to avoid disappointment make sure you google the destinations and check somehow if it will be very crowded or not. We could not visit Phang Nga area but this is an amazing place to discover with hundreds of island making it worth the visit.

Koh Yao Yai and Koh Yao Noi are great islands but as mentioned before, they are perfect for relaxing and for couples, not so great for single people either alone or in a group. Thailand offers so much in terms of adventure so research properly where to go.

Do you want to watch a video of the trip?