Since I can remember, I have wanted to visit Thailand. But as a full-time student with part-time income, that dream felt like something that would take years to accomplish. Up until about two months ago, I had bookmarked international travel for study abroad or (if that fell through) post-grad gallivanting. I mean, I hadn’t even updated my passport since like, 2007?!
So, fast-forward to a particularly sunny April afternoon in my Western Civ class. I’m sitting next to one of my best friends (freshman year roommate, soon-to-be travel partner, and bad ass photog), Lexie. We were actually planning to bop up to D.C. for a long weekend in the city – hence, the reason I landed on Skyscanner and Hopper to check for flight deals. Just for kicks and giggles (and because I have often looked at international travel prices to gawk, ooh, and ahh), I plugged in a destination I’ve dreamt about for nearly eight years: Bangkok, Thailand.
Crunching the Numbers
The consensus after my hour spent scouring flight websites while I should have been paying attention to my prof discussing the Russian Revolution? Apparently, international travel can be very affordable if you’re willing to sacrifice a bit of comfort. Well, a lot of comfort. But we’ll discuss that at a later time. I have many thoughts on United Airlines Economy Class. But basically, for the cost of some round-trip tickets to California I was able to land on the other side of the world. So, just four weeks before jetting off, I found myself (without a passport), booking a round-trip flight to Thailand.
Okay Cool, But I Had to Find Somewhere to Sleep
If you talk to anyone who has visited Thailand, there is a pretty standard review: it’s amazing and it’s cheap. For example, while in Bangkok for our first two nights, Lexie and I stayed at this gorgeous hostel called The Yard. It’s on an incredible eco-friendly mission. All of the energy-efficient rooms are made from old shipping containers. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, eh? For a private room (literally the coolest room ever), it only cost us $50 a night – which was expensive, comparatively speaking. You can find rooms for much less if you are solo traveling and want a more traditional hostel feel, but this was perfect for us. I used Hostelworld to locate the best hostels in Bangkok and Chiang Mai and found some gems. I definitely recommend checking this site out for your next city adventure – so helpful and the booking process was seamless. Luxury hotels and AirBnb’s are so much more affordable in Thailand, as well. Most five-star resorts don’t even surpass $150 a night.
Finding Domestic Flights
While we didn’t end up booking through Hopper to get to Thailand, we used and abused it once we were in the country to make our way through the itinerary. We were booking last-minute flights, so we paid around $50-$80 for most flights, but you can get them for much less if you plan ahead a bit more. We just preferred the flexibility of being spontaneous with our flights/destinations. All in all, by using Hopper, I spent a little under $220 to get to and from our three destinations in Thailand. If you have more than a week over there, overnight trains and buses are 100% the way to go to keep costs low, but we needed the convenience of air travel.
Side note: airports in Asia are crazy efficient. You don’t need three hours like in the U.S. It’s such a painless process. Plus, they are sooooo clean. Eat your heart out, LaGuardia.
Eating My Way Through Thailand (Without Hurting My Wallet)
One of my favorite things about travel is the food scene. I love hunting down the best-of-the-best to try while in new cities. In most places throughout the world, bills can get pretty steep when eating out. But in Thailand, even the nicest dinners with drinks and apps stay under $15 per person. I found breakfast to be the most expensive meal of the day, and this was really only because there were a lot of Western offerings. Lexie and I let ourselves be a bit more indulgent (because when else are you going to have access to some of the best cuisine in the world??), but it is extremely easy to keep full meal costs between $1.50-$5 in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Dress Forever21 // Bag See By Chloe
I think there are a lot of misconceptions out there about traveling abroad, especially here in the U.S. where there is a lot of ground (well, ocean) to cover when going to an international destination. You really don’t need to rake in a high salary to make it happen. And I’ll happily spend every penny of my tiny part-time income if it means I have more experiences like this one. Well, like this one – but minus the 16-hours in United Airlines Economy Class.
Check out my Instagram for more images from our travels through Thailand! Or, read my last post from Bangkok, here. And, more of my past travel content can be found here!
