Thailand - Khao Lak to Bangkok - Part 1

My good friends wanted to travel to Thailand and gave me a challenge to come up with a holiday of a lifetime for them with a seemingly impossible budget.
Thailand is one of the best destinations you can travel to – it is vibrant with a mix of beach, city and jungle so there is something for everyone and it is amazingly great value allowing you to stay in luxury hotels. It’s easy to get around with loads of internal flights and in some cases the train.
As a professional travel expert with over 12 years of specialising in the Far East and Australasia then I know the routes inside out.
Long haul flights.
In my first travel job, I was trained extensively in all the flight routes throughout the world. Which airlines are best, which have the best seat pitch, which has the best onboard entertainment, which is the safest, and which are the best for travelling as a family?
This trip I booked with Lufthansa. I like them; they are an excellent airline offering great service with good onboard entertainment.
Lufthansa hubs are Munich and Frankfurt, so you always go via one or the other. Luggage is checked through, so you literally just have to get off and transit through finding your next onward gate.
Our flight was late taking off in Manchester but your travel agent (aka me) will always leave you enough time between flights and I will always book you a guaranteed connection so if your flight is delayed Lufthansa or the airline you’re flying with would look after you and put you on the next flight out.
Of course, as your travel agent, you can always contact me to have a quick chat and ensure you know what will happen.
Anyway, that’s the worst case!
We were in economy. It’s just over 10 hours from Munich to Bangkok.
We were fed and watered. I had a nice wine, and the food was to be fair pretty good. Nice choice of beef goulash or spinach ravioli with a lovely dessert.
We flew on to Phuket with Thai Airways.
Other airlines fly to Phuket more directly – so we could have travelled with Etihad or Emirates for example, but chose Lufthansa to keep to our budget. Again, as your Far East specialist, I can offer great advice on routing and which airlines will suit you best,
Khao Lak- on the mainland about an hour north of Phuket is Biang Niang. I have stayed here a couple of times, and I like the village. The beach is lovely. There are loads of lovely shops bars and restaurants. The night market is excellent it is open about 4 times a week and has loads of street food and lots of ideas for gifts to take home.
The Waters – first time staying here and I loved it. The hotel is 4-star, and we had an upper pool access room.
The bed is super king-size, and the balcony overlooks the pool with a private staircase down to the pool. It’s beautiful and quiet.
The main pool has a swim-up bar for lovely afternoon cocktails.


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