We're taking a break from our slow travels and going into full vacation mode in Koh Lanta!

One of the amazing things about a slow travel lifestyle is that when you feel like you need a break, you have access to a huge variety of vacation destinations. Each time you're in a new place, there are new spots to choose for holiday getaways. And even though they may seem exotic, they can be pretty easy to get to during your slow travels. When our apartment rental in Kuala Lumpur was up last week, we decided to go for a weekend getaway before resuming our regular routine at our next destination. We decided to hop on a quick and inexpensive flight with Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to the Krabi airport in southern Thailand. Once we landed we hired a van to drive us about 90 minutes south to Koh Lanta.

Koh Lanta, Thailand is a wonderful island for a beach vacation. Usually, we like to remind people that our slow travel lifestyle is not a vacation. We live our daily lives, work on projects, and try to stick to lower budget living. But here we are on Koh Lanta, in southern Thailand, and we're taking in the full tourist experience during our weekend getaway.

So let's kick it off with the 4 island tour that includes snorkeling and the reason this tour is so popular: cave swimming. As we're in Thailand, the tour starts off with a ride on a long tail boat. We go past beautiful islands popping out of the Andaman Sea that remind us that we really are in Thailand right now. Our first snorkel gets us into the warm water where we see some cool fish other sea life.

We head out to our next snorkel spot but run into some problems. There are jelly fish everywhere and there is no getting out of the boat. Hopefully we won't have the same problems when we get to our cave swimming spot.

Ok, here we are at the entrance to the cave and it is so cool! I've never swam through a cave like this before and it was an amazing experience. It got very dark inside. At some points I couldn't see where I was going. And then, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

We hung around the beach at the back of the cave for a bit and learned how closely the guides watch the tides. When the water levels rise, swimming through the cave can become extremely challenging or even impossible.

The last stop on our 4 island tour is to enjoy a beach and have some lunch.

It's really nice as slow travelers that when we want to take a vacation, we can look to see what's available in the areas we're traveling through and head there. In this case, we got to experience Koh Lanta by picking a spot to vacation in between our apartment rental dates in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. With slow travel, we're able to choose vacation destinations that are a bit harder to get to because we're already near the area. And can try to find spots that are slightly less crowded and pick days when the hotels are a bit less expensive.

On Koh Lanta we had this lovely room just a block up from the beach. We could go for runs along the shore line in the morning and have beautiful beach dinners at night. One of my favourite restaurants here was Sweet Soul Food where Chris had a delicious pad thai and I had this absolutely amazing cashew curry. And I forgot to mention the beach massages. Getting a Thai massage while feeling the ocean breeze was a true vacation experience.

This island is truely spectacular. The tourists and locals here seem to share a quieter, chill kind of vibe. It was a great place to break our slow travel rules and take a few days to relax before we resume our regular slow travel lifestyle in Bangkok. Or maybe we'll find somewhere else to stop along the way first. We'll see where we end up!

Krabi Town is the capital of Krabi province on the Andaman Sea in southern Thailand. It has a population of about 40,000 people. And it seems to be an overlooked destination in southern Thailand. Everyone talks about Phuket, the Phi Phi Islands, and surrounding beaches. It seems like Krabi Town gets left behind, and we don't understand why. I guess if you're a vacationer looking to spend dedicated time on the beach, then this isn't your place. But if you're a slow traveler like we are, or just looking to get away from the more expensive tourist-y places, then Krabi Town is a great option. It has delicious food, access to stunning beaches, great hiking opportunities, and it's more affordable than many surrounding areas.

So what's the cost of living in Krabi Town, if you're wanting to spend time here as a slow traveler or digital nomad? Let's look at the cost of accommodations, food and eating out, personal care, transportation, and activities and tours and then give the total cost of living for a month of slow travel here.

Krabi Town has plenty of mid-range hotels. Chris and I wanted to save a bit of money so we booked ourselves into one of the least expensive hotels we could find, where we could still have a private room and private bathroom, instead of renting an apartment like we normally do. The price for our simple room at The Grand Mansion Hotel was about 600 baht per night, plus discounts for longer term stays. The room was older but also extremely clean. And we were given fresh towels each day, which we don't expect but was a nice perk.

Normally as slow travlers, we like to have a kitchen to prepare our own meals. But in Krabi Town, we went for a cheap accommodation and then just ate out at less expensive markets. And we did have a fridge in our room for things like yogurt and leftovers.

So with that being said, let's talk about the cost of food in Krabi Town. Eating out here felt so affordable, it didn't really bother us that we weren't buying grocery store food. Going to the markets let us eat for about 50 to 80 baht per person per meal. My favourite market was the one located right across from the crab sculptures. I don't usually like to eat out all the time as it means I'm eating less nutritious food, but we found plenty of healthy options. I really loved the salad rolls I could get at the food market for 60 baht a package.

We also found we could eat at casual sit down restaurants for similar prices to the markets. Like the popular noodle and locally run restaurants.

Massages are big in Thailand. If you want a foot massage or Thai massage, the going rate in the main part of Krabi Town is 300 baht for one hour. You'll see lots of options for these on almost every city block.

But what about laundry? It's hot here and our clothes get sweaty quickly so we need to be able to wash our clothes often. Fortunetly we found this place called Wash Well in Krabi that is probably the best laundromat I've ever been to! They will do your laundry for you. Or you can do it yourself using commercial washers in about 1 hour. We paid 90 baht to wash and dry 1 load of laundry. You can also buy laundry soap there but we brought our own.

Now let's talk about transportation. Getting around Krabi is pretty straightforward. We pretty much walked everywhere around the town. Or took a boat. Across from Krabi Town is the island of Ko Klang. We took a long tail boat over for 20 baht each and enjoyed a delicous meal at a restaurant serving fresh seafood.

Just down from the room we were renting is the Mangrove walk and some caves on the other side of the river. These are free to visit, though you need to negotiate a boat fare to get across.

To get into the caves, you have a couple of options. I decided to try the sketchier ladder option. Chris stuck to the stairs.

In addition to the main cave, there are also a few other smaller spots to explore just down the path.

Now let's talk about fitness options. Krabi Town has some basic gyms that run about 60-100 baht for a drop-in. For outdoor exercise options, there are several challenging hikes to choose from. We loved the famous Dragon Crest Trail, with stunning views at the peak.

The Dragon Crest trail, also called the Ngon Nak Nature Trail, is about a 40 minute drive out of Krabi Town. The trail itself is a 8km round-trip hike, with a steedy incline to the top. You go up almost 700 m to these incredible viewpoints. Entry to the trail is 200 baht per person (bring exact change).

We've talked a lot about the lower prices for accommodations, food, and activities in Krabi. But we still haven't hit a beach. So let's do that. Krabi Town itself isn't right on the beach, but you can get on a long tail to Railay Beach right from the center of Krabi Town. The boat ride to Railay Beach from Krabi Town takes about 45 minutes.

As Railay isn't connected by roads, there aren't any cars here, and only very few motorbikes. Because everything is carted in, it's more expensive than Krabi. But a great spot to visit for the day. Or you can stay overnight here too if you like.

As slow travelers, because we're just living our daily lives in the city we're currently in, we don't usually have full days to go out an explore like we did when we went to Railay Beach. Instead we will often just go out for a walk in the afternoon or evening for an hour or two to explore. And Krabi has cool spots to discover just by walking around. Like temples and markets in the center of town that are free to visit.

Between our accommodations, food, transportation, personal care, and activities, we spent less than 9000 baht per week as a couple in Krabi Town, Thailand, which works out to about $1000 USD per month. And that's eating out a lot and paying for boats to places like Railay Beach. It's a very affordable place to spend some time as a slow travelers, especially compared to some of the more popular islands in the area with upscale resorts and pricier dining. And there is still so much to do here.

Bangkok is an amazing city and there is so much to see and do here. But what's the cost of living like if you're trying to spend some time here as a slow traveler or digital nomad? We're going to talk about the cost of transportation, rent, food from markets, grocery stores, street food, and sit down restaurants, the prices for everyday goods like clothing and even going to a tailor for custom made apparel, the cost of personal care items, what popular tourist attractions cost, medical costs, and how to manage money using ATMs cash and credit cards, then give our total cost for the month.

First up let's talk about the cost of transportation in Bangkok. Bangkok is a big city and not always the most walkable. But fortunately there's lots of really affordable public transportation options like the BTS, the metro, and the canal boats. Because the apartment we rented was in the Silom neighborhood of Bangkok our favorite way to get around was on the MRT Blue Line. This Metro lets us easily get on just by tapping our credit cards. Trip costs vary depending on the distance but I never saw a credit card charge over $1.50 per trip. The other main public transportation system in Bangkok is the BTS. We just paid 94 baht for two people. And you can't tap your credit card you need to get one of these cards which you can get at the machine. You need cash to buy one of these. Both the BTS and MRT are air conditioned. If you know how hot it gets in Bangkok you'll know how important this is!

River boats along the Chao Phraya River and canal boats along the Bangkok canals are another great way to get around. Both systems base their cost on the distance you're going. We paid about 10 baht for short distances and up to 50 baht to go across the entire city. But beware of some scammers. Some people like to stand around the piers and try and sell you fake tickets. Only buy tickets on the boat itself or from well-marked stands.

Now let's talk about the cost of food from markets, grocery stores, street food, and sit down restaurants. Bangkok, Thailand is known for its amazing food, from the really cheap to the very expensive. If you're looking to spend less money on food like we are, then the food stands and food stalls that seem to be located on almost every block are the way to go. A touristy market with great energy is located right in Chinatown on Yaowarat Road. There's a great selection of food and we found the prices to be reasonable for what it is. Chris's dish was 70 baht.

For a more local market we just have to go a few blocks from our apartment. This market is really only open serving the lunchtime crowd. You got to get here by about 11,12, 1:00 at the absolute latest. Otherwise it's shutting down.

Now let's head to a market just slightly farther north to see what the prices are like. The Or Tor Kor Market which is just across from the very popular JJ market. We've been here several times and we love this place. There's so much great food selection both to take home and cook and to have here. And we find the prices to be quite competitive and probably a little cheaper than the JJ Market. One of the food stalls here has the best Tom Yum I've had here yet.

And we can also buy food here to take home. Because we slow travel we've rented an apartment for the month and we have a kitchen so we're going to pick up some nice fresh vegetables at the farmers market.

Now let's talk about the price of food that we saw at the grocery stores. Dragon fruit which is my absolute favorite runs at about 50 baht each. Basic bread is 45 baht per loaf and eggs are about 90 baht a dozen. One trick to save a bit of money at the grocery store is to look for a locally made or Asian brands over imported brands. Like this peanut butter which is made in China for 92 baht over the imported peanut butter which is 167 baht. Overall we spent about 1,000 baht a week on groceries though we ate out at least once a day. We didn't eat anywhere expensive though and we kept our visits to Bangkok's famous rooftop bars to a minimum. If you do decide to go to a rooftop bar expect to spend many hundreds of baht or even much more for a single drink.

Next up let's talk about the cost of everyday goods like clothing and shoes. You can easily get a simple pair of pants or shirt for a 100 baht or less at a market and basic malls. You can also go to malls like Icon Siam for bigger brands like Adidas H&M or whatever store you like. If there's a particular brand you're looking for, Bangkok probably has it, though you weren't necessarily getting a deal on prices here. As a Canadian it's great to see so many Canadian brands represented at the malls in Bangkok. We have to check out my hometown's own Lululemon while we're here.

But Chris is looking for some cheap socks so we head to the markets. They are 20 baht for one pair or seven pairs for a 100 baht.

In another section of the Chinatown markets we find all of these beautiful fabrics. I don't really talk about it very much but I love fabrics and all the different colors and patterns and textures. And it makes me so happy to be walking through all these shops.

But how do you use all of these amazing prints? Of course you can go to the mall or markets to buy your clothes but if you really want to take things to the next level you can come to a place like Chinaworld, pick out any fabric you want and then take those fabrics to your favorite tailor and get your clothes custo made.

Fabric prices can vary quite a bit. A dress shirt fabric could run about 100 baht per yard and you would need about 2 or 3 yards for one shirt.

Let's move on to rent prices in Bangkok. The cost of rent varies so much depending on where you want to rent, what you want to rent, the age of the building, there are so many things to consider. You can rent a small room in the outskirts of town for just a few hundred dollars a month or you can rent high-end luxury apartments that will cost you thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars per month. For Chris and I, we weren't sure where we wanted to stay. We were booking the apartment only about 3 days out from our arrival into Bangkok so our choices were a little bit more limited. We made our choice based on apartment style and price and we ended up in the fantastic central neighborhood of Silom. Our one-bedroom, one bathroom, furnished apartment that comes with regular cleaning, internet, and air conditioning, and no long-term lease cost us a little over $1000 for the month. If you're looking for a short-term furnished apartment rental in Thailand, our tip is to look for licensed serviced apartments. There are a number of people renting out apartments without a license to do so which is not allowed here and it can cause headaches if you do end up in one.

Now let's talk about the cost of personal care items. Basic toothpaste is about 110 baht per tube, sunscreen can be expensive here with the cheapest brands costing about 200 baht for 90 ml and pedicures for some reason cost at least 700 baht. Cheaper pedicures may not include polish color or other services that are common in other places I've traveled to, so make sure to ask what's included for the price.

Let's move on to the cost of activities in Bangkok. Just because you're a slow traveler or digital nomad doesn't mean you want to skip the touristy stuff. There are some amazing sites here. I highly recommend the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. Tickets for non-thai people are 500 baht each. We tried to buy tickets online but we kept getting decline so we just came here and bought the tickets. It was very easy only took us about a minute or so and now we have our tickets.

The giant reclining Buddha is another famous site in Bangkok. It's located in the Wat Pho temple next to the Grand Palace and costs 300 baht to enter.

Medical tourism is huge in Thailand. There are many hospitals and doctors to choose from in Bangkok. You can get high quality care here but it's important to do your research. Treatments may seem similar on the surface but some medical offices could be using lower quality products that you're not aware of. We were looking at a preventative healthcare screening here for 5,500 baht or about $150. In Canada it would cost at least three times as much. But even if the quality is exactly the same you need to consider what would happen if something should go wrong as the result of your treatment, even indirectly. Your travel medical insurance likely won't cover you in this situation and you could be on the hook for a lot more money than you intended.

Now how about handling money to pay for everything. We talked about you can pay for most things in Bangkok using your credit card but you do need baht for a few things like like going to food markets or if you're making smaller purchases like ones at the 7-Eleven for under 200 baht. If you are using an ATM the standard fee around here seems to be 220 baht per withdrawal plus of course the money that you're withdrawing.

In total between paying rent, buying food at the grocery store, and markets, eating out, Transportation, getting a few personal items and some new clothes to support our slow travel lifestyle, and visiting some of the major sites we spent $1,900 for a month as a couple here in Bangkok, Thailand. And that's our video on the cost of living in Bangkok. If you're interested in the prices in a smaller city in Thailand check out this video here. We hope you're doing well and we'll see you in the next one.

We took a day trip from Bangkok to Ayutthaya, Thailand. Ayutthaya was the capital of Thailand, which was then called Siam, from 1350 to 1767 and it's filled with beautiful archaeological sites.

Our day trip to Ayutthaya started with a ride on the Bangkok MRT (metro) to the Hua Lamphong train station. There we purchased our tickets for 30 baht each to ride on a third-class fan-only train to Ayutthaya.

Thailand is trying to upgrade all of these third class trains to have AC and it should be done by 2027. But we're a little bit early for that so we rode in the fan-only car.

You can get trains leaving Bangkok to go to Ayutthaya as early as 6:00 a.m. The reason we didn't catch the train until 1:00 p.m is because Chris and I stay up really late at night to make up for the time zone difference that we have between Thailand and our home base so we can talk to people back home. So we don't get to bed until about 3:00 a.m.

We were offered a tuk tuk when we got off the train. He started at 900 baht and without us even bargaining (because we weren't even sure what we were trying to do) he dropped down to 500 baht for 3 hours to take us around all the different wats. But it wasn't not really that hot (shockingly) so we decided to walk, as we wanted to see the town.

All the wats cost 50 baht per person per wat. When visiting the temples make sure to wear clothing that covers your knees and shoulders.

We started off at Wat Ratchaburana which was completed in the year 1424. The ancient structures often have trees growing out of the top of them and that's from pigeons pooping and leaving seeds behind and then the seeds grow off the structures. And so one of the big maintenance things is climbing up there and pull those plants out every once in a while.

Then we visited Wat Mahathat, which had a cool Buddha head among the tree roots.

The next temple, Wat Phra Si Sanphet, was so amazing with all the crangs or pagotas all around the grounds. The three center ones were just amazing to look at. They weren't like any of the other ones we'd seen.

Afterwards we headed to Chaiwattanaram, which was about 4 km from where we were, so we grabbed a tuk tuk there. Chaiwattanaram was definitely worth the tuk tuk ride with its Buddhas and pagotas popping out everywhere. There were also lots of people dressed up in traditional clothing . It was kind of neat walking around and seeing all the people dressed like that. While we were there, the sun started to set and we were able to see the temple all lite up.

Next we headed back to town for dinner at the market. We decided on this Thai place with outdoor table service which is really nice after walking all day long. Chris got the Tom Yum with chicken, which he said was the best Tom Yum he's had in a while.

Around 8:30 p.m and we headed back to the nearby wats to see them lite up at night, which was very pretty to see.

Then it was time to head home. There was only one train heading back to Bangkok and it turned out to be some special express train one that was 261 baht per ticket (much more expensive than the 15 baht we paid for the train ride to Ayutthaya!) At least it was more comfortable and air conditioned.

Chiang Mai is Northern Thailand's largest city. It has a population of 110,000 people in the municipality and 1.2 million people in the greater area. Chiang Mai is known for its beautiful mountains that surround the city and its long list of outdoor activities. These are the prices we saw and how much we paid for our hotel, groceries, restaurant food, including the famous khao soi noodle dish, transportation, laundry, and attractions like the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, and how we arrived here from Bangkok.

Let's start with the price of accommodations. Chiang Mai has lots of two and three star hotels that are located in the old city which is inside the square canal. And most of the hotels in that area go for about 600 to 800 baht per night. Our room was 750 baht per night and came with two balconies, a kitchen area, a sitting area, a bathroom, and a king-size bed. And we found the location to be quite central.

Next up let's talk about transportation. Chiang Mai's public transit system is buses. They don't have any kind of metros or BTS like in Bangkok so the best way that we found to get around was walking or taking taxis and Grabs. We found it easy to walk around and explore the old town area and markets on foot as Chiang Mai isn't that big. But sometimes it gets a bit too hot to walk and for an air conditioned experience you can always get in a Grab which is Southeast Asia's version of Uber. Chiang Mai is also well set up for tourists. They have these shared taxi-like pickup trucks you can just get in the back, and prices start at about 30 baht per person for a quick trip. But if you decide to go for a hike up to Wat Pha Lat on the outside of town (which we highly recommend if you like to hike) or continue your trek further up the hill to Wat Phra That, which costs 30 baht per person to enter and provides beautiful views of the city, a shared ride back to town might cost you about a 100 baht per person or more depending on the distance.

Now let's talk about the price of food in Chiang Mai, starting with our new favorite dish, khao soi, which is a noodle curry. And Chris has scoped out a few places for us to try it. We started with The House, which Chris found by doing a Google search for the best khao soi in Chiang Mai. The House came up in a Reddit thread as one of the best places to go for Northern Thai khao soi noodle soup.

Chris tried the khao soi gai or khao soi with chicken at "normal spicy", so Thai style. The dish cost 235 baht. And it was delicious! We don't know like if if khao soi gets better than that, because that was just amazing. We have a new favorite meal for sure.

Our khao soi experience at The House restaurant was pretty special. But you can find khao soi starting at about 50 baht per bowl at many local restaurants. We made it a goal to try different bowls at different price points and we didn't have a bad bowl of khao soi the entire time we were in Chiang Mai.

Moving on to the prices at the grocery stores. In Chiang Mai's Old City area we found bread for 42 baht a loaf, 10 eggs for 52 baht, which works out to $1.80 per dozen, and bananas for 42 baht for a package of four.

What about the cost of personal care? Massages are huge in Chiang Mai, and just like in southern Thailand and in Bangkok, the going rate for a foot massage is 300 baht for an hour. Personal care items like a simple tube of toothpaste is 50 baht and at the laundromat you can wash and dry your own clothes starting at 80 baht per load.

Now let's talk about the markets in Chiang Mai. There are markets everywhere here. Some markets are morning only, some markets are evening only, some only operate on the weekends, but it's safe to say no matter what time of day it is if you walk a few blocks you'll find a market here in Chiang Mai. If you're looking for food souvenirs or pants to wear to cover your knees at the temples, the markets are a great place to shop. And if you're finding it too hot to be out during the day try waiting until later in the evening. The evenings are great for exploring Chiang Mai. It's much cooler out and the streets are beautifully lit up.

What about paying for everything? You can use your credit card at bigger restaurants and shops but cash in baht is often the easiest. We just took money out using the ATMs here. We paid about 220 baht per withdrawal.

If you're thinking about visiting Chiang Mai from Bangkok you can fly, take the bus, or drive, or take the train. There is an overnight train but we took the regular daytime train which took 10 hours and cost us $22 per ticket. We bought our tickets directly at the railway station in Bangkok about a week ahead of time.

Chiang Rai, Thailand has a population of about 200,000 and we really loved our time here. So let's get into what we did, where we stayed, and what our costs were like for the 3 days we spent here, starting with the Sunday market.

The Sunday market has tons of food options to choose from including lots of fruits and veggies, grilled meats, and even some grubs to pick up for dinner. Chris and I get into the jackfruit, which was absolutely delicious. The Chiang Rai Sunday market was one of our favs in Thailand. It's really a place for locals to pick up some food, dance, and hangout at the end of the week and it just felt cool to be a part of that.

The next morning I hit up Pro Gym, which had a lot of equipment to choose from, for 50 baht for a drop in. Then we got to sight seeing.

We headed to the bus terminal where we were able to catch a bus to the white temple for 25 baht per person.

The current version of the white temple was built in the late 1990s. The white colour represents the purity of Buddha, the mirrors that cover it represent the wisdom buddha shines on the world, and the walk over the bridge to the temple with hands coming out of the water beneath it represents the cycle of birth and death. The grounds also have these cool sculptures with surprisingly modern references to check out and some beautiful green areas to enjoy. The white temple costs 100 baht per person to enter and you must be dressed conservatively or they won't let you in.

In the evening when it's a little cooler out, we take a Grab from our hotel to the blue temple, which is free to enter. We walked around the grounds and watched the temple light up as the sky darkened.

In addition to the Sunday night market, Chiang Rai also has a more touristy nighly bazaar located right by the bus terminal.

The area also has lots of restaurants where we could get some kah soi noodle soup, money exchanges for us to get some Lao kip for our upcoming trip to Laos, laundromats where we could wash and dry our clothes for 90 baht, and places to buy food. Which is exactly what we needed.

After picking up some snacks and doing our laundry, we headed back to the Baan Jaru hotel we were staying at for $23 per night, to get a good night's sleep before our jungle trek the next day.

Our full-day jungle trek, including transportation and lunch cost 900 baht per person. Our trail took us uphill through the jungle and past a few small villages where we could pick up some refreshments before it was time to stop for lunch. Our guides made us a delicious lunch cooked on the fire, using bamboo and banana leaves.

After lunch we has more uphill hiking to a waterfall where we met a few local dogs that decided to join our group on our hike. When the hike was over, the dogs got into the truck with us so the guides could take them back to their home area.

And that's how we spent our 3 days in Chiang Rai, Thailand. We hope you enjoyed this video and don't forget to subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell so you know when our next video on our next country comes out.