/traveling · December 2024 - January 2025

Thailand

krabi · phuket · chiang mai · bangkok · koh phi phi · more

I went back to Thailand in 2025 with my wife while we were on a Southeast Asia tour.

We started in Vietnam, then flew to Cambodia before arriving in Bangkok to visit my wife's family. Sanjay mama and Vandana mainji were the most wonderful hosts.

Sanjay mama and Vandana mainji
Sanjay mama and Vandana mainji
Dinner with Sanjay mama, Vandana mainji, and Nani ji. Sanjay mama's house has beautiful antiques with an incredible story behind each one, collected over the course of a long career at the United Nations.

One of the most memorable parts of Bangkok was spending time with the most adorable baby ever!

Little Jojo was always smiling and laughing, and would wander around the apartment entertaining herself.

Chiang Mai#

We started the tourist part of our trip in Chiang Mai. One of the things you must do in Chiang Mai is eat at an authentic khao soi restaurant, and visit Doi Suthep. I personally like to rent a scooter and drive up the mountain, which is also much faster than taking a bus or taxi.

Street in Chiang Mai
Street in Chiang Mai
Eating khao soi with Roshni at a truly authentic restaurant, where a bowl of khao soi is around 40-50 baht ($1.50).

We drove the scooter all the way up to Bua Tong sticky waterfalls. Back in 2018, this was a very unknown destination that saw a handful of Thai tourists at most. Nowadays, it's a major tourist destination that is full of tour vans.

In the video below, you can see how easily someone can walk up the waterfalls with the water gushing down. On the right, my wife is monkeying around at the bottom of the falls.

The sticky waterfalls are truly a sight to behold.

There is an easy walking trail to hike down to the bottom of the falls, so you can walk back up on the calcium carbonate that has formed over the rock. When I was down at the bottom, I ran into one of my former students from Techlab!

Bua Tong sticky waterfalls
Bua Tong sticky waterfalls
Me and my wife at the bottom of the waterfalls, and a picture with my former student Mithil who happened to recognize me down there. What was even wilder is that we had actually run into another former Techlab student at the San Francisco airport as we were flying out for this trip. The Techlab students are everywhere!

We then hiked back up, which was very easy and not too crowded. We stopped halfway to eat some fruit and admire all the beautiful butterflies everywhere.

Bua Tong sticky waterfalls
Bua Tong sticky waterfalls
The view from the top of the waterfalls.

Railay#

I was dying to get back to Railay as soon as possible. We flew from Chiang Mai directly to the Krabi airport, then took a longtail boat to Railay.

The longtail boat to Railay, and our first meal back in Railay at my favorite restaurant which is conveniently named 'Welcome Back'.

We arrived at Railay around 10pm, and it was way more packed than last time. Last time I was in Railay, it was virtually empty except for a handful of tourists. I was genuinely happy to see it that way, since it means that all the local businesses on the island are getting customers.

Diving in Koh Phi Phi#

When we arrive on Koh Phi Phi, we didn't have a hotel, and it seemed like all the hotels in the entire south of Thailand were booked that weekend. Luckily, we stumbled on Barakuda Diving, where the owner is a real gem and the divemasters are all wonderful people. We actually ended up staying in an empty room above the dive center for a very affordable price, which also made it super easy to be ready for diving every day and have a place to hang out at night.

Diving instructor at Koh Phi Phi
Diving instructor at Koh Phi Phi, and getting back onto the diving boat.

I'm not the best diver, I have trouble equalizing in my ears and I use oxygen way too fast. However, this time was much better because our divemaster showed me new techniques for equalizing, and I learned how to stay calm and not kick my legs too hard.

Roshni, on the other hand, was a natural. The diving instructors were remarking on how well she could stay stable underwater and just glide from place to place. She usually ended her dives with 80-100 more bars of oxygen than everyone else.

Underwater school of fish
Coral reef at Koh Phi Phi
Roshni under the water
Keshav under the water
We had a great time diving in Koh Phi Phi and seeing some of the world-reknown diving spots around the island.

Overall it was an amazing experience on Koh Phi Phi, and I can't wait to go back and dive with Barakuda again!

cd /traveling