I come to realise when trying to find accessible rooms in Phuket there was not a lot of information available. So I have compiled a list that I have physically gone and inspected and got as much information and pictures for you as possible.

Below you will the accessibility options for Novatel Phuket Vintage Park Resort, The Kee Resort and Spa, Sheraton Four Points Patong, Holliday Inn Resort Patong & Baan Khaolak Beach Resort

Novotel Phuket Vintage Park Resort Phuket

We spent 3 nights in this hotel during our stay. My mother the guest requiring the accessible room is on a walking frame and also uses a wheelchair in the room but is not wheelchair bound so the requirements of someone unable to walk at all may be slightly different.

About the accessibility

The lobby is on the 2nd floor. When you arrive you are required to drive up a steep ramp in a car. This 1st ramp would be a challenge for someone manually pushing. There is then a set of stairs and a ramp of medium steepness. 2 staff members would always push my mother up the ramp to the lobby.I felt reassured that if one slipped or fell over she was safe.

From the lobby, you will cross a completely flat bridge overlooking the swimming pool and pool bar. Take a left past the elevator. You will arrive at room 1210.

Breakfast is on the 1st floor. The best 2 ways we found to go from the room are

1 – Cross the bridge on the 2nd floor to the elevator closer to the lobby. Go down to the first floor walk to the left and you will find “The Square” dining room.
2 – Take the elevator closest to the room. The ramp to cross the bridge on the 1st floor is so steep we did not even consider trying to push the wheelchair up and over it. Out of the elevator turn right and walk around the swimming pool to the opposite side of the pool where the entrance to the “The Square” dining room. A slight annoyance of this way is there is a tile missing at the bottom of the ramp closet to the elevator making it a bump for the smaller front wheels to not smoothly roll over.
Option 2 Pictured Below

Accessibility to “The Square” Restaurant

This was a slight challenge during our stay There are 2 small steps to enter the restaurant. The biggest difficulty with these steps is they are about the same length as the wheelchair apart. So you only just get the wheelchair up on the 1st platform and need to get up the second step. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of this area.

Easy Access to Carpark

As above with option 2 (breakfast is on 1st-floor sub heading). When you get to the end of the swimming pool and turn left towards the dining room if you instead walk straight past the dining room there is a gate if you follow the “To Beach” sign this will take you to the car park via a small ramp on the entrance side of the car park. The car park security will try to guide you to park on the exit side of the car park when you go to park. If you park on the entrance side it saves having to enter your room by going up the steep ramp unloading your wheelchair from the car and then parking the car and having staff push you up the next ramp. We only went up the main ramp on check-in, Check out & the day it was raining when returned.
* Do note walking past the “The Square” dining room (not the entrance side) there is another floor tile missing that they have used to make drainage for air conditioners in the restaurant. This makes a slight annoyance every time passing this way.

Things to be aware of with this room

There is a small step entering the room as you will notice in the photos it is approx 4cm high.
There is a small step in the shower approx 3cm high to enter the shower although the rest is flat.
There are sufficient handrails and a shower seat made into the stone wall.
The room only comes in a twin single bed configuration
There are not many powerpoints (1 above desk, 1 double on one side of bed & Shaver plug)
There are so many light switches located all over the place.

Room to book

There is only 1 accessible room available in this hotel.
You must book the room grade Superior room.
Request room 1210 via email.
I would suggest you contact them prior to booking to ensure this room is available for your preferred period.

Night Blooming Lobby Bar

This area is flat from the lobby area. You are able to enjoy the area with a 2-for-1 cocktail in the evening.
Take a look at the menu click here

Overall conclusion

If you are wheelchair bound this room may not be 100% suitable for your needs. After a few steps into the room and into “The Square” restaurant. For someone on a walking frame or walking sticks the room is quite manageable. During our stay, we used a wheelchair that was pushed around by myself and managed fine. Whilst inside the room my mother on a walking frame felt really safe in the room. I will write to the hotel and suggest they modify the steps of the restaurant and the few in the room to be more suitable. In conclusion, we would choose this property again in the future for a semi-accessible room.

Video Link To Walkthrough

Check Price & Availability

Four Points by Sheraton Phuket

First I must disclose I haven’t physically stayed here. I viewed the room during our stay as I found out about this accessible hotel after we had already booked and wanted to check it out for future reference. If your looking for a 100% wheelchair-friendly venue this one definitely ticks all the boxes as far as the room is concerned.

About the accessibility

There are 2 ramps that enter the foyer one is much longer and less steep but both are of a good standard. The floor was completely flat all the way to the room with no need to use the elevator. I can’t comment on where the breakfast is held as forgot to ask.

About the room

The room had a new fresh feel. The bathroom was the most suitable of all the venues we have looked at. I believe this would be suitable for a wheelchair-bound person with ample space to navigate and move around. They may need to move the table and chair to free up space for access to the left side of the bed as the right side I don’t believe would be wide enough for the chair to slide down.

Access to Carpark

The car park is an underground 2-story park. It is less desirable to park in as is quite narrow with steep ramps and narrow parks. I didn’t enquire if there were any accessible parks please feel free to let me know and will update here.

Room to book

We physicality inspected room 1106 which is what all photos and videos are from. They said they have about 5 accessible rooms in Superior Room Grade and there is 1 Deluxe Accessible room. Although she sounded very unsure the Deluxe would ever be available. I’m pretty sure she said only came in a double bed configuration. Please check directly if you require otherwise

Overall conclusion

Although I didn’t physically stay here or have a wheelchair to push around. I believe this location would be suitable for someone wheelchair-bound. A slight modification of removing the table and chair may be required. The bathroom should be manageable. For someone like my mother on a walking frame, she would manage easily although I believe she would prefer an additional verticle rail in the shower.

Video Walkthrough

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Holiday Inn Resort Phuket

Again I would like to acknowledge we didn’t physically stay in this hotel just inspected the room.

About the accessibility

The location is flat from the reception. You are required to use the elevator to get to the accessible room.
The pool is located far away from the room. My walk to the swimming area had a way with no steps.

About the room

Whilst the room was set up well for someone like my mother on a walking frame. I’m not 100% sure the space is open enough for a wheelchair-bound person. The distance between the end of the bed and the wall may not be sufficient. The location of the room was quite a distance from the hotel lobby requiring 1 elevator trip.

I believe they stated there are 2 accessible rooms available. The one I inspected was room 403. They only come in twin single-bed configurations.

Why we didn’t stay here

Whilst the accessibility factor for a walking frame user would have been perfect. For the price point, this hotel didn’t have the WOW factor compared to the Novotel Vintage Park hotel. Once entering the hotel you walk through dark hallways to the room with no nice views like the Novotel. As I came and inspected this hotel and the Novotel prior to the trip with my mother this influenced the other hotel although this may have been a bit better accessibility-wise.

Video Walkthrough

Check Price & Availibility

We stayed here for 2 nights. I was unable to view the room prior to booking as was booked the days I was there but went on a whim of seeing a person in an electric wheelchair in the foyer. There is a ramp from the car drop-off straight up to the foyer.

The Kee Resort & Spa Patong

Overall thoughts.

I would not recommend this hotel for anyone requiring accessibility let alone wheelchair accessibility. There is a major issue with the air conditioning making the floors have condensation and super slippery.

Whilst there are no steps into the room or bathroom the rooms as they have installed ramps one room is a slippery tile ramp and the other is a grippy ramp.

I have bought a list of issues to the General Manager of the hotel and will leave it for him to rectify. He has responded to me in a positive manner although accessibility wise it is not an ideal hotel. The location is the reason I took a whim without looking at the room.

There are 2 ramp bridges over the swimming pool to get to the room. 1 is quite steep and the other one hidden on the other side of the restaurant is better but often cluttered with stuff from the kitchen having to get them to move stuff on multiple occasions.

Room to book

Should you still want to book these rooms the room numbers are 3207 & 3208 which are joining rooms. But the door joining the rooms does not open properly from the swelling of the door from condensation/water on the floor.

The main differences between the rooms are
3208 has a grippy ramp rather than a slippery tile one of 3207 into the bathroom.
3208 has rails next to the toilet whereas 3207 does not.
3208 has a slight ridge (step) into the shower whereas 3207 had some kind of stainless steel rounded step which I’m not sure what the purpose was.

Video Walkthrough Room 3207

Video Walkthrough Room 3208

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Baan Khaolak Beach Resort

This hotel is not actually in Phuket, it is approximately 70km from Phuket International Airport. I have not personally been here but have found out about it since going to Phuket. This hotel is 100% catered to wheelchair users. They have the chair hoist into the pool and a beach wheelchair that I believe can go into the sea as well.

These are some photos I have taken from their Facebook page credit to the respective owners

Website

Please click here to go directly to the hotel’s website.

Please click here to go directly to their Facebook Page

If you search google for the below phrase will get a lot of different videos
Baan Khao Lak beach resort wheelchair video

You will also find some information regarding wheelchairs on the “Accessible Phuket” page which can access by clicking.

Check Price & Availability

Other Helpful Equipment

We ordered a bed stick of Lazada. Prior to our trip to Thailand. Mum uses one at home and for under 1000 baht ($40 AUD) delivered made her travels a lot easier. It has 2 clips that pop out so it can be packed flat and fit in our (large) suitcase afterwards.

Another device we found to make the toilet in the room better as the toilets are quite small standing about 30cm from ground level was a toilet seat booster that just clips on the toilet seat.

Whilst postage is fast in Thailand generally the next day or so do note the Toilet Seat booster we ordered came from china and took about a week to 10 days to arrive in Thailand. You could order these things dirrect to your hotel to hold for you if you are in need of them. It’s what we have done and mum thanked the heavens I did.

Know of somewhere else not mentioned?

I would like to keep this page as relevant to the topic as possible. If you know of another Hotel in Phuket or Thailand please comment below so I can investigate further.

Check Out Our Other Thailand Posts

As a tourist, I never realised how many amazing coffee shops there are scattered around Thailand. Now that I am living half the year here I find my family members on their days of love to go to visit the jaw-dropping ones. We are obsessed with driving all over Thailand & our friends can never keep up what province we are in.

This page will be an index of all of the posts. I will update this post after going to a new one so be sure to check back.

If you know of a good one I have missed please comment below!

Southern Cross Cafe

At Southern Cross, as you walk in you are greeted by the petting zoo of statue animals. Although the food is what makes this place stand out. Almost everything is made to order there and the best flavours of International and Thai cuisine can be tasted here.

I have almost made it through there whole menu you can read about it here

Moai Coffee ร้านกาแฟ โมอาย คอฟฟี่

Escape from Thailand to the Easter Islands for just long enough to take some photos. We saw this place on the drive camping in Suan Phung and stopped on the way home. I would not go out of my way to visit here but if it is on your way to where you are going definitely stop through.

If you want to see more pictures I from our visit CHECK THEM OUT HERE

House 1,000 wood Cafe & Farm – บ้าน ๑,๐๐๐ ไม้

Alongside the Bang Toei river is the great cafe and small farm. It has some fun free activities for the kids like getting water from the well, sandpits and has never-ending beautiful photo spots. If you are traveling from Bangkok to Ayutthaya or vice versa this would make a perfect stop for a bit of chill time.

If you would like to see my full post click here

Baanna Cafe – บ้านนากาแฟ

Baanna Kafe is in a beautiful location on a large rice field with a backdrop of mountains. There is an endless photo opportunity for a great photo and there is a resident Great Dane who is ever so friendly.

Our previous post on Baanna Kafe is here

Na Krung Kao – นากรุงเก่า

Na Krung Kao would have to be the biggest coffee shop/ restaurant we have been to in Thailand. The grounds have been designed over many rice fields to truly leave people wowed! If you were traveling from Bangkok to Ayutthaya this would be a great choice to stop by for a look!

If you would like to read more about Na Krung Kao I have a post here all about it

Menna มีนา cafe’ Kanchanaburi

Thai people love to do a day trip to Wat Tham Suea. Followed by a stop to the famous noodle cafe and Menna Cafe. It is a beautiful site located in Kanchanaburi overlooking a rice field and you can see the temple at the top of the mountain. I recommend you do all 3. But this post all about coffee shops so you will have to read about on the link below

You can read about this day trip here.

Ma Ha Cafe Boon – มา-หา กาแฟบุญ วัดหุบกระทิง

Ma Ha Cafe Boon is a great project that was started by the local temple. The head monk had a vision of empty land to be transformed into a paradise that benefits their community as well as teaches farming techniques and the way of Buddhism. That’s right all the profit goes back into increasing this project and supporting the locals.

You can read the full story here and check out more pictures of Ma Ha Cafe Boon – มา-หา กาแฟบุญ วัดหุบกระทิง

Tara Coffee ธาราคอฟฟี่

Tara coffee has a relaxing vibe to it with bean bags to chill on next to the Mae Klong river. Their menu is all presented with love. They truly give 110% in the presentation of food.

Check out my previous post on Tara Coffee here!

Rain Tree Coffee

Rain Tree Coffee Shop was one of the first themed coffee shops I visited outside of Bangkok. I really enjoy walking around there garden and looking at everything. You can combine a trip here with the unique77 as they are next door to each other

You can see my previous post here definitely worth a look

Unique 77 Cafe

If you are a car enthusiast Unique 77 is the place for you to go. The owner has a private collection of ever-changing cars you can go and drool over. Located next to Rain Tree Coffee why not just do both?

Check my earlier post about Unique 77 and see more cars!

Cafe Chedi – คาเฟ่-เจดีย์ – Suphan Buri

Cafe Chedi คาเฟ่-เจดีย์. It is located along the Song Phi Nong river overlooking the Sapan Khong Floating Market. If your feeling adventurous, They have hammock style nets to chill in overhanging the river.

Check out my full post on Cafe Chedi here!

Pin Fah Farm – ปิ่นฟ้าฟาร์ม -Pathum Thani

On the border of Ayutthaya district is this great farm where you can enjoy the surroundings of nature with some activities for the kids. The food is cheap, There is a petting zoo, paddle boats and can also feed the fish! Enough to keep everyone entertained.

Read more about pin far farm by clicking here

The saying goes if you haven’t been to these holy places, You haven’t been to Isan. Well, so the Thai’s tell me. This trip was planned by Luna as has been on her bucket list for some time.

We flew into Udon Thani for a 4 day holiday to visit an auntie who enjoys living in a temple with the monks. She picked us up at the airport and took us a couple of the surrounding sights. Following dropping her back at the temple that evening we borrowed her car to go explore some of the famous sites around Northern Thailand along the Laos border. You could easily combine a similar trip with a trip to Laos as there are 2 friendship bridges and multiple boat crossings. We were not prepared with sufficient paperwork of car ownership and visa for myself so we just explored to the Mekong River border in Thailand.

We were lucky enough to have use of a car for free. If you are renting one make sure you have appropriate licences. For Australians, we require an international permit as well as our original Australian licence card. We were stopped 2 times Isan once just licence check and the other was I was going to fast.

Appropriate clothing

If you are planning to visit temples remember to wear polite clothes and to cover their shoulders and wear something long to cover your knees. Alternatively, you could take a sarong with you for when entering holy places. Or 2 one for over your shoulders and waist.

I was wearing a rude shirt a couple of days because ran out of clean ones but I kept a polite one in the car and just put over the top when visiting.

Red Lotus Lake

From Udon Thani airport we drove just under 1 hour to Red Lotus Lake. We were offered a boat ride for 4 people for 500 baht which would last about 2 hours and take us out further to see the best parts. The best time to come and do the boat ride is just before sunrise about 6 am as this is when the flowers open up and are at there best but before 11 am as the sun gets too hot and they tend to close up. It was not the best season either so just skipped the boat trip. The Ideal time to go is December – February

There was a rainbow-painted bridge here which made a good photo stop. We ended up visiting another Lotus pond later on in the trip can read about it below.

Rotary Sun Clock Thai/Korean

Just over the other rainbow bridge a 2-minute walk there is a rotary club sun clock.

The translation in general says:
Memorial between Thai rotary club and Korean rotary club
Its a community economic development project to enhance community living for Kumvapee village, Sakon Nakhon province

Wat Kham Chanot

From Red Lotus Lake we drove another 1 hour 40 mins to Wat Kham Chanot. On the drive to this temple, there are a lot of offerings like I have never seen before from little stalls along the road. Such amazing crafting made from plants in a range of sizes starting as low as 40 baht up to few thousand baht. We bought one for us and one for our friend who knew we where going wanted us to buy one for them.

When entering the temple there is a large Naka Statue at the beginning of the bridge. First, you must remove your shoes. They Say your luck will only come true if you touch the statue from the head to the tail without letting go. Yes, it’s a few minutes walk as you can see behind in the photo below.

When parking the car someone sold us 2 small plastic bottles for 20 baht so we could take some holy water home with us. Unfortunately, we had no checked luggage and was confiscated at airport security.

They also allow you to wash away your sins by pouring water over you there too

The beliefs that Thai people have of Naka would come from India in many ways. Just like the Thai script that was adapted from India hundreds of years ago.

They believe that Naka is the god of water and able to inspire fortune and fertility. They offer flowers also known as Baisi for the chance of the winning lottery numbers or the chance to a bare child.

You will see Thai people scratching the tree or pouring powder (not allowed) onto the tree trying to find a reference to numbers. They believe these numbers are lucky for the lottery!

A Modern Buddha Pagoda -พระบรมธาตุเจดีย์ศรีมงคล

From red lotus lake, we drove about 90 minutes to this recently finished pagoda. As we got close could see it across the lake from the main road.

Upon entering you are greeted by 2 golden lions

As you enter the pagoda be careful as the tiles seemed quite slippery near the entry.

After looking around & praying on the bottom floor you can climb the stairs out the back and view again from the 1st floor.

After you can actually climb some more stairs at the back and there is a small museum of old artifacts and treasures to view above.

Small Naka Shrine By River

Next to the river a short walk there’s the neka (snake god) shrine

Feed The Fish

There were some ladies with a small store near the bathrooms at the entrance. They sell bread and seeds that you can go over and feed the fish from the sala (Gazebo). We bought about 4 loaves of bread and 8 of fish food and there was no shortage of fish going crazy for the food.

It is not allowed to go fishing or catch the fish within the compound of any temple.

Hotel stay at Chom Dao Hotel & Resort – Sakon Nakhon

After dropping auntie back at the temple we headed to the closest town for some dinner which wasn’t special enough to even mention and find a hotel close by. We chose Chom Dao Hotel as the price was incredible for what the photos showed. The only had one standard room (340baht) and 1 bungalow (425 baht) so we took them both. In Aussie dollars, that’s $16 & $20

For full review and photos check this post

The Next Morning, Breakfast with the Monks

As a westerner, this was quite a unique experience that was very far from the main touristy temple visits. The head monk who is apparently very holy and famous in Thailand talked with us for about an hour after they finished there 1 meal of the day. The monks in this temple only eat once a day although some other monks in different temples may eat twice a day.

It is custom for Thai people to go to the temple on their birthday. One monk asked us if who’s birthday it was thinking that’s why we came.

Anyone can eat with the monks but how?

Auntie explained to us we would have to arrive at the temple before 6 am with an offering of food. This food can be anything you make or buy along the way. We managed to buy 2 whole grilled chickens close to our hotel.

At the first sign of light, the monks leave the temple and walk around outside the temple seeking donations of sticky rice from the local villagers. As the sun was starting to come up around 6:10 am the 4 monks returned with there sticky rice offerings and placed there bowls on display, prayed and then sat down.

Local villagers started also arriving with there own offerings of food. The men take the rice to the monks.

The women start plating up the offerings from the containers and bags people have donated.

Once the food was placed into bowls it was put onto trays & then placed onto small-wheeled trays so the monks could take some food and pass it on to the next monk. Here it is important that only a man can be the one to push and take away from the monks. Women are not allowed to and women are also not allowed to touch a monk. A woman can push the food to the man who can then push to the monk.

Before they started eating the head monk said something into the microphone and done the interesting chanting that they do. I’m no expert on what they say or do all I know is it is quite hypnotic sounds.

Once the monks have taken a bit of all the offerings the remaining food is then offered to anyone who is in need or at the temple. If you are poor or have no money they welcome you to join. Although the welcome extends to anybody at all. After the people eat if there is remaining food it goes to the animals.

We feasted on some super local foods and I was lucky to try some very unusual fruits that were even not common to Luna as they are from deep in the jungle and not easy to find.

After breakfast and clean up the monk spoke with us for a while. We met 2 young twin boys who the monk adopted from a super poor family and parents were unable to take care of. The boys came to the monk as they needed 20 baht for school for the day. We gave them 100 baht each (A$4-5) and they counted the number of days that would help them for school. It was 5 days as they only need 20 baht a day.

We hit the road again for another day of adventure.

Wat Tham Pha Daen

This would have to be my favourite temple we visited. Just for the pure beauty of the landscape and massive Naka statue which looked amazing with the cloud formations of the day.

You can’t drive the whole way to this temple. The road is blocked off at a car park on the way up the mountain and you must pay 20 baht (return price) to get a van up to the top. I think this is purely because there is insufficient parking at the top.

This temple had a lot of interesting wooden things and stone carvings to admire.

Once you get up further you will get to a coffee shop which has a magnificent view!

Then the gigantic Neka statue overlooking pristine treetops and the big golden rock.

Dinner at Little Farm Hug Restaurant

We drove past Little Farm Hug Restaurant on the way to check out the best hotels to stay near the bars but we knew we wanted to eat there. I’m so glad we did. It was the best food we had on our 4-day trip. If we were staying longer we would have gone back.

To see the full review of Little Farm Hug Click Here to open a new tab! Believe me, you want to see this very cute farm-style restaurant!

Vince Hotel – Sakon Nakhon

Originally I had planned to stay in “The Hop Inn -Sakon Nakhon” but they were fully booked. Vince hotel was just around the corner. I chose this location because it was closest to the most lively looking bars in the area and wanted to have a few brews that evening. Whilst it was a Tuesday night we did manage to find a few places close by for a few brews.

The hotel had a very fancy look with a very budget price of just 444 baht per room ($A21). Whilst I would stay there again there where a few things they could improve on that matter to me more than a nice look.

• The sheets although seemed clean where stained in both rooms
• The towels were so stiff they were more like exfoliating towels
• There was a bit of mould in the bathroom in multiple places, Under the counter of the sink and in the shower.
• The general cleanliness could use improving

If you still consider staying at Vince hotel here’s
a link to cheapest price available

Or click the picture below and will search over 100 sites for the cheapest price of hotels close by!

Few Places For Some Drinks Close By

First stop was Golden Pond Coyote we sat down whilst some girls were dancing in their underwear. They looked sad and bored with only one senior citizen sitting in there not even looking at the stage. We sat for about a minute no one offered us menus or drinks the vibe wasn’t there so we left. There were about 10 girls inside the bar though if you wanted to know.

Second stop not too far away was hashtag hero cafe. They had a funky theme of superheroes memorabilia everywhere. They had a solo artist playing guitar there the main reason we went in. Was quite amazed she sang western songs very well. The artwork in the men’s room made me laugh but you will have to go there to see it yourself.

Third Stop we stopped past some big club looking thing but they where taking the signs in as we arrived not sure what it was so we skipped straight to the next place

Fourth Stop Country Road Saloon looks like on a weekend would be a great party. The outdoor seating is made of old red cinema chairs with cup holders. We where about to go back to the room and call it a night as the keyboard player/singer was not very entertaining when we heard a band start next door to our

Final Stop The Loft living bar – Had a full band play for about 90 minutes where we busted out and ordered a bottle of Sangsom and some soda had a bite to eat before turning in.

Lunch at บ้านฟ้าโปร่งสกลนคร

The feel of the restaurant is quite unique with a waterwheel and lots to look at. Whilst we dined in the air-conditioned room the decor is a very warm feeling. The food is all beautifully presented but I just found the food to be quite bland flavours. It could have been that I just drank too much whisky the night before and was in a bad mood but if you were looking for a nice venue to dine in different from the normal it’s worth stopping by. Do note the price here is quite high and the coffee was not the best.

Phra That Choeng Chum

Luna was very excited to come to this temple. Very famous and holy Luna told me. They say if you don’t come to this temple, you have never been to Sakon Nakhon.

By this time we arrived, I was hungover and sick of taking my goddam shoes off all the time. It was raining, I was grumpy and to be honest, I really didn’t care anymore about visiting temples.

Luna took some great photos below and heart here was pretty amazing with there was still a lady painting away. It’s definitely worth stopping by if you’re close by! I wish I went in now I seen the photos. So close.

Udomdetwat Mansion

Next stop was to look at some old french colonial-style buildings that were built in 1933 A.D. by Vietnamese immigrants. There where actually 3 buildings not next to each other in this area. We seen 2 and later realized we missed 1.

Cute Cafe Across The Road

Directly across the road from the mansion, there is a really cute cafe with great coffee should you need a rest and a coffee fix. Their bathrooms were clean but located upstairs. I think the owners really love Doraemon

Lotus Pond

We found this by pot luck as we were driving back and stopped for a look. They have a few bridges across the centre of the lake and was quite a lot of different coloured lotus to be seen. There was another big Naka statue here also as well as a playground should you want to make a family day out.

Riverside Hotel – วังน้ำก่ำรีสอร์ท

Thailand, Laos Market Monday & Thursday

An interesting market that is open twice a week we were lucky to be there on a Thursday morning. They have a range of interesting fruits and vegetables some I have never seen before as well as lots of clothes new & second hand, Shoes, Jewelry, Old money, The list goes on. This is quite a large market I would allow at least 2 hours if you want to walk the lot.

It is definitely worth stopping by if you’re here and see the 2 countries sell their wares. The stuff here is super cheap!

Open 6am – 12pm Mondays & Thursdays
although they where only just starting to pack up at 11 am in some places

Vietnamese Lunch At ดาวทอง อาหารเวียดนาม

I was excited to eat some Vietnamese food its not something you see a lot of in Thailand. In Australia, its become quite popular the last 5 or so years.

Wow, it was super cheap for restaurant prices! We ordered too much and ate it all and also got some Isan sausage to take away it was that good!

Read the full post with menus and photos here

Wat Phra That Phanom

After a delicious lunch, just a few streets away ventured into the temple through some amazing wooden carved door with every door a different design. They also had a different Chinese zodiac animal on the bottom of each door.

Although the temple is still under construction/ being renovated it is still a remarkable sight that can be seen all the way from the Mekong River.

Kaeng Krabao Park

We found this park by accident. As we were driving to the next location it there was a tourist sign saying something about rapids so we took a slight detour and went and found this lovely park. I’m still not too sure what the rapids they where talking about there where a few little ripples in the Mekong River although I’m not sure that’s enough to make a tourist sign for.

If you wanted a professional photo taken with the Naka statue you may be in luck. There were 2 people trying to take photos for you for a small price of 50 or 100 baht. They had a little stall with the prices on the side although they will definitely approach you before you see them. These photos did look good although we didn’t get one. I’m not sure why we would want a photo of some random people standing at the statue we were looking at.

Before you reach the river from the car park there is a large section dedicated to the Chinese Zodiac signs. A perfect time to have a photo with your year of the animal. Luna got mine wrong. I think she just wants a buffalo. I’m a tiger baby!

Wat Songkhon-Catholic Shrine Of The Martyrs Of Thailand

Opening Hours 8am-5pm

This was the one place Luna really wanted to visit again. She made a long bus trip with her grandma when she was a child. Luna vaguely remembered being able to walk around in the wooden houses carefully as the were old and could fall through the floor. Now they are roped off many years later to preserve.

The story, as I understood it was in 1940 the police came through and demanded everyone stopped worshipping Jesus under the Catholic church. These 7 children stood up in their belief and said we would rather die than not praise Jesus. All 7 were shot dead for refusing to quit their Christian faiths. This memorial is to remember the brutal Thai history. It is known as the 7 martyrs

Something I translated
They are regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as the ” Martyrs and Pope John Paul II were jointly proclaimed at St. Peter’s Basilica on October 22, 1989.

They have preserved the wooden house that they lived in. Although it is no longer safe to go inside as Luna remembers as a young child.

The Holy Well To Cure Sickness & Diseases

Across the road from the main entrance is where they have the holy well and another memorial with a lake.

The well was pad locked.

Overall a bit of interesting Thai history. If you manage to come during Mass hours I hear that have a good thrift shop. But we were too late.

We Slept In The Temple

So we had an early flight the next morning and had to leave at 4 am to get to the airport on time. We were offered a room in the Buddhist temple for the night. This was something new for me. I have never slept in a temple before.

Breakfast At King Ocha

This is a very popular and well known to locals as the place to eat breakfast. It’s cheap and will fill your belly for the morning. I had the eggs and the baguette. Its quite simple food I wouldn’t go as far to say it was amazing but it did the job and the locals may disagree with me as people just kept on coming.

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Here is a write up of what cards I use & recommend for Australians who are planning a trip overseas. The Debit Cards & Credit Cards that will save you a tonne of money!

Disclaimer – Please Understand

I am not a financial adviser, I am not affiliated or trying to sell these products. These are just my personal favorite bank cards I believe every traveler should have to save money for them self. The details below may have changed or be inaccurate. Please check their website for full details as this is just intended as a guide to help you make an informed decision of the products available. Should I be aware of change I will update. Make sure these products are suited to your situation by checking there website as this is just a guide.

Back to the money stuff…

Gone are the days of NAB Gold account where you could spend $10 a month to have unlimited withdraws from any where world wide.Which was waived if you deposited so much a month into the account. Replaced with a fee ridden Travel Card sold as “the all mighty Travelers best friend” Not just this one. Every travel card you look closely is only good for the bank.

First let me explain some terminology

The wholesale exchange rate- is basically the closest you or I will get to the real rate. Its used by Banks, Large corporations, Private & Public institutions for large currency transactions.

The Bank Exchange Rate – Is the wholesale rate minus what ever fee’s they want. To make the magic rate they offer. So the banks rate is always lower than wholesale and bank to bank it will vary.

Examples of Wholesale vs Bank Rate

Heres an example of the difference of wholesale vs bank rate from a Big Australian bank.
Screenshoted both at same time.
Along with the travel card fees sheet

Sites Used above XE.com for wholesale vs NAB.com.au for bank rate

Compare xe.com with any travel card or rate you are getting alternatively can check on google

Difference of A$38

Do note the wording they don’t charge you to withdraw your money but the ATM owners may. Just note in Thailand alone they charge 180baht – 300 baht (A$7-12) per Transaction. Some ATMs in Asia only let you take out A$200-$300 at 1 time. So if you want A$1000 and need cash you will have to pay $35-60 just to take money out the ATM not including the difference in wholesale rate and bank rate.

The fees are worse on your normal non travel bank card

I hate to tell you the odds get even worse if not a travel card normally a 3% currency conversion charge on top of the Bank Exchange Rate and a international withdrawal fee. For NAB classic account its $5 per international withdrawal.

Quick Maths on $200 AUD withdrawal internationally from NAB classic card – about the same for all banks

• $5 – Nab international Fee
• $6 – 3% of $200 AUD international conversion fee
• $7-12 Thai ATM Fee (fee’s vary per country and ATM)
• = $18 to $23 per withdrawal of $200
  So basically your loosing about 10% on this example
  This example doesn’t even include bank vs wholesale rate difference.

Everybody hates the fine print!

No one wants to read the fine print of anything. We just want a simple solution. All they do is extract their % out of your travel budget. I’d rather spend this on beer and a fancy new monkey t-shirt.

One possible benefit of the travel card if you can predict the future.

The only benefit they do have that is different to the recommendations below. Is you lock in an exchange rate which you happily agree on. This will be below market rate at the bank rate.

So unless you can predict the future and know the market is going to to crash before you holiday. There really is no benefit in my opinion. It could go up and you loose out there because its locked in.

Take Cash

Whilst I find a lot of people recommending this option, I don’t believe its the best. Take some cash but not all. Even with a hotel room safe they are not always 100% safe. The hotel has got a master key and depending on what country you are in they may not have 100% honest staff. Generally travel insurance does not cover loss of cash or if does it is a very small amount. Ask yourself, If I lost all my spending money should it be from a pick pocket, safe, drunk night out can I survive with out it? I like to take enough cash to keep me afloat for a few days should something happen to my bank card. Also wise to keep your cards separate if you don’t need them both.

So how do you get the wholesale rate?

Easy these 3 cards I use all are designed for international use. With no additional fee’s involved if you use them properly. Here are the 3 cards I wont leave home without. Also the 4th option is who I recommend if you wish to transfer money to an International bank account at the wholesale rate.

ING Orange Debit Card

My #1 Card. A must have!
A great fee free card with a couple of caveats.
They offer a card that you can withdraw out of any ATM world wide and they will reimburse you the ATM charge. They also give you the wholesale rate.

Something to note. If you want $200 and the ATM fee is $10. you must have $210 in your account. The ATM fee is generally reimbursed instantly but there terms say within 5 business days

There is a few conditions you must meet each month

• Deposit $1000 a month into the account
• Make 5 purchases using card (excludes cash withdrawals and balance check, EFTPOS cash withdraws and cash advances)
• The 5 transactions must settle before end of month (not pending)

The first month you automatically get the benefit
If you meet the above conditions they will also give you bonus interest on your linked saving account with no other conditions or withdrawal restrictions as well.

Truth is there is 1 bad feature

One issue I have raised with ING that they acknowledged was a good feature is there is no way to bypass a SMS security code for an online purchase, should they detect something suspicious (like your trying to buy stuff whilst in a high risk of fraud country). With 28 degrees you can opt to enter you credit limit and date of birth to bypass the sms pin. This caught me out once overseas trying to book another night in hotel at 10 mins to check out and no Telstra coverage. Although it didn’t leave me high and dry It could of if it was my only option. They need to do something as a backup option especially as its marketed for travel and foreign transactions.

Have I qualified this month

It is easy to keep track if you have met the requirements for the month in the app under the “Rebates” tab. It also tells you how much you have saved in ATM & International fees for the financial year. Yes thats I have saved $172 in ATM fees adds up quick huh!

Tell them your leaving Australia

So if you have a holiday booked in the app you can put the countries you are visiting and the dates (to do so click 3 lines top left, cog wheel top right, use card overseas). This will help your card not getting blocked for suspicious activities. On return home you will receive an email with how much you saved in ATM & Fees

How to further protect your card from ATM skimming

Option 1 Transfer from savings account

I do this process all the time. It 100% Guarantees no money can be taken out of your account by fraudulent activities.
1st -You can open a free linked savings account with higher interest rate at same time of opening card account.
2nd -Simply keep all your money in this account as it is not able to be withdrawn from atm
3rd – When you need to withdraw money simply transfer the money on the ING APP. If your unsure of the exchange rate simply check on XE.com or download the XE APP

Option 2 Put card on hold

How to put on hold?

Simply log on to the APP on your phone and click the arrow next to the account name

A spare card

You can request a spare card from ING. Just make sure you tell them your current one has not been lost or stolen. You can keep that card as a spare should something happen to your bank card like eaten by ATM or damaged.
*NOTE* Don’t activate the replacement card until you require it or it will cancel your old card. A link pops up in online banking app after they issue a new card to activate online.

28 Degrees Credit Master Card

If you are disciplined enough to pay off in full each month. This card can work really well for you. If you can not control your spend or blow budgets don’t bother even considering the card it has a high interest rate of 21.99% .

• Interest rate of 21.99% on purchases & cash advances
• Flight Delay Pass – If your flights delayed more than 2 hours
• Up to 55 days interest free if paid by due dates
• No Annual Fee
• Mastercard Wholesale Rate
• Free wifi internationally with boingo
• Free International Card Replacement

Great backup

A feature I like about this card is sometimes if they think your transaction is suspicious they prompt you with a SMS code (for online purchases). This is fine if you have mobile reception but if you have a foreign sim card in phone or your provider has no towers then what? Its ok you can bypass it with you credit limit & birth date. This is a feature the ING lacks and can catch you out. Believe me I know its happened to me. Lucky I had this card as a backup!

I personally use this card for booking all my hotels and flights. As sometimes booking these things can be cheaper in a foreign currency and its usually the home country of the hotel. When you get the wholesale rate you can compare on XE or Google and know the cost will be very similar. This is the same principle with the ING orange card. Just with the ING Orange Card you have to have the cash available now I would rather have that cash sit in my Home loan offset or Savings account for the interest free period (up to 55 days) until few days before due date of credit card statement.

Citi Bank Plus Debit Card

This card saved my thousands in my trips to Bangkok before I learned about the ING card which is a lot more convenient. If your destination has Citi Bank you can use their ATM world wide at no cost. They also offer the wholesale rate on all transactions and cash withdrawals.

It takes a little more research on where it has ATM’s but its a good back up card to have. For instance there is only 4 Citi bank ATM’s in Bangkok (possibly all of Thailand) but stopping past when nearby is better than $7++ a shot at other ATM’s

Other perks of Citibank

Citibank offers a lot of perks in different countries. For example in Australia selected restaurants will offer you a complementary bottle of wine with your meal when paying with Citibank card. Or whilst I was in Malaysia a lot of restaurants offered buy one get one or 25% off the bill if you paid with a Citibank card. Even better is will all be at the wholesale rate.

ATM’s with no fees

If you are not lucky enough to have these cards yet. I know in Cambodia you can withdraw money from MAYBANK at no charge. I pretty sure I read a sign that said all MAYBANKS offer this through south east asia excluding Thailand.

In Australia currently the Big 4 banks all charge no Owners ATM fee

If you know of other ATMs that charge no fees. Drop a comment below

Why not just take cash

Sure another good option. But if you run out or it gets stolen there’s less you can do about it. If anything take a mix of both. Keep an emergency stash of cash in case your card gets lost or blocked. Also wise to keep your cards separate if you don’t need them both.

Do you know about emergency cash?

Did you know that Mastercard and Visa have an emergency cash feature. If you lost your card, ATM swallowed it or it simply just does not work for some reason. They will work out a way to get you money from 2 options. Your money in your account or a cash advance from your credit card. There maybe fees involved for all above methods but they will advise you. Its better to pay a little than be stranded right.
They may send it multiple ways. To a branch or even Western Union it to you. You dont have to worry they do this all the time and will guide you through the process.

Learn from your mistakes

I found out about this after a boozy night woke up with no wallet. Silly me was in a bad frame of mind and was not thinking. Took all my cards and cash out with me. Stuck in Indonesia with just a phone. Thank god I left my passport in the safe.

Call them if you need cash!

Here are the global emergency contact links
Mastercard Emergency Services
Visa Card Emergency Services

Transferring money to overseas bank account

If you have family overseas or a friend who you trust you can transfer money at the wholesale rate with Transferwise with a small fee depending on what payment method you choose. POLI being the best option which allows you to login to your Australian bank account and pay via Direct Debit style transfer. I have used this many times with the money being processed very quickly and generally the money being transferred in about 24/48 hours to the international account. All depends on the currency and your payment method to how long it takes.

Comparing with western union

There is no comparison. Just do a quick conversion for yourself and you will see western union charges a BANK RATE as well as fees. Transferwise are upfront with everything from the start. If you check xe.com you will find Transferwise is almost the same unlike other money sending options.

One Free or reduced fee transfer fee

Clicking link from this page will give you one transfer fee free when transferring up to $500 AUD or reduced fee if it is over $500
Transferwise offer a referral bonus of $90 if 3 people sign up from link on this article. This same offer is available to you if you sign up with them to give to your friends. Please consider using the link if you found this article helpful.

Never heard of transfer wise?

This company was created with Sir Richard Branson, the guy who owns virgin airlines and some founders from Paypal. Rest assure they are safe to use.

If you just want to take cash, Some Tips

So if you are unable to get one of these cards or just purely want to take cash here’s some tips.

Dont exchange here- Most people want to change there money before they leave. The truth is in Australia you are going to get a bank rate plus chance of a fee for the convenience of doing it. The company Travel Money OZ does give you a fee free exchange for exchanging currency but there commissions are built into the rate giving you a average bank rate.

Dont exchange all at airport – First off don’t exchange any in the airport before you get to the new country. This is another terrible option with worse rates and fees. If you only taking cash with you the best idea is to just exchange a little bit when arriving at the new country’s airport. Enough for your first day or 2. So you can eat and get a taxi if needed. Then to find a exchange near your hotel or where your going.

Check the rate in hotel- Compare the rate in the hotel your staying. Bigger hotels generally will give a bank rate even in the host country and I would avoid. Smaller hotels especially ones owned by a person from the country your from may want to exchange money back which is beneficial for both of you.

Do a little research before leaving- The best place to change your money is after the airport (In the city) of the place you are going. Google to find one although if staying in a Tourist Hotspot there will be one.

-For Bali I Recommend “BMC money changers”
-For Thailand I Recommend “Super Rich Money changers”

Check your money before leaving counter!

There are so many scams in Asia with changing money its not funny. Bali being the worst I have encountered. I have been scammed before, I have gone to the small exchange booths to be scammed just to experience it and understand how they try do. If you are new to traveling just exchange a day or 2 at a time until you feel comfortable with the currency.

My best advice is – Count your money at the counter, Even if they count it to you count it again right there. If you have to count it 2 or 3 times because you are getting confused that’s ok take your time. Once you leave its almost impossible to dispute discrepancy.

Don’t let them touch your money after you have counted– In Bali they tend to try grab your money and recount it after you have. This is alarm bells of a note or 2 is going to go missing. Check again and be firm.

Legitimate money exchanges- Will always give you a receipt! Also you will generally have to sign it too.

Rate too good to be true- Make sure the best rate you have seen includes TAX & COMMISSIONS. Bali is another notorious place for this happening. Rates well above advertised at a repeatable place. I had one guy taking 30% off the amazing price!

Final words

I hope this has helped you save some of your hard earned dollars. This article took around 8 hours to write. If you would like more like this feel free to buy be a beer below 🙂

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