Thailand free travel, what preparations should be made?

Stayed on Koh Samet for 5 nights, sharing some daily life photos on the island. If you have a Bangkok itinerary for your free travel, Koh Samet's white sandy beach is still worth a visit. At the same time, here are some small tips for friends planning a free trip to Thailand: 📝What pitfalls should be avoided during independent travel? Make plans and preparations in advance, book hotels and flights before the trip. 🏨Hotel reservation Compared to traveling in Europe, it's best to choose newly opened hotels with unique designs and reasonable prices in Thailand. It's more reliable to choose hotels by comparing reviews on Ctrip. I have also written about my real experience staying in hotels, so I will check other users' reviews before booking a hotel. Hotel location selection, in addition to common parameters, add a check if it can only be reached by boat. Check the boat schedule and whether the transfer from the pier to the hotel is paid or arranged by the hotel. The hotel is on an island, is there an additional fee for entering the island? 🚉Transportation options Travel time around Bangkok to Koh Samui, then to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand and Phuket in southern Thailand. Looking at the Thai map to choose transportation, besides airplanes, I want to try taking the train. First class sleeper tickets need to be purchased in advance, and I missed the best booking time. As for airplanes, they are basically operated by low-cost airlines, and I have never flown before. I'll grit my teeth and give it a try. City transportation: Taxi: In Bangkok, it is best to take a taxi from the airport to the city center for 400-600 baht, of which 75 baht is for highway tolls and 50 baht is for airport parking fees. Refuse the driver's fixed price and insist on using the meter, which will cost around 125 baht. Other transportation options include light rail, ferry, hotel shuttle boat, Tutu (motorcycle taxi), and motorcycle. Tutu is quite exciting and should be tried at least once. In Thailand, there is the Bolt ride-hailing app, similar to Didi, with cash payment. Water transportation: there are two types of boats, speedboats and slow boats, with a huge price difference and travel time difference. Don't rush, you don't necessarily have to take the speedboat, especially if you have a waist injury. Payment methods So far, the biggest challenge for us has been the payment method. We are no longer used to carrying cash and prefer not to. When traveling to Thailand, it's important to bring enough cash! Avoid exchanging money multiple times or withdrawing money from ATMs multiple times, as the exchange rate is one factor and there is a fixed fee of 220 baht per transaction. In just one week, I've already foolishly spent 1,100 baht. Most of the street restaurants, spa massages, and tips that Germans are used to paying require cash payment, with a 3% handling fee for credit card payments. The legendary Thailand is cheap for everything! I still haven't found out what the "cheap standard" is, and there are quite a few additional and unforeseen fees!