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From Khao Yai to Bangkok: An Indian traveller's guide to Thailand
With short flights, easy visas and stays that don’t demand a fortune, Thailand feels less like travel and more like a reset button for the soul
For Indian travellers, including myself, Thailand isn’t just a short flight away; it’s that sweet spot between chaos and calm, colour and comfort. The kind of place where your body unwinds before your luggage even arrives on the belt. Within hours, I’m floating over mirror-clear springs, wandering through vineyards and temples, and watching city nights shimmer brighter than Diwali lights.
Khao Yai National Park
By late afternoon, one must head to Khao Yai and witness hills blushing under the sinking sun, the kind of pink-gold light that makes everyone a photographer. From the Flamingo Viewpoint, you can see miles of forest melt into shadow. But it’s after dark that the real adventure begins. On a guided night safari, the headlights slice through the mist and the forest hums to life. Also, a short drive from Khao Yai, PB Valley Vineyard caught me off guard. I didn’t expect vineyards in Thailand, but there they were: rolling vines, mountain air, sunlight dancing off the grapes. Thailand or Tuscany? Maybe both!
Ban Tha Chang Spring
At sunrise, Ban Tha Chang Natural Spring looks almost unreal, the water so clear it mirrors the sky. I dipped my feet in and instantly forgot about everything waiting back home. Around me, visitors and locals glided by on kayaks, kids splashed and the morning buzz felt far away. It wasn’t just a swimming spot, it was silence, stillness and something inside me finally slowing down.
Diwali in Bangkok
If you’re lucky enough to be in Bangkok during Diwali, just like I was, you’ll see something truly magical. At Phahurat, Bangkok’s historic “Little India,” thousands of diyas and floating lamps light up the Ong Ang Canal as music fills the night air, carrying notes of marigold and incense. Over at Icon Siam, the riverfront glows in full festive splendour. Indian families in sarees mingle with Thai locals, sharing sweets, smiles and stories that feel both familiar and new.
The Deputy Governor for International Marketing, Pattaraanong Na Chiangmai, shared, “Thailand and India have a really long-standing relationship. Much of our Thai art, language, and heritage has been influenced by Indian culture, and we have many people of Indian descent who have lived in Thailand for generations,” she says, adding, “We are not only celebrating in Bangkok’s Little India or Khlong Ong Ang, but also in major malls like Icon Siam and Central, and even in provinces such as Phuket, Pattaya, and Chiang Mai where there are large Indian communities and many Indian visitors, Our aim is not just to attract more Indian tourists during the festive period, but to bring Thai locals and international visitors together to experience the beauty of Diwali in a Thai setting.”
When asked about sustainable travel Pattaraanong explains “Sustainability is now our main focus. We don’t promote tourism just for the numbers—we want visitors to have meaningful experiences that benefit local communities and help sustain their livelihoods.”
Temples, Spas and Street Lights
Bangkok is chaos that somehow works. You may begin your day at Sri Maha Mariamman temple, then head to the Divana Virtue Spa, emerging two hours later as if melted into butter, only to be immediately thrust back into the chaos of the city... tuk-tuks honking, food stalls sizzling, temples shimmering in the haze. At Wat Pho, I stood before the giant Reclining Buddha, serene and golden and thought about how the city can hold peace and pandemonium so close together. Well, that’s Bangkok: meditative one moment, maddening the next, but always alive! P.S.: One must never miss a chance to wander through Dusit Central and MBK, where high fashion sits next to street finds, and every corner smells like iced coffee and adventure.
The author’s trip was sponsored by Tourism Authority of Thailand
