Thailand: From Longing to Departure
It always starts with an image: a beach at dawn, a night market, a temple shrouded in the mist of the north. Then come the practical questions, and that’s when most trips get complicated. GoSiam handles both—the desire to travel and the logistics—with real prices and verified sources.
Preparing for My DepartureOut of envy
The Sea, the Islands, and the Beaches
There are over a thousand islands, and not all of them are the same—it depends on what you're looking for. Parties, diving, absolute tranquility, or a private beach for two.
Choose Your Island ›
Temples, Culture, and the North
The other side of the country. Mountains, villages, morning markets, and temples you enter barefoot—a world away from beach chairs.
Explore the North ›
Muay Thai
Train where the sport was born. Choose a camp, find out what to expect, and take care of the necessary visa.
View the camps ›By region
The country feels very different depending on where you settle down. The north and the south don't share the same climate, the same pace of life, or the same prices.
By duration
The amount of time you have makes all the difference: with two weeks, you have to choose between the north and the islands. With three weeks, you can do both.
The north or the islands: you have to choose—and choose wisely.
Currently being writtenThe North and the islands, without spending your trip on public transportation.
Currently being writtenTen days, one month: choose an itinerary based on how many days you have.
Currently being writtenLatest Stories
The website pages provide the rules and verified prices. The blog details the actual routes I took, what worked, and what I would do differently next time.
Who writes here?
This site is written by a single person who spent about four months in Thailand over the course of two trips and two seasons—from Bangkok to Isan and from the islands in the Gulf to Krabi Province—and who practices Muay Thai. Information based on facts is verified at the source and dated, while personal experiences are identified as such.Who writes GoSiam?
Before You Go
The visa depends on the length of your stay, the insurance policy includes exclusions that no one reads, and a SIM card costs half as much if you buy it before you arrive as it does at the airport. Each of these three topics has its own page: visa, insurance, and SIM card(coming soon). The complete list of what you need to take care of is on the"Formalities" page, and the mandatory arrival card is on the TDAC page.
That leaves the date, which is decided before anything else and has a greater impact on the trip than any other choice. The country has three seasons, and the two coasts don’t switch over at the same times: the climate month by month, the best time to go, and what the rainy season is really like.
Once you arrive
Almost every trip starts in Bangkok, if only because that's where the plane lands. The city deserves more than just a one-night layover. Its temples, the Khao San Road area, things to do there, and neighborhoods to stay in each have their own page.
For those who come to train, the training itself is only part of the story. There’s also what Muay Thai represents in the country, the fight nights at the stadium, and the equipment, which is much cheaper to buy there than to bring from France.