I visited affordable winter sun destination that has new BA flights with £1 street food and world’s tallest whiskey bar
“THAI people like seafood,” my tour guide Tim says, lifting the lid on a box of bao buns steamed by the side of the road.
“And what is seafood?” she asks. “It’s food that you can see!”.
We both chuckle but only for a moment because she already has her eye on a rickety stall churning out hot batches of chwee kueh, a steamed rice cake served with preserved radish.
I’m in Thai capital Bangkok’s Chinatown and within an hour have sampled street food including noodle soup splashed with vinegar, fish sauce and sugar; crunchy corn parcels; a bowl of salty critters, displayed next to a row of scorpions on sticks; purple mashed potatoes shaped into doughy, salty balls; and traditional sweet luk chup, made with mung beans.
Among the crowds of locals and tourists, smoke billows from stalls and music blares from neon tuk-tuks that whizz by.
It’s a welcome culture shock that more and more Brits are seeking out right now.
It’s not just the White Lotus effect that has us captivated by Thailand — series three of the black comedy-drama TV series has begun filming here, and British Airways has seen a huge uptick in bookings since it relaunched flights to Bangkok in October after a four-year hiatus.
“People have been wanting something different and exotic, they want variety,” says Neil Chernoff, BA’s Chief Planning and Strategy Officer.
And others are in agreement. Magazine Travel + Leisure named Thailand its Destination of the Year for 2025, while Lonely Planet billed northern city Chiang Mai as a holiday big-hitter for next year, offering great value.
Indeed, the street-food stalls in Chinatown offer plenty of dishes for less than the equivalent of £1 in local currency Thai baht.
But one thing worth spending a bit more money on in Bangkok is a cocktail at the Lebua Hotel’s Sky Bar, which many will recognise as a filming location from 2011 buddy comedy film The Hangover 2.
A cocktail, including the Hangovertini, a whisky treat made with rosemary, honey and apple, will set you back £30 or so. But you can order just one and stay for the skyline views that are Bangkok’s best.
The hotel is also home to the “word’s highest open-air whisky bar”, Alfresco 64.
While in Chinatown, also enjoy a night out in the nearby Soi Nana district where many once traditional shops have been transformed into fashionable bars.
Take Wallflowers. This former flower shop transforms from a cafe by day into an edgy live-music bar by night and is adorned with oddities from its florist days such as old umbrella frames wrapped with dry shrubs that hang from the ceiling.
The fine cocktails, from around £8, include a Toasted Negroni, made the usual way but with a coffee edge.
The other thing I love about Bangkok is that luxury is within the financial reach of the average Brit tourist.
I’d scored a couple of nights at the Shangri-La Bangkok hotel as part of a British Airways Holiday package, and rooms here cost around £450 less per night than at the sister hotel in London but are just as opulent.
But you may not need more than a few days in chaotic Bangkok, especially if this is your first visiting the city, before you yearn for a wind-down on Thailand’s stunning islands.
Just over an hour on a domestic flight gets you to Koh Samui — the country’s second-largest island after Phuket, famed for its palm-fringed white-sand beaches and honeymoon-style resorts.
One of those is the five-star Banyan Tree Samui. Carved into a lush green cliffside on the island’s east coast, it’s all you’d expect from a dreamy Thai resort.
This is certainly a special-occasion spot and will set you back a fair whack, but if you book it as part of a holiday package with a company such as British Airways Holidays, you can pay in instalments.
Palm-fringed beaches
Each plush villa here comes with a wrap-around deck featuring private infinity pool and huge beanbags, while inside a cool living room and bedroom have floor-to-ceiling bi-fold doors that open straight on to the pool.
Villas feel private thanks to surrounding trees and shrubs — but don’t forget your insect repellent.
There’s a big shared pool on site, a private sandy beach, plus activities such as yoga, paddleboarding and a quality spa.
If you can tear yourself away from the hammocks and lapping waves, the Lamai night market is less than a ten-minute drive — great for souvenirs and knock-off handbags, plus street-food stalls serving treats including sizzling prawns.
Or for some of the best Thai food you’ll eat, travel 25 minutes to Khao Horm Samui, praised in the Michelin Guide for its yellow curry pastes showcasing “a gutsy mix” of spices.
Book a snorkelling tour, too. The ocean around Koh Samui is rich in marine life, but is even more impressive off nearby isle Koh Tao, which you can reach by boat (transislandtravel.com has trips for around £51pp, including snorkel gear).
I spent an hour bobbing around while mesmerised by colourful fish circling in the shallows, their yellow, purple and navy scales shimmering in the sunlight.
I was just happy tour guide Tim wasn’t around to spot this “seafood”.
GO: BANGKOK & KOH SAMUI
STAYING/GETTING THERE: British Airways Holidays offers two nights’ B&B at the 5H Shangri-La Bangkok followed by five nights’ room-only at the 5H Banyan Tree Samui from £2,689pp, including flights from Gatwick in March 2025.
British Airways Holidays has two nights’ room-only at the 4H Ambassador Bangkok followed by five nights at the 3H ibis Samui Bophut from £1,319pp, including flights from Gatwick in March 2025. Call 0344 493 0787 or see ba.com/thailand