We finally found our quiet retreat in Khanom, Thailand. We loved this small fisherman’s village and finally stayed for 9 nights somewhere. Think quiet, beach 5 minute walk away, bike 7 minutes into town, nice small streets to walk in the country. You can always drop me a line if you want to know where we stayed.
How I Survived Eating Gluten Free in Thailand
There were no gluten free restaurants in Khanom, I can’t stress that enough. Luckily, we found a place with a small kitchen so we cooked for ourselves and it was completely gluten free. The place we found was $35 Cdn/night, so it’s very reasonable. You want to check out accomodations in Thailand, click here*. Since we could mostly get around ourselves, the only other cost was food which at the market was very cheap. We did rent a scooter for a few days to see more of the area and it was 150 baht per day.
Is There Gluten in Thai Food
I would recommend finding out when and where the markets are so you can find wholesome food that is naturally gluten free. You will find fresh, local fruits and vegetables, eggs and fish at the markets and you can live off this for days. Here, there is a huge Saturday night market, Sunday morning market and Wednesday morning market.
The market is a must, you can get a huge bag full for fresh items for nothing.
Let me introduce you to my favourite fruits that are local:
- Yellow mango
- Papaya
- Dragon Fruit
- Jack fruit
- Pineapple
- Langsat
- Banana
Take a peak at lovely Khanom, Thailand and more of the market scene:
Thai Gluten Free
Have a sneak peak at some of the meals I have cooked for myself. I even made a Thai desert, mango sticky rice it was wonderful!
Getting around in Thailand
A 1 ½ hour ferry from Koh Samui to the mailand was how we got to Khanom, Thailand where our host picked us up. We used bikes to get around the Khanom area mostly because we were very close to town and the beach was so close. We did want to see other beaches, a local waterfall and get a few items from Tesco in a different town so we rented a scooter for two days. If you want to learn more about the area, see this article.
As complete beginners to scooters, this was a great place to try it out as it is relaxed compared to other hectic places.
Thailand observations for products
Sunscreen – I have extremely pale skin, so I am always in need of sunscreen and I usually opt for 50 SPF. Here in the beach towns or small towns in Thailand those BananaBoat spray bottles go for $30 CDN, so stock up before you come. Thai people don’t use sunscreen so they only stock it for foreigners and the mark up is huge. Most of the stuff I did find in 7Eleven would say ‘extra white’ as some Thai people try to whiten their skin. I must be a sight for these people with my pale skin (just kidding)!!
Alcohol – I am not a drinker myself, but my husband likes to have beer or wine every once and awhile. On Sundays, you cannot buy any alcohol before 5 pm. When you are travelling it is easy to not know what day it is, so you might run into it. We sure did and they had to take the products and put them back. Also, there is a 300% luxury tax on imported alcohol, so if you are cost conscience, stick to the local brands.
SIM Cards – Go to AIS to get a cheap tourist SIM card. For $34 CDN we had 9 gigabytes of high speed data and unlimited data at the lower speed and 64 minutes of Thai minutes. This is a deal compared to the Canadian cellphone carrier packages.
Coffee – If you are looking for good coffee while in Khanom, check out Khanom Expresso. My experience was like I was back home in a local coffee shop and the coffee was amazing. This place is open from 8am to 4pm each day.
Paying extra for electricity in Thailand – At some places they will add onto your bill around 7 baht/KwH. Not all, but some, so make sure to know so you don’t have any extra costs that you weren’t expecting.
Overall, being a Celiac in Khanom was not difficult as I focused on eating the fresh produce!
Are you inspired to make a trip to Thailand? If you are, you can check flight schedules on Kiwi.com below*.
If you are looking for the Ultimate Celiac Guide: Gluten Free in Thailand, click the link.
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Cheers, I hope you enjoyed my lovely trek,
Brett Duncan – The Ultimate Gluten Free Traveller
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