I had always worried that Thailand would be over-rated. In my mind it was going to be full of 18 year olds throwing daddy’s money away on booze and all kinds of sleazy nightlife entertainment. I wondered really whether it would be my scene anymore!
The country and people that greeted me however surpassed the expectations I had of this country. The immediate friendliness and helpful nature of the people captures tourists in a little web of safety and happiness. You can see why they call this the country of smiles.
Bangkok itself is a wonderful city with loads to do: visit temples, take a boat ride or two, explore the local markets, sip cocktails from fancy rooftops, take a walk around the huge Lamphini Park, sample all kinds of Thai cuisine at all kinds of prices, or get it on in the backpacker ghetto on Koh San Road. The backpackers we met here were all older than 18 and, as seems to be the case with the people Chris and I tend to meet, couples in their late 20s/early 30s. There were also quite a few French families with children.
My favourite Thai dish has to be the simple Thai green curry; a delicious spicy coconutty dish that you can pour over rice. You can definitely get this back home so it’s going to be the thing I order for a while every time I go to a Thai resto in the future.
What did get to me, I have to admit, was the large number of white men in their 40s/50s with a young Thai girl on their arm. I’d heard all kinds of jokes concerning Thai brides in the past, but when you see these couples in such quantities… really, I didn’t like it. Sometimes, we’d go into a bar and the men would be drunk and rowdy and flirtatious and - ugh. Not nice. But the Thai girls indulge them! Is it the thought of security and money? An exotic lifestyle? Thailand isn’t an impoverished, developing country like India…What’s really in it for them? I can see why these men come here - the girls really are beautiful and in true Thai style, they say all the right things - they really are incredibly flattering and this must be great for an aging, single man from England or America. Hmmm.
We do regret not having had time to explore the North of Thailand. This area was on both of our lists and we initially wanted to spend around two weeks travelling around, trekking and enjoying what we expect is a somewhat more relaxed Thailand than the South. However, this was not to be - we had so many places to visit and sacrifices had to be made.
We instead headed south, staying put at the incredible Sri Panwa before indulging in some island hopping - Koh Pha Ngan, Koh Samui, Koh Tao, Koh Phi Phi - with Adam. The tourists we ran into down south did tend to fall into the under 20s backpacker clan, and I guess it’s the nightlife and institutions such as Full Moon Party which summons them. Phuket, on our one and only night out there (we didn’t want to leave our luxurious villa more than that!) was crawling with the younger backpackers, as well as the dirty old men type I mentioned earlier.
Thailand really is special - we couldn’t have experienced a bigger contrast from India when we stepped off our plane in Bangkok and were greeted with a thousand smiles and kind words. We didn’t know what had hit us! We’ll definitely be back here. In fact…
Chris and I have already planned our return visit to Thailand and parts of Indochine for the time in the far future when we can afford a three week holiday! We plan to fly into Bangkok, heading to the North of Thailand for a week, exploring Chiang Mai and going on a few treks before crossing the border into Northern Laos and exploring there for a week. Finally we will cross into Northern Vietnam, visiting Sapa and going shopping in Hoi An in the middle of the country (we figure we may need some more suits by then!) before flying home. If anyone’s up for joining us for three weeks of backpacking and night buses, you’re very welcome - but it could be a few years away yet!
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