So, I have just spent the past three weeks or so in Thailand and I have enjoyed everyday of it. Aside from the sex tourism, Thailand is a great country. You can be in a big city with clubs and girls, on some of the world's most beautiful beaches, watch an intense form of martial arts, and be in some old amazing jungles surrounding massive mountains all in Thailand.
Our introduction to Thailand was wild, Thai New Year and my 24th birthday got the best of my friends and I. Bangkok is a pretty nasty place crawling with tourists. Unless you want to see a ping pong show, I would suggest seeing another part of Thailand. The traffic is not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, India is still the worst I have witnessed! While the city can make you want to leave, the people are amazingly nice. Thai people are the nicest I have come across since I have been traveling; everyone is willing to help you.
Thailand is INCREDIBLY cheap and Bangkok was the cheapest place I visited in Thailand. Nowhere else could I walk out of my hostel and grab some of the best Pad Thai I have ever had for $1. Thailand has definitely skewed my view on how much things should cost. I often turn down a hamburger if it costs more than $4... It will be hard to adjust when I get back home... A good hamburger for $12?? Also, many prices are negotiable. I love to negotiate a price; it feels great to work down the price and its even better when you hear someone talk about how much they got something for and you know you got it for cheaper. Thailand truly does cater to tourists. Every hostel can help you get to your next destination, whether its by ferry, train, plane, or bus. The country even has a nationwide wifi service called Happy Tourist, so you can always have wifi almost anywhere in Thailand; found that out in the airport before I flew out to Hong Kong.
Thailand does have a prominent sex tourism industry. It is pretty nasty to see all of the westerners with a nasty Thai lady under their arm. In Bangkok, there are complete areas of town that are dedicated to the industry. You can do everything that you could imagine, and then some... As I went further south the sex tourism got worse and the women/ladyboys nastier looking. I am not sure why there are so many ladyboys in Thailand, but it is always interesting to try and pick them out of the crowd; unless you are Thai it can often be hard to tell them apart just on looks because plastic surgery is like magic.
The south part of Thailand is amazing. The beaches are famous for a reason; clear water, white sand, and a view that deserves to be a computer's screensaver. If you want to you can escape the tourist areas and find yourself a deserted beaches with a few bungalows to hide away in. The Ban Kai Beach in Koh Pha-ngan was just what I was hoping for. Quiet, empty, blue water, islands out in the distance, and sandbars to keep the horizon of water knee deep; so different from any beach I have come across. While I was in Thailand the tourist season had just ended and it was HOT. Even though the tourist season was over, it was still packed with people.
If you hadn't noticed, we rented mopeds in almost every city in Thailand. That made the trip so much more enjoyable and allowed us to see much more of the city. Not only did we get to see a lot, it was also cheap, way cheaper than any one way taxi. It also allowed us to feel like a local, whizzing through traffic and passing stopped traffic.
Chiang Mai was unlike the rest of Thailand. One day I was on an amazing beach and the next I was chasing waterfalls in a jungle surrounded by mountains. If you enjoy the outdoors than Chiang Mai is for you. Ziplines, trekking, elephants, whitewater rafting (when it rains), or off-roading with an ATV, bicycle, or buggy; the list goes on and on.
Our introduction to Thailand was wild, Thai New Year and my 24th birthday got the best of my friends and I. Bangkok is a pretty nasty place crawling with tourists. Unless you want to see a ping pong show, I would suggest seeing another part of Thailand. The traffic is not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, India is still the worst I have witnessed! While the city can make you want to leave, the people are amazingly nice. Thai people are the nicest I have come across since I have been traveling; everyone is willing to help you.
Thailand is INCREDIBLY cheap and Bangkok was the cheapest place I visited in Thailand. Nowhere else could I walk out of my hostel and grab some of the best Pad Thai I have ever had for $1. Thailand has definitely skewed my view on how much things should cost. I often turn down a hamburger if it costs more than $4... It will be hard to adjust when I get back home... A good hamburger for $12?? Also, many prices are negotiable. I love to negotiate a price; it feels great to work down the price and its even better when you hear someone talk about how much they got something for and you know you got it for cheaper. Thailand truly does cater to tourists. Every hostel can help you get to your next destination, whether its by ferry, train, plane, or bus. The country even has a nationwide wifi service called Happy Tourist, so you can always have wifi almost anywhere in Thailand; found that out in the airport before I flew out to Hong Kong.
Thailand does have a prominent sex tourism industry. It is pretty nasty to see all of the westerners with a nasty Thai lady under their arm. In Bangkok, there are complete areas of town that are dedicated to the industry. You can do everything that you could imagine, and then some... As I went further south the sex tourism got worse and the women/ladyboys nastier looking. I am not sure why there are so many ladyboys in Thailand, but it is always interesting to try and pick them out of the crowd; unless you are Thai it can often be hard to tell them apart just on looks because plastic surgery is like magic.
The south part of Thailand is amazing. The beaches are famous for a reason; clear water, white sand, and a view that deserves to be a computer's screensaver. If you want to you can escape the tourist areas and find yourself a deserted beaches with a few bungalows to hide away in. The Ban Kai Beach in Koh Pha-ngan was just what I was hoping for. Quiet, empty, blue water, islands out in the distance, and sandbars to keep the horizon of water knee deep; so different from any beach I have come across. While I was in Thailand the tourist season had just ended and it was HOT. Even though the tourist season was over, it was still packed with people.
If you hadn't noticed, we rented mopeds in almost every city in Thailand. That made the trip so much more enjoyable and allowed us to see much more of the city. Not only did we get to see a lot, it was also cheap, way cheaper than any one way taxi. It also allowed us to feel like a local, whizzing through traffic and passing stopped traffic.
Chiang Mai was unlike the rest of Thailand. One day I was on an amazing beach and the next I was chasing waterfalls in a jungle surrounded by mountains. If you enjoy the outdoors than Chiang Mai is for you. Ziplines, trekking, elephants, whitewater rafting (when it rains), or off-roading with an ATV, bicycle, or buggy; the list goes on and on.
Thailand is one of my favorite places I have been to thus far. I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did. I would want to come back to Thailand and explore some of the areas I did not have time to visit.
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