The same holiday destination in Thailand every year
The website of a Dutch newspaper recently featured a nice story about Dutch people who spend their holidays at the same destination every year. That could be a campsite on the Veluwe, an apartment on the Costa del Sol or a caravan somewhere in the south of France.
You might think, a holiday is to see new things, to travel, to experience adventures, to get to know other cultures, in short variation and not always the same pattern. You might then wonder what possesses those people to travel to the same destination over and over again, to temporarily exchange the daily grind of home for a similar grind on vacation.
I understand those holidaymakers! Those people don't like changes and surprises. As soon as they set off for their familiar destination, the holiday joy begins with the blissful, nostalgia-infused feeling of coming home to a place of relaxation from which they desire nothing new, and which demands nothing from them.
They know in which accommodation they will end up, they know the village and the area, they know where the baker and the greengrocer can be found. In short, they are satisfied with their holiday. As one interviewee noted, “What's good is good, isn't it?
Thailand
That feeling of coming home, far from home, also applies to many holidaymakers to Thailand. I know quite a few foreigners who regularly visit the pool hall, some I see once a year, others two or even three times a year. So they usually stay in the same hotel or apartment in Pattaya and do the same thing they do every time during their vacation.
Of course, the exuberant nightlife often plays a role in their choice, but they also consider the possibility of their hobby of playing pool, golf or the like important. For all this, they know their way around Pattaya, they know the people they meet again, just like the restaurants and bars, where they are welcomed back as old acquaintances. Again that home feeling, far from home!
I sometimes ask those people if they have been somewhere else in Thailand, in the north Chiang Mai or in the south Phuket or something. Sometimes there is someone who has been somewhere else with his Thai girlfriend, but Pattaya remains their home port. Often no interest in Thai culture in the form of Thai music, the Thai language, Buddhism or whatever. Beautiful beaches or impressive landscapes, waterfalls or forests? they are of little or no interest. Many work hard in their home country and when they come to Pattaya all that matters is resting and having fun, recharging the battery for another work shift.
Finally,
If you are a migratory bird, who wants to travel as much as possible during your holiday and want to see and do as much as possible, you will probably dislike the above. But remember, everyone celebrates their free time in their own way and again 'what's good is good, isn't it?' It can indeed be that simple and clear, holiday!
About this blogger
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Bert Gringhuis (1945), born and raised in Almelo in the beautiful Twente. Later lived for many years in Amsterdam and Alkmaar, working in export for various companies. I first came to Thailand in 1980 and immediately fell in love with the country. Been back many times since then and moved to Thailand after my (early) retirement as a widower. I have been living there for 22 years now with my somewhat younger Thai lady Poopae.
My first experiences in Thailand as a kind of newsletter sent to family, friends and acquaintances, which later appeared under the name Gringo on Thailandblog. Many, many articles followed those first stories and that has grown into an almost daily hobby.
In the Netherlands still an avid footballer and football referee, but the years are starting to tell and in Thailand still avid, but the pool billiards is really of inferior quality, ha ha!
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Recognizable. Years ago I had a colleague who went to the same campsite in Spain with his family every year. When he got home the first thing he did was make reservations for next year.
I would go crazy screaming, but to each his own.
You also go to Thailand every year and then often start in the same places or you visit the same people. You will also do new things. People who go to the same campsite every year often have children and therefore make it easy. But I know plenty who still go to the same campsite and use it as a base for their day trips. Nothing wrong with that I would say and there are worse things that drive me screaming crazy, such as noise nuisance from neighbors in particular. And you have quite a few of those in Thailand. After all, many people are creatures of habit and need guidance from things they already know and especially don't want stress on holiday. But really to each his own. It wouldn't be for me to be on the same campsite every year. But I also go to fixed places and obligations when I go to Thailand. So it's actually more or less the same.
Well, when we still lived in NL and therefore went on holiday to TH twice a year, we always went to the same place. Namely with the family. Well that wasn't a punishment, they live in a medium-sized city and had a restaurant on the beach. Just cross the road and you were on the beach. Building is not allowed on the beach, so there is always an unobstructed view. Always quiet during the day and around 2 pm the locals came to eat and relax on the beach. Usually a bit busier on weekends.
We always used the last week of every holiday to travel around TH, a good knowledge was a guide and he always took us on the road. We have actually seen just about everything from the extreme south to the far north and from east to west. Now that we live here, I don't have to worry about that anymore, I just like going to the family every now and then.
I don't understand why people go to live in the always busy Pattaya, there are so many beautiful quiet places in Thailand where you can live and they also have pool halls, fun nightlife, good restaurants, golf courses, etc.
But as you already write 'What is good is good, isn't it true'.
Same same, but not different please!
I am going to Pattaya on holiday for the fifth time this year and indeed all these years
the same hotel.
I always plan to continue exploring Thailand from Pattaya, but somehow I don't get out of Pattaya…..
Yes, I know William. But try 1x to go to ChiangMai. I can tell you that after that it becomes very difficult to choose between Pattaya and ChiangMai. 😉 Book in the Pornping Tower hotel.
I am also one of such people. When I still worked as a flight attendant and actually flew all over the world, I often did the same thing. I had colleagues who then “dropped out” of everything there was to see. Not me, I flew to the same destinations as much as possible: Bangkok, Rio de Janeiro, Osaka, Nagoya and other cities, where I had a lot of free time and where it was fun.
New places, only when necessary. I know that I also missed very nice, interesting places, but also that I knew some places better than my colleagues who kept changing.
I knew Singapore better than my own hometown.
And now? We don't do much else. Because we liked it, we have already traveled to Kanchanaburi four times and we are still looking for places we can possibly go often. We don't do the same thing every time, but just want to get to know the area at our leisure and you can only do that if you come there more often and take the time.
Me and my wife have been holidaying in Pattaya Jomtien every year from 1990 to 2010.
Only 3 weeks vacation and then winter February here.
In my work I flew all over the world. Then it is wonderful to have a beach holiday in February with guaranteed good weather and entertainment and good food in the evening.
Must say we both traveled SE Asia by ship for many years before then.
After the death of my wife, I decided to live in Pattaya (Jomtien).
Many people, I believe, when they are satisfied somewhere, are unwilling to take a risk somewhere else. Others may have a fear of seeking out the unknown, and for that reason return year after year to the familiar spot. The advantage is that you do not have any orientation difficulties from the first day, everything is already known, and you can enjoy your holiday from day one without much searching. Moreover, usually the old acquaintances are already present, so that you immediately feel at home. Often they are people who are mainly only interested in socializing, so that they usually don't care about culture, landscape, and other sights. When they return from their holiday later, they know everything about the country, while in principle they have only been to the Costa del Sol or Pattaya for 20 years. Most of the knowledge of the country, although never seen for themselves, they have only gained from the pleasant conversations with other holidaymakers. Conversations that often give a very small picture of reality, because everyone who looks at something counts their own experience and taste. Where I was satisfied, I will definitely come back, but I would also like to see something different in the meantime, but the great thing about humanity is that everyone is different.
Been to Benidorm for 25 years and now I'm going to pattaya wonderful holidays don't need anything else, already 10 years, hope again in October
I agree with the conclusion (ie everyone's vacation), but it's not my way of vacationing. If I stay in one place too long, it will itch. I prefer to rent a car on holiday to travel from province to province every day. Rarely do I stay somewhere longer than one night. Now that I live in Thailand, I am forced to work in a - not very bustling, but very authentic - location (Nara City), but when it is (school) holidays I prefer to go out. I have also honored Pattaya with several visits in the past, but never longer than three weeks non-stop. I live in a border region, where cities such as Sungai Kolok and Betong also have a fairly extensive nightlife. The difference with Pattaya is that I am now the only farang. Personally, I like that status, although it is intimidating for the working ladies in the bars, such a Westerner. Incidentally, I only very rarely go to bars, even on vacation. Driving across the Thai countryside and through the mountains is satisfying enough.
We have been in Pattaya for 1 month, it feels great to come home, but after 1 month we want something different, then we will travel around between 2 and 4 weeks. We have already visited the tourist spots of Chang mai, Kanchanaburi, Koh chang and the most famous islands in the south and Krabi , and
Koh Samui/Pangan Koh Tao.
Also a few days in Lopburi with friends in the countryside and a trip to the tourist places in Cambodia and then when we come back to Pattaya for our last holiday month, ooooh then we feel very happy to be there again, maybe a few more days Koh Samet (d) and Bangkok, and then we have spent the winter again.
(we do like a little people around us)
jacqueline
The unknown is avoided because it requires energy to orient oneself. In an unfamiliar city, one initially cannot find even the simplest things. Hence the need for fixed patterns. Also at home in everyday life. Gives an illusion of security. However, children are still building such a pattern of fixed habits, including their footing. Older people in particular want to hold on to what they have. After all, their world is in danger of shrinking instead of growing. Benidorm? Seen after two days! Concrete and shops.
In the Netherlands I worked for a well-known agency that researched holiday behaviour. What I can remember from the research results from that period:
1. this repetitive behavior occurred much more often during short holidays (Easter holidays, long weekends, etc.) than during long holidays (longer than a week)
2. the same destination did not necessarily mean the same behaviour. I've been to Paris for a weekend maybe 10 times but never did the same thing but always tried to discover something new, and that's not that hard in a big city;
3. repetitive behavior occurs more often during holidays in the Netherlands than during holidays abroad; for three or four days you prefer not to take any risks and time flies.
4. repetitive behavior is common in families with small children and in the elderly and very little among young people living alone.
Conclusion: this repetitive behavior fits better in certain life stages than in other life stages. Nothing wrong with it. And almost everyone does. There are few who go to new destinations anytime, anywhere and throughout their lives. And those who do go alone or with 1 travel partner and have never (had) children.
These conclusions cannot be reconciled with the observation that many childless, elderly single gentlemen like to go to Pattaya, and only to Pattaya.