Reader Submission: On Vacation to Thailand
More than 20 years ago I first met holiday to Thailand fell in love with the country, the culture and the people and then returned every year.
I have visited Bangkok, all seaside resorts with beaches, the interior, but especially Chiang Mai several times and made trips from all those places to discover the country. The metropolis of Bangkok, the silvery white beaches, the beautiful nature, the temples and the Thai culture….Thailand has so much to offer; of all holidays there is really not one that has not been successful.
It is by no means my intention to report on all these trips, much can already be read here on the blog and discovering for yourself is the best thing there is.
But why the title 'On holiday to Thailand'?
I can imagine that if someone has plans to go on holiday to Thailand for the first time and orient themselves in the travel brochures, but especially on the internet and, among other things, ends up on this blog, they will scratch their heads after reading various articles whether Thailand is the right choice; there is a lot of discussion about the cultural differences, which many still experience as negative, the unreliability of the Thai, which regularly comes to the fore, etc. etc.
For all those people who want to visit Thailand I would say 'don't worry about it' it will really be the holiday of a lifetime. Now the first question immediately arises 'do they make up those stories, is none of it true?', yes, it is and happens here, I myself also have those experiences and have regularly lost my face or bumped into the for me sometimes incomprehensible culture/behavior. I have now lived here for a few years and have gotten used to everything; adapted myself to the way of life and culture here as far as possible.
As a tourist you will not notice this, it is the experiences of the people who live here or come regularly and who further immerse themselves in Thai and Thai culture.
So don't scratch behind your ears with a questionable look, but practice the Thai smile for an unforgettable one travel to this beautiful country.
Submitted by Fred
Glad you like it here. And that there is something wrong with it, is true, but which country is perfect and where is everything going to your liking? The complaints you read here apply to many other countries and in every major city in the world you can get knocked out - or worse - for a few bucks and some bling.
As a tourist you don't notice this? I would like to comment on this in the sense that you do not notice the deep poverty among a large part of the population. You -tourist- get off the air-conditioned bus for half an hour to visit something, when you return there is a cold cloth ready for your forehead, and you will complain that the toilet was not clean there or that there was a beggar. But a tourist to clog country does not see the line at the food bank either; the tourist lives on a happy cloud as far as all over the world is concerned.
Well, that's how I was back then. At that time I was only shocked when I saw the old skin of a snake lying next to a ragged beggar…..
Agree with the story. For a tourist it is a great experience, for sure.
However, my eye lingered on “Chiang Mai”. Now I have nothing against Chiang Mai at all, I have been there for a week and thought it was OK, but it is not clear to me why everyone wants to go to Chiang Mai. I thought the city was OK, relatively there are many beautiful temples, that's for sure, but I can name ten more in Thailand that are nice to visit. And most tourists are done after a few temples. But no, everyone goes to Chiang Mai. You must see that! Is it the mountains then? Who knows. I went to the mountains and they disappointed me. Of course you can't swear at nature and they are pure nature, but they didn't do much for me. The Alps are beautiful, sometimes rough, sometimes very sweet green meadows. The Pyrenees are beautiful. Rough. Impressive. But the mountains near Chiang Mai? A messy mess for me. I don't mean clutter; on the ground, but the whole. Some fuzzy vegetation, kinda bushy bushy, just messy. The ground is not nice, a kind of vague red sand, which mainly looks like dust. It didn't matter much to me. I am genuinely curious why everyone has to go to Chiang Mai.
I've been living there for almost 12 years now and just like everywhere else you have advantages and disadvantages, some things go faster and easier and others more difficult.
If you as a tourist do not see that there is very rich and poor then you walk with your eyes closed, but there is also a middle class that has formed, for example couples who work in luxury hotels or good international companies. But an important fact is the people here are satisfied with what they have and that is not the case in europe, never enough.
When I came here in the early nineties I was asked when I got home if there were stone houses here?? In their own country they can also learn a lot here in the field of services and even on an organizational level.
But of course as a tourist you see what you want to see and ignore the rest, but if you live here it's different.
But I always say there are worse places on earth to live than Thailand, I was in Europe again last month after 7 years, honestly even though it's not easy here every day, it's much better to live here.
HOLIDAY in Thailand, everyone can decide how they want to do it, organized in 3 weeks of the mostly well-known routes, or just like the backpackers, follow your own path, yes and Chiangmai, or Bangkok, Hua Hinn, it doesn't matter Come on, enjoy it, and yes, the ordinary Thai, rich or poor, live next to each other, and if you want to become something, you have to work for it, because you cannot live on a pension of 1200 baht, I am among them too these people, see how they live, laugh, cry, and help each other in need, just like we Dutch no longer do this, not on holiday, but because I am happy with that,
so man dare to live anywhere in the world.
I totally agree, a beautiful country dear people.