Hello!! I've been very lax about my updates again. It kinda seems a bit pointless now because we'll be home next week but I'll plow on regardless. This one is about the gigantic tourist trap that is Thailand. That's not meant to as negative as it sounds but it's the perfect way to describe this beautiful country.
The reason I say 'tourist trap' is because basically the entire country is set up to get money out of tourists. And the Thais are brilliant at getting you to open your wallet. I don't blame them at all because there is sooooooo many tourists there that it would be kind of stupid not to take advantage of it - I definitely would!
It's obvious why Thailand has as many visitors as it does, though. You can literally do anything you want here - sunbathe on deserted white sandy beaches, swim in idyllic blue water, get boozed up in a world famous city, party all night in the jungle or on a beach or just on the side of the street, dive with sharks and turtles, trek in lush forests, pet a tiger, ride an elephant, go on a zip line through a canopy of trees or just be a good ol' fashioned weird, sleazy sex tourist.
We obviously weren't too interested in the sex tourism thing so we just tried to do as many of the other things as we could. And we a had a ball. It is just the perfect place to go on a trip.
One of the best things for me is how many types of places you can visit in Thailand. We were on three different islands, stayed in Bangkok twice and were able to visit Chiang Mai in the north to do some trekking and see the jungle. Thailand offers all things to all people.
I think we managed to strike a pretty good balance between sunbathing, partying and actually doing things.
We crossed the border from Malaysia so we started with the islands and worked our way north. The first island was Koh Lipe, which is off the east coast. There is so many islands that it was very hard to choose which ones to visit. We skipped Phuket based on the advice of most people who were there before us.
We also heard great things about Koh Lanta and Koh Phi Phi but we didn't make it to either which was disappointing - so much to see, so little time! That sounds ridiculous when you're on a four month trip but we could probably have spent the whole time in Thailand and still not have seen everything. I'm not joking, there is actually that much to do!
Anyway, we heard good things about Koh Lipe but it was slightly disappointing. It is a beautiful island and the beach is just amazing but it is the victim of poor planning. The lack of foresight by developers is incredible. There are so many resorts, hotels and restaurants that it's actually pretty filthy.
We were there in low season and it still seemed like the island struggled to cope with the waste of that many tourists. A local guy told us that high season has 20 times as many people! I couldn't imagine being there then. It has all the elements of a beautiful island but out's a victim of it's own success. More people means more dirt basically.
We ended up staying far longer than we intended because Katie caught dengue fever (what a sack!). We're pretty sure she got it while we were staying in really horrible accommodation complete with outdoor toilet and rats. It was dirt cheap though!
So after we managed to get off the disease and rubbish ridden Koh Lipe we headed back to 'civilization' on the mainland. Because we had been staying in pretty crap accommodation on the island we stopped off for two days in Had Yai, stayed in a nice hotel with A/C and got some McDonlad's - perfect.
Actually, the McDonald's in Thailand deserves a special mention because it sells a Mega Mac. This amazing creation has FOUR patties in it. I'm actually drooling thinking back on it now (there's no McDonald's in Laos, Cambodia or Vietnam!!)
Koh Pha Ngan was after the McDonald's fest. This is the home of the famous Full Moon Party but unfortunately our dates didn't suit so we did the Half Moon Party instead. This was much quieter but we still got to drink some buckets and cover ourselves with UV paint.
I think we managed to strike a pretty good balance between sunbathing, partying and actually doing things.
We crossed the border from Malaysia so we started with the islands and worked our way north. The first island was Koh Lipe, which is off the east coast. There is so many islands that it was very hard to choose which ones to visit. We skipped Phuket based on the advice of most people who were there before us.
We also heard great things about Koh Lanta and Koh Phi Phi but we didn't make it to either which was disappointing - so much to see, so little time! That sounds ridiculous when you're on a four month trip but we could probably have spent the whole time in Thailand and still not have seen everything. I'm not joking, there is actually that much to do!
Anyway, we heard good things about Koh Lipe but it was slightly disappointing. It is a beautiful island and the beach is just amazing but it is the victim of poor planning. The lack of foresight by developers is incredible. There are so many resorts, hotels and restaurants that it's actually pretty filthy.
We were there in low season and it still seemed like the island struggled to cope with the waste of that many tourists. A local guy told us that high season has 20 times as many people! I couldn't imagine being there then. It has all the elements of a beautiful island but out's a victim of it's own success. More people means more dirt basically.
We ended up staying far longer than we intended because Katie caught dengue fever (what a sack!). We're pretty sure she got it while we were staying in really horrible accommodation complete with outdoor toilet and rats. It was dirt cheap though!
So after we managed to get off the disease and rubbish ridden Koh Lipe we headed back to 'civilization' on the mainland. Because we had been staying in pretty crap accommodation on the island we stopped off for two days in Had Yai, stayed in a nice hotel with A/C and got some McDonlad's - perfect.
Actually, the McDonald's in Thailand deserves a special mention because it sells a Mega Mac. This amazing creation has FOUR patties in it. I'm actually drooling thinking back on it now (there's no McDonald's in Laos, Cambodia or Vietnam!!)
Koh Pha Ngan was after the McDonald's fest. This is the home of the famous Full Moon Party but unfortunately our dates didn't suit so we did the Half Moon Party instead. This was much quieter but we still got to drink some buckets and cover ourselves with UV paint.
Koh Pha Ngan is just party central. There is activities to do but the main one is drinking. We took part in this with great gusto - drink at night, wake up really hungover, watch Law and Order/House for a few hours, repeat step 1 and restart the cycle.
Again, we were there at the quietest time of the month during low season so it was fairly dead but we still managed to have a some good nights out and meet some cool people.
Again, we were there at the quietest time of the month during low season so it was fairly dead but we still managed to have a some good nights out and meet some cool people.
The variety of people you meet on a trip like this is mental. On the night of the Half Moon party we were hanging out with people from England, Scotland, Finland, New Zealand, Germany, Australia and Israel! It's a really cool experience.
Once we were finished letting our hair down on Koh Pha Ngan we made the short trip over to Koh Tao. If you don't dive there isn't much to do there but we went there to do our Advanced Open Water course, which consisted of 5 dives. After that we did another 6 fun dives each (kind of went a bit mad there….). So by the end of the week we were at a total of 17 dives since we started the trip.
The diving in Koh Tao is good but it's not amazing. I think it's been over dived but it's still a really cheap place to do dive courses. Most come with accommodation included and all the dive shops are really professional. It's a great island to spend a week on. We were able to get up at 7, do two dives and be back by the pool at half 12. It really felt like we were doing something with our lives for those few days!
I think we'd been in Thailand for about three weeks at this stage so we needed to get going before we ran out of time. Our next destination was Bangkok. You hear so much about how awful and horrible Bangkok is that I think I was expecting to arrive in something resembling Calcutta. It's not the prettiest city in the world but I quite liked it. Yes it's dirty by Western standards and there's touts everywhere but there's a great buzz there.
It's a proper Asian city and I found it really interesting. The nightlife there is great. We only did a few nights out but there's always so many people around that you have a really good time. Even though the city is a bit mad you can still just chill out and have cheap beers on the side of the street - it's great for watching the world go by.
We ended up staying there twice and both times we stayed just off Khao San Road, which is backpacker central. It's hard to describe Khao San Road except to say that is completely insane. There's white people everywhere and every Thai person you see is trying to sell you something - "You want tuk-tuk? You want boom-boom? You want smoke? You want see a woman pushing things out her vagina?" "Eh, no I'm alright thanks".
As time goes by you become less polite with these touts until you eventually just ignore them.
If there is one thing I will not miss about South East Asia it is touts. They are everywhere and they are so fucking annoying. Tuk-Tuk drivers will actually shout at you from across the street to see if you want a lift. If I want a tuk-tuk I'll get one myself, no need to shout at me!
Anyway, after Bangkok we headed north on the best bus I've ever been on to Chiag Mai. I think this was my favorite place in Thailand. It's totally laid-back but still has great nightlife and loads to do. Our plan had been to do one 'activity' in each place we visited but we ended up doing three in Chiang Mai - a two day trek, a cooking course and petting some tigers. They were kind of expensive but each was a great experience. The trek is right up there as one of the highlights of our trip.
We had a guide who brought about 10 of us up into the mountains. He managed to bring us on a completely empty trail - we didn't meet another soul the whole way. It was tough enough but nothing too strenuous, Then when we got to the end we stayed in a cabin in the woods. There was a waterfall right beside it so we were able to go swimming in it. After that, the guides made us a traditional northern dinner and we drank a load of beer from the cooler which magically appeared - they thought of everything!
We continued on our trek for about two hours the next day. At the end of the trek we rode some elephants which is not as fun (or dirty) as it sounds.
Once we were finished letting our hair down on Koh Pha Ngan we made the short trip over to Koh Tao. If you don't dive there isn't much to do there but we went there to do our Advanced Open Water course, which consisted of 5 dives. After that we did another 6 fun dives each (kind of went a bit mad there….). So by the end of the week we were at a total of 17 dives since we started the trip.
The diving in Koh Tao is good but it's not amazing. I think it's been over dived but it's still a really cheap place to do dive courses. Most come with accommodation included and all the dive shops are really professional. It's a great island to spend a week on. We were able to get up at 7, do two dives and be back by the pool at half 12. It really felt like we were doing something with our lives for those few days!
I think we'd been in Thailand for about three weeks at this stage so we needed to get going before we ran out of time. Our next destination was Bangkok. You hear so much about how awful and horrible Bangkok is that I think I was expecting to arrive in something resembling Calcutta. It's not the prettiest city in the world but I quite liked it. Yes it's dirty by Western standards and there's touts everywhere but there's a great buzz there.
It's a proper Asian city and I found it really interesting. The nightlife there is great. We only did a few nights out but there's always so many people around that you have a really good time. Even though the city is a bit mad you can still just chill out and have cheap beers on the side of the street - it's great for watching the world go by.
We ended up staying there twice and both times we stayed just off Khao San Road, which is backpacker central. It's hard to describe Khao San Road except to say that is completely insane. There's white people everywhere and every Thai person you see is trying to sell you something - "You want tuk-tuk? You want boom-boom? You want smoke? You want see a woman pushing things out her vagina?" "Eh, no I'm alright thanks".
As time goes by you become less polite with these touts until you eventually just ignore them.
If there is one thing I will not miss about South East Asia it is touts. They are everywhere and they are so fucking annoying. Tuk-Tuk drivers will actually shout at you from across the street to see if you want a lift. If I want a tuk-tuk I'll get one myself, no need to shout at me!
Anyway, after Bangkok we headed north on the best bus I've ever been on to Chiag Mai. I think this was my favorite place in Thailand. It's totally laid-back but still has great nightlife and loads to do. Our plan had been to do one 'activity' in each place we visited but we ended up doing three in Chiang Mai - a two day trek, a cooking course and petting some tigers. They were kind of expensive but each was a great experience. The trek is right up there as one of the highlights of our trip.
We had a guide who brought about 10 of us up into the mountains. He managed to bring us on a completely empty trail - we didn't meet another soul the whole way. It was tough enough but nothing too strenuous, Then when we got to the end we stayed in a cabin in the woods. There was a waterfall right beside it so we were able to go swimming in it. After that, the guides made us a traditional northern dinner and we drank a load of beer from the cooler which magically appeared - they thought of everything!
We continued on our trek for about two hours the next day. At the end of the trek we rode some elephants which is not as fun (or dirty) as it sounds.
After about 5 minutes the excitement wears off and you realize that you're just sitting on an elephant moving around really slowly. Plus, it feels a bit wrong. We ended the trip with a spot of bamboo rafting. This was good fun but there was loads of ants and other bugs in the river. We did get to jump into the river off some rocks though.
The bonus of the trek was the people we met. We managed to meet two Irish guys and ended up joining up with them for a couple weeks of our trip. This obviously meant a big increase in drinking but that's to be expected!
Overall, Thailand was a great experience. We met loads of really interesting people, made some friends, had some cheap booze and did loads of things we never could have dreamed of before. It's a highly recommended place to visit!
The only warning we'd both agree on is that Thailand is NOT as cheap as people, guide books (especially the Lonely Planet!!) or the internet says it will be. Yes, you can get by on a pittance but you'll be sitting in a rickety shack, drinking only water, eating off the street and generally not doing anything.
The bonus of the trek was the people we met. We managed to meet two Irish guys and ended up joining up with them for a couple weeks of our trip. This obviously meant a big increase in drinking but that's to be expected!
Overall, Thailand was a great experience. We met loads of really interesting people, made some friends, had some cheap booze and did loads of things we never could have dreamed of before. It's a highly recommended place to visit!
The only warning we'd both agree on is that Thailand is NOT as cheap as people, guide books (especially the Lonely Planet!!) or the internet says it will be. Yes, you can get by on a pittance but you'll be sitting in a rickety shack, drinking only water, eating off the street and generally not doing anything.
While this is a bit of a craic for a few days, it's not the way we wanted to spend 6 weeks. If you're gonna go to Thailand at least do something! I hate those hippies you meet who think living off nothing is 'real traveling' - eh, no that's being a bum and contributing zero to a developing economy. Just like they do at home I'm sure.
Anyway, that's it about Thailand: rant and blog over.
Anyway, that's it about Thailand: rant and blog over.
