I'm writing this post from Kalaw in Myanmar because I've just come back from a wander into town, where I realised today is the day of the full moon, so nowhere is open.
Before Myanmar I was in Thailand for a month, so I'd like to think I learned a lot about the place and the culture. I had an amazing time, some places more than others (big up Pai!) but I thought I'd write a blog post not only about why Thailand is amazing, but also why it isn't—because no one writes about that.
The food. I'm a foodie. There are absolutely tons of street food stalls selling Thai food (I tend to stay away from seafood even though I LOVE it) and not once have I gotten sick, despite numerous people warning me not to eat from stalls. It's authentic - I can't not! The curries are my fave though. To be honest, I got bored of Thai food by the end and couldn't bring myself to eat any more noodles!
It's beautiful. No matter where you go there are temples, all with intricate detailing and pretty colours. Even the scruffy streets I find beautiful in their own way. The markets are colourful, and the scenery can be breathtaking (another shout out to my fav place Pai, and also Koh Tao).
The religion. I like that the majority of the country believes in something more, whether or not it's something I believe in. It's nice seeing them come together and celebrate their beliefs, and seeing people worship so enthusiastically is refreshing.
There's something for everyone. You can be a big-money-baller or a budget traveller and you'll still be able to travel Thailand.
It's well connected. It's so easy to book travel to the next place you're going to, even on the same day you're planning to travel. Most hostels can sort you out.
There is an abundance of like-minded people so it makes it easy to travel alone. You're always going to meet people and sometimes you'll end up going to the same destinations together, or meet up occasionally.
A lot of Thai people speak pretty good English. I didn't quite appreciate it until I came to Myanmar, where I've struggled the majority of the time.
The majority of the time people are trying to sell you stuff. Quite often I've been having a nice little conversation with someone at a market, thinking 'aw they're so lovely, asking how my day is' then BAM! They'll start trying to sell you something. Or in Bangkok they'll come up to you while you're eating in a restaurant and just stand there, even when you've said 'no thank you' five times. I stopped walking up to stalls in the end, unless I really wanted to buy something, because they'd jump straight out of their chair shoving a bracelet down your throat if you were looking for longer than a second.
People will constantly shout 'taxi?!' at you. Even if they heard you say 'no' to the guy next to them, they'll still ask you.
Cockroaches, rats, mosquitos. Need I say more?
I have never been so sweaty in all my life.
If you go somewhere "mainstream" then you'll find lots of tourists. A lot of those tourists do nothing but go out and get wasted every.single.night— which kind of takes the beauty out of travelling for me. Not to say I've never got wasted on my travels, cos I have. But I've just met lots of people who've done nothing but that.
The street animals. I've seen way more dogs than cats, but they all absolutely break my heart when I see them. So skinny, scared and lonely. I wish I could just set up a dog shelter right now for them.
I mean, I'm calling these the 'bad and the ugly of Thailand' but to be honest, if that's as bad as it got then I'm fine. I just fancied doing a little bit of a contrasting post - something a little different. But honestly, I loved my time in Thailand and I'd go back in an instant... this time feeling braver and more confident to go to lesser-known places so I avoid the tourist crowds. Here's my travel guide/itinerary to spending 8 days in mainland Thailand, if you fancy a gander.
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