My final thoughts of Thailand

I would like to sum up my experience of Thailand for those interested in visiting the country.

Thai People

One thing that suprised me about the people is their sense of humour. They have a great wit which caught me off guard at times because of the accent. They may have spoken english slow but that didnt stop their humour from spewing out. They are great fun.

Another thing, they are always helpful. Trish had a flat tire on her scooter one time. A couple of ladies who did not speak english picked her and her scooter up and drove her to the nearest service station. The ladies then explained to the mechanic what was wrong.

Also, the Thai people LOVE to be photographed. This really helped me as I am shy-ish when photographing people. I was afraid to take pictures of people on the street. Sometimes, a person would realize I was taking pictures then they would instantly light up a smile! When I asked a lady if I may take a picture of her, she immediately smiled and started to fix her hair. Once again, that’s their Thai humour spilling out.

Tourism

I am not a scientist nor expert on the effects of their tourism but I doubt it’s all positive. The Thai tourism industry seemed to exploit the wild animals and environment. I think that they would rather NOT exploit the animals or enviornment. Being a poor nation, I assume some people have no choice or at least “feel” they have no choice because they need to earn a living some how. Maybe they need to be educated about preservation. If they don’t preserve the species and environment, their tourism industry will dwindle. I hope they come to realize they must manage.

When we took a snorkel tour, I had never seen so many speed boats filled with tourist. Maya bay was loaded with boats and people. My idea of paradise is not crowded as some places are. I am sure the enviornment is taking it’s toll from the amount of tourists.

Also, wild animals were exploited. In one case, I saw a mama elephant and her baby chained on a short lead. They were charging a fee to feed the elephants. These were not “free range” elephants as I had seen in the elephant consercancy. I don’t think these elephants were as happy as those ones.

As a note, southern Thailand seemed to be more “over tourized” than the north.

Street-hawkers

One thing is for sure. You can find what ever you need. There are street hawkers for everything. It’s the ultimate in conveniance. You don’t really need to go any where because good and services flow to you; beer, trinkets, massages, tattoo’s. If somebody doesn’t have what you need, they will find it for you.

However, after a time I was getting irritated by the people selling suits. They were the most aggressive. I tried to be polite at first but after a while I found ignoring them worked best. If you make eye contact one, they think they have a chance of making a sale so they will start a conversation. They don’t take “no” for an answer very well. If you stop and politely explain why you don’t need a suit to every tailor, you would never get anywhere. An hour on a street in Bangkok is very exhausting.