Thailand
Last stop: Thailand! Everyone has told me that Thailand is one of the most amazing places to visit. Perhaps I was in the wrong side of the country because I did not feel the same way at all. Crazy I know, how could this be?! Trust me, I really tried to keep an open mind but every time I did, I was left disappointed. To be clear, I'm not saying not to visit Thailand but to each their own. I'm just sharing with y'all my experience and why I have no interest in visiting again.
Our entire Asia trip was based around the Loi Krathong Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand which was to be held in November. Unfortunately, King Rama IX had passed away so the festival was toned down out of respect for their deceased King. We visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Phuket.
My favorite part of the trip was spending time with the elephants at Ran-tong (Save & Rescue Elephant Center) in Chiang Mai. It's a center that rescues, protects, and cares for Asian elephants. We got to feed, bathe, ride, and love these beautiful creatures. It was an experience I will never forget!
Reasons Why I Won't be Returning to Thailand
Bloody HOT and HUMID which made every walking moment pretty miserable. Take it from this British girl who ran naked in Thailand because it was so damn hot. I don't blame the girl at all, you do your thang!
It's cheap but you get what you pay for.
I love Thai food so I figured I would find some bomb ass Thai food in Thailand. Wrong! A couple times, my Pad Thai was pink and tasted like Ketchup. Overall, the food was kinda bland and nothing noteworthy. Ironically, it made me appreciate the Thai food in America so much more because they take the ingredients but take it up a notch.
Food was unsanitary. There were a few times I found insects, ants swimming in my soup, eggshells, and a mystery crunchy thing that made me squirm. We saw people selling raw meat which was left out in the heat for hours and covered with flies. You know, I don't mind a fly or two touching my food but at a certain point I had to stand my ground!
Don't trust every cab/tuk tuk drivers:
There have been a few times the tuk tuk drivers did not want to turn the meter on in order to pocket the money. See ya no thanks.
I'll try to keep this ridiculous story short. Basically, this husband and wife tuk tuk drivers were trying to scam and overcharge us for a ride back to our hotel. We tried to negotiate the price but the wife went livid and started screaming at us in a crowded tourist spot. She got the cops involved which was bullshit because they're often bribed in these situations. I argued back until she finally agreed to give us a fair price.
This tuk tuk driver dropped us off in the wrong location purposely so he could tag team with this other driver (his friend) and charge us double the price. It wasn't what we agreed on so the driver told us to get out, take all our luggage, and walk to the hotel.
Another tuk tuk incident happened on our way to the airport. This driver was super friendly and agreed to take us to the airport for 40 baht. We repeated it twice to make sure we heard right. As soon as we got out of the tuk tuk, he does a complete 180 and demands double the price.
I was expecting more from the scenery but most of the land looked pretty flat other than the beaches.
Vendors are constantly haggling with you and it got real tiring real fast.
We've been told multiple times by our hotel concierge to watch our belongings for frequent pickpocketers especially in crowded areas.
Some places charge you to use the restroom and toilet paper. What if it's an emergency and I need more than a few sheets?!
The infrastructure is underdeveloped and is not capable of accommodating the millions of tourists that visit every year.
When we were departing Thailand, it took us 3 hours to get to our gate!
Here are a couple blogs I've read who had a similar experience: In A Far Away Land, Adventurous Travels
PLACES WE VISTED IN THAILAND
ROCKET COFFEEBAR: Beautiful coffee shop but random location | SHUGAA: Cute dessert place | CHATUCHAT MARKET | WAT TRAIMIT | WAT PHO | WAT PHRA KAEW | SLEEPER TRAIN: 13 hour sleeper train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Unique experience that I would never do again. Poor Andrew had a man farting and burping the entire trip under his bunkbed | WAT CHIANG MAN | WAT PHRA SINGH | WAT PAN TAO | WAT CHEDI LUANG | LOI KRATHONG | WAT PHRA THAT DOI SUTHEP | NIGHT BAZAAR | WOO CAFE: Really loved this beautiful cafe | RAN-TONG (Save & Rescue Elephant Center) | WAT RONG KHUN: This white temple was a lot smaller in person. Not sure if it was worth going all the way to Chiang Mai for something that took less than 30 minutes to see | MBK CENTER CHILLOUT MARKET: Clean, good music, and good food. Can't find a direct link but it's outside the MBK Center at night
