Thailand: Whats the facination?
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peternorth
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- May 6, 2005
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- #27
they are great at table tennis 
You sound exactly like a girl I work with, won't stay anywhere unless it's at least 4 star accommodation on a tour. Of course, whatever floats your boat, but you are missing out on sooooooooooo much stuff it's unbelievable.
SA was my first overseas trip but I've travelled around Australia a fair bit. I was quite apprehensive about it originally but after a week you realise that you are in fact very safe, as long as you keep your wits about you. Some of the places you go to are utterly amazing. Sure, the accommodation in some places isn't flash, you tend to get the runs on a regular basis, travelling in buses isn't flash unless you get one with cama (seats that recline into beds) seats, tonnes of people everywhere and a lot of poverty all around, etc.. However, yuo get over tha in about a week and focus more on your holiday.
Was originally a bit tough for me because I don't speak a word of Spanish and I'm a red-head, so I stick out like a sore thumb. But at the end of the day I can say that I've walked down into the deepest canyon in the world, and out again, I've walked the Inca trail and explored the ruins of Macchu Picchu, mountain-biked down the most dangerous road in the world, jeeped across the world's biggest salt-lake and through the driest place on earth, been to the flashiest vineyard in Chile, walked around Torres del Paine national park, seen the most active glacier on the planet, eaten Patagonian bbq (amazing!), partied hard in Buenos Aires and gone to one of the most amazing clubs you'll ever go to and explored the old city of Montevideo. The list goes on.
Most of all I met some amazing people. I'd say nearly 50% of your holiday experience is meeting and sharing time with other backpackers, and what an amazing group of people they all are. This is something you never experience in cushy, 2 week holiday hotel trips. It's almost impossible to get the feel of a place and you never really get to know anything about the culture, you're just another gringo doing all the typical tourist things.
As for your point about places being safe; I never once felt unsafe in South America. Sure we stuck to the more relatively tourist areas in places like Peru, but everywhere else we went was just in the city proper. There's dodgy elements to every place, you're hardly going to spend times in the ghettos of New York, but for the most part they're all relatively safe. I personally felt more unsafe in Sydney, going out on the 2nd night before we left. Just jocks and bogans everywhere looking for fights. None of that in SA, pretty peaceful really.
So please, do yourself a favour and go backpacking for a couple of months, anyone else who has done it will agree with me no matter what type of people they are. You have absolutely no idea what you're missing out on.
That's the point about travelling, living the whole experience. I pity people that lack a bit of adventure/balls in their lives.
I know that I might have to work for the rest of my life, so I might as well have an adventure or two before I'm in-prisoned with society's commitments like a mortgage and 2.4 kids.
Can anyone recommend a place to stay in Phuket - preferably near Karon or Kata beaches?
I dont want to spend more than $25-35 Aus a night.
Fanks
I dont want to spend more than $25-35 Aus a night.
Fanks
Define experience though. Spending 2+ months travelling around 4-5 different countries, seeing things you don't read about in the tourist magazines and spending a great deal of time getting to know local culture is an experience and gives you valuable experience for the next one.
Going to London, Paris or New York for a week or 2 doesn't really make you an experienced traveller IMO.
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- #34
i Think the place sucks. Dirty, full of auuustraaalians you would normally do your best to not meet or keep company with and the people are just disgusting and the food..meh if you like dishwater.
Yet so many people rave on about the place and think of you as weird for not liking it.
Yet so many people rave on about the place and think of you as weird for not liking it.
We're talking about Thailand, not Sydney
Although I guess Sydney's full of Asians and Lebonese...
No need to get offended, just having a joke mate.
Tassie is an exciting place anyway. Plenty to do if you like the outdoors, beach, surfing etc.. I must admit I don't feel very safe whenever I go to Sydney, too many jocks and bogans looking for fights in the CBD. I like Sydney and would certainly like to spend some more time there, but it just doesn't feel particularly safe to me.
Ain't that the truth. Problem is that I stayed in the Cross, which has an unsavoury reputation, but I felt fine there. Went into down and there's just drunk jocks everywhere, trying to pick fights. Bogans driving around in cars, a couple of guys throwing up out the window of one. Ended up heading back to King's Cross and stayed there for the rest of the night and had a ball. Sydney's certainly a beautiful place but I think they need a bigger police presence in the streets on weekend nights, just to make the place feel safer.
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- #40
So I have to go to a third world country to be an experienced traveller? If it makes you feel better I had a stop over in Bombay India once. It was a ******** hole. I don't go for a life changing experience, I go for a holiday.
prized bitch
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Are you absolutely sure that you want to stay in Karon or Kata? I would probably stay on the main drag in Patong, unless you wanted to be a bit further out.
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I'd go to Koh Samui ahead of Phuket.
You'd get a decent place for $30 a night easily there.
No can do unfortunately I organised a cheap flight from Singapore to Phuket direct so thats where I will probably stay - iv'e got 12 days in Phuket and its surrounds - mainly just to chill out on the cheap before i head to Europe.
So far in South Karon im looking at http://www.pineapplephuket.com/ for 5 nights just to see what its like (going to cost me 500baht a night).
So far in South Karon im looking at http://www.pineapplephuket.com/ for 5 nights just to see what its like (going to cost me 500baht a night).
danielcan
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Thai food in Thailand and absolutely delicious. You could feast for 400 Baht (under $20 dollars), and you could snack or even have a meal for around 20 Baht ($1).
DESIGNER clothing for one third of the price here, plus there is a greater range.
The markets are awesome - amazing and beautiful ceramics, silk and other cloths, silverware...
But the food... oh man...
Singapore is clean and 'first world' and the food is great too, but it is too sterile.
A bit of grit and grot makes Thailand a lot more interesting.
Not saying that you have to go to a third-world country to be classed as experienced, just saying that you may like to try broadening your horizons a tad more. Having a stop-over in Bombay isn't what's called 'getting the feel of a place'. You need to spend at least 2 weeks in a place to know if you're really going to like it. Sure it's a culture shock at first but once you settle into it, you start to appreciate the whole experience a whole lot more and those initial reservations you had about a place just disappear. It's very refreshing.
Anybody been to China of late? I went in 98 and although certain parts were very scenic and bautiful, it was a ********en hole overall. People spitting everywhere (including indoor places), filthy toilets, the pollution... Just an overwhelming sense of being in an un-hygienic place. I have been told it has come a long way since.
That's the same as every country that doesn't have the same living standards as ours. Gotta take the good with the bad really.
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- #49
But what I'm saying is that maybe your idea of an overseas holiday and my idea are different. I'm not there for a life changing experience. I'm there to get away from my normal life and stay in a nice hotel, see the sights and enjoy some good shopping. I'm not afraid to say that I like the more commercial places. Thats what appeals to me.
Even when you go to New York, London, Paris etc, its not Australia. It has a different atmosphere, different types of people. You still get to experience the culture. I don't see a problem with it.
I'm sure there are places that you are not interested in going to. Different places appeal to different people.
danielcan
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Each destination is different.
I love Switzerland for different reasons to Thailand.
For a bit of adventure, Morocco is an experience. Very hard travelling, not always enjoyable, but worth a visit, once.
I love Switzerland for different reasons to Thailand.
For a bit of adventure, Morocco is an experience. Very hard travelling, not always enjoyable, but worth a visit, once.
