IN THE LAND OF SMILES -YEAR: 2566

Considering a trip to Thailand?

I have recently come back from my 10 day trip and would like to share some of  my experiences hoping they might come in useful.

My 7 reasons to visit The Land of Smiles:

1. It is a beautiful and very versatile country 

2. It has a great climate if you choose the right season

3. The people are kind, warm and friendly (but nobody speaks English!)

4. It's very affordable 

5. It has great food

6. It is a whole new world for people coming from Europe

7. It's a shopping paradise 

BEST TIME TO VISIT THAILAND

It is a tropical country with a warm climate throughout the year. It has 3 seasons: humid (May-October), cool (November-February) and hot (March-April). Humid season is a monsoon season with a lot of rain and possible floods. Cool season is very popular with tourists, especially  those from colder places, with the air temperatures of about 30 degrees Celsius  and sea temperature around 28 degrees. It is also the most expensive time to visit the country. February is the driest month, but even then we experienced a couple of brief  showers. During the hot season temperature can rise as high as  40 degrees Celsius. Local mosquitos, however, don't care about the seasons as long as there is blood to suck.

FLIGHT AND TIME ZONE

The flight from Zagreb to Bangkok  took 12 hours, with the stopover in Istanbul. The return flight lasted  about one hour longer because of the jet streams. The local time in  Bangkok is 6 hours ahead of Zagreb. 

CURRENCY

Thai currency is baht. You can exchange money everywhere, with the exchange rate of  100 baht for 2.7 €. If you happen to run out of baht on Sunday (like me) in most big shops they even accept euros at a very good rate.

INTERNET

Hotels have free wifi. You can also buy SIM cards for about 10 euros. I preferred the e-sim card AIRALO for about the same price and it served its purpose. 

LAND AND PEOPLE

Thailand (former Siam) has over 70 million people.  It has never been  colonised and although they have their Royal Thai Army they try to maintain peaceful relationships with other countries. Its official name is the Kingdom of Thailand. Late Rama IX was their much loved king who died in 2016 at the age of 89, making him the second oldest and wealthiest world monarch. Thai people loved him so much that after his death they proclaimed a year of mourning and  all Thai people as well as the  visitors of Thailand  had to wear some sign of mourning. Nine months after his death people would come and pay their respect before he was cremated in 2017. Everybody visiting the country should show respect for the royal family and the lack of it is punishable by law. Every year on the 5th December they celebrate his birthday. His successor Rama X is not so popular, but Thai people respect him all the same. Today, the king is more of a figure than a person of power. Today you can see many photos of the Thai royal family all over the town of Bangkok, some of them from their young days.

First Siamese twins were born in Thailand (ex Siam). Today there is a higher rate of Siamese twins born in the southwestern Asia than anywhere else. The Siamese cat is also native to Thailand. 

By their physical appearance Thai people are smaller and have darker complexion than some other Asian people. They speak Thai and have a  special Thai alphabet. They are fair, hard-working, kind and gentle, but also very slow. They exude peace and gratitude. Their every thank you (kaphuun) is followed by clasped hands and a head bow. Always smiling and welcoming - true  inhabitants of the Land of the Smiles. When you  ask them something in English they politely smile and answer in Thai the question they didn't understand in the first place. No matter how many and what questions you ask, you always get the same answer - in Thai, with a smile. So, don't be misled by their smile! If you accidentally come across somebody who actually speaks English, you bet he is not Thai!

LIFESTYLE

Their houses are usually quite small and they spend a lot of time outdoors. Often, the front part of the house is a shop and they live at the back. Since the food is abundant and affordable they mostly eat out. Bangkok,  Pattaya and Phuket are the richest regions, while the north and the area along the canals are poorer. Those living off tourism live best. Because of the mild tropical climate they have three harvests per year. They export tuna, rice, coconut, and tropical fruit. A few generations live together. When they retire at 65 their pension is between 20 and 30 dollars, so they can't make it without an additional job or the help of the family. I noticed many elderly people working. They also look very youthful and it's quite difficult to tell their age. They like pale skin and various skin lightening products are very popular.

RELIGION

The dominant religion in Thailand is Buddhism. They even count the years beginning with the year Buddha died and entered nirvana.  Now they are in 2565 and it is the year you see in all places.  The new year begins on the 13th April. Also, all over the country you can see small shrines - bigger or smaller, more or less luxurious, depending on the place where they stand. The shrine is devoted to the  spirit protector of the particular place. They believe that the shrine should be nice and cosy. The spirit who also needs food, so every morning people bring their gifts to the shrine: food, drinks, candles, flowers, incense sticks…to humour the spirit and thank him for the answered prayers. Even brothels have small shrines (not that I have been there, but I believe people who have).

In Buddhism the head is considered the centre of a human soul  and it is forbidden to touch anyone's head. Also, foot soles  are considered dirty, so you are not supposed to show them.

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD 

Thai cuisine has the reputation of one of the best cuisines in the world, and rightly so.

It is a mix of 5 basic tastes: sweet, hot, sour, bitter and salty. It's based on rice and noodles with a fine blend of various spices which give every dish a special, delicious flavour. Originally it was very spicy, but you can  also have it less spicy. Usually they ask you how spicy you want it. They are especially famous for all kinds of seafood- fish, shrimps, lobsters, octopus, calamari,  clams …. all freshly prepared on the spot in front of you to observe. We ate food prepared on the street and nobody from the group had any health problems.  You also never had to wait long. Not only are all their dishes delicious, but they are affordable too. You can have a good dish for 80 bahts. Dishes I liked most: pad thai, fried rice, grilled octopus, mango sticky rice, roti pancakes, coconut ice cream... I can't remember anything I didn't like. We tried to eat most of our food with chopsticks and luckily didn't poke each other's eyes. Having done so, I realised why most Asian people don't have weight  problems: by the time they finish their meal they are fed up.

Tap water is not good for drinking and smoking is banned from most public places,  but there are cannabis shops on every corner.

THAI FRUITS 

Since fruit is my favourite food I was determined to try all that was in season. I liked mango best and its taste is  nowhere near the mango I can buy at home. Then, I liked their rose apples (juicier than our ordinary apples), dragon fruit, longan, baby bananas (lady fingers), mangosteen  (it wasn't in season, so it was a bit pricier, but I liked it) and rambutan.  I didn't particularly like guava and papaya, though. Their pineapple and watermelon were delicious. I didn't try duran, which is so smelly that it's  banned from some places. Even duran flavoured toffees  were bad enough for me.

Longan 

Rambutan 

Dragon fruit

Mangosteen 

SHOPPING

No trip is finished till shopping is done! Thailand is a shopping paradise. Bangkok has several big shopping centres, which I didn't visit (because of the  lack of time, not will!), but those from the group who did,  claimed it had been worth it. On every corner they offer fake branded goods like Chanel, YSL, Dior…at very affordable prices. So, if you are into expensive brands at affordable prices, Thailand is the place to go. Some say that forgeries look as good as originals.

I preferred something Thai, so I bought a stingray purse, the price of which was in the range of leather goods in most other countries. It's supposed to be very durable, and, for me, definitely exotic enough.

There are also many small shops all over Bangkok and Phuket with their original, local souvenirs like carved soaps, coconut bowls, elephant souvenirs, massage balls, spices etc.

Elephant is a symbol of Thailand and you can find it on most souvenirs. It represents strength, loyalty and longevity. Personally,  I had no close encounter with an elephant. I am more of a monkey type, anyway. Other great souvenirs from Thailand are silk scarves (beware of cheap synthetic - a real silk scarf costs over 300 baht) and pearls (Phuket). 

They expect you to bargain for the price (a custom not originally from Thailand, but taken over from the Arabs). Tips are also expected. Generally, they are people of high integrity and none of us was cheated in any way

TRAFFIC

They drive on the left and the traffic is heavy throughout most of the day. There are traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, speed limits and all the conventional traffic regulations,  but you shouldn't rely on them too much or take them too seriously. Instead of stopping at the zebra crossing and waiting for the cars and motorcycles (even more numerous!) to stop and let you  cross the street, you should do it the Thai way: make eye contact with the approaching driver, signal with your hand that you are about to cross the street  and hope for the best. If you have a choice it is usually faster to take a subway (clean, cheap, safe, rather easy to use) or tuk tuk (they wiggle their way between the cars changing directions). Our tuk tuk ride was  an unbeatable experience. Like in a Mad Max movie. It was a relatively quick and bumpy ride and if you have an upset stomach think twice, or carefully choose the driver. ALWAYS state your destination and agree on the price in advance. It takes some haggling, but it's part of the fun. We noticed that no matter how far your destination was, they start with 800 baht. My friend and I managed to settle for 150 baht for a 15 min ride.

Massage 

When inThailand don't skip a massage. We  had our first (also my last) foot massage in Bangkok, Khao San Road. Half an hour of an  outdoor massage for the price of 150 baht (4€). My masseuse was a tiny lady of about 4.9 feet and no more than 99 pounds, but, boy, she had the grip of a sumo wrestler. My painful  facial expressions  she  mistook for pleasure and followed with kind smiles. Those were long and painful 30 minutes! Surprisingly,  I felt great afterwards. Other people from the group got hooked on various massages and had one every day. Not me, though!

I hope my post has brought Thailand closer to you, maybe even encouraged you to visit it. It's definitely a place where I felt good and would like to revisit. If there is any interest I might add some more posts about Bangkok and its sights,  as well as the floating market and the island of Phuket.