Phase 1: Destination Thailand

DESTINATION GUIDE: Thailand

I know what you are thinking. At least Thailand makes sense, unlike Ecuador. Everyone seems to be hitting the backpacker trail through SE Asia and ending up in Thailand at one point or another. I am constantly hearing stories about how friendly and welcoming Thai people are, and how cheap and delicious the food is. Thailand was originally my first choice, to be completely honest. However, the likelihood that I will learn and retain the Thai language is very slim, so it dropped down a slot. Plus, like I just said, EVERYONE goes to Thailand. Redefine Normal, that’s my motto so I figured I had better follow it.

Reasons To Go:

Koh Kood

Koh Kood is an island in the Koh Kut district of Thailand and it is pretty much my definition of paradise. White sandy beaches give way to turquoise blue water. I can just imagine sitting in the shade of the palm trees with SPF 50 covering every inch of my pasty Pacific Northwest skin. With daily flights to Trat airport on Koh Kood from Bangkok, I am not sure why this little island paradise is not overrun with tourists. Maybe it’s because there is no nightlife to be found, and very few dining options? Real talk though, who needs fancy night clubs and 5-star restaurants when you can drink rum out of a bucket on the a beach?

Pai

Pai (pronounced “bye”) is in Northern Thailand near the border of Myanmar. Though it used to be a quiet little village, it now thrives on tourism by being part of the backpacker trail. It is home to over 350 hotels and guest houses, and even three stop lights. That’s damn near metropolitan. The high season is between November and May, so be sure to book well in advance if you want to join the party. Many people use Pai as a jumping off point for adventures into the mountains to visit the hill tribes, which sounds super cool. Added to the must-do list.

Chiang Rai

Chiang Rai is the northernmost “large city” in Thailand with a population of around 70k. The main attraction that draws people this far north is Wat Rong Khun, better known as the White Temple. You are probably expecting this to be a historic temple dedicated to the god of snow or something, right? Wrong. It’s a privately held art exhibit that was opened to the public in the late 90’s. The exhibit isn’t even expected to be completed until 2070. I figure, it’s strange enough that I want to check it out. Plus, the average temperature here is around 88°F (31°C) nearly year round, which is a bit warm for me, but I could get used to it. Though there is a rainy season from April to October, which would be annoying (says the girl from Seattle).

Ko Lanta

I chose Ko Lanta over Ko Phi Phi for a couple of reasons. Sure, both are picture perfect destinations filled with sun, sand and poor decisions. However, Ko Lanta has a bit of a hipster edge. It’s a little lesser known. It is flatter, and hence easier to explore on motorbike (I am a terrible driver). I read that a lot of people learn to scuba or surf here as well because the crowds are smaller so scheduling a lesson can be easier.

Chiang Dao

Chiang Dao is yet another city in Northern Thailand, can you see a pattern developing? The name means City of Stars. It is surrounded by expansive limestone peaks and stalagmites-filled caves. The cherry blossoms bloom in January, so that would be a nice time to visit. Make sure to take a hike up to San Phakia for the view above. It can be visited by small motorbike as well.

Ko Muk

Ko Muk (Pearl Island) is an island near Ko Lanta that is best known for the Emerald Cave (Morakot Cave). Though the cave is now over run with tour groups consisting mostly of old men in speedos, if you go during the off-season it looks like an exhilarating experience. If you plan to rent a motorbike to ride around the rather large island, make sure you don’t rent it near Farang Beach, as it is nearly twice as expensive as it would be in the fisherman’s village on the opposite side. You can rent a mid-range bungalow on the island for about $15 a night (there are cheaper options too). I, obviously, really hate islands.

Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya is an ancient capital city. In the 1700’s it became the largest city in the world, with one million residents. Though only the remnants of that great city remain, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. You can easily visit it in a day trip from Bangkok. No Thailand visit would be complete without seeing this sunset, in my opinion.

Koh Tao

Okay, this is the last island, I promise! (Though, I will pause for a second to mention that you should also go to a Full Moon party just for the hell of it. Check out the one on Koh Phangan) Koh Tao touts the reputation of the best place in the world to get PADI certified. If I end up in Thailand, I can’t resist setting up camp here for a few months to start the process of getting my scuba instructor certification. That’s how I plan to afford living abroad, in case you were wondering. No, it doesn’t pay very well, because I know that was going to be your next question.

Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai was my very first introduction to South East Asia. The business school at my university ran a program with the university in Chiang Mai and many of my friends participated in the program. For that reason, this town will probably always interest me the most. The Night Bazaar is the attraction that caught my attention. I have always loved farmers markets, antique shops, and the general clutter that people buy at places like this. I am also a huge foodie, and haven’t experienced nearly enough Thai food in my life. Look at that, you just learned a lot about me! Did we just become best friends?

Climate:

The climate in Thailand is tropical, generally hot and humid. There are three distinct types of weather: hot, cool, and raining. Hot season runs from March to May and temperatures averaging around 82°F (28°C).The cool season, from November to February, has temperatures ranging from 55°F (14°C) to 70°F (21°C). Then you’ve got the rain. It starts around the beginning of June and doesn’t stop until October, so I hope you packed an umbrella (I didn’t because we don’t use them in Seattle…). Peak seasons are between November and March, as well as July and August. Peak = lots of tourists and higher prices, just saying. So, April or May, it is.

Languages:

There are around 73 languages spoken throughout Thailand. Thai being the official language. Lao is the largest minority language spoken in Thailand, which makes sense as the countries border each other, but I really expected it to be English. Stupid American. Actually, only about 28% of the population speaks English, so be ready to whip out your English to Thai dictionary at the drop of a hat.

Government:

Thailand is constitutionally a monarchy. The king acts as the head of state, while the prime minister acted as the head of government. The Thai police rigorously enforce the lèse majesté law. This essentially says that you better not make fun of the royals, because you will go to jail. Do not pass go. Other than that, all things were well and good up until 2007 when the Thai army seized control of the government. Though the martial law that was instated in May 2014 has since been lifted, (think head military officer being put in charge of the entire country’s government), worse things may be ahead for Thailand. The new security orders in place granted designated military personnel powers to seize assets, tamper with the media, and to detain suspects of crimes against peace for up to seven days. I found this quote from Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director, Brad Adams: “Thailand’s friends abroad should not be fooled by this obvious sleight of hand by the junta leader to replace martial law with a constitutional provision that effectively provides unlimited and unaccountable powers.” Oh shit. That doesn’t sound good.

Heath Care System:

I read somewhere that health care providers in Thailand are “generally adequate” in the larger cities. That doesn’t give me much faith that I would be saved from the rare disease that I was not vaccination against. The WHO ranks Thailand 47th out of 190 countries though, which is not to bad. Many pharmacies do not require a prescription and the drugs you can buy are stronger than the kinds you would find at home. Summary: Buy over the counter oxycontin. Don’t do drugs in Thailand.

Safety:

After consulting my go to safety site, I will summarize what the US government wants you to know before going to Thailand.

• There is political unrest, particularly in Southern Thailand. I.e. bombings
• These three provinces are on the Do Not Go There List: Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala
• Watch your back at the Thai-Cambodian border. Apparently they are having some disagreements about what land is who’s. Shootings have been a thing.
• Actually, avoid all of Thailand’s borders. The border between Thailand and Myanmar is home to drug traffickers, pirates, and you guessed it, more political unrest.
• Tuk-tuk drivers are sketchy. They will try to double your fair, so don’t be a sucker.
• Be careful when renting a motorbike. A common scam is to ask for you passport as collateral. Don’t agree to this please.
• To contradict popular belief, prostitution is illegal in Thailand.
• The emergency number in Thailand is 191. They also have a special Tourist Police line which you can reach by dialing 1155.

Visa Requirements:

Thailand only allows US citizens to stay in the country without a visa for 30 days. Per visit. It is possible to leave Thailand after your inital 30 days, and return to a new 30 day window…though it is not entirely legal. Some people have been caught doing this recently, though there punishment was simply an escort to the Thai embassy to apply for the appropriate visa. Thank god for those friendly Thai people. Your best course of action is to leave for Thailand, enter on the 30 day tourist visa and then find your nearest Embassy to apply for the appropriate visa. The tourist visa in Thailand is valid for up to 60 days, so still not long enough. Their non-immigrant visa could work if I could consider myself a journalist…I will need to do more research on the visa process if Thailand ends up winning.

Vaccination Requirements:

Like Ecuador, you should be up to date with your routine vaccinations. Actually, most of the vaccinations are the same between Ecuador and Thailand. The big difference being the addition of Japanese Encephalitis. Don’t look up the symptoms… they include swelling around the brain, coma, and death, so just get the shot.

Required Vaccinations:

• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid

Suggested Vaccinations:

• Hepatitis B
• Japanese encephalitis
• Malaria
• Rabies
• Yellow fever

Cost of Living:

Though costs have gone up in recent years because of the rise in tourism, Thailand is still a very inexpensive place to live compared to the US.

Rent:

I jumped on Craigslist again after converting my $300 housing budget to Thai Baht. It converted to about 10,000 baht a month. I used Chiang Mai as my base camp for this search. There were plenty of places that fit within my budget, and even a decent number of rooms for less. I would be hesitant to drop my budget below $200. I don’t know if I mentioned in my last post, but all housing costs are for a fully furnished 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom unit, unless I say otherwise. I am going to set my housing budget for Thailand at $250 a month to be safe. So far, slightly cheaper than Ecuador.

Food:

Generally, food prices, even at markets, are set and the asking price is paid. However, everything is very cheap. You can try a couple of different dishes from the Night Bazaar in Chiang Mai for a few bucks. You can get vegetarian pad thai for as little as a dollar, so when the going gets tough, at least you won’t starve. I would set my food budget at $9 a day, or $280 a month.

Local Transportation:

The local buses are very reasonably priced and will cost you between $3 and $9 depending on how far you are trying to go. If I took one bus a week, that would put my monthly local transportation budget at around $75.

Health Care:

As a non-Thai, you can walk into any hospital or general practitioner and expect to pay “normal charges.” Not sure what that means. More on this later… Cost: ?

Travel and Sightseeing:

As I have said before, I always like to set $200 a month aside for travel expenses. The Thai Islands are always calling my name.

I would set my total yearly budget at $14,950. Woah. Though price is not the single most important factor when determining my location, this just blew Ecuador out of the park. Oh what I could do with an extra $4500…

Okay folks, that is Thailand. You can see obviously see why this peaceful, tropical paradise made its way into my top three choices for my year abroad. There are very few places I would rather be than curled up in a hammock under a palm tree, notebook and pen in hand. Only time will tell if this is where I will end up, but for now its a beautiful dream.

Don’t forget to vote for the destination you think I should choose.

Cheers!

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Day 3/560