First Trip Completed

[Spee]

Hello Group,

Just completed first time travel to LOS. Many, many observations but here are a few ....

- Thanks first off to KevinN and Sunnee for taking some time on short notice to come visit with me in Phetchabun. Kevin's dry sense of humor and frank opinions on Thai ure were very helpful and proved to be very accurate. Looking forward to seeing them again on the next trip.

- Places I stayed .... Kosit Hill Hotel in Phetchabun, very nice reasonably priced accommodations with a good restaurant to boot .... Ayutthaya Guest House in Ayutthaya, strictly bare bones but very friendly, very comfortable and very/very reasonably priced ..... Asia Airport Hotel at the airport, decent accommodations and free shuttle service (one note: if no reservation and coming in from the airport, negotiate the price with the many tour operator stands, got one room one night for about $60US and from a different operator got a similar room another night for about $40US)

- Transportation: Had Thai friends (TGF's brothers & friends) to drive me around to several places, but did have paid transportion several times. One word to the wise .... negotiate!!! I overpaid by about double for one of my first trips, but didn't haggle because I was tired and they offered to take me door to door. On a few other paid trips, my Thai friends negotiated and learned how low things can go. One can really save a lot by negotiating, and the drivers will always present top dollar first to the farangs.

- Air Travel: If traveling by air from town to town in country, check with the airlines for schedules. I scheduled my trip so that I could use PB Air for travel on a specific day to a specific place. When I called to set up the reservation and pay for the ticket, their flight schedule had changed from what in on the website and there was no longer a flight when I wanted it.

- On the road: Most of the roads I went on were in decent shape, but be prepared for people driving all over the place. Rules of the road, including speed, lane changes and lane usage, etc., just don't seem to apply. Also, if driving in the mountains with sharp corners and turns, be prepared to see any of the following at any time: motorcycles, cars and trucks moving over in the wrong lane to straighten out a turn; dogs everywhere; mudslides very prevalent after heavy rains.

- Language: I have been trying to learn Thai for about 7 months now, and it really paid off. Not only was I able to get around better, I could also understand what people were saying at times, and people also gave me more respect and didn't treat me like a "typical" farang.

- The Facilities: Everything that has been written about in this forum about the toilet situation is true. I fortunately had no surprises and no % s" from bad food or bad water. My "recipe" for getting by: Kept a few baby wipes in a sealed baggie for emergencies, took small doses of immodium just to "slow things down" for a few days, stayed away from anything that looked bad or might have been cooked with non-bottled water.

- The Environment: Keep plenty of bottled water and plenty of mosquito repellent. They are needed. I sweated like a pig, but didn't have any problems with the heat beause I was drinking as much water as I was leaking.

- Sukhumvit Soi Cowboy: Got a small taste of the "typical" farangs, why they go there, how obnoxious and arrogant they are in those surroundings. I hung out at a small joint on the corner where I was practically the only farang there and had a great time talking, eating and drinking with the mama-san and a couple of the s. Strictly a social thing for me to relax and unwind on the last night in country.

- My TGF/fiance's family and friends treated me wonderfully. They appreciated the fact that I in love with and going to marry their daughter/sister/friend, and that I help them out a bit when I can. On the other hand, they didn't ask me for money for every little thing, and often times offered to either pay their own way or we just split the cost. For the family friends who drove me around, they didn't even ask for money, except a bit for gas. Just stopping on the road for a good meal was all that they wanted.

- On WAI-ing: The farangs way/way overdo it, and don't even do it the right way. Most of the people I was with, rarely WAI'd at all and when they did it, it was only a few times with either people that they respected or hadn't seen for a long time. Also I learned from reading and saw in practice, there is a right way and a wrong way to WAI, as well as appropriate and inappropriate times to WAI. Fully 100% of the farangs that I saw seemed to have no clue of these facts. Times and places for WAI-ing should be learned, as well as how to WAI to a monk, an older person, a younger person, etc.

Will try to post a few more notes when I have more time ...

But wow, what a gas LOS is, and what a great time I had. Can't wait to go back.

Spee

[whattodo]

HMMMM A FIRST TIMER HERE WITH ALL THE KNOWLAGE AND ADVICE TO BOOT ?

ANYWAY GLAD YOU ENJOYED YOUR HOLIDAY.

[Spee]

ALL THE KNOWLAGE AND ADVICE TO BOOT ?

Not "all the knowledge" for sure, just what I saw ... like Einstein was fond of saying: "The more I learn, the less I know."

So for me, I know a lot more about LOS than I knew before, but now there is also so much more that I don't know.

Advice was only for what I saw and experienced. Others have probably seen and done differently.

[Snapshot]

Quote "...like Einstein was fond of saying: "The more I learn, the less I know.""

Good point ... you are a good observer .. a lot of expats here could/should actually learn something from you

[p1p]

Congratulations. It does the heart good to read a post from a "first timer" who so obviously appreciates this Kingdom for what it is and has to offer. I'm afraid one becomes quite jaded from the Chang soaked BG topics here.

Little word of advice for next time:

My "recipe" for getting by: Kept a few baby wipes in a sealed baggie for emergencies, took small doses of immodium just to "slow things down" for a few days, stayed away from anything that looked bad or might have been cooked with non-bottled water.

Baby wipes are great, however I'm afraid you missed the point with the rest.Taking Immodium can frequently cause more damage than it solved. Only really useful if you have a long bus or car journey to undertake. (Trains & planes, lock yourself in the loo and don't come out!) Far better to carry rehydration salts and get professional treatment in case of the runs. Look at http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=4497

Off the top of my head, I can not think of any restaurant or food stall that cooks with bottled water. It does not happen. Just make sure the food is fresh cooked & you should be OK.

[Begs]

Wow, a first timer that is not puffing out his chest and bragging about all the women he exploited......................There is hope after all.

You probably done more and saw more of the Real Thailand than most of the old hand *experts* see in 10 years.

I liked Petchabun also.

[possom]

thanks for the advice!!,will negotiate with the sawngthaew driver tomorow !! only joking ,pleased you enjoyed it !!

[Spee]

Wow, a first timer that is not puffing out his chest and bragging about all the women he exploited......................There is hope after all.

True ... what you describe wasn't the purpose of my trip.

I'm happily in love with a wonderful who has a very nice caring family and a simply adorable young child. The objective of the trip was to meet the family and friends, hang out with them for a few days, take care of some things that she & I are working on there, and bring back plenty of pictures because she was not able to come with me on the trip.

Actually, of the days spent in country, the short time in BKK was the least pleasurable. I of course only saw a small fraction of the city. But from what I did see, with the crowds, the pollution and traffic congestion, I much preferred the outlying areas.

As far as exploitation goes, maybe I'm wrong but I think it's more of a mutual exploitation when it comes to the BG's and their patrons. The BG's expose themselves to physical and mental exploitation, in return for an opportunity to exploit the patrons for the all the financial gain they can extract. As a one-time door man at a strip club, I've seen it before, albeit not to this extreme. I guess it means we don't live in a perfect world, and sometimes the risks we take are worth it and sometimes they aren't.

Just a couple more of my own "wrong" opinions.

[tuky]

Well done Spee,

Now what is the big day mate?

[Spee]

Now what is the big day mate?

TBD ..... probably some time in the first or second quarter next year.