2 hours ago, FruitPudding said:

The only thing with Thailand is the lack of unique places:

most countries tend to have this problem.

it's better to travel to different countries than visit every corner of one country. 

 

2 hours ago, LaosLover said:

Only one real sushi restaurant, so for me, that's gonna be a no

Here's me thinking Sushi was Japanese. Cold rice & raw fish........yuk!

No good Balti or Mexican restaurants there? 

11 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

most countries tend to have this problem.

it's better to travel to different countries than visit every corner of one country. 

 

Or do you really mean it is better to s..g one girl in each of 40 different countries than 40 in Thailand? Hmmmm.

If a you took a vacation in Texas, you'd be amazed at the many 50 shades of Texas-dom.

 

So call Thailand Texas and half, interest-wise.

1 hour ago, bignok said:

Went twice. Average town. Emerald cave crowded. Ko Kradan is the best place.

Koh Kradan is very nice....until 2pm when all the tours turn up. invade and leave their rubbish all over the beach.

12 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

 

No good Balti? 

Is Balti even possible here?

9 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Or do you really mean it is better to s..g one girl in each of 40 different countries than 40 in Thailand? Hmmmm.

bignok has a hot 9/10 gf.

he doesn't need to travel to sh....g.

There are places in Nepal and India I'd like to go to as well as Southern France and Southern Italy.

Thailand?  I've seen a lot of it and can pretty much figure out what to expect from the rest of it.

36 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

bignok has a hot 9/10 gf.

he doesn't need to travel to sh....g.

I find this hard to believe.

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

most countries tend to have this problem.

it's better to travel to different countries than visit every corner of one country. 

 

Expensive

3 minutes ago, bignok said:

Expensive

travel less. but choose destinations more carefully.

anyway, do what you want. 

3 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

anyway, do what you want. 

I will

7 minutes ago, bignok said:

Expensive

Yeah, but better. Just like vacations in Manhattan cost more than vacations in Adelaide.

 

Like when you said you really liked the Phimai ruin, but felt that $50 for Angkor Wat was too rich for your blood. That is short-sighted enconomizing.

 

I had a lot of great years doing SEA on hard seats and hard mattresses. I envy you your travels, but not enough to do them again. It's great that you'll go to a place like Loei for a look around. That's prob not even one in 10,000 tourists. 

 

But the more Loei's you hit, the less unique they will each seem. I think a lot about living in Nonthburi in the future. I read here that Nonthburi was over, everyone on this board had departed for Suraburi.

 

I went to Suraburi and found it to be basically suburban Nonthburi. It's sort of Nonthburi-lite all the way north until its just rice paddies. No need to visit multiple fill in the blank-buri's.

 

 

The guys in this forum seem to be long stayers. Getting to know your "second home country" is helpful to integrate and understand the shades of culture. You get more chances to practice the language outside the cities. When you meet Thai from other regions they appreciate if you have visited etc I guess the forum members still travel to other countries (like me). Domestic and international travel have different purposes.

4 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

But the more Loei's you hit, the less unique they will each seem. I think a l

Great guesthouse there. I didnt want to leave. Loei town itself is just average.

6 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

but felt that $50 for Angkor Wat was too rich for your blood.

don't be a cheapskate, bignok.

fork out whatever they're asking for Angkor Wat.

that place was possibly built by aliens!

 

2 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

don't be a cheapskate, bignok.

fork out whatever they're asking for Angkor Wat.

that place was possibly built by aliens!

 

Next year

That's another problem with living here: You generally are very happy with your sleeping arrangements; a great guest house has less allure.

 

I'm sitting on my Balcony looking at Chiang Mai's bright lights and illuminated stupa's. My corner unit is huge. As a hotel room equivalent, I'd be paying at least $80 a night.

 

So I'm less incentivized to go and sit on a balcony in very nice Loei.

 

5 minutes ago, bignok said:

Great guesthouse there. I didnt want to leave. Loei town itself is just average.

What guesthouse?

6 minutes ago, thailandsgreat said:

What guesthouse?

Loei Huen Hao Hug Hotel

Travelled so much yet learnt so little ????

A very short stay during international travel sometimes doesn't give you more than YouTube and internet. You can brag you were there and show the same pictures as on the internet, not more. Angkor looks like on the Internet.

 

I have visited Ecuador several times but  not Galapagos. I could have paid for it but money better spent during year long trips in S America. Just not worth it in my book.

 

I've been close to orangutan reserves on Borneo and gorillas in Uganda.  But sometimes just  not worth it, for a few pictures.  But I spent a lot of time and money on other trips that other people wouldn't. E.g. took some time to locate and say hello to Obama's grandmother in Kenya/Uganda  border area.

That's a good thread jack:

 

Expensive tuff that is worth it, why, and to whom.

 

For me:

 

Madagascar -medium rip-off, you gotta love, love the lemurs

Bhutan - Liked it, didn't love it, but it stayed with me for a long time

Kauai -Stunning, but boring

Amazon Cruise -Def worth it

 

Meeting Obama's Grandmother: Like, $50 tops.

 

13 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

That's a good thread jack:

 

Expensive tuff that is worth it, why, and to whom.

 

For me:

 

Madagascar -medium rip-off, you gotta love, love the lemurs

Bhutan - Liked it, didn't love it, but it stayed with me for a long time

Kauai -Stunning, but boring

Amazon Cruise -Def worth it

 

Meeting Obama's Grandmother: Like, $50 tops.

 

Maybe I didn't write well. It wasn't costly to see the old lady, but it was a fun diversion travelling through. Worth the time.

6 hours ago, Keeps said:

Do you happen to remember the name of the hotel in Fang near the Tesco Lotus? I have a short, upcoming trip to Fang and haven't yet seen any Hotel I particularly fancy on the likes of Agoda.

 

Thanks in advance.

Sorry, no. I doubt you'll have any problem just walking in.

13 hours ago, LaosLover said:

Fang and Tha Ton - total why I am here? nowheresvilles. 

Tha Ton is lovely. I stayed in a quiet place alongside the river, which was true bliss.

I first went there on a tour with Track of the Tiger in the 90s and we had lunch in a delightful hotel. I went back especially to visit that hotel about 20 years later, but was sad to see it had been replaced by a cookie cutter concrete building.

Lovely temple on top of the hill, and pleasant restaurants in abundence.

 

Fang, didn't even stop there.

12 hours ago, KannikaP said:

OK, of what? Mountains, rivers, caves, trees, fields.....then what?

If you don't get a buzz off them, you're either too young, or need to chill, IMO.

7 hours ago, LaosLover said:

 

 

 

Meeting Obama's Grandmother: Like, $50 tops.

 

Her white grandmother or the black grandmother?

Was it worth the $50?

12 hours ago, FruitPudding said:

The only thing with Thailand is the lack of unique places:

Seriously? You need to get around more.

When I was but a 20 year old travelling on a raft and staying with hill tribes in Northern Thailand it felt like being on some sort of frontier. Even Koh Samui in huts felt exotic. Same with a trip through Myanmar where in the limited time frame you could really go to out of the way places. Pagan was untouched and beautiful and fun to explore on bikes. Travelling from Jakarta to Timor felt unexpected travelling from Muslim to Hindu to Christian areas. No contact with home for months. 

So now when I think about Thailand I accept I might see some nice scenery or a nice temple or meet some nice people, but I end up booking Koh Chang or similar as there is still a lot of beautiful nature, and I don't sense that Thailand has a frontier that will wake me up like travels of the past.