First Impression Of Thailand

[tycoon101]

Hello,

I was wondering, what is your first impression about Thailand when you first visit. I am not interested in hearing about how great SEX you have or your wildest party you've been to, more interested in hearing something about the people, the culture, the enviroment, the weather, the traffic etc. No talking crab about the girls, please.

[RakJungTorlae]

I was just a kid,

Thought it was a 3erd world shit hole. Was begging my mom to get me back home. Thai people just freaked me out. no culture shock has I have lived in Asia. My cousins went to school here. So far 10 years later,

Nothing much has changed.

[tycoon101]

I was just a kid,

Thought it was a 3erd world shit hole. Was begging my mom to get me back home. Thai people just freaked me out. no culture shock has I have lived in Asia. My cousins went to school here. So far 10 years later,

Nothing much has changed.

Interesting, were you on vacation with your family? Thai people freaked you out in what way?

[britmaveric]

Exotic piece of paradise. It's frustrating and arse backwards at times, but thats what makes it lovable and different.

[Newbee]

I was wondering, what is your first impression about Thailand when you first visit.

Finnish sauna

[tw25rw]

Hello,

I was wondering, what is your first impression about Thailand when you first visit. I am not interested in hearing about how great SEX you have or your wildest party you've been to, more interested in hearing something about the people, the culture, the enviroment, the weather, the traffic etc. No talking crab about the girls, please.

Thought it was an ugly dumpy place with little to recommend it.

Then I discovered Nana Plaza and have been 8 times in 2.5 years.

I still think it's a dump, but I'm used to the cluttered footpaths, dishonest taxi drivers etc etc and have generally found myself feeling at home. But I would never have gone back if not for the girls I met.

Edited June 20, 2008 by tw25rw

[RakJungTorlae]

I was just a kid,

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Thought it was a 3erd world shit hole. Was begging my mom to get me back home. Thai people just freaked me out. no culture shock has I have lived in Asia. My cousins went to school here. So far 10 years later,

Nothing much has changed.

Interesting, were you on vacation with your family? Thai people freaked you out in what way?

Yeah it was kind of a vacation. Stayed around near Suk 22 in my aunties house. And it was kind of creepy also thinking maybe some one would abduct me, motorbike and tuk tuk drivers just staring at me. 2 young for girl but they try and talk with me. And some peoples over friendliness just smelt really fishy to me then. Now I know Thailand is safe and laid back now. But the cleanness has not got any better, the culture still dose not appeal to me, I keep it to my self but I just don’t get involved.

[bratpack]

My first visit was 5 days in bk and then 10 days in pattaya.me and a mate went and after 3 days in bk we headed for patta and gave our 3,500 baht per nigh hotel up.Bangkok felt like a shiiiithole and i have never in all my life had people try to rip me off.Very humid,huge pollution and was also very wet too with flooding.My idea was to come to thailand to think about retirement and then go to a couple of places in europe to check them out.After going to Pattaya and saw some good and bad i will never ever live or visit bk again.The place just haunts me and i sensed it didnt seem real,felt like i was in a play and people were acting.

[boiledegg]

9yrs ago i arrived at midnight and stayed at the Asia Hotel Ratchachewi, went for a wander at this time and had some dodgy characters in taxis trying to take me to brothels, then i saw the shanty town esq housing by the canal and thought <deleted> this im in the dodgy part of town i'll get mugged best go back to the hotel.

Then night 2 my bro took me to PatPong and i thought it was the greatest place on earth until i found Nana.

[bratpack]

Pattaya is far from the nicest place in the world to retire but i am glad we spent the extra days there.16DAYS IN BK would have meant no retirement so ty to pattaya lol.

[tw25rw]

I find the squalor, beggars, broken/obstructed footpaths, touts, general shabbiness etc just become background noise after a few days. Everywhere I've visited has been on the scruffy side and you just get used to it.

I'm sure many many people go there and never return. That was my intention, but I gave it another go and learned to like it.

Just remembered the first time I arrived in the Nana area.. My taxi took me through the tobacco monopoly to the bottom end of soi 4 thinking I was staying at Nana Mansions.. The hotel tuk tuk took me to the Nana Hotel (my 1st trip so I fancied myself as a sex tourist) and I saw my first food stall. I made a careful note of where it was so I knew where to go back to if I couldn't find any food anywhere..

[bratpack]

sounds a bit like london dun it mayte

[tw25rw]

A bit. London is easier for me, being from that culture. I get more stressed in London though. Probably because I'm usually at or on my way to work, but also because it's so crowded these days..

Maybe one day I will get the chance to live in Thailand and know how it really is.

[kennkate]

Bangkok polution dodgy dogs and motorcycles Chang Mia Same Same just a bit less Polution from Traffic

The real Thailand is found in the villages

Not much polution but still got the dodgy dogs and motorcycles

My overall impresion. A giant rubbish tipp, planted with the most wonderfull smelling flowers, lovely temples, and more food stalls in one small town, would thay ever be needed to feed a small army on the move.

Throw on a lot of motorcycles and the latest lot of mobile phones, and you get some idea.

(notice I did not mention the ladys) but I will, just too good looking for the average western Man. some lose all sense of reason when thay get involved. But its a learning curve,

and them that learn can enjoy the Love of the Thia woman, in all its glory.

[bratpack]

You are right about a giant rubbish tip and its up to the thai government to educate thais to throw their rubbish in a bin not all over the place.Wonderful peple but can be oh so dirty and do not feel anything wrong in opening a drain and throwing gallons of used cooking oil down.Then they wonder why we have floods.This needs to be addressed now or else thailand is going to have a major problem,but i will still be here with me flippers and snorkel and dust mask.

[wasabi]

My opinion of Bangkok has gone down but I still like it and like Thailand. At first I was more charmed by the girls, the food stalls, the controlled chaos, the language and tuk tuks. Over time I see it has having shoddy infrastructure too much pollution, lack of sincere people too humid. However I still like it better than the USA for now.

[tycoon101]

My first visit was 5 days in bk and then 10 days in pattaya.me and a mate went and after 3 days in bk we headed for patta and gave our 3,500 baht per nigh hotel up.Bangkok felt like a shiiiithole and i have never in all my life had people try to rip me off.Very humid,huge pollution and was also very wet too with flooding.My idea was to come to thailand to think about retirement and then go to a couple of places in europe to check them out.After going to Pattaya and saw some good and bad i will never ever live or visit bk again.The place just haunts me and i sensed it didnt seem real,felt like i was in a play and people were acting.

Have you ever considered retiring in India, Tibet, Lao or Cambodia? Good luck with your retirement plan. Just stay whereever you are, working your ass off ,and hopefully one day you'll be able to afford to buy a little tiny shit hole apt.

[tsocr]

My first trip was when I was stationed in Thailand in 71. Many changes since then and most for the good. If you really want to experience the culture you do need to go out to the villages. Of cause my preference is in the Isaan area. You can still get a feel for the way things use to be. The villages now have running water, roads and electricity (in most). When I was first here none of that was available to the village folks. The people are great and friendly. As as far as the cities in Thai go you do need to be careful. I do not mean safety but just street smart as is the case in any city. I have been all around the world to many undeveloped countries and cities ( just back from a business trip, not fast enough for me, to Ankara and Islamabad) and Bangkok for its size is not that bad. As far as the climate goes, hey your in SEA. I guess I can adjust to the cities since I was raised in NY city and lived over 20 years in Chicago. The Thai country life and occassional trips to the city is what I enjoy now.

Tsocr

[kiakaha]

No talking crab about the girls, please.

Yes, lots of girls have crabs. Not the best card in the deck are you perchance ? hahahaha

[tycoon101]

No talking crab about the girls, please.

Yes, lots of girls have crabs. Not the best card in the deck are you perchance ? hahahaha

Does your Mama has any crabs? I told you not to talke crab about the girls? What's matter w/ you? Can't read English?

[Nignoy]

Arriving at DonMuang Airport no taxi,s or touts just lots of friendly staff, the truck ride into town through the fields,being waved to by friendly thais everywhere,no tuk tuks just samlors, no patpong, nana was just a dream, but the animal market was a blast , we bought sea eagles which we released near Sattahib acouple of days later, guess what NO Pattaya just a fishermanscamp with a bamboo jetty, stayed there under canvas for a while.For a group of single under 25.s from UK I think the best way to describe our first impression of thailand in 1963 is Paradise and as an old fart to day it still is Nignoy

The attached photo is our beach camp at what is pattaya today!!

[unhappyfarang]

My first visit was in march 2001. Coming from the UK and never travelling further than the med, Thailand was a MASSIVE culture shock for me. People talk about how s***y Bangkok is, I LOVED the City. Phuket, and her Beaches, especially snorkelling around Phi Phi Island gave me the feeling of being in some kind of dream world, paradise on Earth.

The friendly, approachable people, the glorious food and exotic fruits, women side saddle on the back of mototaxis. Temples, Monks, Stunning Sunsets. The endless humm of motorcycles, the hot tropical nights, Beautiful women everywhere.

Interesting, travelled, sometimes querky farangs! The timelessness, the lack of constricting regulation, like I feel, here, in the West. well - behaved children, cheap, tacky markets - the simple friendships with Thai people that I made.

The easy - going vibe, internet cafes everywhere. Then up north amongst, probably the most decent people on God's planet - The people of Issan!

Thailand, She stole my heart. I truely love the Country and have a deep respect for her and her people. Know this - the petty annoyances that peole complain about on this forum - visa's etc. FORGET it, these trivial matters are nothing in the scheme of things.

I live in the UK. Not a day passes by when I don't think about Thailand. The love I feel for Thailand and the sadness that I just can't organise a fulltime move there feels me with the same pain that you feel when you lose your childhood sweetheart. I LOVE Thailand that much.

I have never felt right, here in the UK since - like I don't belong here anymore. A smell, sound, anything that "Brings up" memories of Thailand, be it a Thai resturant or whatever, gives me an almost panicy feeling of wanting to be there.

Smiling street vendors - sliced watermelon.......................

[unhappyfarang]

The lucky one's that live there - wake up and LOOK where you are! Please don't bitch, moan and complain about the small stuff, Thailand Is the best place on the planet and there isn't ANYWHERE better. Thailand - AMAZING Thailand

[Nignoy]

The lucky one's that live there - wake up and LOOK where you are! Please don't bitch, moan and complain about the small stuff, Thailand Is the best place on the planet and there isn't ANYWHERE better. Thailand - AMAZING Thailand

Bit over the top , okay thailand is different to UK , but you have never seen Bribie Island Nignoy

[geriatrickid]

Stepping off the plane at DMK and into the world of Bangers all those years ago was a shocker. I couldn't handle the congestion, pollution, humidity, heat and the rushing people. Then I went up to Chiang Mai and its outer areas and I said, ok, this isn't great, but its not so bad, and then I got to Phuket. I said wow. The cycling is great (out in the boonies and national park), Karon Beach and it's soothing squeaking sand was wicked cool and going to Patong was like seeing a sleazy adventure novel come to life - the adventures. And then I made some friends and they took me out to places farangs don't usually see or go to and I understood what they meant by amazing Thailand. We're organizing our roadtrip to Isaan and I get to be a kid again. It's particularly fun, because my friends who are Thai have never been so they'll be the the "foreigners" for a change.

[Brigante7]

My first visit was 5 days in bk and then 10 days in pattaya.me and a mate went and after 3 days in bk we headed for patta and gave our 3,500 baht per nigh hotel up.Bangkok felt like a shiiiithole and i have never in all my life had people try to rip me off.Very humid,huge pollution and was also very wet too with flooding.My idea was to come to thailand to think about retirement and then go to a couple of places in europe to check them out.After going to Pattaya and saw some good and bad i will never ever live or visit bk again.The place just haunts me and i sensed it didnt seem real,felt like i was in a play and people were acting.

My first visit was 3 weeks in total, 4 days in BKK, 3 days in Pattaya, 3 days in Trang, 4 days in Nakhon Phanom then 7 more days in BKK.

Loved BKK, thought it was the most amazing city in the world (Still do), hated Pattaya (Still do, biggest shit-hole I've ever seen), Not sure about Trang, loved Nakhon Phanom, (Have to, the wifes family come from there).

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

My first trip was in 84 traveled around a bit Bangkok, Changmai, Phuket, Pattaya and my favorite at that time was Jontiem. Very little there at the time and it was great. Now it is solid condos. Kept coming back and ended up moving here permanent a couple of years ago. In Cha Am quiet place with great beaches fantastic sea food and friendly people. Live in a condo on the beach and the views are outstanding.

Find Thailand a great place to live and to be.

[Westering]

Impressions are relative. In 1968 I arrived from the appalling chaos of Calcutta. Bangkok seemed quiet and clean, like a small town extending in all directions. The people were unbelievably clean, the women beautiful. Didn't see anybody dying on the street. It was a relief to walk around without a crowd of beggars in pursuit. I was trying to get home to Canada and had very little money left. I slept on a beach in the Pattaya area (wasn't much there) for a few nights and fell in with some nice young Thais who took me back to Bangkok and found me a place to stay for free until I could leave for Japan on a freighter. Altogether a very good impression!

[imaneggspurt]

Impressions are relative. In 1968 I arrived from the appalling chaos of Calcutta. Bangkok seemed quiet and clean, like a small town extending in all directions. The people were unbelievably clean, the women beautiful. Didn't see anybody dying on the street. It was a relief to walk around without a crowd of beggars in pursuit. I was trying to get home to Canada and had very little money left. I slept on a beach in the Pattaya area (wasn't much there) for a few nights and fell in with some nice young Thais who took me back to Bangkok and found me a place to stay for free until I could leave for Japan on a freighter. Altogether a very good impression!

That was like reading a good adventure book as a child, many thanks,

[Ulysses G.]

I fell in love with Thailand as I flew into the Phuket Airport for the first time and never lost that feeling!