I made a serious Travel Pro executive decision the other day my Steemit friends. Have any of you found yourself going down a certain path, whatever that may be, and in split moment you decide to make a sharp turn in another direction? Well that is exactly what I did just the other day and I'm happy I did so.
My lifestyle is not about a check list of places to see (even though it may seem that way). If that were the case I'd probably be burnt out from travel and miserable. To be a perpetual traveler like myself you need to be comfortable, take it slow, take it easy, and if you find that travel sweet spot, stay a while and enjoy. This will have been maybe my tenth time in Thailand in the last 15 years. I haven't been here in five years and I love this country, it's an absolute favorite of mine.
This time in Thailand I wanted to go places I haven't been and see things I haven't seen. So, I went to the Island of Koh Phanagn and I loved it. I loved it so much I ended up staying 3 weeks when I intended to stay about one week. I then spent a month in Laos the only SE Asian country I've never been to other than Burma (Myanmar), now I have about six more weeks in Thailand before heading to South America. I've never traveled down the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand nor been to the small Island of Koh Samet; so that was the plan.
I read up on this area of Thailand and I wasn't overly thrilled with what I read; but I really wanted to check it out and see for myself. My first stop was an hour and half southeast of Bangkok, a place named Bang Saen. It was a Thai college town on the beach. I enjoyed myself, my room was a decent deal, nothing exceptional. The food was generally good and well priced. I got to see a lot of interesting Thai college culture, but overall I felt left in isolation, hardly anyone spoke English and I didn't see another foreign face my entire time there, except an old unfriendly guy from France; but I'm normally OK with that. After three days there, I went an hour further south to Pattaya City.
Pattaya has a reputation for being a seedy prostitute ridden city on the beach, with a high gay and lady-boy population, heavily influenced by Russian tourist and the Russian mob. Knowing this I mentally strapped myself in to see some sh%t. I saw more prostitutes in 24 hours than I've seen in all my years of travel combined. I literally never saw anything like this place and experience my first heavy bout of culture shock since arriving in SE Asia two months ago. Everyone there had a sick look on their face like they were guilty of doing something terrible. It was a real bizzaro-land and no amount of mental preparation would due, I wanted to get the hell out of there fast.
I researched my next planned destination quickly, Rayong Beach. It would have been cheap but again left me in isolation. So I figured I'd skip that and re-researched my last planned destination of this leg of my trip, Koh Samet. This place is one of the more expensive islands in Thailand and is a popular destination for wealthy Thais from Bangkok; again leaving my budget unhappy and myself in isolation.
After having my mind blown with the parade of prostitutes and the fat, old, ugly, Johns that frequent them, as well as being hit on by half a dozen old queens and maybe two dozen prostitutes; I said the hell with this, I may not be in Thailand again for years and I'm not wasting another minute. So I packed my bags and hopped on a bus back to Bangkok and went straight to the train station. I got lucky and literally bought the last ticket for a sleeper bed for the overnight train to one of my favorite destinations in Thailand, Chiang Mai. This is where I am right now! I'm out of isolation there are even Steemit members here @iamjamie and others.
I'm already making friends and feeling good about my decision. My budget is thanking me too. I found a really nice hotel in old town with great internet, hot shower, clean, with friendly management, in an excellent location for $6.50 a night! I'm in a like minded community with healthy restaurants serving organic vegetarian food and much more. There are $4.50 Thai massages, and a rich authentic Thai Buddhist culture with lovely temples and history all around.
So an on the spot Travel Pro audible has been made and I'm feeling good about it. I'll probably spend at least a week here as I love my comfort and I'm very comfortable here. I'm totally down for a Steemit meet up for any fellow Steemians in the area. This has been a "Travel Pro Update" and until next time, signing off. -Dan, Steemit's "World Travel Pro!"
Not To be Missed!
Travel Tip #19: Eating Out in Developed Vs Non-Developed Countries
With over 10 years of travel experience I answer travel and international lifestyle questions. Leave a question in the comments and I may make a video just for you!
