Originally posted by trawets113I used to live there, about 400 miles north of bankok.
Just wondering if anybody has been to Thailand as I am going soon and was looking for any advice or tips.
See if the Hungarian Grotto restaurant is still in Bankok,
they had a lot of chessplayers play there. The food in Bankok
is very pretentious, you sit down at long formal tables which are
very low to the ground and you take off your shoes to eat there.
However the food is very sytlized, I did not particularly like it.
I much preferred the mamason food on the Mekong in the town
of Nakomphenom where I lived, much more down to earth.
The whole lifestyle is more down to earth up north.
Thai's consider Bankok to BE thailand and everything else to
be the hinterlands. That said, there is still a heck of a lot to see
in Bankok, like the Emerald Bhudda, the canal shops where everyone
lives on boats. Thats where all the tourist trap stuff is.
I found the upcountry to be more earthy with a live and let live
attitude. Way north is a tribe called the Karen, who tend
elephants, if there are any working elephants left, not sure.
The Karen are the areas equivalent of the aborigines in Australia.
A nice place to visit is Chang Mai, where the Kings palace is.
The king and his procession makes a nice cavalcade up the main
street surrounded by tens of thousands of his admirers lining
the roads when they show up. Try not to miss that, its quite
a show.
In Nakomphanom, and other places, once a year they have
Mango day. I was awakened by my telok, (live in girl) who
was grabbing my arm saying, Mango day, Mango day!
So it seems its the custom for the guy to climb the mango tree
at the time when they are the ripest and pick mangos for the
girl and she makes mango pie, mango pudding, mango drinks,
and such. That was great fun.
Another fun day was during the candle contest. I was led one day
by my telok to help out with this huge candle, had no idea what
it was all about, but the candles were about 7 feet long and
highly decorated and put on the back of a pickup truck which is
also highly decorated and filled with the finest young beauties of
the land in their best outfits. I was asked to help hold up the
candle during the parade of candles and we drove around town
with much horn honking and having a great time. I spied one of
my buddies a few feet off the parade route with his head buried in
a camera and so when we went past him I poked my head out
from amongst all the girls on the pickup and when he saw me he
almost fell over backwards into a mut pit! Great fun that was!
In Bankok they would have you believe you take your life into your
hands if you go upcountry but I never had the slightest problem
living there. I was there for two years. I have lots of other stories
but those two stick out. Just be sure not to miss Chaing Mai.
Or Chang Rai. You can cross over the mekong at Nakomphenom
and very soon be in TaKek, a border town in Laos, an interesting
day trip. French archetecture, I think france once owned the place.
So just don't think Pattia beach and all that stuff in the south is
all of Thailand.
very impressive country, well worth a visit. It was a few years ago when I travelled there, so I don't know how much it has changed, but it was very friendly and not a hint of trouble the entire time.
Try to get hold of a rough guide or similar and visit some of the more out of the way places that haven't quite been taken over by tourists yet. THere were a few islands that were virtually empty of tourists when we visited and it was bliss to have a beach to yourselves in such magnificent surroundings.
Obviously check out the capital too.
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I was there for a few weeks in the Spring. Chiang Mai was my favourite stop.
Advice: Stay away from street vendor food (unless they cook it in front of you); in Bangkok, only hire tuk-tuks with white license plates and don't let them stop for gas or anything; and watch out for the girls who are boys.
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Originally posted by darvlayThey are the Katoy, or girly men something like that but the
I was there for a few weeks in the Spring. Chiang Mai was my favourite stop.
Advice: Stay away from street vendor food (unless they cook it in front of you); in Bangkok, only hire tuk-tuks with white license plates and don't let them stop for gas or anything; and watch out for the girls who are boys.
thai word is Katoy.
If you are in the sampan, Leo sigh, turn left, leo Quah, turn right
How much is it= Tah lie bot kop?
Nung song sam =1,2,3
Sawadee cop, good morning. Or good evening.
girls say Crop, boys say cop
Cop koon cop, thank you.
Problem is, the language is set up like chinese with five tones
1 neutral, slight rise, big rise, slight fall, big fall in tones at the end
of the words. rising pitch word is a totally differant meaning than
falling pitch word,etc. So don't even think you will master Thai in
a week!
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Originally posted by darvlayYeah, they seem to be accepted in Thailand, the Bhuddist faith
You're the expert.
"Ladyboy"
EDIT - Girly men? LOL
has people in three sets of sexes, male, female, and inbetween,
so lesbians and gays are all accepted with no stigma in the
bhuddist faith.
Did you happen to see the kings procession in Chaing Mai?
I only had one bad food day in two years there. Went to a local
clinic in NKP and they gave me Ipacak, hadn't had the joy of
running into that stuff before. You probably know what it does:
All of a sudden you feel the urge to purge out of your mouth.
Big time puking going on, it got rid of the bad food I ate thats for
sure.
It's best to stay in *really* expensive hotels (five star) and eat food from top restaurants. If you're stuck you should be able to find a MacDonald's.
Drink authentic Carlsberg lager and make sure you catch the English Premier League that's played live.
The locals *love* people who bargain them down to almost nothing at all, and strangely seem to enjoy being made to feel poor in comparison to Westerners.
For those seeking earthier fun the friendliest girls are the ones who wear neck scarves and have large hands.
Finally, it is a sign of respect to show off the soles of your feet and poke good-natured fun at their King.
Warning: things may have changed since I was there...
Originally posted by ivangriceIf you are male and there by yourself, get a telok for a few days,
It's best to stay in *really* expensive hotels (five star) and eat food from top restaurants. If you're stuck you should be able to find a MacDonald's.
Drink authentic Carlsberg lager and make sure you catch the English Premier League that's played live.
The locals *love* people who bargain them down to almost nothing at all, and strangely seem to e ...[text shortened]... oke good-natured fun at their King.
Warning: things may have changed since I was there...
they will take you around, show you the sights and are great in
bed! They are also cheap. Just don't end up with the Katoy!
Originally posted by sonhouseI wish I could've got my hands on some Ipecac.
Yeah, they seem to be accepted in Thailand, the Bhuddist faith
has people in three sets of sexes, male, female, and inbetween,
so lesbians and gays are all accepted with no stigma in the
bhuddist faith.
Did you happen to see the kings procession in Chaing Mai?
I only had one bad food day in two years there. Went to a local
clinic in NKP and they gave ...[text shortened]... ut of your mouth.
Big time puking going on, it got rid of the bad food I ate thats for
sure.
No, I didn't see the King's Procession. Spent too much time at the track placing 10 baht bets on future raw materials at the chop suey factory.
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Originally posted by darvlayYou would have fallen in love with Takek in Laos then, the gambling
I wish I could've got my hands on some Ipecac.
No, I didn't see the King's Procession. Spent too much time at the track placing 10 baht bets on future raw materials at the chop suey factory.
there is almost ritualistic, very beautiful women with hair
piled up two feet high rattling the dice jar, covered up, then
uncover with a flourish, with mixed reactions from the crowd, YEAAA!
or OH NO! It was great!
Originally posted by sonhouseMy favourite night in Chiang Mai, me and two British "blokes" spent the entire night in a friend's bar shooting dice for 20, 50 and 100 baht bills. They closed the bar except for the three of us and about 6 or 7 local girls. All the girls had us surrounded cheering us on. I felt like James Bond. I was getting them to blow on the dice, giving them tips if I won, all the while drinking straight SangSom from the bottle. It was hilarious. Good times.
You would have fallen in love with Takek in Laos then, the gambling
there is almost ritualistic, very beautiful women with hair
piled up two feet high rattling the dice jar, covered up, then
uncover with a flourish, with mixed reactions from the crowd, YEAAA!
or OH NO! It was great!