Thailand is a bit like Marmite, either you love it or you hate it. I am the latter.
Now perhaps that is a little harsh. It’s not that I hate Thailand, I just feel that there are better places to go in Asia such as South Korea, Philippines and Burma. There are similarly stunning places in the world without the tourist traps of Thailand.
Those of you who read my blog will know I am less than keen on bad mouthing a place for no reason. However I do give my true feelings about a place such as on my hike up Trolltunga where I showed the hour and half queue on the top to stand on the tongue and the truth about the less than required guide when seeing the rice terraces of Batad.
So my true feelings are that Thailand is overrated. As one of the number one destination for honeymoons and the most pinned on Pinterest holiday destination, it seems to appeal to tourists. However, its just not what I personally looking for.
Having been to Thailand three times, I feel like I have given it a go. Third time lucky I thought. I was wrong. It still did not appeal to me, to the point that I am writing this post on board a flight which I booked today to leave Thailand. I just was not feeling it, however much I tried. I just didn’t want to end up hating Thailand.
My first trip to Thailand was 7 years ago and yes, I thought it was nice. But back then I wasn’t an experienced traveller. I was inexperienced when it came to backpacking, having only taken a handful of trips. Now on my way to country 63, Malaysia, I consider myself as well travelled.
I experienced the full moon party and felt disappointed. What had started as a group of travellers meeting over 20 years ago has now turned into a drug fueled wrecking ball on the beach. With glass being smashed and people urinating in the sea, I hate to think of the environmental consequences of all this.
My second trip to Thailand was two years ago when I meant to drop in and out to get my Myanmar visa. However I did stay over two weeks in Thailand spending time in Bangkok, Koh Samui and Prachuap Khiri Khan. Yes I did enjoy parts of my time in Thailand but Bangkok infuriated me, the money grabbing taxi drivers pissed me off no end and the dishonesty of accommodation owners led me to false hopes that tonight I would sleep well.
Looking for tips and places to see whilst in Bangkok? Solo traveller James wrote an in depth article on his time in Bangkok, Thailand which I highly recommend.
So here are my top four annoyances with Thailand and how you can avoid them.
The sweat pit accommodation – hate!
This was meant to be the getaway beach hut in the Thai paradise Koh Samui. It was actually just a sweat pit. It was like an oven inside which did nothing for the smell of raw sewage coming from the bathroom. Of course the owner took full payment for the five nights we were planning to stay there before I realised it was more like a sweaty sewer than a homely hut.
You can avoid this by booking places for only one night. If this isn’t possible then read reviews on a place before paying. But be aware of fake reviews (good ones written by the place or bad by its competitors or difficult guests). Or alternatively a method I do a lot is only having enough for one night and paying the rest after the first night stay. However there has to be a legitimate reason for leaving, such as health and safety rather than it raining 🙂
The beautiful beach – hate when they are not
Hau Hin is described by the Lonely Planet guide book as “Thailand’s original beach resort”. The truth is that it’s more raw sewage and rubbish than white sands and extensive beaches. I cannot explain my disappointment when I found an open sewer leading into the sea. I even had a conversation with a local who would only swim when it was choppy in the hope that the sewage would be watered down. Something I am really not sure I want to swim in.
Unfortunately you can’t help what people write. But to avoid the mistake I made of trusting one source, read around. Alternatively do as I did and just book for one night and move swiftly on. I headed 1 1/2 hour down the road to lovely Prachuap Khiri Khan.
The Animal exploitation – hate with a passion.
I’m a massive animal lover yet I am sad to say that on my first trip to Thailand I took an elephant ride. I felt that they were well looked after and just didn’t feel there was any harm in it. Now I know there is. Read this if you have any doubts.
Then after the ride, I met this little guy. Why would a baby elephant be so thirsty it is trying to drink out of my water bottle? Perhaps because its mum, instead of being with its calf, was busy carrying tourists around all day.
This is the same at the recently closed Tiger Temple (somewhere where I have not been). Why do you think these wild creatures are not attacking tourists? Most likely because each day they are drugged. What type of life is it to be kept on a chain?
You can avoid this by not visiting anywhere which uses animals as entertainment. Check out places that provide responsible animal protection like this amazing place I visited in South Africa, The Cragg at Plettenburg Bay. They rescue elephants from cruelty and rehabilitation to live a semi wild life. They use the income through educating tourists to fund their work.
Cat calls of women – hate.
As a female I really have not had an issue walking through the streets of Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket etc. But have you ever followed behind a male?
The female cat calls are incessant. You see old men in bars with a young attractive Thai lady sat on their knee. The sex tourism trade is massive here. Whatever happened to having a normal conversation which doesn’t revolve around money.
You can avoid this clearly by being a female, travelling as a couple or soak it up and enjoy the compliments.
So it might seem like I have a bee in my bonnet about Thailand, and perhaps this is right. So let me finish on this note. I have had some amazing times in Thailand.
It’s where I met some amazing friends Akash, Rachel and Benji, it’s where I hitchhiked in the back of a pickup truck with monks and where I went hiking in the north of Chiang Mai. It’s where I was massaged by a blind man and where I have got fond memories of Koh Samui.
Every country does not appeal to everyone. These are just my thoughts on a country I read so many positive posts about.
Have you ever been to Thailand? What are your thoughts on what I have said? Please comment below. Don’t forget to subscribe (It’s free!) to my blog for more posts like this and interesting travel tips.
I’m in Thailand at the moment and have found it to be wonderful so far…I’ve purposely avoided places like Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Phi Phi etc and have sought out places a little less developed…Koh Yao Noi for example is not at all spoilt and you can get a bungalow on the beach for 1,000 THB, dinner costs less than 150 THB. I think in most countries there are obvious tourist traps, you just have to do a bit of research to avoid them!
Thanks for your comment Claire. I would agree that if I had avoided all the touristy places then I might have had a different experience.
I appreciate your honesty and openness about your experience. Thailand is on my bucket list, but I really want to take the time during planning to make sure I’m doing it differently than the average tourist. I want to see the quieter places, the pure places. Hopefully that will come to fruition!
Thanks for your comment Erica. Thailand just wasn’t for me. Perhaps if I had avoided the touristy areas then I might have felt differently. I hope you enjoy it when you make it there.
I am very fortunate in that I have a local Thai friend. So if I do visit, I get taken to places that would be unknown to tourists (couldn’t manage it even if I did know because it requires fluency in Thai) and the best timing so as to get the nice weather *and* few tourists. It’s one example when having a hosted trip actually gives a better experience than a more spontaneous, independent one. If not because I have that, I have to say Thailand would also not be a priority country for me.
Its wonderful when you get the true local experience in a country. I just found it very difficult to have that in Thailand. I am so pleased you had a different experience than me.Thank you for sharing your experience.
Oh I’m with you here Kathy! I’m just not a huge fan. Even when I was there with my boyfriend he still got propositioned by the ladies. Which saddens me as I know that they are just trying to make ends meet. It’s the same with the elephant rides. People are just trying to make money to survive. I prefer to spend my dollars elsewhere and support the local community.
Thanks for your comment Jean. I think it is really sad that the women still approached your boyfriend when you were with him.
Firstly I think honesty in travel blogging (and in general) is so important so thank you for sharing your honest opinions!!
I’ve been to Thailand a few times and definitely share your concerns about tourism & animal welfare (which the tourism board is just not interested in unfortunately), and also the more general concerns about the regime there. That said, I don’t exactly agree with the current politics in my home country.
In general, the parts of Thailand that I’ve loved have been those that are far off the beaten track (these places are still possible to find but it’s not easy) and have been more in northern Thailand. I’ve never been to Phi Phi, Phuket, Pattaya, Ko Pha Ngan and nor would I ever wish to. These places have been completely destroyed by tourists. It;s a sad reality but exactly the same will happen in Myanmar, the Philippines and other parts of the world unless we as travellers as a whole change our behaviour.
Thanks for your comment Ellie. I really do think I needed to get off the beaten track more to really find my love for Thailand. As a massive fan of Myanmar it would be so sad if it was to go the same way as Thailand.
I was in Thailand two years ago and actually feel the same. It didn’t do it for me. When I look back to my pictures, they are beautiful, but when I was there it felt too touristic and people just werent that friendly.
Thanks for your comment Ellis. I was very surprised to find the people a lot less friendly than I remembered them being.
I’ve been to Phuket and around Ko Phi Phi but purposely avoided Bangcock as I felt like I would absolutely hate it for many of the reasons you’ve outlined in your post. I felt that Maya Bay and Patong Beach had been totally ruined by tourism – they were crowded, dirty and polluted. I didn’t go anywhere near the elephants or tigers.
It’s always interesting to hear a different perspective and, even although I live in Thailand and I’m very happy here, I don’t really understand why it’s still so much more popular than neighbouring countries.
However, I think some of your reasons for disliking it as down to your poor choices on your part rather than the country itself. All countries have sub standard accommodation and I’m surprised somebody so well travelled hadn’t already learned the lessons you mention about reading reviews and only paying for one night. Likewise, the full moon parties, I don’t understand how anybody can think they are anything other than people who are completely wasted making a mess then.
I do agree with you on the animal abuse issue. It’s some that’s extremely upsetting to me as a resident of Chiang Mai that there is so much of this going on close to me. As long as people are willing to pay to see animals being abused and exploited there will be people willing to take their money. When people start thinking about the welfare of the animals rather than their selfies things will start to change. I think that’s happening with Western tourists now but there’s a long way to go.
Thanks for your comment Candice. I am glad that you enjoy living in Thailand and I think if I had got off the tourist trail a bit more than I too could have enjoyed it more.
In writing the post, I was covering things from all three of my visits. The full moon party was somewhere I went on my first visit when I was quite naive and thought that it wouldn’t be like it was. The accommodation thing was my second trip and I was lapse that time, just turning up and finding anywhere. And yes I was stupid for making the mistake of paying for more than one night after taking just a glance at the accommodation. I never make that mistake now.
It is so sad that people are willing to pay for their elephant/wild animal experience without reading more about it first.