Am I Thai'd Out?

[doris day]

I love Thailand. I've just booked my ticket to return yet again. I could easily book a ticket from Bangkok to Vietnam or Shanghai/Beijing but.....I booked the ticket because in all the years of going to Thailand I've never had a bad time. I've met some great people, I've drank a lot, I've eaten wonderful food, I've fallen in the love with the girls, the 'buzz', the smells of thai food cooked on the street wafting through the air, the humid heat, the sights and the feeling that anything could happen at anytime.

 

I started off as a typical male tourist walking down soi cowboy in awe of what I was seeing and entering 'afterschool' and being surprised when a girls hand was on my 'leg' before I even had a drink in my hand.

 

Since then I've had more and more interactions/relationships with non bargirls as I realised there was more to Thailand than the typical tourist scene. On my last trip I spent maybe an hour in go go's and really didn't like what I saw. I felt like an imposter, like I shouldn't be there as this country had more to it and that I shouldn't be a part of that scene anymore.

 

I spent all my time with my ex and enjoyed just being in Thailand. I began as a sex tourist but my relationship with the country is deeper than that now. I now understand why Thais look down upon farangs parading their bargirls around in their country.

 

Don't get me wrong, i'm not moralising and i'm sure I will go to the tourist venues and drink and look and maybe even take a girl or two if the mood strikes me but I now want to see more of the place and meet girls outside of the industry. I want to go to the floating markets, learn to speak thai, and see and do more than just drinking, fucking and sleeping.

 

Spending time travelling outside Thailand has actually given me an appreciation of Thailand as a travel destination. Thailand really seems to have it all but I'm wondering if it's possible to continue to want to go to a country over and over despite no longer going there just to sleep with women.

 

Am I going back because I'm so familiar with the place it seems more like home? Is it time to move on?

 

 

[MooNoi]

Interesting post and thought-provoking.

 

Thailand is many different things to many different people.

 

Working here previously in the travel and tourism industry for 6 years enabled me to travel to every corner of LOS and see all it's different regions, culture, contrasts and diversity.

 

A lot of guys say "they know LOS and Thai people" when they only talk to bar girls, taxi drivers and waitresses and never leave Sukhumvit or Walking Street in Pattaya.

 

The mongering scene is a small part of Thailand and unfortunately it's the only reason a lot of guys come here.

 

They're missing out on a lot.

 

Up to them.

 

Yes, it is easyto get Thai'd out. What I do is I alternate: one holiday I go to a new country I haven't been to before and then for the next I go somewhere I have been before and I know I will enjoy it and have a good time. This keeps things fresh for me.

 

Sometimes you do get a bit blasé and a break from a place will freshen things up and make you remember why you liked somewhere in the first place.

 

Works for me. :-)

[Steve]

Thats a common progression for a lot of guys. Some guys will die in a beer bar (nothing wrong with that...that may be me ), some guys who once lived there, have moved on and will rarely, if ever visit one again. Some, anywhere inbetween those two.

 

Its all dependent on the person, their personality, where they are in life, mindset, a whole load of things.

 

As for the last question. Only you can decide if its time to move on and you'll know. It seems you're headed in a different route from what you originally came to LOS for anyway. I think you may have answered your own question.

 

If you're happiest not doing that part of Thailand then so be it. Some are happiest there. Neither wrong, both happy.

 

[bust]

Intoxicating is the word I use to desribe LOS.

[doxx]

Thanks for sharing Doris Day, but IMHO, you really don't have to come here more than once to understand these things (reg. parading bar girls etcetera). It's all just about common sense and respecting local culture (wherever is local). Props anyway, for discovering these things now.

 

About your question though, I do think it can become too much and especially with Thailand. Personally I am getting turned off by corruption, xenophobia and the lack of a sustainable perspective (apply to ANYTHING) of most Thai's (true about most/all developing countries but perhaps more so when this strange blend of spiritualism/Buddhism plays in).

[shygye]

Up to you.

[chelseafan]

I wouldnt say I am getting tired of LOS just yet, however I do end up doing the same things time and time again, even to the extent of drinking in the same bars.

 

Yes I realise I need to open the horizons somewhat but I go there because I know exactly what I am going to get, sunshine, smiles, warm beer, padded checkbins.....OH GOD HELP ME!

 

Seriously though, I probably will spend the rest of my life visiting LOS, why? because if I went elsewhere, I would be comparing it to Thailand, so whats the point.

 

 

[unit731]

I

Spending time travelling outside Thailand has actually given me an appreciation of Thailand as a travel destination. Thailand really seems to have it all but I'm wondering if it's possible to continue to want to go to a country over and over despite no longer going there just to sleep with women.

 

Am I going back because I'm so familiar with the place it seems more like home? Is it time to move on?

 

 

It's all, some, or little of each.

 

Like above, as someone who has travelled to LOS more than a few times, I tend to gravitate to many of the same spots. It's kind of like that old easy chair back home - the soft comfortable one that you just can't throw out.

 

I do try to add a different destination side venue on each trip. Saigon, Hanoi, Phnom Penh - and much more to see and visit and go to. Chiang Mai, Phuket, Hua Hin and more.

 

On the last trip, I rented an automobile with a Thai gal as driver. This provided a whole different perspective/view of Thailand. Sights, sounds, smells, not necessilarily from the 'standard' night spots/destinations. (Note: don't make illegal U-Turns in Pattaya).

 

Sometimes I just pick number '57' (or whatever number I choose) and take a 'vacation' someplace different in or out of Thailand.

 

The old 'easy chair' is sometimes relaxing and less stressful but other times a 'new adventure' in or out of Thailand enhances the body and mind.

 

 

[jack_schist]

On my last trip, I flew up to khon kaen, rented a car and did a 11 day tour KK-roiet-mukdahan-Savanakhet-Nakon Panom- Nong khai-Vientianne-Udon-KK. In so many ways it was more relaxing and enjoyable that sitting in a pattya beerbar. Next trip will be a drive through the Chang Mai region. I had long ago started losing interest in hanging out in bars but it took me a while to drag myself away from them.

[zzzz]

I go in cycles -- I get Thaied-out, then Thaied-in, then Thaied-out, etc. Right now I'm in Thaid-in cycle.