Barbara Pereyra

Tourism in Thailand I arrived to Chang Mai on January 11. For that, I had been travelling for 4 days already. I had to take a flight from Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo, then a connection to Abu Dhabi, then to Bangkok and from there a domestic flight to Chian Mai. What´s in Chian Mai you may ask yourself. Let me tell you something about little town that before my trip to Thailand was not anywhere near my map of the world. Chiang Mai is in the northern Thailand, and it´s known as the Rose of the North. The culture there is amazing and the views are incredible. There is a cute night bazar where you can buy and eat anything for very little money. In this town you also have what is known as the old town, that are rock structures that have been there for centuries and you discovered just how old this civilization is. One thing that Thai people will never stop telling you is that they always were an independent country and never a colony. As in ALL Thailand’s town, you have Buddhist Temples. The point there is that Buddhism and Hinduism is mixed so you do not have a clear shot to never of those religions, because is a mix, and It can get quite confusing. However most hotels put and introductory book to Buddhism near your bed. After Chiang Mai, I started going south to Chiang Rai. On route, I stopped in two places I absolutely loved: 1). The Tea Leaves Farm: It is built like a maze and the views are amazing; the tea is savory and you have a cemetery there, which is quite odd to see. One thing: Do not forget to have OFF on your bag pack, because the place is full of mosquitoes. 2). The Elephant Camp: You will encounter across Thailand hundreds of elephant camps, and if you are an elephant lover like myself, you may never want to leave. The adventure started when we arrived and we buy bananas to give to this giant animals. They are so kind, and you can pelt them, so I really felt like a dream coming true. Then, you have a travesty across the forest seated on the elephant, which cross rivers, the forest, until they arrive to a village. The sensation can be quite disconcerting, because they move…a lot! Nevertheless, I absolutely loved it; I wanted to go again on them! On the village, you discover the long neck women that we all know from looking Africa’s pictures. The real story is that this tradition started in Birmany (now Myanmar) so; they live in these camps because they made a deal with the Thai’s government that they would allow tourism to go there. You can take pictures with them, buy some things, etc. This was something that I really did not like, because I felt that the level of exposure those women were having was equivalent to watching an animal at the zoo. When you finally arrived to Chian Mai you find a town that is amazingly charming, with night bazaars, that are a symbol of the country, and local & International gastronomy. For me, that I actually cannot stand spicy food, this was a reprieve. From here, you have a lot to do! I think there are two places that are the most important: 1). Wat Phra That Doi Tung or the White Temple. I cannot stand to describe this. Pictures do not make justice to it. It is incredible and enormous, but I think the exterior is more shocking that the interior. I think that the Interior décor of the Temple is quite confusing, you MUST go with a guide because if not you will not understand anything. I have to remark here that you will find Bush and Osama Ben Laden painted on the Interior walls of the Temple… The bathrooms are also so luxurious you think you are in a six stars Hotel! 2). The Golden Triangle, or in the past it was known as the opioid triangle. This is the limit borders between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. You have to trek quite a bit but then you arrive to a viewpoint and is indescribable. If you don’t want to go up, you can stay down, where there is a port (from where you cross to Laos) that is quite charming, although it is small, and you have an elephant statue that you are supposed to cross around it 3 times for good luck. Here you have some options. You can go to Laos or to Myanmar. I choose Myanmar. There you visit a couple more temples and a big, giant bazar, but what’s interesting is that you get to see how child’s get converted into monks, not only boys but also girls. In addition, you see the extreme poverty in which they live. I quite regret doing that excursion because it touch me; it moved me in a way that I could not shake up for a long time. Going further south, you finally arrive again to Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok. This city has a lot to offer, depending on the time you have there. I just stay for 2 nights and only one full day, so I could not do many things. One of the activities I do recommend is eating at one of the sky raisers. It is not cheap but you got a view of all Thailand that arrives up to the sea if the night is clear and there are light shows that are incredible. It is well worth it. Then you cannot miss the imperial Palace. It is a must do! There you will also find the world known emerald Buddha, that let me tell you, its size is smaller than you think. You can compare it with La Giaconda. If you are interested, there are more than 400 hundred Temples in the city and if you have time, you definitively have to visit some of Bangkok markets; like the train market, which is a debt that I have if I ever return to this beautiful country. Moreover, of course we cannot forget the beaches, one of the main reasons I actually went to Thailand. First, we have Phuket. Amazing place, in which I did not I do any excursions save going scuba diving. The Andaman Sea is incredible, I saw fishes of a lot of species and I just loved seeing sharks. It was incredible. However, it is a long excursion, leaving the hotel at 8 AM and arriving at the late afternoon, you are just whipped. A light dinner at one of the pubs (in which again I found non-Thai food) – there are many Irish pubs – and to sleep. You have shops of every kind and you have fancy restaurants that while not cheap they are not as expensive as in Bangkok and the attention everywhere is excellent. They really know how to deal with tourism. Later I went to Koh Phi Phi Islands. Just beach, sea, and scuba diving. A lot of nature. We went to monkey bay, where you can actually watch the monkeys in the beach and at the sea. Do not try to touch them, they are somewhat aggressive but it is impressionist to see them. We also went to Maya Bay, which is known worldwide because the movie “The Beach” with Leonardo Di Caprio was filmed there. While the place is amazing, we found bays – the islands are full of secret, hidden bays, with a lot less of people – that were more amazing. I think my best advice here is to rent one of the local boats per hour, arrange a price before and then ask him to take you touring. I would definitively go back!