Why Thailand Keeps Visitors Coming Back

Okay, so this guide is going to be a very, very positive guide. I’ve looked through all the stories and guides already covered I’ve been going for about a year and I had a look through them yesterday and today, and I’ve realized I haven’t really made a guide about why I keep going back to Thailand why I love the country. And I do love the country. I love the people.

It’s really strange because I’ve done a lot of these stories they’ve got negative endings the true stories, the relationship stories. And everybody who’s got a travel site makes guides about a country they make “20 scams to watch out for” that sort of thing.

So I thought what I’d do today it would be a breath of fresh air if I actually told you why I love Thailand and the country. And this is more aimed at people who have never been there before. I mean, if you live in Thailand or you’re a regular visitor to the country, then this guide will probably be a little bit boring for you.

So I think what I’ll do I’ll jump straight in there. I’ve made a few notes here which I’ll be referring to, but I’ll give you the reasons. I’ve been going to Thailand for nearly 28 years, and I’ll give you the reason why I keep going back. And as I’ve mentioned in other guides, I’ve lived there for years and years. But here’s some of the reasons not all of the reasons, but some of the reasons.

The People

The number one reason what makes Thailand such a great country really, it’s got to be the people. I’ve traveled all around the world. I used to be in the hotel industry. I spent lots and lots of years in the Middle East, the Far East. And I’ve never been to a country where the people are so warm, so friendly. There are other countries where people are friendly, but it’s just different in Thailand. Unless you’ve been there, you can’t explain that.

I’ll give you an example. In the UK, if I was in my car and I pulled out of a junction and accidentally cut somebody up, the person in the other car would probably shake their fist at me, or they’d stick the V’s up to me, or shout something nasty. In Thailand, what they’ll do they’ll smile at you because they know you didn’t do it on purpose and it was a mistake. And they’ll just smile at you and they’ll say, “Mai pen rai no problem.” (The meaning is no problem.

But that’s got to be the best thing the one wonderful thing about the country is the people. They’re just very, very nice people. They’re warm. I’ve personally never really had a problem in Thailand. Thai people have gone out of their way to help me, and they’ve always been very, very friendly. And as I said, if I’ve asked for help, they always have helped me. And it’s also safe. I’ve written guides in the past about things happening to visitors, but a lot of it is brought on by themselves because they do stupid things they get drunk and they start insulting people and throwing things around and losing their tempers and you shouldn’t do that.

So that’s my number one reason why I think Thailand is such a great country the people.

The Food

The next thing that makes the country so wonderful is the food. I think everybody’s aware of Thai food, and there’s something for everybody. But it’s just so diverse it’s fantastic, tasty food. I mean, if you come to the UK and eat it is getting better but it’s quite bland compared to somewhere like Thailand. There’s so many dishes, and it’s real, real nice. The food is very, very nice.

Cost Of Traveling Around The Country

The cost of traveling around the country that’s also very, very good as well. If you want to get around, you’ve got the buses, the BTS Skytrain, the MRT station (Mass Rapid Transport that’s the underground system). Taxis if they put the meters on are very, very cheap, and you can do fixed deals out of town. So transportation is another thing that makes a country great.

The Weather

Obviously, the weather. We don’t have many warm days in the UK. Most of the time it’s either raining or it’s windy or it’s just dismal. We have had quite a nice summer this year, but Thailand it’s just a warm country. It’s very, very hot sometimes it gets a little bit too hot but I’d rather have that than being cold all the time. The weather‘s very, very nice. They do have the rainy season, but it’s only for about a month every year.

The Nightlife

The nightlife I like the nightlife. There’s something for everybody. You don’t have to go to Thailand and hang out in go go bars and beer bars and places like that. There are so many things you can see. They have great regular nightclubs I’m too old for that now, so I wouldn’t go to those sort of places but the nightlife is brilliant.

You’ve got every restaurant you can think of under the sun foreign and Thai to suit all budgets. You can go on a budget and eat very, very well street food, markets, night bazaars those kind of places right up to the five star plus hotels. And when I say five star plus if there was a six star, some of the hotels in Thailand would have them. Maybe there is I don’t know.

The Culture

The culture. A lot of people have said to me, “All the coaches are disappearing in Thailand.” That’s because they hang around the bar areas and those sort of places Pattaya. There’s some wonderful temples all over Thailand. Thailand’s a Buddhist country they’re very, very religious. And if you want to go to Thailand just for a cultural experience if you’re one of those types of people it’s a wonderful country to visit. They have lots and lots of temples, some great country parks, some great wildlife. It’s just a great country to visit for that reason.

The Markets

I’ll talk a little bit about the markets. You’ve got some fabulous markets, especially in Bangkok. You’ve got Chatuchak Market (which is huge), there’s Pak Khlong Talat, there’s the Patpong Night Bazaar there’s just lots and lots of markets. You can buy things cheaply. There isn’t anything in a Thai market that you can’t buy that I can think of that you can get in other markets.

And the great thing about a lot of the Thai markets is they also have eating areas, so you can make it a whole evening out there. Everything here in the UK closes about six o’clock, but over there in Thailand, you can go out to the market in the early evening, you can take your family with you, you can have a full meal (as we’ve just said, the weather’s quite nice), you can do some browsing around the stalls, and you can eat very, very reasonably at the market’s eating outlets.

The Hotels

Hotels they’re another good reason to visit the country. With the hotels, you can go budget or you can go five star or six star. When I first started going out to Thailand especially down to Pattaya in the early days, I’m talking in the early 90s quite a lot of the hotels gave you a choice of an air conditioned room or a fan room, and the price would reflect what sort of a room you would take. But I don’t think there’s many of those deals going about now.

The hotels even the budget hotels are a very good standard. They’re normally very clean, the staff are very nice, and they’re very safe. I’ve never had a problem in a budget hotel I normally stay in budget hotels. And you’ve just got so much choice.

If you’ve never been there before, just have a look on a website like Agoda, type in your budget and which city you’d like to stay in in Thailand, and you’ll be surprised there’s literally thousands and thousands upon thousands of hotels to choose from to fit every sort of budget. Finding accommodation is something you’ll never have a problem with.

The Thai Festivals

The Thai festivals there’s a lot of festivals in Thailand. You’ve got Songkran which is a water festival a lot of fun. People are throwing water over each other. Sounds childish, but it’s not it’s a lot of fun. And that happens once a year in April. You’ve got Full Moon Parties, you’ve got religious festivals lots and lots of festivals. So if that’s your thing if you’d like to go to a country and see festivals then Thailand is a great country to visit for that reason.

The Beaches

The beaches now, do I need to say any more about the beaches They’re fabulous. And I’m not talking about Pattaya I’m talking about places like Rayong. I could go on there’s so many of them. And these beaches are picturesque they have white sands, palm trees hanging over them they’re absolutely gorgeous.

So if you’re a beach person you just want to hang around the beach all day and sip piña coladas or beer, whatever it is Thailand is a great country. They’ve got some wonderful beaches, they’ve got some fabulous islands, and you’ll be spoilt for choice. If you’ve never been there before, you’ll have seen nothing like it. It’s as close to paradise as you’ll ever get.

Shopping

Shopping now, if you’re a lady, you’re going to be into your shopping. You’ve got some fabulous, fabulous malls in Thailand. And you can go shopping on a budget, or you can go high end shopping. By high end shopping, I mean all the name brands. You’ve only got to go to somewhere like the Emporium at the end of Soi 24 on Sukhumvit in Bangkok they have all the top brands in there. I’m not going to try and reel them all off here, but if you’re a high end shopper, then you’ll be spoilt for choice in Bangkok and the rest of Thailand.

If you’re on the other end of the scale and you’re a budget traveler and you like to shop in markets or just small shops, there are malls that cater to let’s not say “lower end” but they’re not so expensive. They’re within most people’s budgets. A good example of that would be the MBK Center. I think they’ve got six or eight stories it’s a huge shopping mall, and they have different products on different floors. One of the floors is all electronics mobile phones, computers, laptops, everything. Another floor is furniture. And then you’ve got floors of souvenirs for tourists, you’ve got floors of t shirts and clothes. So you get the idea.

So it’s great for shopping. I’m not a shopping person if I have to buy clothes, I’m in and out. I don’t like browsing. But if you’re a lady and you like shopping, then you’ll be spoilt for choice in Thailand.

The Airport

This might seem like a strange one, but the new airport in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi it’s great. It’s absolutely fabulous. It puts our airports to shame. It’s a modern facility. Just go there and you’ll see what I mean. There’s not too much I want to say about it just when you get to the airport, you’ll see what I mean.

Medical Facilities

The next thing I’d like to talk about is the fantastic medical facilities hospitals. You can buy any prescription drugs over the counter there’s pharmacies everywhere. And I’ll give you an example.

I was in Hua Hin. I went for a meal in a place I shouldn’t have gone for a meal. I got food poisoning this was about six months ago, seven months ago. There was a small clinic. I went into this clinic I’d never been there before. I registered, I saw an English-speaking doctor. He examined me, told me what it was, took my blood pressure and everything, gave me a prescription. They gave me the medication. All in all, everything if I remember correctly it was about 600 or 900 baht. And that was for the examination, all the drugs. And I got sorted out that way.

So that’s something you don’t need to worry about. Of course, you’ll have your medical insurance when you go there, but you’re not going to be caught with your pants down you’ll get treated for whatever illness you happen to have, if you’re unlucky enough to get ill.

Relationship Opportunities

The last thing I’d like to talk about is relationship opportunities. If you’re a single guy maybe you’ve come out of a divorce, something like that I’m not going to get too deep into it because I’ve made a lot of guides about this sort of thing, but it’s a great country for rekindling your relationship with somebody, let’s just say in that way. There’s a lot more opportunity there than in your own country.

As mentioned earlier, the Thais are very warm, welcoming people. And if you’re looking to meet a nice Thai girl as a partner, then if you work hard at it and you’re not silly and you don’t do anything stupid, that is a possibility.

Final Thoughts

So there are just a few points why I keep going back to Thailand. As I say, I love the country, I love the people, I love the food. I never get tired of it. It’s a fantastic country, and you should definitely go to visit when everything gets back to normal.