Thailand: My Drug
So I've been back now from Thailand for 2 whole months. To be perfectly honest it seems like yesterday that I was stood in the checking queue at Heathrow airport on New years day. In front of me stood a stereotypical sex tourist, a large bespectacled man in his 60's, wiping sweat from his brow every 5 minutes, bright orange shirt and camcorder bag over his shoulder. I don't like to presume anything about anyone, but this sex tourist proved me right later into my trip. Behind me stood a middle aged wealthy Englishman with his Thai wife and their two daughters. He only spoke to his wife when barking orders at her like a prison warden would to a prisoner. The wife would be braiding their children's hair or playing some kind of hand game, and as the queue moved forward, the father would bark at them to move forward and the wife and kids would cower with fear. This was depressing in a way, to see how obvious it was that this woman was so scared of her husband. It's bewildering how someone would choose wealth over happiness. Never at any check-in queue have a seen such a bunch of misfits.
This is what appeals to me about Thailand, the unpredictability. Right from stepping foot into the airport check-in, everything is unpredictable. The people you meet on the plane, the people you meet in the bars, everyone has stories to tell. Sitting on Soi Cowboy talking to expats about life in Thailand was a joy unlike the two hours I spent talking about life in Spain to an English bar owner whilst on a European holiday. I drive in the city in England on a daily basis, and look at all the miserable faces passing me, not one smile in sight. Its depressing.
Like I've already mentioned, I've been home 2 months now and I'm amazed at how I feel. I've done lots of travelling around Europe, America and Africa, and the holiday blues have hit me on many occasions. I would feel down in the dumps for a few days, always wondering what I was doing this time last week, not this time though. What is it that Thailand does to you? 2 months on and there is not one day that goes by that I don't think about my return trip. There is not one day goes by that I don't look at Thailand related websites or read Thailand related books. I work hard everyday, play soccer and go out with my friends, and before I go to bed or even whilst at work, I will be keeping up to date with all the goings on in Thailand.
All of you people out there that are currently considering a trip to Thailand, take note. I read all the stories before I visited about people calling Thailand an 'addiction'. I just considered my Thai holiday as another place to cross off the map. How wrong could I have been? I'm 22 years old, I have a very good job in England, I don't need to pay hundreds of £'s or $'s for a flight to Asia for sex, I can find that in a pub or club here in England. So what is it that makes me want to go back to Thailand with such a passion? I honestly don't know. It's the six million dollar question. I no longer have any urge to visit any other place on this earth, South America? Canada? Australia? Forget it…there's only one place on my agenda and that's Thailand.
I know very very little about Thailand, I only visited Bangkok and Pattaya. I wasn't keen on Pattaya at all, but I loved every minute of Bangkok. The place is so alive. I have been told that there is so much more to see, and boy am I go to see it. I want to see everything that is on offer in Thailand. The one thing holding me back is time! It's like having an Angel sat on one shoulder and a devil sat on the other. The angel is saying "You've got a great secure job, just wait until your holidays come around and you'll have 2 weeks to go on holiday" and the devil is saying "your 22 years old you fool, go out there and live a little whilst your young. Save up and go out to Thailand for a decent length of time, you only live once".
I expect there are thousands of readers out there that live or have lived in Thailand and been successful or unsuccessful at making a go of it in Bangkok. Your feedback would be much appreciated.
Life was so simple before I visited Thailand. BEWARE anyone thinking of going to Thailand for the first time, be prepared for the addiction, because it will happen and you'll have absolutely no control over it. When your back home, you'll discuss Thailand with all your friends but they'll think that your exaggerating, they can't believe that a place like this exists. You'll get your photos out, but they don't do justice. All you have is memories and the knowledge that you'll be going back soon.
And how did the man in the check-in queue prove he was a sex tourist? I saw him in Foodland on Soi 5 with two Nana disco girls and I overheard him discussing a bondage session with them. Unpredictable Thailand! I love it.
Stickman says:
Yeah, if one desires adventure, Thailand is hard to beat.
