Six
Days in
Soliloquy
Before
leaving for
We chose
However,
the real reason for this or a similar trip was to aid my wife*s application for
a
Our time in
I had not
been expecting such a comprehensive Chinese gloss spread throughout our stay,
to the point where everywhere we went was also full of Chinese tour parties:
The beaches, the shows, the hotels, the activities and sight-seeing were 95%
composed of Chinese people. Regards this particular trip I don*t have a problem
with that, and in fact think it was positive in many respects, especially for
the Chinese of our party. But I must temper this by asking again, ※Where is
This
reflected in the way my wife reacted to the holiday, as I have myself in the
past to many destinations I have crossed off my worldwide list of places to go:
&Been there, seen it, got the tee-shirt* etc; where to next? Therefore it came
as no surprise to me when she stated that whilst the holiday was great, she
didn*t want to visit the country again. When I pressed her to explain all she
said was that
I do want
to return, but next time as an independent traveller. For instance, there are
only three things I want to see in Bangkok: The floating market (Early mornings
at week-ends only), the massive street market (Week-ends only), and the weirdo
street started by hippies and misfits in the 60*s, and now renowned as a den of
iniquity 每 from which Bangkok gained it*s notorious name as a major worldwide
travel destination. A couple of days should do all that and leave us time to
explore the real nightlife. So next time that is what I will do, and also catch
up with my Siamese ex girlfriend Yupa along the way.
I would
like to drop into Phuket for a night, simply to say I have been there. Leisure
around Krabi Islands for a while, then explore the north of the country 每 the
ancient capital of Chang Mei, ancient relics near Yupa*s home of Lop Buri, and
head on up to visit some ethnic villages and the infamous Bridge over the river
Kwai. Fairly close by is a temple famous for having Tigers wandering around,
and to me that is a must-do! All this would mean doing things local at times,
and maybe we can work this with my dear friend Jim for next Chinese New Year.
Let*s hope so. Of course, all this infers I can talk Siu Ying into going back.
She on the other hand is quite keen to visit
As for Siu
Ying, she has obviously gotten the travel bug and wants more in the future.
However I do feel that next time she needs to be exposed naturally to the
culture, and not as in this trip, looking at it from the inside of a goldfish
bowl.
Jim was
perfectly correct when he told me
From my
personal experiences I have found that foreigners can either cope with
With this
in mind I would therefore recommend that any Westerners looking to holiday in
the Orient try
Typically
British people like to take a vacation in
Cultural Differences
The Thai
and Chinese people have much in common, with their religious beliefs being
quite compatible. For instance;
Conversely,
Therefore
the first cultural difference is that
The second
major difference would appear to be that of social conduct and interactions at
a personal level. Let us begin with Thai massage. It is typically the same as
Chinese massage, but differs in the fact that Thai masseuse are exceptionally
well trained and understand a body extremely well. I mentioned this with their
treatment of my back complaint, which the Siamese dealt with by working on my
feet plus ankle and knee joints. It was excellent therapy, and worked
immediately. Chinese seem to have seen the training manual cover, but not
finished reading beyond the preface by general comparison (Tina and Number 51
excepted).
In both
countries, and perhaps contrary to your immediate thoughts, sex was not on the
menu. Let me assure you that sometimes sex is on the menu, and is called &Extra
Service* in both Countries. However, the proportion of girls in
This takes
me on to the Likely Lads, who coming into the Cultural Show, had heard they did
a &Strip Tease*. They wanted to know all about this from me and how far they
went? 每 Durrrh! I said I doubted it here, and was proved correct. In a
different place I would have said the opposite, and half expected a &Lady boy*
to be performing. Not sure how they would have coped with that one. Siu Ying
said it was simple to tell the real girls from the boys, as they all had Adam*s
Apples. Ahem! I am going to leave that one for when we visit Phuket as
independent travellers, perhaps with Jim to show us around one evening? Neal
and Jackie may be up for it also? I reckon I can pick 19 out of any 20, and she
won*t get anywhere near that I am sure. It*s the &Prove it* question that
worries me most, like asking for sugar granules and being served-up crystalline
salt instead 每 hard to tell the difference sometimes unless you know exactly
what is coming! Let*s quickly move on#
I have a
few regrets, in that we didn*t really have the chance to interact with local
Thai people in a social environment. I find you can learn far more about a
place or country by spending one evening in a typical backstreet bar mixing it
with the locals, than you can from a month spent admiring the &showcased*
highlights. My deepest regret is the food 每 as I was looking forwards to 5-days
of hot curries with coconut and lemongrass, just like Yupa made for me in
I am also
interested to discover how somewhere like Phuket compares with Ibiza 每 one
place on this planet I love dearly and would gladly return to anytime,
especially
But I also
need to leave the club-scene behind next time and see some of the real country
and culture. Siamese in particular are noted as being experts in cultural
dance, and let me assure you what we witnessed that night in rural
And this in
turn brings me back to the trip itself. You see, I have the distinct impression
that not only did the Chinese amongst us leave with a belief that &
Reverse
this and I doubt many Chinese are fluent in either of the two main Thai
languages; Nevermind local dialects. Can the Chinese cook Thai food? Well they
do, with canned coconut milk and without lemongrass. You can*t actually buy
those specific Thai leaves in Chine either, so common in certain authentic Thai
dishes and especially soups.
Now I may
be wrong, but I have always considered a Country; no, a Culture to be defined
by its food and social practices. The family and/or community traditions and
celebrations that are passed down through tens or hundreds of generations. This
we glimpsed for brief moments, but I knew what to look for. I worry that my
fellow travellers entirely missed these insights completely.
I left with
the view that
I remain
very pleased we made this trip, and made new and lasting friends along the way.
But I remain not totally stupid all of the time, and know another
I will
return and see this fascinating country again, but next time as an independent
traveller doing a personal trip of cultural discovery, and perhaps some elements
of personal growth also.
The Chinese
group tour in itself was like a whirlwind snapshot of what was on offer, but
you needed to temper this with looking beyond, and catching the real pieces of
Siamese people and their culture. I worry that many first-time travellers may
have missed these fleeting clues. That stated I would now be happy to take
another Chinese Group tour, if only to get a rough idea about another country
and cross the main tourist things off my list. I would look for where and what
to do next time, as this is an extremely cost-effective way of broadening ones
horizons.
On the
other hand, I would be very interested to know how a 5-day Chinese group trip
would happen in
From this
you should presume to know the whole of
So this is
what I take away with me about
However, I
do now have a vague understanding at first-hand of the country, and want to see
it for real next time. Meanwhile my wife thinks it is all in &This box over
here*. So do most of our other fellow travellers. It*s a shame, but suited best
for us at that at the time.
Now I am
British, and if I wanted to watch Shakespeare, it would not be at
I also saw Hamlet there:
&To be or not to be: that is the question?
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to
suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous
fortune,
Or to take arms against the sea of
troubles,
And by opposing, end them...*
# but all
too often we join with them, simply because they offer the easier rout in our
lives.
Expat*s do
not always follow the easiest route, because they want a little more from their
lives perhaps, or are a little eccentric by nature? Therefore as a British
Expat choosing to live in
So what did we make of the holiday?
Siu Ying
really enjoyed it, but would rather go somewhere else next time. That stated
she also enjoyed many things about the holiday very much. I am sure that her
minus points are partly due to the rigors of a Chinese Group Tour. This was her
first experience of one, and I know that like me she got a bit feed-up with the
repeated commission sales stoppages. Had she been able to wander around the
famous
Chinese
tend to be very patient when it comes to waiting, and hanging around in
general. However even her patience was stretched to breaking point with our
ridiculously detoured transfer to
I have
tried to get her to tell me her highs and lows with a little success. She loved
the two beaches, and our midnight stroll along the shore in Pattaya is a
special memory for her. The island beach was also very enjoyable, but tempered
by the stupid crossing that made her feel very unwell after each crossing.
Again, her ears are not used to this type of movement. The crossing of
Bangkok*s main river was not memorable except for the ten minutes stop to feed
the fish with buns 每 something she found to be very amusing. She also really
enjoyed the
By contrast
my wife did not enjoy the snake place and neither crocodile experience at all 每
saying they were &very stupid*. However the elephant ride was ok 每 and
definitely something to tell family and friends about back home. Like many of
us she wanted to spend a lot more time looking at the tigers, but we were
subjected to crocodiles instead.
I have also
listened to what she has told her friends since arriving back in China, and she
does regret not buying a crocodile skin bag 每 there was one in particular she
really liked, but it was very expensive. And I think that was part of the
problem. Wherever we went seemed to be for very rich tourists, and not for
ordinary people like ourselves. Most of our group was from a similar
socio-economic background, equivalent to middle class I suppose 每 entrepreneurs
who haven*t made the big time &yet*. We had some spare money, but knew not to
be stupid with it. The exchange rate to the Chinese RenMinBe was also far worse
than it should have been 每 everywhere (Including Banks and Bureau de Change),
by virtually one third of its exchange rate value! I was OK because my funds
were coming direct from
Siu Ying
thought the food was OK, but only OK, meaning there was nothing really
spectacular. Given that we all agreed the breakfasts were atrocious, the rest
was edible and nourishing. She loved the fresh crabs and shellfish served on
the
Unlike some
of our party, she was unfazed by the more blatant sexuality expressed so openly
by Thai society. To her it was a laugh, but then, we were never anywhere
without our chaperones. Therefore we only skimmed the surface instead of taking
a more in depth look 每 if those are the correct words to use hahaha!
As for
yours truly, it was pretty much what I expected, and it has to be stated that a
Chinese group tour is an ideal and very cost-effective means by which to get a
snapshot of what a country is perhaps really like. I think they are an ideal
way to visit a country to see if it is worth going back to in the future,
perhaps for a longer stay of several weeks as an independent traveller. Therefore
I would happily go on one again to somewhere else as a short stay to plan a
proper vacation for a later date.
I most
certainly do want to visit
My personal
highlights?
It*s hard
to say. The general Thai architecture was very interesting in a general sort of
way. I found the
I like the
island enough to want to return for an overnight stay, something I think would
be quite relaxing and enjoyable. There again, there are many other islands in
Thailand, and one of the smaller ones around Krabi would suffice equally as
well for our next visit.
And I think
that about sums up my whole experience. I liked what I saw enough to want to go
back and do it my way 每 spending time when and where I want, and skipping the
bits I do not particularly enjoy. The only thing that makes me pause and
reconsider returning to
I am not
put off because of the troubles between red and yellow shirts (Traditionalists
vs Economists), and in fact I would find it interesting to speak within a
social situation to people from both sides and gain an insight into their
personal feelings about the conflict = not what we are feed by international
media channels whom only ever report the politically related doctrine of their
respective governments.
I was very
disappointed with the constant Cantonese food, which was ok, and that*s about
it. Had it not been for my brief stay at Gerard and Kwan Beekers lovely
restaurant in Pattaya, then I would not have tasted real Thai food at all.
The
highlight for me was the last evening when we all decided that we were going
out for a few beers and some local food. I guess the restaurant we ended up at
eventually was upon reflection pretty third rate, but we had a great time! And
for me that*s what it is all about. Given a smaller group I am sure we would
have been toasting with the locals and getting involved with the local
community spirit. But what we shared that evening was my ideal. The food there
was actually Thai, but a barbecue come hotpot isn*t exactly a true reflection
of Thai cuisine now is it?
By means of
comparison, let me hold up a typical British pub lunch platter 每 you know,
hunks of bread, butter, cheese, Branston pickle + various other options, a
local Butcher*s pork pie perhaps. Take this into the beer garden and wash down
with some real ale, probably by a canal or Holt on a steam railway. Now this is
an excellent meal, but most people would not consider this to be a typical
example of international British cuisine 每 and exactly the same goes concerning
the meal of our last evening. But my point is that is was the people that made
it so special.
Overall we
both really enjoyed the holiday. It had high points and low points for both of
us, but for the price it cost us it is extremely difficult to find genuine
fault. Our Guides were excellent and kept us safe (Not a problem for me, but
for first time Chinese abroad this is a very different matter, and one of great
concern to them personally).
I hope
readers have found this missive to be interesting and entertaining in various
respects, although as always I remain open to constructive criticism and
genuine observations.
I*ll finish
with my top laugh, which was the crocodile ride of course. There we all are in
a flimsy wooden boat, in the middle of a crocodile swap - feeding hungry
man-eating beasts using a wooden pole with lumps of meat attached via a piece
of string 每 and the guy comes round insisting we wear life jackets!
※You gotta
be seriously out of your tree sunshine!§
By the way:
Siu Ying
has since decided that she will revisit