May 18-21, 2023
Currency conversion – 34 Baht to each $1 US.
Thailand has long been a destination for travelers – tropical beaches, friendly locals, and very inexpensive food and housing. When we stayed in 1999, we had a beach bungalow with western toilet (not as common at the time) literally sitting on the beach on the island of Koh Chang for $10/night. Dinner for 2 people (with beer) would be about $8. It is a little more than that now, but still extremely inexpensive by western standards. This brings a large number of people looking to live on a tight budget. The government’s most recent response has been to limit visas to 30-day tourist visas, which can be renewed twice, but you have to go to the immigration office nearest you at 30 day intervals. Since we weren’t sure how convenient getting to these offices would be (there is a lot of conflicting info on the web), we decided to limit ourselves to the thirty days. (It turns out there are offices all over Thailand in tourist areas, typically the wait is only 30-60 minutes at the offices to get the renewal – though can be more during busier seasons). For US citizens, the thirty day visa is free, no paperwork required. Each country is different, some need to fill out a “visa on arrival” form. There is an increasingly steep fine for overstaying a visa.
While still in Amsterdam, at John’s insistence, I had downloaded the Bolt app. As soon as we linked into the Bangkok airport’s wifi, I got a banner advertising the presence of Bolt. This turned out to be a problem, unknown to me – even though when I downloaded the app I entered all my personal information, it had linked to John’s account. When the rideshare John ordered was getting close and my phone started buzzing, I thought I had accidentally “butt dialed” a car, so I canceled it, and a couple of minutes later John starts swearing because our ride disappeared. This happened twice before I figured out what was going on (I had been up for close to 20 hours with a little over 2 hours sleep on the second flight). The third one specified which floor to meet him – but we couldn’t figure out which floor we were on – decided we were on the wrong floor (we weren’t), so by the time the rideshare arrived we were in different places and he left. We ended up taking a cab company that allowed us to use a credit card and took us to our hotel for a little over 700Baht (about 21 dollars, the Bolt would have been $12).
Bangkok is a huge city with a population of 10 million covering over 1500 square kilometers – about 12% of the total population of Thailand. The regions of the city are connected by highways, a metro, a skytrain, buses and water taxis that go along the Chao Phraya River. Regular taxis have largely replaced the loud and smelly tuk-tuks that used to careen through the streets, though there are still a few around the palace and downtown. We decided to return to our favorite area – Khao San Road – known for backpacker hostels, cheap food and a hippie feel. In 1999, a private room at Sawasdee hostel with air conditioning was $10/night. It’s still pretty cheap – about $15/night, but we decided to stay in slightly nicer (and quieter) accommodations a few blocks away and went with the 4 Monkeys Hotel $105 for 3 nights including breakfast.
As in the other cities, we were able to schedule a Guru walk for our first full day. We had to meet Swai next to a metro station which was below the oldest train station in Bangkok. I will have to say his choices on what would be interesting to show us did not really jibe with what I was interested in seeing. The train station was very plain, across the street was the oldest coffee shop (which had a long line) – also very non-descript. He was extremely interested in a small stretch of original trolley tracks near the palace along the side of a modern parking lot. We did go through a small market where we could try some local street foods,
and eventually ended up by the palace (which also houses the temple with the Emerald Buddha). John and I had been there in 1999, and I did not feel the need to buy a cover for my shoulders and legs to spend another 500Baht to revisit the place. We did not go to the floating market (different part of the city) or the flower market. It was also intensely hot – over 100 degrees farenheit and very high humidity, so by early afternoon I was ready to melt. I spent my afternoons in the hotel with the A/C on high, and John went to the hotel across the street where we could use their pool.
Evenings are what Khao San Road are about. Several bars have live music, and we found a favorite we ended up at most nights to listen to a local sing western popular music and people watch. We also met up with a couple that had retired to Laos over 10 years ago, where they live on an island in the Mekong River (they were en route back to the states for their first visit in close to 5 years).
My favorite thing in Thailand is the food. It’s very good – and very cheap. A dinner, with beer, for both of us tends to run 400-600Baht ($12-$16).
I may be more tolerant to hot spices now vs when I first visited, but overall, I think they have reduced the levels of heat in the food due to the number of western tourists and then provide chili oil on request for those that like spicier dishes. The Thai word for “spicy” is pronounced “pet”, if you don’t want it spicy, you say “my pet”, if you want it very spicy, its “pet pet” (I have not requested that – I’m worried they would take it up as an entertaining challenge).
Originally, we planned to head to Phuket, but after reviewing the weather – we decided Koh Samui would be a better a choice with less rain. We took a Bolt from our hotel to the airport (big difference – rideshare does not work here like in the US – the driver is not paid by credit card, the app negotiates the fare for you and you pay the fare in cash on arrival), which cost 360Baht, made weight for our flight (with a total of 2kg to spare between the 2 bags) and headed down to the islands.
Some history:
Thailand (historically called Siam) is the only country in SE Asia to avoid colonization. Their kings deftly walked the tightrope between the European powers and maintained their sovereignty.
Bangkok itself is a fairly recent city (until the 1700’s it was a fishing village). Officially, the Thai people call the city Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (“great city of angels”). It started as the capital of the Thonburi Kingdom founded by Taksin the Great who re-unified five warring regional states back into the Kingdom of Siam (at which time, Siam had incorporated what is now parts of Laos and Cambodia). Taksin only reigned for 14 years, and was deposed (other accounts say he was going mad and was succeeded) by the military leader Chao Phraya Chakri, founding the Rattanakosin Kingdom, known as Rama I, and whose descendants are the present monarchs of Thailand. Upon taking control, a capital city was named Rattanakosin was founded on the opposite bank of the river (the two cities merged in 1971).
Rama I built the Grand Palace and the temple Wat Pho, later generations added Wat Arun. The absolute monarchy succumbed to an “almost bloodless” coup in 1932. A constitution giving power to Parliament with a continued role for the Royal family created the constitutional monarchy, which had become the common form in Europe.
Thailand was invaded by Japan in 1941, and was bombed by the Allies during WWII, but peace treaties signed after WWII helped gain Thailand protection during the Vietnam War, making it among the most popular destinations for GI’s on leave.
The 1970’s was a decade of turmoil for the country, but eventually the government was able to settle, a Prime Minister was elected, and the 1980’s led a huge boom in tourism and western investment in the area. Somehow, governments seem to come and go (there is currently a military leadership called the “National Harmony”, which may be replaced soon due to recent elections), but all acknowledge the financial contribution of tourism and work to keep that industry stable.