Thailand is full of glorious beaches, lush islands, bustling markets, amazing food and stunning temples, it is a truly amazing country to visit. However when you visit Thailand you will also be sure to bump into at least one of these bizarre things...
• In Chiang Mai you can pay to go in a compound with tigers. The handlers say they are not drugged and are just gentle. We didn’t know any better so went in… looking back, it’s just mental, and of course the tigers must be drugged!
• In Pattaya we paid money to sit front row at a Ping Pong show, where Thai girls produced a number of items from their hooha’s. Everything from razor blades to yes ping pong balls. No footage- use your imagination if you must.
• In Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket and probably everywhere in between, you can go Lady Boy cabarets shows, or indeed just end up sitting with them in a bar.
• Like other Asian countries you will find squat toilets in many public restrooms or even in crappy hotels. Our worst was on the sleeper train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, it was filthy and just strange.
• In Bangkok, the Tuk Tuk drivers are huge scammers, if you grab any Tuk Tuk, for however long a journey they will force you into a shop, of silk ties and suits, they receive commission if you buy so they are eager for you to purchase. Top tip is to stick with the same Tuk Tuk driver all day as this should limit the number of shops you are taken to.
• Other places in the world you get old women asking if you want a massage on the beach, or an ice lolly man, scarf/ sunglasses, coconut or pineapple, but on the beaches of Pattaya you will find rude, racist and homophobic bracelets for sale.
• Yes, you will go to plenty of places in Thailand and indeed Asia where there are monkeys running amok, snatching sunglasses or bags in the hope of finding food, but they are normally in contained sites. In Lopburi, the town is over run with monkeys, swinging from electricity cables, on balcony’s, and they have made the temples their home. They run the place!
• In Koh Samui, one of the biggest tourist attractions is a mummified Monk. He sits in a glass box where thousands of people paw over the box, his skin is like paper and you can see his skeleton, although he is wrapped in his robes.
•Drink a bucket of whiskey with cheap energy drink, get off your face, while on 'the beach' an having your camera stolen may or may not be optional
• Another big tourist hot spot in Koh Samui is to visit the Grandfather Rock and Grandmother Rock. Named so as they are shaped like men and women’s private parts! Obligatory photos included…
Have you been to Thailand and think we have missed something out?
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