Briathrail // Albert 2MNG

So what’s my post-travel feelings on looking back at that trip? Lots. 3 days might not have been enough, but for a taste of Thailand, it was plentiful. It was great, even. For the alternative wasn’t great – four days of nothing to do in a CNY long weekend in Singapore. Going to Thailand gave those free days purpose, something to wake up and look forward to. Sure, it was costly, but it’s money I can earn back. The experience and sights I saw were worth the expense.

So let me list some more things I’d like to say or share about the experience as well:

• You don’t have to see everything in the countries you go to, so leave some for the future. That’s something I learned in my first trip in Japan where I ran myself ragged for the first three days before I turned off the turbo when I realized my folly. I don’t have to see ALL the sights. Just some of the more famous ones. Because the benefit of leaving some off your itinerary is that when you someday go back, there will still be things to see. You won’t run out of places to see for the first time. Same in Thailand, the tour allowed me to see some of the more famous areas in Bangkok and Ayutthaya, but not all. Because by the next trip back, I could always see the other stuff I deferred.
• Signing up for tours is a great option in Thailand. But I’m also cognizant that I might have signed up for two straight great trips with two competent tour guides. That might’ve been lucky or the tour company has high standards. But also, maybe just as an additional precaution, do research.
• Also, if you want to go to rural areas and you don’t have a Thai friend that’s willing to drive you there, or you’re not able to rent a car, a paid tour that uses a vehicle will be mandatory for you. Check at sites like Klook for tours to places like Ayutthaya, and many, if not all, uses a vehicle like a big car or a bus. Some restrictions expected, but the positives and conveniences massively outweigh the restrictions.
• Next time I go to Thailand, it might be on Phuket or Chiang Mai. But if ever I go back to Bangkok, I still have places I want to see.
• One of my minor mistakes going to Thailand was wearing minimal head attire and not buying sunblock lotion. If you ever go, buy a big shady headwear and put on lotion on your face and arms.
• Try the local foods, for the experience. Our tour group had a foreigner that refused to try any kind of “local” food, his wife could not convince him to try any of them. Was funny to see his reaction at the flavored grasshoppers.
• Always do accounting on trips where you have a budget. For me, I used Notes in my phone to list my expenses and total them at either end of day or midday at lunch. And then during purchasing sprees, always keep a mental estimate for faster decision-making.
• You’d drink water A LOT in Thailand. Fortunately, most vendors sell it cheap. So feel free to chug those vegan, ethically sourced, cruelty free, gluten free, sugar free, organic, non-fat, all-natural, local and healthy cold water.
• Just sharing, my first tour guide at Feb 9, Sam, shared that summers are brutal in Thailand, and if anyone would attempt tours in Thailand during summertime, they should reconsider, or at least wear appropriate protection.
• Just for Thailand, it is much cheaper and more convenient to buy your airport transfer vehicles online than do it in person. My experience proved it. I booked my DMK-to-hotel and vice versa via Klook for SGD28 each, while the one at the hotel reception cost SGD52. God forbid you gamble at the road with a taxi, especially late at night or early morning. It’s an unknown, while the Klook-booked option was from a known tour company. It’s a fixed price, but saves you from potential taxi price haggling. And the one I booked online used the toll roads, the cost of which was already in the price I paid. No incentive to pad time with using longer-time roads as well, as the assigned driver I had for both trips used the fastest roads that Google could recommend. But if you want to roll the dice with taxis, sure.
• Don’t bother with the train pass packages in Thailand. Wasn’t much of a hassle to line up and pay for the tickets yourself. Experience.
• Dress for the country you’re visiting, not for the country you’re from. I did good research on every country I’ve been to so far, and that included what’s culturally acceptable to wear as casual in there. Even if no one will “police” it. It’s the same way with honesty – doing the right thing regardless if people see it or not. Just a small amount of respect goes a long way sometimes.
• Part of what I researched is that in Thailand’s markets, people are allowed to “haggle” or ask for a lower price for things they buy. I only tried it once – in Ayutthaya. I bought 3 local bottoms. Initial price was 360. I asked for a small discount as the cash I pulled out of my bag was maybe 320 and I was just covering my bases in case I only had a lower amount left in easy change (I did have 1000-baht bills left but wary of splitting them too many). Fortunately, she agreed to shave 20 baht, and I scrounged enough coins to cover 340 baht. However… I am not the type of person to ask for discounts that much, even in my home country I am loathe to ask for it. Only when necessity has me tied up. When I got to Chatuchak and saw an elderly lady selling herbal medicine items, I thought to myself, I’d rather not ask for discounts from people that need the money more than me. I got enough blessings in my life.
• Mints. Always have mints with you.

But with any overseas trip, there’s only one piece of advice I always give out: have fun out there.

And Thailand, for me in a brief 3 days, was fun. Hope I can find a good time to revisit someday.

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