Want to See the Elephant Dung? It’s Free When you arrive at the park, you’ll be met by a guide who will tell you all about the history of the elephant park, and introduce you to the herd. The young female elephants seem fairly docile, so you’re allowed to feed them sugar cane, watermelon and papaya. You’ll also be given the chance to go up to the adult bulls, who have been trained to let visitors pat them on the trunk. At an additional cost of 10 baht ($0.28) per person, you can even feed a baby elephant and ride the train across the Elephant Nature Park, which houses an amazing menagerie of over 1,000 animals and birds. The park also has a few restaurants and bars, and you can buy a bottle of water for 25 baht ($0.72) to take home with you. It’s a popular place to take the entire family for a day out, and I got to know the herd from my two weeks here. I even had the chance to feed and pat several elephants, and I’m not usually the sort to want to hug an elephant. The staff and visitors alike are really friendly and excited to show off their park. The elephants roam freely in their enclosure within a park built to look like a jungle setting. My first impressions of Thailand: As I mentioned earlier, I’m no stranger to traveling to Asia. I lived in Indonesia for a year, backpacking through the country and spending time on the beaches in Bali. Thailand is similar to Indonesia in many ways, but a lot more touristy. Although, even if you decide to head for the beach, you’ll find a lot of Thais (and expats) still like to eat some rice and other traditional Thai dishes while traveling. Because you’re in a popular beach area, everyone and their auntie wants to take you to a “special” seafood restaurant. On my first night I went out to a beachside restaurant and ended up with over 200 baht ($6) worth of noodles. However, there are plenty of places to get Thai food if you’re looking for something a bit more authentic. Also, my room was a converted beach hut with wood panels and a balcony with a view of the ocean, so I was able to watch the waves all night. Even if you’re not planning on staying at the resort, it’s fun to come back after dark for some live music and dancing. What you’ll see everywhere: One of the other things I noticed on my travels was that most people wear the color red. Thais use this traditional color to mark special occasions or when someone has died. I’ve also noticed this is the color of choice in many beachwear stores. There are also a lot of food stalls, some of which are fairly decent. But most of them seem to serve a similar menu of pad thai and tom yum soup. I came across a cool travel site called “Cool Asia” that offers plenty of resources for travelers who want to explore a less touristy side of Asia. The site has plenty of reviews on how to work around the more frustrating aspects of traveling, and there are also sections about different tours, activities and day trips. In the case of Thailand, there are also several itineraries created by people who visited this year, detailing their own experiences and recommendations. The most popular trip is a seven-day cycling trip from Phuket to Bangkok. I was impressed by some of the photos I saw from this tour, but I don’t think I would’ve really enjoyed it. It would probably have been too touristy for me, and I wouldn’t have gotten to see the country like I did when I came up with my own itinerary. In Thailand, tourism is the king. In fact, the country was the first to begin a national tourism plan, which was eventually introduced across Southeast Asia. As I already mentioned, most tourists go to Phuket, because it’s one of the most developed areas and is the closest to the airport. On my two weeks away, I went to the provinces of Nakhon Si Thammarat, Pattani, Chumporn, and Satun. If I had only done that in Phuket, I would’ve had one of the worst experiences of my life. But with my other travels, and getting into smaller towns, I actually found most of the locals were friendly and friendly to tourists. And it was really easy to meet people through the locals and other travelers, because there are many English schools and Thai women are always willing to practice their English with you. However, it’s a bit too touristy. In Phuket, you can find restaurants that sell authentic Thai food and street stalls where you can get a good bang for your buck. It’s a beautiful place with amazing beaches, but it still feels like Thailand. On my first night on the mainland, I ended up staying in a hostel-like place in Chumporn, which had a swimming pool in the basement and I met some American guy who didn’t speak a word of Thai, but we got along just fine. In Phuket, I would have really struggled to get the hang of it. In Thailand, the locals are used to taking American tourists, so they’re always making gestures like yelling “hello”, and trying to be funny, which is really annoying if you’re not trying to be one of them. That’s why I ended up going to Pattani on a solo trip. I went to Nampit beach for the night and was the only tourist, so the local girls were friendly, but nobody tried to talk to me like I was supposed to know what was going on. And one of the other things I noticed is that many Thai people really want to talk about their country and make sure that we’re interested in it. So they are always asking if we like Thailand, where we’re from, etc. If I’m not interested in their country, I’m pretty sure I’m not interested in what they’re saying. I also got tired of them asking the same question about fifteen times, even if you kept saying no, the answers still felt obligatory. And most of them start to repeat themselves. You kind of get a feeling they’re desperate for conversation. So I left the country I had come back to, and I’m still traveling to see different countries. I can’t say I’m a fan of all of them, and I’m still not sure what it is I’m looking for. I’m still looking to stay as much as possible in small towns, and the only cities that have felt like that are Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Pattaya, Thailand. Before I left Phuket, I was ready to start traveling again. As soon as I get back to Thailand, I’m planning on heading to Angkor Wat, before getting my feet wet in India. I’m still trying to find my niche in Asia, but if you can find a place that feels like home in a place that’s foreign to you, then it’s the best feeling in the world. Related Post navigation 12 thoughts on “Visiting Thailand: My Favorite Country in Asia” Yeah, if you go to Thailand at all, it’s worth staying at the hotel near the beach. I actually didn’t eat much while I was there, as there’s nothing like your momma’s homemade pho, but the hotel food was delicious. I liked the Pad Thai at my hotel in Phuket (BaanChang) and the Burmese and Vietnamese places in Pattaya. You make such great observations. You should come on my trip with us next summer in Asia. We’re visiting SE Asia. Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong. The beach is very important to me but not to a point of over-indulgence. I’m a bit picky on where I stay but with the right accommodation I find it comes together to enhance the trip instead of detracting from it. Hope you’re doing well, the best to you and all your endeavours! I’ve never been to Thailand, but the descriptions and photos really make me want to go. I love the beach culture and the food, and this gives me some ideas on things to check out when I get to South Korea and Japan! I am going to use you for inspiration for future road trips!