Absolutely LOVED Thailand! We had so much fun here trying street food and enjoying very affordable lifestyle. The price to quality ratio is phenomenal. Where else can you feed three people a delicious lunch for under $10? Even a nicer restaurant barely dents your wallet at $5-$7 per person. (And yes, you can find even more upscale restaurants with NYC-like price ranges.)
Food in Thailand is very flavorful. Our favorites were Pad Thai (of course!), Tom Yum Goong (spicy and sour shrimp soup), Thai Satay of various kinds (but one needs to know exactly what to try as some sausages are sour) and Khao Sri (curry broth with noodles). We tried some other dishes but don’t know their names!
We enjoyed one of the bazaar at Bangkok! It smelled like it should have smelled – with local produce like ginger and parsley. The produce we bought there was delicious and super cheap. Marat cooked while we stayed in Bangkok, and every dish was super delicious due to high quality ingredients. Funny enough, cooking at home turned out pricier than eating out! Still, we occasionally craved a taste of home amidst the culinary wonderland.
Mango Mania: I might’ve set a personal record for mango and papaya consumption in Thailand. They’re juicy, ripe, and so much tastier than what we get in the U.S. It’s like discovering fruit’s true potential.
Bangkok vs. Chiang Mai: If I had to choose, my peak is Chiang Mai! The city was just the right size, not too big and not too small for us with a charming old town surrounded by a perfectly squared canal and in some parts the remnants of the old, ancient wall. Very walkable with tons of street food, bazaars, gorgeous temples, great gyms, pretty cafes, multiple cannabis stores (yes, it’s legal here), gazzilion massage salons – it was bustling and yet, had a total chill vibe. There were a lot of foreigners there but they felt as an integral part of the scene rather than being exotic. The city has a big university and a hospital (may be more than one). And Chiang Mai is right next to the mountains. I could see myself living here…
Thai people are very welcoming and hospitable. They always smile and are very polite and friendly to foreigners. I wish I could pick up their language fast enough (so far, I only managed how to say “thank you”) to better communicate with them. We have not seen a single argument during our 16-day stay here.
Contrary to Philippines, where we could see a lot of… let’s call them unconventional age-gap relationships (typically a man in his 60s+ accompanied by a Filipina, 20-30 years younger than him), Thai women stay firm on their own feet and do not require western “sponsors”, at least based on our observations. They have their own businesses, typically a food stall or a mini hotel/hostel. And we never heard any complaints about their life, even though we could see that they are all working 12-14 hr shifts to feed their families. I remember, when we were in Philippines, any western-looking man was a celebrity there (no matter the age or appearance), a prize-winning object for local girls to save them from mind-numbing poverty. Here in Thailand, we did not experience such thing!
No pressure religion: Thailand is temple central, but there’s no pushiness when it comes to worship. The vibe is: Come as you are. Or don’t. Up to you. Even the sellers embody this laid-back spirit—whether you buy or browse, it’s all smiles and no hard sells. It’s such a refreshing change from some of the more aggressive sales tactics we’ve experienced elsewhere.
Last but not least, a toilet hack: while there aren’t many public toilets, there is always one in a temple. Also, have a few 5 Baht coins on you, as some toilets are paid ones.
