WineNZ Summer 18-19 (1)

thailand | travel
Thailand has something
for almost everyone –
although there are several
clichés of the type of
tourists who visit the
country, and examples of
those clichés are present in abundance.
Backpackers
First there are the backpackers. Mainly
in their 20s, out for a good time at low
cost, and they generally do have a good
time unless they dabble in drugs, try their
hand at graffiti on sacred monuments or
generally lack the wisdom required to adjust
to a country with a set of values that have
not been debased by several generations
of Western decadence.
The Full Moon parties are probably the
highlight for many of these backpackers,
with all-night dancing and drinking,
followed by a hangover, or a trip to a
local hospital. Note: medical insurance is
vital, even for strapping young rugby boys
who consider themselves indestructible.
Many visitors to Thailand now prefer to see elephants in a natural habitat,
rather than chained up and ridden.
To you sir, only one million baht.
Culture Vultures
The next group are the culture vultures
– either middle-aged folk in search of
Buddhist temples and elephant sanctuaries,
or families giving the kids a second dose of
overseas cultural experience, following an
earlier trip to the Gold Coast theme parks.
The Grand Palace complex in Bangkok
is a must for this group. Built in 1782 and
the home of the Thai King and the royal
court it has some impressive architecture
and is the spiritual heart of the country.
A personal guide, or joining a tour, are
the best ways to see the many interesting
buildings and to learn about the history. Our
guide met us near our hotel and together
we navigated the railway and the river
boat. Without Khun Sai the day would
have been so much more of a hassle, and
much less educational.
The traffic in Bangkok is bad – seriously
bad. One evening we had dinner with a
couple of Kiwis who live in the city, and
not thinking too deeply about rush hour
we jumped in a cab for the relatively short
hop to the restaurant, then after dinner did
the same to get home. Coming back was
a ten-minute drive, getting there took an
hour and a half.
The train system is good, and a Rabbit
card topped up with a couple of hundred
baht will see you happily whizzing about
the city all the time you are there. Tuk
Tuks are useful too, but can also get stuck
in traffic for long spells and, unlike taxis,
aren’t air-conditioned, so you can do a lot
of sweating while going nowhere.
One of my daughters, who lives in the
city, commutes to work on the back of a
motorbike taxi. While it is quick and cheap,
I did ask her some searching questions
about her health insurance policy after
seeing her whizz off into a seething mass
of traffic on the back of a Honda Click.
Resort people
Throughout Thailand there are
spectacular resorts and developments aimed
at Westerners. If you ask ten people where
are the best areas or most restful island
paradises you’ll get ten different answers.
Age, interests and affluence will be factors
in which resort is right for you, and doing
some leisurely on-line research can be part
of the fun of planning a holiday.
There are good internal flights to a variety
of destinations and I suggest a few nights
in Bangkok to soak up the flavour of the
city and to try some good restaurants before
moving on to the second part of the holiday.
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