We had initially thought that travel in Thailand would be difficult for English-only speakers. That just isn't the case anymore. In fact, we hear more English and German that Thai.
Thailand is a great experiment in tourism. For forty years, Thailand has grown and developed based upon it. Huge sections of land and coastline have been set aside as National Parks. Zillions of little operations have been set up to support tourism, including the street vendors, bus companies, and guest houses. It is still an experiment, but the government is very serious. Legal and illegal logging has been stopped. Crackdowns on animal poaching are ongoing. Thailand was once a major source of opium for the world, but that has been largely halted. The economy and way of life for people has undergone a major transformation, and is not yet complete. But the Kingdom is continuing forward.
One example of the effect of rapid change is the elephants. Just a decade ago, thousands of elephants were employed in the logging industry. That has been stopped, and the elephants (which were bred in captivity and trained to work) have nothing to do. The mahouts (owners) of the elephants are in a very difficult position. It is very expensive to keep an elephant, and they have a very long lifetime, but there is no economic way to support them. Elephants are revered here, appearing on the currency and many signs and product labels. We read about (but didn't see) mahouts taking their elephants into downtown Bangkok and selling bags of peanuts to tourists to feed to the elephants. This is an example of the impact of rapid change, and one item that is not yet sorted out.
Most travelers to Thailand do not come to cover the whole country and see all of the sites. Instead it is a place to relax. People slowly roam around, staying in one spot as long as they like, and then drifting along to the next. Many stay longer than they originally planned. Most go to the south for a tropical beach vacation. Few seem to really care what country they are in, with little interest in learning local customs. There aren't any cultural centers in the south. A smaller number of people go north for trekking and to experience Thailand a bit more. The north has several cultural centers, as well as treks to visit Hill Tribes. Folks going to the north seem to have far more interest in Thailand itself, not just a tropical paradise vacation, and there are plenty of ways to experience it. There are also all of other tourist attractions: elephant rides, river rafting, etc.
Thailand is a simple place to go on a vacation of many weeks or months. The prices are very low. For just $10 a day, two people can eat well and stay at a bungalow or guesthouse. This will mean sharing bathroom facilities, and eating from open-air restaurants and street vendors. That style is working great for us but might not be for everyone. However, to stay at air-conditioned places and eat at proper restaurants, you still can have a great bargain. Allow $20 a night for the guesthouse and $10 for food for two and you will be quite comfortable. Except for drinks --expect to pay the same for a beer or drink here as you would in the states! That certainly cut down on my beer drinking!
Prices of transportation make little sense. Very long distances (1000km) can be traveled in comfortable air-conditioned buses for just $10-12, or double that for a comfortable train. (This isn't Japan or Germany --don't expect everything to run on time.) However, short local travel can be relatively expensive --it may cost a couple of dollars just to ride in the back of a pickup truck for a couple of miles. Inexpensive local travel does exist in most of the larger cities, but the bus schedules and routes are not discernable except for locals, so you instead rely on the so-called taxis.
Thailand is a safe country. There are the usual scams, but nothing too threatening. It is certainly safer than the US. The scams include overpriced low-quality gems, or touts that "help" you to find hotels or shops, and are receiving a kickback. They are easy to spot and avoid, and are much less annoying than in other places such as India. There is little bodily injury threat except for the transportation. Thai driving, while slow speed, is a bit reckless and accidents are common. Also many tourists rent small motorbikes, and minor accidents with them are quite common.
Health worries are real, but generally avoidable. The big scares are not really too bad --for example there is no malaria in any of the large cities or any of south Thailand. If traveling to the north, then you need to take medication (Lariam). The water is not safe to drink, but there are vendors selling bottled water on every street corner. Guidebooks say to be careful with food from street vendors, but most street vendors are quite good. You just need to look and make sure they are keeping the ingredients on ice, and using good sanitation in the food handling. Most are, and the different treats are quite fun to sample.
However, the temperature and humidity is a great environment for germs. Infection or fungus is pretty common, and you don't want to let anything get started. Expect to get a rash or two, and diarrhea once in a while. Be very quick to treat any infection --just dab some 3 in 1 ointment like Neosporin on any simple abrasion or rash you notice, and that is all it takes.
Regardless of health precautions, there still are risks. It is worth reading through the US Center for Disease Control website to be informed. (the link is on our Links page).
All in all, I don't understand why there are so few Americans here. Perhaps one percent of the tourists are Americans. Maybe less. We've ask if it is just since September 11, but it isn't. Americans just haven't discovered Thailand yet. Pity. The Thailand Office of Tourism describes it pretty accurately: "Amazing Thailand".
