Try some new foods!
Food vendors are everywhere, and Thailand is known for its tasty and
healthy food. Avoid fish or chicken that seem to have been sitting around;
anything hot off the grill should be fine — and flavorful.
Related
pages:
Shopping
suggestions
The Thai
language
Making
yourself understood
Gay
life and culture
Getting
around Thailand
Thai
customs
Basic
travel facts
Things
to try...
Thailand
trip overview
Complete
site index
|
Travel
is about new experiences. If you're
headed to Thailand, you probably already know and believe that. Here
are a few experiences that we encourage you to include.
- Get a full, traditional Thai massage.
You can get a perfectly pleasant and relaxing massage for very little
money on the beaches and elsewhere. But for just a bit more, you can
luxuriate in a full 2-hour treatment of massage, steam bath, aromatic
oils. ("Traditional" means "non-sexual". The other
kind is readily available, too.)
- Try new foods. You needn't
go so far as munching on fried insect larva. But do try to expand
your repertoire. Make it a goal to try something each day that you
haven't eaten before.
- Visit a go-go boy bar, at least
if you're gay. If you're gay, perhaps that was the whole reason you're
heading for Thailand in the first place, in which our suggestion is
superfluous. But even if nightlife isn't normally your thing, and
you hadn't planned such a stop, go anyway. You only live once.
- Go to a drag performance. A
good one. Calypso, a long-running show at Bangkok's Asia Hotel, is
among the best. Forget the lip-syncing drag shows you may have seen
in the U.S.; the best of Bangkok's shows are extravaganzas. Cross-dressing
is far more accepted in Thailand than in the U.S. A top kick-boxing
star was a transvestite in the mid-nineties. Most of the audience
is likely to be straight.
- Eat a durian, if they're in
season. Considered by many to be the foulest-smelling yet best-tasting
food in the world, this fruit has achieved something of a cult status
in parts of southeastern Asia. You won't have many chances in your
life to see what it's all about. If the opportunity arises, hold your
nose, and dig in.
- Get out of Bangkok. You wouldn't
think someone had seen the U.S. after visiting Manhattan, would you?
(Okay, if you're a New Yorker, you might think so.) Bangkok is a vibrant,
exciting part of Thailand, but represents only part of a larger and
very diverse society. The ancient capital of Ayuttaya, or the notorious
"Bridge over the River Kwai", can be seen in day trips from
Bangkok, if that's all the time you have.
- Give those squat toilets a try.
We've heard of Americans getting constipated because they didn't want
to use an unfamiliar item. Don't wait for an emergency. Get accustomed
to squat toilets whenever the opportunity arises, so you won't be
flustered when you need one in a hurry. Our squat
toilets page will prepare you.
- Bargain. If you're not used
to it, the prospect seems intimidating, or rude, at first. Pretty
soon, it will be fun.
- Use local guides, at least
occasionally, if you're traveling independently. They're inexpensive,
they'll help you get around faster and make better use of your time,
and they'll add to your understanding of each site you visit. A guide
can also help you select some new foods to try, without going overboard.
You can arrange guides through your hotel, or a tourism office.
- Go to Thailand with your suitcase half-empty.
Clothing is inexpensive at the markets, and it's easy to find the
light-weight cotton that works best in this climate. You'll also want
luggage space for gifts to bring home.
- Have lunch at the Oriental Hotel.
It's considered the best hotel in the world. And you can have lunch
there for no more than you'd pay at a run-of-the-mill restaurant in
Manhattan.
|
