Seven Practical Reasons Why You Should Visit Thailand for a Vacation

Imagine loading onto a plane in the Northeast United States in mid-January. You’re clad in a down winter coat and considering if that last text is worth taking off your gloves to respond. (That is, of course, if you don’t have those nifty ones that let you use your touch screen.) You sleep away the many hours of the flight dreaming of a warm respite away from winter’s dreariness. Then you land in Chiang Mai, Thailand – paradise!

1) English

I don’t speak any Thai. It was only after a week or so in Thailand that I found out that men and women say “hello” and “thank you” differently. For “hello,” Women will say Swadikaa (Swa – dee – kha … hold out the last syllable) and Men say Swadikhrap (Swa – dee – Khrap! … like “crap” but short and punchy and err on the side of saying “cap”)

From Songthaew drivers to shop proprietors almost everyone has enough English to get you what you want and where you want to go.

2) Diversity

Walking around town, it’s quickly obvious that this city is a major tourist hot spot. While touring the winding roads, I heard French, German, English, Chinese, and a handful of languages I couldn’t have put on a map. Often overlooked in determining a place to visit, other visors offer unique perspectives and are another great way to experience new places.

This diversity also serves to expand the culinary offerings around town. From Miguel’s Mexican cuisine to O’Malley’s Irish Pub, you’re guaranteed to find something you’ll love, aside from all of the amazing Thai food.

I suggest checking out the halal restaurants on the Muslim street and getting a nice bowl of Khao Soi.

3) Easy to Enter

As long as you don’t plan on staying longer than 30 days, all you have to do to get in to Thailand is fill out a small questionnaire and go through immigration. Many places in Asia require a visa to enter their countries.

4) Plenty to Do

Do you enjoy hiking up a mountain to a peaceful temple? How about a very affordable deep-tissue message? Or are you the type that likes to see a bunch of lions and tigers jump through hoops and, more impressively, not eat a bunch of people? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it’s them start shopping for a ticket.

When I was in town, they had a marvelous flower festival complete with floats and a decked-out park filled with fragrant blooms and all manner of arrangements and topiary.

Lastly, you can’t talk about without mentioning the shopping. There are several night markets and a great day market where the locals’ shop for their sundry needs.

5) Easy to Get Around

Chiang Mai is big enough to have plenty to do and small enough to walk almost anywhere, but why do that when you can grab a Songthaew or a tuk-tuk and get across town for about $3 USD. And if you feel like having a private ride in an airconditioned car, just use the Grab app.

Chiang Mai is obviously not the only place in Thailand and if you want to take off to Bangkok for a day or two, it’s only an hour flight away and generally costs less than $100 USD for a roundtrip.

6) Medical Care

I admit that my choice to get my wisdom teeth pulled during my visit isn’t something I’d suggest many people do on vacation, but I was there for weeks and had the space in my schedule to veg out.

So, if you wanna get some shots or schedule some overdue dental surgery, this is definitely a place to get caught up. Many of the doctors and dentists are trained in the west, speak English, and offer quality care for very affordable rates. My dental surgery, including x-rays, only cost me about $110 USD. (And I recovered quite well.)

*Disclaimer: You should consult your primary physician for any medical care you plan on receiving. Octopus Hive is not responsible for any medical care you do/do not receive. (The lawyers make us write that … but it’s true.)

7) Price

It may be a little pricey to get to Thailand from the States or Europe, and I’d certainly suggest taking some major vacation time for the trip, but once you get there, you can do pretty well.

Most Thai food meals cost me less than $5 USD including a drink and hotel options range from nearly nothing to more than $500 USD per night. (I didn’t stay in either of those, but $40/night left me feeling pampered and rested.)

The attractions are all fairly affordable:

  • Art in Paradise 3D Art Museum – $12
  • Night Safari – $17 (Including the hotel pick-up/drop-off with Klook)
  • Touring the Night Markets – Free
  • Flower Festival – Free
  • Meeting people – Free

You get the point. This gem in Thailand’s northern Lanna region, Chiang Mai is situated in a warm, tropical valley. Paradise generally always sounds enticing but here are a few reasons why this location might win a contest of where to spend a vacation.

  

Where am I coming from?

I grew up in an out-of-the-way city in South Texas big enough to call it a city, but far enough off the beaten path to not be a hub for anything. My family never really traveled and we lived in a relatively non-diverse part of town. Being a white, southern, conservative American, I heard quite a few racial slurs and exclamations regarding people that looked and lived differently than we did. 

 

Thankfully, my family, and even my extended family – which includes several people of color, don’t espouse terribly prejudicial sentiments, at least to my knowledge. But being ignorant of all the difference in the world resulted in me saying some pretty bigoted stuff sometimes. I regret that. I can only say: “I wish I knew then, what I know now.”

 

For the last three-and-a-half years, I’ve lived in one of the largest metropolitan areas of America, Dallas-Fort Worth. Quite the opposite of my hometown, this bustling metroplex is a major destination and thoroughfare for all kinds of people. In recent years, it’s been a landing place for droves of refugees from sundry countries. 

 

For about a year-and-a-half, I lived among the refugees in a dense neighborhood that, except for the odd convenience store, was wall-to-wall apartments. I’ve heard estimates that more than 50,000 people live in the 2.2 square mile area I called home. In just my end of the building, there were people from Nepal, Iraq, Eritrea, and Burma. It was fun getting to know them. 

 

Since becoming an adult, I’ve traveled abroad and made friends from all over the world. I didn’t go out of my way to find them; I just made friends, and they just happened to be different. And I love it!

 

And now, I’m, striking out to see more. I’m moving to Far East Asia and I plan on see all that I can and share it with you. 

So what can you expect to see here?

I want to make something clear, though: I have opinions, beliefs, a culture, a religion, and an ethnic identity that I am not ashamed of. I like who I am, most days, and I am happy to be an American. Just because, I’m passionate about learning how humanity is so varied and what it looks like to cast off ignorance, doesn’t mean that I want a new identity or feel that my culture is substandard. Sure, I get irritated with the abiding unenlightened dribble that some of my people spout off, but they’re my people. And they’re a big part of why I feel like I should begin this blog.

 

I’m not going to shame anyone for not agreeing with me. I merely want to show how people are people everywhere. How we can be so fundamentally different in how we talk, look, eat, think, or even walk down the street, but that those differences don’t diminish our humanity.

I hope to try and capture snippets of life from the places I visit and share them with you. I love food, people, and experiences. I plan on inviting some friends that live in far away places that I can’t visit to add to the exposure.  

 

Hopefully, we’ll see food, art, and human interactions that bring faraway places and people into the view of people who, like me, grew up somewhat isolated from the rest of the world. And for those who are well-traveled, well-read, and well-bred I hope the forthcoming eye candy and experience will enrich your life.

Why “OctopusHive?”

I’m a recovering workaholic. I love getting things done quickly, efficiently, and well. I once imagined that if you took the hive behavior and flight of bees and mixed it with the relatively high intelligence of the eight-armed octopus you’d be unstoppable. So I bought the domain name. When I was thinking of a name for this blog, my friend said why don’t you just use that. “It’s unique, flows well, and clear to read.” So here we are. I may come up with a better reason for the name someday, but until then, this will have to do!