I enjoy living in Asia and especially Thailand. Thailand is a wonderful country that I separate into two groups. The first is city such as Pattaya where I usually stay and the other is Issan or the farming area in Northern Thailand. Pattaya receives a lot of bad press as it is considered by some journalists to be one of the world's "Sin Cities." I don't go along with this because no matter where you travel, you can find almost any particular "adventure" you want. What is sad is that the cultural scene i.e. Buddhist temples, modern zoos, great restaurants and so on can be found as well as a beautiful coastline, but seems to be ignored by the press. Issan is still a bit old fashioned, but it has great charm in its simplicity. To me this is the real Thailand as people know how to share and are not worried every moment about things that may or may not happen. I have interest in a small potato farm. If someone needs some potatoes they are welcome to take what they need. Concurrently, if I feel like I want some mangoes or other fruit, I feel free to help myself to someones orchid. It is a nice way of doing things. In April, after I renew my retirement visa, I plan to spend some time in Cambodia and next year it is off to mainland China.
In 2013, we bought a packaged tour for Bangkok from a travel agency owned by an acquaintance. Exactly 3 days before the flight, we checked with the airlines and was really disgusted to learn that our booking was not paid and our tickets were cancelled. The agency moved heaven and earth to have our new plane tickets in time for the scheduled vacation. We got our plane ticket one day before we left. In fairness to the agency, the hotel accommodation was one of the best, cheap but in the heart of Bangkok so roaming around is not much of a problem. And more, the tour guide was cool in providing us with all the information we needed. It was a memorable Bangkok trip that I hope to back there someday.
Oh, what a lovely review. I hope you have time to post a few pictures in the near future. I wholeheartedly agree with you about how any adventure is what you make of it! I had to look Issan up on the map. You really intrigued me with the uniqueness of sharing. Actually you made me quite hungry for some potatoes and mango's, too. Did you make it to Cambodia and mainland China? Glad to hear your trip plans worked out for you. I have never used a tour guide. What a wonderful idea. Care to share any of your pictures? I and I am sure others would love to see some!
Having a tour guide when you tour a country for the first time is worth it. That's our way of knowing the place. We had a tour guide on our first trip to Singapore but the subsequent trips saw us on our own. All we did was to learn the local transport system. In Hongkong, it was the same, we had a tour guide. But now we seem to know the ins and outs of Hongkong particularly the MTR - the very efficient train system. In Bangkok, we were brought to the so called Floating Market where the vendors are on bancas and the place looked like a big lagoon. We also sampled their nightlife courtesy of the tour guide. Maybe on our next trip to Thailand, we can do the roaming by ourselves.