I found that it typically takes me 3-5 days to really settle into a new place after I move from one town to another and even to one country to another. To find my way around the streets, make a few friends, find the good local eats and return to my center. Every place is unique and has different things to offer. There isn’t a good or bad judgement, maybe a personal preference but I make every attempt to not judge. We are all the same and wanting the same things in life… food, shelter and love.
I’ve tried to avoid the bigger cities during my travel. It’s a personal preference. Here I am in Pattaya, Thailand after 8 days in Bangkok and, once again, learning so much. I did all these things in Bangkok that I would consider more “western” in nature. Dining out in restaurants. Going on the air conditioned Ferris wheel at Asiatique The Riverfront, Rooftop Bars, looking at possibly buying a new swiss watch that they don’t sell the size I want in the USA… so I spent a little more money than I anticipated. In all honesty, I’m a little bit “temple’d” out, of visiting the thousands of Hindu and Buddhist temples in this part of the world.
After a few days of this, it’s time to find the local markets, the street food and where the locals eat. They are a little bit hard to find because there is no real internet listings or advertising for these places. I ask around and use google translate and find my way around. Patience is the key and using people that can help translate when possible. I was done with the consumerism and “dining” in restaurants. It’s back to learning the local customs, culture and foods.
I did say back to the local customs, huh? Oh… Pattaya, Thailand… Miles and miles of beaches and consumerism where people come from all over the world to soak up the sun. Or do they? C’mon, you know what I’m talking about. One of, if not the biggest, sex tourism capitals of the world. You can really get whatever you would like here. You can buy your way to all the physical pleasures the body has to offer, you can eat at fine dining restaurants and you can also do what I’m doing… trying to live in the local culture, customs and foods.
Once again, this time is different. How? Because Thailand is what they call a “developing” country. There are elements of western capitalism and industrialization here. Thailand is a place that was never “occupied” and taken over by big brutes of countries like the British or the United States. And yet there are big influences here that come from these countries as their military personnel came here to Thailand for R&R during war time and were catered to by the locals. Think about it… From WWII, to Korean War, to Vietnam, that’s many years of influence.
As I sit here at a coffee shop on Beach Road it starts to rain, and as people duck in to stay dry I meet someone from India, someone from Germany. People come from all over the world to Pattaya and they also come for all kinds of different reasons. You can stay in dorm room hostels for $4US a night, low end hotels for $10, beach resorts for $20 (where I am) and high-end hotels for $300. You can dine at high end restaurants and pay western pricing and you can eat street food for a few bucks US.
Something that has taken me a little bit to get used to once again is how “transactional” things are in this part of the world. Just like when I was in India and Nepal, everything is negotiated. When I want to go get a Thai massage and wanted it from an experienced massage therapist I had to negotiate my way through all the other “massage” possibilities hidden in the parlors. When I go to the markets and want to buy a t-shirt and there are no price tags listed I must negotiate. There are times where things are more straightforward than others. There are times when people see the color of my skin and charge me more money than the locals, even when I was with a local helping me get the best pricing. There are a few stores you can go to where the prices are labelled on items, like at the grocery store.
Trying to find a family homestay like when I was in India and Nepal isn’t the same here in Thailand. Airbnb here is the same way as in the USA. Self-check in and where I get curious. Here is something that I learned… there is this slang word, “farang” … very often the word is used in a derogatory or resentful manner, when a Westerner has overstepped the bounds of admissible conduct or has done something that brings shame to Thailand or its people. A taxi driver educated me in this terminology. I get looked at differently. When I was in the markets I could hear the word being used when people saw me walking around. And yet, it is the farang that is responsible for a lot of the economy here. This is part of the reason why there is no real “homestay” opportunities.
Another piece of information that I have come across here is there are a lot of “deadbeat” dad’s. Meaning, fathers who have left their families and have never returned and are not helping support their children. And there isn’t a government or policy that will go after these men like they have in the states. This leaves women really concerned about their financial lively hood and very standoffish when it comes to love relationships in the future. So, the “transaction” continues in love relationships here in Thailand, at the market and in the selling of sex on the street.
Wat to do? (I love that expression now) How to align yourself/myself to foreign cultures such as this here in Pattaya?
The thing that I’m beginning to appreciate about Thailand is that you can come here and do what you like and how you like to do it. The only thing that will keep you from doing what you want to be doing and hold you back from doing it is yourself.
You can’t blame the outside world anymore. It’s all inside you to do.
What’s holding you back from doing what YOU want to be doing … and being who you want to be?
Leave a Reply