Strait of Malacca

Tonight is our last night in Thailand. Tomorrow we say goodbye to the “land of smiles,” and head to Vietnam. We had planned a long tail tour of some islands today. We thought we had set it up as a private tour, but that’s not what it was when we got to the dock. We had hoped we could go to some more secluded areas, or at least go to the popular areas in a different order than all the other boats, but no, apparently even that wasn’t an option. We had heard about crowds, so we opted out, and instead, rode our mopeds again and found a cool, kinda quiet little place to hang out, read, and have lunch.

So thoughts on Thailand. What strikes me first are the people-very kind, friendly and apparently honest-at least on the islands. Houses aren’t locked, windows are wide open, usually no screens, keys are left in mopeds. We never felt the least bit unsafe, even in Bangkok. There are no guns and people are peaceful. Even with language barriers, people largely tried to be helpful. A sort of Hindu Buddhism is practiced on the mainland, but the islands we visited were Muslim, with frequent calls to prayer.

People litter here. This makes me sad. I hope there comes a day when locals realize how beautiful their land is and make the effort to keep it clean. I think there are some efforts made to begin recycling.

People work hard. Many have tiny businesses, be it bars, restaurants, little stores, smoothie stands that open early and close late. Often these are part of their homes. People don’t seem consumed by how they look or by their phones, either…at least not on the islands.

Bathrooms…what can I say. Every bathroom has a sprayer (like the kind found on kitchen sinks in the US) attached to the toilet, which is frankly, brilliant. Kinda more efficient than a bidet. However, showers tend to be open in the bathroom, getting water all over the floor, sometimes on the TP…you get the idea. Then for several hours afterwards, you walk on a wet floor every time you enter the bathroom. You never wear shoes indoors, so it could be worse, but it’s not great. Then when the floor does dry, it’s kind of soap scummy. Houses and stores have more of an outdoor feel than indoors, so it’s not quite as bad as it sounds. Not much air conditioning although sometimes there are mini-splits in the bedrooms. Don’t know if that’s just for tourists.

Mopeds are ubiquitous. Many have sort of a cage-like sidecar built on that can haul people, lumber, mattresses, you name it.

We’ve really enjoyed it here. It’s a beautiful place with jungle, coastline, beaches and old ways of life still evident. 5 stars!Read more