One of the best decisions of my life was when I decided to take a trip to Thailand in 2002 for my summer holiday. It certainly wasn't the first choice as the distance and cost of getting there didn't make it one of the cheapest of the places we had shortlisted. One thing that was in it's favour though was that we knew a few people who had visited before and even some who had gone and never came back (through choice - nothing sinister) we decided to give it a try. After an 18 hour journey which included two 7 hour flights and a few hours in a taxi we finally arrived at our destination. From the moment we stepped out of the car the world changed into a happier place to be. The noise, the smells, the smiles, the whole frantic, chaotic, atmosphere that surrounded us was so exciting but at the same time strangely calming, it was all such a world apart from what any of us had known or had experienced before. You really did feel you had arrived somewhere which for the next 17 days could quite easily make you forget that the rest of the world existed.
The majority of Thai's you meet are so friendly, so amazingly helpful and welcoming. The individuals and the families that I met who seemed to have so little yet were so generous with what they had.
Eight years on I am now married to the girl I met on my first trip there and we now live in the UK and have our own family. Thailand is a wonderful country and it has completely changed my outlook on life as well as completely changing my life.
The cost of calling Thailand is now unbelievable. It's now as low as half a pence per minute. Six years ago when I first used to call my friend in Thailand I was paying 96p a minute through our local telephone provider Kingston Communications. They probably still won't be far off that now! but that's what a local monopoly does for people. I soon learned about another provider called One Tel who I could get access to who would connect me for about 39p per minute. Being a bit nieve was quite happy with my 10 minute £3.90 phone calls and it took a while before I finally found 25p / 15p / 10p / 5p / calls and eventually 2p calls. When I found 1p I thought we would never find anything better - well we have now found half a pence per minute calls to Thailand.
Thai's Summer Fair On Sunday 2nd August 2009
One of the best decisions of my life was when I decided to take a trip to Thailand in 2002 for my summer holiday. It certainly wasn't the first choice as the distance and cost of getting there didn't make it one of the cheapest of the places we had shortlisted. One thing that was in it's favour though was that we knew a few people who had visited before and even some who had gone and never came back (through choice - nothing sinister) we decided to give it a try. After an 18 hour journey which included two 7 hour flights and a few hours in a taxi we finally arrived at our destination. From the moment we stepped out of the car the world changed into a happier place to be. The noise, the smells, the smiles, the whole frantic, chaotic, atmosphere that surrounded us was so exciting but at the same time strangely calming, it was all such a world apart from what any of us had known or had experienced before. You really did feel you had arrived somewhere which for the next 17 days could quite easily make you forget that the rest of the world existed.
There are many Thai's living in the UK who have moved here here due to marriage, education or to to find work. What do they really think of the UK, it's people and culture? Here's one persons view. Por moved to the UK 6 years ago and will give us her account (when she gets round to it of course!) of what she really thinks of living here and whether finely sliced carrots are really a suitable alternative to papaya? Is it better or worse and does she miss her friends and family (email and telephones are great things) or has it been fairly easy to adapt to a her new life? - Oh and she can grow a pineapple in a British garden too!
