Well, this is another fine mess we’re in.

I leave Bangkok for a few days, and all hell breaks loose. Believe it or not, that happens to me a lot. But that’s another story. What I want to address now is you, and your travel plans. Normally, I’m not one to encourage people to change their plans, if they were going to come to Thailand, and it did look like things were starting to settle down again. However, right now, with what has happened this [Friday] morning, even I’m thinking about where else I might rather be. So, let’s evaluate your alternative options:

Bangkok

This is perhaps the hardest one. There really isn’t any place quite like Bangkok. Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are a bit too sterile, Jakarta is way too hard to get around, and Vietianne, Yangon or Phnom Penh are just too small. That leaves us with Ho Chi Minh City as the best option for a city experience, with Hanoi a close second.

Chiang Mai / Northern Thailand

This one is a bit easier. Luang Prabang easily matches Chiang Mai for charm, although Hue also comes to mind. I also tend to think of Phnom Penh as having that same small cosmopolitan city vibe as Chiang Mai. It’s not very big, but has some great restaurants and interesting museums, as well as some fabulous small hotels. I also think of Ubud in Bali as very comparable to Chiang Mai for the arts and adventure scene.

Samui / Phuket / etc.

Beaches are the easiest of all. There are dozens of possibilities. Tioman Island in Malaysia, which I’ve just returned from, is a less developed version of Samui. Then, of course, there’s Bali, the obvious choice for a beach destination.

All this is not to say that you should change your plans, especially if they’re for later this year. The thing about Thailand is that, as bad as things can get - and this is about as bad as they’ve been since 1992 - they do seem to get over it quickly. Things may seem bleak today, but by this time next week it may be practically forgotten. Still, it never hurts to think about "Plan B" just in case…

Posted by michael under Life in Thailand
Tags: Thailand
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