Travel Notes—Thailand Chapter 2

"fate"

On the flight out, there was a couple sitting in front of us. We had a brief exchange on the plane and had a good impression of them. But after arriving in Thailand, about three or four days later, we actually met them at the Dusit Zoo. You know, Dusit Zoo is a less popular attraction, and it’s quite big inside. This has to be called a special fate. Regarding Dusit Zoo, the tickets are very cheap, only about 15 yuan, and there are quite a lot of animal species inside. But this is really a very unpopular attraction, with almost no tourists inside.

 

For foreigners, there are two most convenient ways to go from Bangkok to Pattaya. One is to take a taxi, which costs 1,500 baht per person, and the other is to take a bus, which costs just over 100 baht. Poor travelers like us will only choose the second option. The Bangkok East Line bus station we went to did not require any security checks. It is said that a car bomb riot occurred here. Here, an embarrassing thing happened. I saw an East Asian face, so I asked someone in Mandarin where they were going, and someone else replied, "Sorry, I am Korean." I was so embarrassed at that time. Everyone says that there are many Chinese people in Thailand. There is no doubt about this. But similarly, there are also many Koreans, Europeans and Americans.

Pattaya is a seaside city not far from Bangkok. When the songthaew made a sharp turn, we saw the sea! It feels different from Sanya. The feeling of being able to reach the sea just after a sharp turn is really great! The host of our B&B in Pattaya is a Chinese. I always hear people say that in foreign countries, it is always your compatriots who cheat you. Fortunately, our landlord is very nice, the price is very affordable, and the facilities inside are very complete. Speaking of this, I have to mention a funny thing. When Huang Lanju got up one morning to make breakfast, he actually took two eggs and put them directly into the microwave! ! Then I heard a pop in my sleep and the egg exploded. I really can't imagine that a science student doesn't even have this basic knowledge. So the microwave oven also broke, woo woo woo.

 

sunny beach

The water quality in downtown Pattaya is not good, so it is not beautiful either. So for the offshore project, we went to Grand Island near Pattaya. Grand Island is very beautiful, and the sand is so soft that you can sink half of your legs into it. Here, we played paragliding, banana boating, diving... We liked paragliding the most without explanation, it was super cool! ! You can see the whole city of Pattaya from above. It’s just that I was exposed to the sun for a day on this island. Even though I applied sunscreen, I still got sunburned.

 

The story of the songthaew

 

 

The car in the picture above is Pattaya’s special form of transportation, the songthaew. It's like taking a small truck and attaching it to a shed. This songthaew is equivalent to their bus. It stops at any time. If you want to get off, you just need to press the button on the bus. And no matter how far you ride, it only costs 10 baht, which is much cheaper than the transportation fee in Bangkok. In such a small car, we met all kinds of people. This brings us to our next topic.

 

MY COUNTRY

 

 

You may not be able to see clearly in the picture above. I wrote on the beach in Pattaya: People’s Republic of China. Continuing from the previous topic, I met a local Thai on a songthaew. He asked me, where are you from? I said: China. He asked me, which China? When I heard this, I was really, really angry. But we also met Taiwanese compatriots on the songthaew. Everyone understood each other and were very friendly. I know that the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are very friendly, but there are always some foreigners who like to cause trouble. In my case, no matter how many times he asks me, I will only answer, there's only one China. People's Republic of China.

In Thailand, it is not that everyone can understand Chinese. We speak English most of the time, and most ordinary Thais can also understand basic English. Therefore, when traveling in most non-English speaking countries, English is also used for communication.

Reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles. Some people have a stereotype about Thailand. When mentioning Thailand, they think of transvestites. In fact, during our trip, we didn't even plan to see a transvestite show. First, we are not interested, and secondly, do the people watching really watch with appreciation? It's just like watching animals in a zoo, even a little playful. We don't want this. During this journey, we saw Thailand’s travel tolerance, local culture, kind-hearted, ordinary locals, and compatriots working hard in a foreign country. At the same time, we also faced being ripped off by songthaew drivers and others suggesting the two-nation theory. I have to say that I have learned a lot and gained a little more accumulation in my heart. I enjoyed this patriotic education that I conducted myself.