What Living in Thailand Taught Me

A friend of mine was lamenting about the language challenges of visiting Japan. As a result, he did not enjoy his travels to Japan. On the other hand, despite my lack of Japanese language skills, I loved my trip to Japan. I pondered about our two different reactions to the same circumstance.

My conclusion? Living in Thailand has made me more open to visiting a foreign country where English is not the first language and is not widely used by a wide majority of the locals. I admit it was tough going for me the first couple of months living in Bangkok. I remember my frustration during my first grocery shopping trip. I could not figure out the laundry detergent to buy for my top-loader washing machine because all the packaging was in the Thai language. Thankfully, I later found another supermarket that had small English labels on the shelf. There was another time when we were eating at a local open-air restaurant. As we were not well-versed with the Thai language at that time, we pointed to a dish that another patron was eating, thinking it was fried squid. When our dish came, it turned out to be fried intestine!

There are probably a dozen or more such stories - driving on an unfamiliar highway interstate and not being able to read the Thai detour directions, having to memorize a few local Thai dishes names so we could order at local shops when we travelled out of Bangkok, not being able to understand the commentaries when watching a Thai performance, etc, etc. As a result of having experienced first hand the language challenges of living in a foreign country, I think that I have become more accepting of people who don't speak English and perhaps, even more adaptable when visiting a country like Japan.

Live and learn!

Hua Hin Beach Resort - Plearn Wan

Hua Hin Beach Resort is a favourite destination among Thais. Unlike Pattaya, Hua Hin is fairly unknown to foreigners or farangs. Located 200 kms south of Bangkok, this is a popular weekend getaway with journey ranging from 2.5 - 3.5 hours depending on traffic conditions. Anyone who's lived in Bangkok can attest to the heavy traffic on the expressways leading into and out of the city!

In addition to the refreshing seabreeze, cooling waters, fresh seafood, there is much to do in Hua Hin if one wants a different scene. Our friends took us to Plearn Wan. It is described as a “Center of joy and happiness ... stop the past in order to tell the various tales of Hua Hin in the past ... toward present” on its website. It's actually a huge wooden complex designed based on the old wooden shops in the past, with shops and stalls selling food, souveniers, etc.

Highly popular with the local tourists (colourful buses, MPVs and cars fill the parking lot beside Plearn Wan on weekends) due to the cutesy shops and numerous photo opportunities (Thais love photography), it really is quite fun walking around the shops, snapping away and deciding which yummy desserts to try.

I highly recommend the soft love letter made on the spot. You can choose from a couple of different flavours - yam, banana, etc. Absolutely delicious!


Who can resist one of Thailands most famous desserts - mango sticky rice ("kao niao mang muang")?


Mini crispy pancakes with a choice of fillings - shredded coconut, sweet corn, taro, kaya (coconut jam), etc, etc.


Have some ice cold local coffee to accompany dessert, very similar to Malaysia's local coffee. I thought that the use of the rafia string to hold the paper cup was quite clever!


Watch a local artisan at work as he fashions a horse from candy...


Admire old and current photos of the royal family. It is very common to see shops hang pictures of the royal family from various eras. The Thais highly revere the king. This particular shop in Plearn Wan had quite a good selection of prints for sale.


I was told that in the evening, the look and feel of Plearn Wan is quite different from the day. Unfortunately, time did not permit for us to make a return visit at dusk. Still, we had a pleasant time roaming the "streets" of Plearn Wan, experiencing a little bit of "old" Thailand.

ChokChai Farm, Bangkok, Thailand

There is more to Bangkok than just shopping, temples, food and adult entertainment. There is something for kids too. One such place is ChokChai Farm. When my 5-year old niece came over to visit us in Bangkok, we decided to pay a visit to the farm. To our pleasant surprise, we adults enjoyed it too.

ChokChai Farm (named after its founder) is located about 1.5 hours drive out of Bangkok. The farm produces milk and milk-related products as well as beef for local consumption. The farm conducts Agro Tours to give tourists a chance to experience farm life and watch various types of animals and cowboy performances. A little point to note - the tour is conducted in Thai. But you know what, it really doesn't matter if you don't understand the language as the performances don't really need words.

The tour starts off with a short introductory video of the beginnings of the farm. Then, the group is ushered to the milking parlor. Volunteers are given the opportunity to try it out themselves!

Next, we head to the Ice Cream workshop where we watched a video and see how ice cream is made. Then, we got a small ice-cream to sample. After you've tasted the milky ice-cream, you'll be tempted to stop at one of the many stores during the tour to buy one! (I guess that's the whole point...)

Hop on the open-air wagon cum bus and we're off on the tour of the farm. During the sunflower season (December), we passed by cheerful fields of sunflowers and rolls of hay. After a short ride, we arrive at the cowboy station where we were entertained by skilled Thai cowboys performing riding, lassoing and gun slinging tricks.

You can also pay a small fee to ride on the horses. If horses aren't your cup of tea, have a go at the ATVS.
A short bus ride away, we arrive at the children's favourite stop. Be entertained by the clever Chok Chai dogs. There are lots more pictures on Kess' blog.

Then, experience the animals first-hand at the petting zoo. Come eye-to-eye with a deer.

Cuddle a soft, wooly lamb...

...and feed a hungry calf.
Fulfill a child's dream to ride on a pony.

End the tour with a delicious steak at ChokChai's Steakhouse located at the entrance of the farm. Unfortunately, we were too hungry and polished off our plates before we took any pictures. Last but not least, finish off with milk ice cream for dessert and buy some souveniers for your family and friends. The milk sweets are yummy. All in all, ChokChai Farm makes a great family outing. There is more to Bangkok!

P.S. This is not a paid post.