Holidaymakers
Being in a real international tourist destination you see an entirely different clientele to almost all the other places I've been to. Especially having moved to the tourist hub on the island of Chaweng it's particularly noticeable that there's a class of tourists, holidaymakers really, which I'd more expect to see lining the playas of the Spanish costas and the Balearics. However flying is cheap enough these days that jetting off to the likes of Thailand isn't at all as exclusive a thing as might be thought.
I suppose hanging around all these trendy backpacker hostels over recent weeks has made me snobby. You become used to everyone being on some semi-epic trip, if not circumnavigating the globe then they're cycling, climbing or generally going out of their way to reach into realms of the adventure, or so it often seems. In contrast coming to a beach resort, not bucket and spade but still very much open to the masses has come as quite a shock; that an entirely different type of traveller can exist. In fact on thinking about it there's something about Thailand on the whole that attracts those of a different ilk, even within the confines of the backpacker fraternity. Those I came across in Chengdu, generally getting their things together for the push into Tibet seem to be almost entirely apart from the tanned and extensively tattooed folk that can be found in and around the backpacker mecca of Khao San road in Bangkok.
I suppose different destinations establish their own cultures and lure a clientele to match. Here there's a definite element of drinking and clubbing but there's a wider range of visitors too. In the cheap and perfectly cheerful place I'm staying in by the beach there's everyone from young backpackers to older Australian couples and no doubt many shades inbetween. There are wide range of services to cater for this diversity too: on the beachfront alone you can take your pick from bars pumping out club beats to some particularly refined high class dining, although I've yet to indulge in either just yet.
Oddly, tourist destinations in this part of the world seem to breed large numbers of tailor shops, although I can't for the life of me see why. Picture the scene: you're walking down the main street of the resort in your shorts eyeing up the dining options or similar; is this really the moment you're going to be considering getting a nice suit done up cheap? Yet someone must do otherwise all these south Asian tailors wouldn't have set up shop here. As a backpacker though the very thought of having a suit made is preposterous and predictable efforts by the shop owners to get me to take a look at their business, be it an attempt at a handshake or one of a variety of tired opening gambits are given the disrespect they deserve. Suits indeed! I don't think I've worn a suit in over two years and (no pun intended) that suits me just fine.
Fortunately though, unsolicited approaches here are largely limited to tailors, beachfront restaurateurs, massage parlours and taxis, oh and after a certain time in the evening Thai ladies in bars. Now this is another thing I fail to understand: here you see masses of Western guys with Thai girlfriends or wives, but to be honest I really can't see what they see in them. I suppose it's an eye of the beholder thing or maybe the locals are any easy pick-up, I can but speculate and to be honest I'd just as rather not know. It's all part of what goes on in Thailand, and it is certainly all going on, if in a pleasantly tranquil off-season sort of way.
I suppose hanging around all these trendy backpacker hostels over recent weeks has made me snobby. You become used to everyone being on some semi-epic trip, if not circumnavigating the globe then they're cycling, climbing or generally going out of their way to reach into realms of the adventure, or so it often seems. In contrast coming to a beach resort, not bucket and spade but still very much open to the masses has come as quite a shock; that an entirely different type of traveller can exist. In fact on thinking about it there's something about Thailand on the whole that attracts those of a different ilk, even within the confines of the backpacker fraternity. Those I came across in Chengdu, generally getting their things together for the push into Tibet seem to be almost entirely apart from the tanned and extensively tattooed folk that can be found in and around the backpacker mecca of Khao San road in Bangkok.
I suppose different destinations establish their own cultures and lure a clientele to match. Here there's a definite element of drinking and clubbing but there's a wider range of visitors too. In the cheap and perfectly cheerful place I'm staying in by the beach there's everyone from young backpackers to older Australian couples and no doubt many shades inbetween. There are wide range of services to cater for this diversity too: on the beachfront alone you can take your pick from bars pumping out club beats to some particularly refined high class dining, although I've yet to indulge in either just yet.
Oddly, tourist destinations in this part of the world seem to breed large numbers of tailor shops, although I can't for the life of me see why. Picture the scene: you're walking down the main street of the resort in your shorts eyeing up the dining options or similar; is this really the moment you're going to be considering getting a nice suit done up cheap? Yet someone must do otherwise all these south Asian tailors wouldn't have set up shop here. As a backpacker though the very thought of having a suit made is preposterous and predictable efforts by the shop owners to get me to take a look at their business, be it an attempt at a handshake or one of a variety of tired opening gambits are given the disrespect they deserve. Suits indeed! I don't think I've worn a suit in over two years and (no pun intended) that suits me just fine.
Fortunately though, unsolicited approaches here are largely limited to tailors, beachfront restaurateurs, massage parlours and taxis, oh and after a certain time in the evening Thai ladies in bars. Now this is another thing I fail to understand: here you see masses of Western guys with Thai girlfriends or wives, but to be honest I really can't see what they see in them. I suppose it's an eye of the beholder thing or maybe the locals are any easy pick-up, I can but speculate and to be honest I'd just as rather not know. It's all part of what goes on in Thailand, and it is certainly all going on, if in a pleasantly tranquil off-season sort of way.
posted by Daniel at 5:50 am
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