Have you ever been to Cambodia? I have always wanted to visit Phnom Penh, mostly because I feel like it is one of those underrated majestic regions here in Asia. I had this plan to solo travel Cambodia as soon as a holiday was insight. And then, my friend dangled Thailand in my face and next thing you know I was looking at tickets to Phuket instead.
Once I signed the doted line, I was starting to imagine myself on the beach, worry-free and sipping on something good- that cliché image you get with Phuket package ads you know. I was starting to get excited for Thailand Mat. She was going to take in the beautiful views, busting life of Thai cities, and eat to the max of her capacity at the food market. I watched a number of documentaries and read enough blog articles to get my expectations really high. There were some nasty and scary stories too, but which place doesn’t have? Given the amount of hype Thailand has, at least from my own circles, I was expecting the tourist sites to be over-crowded. That wasn’t the case though, and I must say, coming from one of the most populated places in the world, I truly appreciated it. Not so much the heat, humidity, and the different “interesting” smells everywhere.
There was so much I wanted to explore but I also had to remember that I only had a few days in the country and our trip was split into two cities too. To make use of the time more efficiently and ensure that we visit as much as possible, we signed up on one of those organized itineraries, which is so not my way of traveling. I like a flexible plan, one where you can stray away from the path easily. My main quest for this trip was to snorkel in the islands and gobble on Thai cuisine. And I can safely say, mission accomplished! The islands are as advertised, but of course, don’t just take my word for it, book that flight! I wanted to try the famous Tom Yum dish, but it just didn’t look appetizing, I chickened out every single time. My friends were not fans of the Thai food, that might have played a role too. Nonetheless, I did try some other Thai dishes, and really enjoyed them. One thing I can say, Thai people love to deep fry, you cannot go for more than few feet without someone deep frying something in the streets. They even had deep fried chicken feet! That Mzansi flame in us couldn’t resist 😉 The locals from our hotel and just in general in Phuket were so welcoming. Everywhere we went someone would just randomly scream out Mandela! at us….Funny, strange, and something. I am not sure if its because they do not get a lot of Africans, or if they get way too much, but Thai people get so excited at the sight of Africans, the kind of excitement that gives off a warm energy- I liked them.
From Phuket we headed for Bangkok, which has some kind of city centre Johannesburg vibes. At this point I was starting to think about my school work and what I need to get done after the holiday…It was almost over :'(. During our visit there was a national celebration of the coronation of the new king and so some places were closed early or not operating at all. One of the things I like best in Bangkok though was the floating market. It’s a different world out there, nothing like it! Too bad I don’t have a good picture, but rust me, Google will not fail you.
I’m more of a solo backpacker style person, but this trip, I did the opposite. I learned to embrace a different style of traveling I guess. I entrusted a travel agency to plan my trip, went for the hotel instead of a backpacker, and boxed myself into organized itinerary. And even though some stops were too much of a “go, take a picture, and get out” kind of vibes- really just a tease, overall, money well spent. I liked it so much I’m considering moving to Phuket next, I mean this way I will get to really soak in those views right. What do you guys think?
matshidisolp 