Hard to believe life in Thailand has come to a close. I really didn't know what to expect from this place, as I knew so little about it beforehand. Other than a place to party, or course. I think Thailand definitely has that, but living proved to be a bit of a challenge. There's a certain type of people that Thailand really meshes with, and they absolutely love it here.

To give an example, there's a show the BBC did (all available on Youtube) called "Bangkok Airport". In one of the episodes, it follows this tourist who came here and fell in love with it. He came with all his friends, and they went on a bender the night before and missed their flight. So while their friends tried to arrange a new ticket, he decides he wants a beer. He disappears, his friends get a new flight, and are forced to abandon him because it's leaving. So he tries in vain to get another one, and he does, 24 hours later. He goes back in Bangkok to party on Khao San, and takes 6 Xanax bought from a shady pharmacy. The next day, surprisingly not dead, arrives very late. He doesn't rush, he instead stops in the airport because he saw some instant noodles he wanted. He made his flight by seconds.

Now, my whole time watching this, I kept thinking "This guy is a fucking idiot", which, he is. He wasted a ton of money, time, and his health over what... one beer? But yet, this behavior is very typical of Thais, so I can see why he fit in. It has its upsides, though. The Thai lifestyle is very low stress, and aside from the ones that pop 6 Xanax, I'd guess stress related conditions are not as prevalent here. Anyway, as I've done with China and Taiwan, I'd like to talk about the not so great things about Thailand, and finish on a positive note with the things I love about this crazy place.

- Thais can be a lot like children. They can be very selfish, and tend to not think beyond the immediate. This can waste a lot of money and time down the road, which they don't seem to have an issue with.

- People are really lazy here. It's difficult to get anyone to do anything not involving sleep or playing on their phone. Even in front of you.

- This country is a lot different for a single white guy versus a couple, or girls. I'm hesitant to say racism, because that has a connotation of a dislike. Its more like, just accepted you treat x people x way. White single guys are rich people just here to get drunk and find girls, and since they're all rich, you can rip them off. I can't count how many times I've received the incorrect change (oddly never in my favor), how many taxi drivers ask to take me to some party area, or how many girls grab my arm to try and drag me to some massage parlor. This doesn't usually happen when I'm with Ella.

- They assume if you can't speak Thai you are an idiot. You'd be amazed at how differently people treat you when you open with Thai instead of English.

- Thailand, even more so than the rest of Asia, is about surface over substance. They will promote x to hell and back, but actually do no quality control or even care about what it is. They put on an appearance that they're moving mountains, yet are actually doing nothing.

- They're always late. Everything is late. They promise it will be on time. It won't be, because the driver felt like stopping to have a cigarette, or something that easily could have been prevented with foresight caught up to them.

- Jeez, Thai immigration is godamn complicated! You have to go every 90 days to "check in", which is a half day affair.

But, enough of that. Let's talk about the good things!

+ Thai food is great. It's cheap, delicious, healthy, and has raised my spice tolerance beyond imagination.

+ Heck, everything is cheap cheap! If you want to live like a king you can, but if you're a cheapskate like me, the bar can go really, really low.

+ Despite their lack of a comprehensive metro system, getting around Bangkok as well as Thailand is quite cheap and easy, albeit time consuming.

+ There is always something to do. Bangkok has so many districts with their own personality and events, or you can just jet off to some small town. They'll have a tourist office to point you in the right direction.

+ Thais believe if you're going to do something, you might as well have fun with it. They're a very silly, bold, and creative group of people, and I think we all could learn from them.

+ They never stress about anything. I've never seen an upset Thai, even in the most shitty situations.

+ Even the most rural areas have a plethora of 7-11s, ATMs and 3G mobile coverage. Rock on.

+ I'm apparently alone in this, but every police officer I've interacted with has been really cool and helpful. Even when I messed up.

+ Nothing is censored or PC. Sex, alcohol, violence, and other vices are not taboo, and even surprisingly young ones have no problem talking about it. Yet they approach it with a level of maturity befitting someone quite older than themselves.

+ Thais really love their king, and to be fair, they lucked out and got a really good one. And while the prince has some big shoes to fill, the much beloved princess has stepped in to be the new face of the royal family - who also happens to be a great person.

+ Bangkok is the best travel hub ever. They have tons of international flights, and so many low cost airlines you can travel around Asia for nothing.


And that just about wraps it up, except for the collection of favorite Thailand pics. This was a difficult one.