Backpacking across Thailand this summer I discovered how this beautiful country challenged its tarnished reputation of drugs, crime & corruption.
Stuffing the hundredth pair of shorts into my minimal back
pack, exhausted late on a Sunday evening in August I felt another pang of
nerves in my stomach. This evening I was boarding an overnight train to Gatwick
airport where I was flying out to Thailand for my first ever backpacking
experience. Originally when I booked the
holiday several months before I was akin to a child on Christmas Eve,
unbelievably excited, I couldn't wait to visit the bright white beaches and
exotic streets Thailand has to offer. However doubt quickly kicked in, it
seemed to me that whoever I talked to and the media were persistently trying to
dampen the outlook on my dream holiday destination.
If it wasn't friends
recalling other ‘friends’ tales of taxi drivers refusing to take a single
tourist to their requested destination or drinks being spiked by drugs that
will cause you to assume the characteristics of a, it was T.V shows describing
how all young male adults will be lured into the beds of prostitutes and those
said prostitutes will steal all of their belongings or suggesting that the Thai
police are so corrupt half the time they are planting the drugs on travelers
themselves just to arrest them. My mind
was running wild with worries. The thought of Thai gangs snatching me from my
bed and being locked naked in a Thai jail as I couldn't escape the enormous
amount of drugs which apparently there is no way of avoiding in Thailand, they
were literally going to be stuffed into my pockets. I started to become very
anxious about my now looming travels but bit the bullet and went on my way. After spending just my first week in Thailand
I realised how wrong all these rumours, assumptions or whatever they were
actually are. 
Thailand is known as the land of smiles and it certainly
lived up to its title. Something which
immediately becomes apparent anywhere in Thailand is the incredible generosity
and kindness that the Thai people show, not just to each but to foreigners too.
Taxi drivers would help you with heavy backpacks, restaurant owners would show
they were genuinely grateful for your custom with a striking smile and any
favour you asked would never be too much trouble. Occurrences that most people
would expect anywhere, but if truth be told a rarity in the UK now. Even in the
bustling streets of Bangkok where merchants on the pavements are trying to sell
you everything from an iPhone to a samurai sword, when a passer-by replies “no
thank you” most will move onto the next passer by and let them walk on, unlike
some European holiday destinations where shopkeepers will almost bundle you
into their shops. 
I don’t want to sound arrogant but even the prostitutes were
kind and friendly. Every country has their fair share of sex workers, although
in Thailand let’s just say they’re not as discreet, a little more explicit.
Whilst in Chang Mai in northern Thailand, my partner and I decided to watch a
traditional Thai boxing match, called Muay Thai. As we took a seat in a bar
around the ring I couldn’t help but notice I was the only western female, there
were plenty of apparently single western men but I was the only girl. Looking
around at all the Asian women in skin tight dresses and skyscraper heels, it
started to dawn on me that in fact I wasn’t just the only western female but
probably the only female in the vicinity that wasn’t willing to be paid for sex
that evening. At first I felt extremely awkward, I thought I stuck out like a
sore thumb and that all the Thai women were going to suddenly turn on me as I
was an outsider. I soon found out just how wrong I was. The ladies serving
drinks and showing us to our seats were extra attentive and warm towards me,
perhaps they were just happy I wasn’t going to grope them but oh well they made
me feel very welcome and I really enjoyed their company. 
An irritation I did have at first was, as a very organised
person, adjusting to ‘Thai Time’. The locals will always keep their word that
they would do something for you, just never expect them to be on time or do
anything with any haste. Always book a taxi at least half an hour before you
actually need it! However I began to realise this isn’t a negative element of
the Thai culture, it reflects their relaxed way of life with minimal stress and
worries, which to be honest was a breath of fresh air for someone like me who
always has a million things to do. 
Another worry which the media and idle chat burdened on me
was the idea that crime was very high in Thailand, especially petty theft
targeted towards tourists. This led me to regrettably leave my Kindle and many
other valuable items I would have otherwise taken at home. Yet again I found no
truth in this assumption, even sleeping on an overnight train from Bangkok to
Surat Thani (in southern Thailand) all my luggage including my passport and money
had to be stored on the aisles where anyone could access it, remained untouched
and perfectly safe. Surprisingly enough, the only crime that I witnessed was
when the iPhone of one of the girls I was travelling with was stolen by another
British tourist.
One thing I did encounter whilst in Thailand was drugs,
although it was nothing like the over dramatic picture a lot of people paint.
Yes in some bars you can pick up a joint with your rum and coke, just as easily
as you would pick up a packet of pork scratching’s alongside your pint at home,
never the less no one is putting that joint into your mouth and is completely
up to personal choice. Even when I
revelled at one of the infamous beach parties on the island of Koh Phangan I
didn’t see or hear anything of any illegal drugs, the farangs
(the Thai
nickname for a foreigner) and locals were purely there to have fun and alcohol
seemed to serve that purpose well enough.
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