Goodbye India, Welcome Thailand

Meeting my lovely brother in Bangkok

As annoying, overbearing and hard as India was on our last day there, as comfortable, easy and indulging Thailand has been. Although I've visited both countries in my previous travel, it was almost a year and 8 countries apart. This time the change was so sharp.

Thais like their Buddhas gilded

In India people often stare at you as you walk around. Foreigners are so interesting and it's way too frequent that one curious guy would walk to you saying "you country!" or "come from!" or, the scholarly version, "what is your native place?". It's amusing, adorable, helps strike a random conversation and sometimes so misplaced, especially if you were just in a middle of a conversation with your friends or just in the middle of singing and playing the guitar. Privacy isn't an issue as it's existence in India is fictional. Thailand feels more like back home: almost nobody gives you a second look and cares about you when you're in the street.

Culinary superiority. As much as two vegans can appreciate vegetarian food in India, the food we've had in the Kaho San road on our first days was so much tastier, healthier and cleaner than what we usually managed to come by in India. Many people often drool on Indian cuisine but our taste buds welcomed tofu, noodles, great fruits and freshly cut vegetables with much delight. The coconuts in Thailand taste SO MUCH better than in India. They often put them on ice and each coconut feels like a treat.

Easy to fatten up in Thailand :)

Cleanliness. Hard to compare even. Thailand's dirtiest places are on par with India's cleanest. The air, the ground, the people, the animals. Everything seems cleaner and healthier. In both countries one has to take of his shoes going to holier or private places. In India the floor is almost always dirty on the "clean" side as well. In Thailand, the "clean" side is vigorously kept clean.

Buddha seems relaxed, so why shouldn't we be relaxed?

Smiles. That's where India always wins. Being a guy, you can look into anyone's eyes and smile and you're very likely to get a good smile back. Add a head wobble and you'll receive one as well. It's not as good to try that being a girl since they'll assume flirtatious behavior.

Remembering the days of phone cards

Prices. Thailand is surely more expensive but the feeling is that often you get your money's worth.

Bangkok from the river looks quite different

Transportation: there is so much extra space on Thai buses that, coming from India, I kept thinking we can put 3 times more people in the bus and still feel more comfortable than on Indian buses. The roads are often better than the ones in Israel and you often get a smooth ride rather than an almost off-road experience you often get in India.

Free cola on a local bus in Bangkok, it was a Sikh holiday.

Working on Colnect while on the road, seems Thailand is a much better option than India. Visa issues are simpler with India though, although on the long run Thailand might win on that as well.

Gilded Frognector fan near Pattaya

To summarize, it's not hard to understand why many westerns base themselves in Thailand which offers all western comforts in eastern prices. India has it's appeal as well but it's surely a different one and won't fit many people who are addicted to comforts. India is more challenging and has it's peaks and lows.