My Trip to Thailand Part 1 Bangkok

[Billy]

Chan, I think the name of the place is Sukothai... I have not yet been there, but I can recommend Ayutthaya. If you like ancient wats and lots of Buddha 'stuff' this place is memorable. The city is on an inner river island.

I think bike riding there would be something I could handle.. it's flat! My question would be, how would I get that bike into my hotel room?*

Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement
www.RetireEarlyLifestyle.com

[dougdo]

Ah, maybe I should try out Thailand...

Mexico certainly is not feeling very cheap anymore. And seems to be getting more and more americanized.

But I think next week I'll move on from Guadalajara to southern Mexico (Oaxaca state) so that should be a little less developed. Check out the blog in a few weeks time (or sign up for the mailing list if you'dl like updates).

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Doug,

Have you visited Xalapa? Tepic? Zacatecas? These places look interesting and not Yankee-fied yet. Zacatecas is said to have few beggars on the streets, which is a good reflection on the economic health of the area, I would think (and would make my wife especially a lot more comfortable).

So, Guad is getting expensive? This is important information.

Cheers.

Ed

[dougdo]

Some things are cheap, some things are more than in the USA or Canada. This is the same as Costa Rica of course; if it's imported, it's more. For me that's not the problem. The problem is that most of the people i meet, who are invariably of the middle and upper classes, seem to have embraced the consumerist, more-is-better culture and so they want to spend like we were back at home. In Costa Rica, I found life still generally revolved around family and friends, here I am getting the impression that this is changing...

You could live here quite cheaply if you wanted to I think.

[pbrane]

Ahhh... Guadalajara. I have some fond memories from time spent there on a few trips (including a full summer attempting to learn some espanol) back in the early 80's. I lived with a middle class family in a nice neighborhood. But I remember walking to school every morning and I'd play a game of counting how many rats I'd see along the way. And then I wrote my final speech for class on the topic of rodents (trying to be funny) and I'll never forget the look on my teacher's face (disapproval).

I did a bit of travel around the area and one of my favorite little towns was Patzcuaro, where I first got the idea that I could maybe retire early in Mexico, because I had this huge hotel room in a restored mansion with a balcony overlooking the town square for around $5 a nite. Too bad it's no longer cheap there... (is it?)

happy travels

[WanderALot]

Originally Posted by Billy

Chan, I think the name of the place is Sukothai... I have not yet been there, but I can recommend Ayutthaya. If you like ancient wats and lots of Buddha 'stuff' this place is memorable. The city is on an inner river island.

Hi Billy,

I think Chan is actually referring to Ayutthaya since it's so close to BKK. I actually liked Sukothai better since it was way more atmospheric. I believe Sukothai was also a former capital.

[dougdo]

Hmm, maybe the rats have been pushed out by gentrification...i didn't see any! Although there's certainly enough garbage laying around for them.

I'm not in Guanajuato...wow, what a pretty place. Fricking cold though at the moment.

[Chan]

Yes, it was Ayutthaya.

What impressed me was the tranquility there, the whole area seems so abandoned, one could hardly imagine that it was once the capital city of Thailand.