Your allotted time in Thailand is coming to an end. But like most foreigners who visit the Land of Smiles you’re not ready to leave just yet. Assuming you want to stay, you know you have to do a visa run, but which method do you choose? Do you hire an agency for a modest price to take you to the border and handle all your paperwork? Or do you choose to do it alone? After all, you probably took the journey to Thailand alone. So why not deepen your travel experiences? If you’ve been entertaining the idea but don’t know where to start then this post is for you. One of the closest border crossings in Thailand is the Thailand—Cambodian (Aranyaprathet—Poi Pet) … [Read more...]
Diary of a 124 LB Fat Chick – My Experience with Fat Shaming in Thailand
I have a folder on my desktop that reads Diary Of A 124 LB Fat Chick. It's a piece I've been working on intermittently since arriving in North America from Thailand last year. The topic evokes a potent mix of rage meets shame meets frustration meets helplessness within me. This all adds to why I haven't published it until today. In honour of Eating Disorders Awareness Week which occurred last month, I've decided to publish it raw. I could edit the piece, make it less emotional and more fluid but I've decided against it. The form very much addresses the headspace I was experiencing at the time and emotions I suspect others may deal with. Diary of a 124 LB Fat Chick This is what … [Read more...]
A Breather – The Update
It has been quite awhile since I've written a proper update. Going through the site, I now realize I haven't written one since September 23, 2012. It's currently January 24, 2013. Four months. In short, I'm in limbo. Not lost. Not in a state of futility. Rather a state of regeneration and gestation. Unlike a number of people who publicly write about their experiences in Thailand and South East Asia, my time spent there did some damage both to my self esteem and my view of humanity. Damage had I realized was occurring to the extent that it was, when it was, I would have departed earlier. The way I choose to live my life, intensified by being a female … [Read more...]
Are You A Woman Traveling To Thailand? Some Basic Things You Should Know.
In July 2012 a Dutch woman was allegedly raped and beaten in the Ao Nang district of Krabi by her Thai tour guide. In October the victim's father published a music video entitled Evil Man From Krabi to confront the issue. Local Thai police and Thai Tourism Minister Chumpol Silapa-archa responded that the incident is not being considered rape as the woman had consented to dinner with the man. Read more here and here. The situation provoked me to publish the following in an effort to educate you on some very basic realities in Thailand that may influence your time there. Feminism In Thailand Feminism hasn't hit Thailand. Neither has the dissolution of class … [Read more...]
Blackmail And The Illusion Of Sex
The cold water hit my spine and slid down my back. I was in the women's change room of the community pool in Buriram, alone. It was approximately noon. I had finished my laps and was preparing to go pick up some lunch. There was a knock on my shower door. This was unusual. I asked who it was. It was one of the pubescent boys I had met in the pool. The conversation as I remember it: "I'm showering. I'll see you when I'm done." "I want to shower too." This confused me. "I'll see you when I'm done." "I want to shower with you. Can I shower with you?" The fact this individual was … [Read more...]
The Drone- Sexual Predatory Behaviour In Thailand
It's difficult to convey a nameless feeling that encroaches with time, one that shadows the furthering of one's understanding of their place in a culture alien to the one they left behind. This difficulty is deeply accentuated when little is written on the subject and the subject itself is taboo to approach. For those of you who read MBSB regularly, you are keenly aware that for months now, I've been discussing my experiences as a Foreign woman in Thailand with tenacity. Today will be no different. Today's entry is a direct result of my post, Visa Runs In Thailand And Why I Now Fear Them. However, the stories presented on this day have no summary, no effort … [Read more...]
Officers – My Experiences With Thai Police As A Solo Female Traveler
Please note, for the sake of the privacy of all people involved and my own personal safety, I have omitted names and cities and will not respond to any emails inquiring about either. My dealings with the police in Thailand have been as varied and seemingly random as most other things here, which lends both to the country's beauty and its instability. The Thailand I know is not as systematic as Western countries I'm familiar with and the accountability of one's actions is often overlooked. This is dependent on, but not limited to, one's connections, social standing (which is often dictated at birth), wealth and the Thai convention of not approaching things directly. … [Read more...]
Visa Runs In Thailand And Why I Now Fear Them
The stress, frustration and rage that I felt this passing week in regards to my upcoming visa run to the Cambodian border exasperates me. I'm confused by my response to it. I judge my inability to be impartial to it. I wonder if living in Thailand has made me stronger or it has broken me. I will not leave this country the same as when I arrived. To be brief, visa runs essentially fall on the dates Thai immigration deems you must leave the country. You are allowed back into Thailand on the same day without having to obtain a new visa. For example, I was given a triple entry tourist visa after not being able to extend the business visa I was allowed for … [Read more...]
A Taste Of Cookie: How I Overdosed In A Filipino Hospital
Written on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 This happened yesterday. The effects of my sickness have yet to wear off. Even the rhythm of the sea's waves as it reaches my ears causes nausea. I'm writing you from Urbiztondo Beach, San Juan, La Union, The Philippines. At this approximate time of 5:00 pm yesterday I was vomiting in a San Fernando hospital, less than a twenty minute drive away wondering if I had been poisoned. The day began with a late morning surf at the area known as Cement Factory which is a twenty-five minute drive in the opposite direction on the same stretch of highway leading to San Fernando. … [Read more...]
Tips for Women Traveling to Thailand
Hi Ladies, The following contains a collection of pieces I created in an effort to provide information to ease your time in Thailand. That which I wish I had known before stepping off the plane. That which seems to be excluded from travel guides. I've also included other resources to help you along your way. I hope the following will assist you in making better informed decisions in Thailand and perhaps provide comfort for those of you who are experiencing similar circumstances and are wondering if it's normal, just you, or if you're reading situations incorrectly. The following is incredibly important for women traveling alone. Please be advised, some of my stories may … [Read more...]
Sex and Dating in Thailand (Including a Single White Girl Trying to Understand Her Place in It All)
I realized after my post Racism in Thailand - A Day in The Life of a White Woman in Buriram went live, that a peek into Thai public and private life between the sexes, as I know it, may be in order. It will give that piece, in addition to many of the pieces here on MBSB some context. When I speak of Thailand in the piece I'm currently writing you, it is the Thailand I know, the Thailand that is more culturally conservative from, my understanding of, the tourist areas and the culture presented by those Thai nationals who either are literate in a foreign, more specifically Western culture / language and those who have studied overseas. Perhaps when I speak of Thailand and Thai nationals in … [Read more...]
Racism in Thailand – a Day in the Life of a White Woman in Buriram
There is racism that is intended and there is the innocent racism that arises out of ignorance. Let me give you an example of the latter... Hmm....scratch that first draft. I'm conjuring numerous instances of racism I've faced in Thailand, most notably in Buriram, and with each instance that currently comes to mind, there is the ever pervasive thought....I don't know if that's innocent, but I do know it wasn't intended to harm, at least not overtly (in the way many of us Westerners have come to expect of racist remarks and/or actions). Rather, the intent was to remind me of my place. In the Thailand I know, someone in a position of esteem and/or power reminding someone … [Read more...]