I actually went to heaven first before that - trip to hell. Paradise comes before that hell garden. I guess I just wanted to see both sides. There was this place I visited called Maya Bay, it is a stunning bay surrounded by towering cliffs and pristine beaches. The whole bay is like a big reef teeming with marine life. It is a perfect example of a tropical paradise.
There was a time in my life that I had a very short hair. And back in the day, I was young, sweet and less whiny. I was still excited to talk to other travelers. As a first-time traveler, I was eager to see every tourist spot and meet new people. But I wasn't really disappointed, I met this nice Malaysian family and some guy in this island-hopping tour. In my experience, Malaysian people are always kind and helpful - even in another country.
Island-hopping tours like this is actually very cool. You get to meet different people, you have delicious food on board, and you will be taken to snorkeling spots and beautiful islands. It's a whole day adventure so there's a chance that you will be talking to everyone on the boat. It's a proper fun activity.
Due to the islands' beauty, I can imagine that these are very touristic and commercialized spots now. As traveling becomes affordable and backpacking has gone mainstream, everyone wants to visit this country. Some people even want to live in this country because it is beautiful and you can live here like a king. You can do whatever you want if you have money especially if your currency has more value here - flaunt your privileges and neo-colonialistic attitude to the locals and all that. The thing is, there are already way too many expats here now (mostly Europeans and Americans) and I can imagine that the Thai people are very, very tired of their attitude especially if some are being disrespectful to the culture. Apparently, this country is not designed to make you feel comfortable - it is designed to make you richer. People going to other countries to find opportunities to have better lives is a different case. Sometimes I have no patience with people who demand the first-world comfort here - I can only understand so much. I'm sure some of you have heard of countless horror stories of the foreign tourists' misbehavior in the news and you might even deny being connected to these people in any way. But what can you do, countries like this also live off tourism, offering all kinds - adventure, luxury, cultural and even sex tourism. Where else can you go to cheaply fuck and dump exotic Thai girls just to satisfy your fetish fantasies? Anyway, these girls are just trying to survive in this cruel world.
Maya Bay has become a popular tourist attraction because of that movie "The Beach". I heard that they try to make some crazy renovation on this island just for that blockbuster film. I heard that they tried to replace the vegetation but there was already some serious effect on nature. And that it has never been the same. But hey, it's all for the money - but what great benefit would it be for this country? The backpacker lifestyle is actually ruining the place. A part of me wants that traveling to this country should no longer be made affordable to everyone just as most of the locals here could not afford to travel to other countries anyway. Think hard.
Unfortunately, it is quite impossible to just easily go on island-hopping tours unless you are lucky. The number of tourists and boats are not controlled that Maya Bay really gets crowded these days. I'm still glad to have visited this natural wonder early on but I don't think I will come back to this country anymore. But overall, it was a great travel experience. It is also nice to look back and see how I was in my innocence...I guess if I had written this travel article before, it would not have been the same.