Amazing Thailand

What is it about Thailand, that makes people fall in love with it ? Why is it that people prefer to keep coming back to Thailand whenever they can ? (Lets keep aside the sex tourism industry which is definitely a major pull. But there has to be other factors which make Thailand one of the most favourable tourist destination in the world )

It has been a year since I have been here, and I still love it here.

1) Thailand - The Land of Smiles. And it literally is. Try this social experiment out. (I have tried it out many times) If you make eye contact with a Thai person, give them a smile. 80% probability, the smile is returned back to you.

(When compared to my life back in India or Dubai, the probability drastically reduces. At one time in Dubai, somebody asked my why I smiled at them. )

This takes you to the next question, why is it that the smiles are returned to you in Thailand ?

On asking some of my Thai friends about this, they say that smiling back is a part of the Thai culture. It is even taught in school. While greeting a person, a smile is compulsory. If a person, does not smile, it is considered that they are angry with you.

And if a smile is not returned, it is considered rude in Thailand.

2) An Escape from Reality - Yup. That's right. Making a short trip to any of the beautiful islands in Thailand is an escape from reality in its true sense. The Beauty of the islands is heavenly. Interacting with people who speak a different language and have a different culture is defiantly a learning experience. you feel like you are in a new world.

3) Cleanliness - Thailand is clean. Possibly due to the effective municipality. But it is seldom that I have seen uncleanliness on the streets.

4) Great Food - Thailand offers some of the best cuisines from all over the world. There are Arabic, German, French , Indian, Japanese, Chinese, etc. And it is not that fake crap you receive from the so called "authentic restaurants". Whether it is the road side food, to the high end stuff, the food is excellent - "tres bien" - I say it in french, because it is that good !!

5) Price - Its cheap. Good Food, great scenery, travelling. very affordable. A definite value for money. And the accessibility for travelling is quiet good and affordable too.

6) The People - The people are very hospitable, very polite and they have a helping mentality. The best part about the Thai people are, while communicating with them in English, if they do not understand you, they make an attempt to understand you. This is a trait which reduces the hurdle of the language barrier in Thailand.

Personally, I think it is the people of Thailand which can be considered as Thailand's strongest assets, when it comes to making a tourist feel welcome. (As the locals interact with the tourists, they are the ones who are directly responsible in creating a pleasant experience for the tourists).

I feel that without the hospitality of the people, no tourists will ever feel welcome to visit the country.

Thailand does not make their tourist income from the people who visit the country for the first time. They make their tourist income because people keep coming back.