German
English
Sometimes travelling is exhausting
Especially when you are travelling low-budget, travelling itself is exhausting.
You always remain the "tourist".
I actually take it with humour, but when you walk down the street 3 times a day for 2 months and are always accosted by the same salesperson asking if you want a pair of sunglasses (fake), it gets annoying at some point. A friendly "no" is not enough to get rid of the occasional rude salesperson. You can recognise these "scammers" with bad merchandise (fake) by the fact that they ask strange questions in order to engage you in conversation. Where are you from? How long are you on holiday? How much did your sunglasses cost? Only to say that your sunglasses are no good and that the ones he wants to sell you are much better. You can try them on. Theyre scratch-proof too. Blah blah blah.
You always remain the "tourist".
I actually take it with humour, but when you walk down the street 3 times a day for 2 months and are always accosted by the same salesperson asking if you want a pair of sunglasses (fake), it gets annoying at some point. A friendly "no" is not enough to get rid of the occasional rude salesperson. You can recognise these "scammers" with bad merchandise (fake) by the fact that they ask strange questions in order to engage you in conversation. Where are you from? How long are you on holiday? How much did your sunglasses cost? Only to say that your sunglasses are no good and that the ones he wants to sell you are much better. You can try them on. Theyre scratch-proof too. Blah blah blah.
No matter how long you are in a country, you always remain a tourist. My daily way to the beach and restaurant was the same every time. After the first 50 metres you are asked if you need a taxi. 60 seconds later again, massage? Scooter taxi? Original Indian Food?
All this is still okay and would not be noticed negatively. But every now and then there are a few aggressive or rude vendors who get in the way. I really dont want to buy scratch-proof sunglasses, often the salesman tries to grab my sunglasses to compare them with his sunglasses.
He asks what I paid for them and that his glasses are better. Every day the same thing, even several times a day.
It only helps to completely ignore these pushy salesmen. When you also know that the price of the sunglasses is a total rip-off, it annoys me even more. It just never changes. If you walk along the street twice a day, i.e. to the beach and back to the hotel, you will be approached twice in exactly the same way. If you go back in the afternoon to have something to eat, you think you are caught in a time loop.
All this is still okay and would not be noticed negatively. But every now and then there are a few aggressive or rude vendors who get in the way. I really dont want to buy scratch-proof sunglasses, often the salesman tries to grab my sunglasses to compare them with his sunglasses.
He asks what I paid for them and that his glasses are better. Every day the same thing, even several times a day.
It only helps to completely ignore these pushy salesmen. When you also know that the price of the sunglasses is a total rip-off, it annoys me even more. It just never changes. If you walk along the street twice a day, i.e. to the beach and back to the hotel, you will be approached twice in exactly the same way. If you go back in the afternoon to have something to eat, you think you are caught in a time loop.
Especially when you are travelling low-budget, travelling itself is exhausting.
You spend a lot of time at airports, bus stations, trains and waiting for the mini-bus to the next destination.
The cheap big buses in particular are actually always uncomfortable. If you want to travel from the north of Thailand to the south, you can expect an arduous journey. The journey takes several hours, which is annoying enough. You have to get up early, pack everything back into your suitcase if you havent already done so the night before. Then you have to leave the hotel with all your luggage on your back or in a big suitcase. The minibus is late and if not, 5 other people are picked up at their hotels. So you sit in the minibus and are bored. By the time you finally get to the airport, youve been on the road for two hours. You either fly or take a mini-bus or a big bus to your destination. The flight has the advantage that the flight time is short. The journey and waiting time, on the other hand, is much longer each time. I sit in a mini-bus for 2 hours and 30 minutes in a traffic jam. You are supposed to be at the airport 1.5 hours beforehand, so I sit around for another hour after checking in my luggage. I also have to go through the security check. By the time Im finally on the plane, the morning is already over. Its no better by bus. I wait less here, but the journey always takes ages. 8 hours to the island of Koh-Phangan. From the hotel by mini-bus to the bus station. There you are assigned to a big bus. It takes what feels like an eternity until the bus finally leaves, because the mini-bus always arrives much too early. Then a bus ride of several hours. Not the least bit comfortable. Either far too hot or, as is usually the case, far too cold. With the air-conditioning set to 16 degrees, youd have a cold tomorrow if you wore shorts and a T-shirt. Finally we get off, but still not at our destination. We wait again, 30 minutes again. From the big bus we go onto a big ship. Again we queue with our luggage. Mass tourism always means a long wait. Until everyone is accommodated in the ship. Got up at six in the morning, at seven the mini bus arrived at the hotel, now it is already one oclock. The ship leaves and at 2.30pm we arrive at Koh-Phangan Island. By now I could do with a shower. The midday sun is stinging and some have even thrown up during the boat trip because of the high waves. But all better than my last boat trip. Without a toilet and 1 litre of water, Ive never had to pee so badly. But now finally arrived on the island. Take the luggage again and get out of the ship. Along the jetty and the first taxi drivers are already greedy for tourists. A taxi ride will again cost 10 times as much as a ride on the mini-bus. So I pay about 6€ for a ride on the mini-bus. I pay and ask where the mini-bus is. I throw my luggage in the big boot and make sure it doesnt fall out. Because the boot is constantly being opened and other passengers squeeze their suitcases in too. Good thing I dont have anything fragile in it. By the time we finally leave, another 20 minutes have passed. The game starts all over again. We drive for another 20 minutes and one passenger after the other gets off. We go from hotel entrance to hotel entrance. I am the last to get off. Finally the driver says the name of my hotel. I am allowed to get off. It is 3:40 pm. The day is almost over again. I walk the last few metres to my budget hotel. It was one of the cheapest you could book. No one is at the reception. I put my suitcase down and wait. After a few minutes someone comes, I hand in my passport and show the booking confirmation on my mobile phone. I get a key and am allowed to walk up the stairs to the 4th floor. I throw everything on the bed and go straight into the shower. Unpack my suitcase again and put the dirty laundry in the laundry net. After the shower I eat something, the day is almost over. Im glad Im done, I think if you travel around too much you spend too much time in coaches. After all, I didnt fly 12 hours from Germany to Thailand for that.
