Thailand

We had an interesting holiday in Thailand in October 1999. We flew Thai Airways International to Phuket and stayed at Le Meridian resort for eight days, then Bangkok for three days on the way home. We won't go into much detail but Thai Airways would have to be one of the worst airlines in the world. Thailand itself is typical of 'third world' tourist destinations with five star resorts. Apart from the wealthy few, it is a filthy place with many homeless and derelict people. Once you leave your resort or hotel you are constantly bombarded by beggars, some of whom have missing limbs or open, festering wounds. As there is no form of social security in Thailand, these people are destined to spend their lives on the streets. If you can ignore that, there are many interesting things to see. Bangkok is great if you want cheap (illegal) copies of software. My only advice is to make copies with a CD burner as soon as possible - my software became unreadable after a few months...

Anyway here are some pictures. By the way these were taken with a Kodak DC 240 Digital camera.


Here we are on the balcony of our room. It rained for the first four days non stop.	This is part of the pool area at Le Meridian. There is another large area to the right.	This is the room at Le Meridian supposedly five stars. I would rate three and a half.

Sunset over the private beach at Le Meridian.	The main beach at Patong, Phuket. Le Meridian is not in the main part of town.	Some of the outdoor Go Go Bars in Patong.

Bangkok pollution. This was a good day. The heat and humidity was incredible.	An example of a shanty town that many Thai people live in - between railway tracks.	Typical Bangkok traffic - not just peak hour either. It is like this all day.

More squalor - this is directly down from our hotel window. It seemed to be a rubbish dump of sorts that was scavenged at all hours.	The Royal Palace - a perfect example of the inequity of wealth in Thailand. Most of the Gold is real.	More from the Royal Palace.