Phuket, Thailand: Beaches

Did you know elephants are Thailand’s national animal? When we were in Thailand we stayed in Phuket in an area called Karon. We stayed there roughly for 10 days. I learned a lot about Thailand like their culture, animals, and how different it is to home. It made me feel how lucky we are to live in a first world country.

Elephants are most known in Thailand. They are a main part of their tourism and entertainment. Which means that lots of these elephants are treated poorly and are being abused. Many tour groups you go on are unethical and not safe to them nor us. Elephants are used for people to ride on them and for shows like in a circus. Usually they are overworked and living in poor conditions like being chained up. Another big way they used to make elephants haul timber in another word is logging, which is now banned. It’s pretty sad seeing elephants suffering and being overworked for our entertainment. When we went to Thailand we were originally going to do an unethical one until we found out how bad it is for the elephants. Instead we went to a sanctuary. It is to improve and try to stop all the harm to these elephants. We gotta feed and watch elephants in their own habitat that are not being forced. They usually reduce them too. It was a great experience going to a sanctuary and helping spread the word. It is super sad and I still hope people realize that it’s wrong. Hopefully in the future we can change this. The Elephant sanctuary was one of my favourite parts of Thailand.

Thailand’s culture has changed a lot over the years. When we were in Thailand it was very different to what we are used to at home. They have more culture and are developing quickly over the years. One thing that is still big in their culture is their religion buddhism. There are a lot of Buddhists in Thailand with a lot of temples. We went into one. It is super cool to be a part of their culture. In Thailand they also have a big buddha on the top of their hill. I love how much their religion is spread everywhere. Another big part of their culture is food. Their main food is their Thai curry. It is most known in Thailand. I’ve had it and it was really good. It tastes like Indian curry with coconut. We tried to be a part of their culture as much as we could to see how they live. I learned how lucky we are and how I shouldn’t take for granted everything I have. Lots of Thai’s culture has changed over the years from western lifestyles. Lots of their music is now not as much played with their younger generation listening to all the popular western music and trends. They have evolved a lot and are still continuing to evolve. I think it is important for me to learn their culture and see how lucky I am to be living in a more advanced lifestyle.

In Thailand scooters are one of the most common ways for transportation. Thailand roads are filled with scooters and are always busy. Usually the roads have no sidewalks and lots of scooters and honking. It can be a lot sometimes. Thailand has one of the highest road fatalities in the world. Around 80% of road accidents are caused by scooters or motorcycles. This can be very dangerous when there are no sidewalks. Lots of the people are walking on the road with the risk of being really close to scooters or cars. Lots of the people are inexperienced which leads to more accidents. This makes me feel scared. It is not fun to walk on the side of a road when there are scooters going fast by me. Scooters were not a big thing that I liked in Thailand but one of the best things I loved in Thailand was their beaches. Thailand’s beaches are gorgeous. It Is known for its soft sand and warm clear water. Their beaches are one of the best beaches I have ever seen. We went to Freedom beach. It was amazing. The landscape was very pretty and the water was gorgeous. Even swimming in it was so warm and enjoyable. The one thing that makes me feel sad about their beaches is that they have a bit of garbage at the beaches. It is sad seeing all these beautiful landscapes and then you see some garbage around the beaches. They are trying to work and make it better. If you forget about the garbage, the beaches are amazing. They are for sure the top 3 beaches I have ever seen.

I have really found that Thailand surprised me. It was a big culture shock for me but was great to experience. I really found out how they live so differently from home and how their standards are different. I think I now see these countries differently and their struggles they have now. Their differentness in how they treated animals is sad but I love how they’re trying better to change it. Their beaches were amazing and they are better than in pictures. It was different than what I expected but in a good way. I liked Thailand but I don’t think I would go back by myself.