Indians rate Thailand top of their overseas travel preferenc

[lonelywombat]

This article in Times of India shows not only Bangkok but Pattaya and Phuket feature in the top 10 locations for Indian tourists.

To be frank I cannot recall seeing Indian tourists in any numbers.

The higher proportion of English newspapers in India compared to other countries, make me wonder if any gay info are shown in Indian gay listings.

Surely these would be a new source, that I had never considered.
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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 189263.cms (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Indian-vacationers-hot-on-Southeast-Asia-Survey/articleshow/20189263.cms)

Indian vacationers hot on Southeast Asia: Survey
Chinmayi Shalya, TNN | May 22, 2013, 05.32 AM IST


MUMBAI: When it comes to holidays abroad, Indians prefer the East to the West. And Southeast Asia seems to be high on the list of travel destinations.

Bangkok, Pattaya and Singapore in Southeast Asia and even Dubai in West Asia are right up there on the list of top-ten destinations for the Indian traveller, says a survey conducted over the last year.

London, New York and Las Vegas are the only three places in the West to have made it to the list.

Travel gurus said proximity and lower costs make Southeast Asian destinations a perennial favourite with Indian vacationers.

Bangkok was voted the most popular destination, followed by Singapore. Dubai was third on the list, Pattaya in Thailand fourth and Hong Kong fifth. Kuala Lumpur was voted ninth most popular.

London, New York and Las Vegas stood sixth, eighth and tenth, respectively.

Thailand is not only cheaper than many Indian holiday destinations but also has a cluster of various tourist islands. An on-arrival visa is another draw.

"Many people visit Phuket and then go to other islands repeatedly. The same is true of Bangkok," said Rajesh Rateria, managing director, Cirrus Travels.

Europe is more expensive and needs quite a bit of planning, while Southeast Asian destinations are ideal for short holidays.

"One can plan a quick trip over a long weekend," said a Fort-based travel agent. "For a longer holiday, people club Singapore, Thailand and Bangkok together."

Hong Kong, though a bit expensive, also emerged as a popular holiday haunt.

The survey report prepared by Hotels.com stated that the "great value" rates make these places attractive for Indians.

An increase in the number of flights, particularly low-cost ones, over the last year has also fuelled the holiday trend.

When it comes to visitors to India from abroad, Delhi is the favourite, followed by Mumbai and Goa. Agra, Jaipur and Thiruvananthpuram are the three Tier II cities which feature on the top-ten list.

"This is mostly because international travellers fly to main metro cities and then branch out to other places," said an agent. "Cities like Agra are also on the international traveller's itinerary because of high heritage attractions."

The 2012 trend

Top overseas destinations for Indians

1. Bangkok

2. Singapore

3. Dubai

4. Pattaya

5. Hong Kong

6. London

7. Phuket

8. New York

9. Kuala Lumpur

10. Las Vegas

[pong]

Thailand is about the only country they can go to without having to bother about visa beforehand and get very closely scrutinised. Even Malaysia know checks them first.

[martin911]

But once they actually get here they wouldnt seem to be at the top of any list as regards "preferences to meet "by any of the thai guys ive heard chatting about indian customers

most guys wont have anything to do with that particular nationality!!!

[scottish-guy]

.....To be frank I cannot recall seeing Indian tourists in any numbers....

You need to get yourself to the Beverly Plaza hotel in Pattaya. You'll see plenty there.

.....To be frank I cannot recall seeing Indian tourists in any numbers....

You need to get yourself to the Beverly Plaza hotel in Pattaya. You'll see plenty there.Another hotel to avoid then, thanks for the tip.

{the missing "funny" comments are now split into the Global Forum = Iran - jinks}

[witchhunt]

scottishguy reference to Beverly Plaza hotel, I think refers to Indian ex pats rather than Indian visitors

Not sure if that area is all Indian , but probably includes more Pakistanis than Indian.

But I have no recall of any Indian or Pakistani in the gay bars in Sunee or Boyztown, even on the beach.

However my Cambodian friend says most Asians do not like the beach, as it darkens their skin colour Same same for sub continent people.

[scottish-guy]

No, Witchunt - I'm referring to tourists.

If you haven't had the misfortune of staying there I can understand why you wouldn't know that the mix is like.

Why would Indian/Pakistani "ex-pats" be staying in a hotel anyway? Surely long-term ex-pats would be someplace more permanent and lower cost?

Like you I have not seen any of them in the Gay bars or at the Beach but if you have a boy with you at the hotel swimming pool they can be quite predatory - 2 or 3 at a time - in the likes of the Welcome Plaza hotel. They seem to like "Plaza" in the hotel name!! LOL

Of course I am not tarring all Indian/Pakistani visitors with the same brush - but the limited interactions I have had have not been positive.

[colmx]

But I have no recall of any Indian or Pakistani in the gay bars in Sunee or Boyztown, even on the beach.

I have seen them being turned away from both Mic My and Nice boys...
First they were asked for ID... if they had had none... they were turned away
If they had ID... they were told that it was a private party and they had to come back another day...

[Tierman]

My personal experience is that Thais do not like Indians. They say that Indians smell bad.

My personal experience is that Thais do not like Indians. They say that Indians smell bad.The word most used is "stingy". Not that Thais are racist, of course.

[Beachlover]

My personal experience is that Thais do not like Indians. They say that Indians smell bad.
Yep... and the less educated ones can be quite open about their racism!

The funny thing is, culturally, Thais and Indians actually have a LOT in common. Quite funny to watch their reaction when you explain this to them and show them the proof.

[timmberty]

i have visited india on a number of occasions, as i have thailand .. i can not think of anything thais and indians have in common ..

[joe552]

eh, they're both foreign? :dontknow:

[jinks]

Both sets of working boys love our money.

[scottish-guy]

At least in Thailand you can find the working boys.

[jinks]

Go sit on the beach in Goa, they will find you.

[Beachlover]

Off the top of my head, a few similarities between Thais and Indians...

- Traditional Thai massage partly originated from India and is heavily influenced by it.

- Thailand's main religion, Buddhism originated in India.

- As a result, there are a lot of similarities in their traditional dress and some similarities in architecture (the old stuff, I mean). Same with Cambodia. A lot of the nuances in style came out of the Buddhist/Hindu influence in India.

- They share quite a lot of common character attribute stereotypes... being cheap, driven by jealousy, confused communication, indifference to accuracy and indifference to effect of their decisions on others, putting money and profit before safety and ethics... remember these are STEREOTYPES! Not to be applied to all people but there. Plenty of other cultures share these attributes too.

Thai and Indian cuisines may not taste similar but there are some commercial similarities... Both are fairly labour intensive and yet, relatively low priced.

Have you noticed that Thai food is never expensive? Most other cuisines, be it Chinese, Japanese, Italian, French or Modern Australian can be served on a variety of levels in terms of standard and price. They can form the basis of cheap $15 casual dining meals right up to $250/head fine dining.

But with Thai food, there seems to be a ceiling. In Western counties, you rarely pay more than $20-25 for a meal and certainly never more than $50. Looking internationally, I only know of a few rare exceptions. I've only been to one Thai restaurant that was above $150/meal. Same goes with Indian cuisine - it's almost impossible to deliver and charge on the level that you can get to with other cuisines.

There's more but I can't be arsed to think of it now...

I have had issues with Thai staff treating Indians poorly. Some of it is down to racism - they consider Indians to be dirty, smelly and ugly. Some of it is down to the reputations Indians have for cheating, bargaining and projecting unrealistic expectations with little shame. Can't argue with that.

What I do is try to educate them a little, showing that they are not that culturally different from the Indians. I love their reaction to this. It instinctively induces protest and denial LOL.

Then I explain that there are different types of Indians, just as there are different types of Thais and Chinese. Some are low class and lack any shame. Some are good, decent, intelligent folk. You can't use a couple of bad experiences to justify discriminating against an entire race. Then I impress upon them that every customer needs to be treated respectfully and without any sort of visible discrimination.

I think the Thais understand this because some of them work very hard to better themselves and their standard of living. After all they have achieved, it's must be unpleasant and disappointing to be treated as if they're still the poor country boy type they set out to elevate themselves from. Kind of like how Brisbaneboy said many Thais avoid flying THAI because the cabin staff look down on them.

[scottish-guy]

Just out of interest - what is "modern Australian cuisine"?

:dontknow:

[joe552]

I believe it's "shrimps on a barbie" - although what a doll has to do with it, I do not know.

[Beachlover]

Just out of interest - what is "modern Australian cuisine"?
The term, Modern Australian seems to get used a lot here but I've never really heard it defined...

My best attempt would be to say that it's Western cuisine, maybe with British roots, very often French inspired (especially in the higher-priced restaurants), using nice fresh ingredients which are easy to obtain in Australia, and sometimes with a dash of Asian flavours. Very subjective and I'm sure others may disagree or be able to come up with a better definition.

The great thing about Australia is fantastic produce is easy to obtain locally. You don't often see restaurants flying in ingredients like you do in places like Asia. You can get all types of fresh seafood, top quality beef, chicken, lamb and pork. And fruits and vegetables too. I see restaurants in Bangkok promoting their imported lamb or beef and I think... geez, that stuff is nothing special back home.

[christianpfc]

I probably have walked past hundreds of Indians (Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, can't distinguish them) in Thailand who are decent people, but as usual, the negatives stick out.

I once sat on a Baht bus when two Indian men (or Pakistanis or Bangladeshis) hailed it down and asked the driver if they get on it for 5 Baht fare (I didn't understand if each of them or for both), the driver declined their offer.

[scottish-guy]

For years I depended on my Thai companion telling me what to pay on the baht buses and it always seemed to be 20B - then, some years ago I read this on the useful pattayasecrets website:

For many years now, foreign language newspapers have printed letters to the editor from disgruntled foreigners complaining about being ripped off by Baht Bus drivers. Many complaints to the Tourist Police were about the same matter. The problem was the fare for travel within Pattaya was 5 baht per person but foreigners were consistently being charged 10 or 20 baht which many accepted as being the тАШ farang price' as opposed to the тАШThai price'.

The fare anomaly was finally solved using brilliant Thai ingenuity. Inside each vehicle a sign appeared stating: тАШThe regular fare of mini bus in Pattaya is not over 10 baht per person according to the law of enforced by the department of land transport' ( sic ). The solution was to simply double the fare. However, due to the generosity, benevolence and gooey-gooey niceness of Pattaya's Baht Taxi drivers, they still charge their Thai passengers only 5 baht .

No longer are foreigners expected to pay double fare simply because they are foreigners. They now pay the correct maximum fare and the hard-working, taxpaying, law-abiding Thai citizens are given a 50% discount. Naturally, a Thai travelling with a farang companion will also be required to pay the higher fare so the driver can be seen to be evenhanded and not because he knows the farang will be paying for his companion's trip anyway.

[pennyboy]

I regularly see Thais paying 10bt same as farang now.

[scottish-guy]

Pennyboy - I'm not sure how long ago the info above was posted, there is no date on the article