Finding Diamonds in the Rough Parts of Thailand

The land of untapped potential

Thailand is done, they say. It’s overdeveloped, overburdened, and bloated with a tourist industry that is always looking to cater towards the next mass market. First, they had the backpackers, who danced along the Banana Pancake trail with their fluorescent body paint and Lonely Planet guidebooks. Then they had the Chinese package tourists who came on buses with their flags and silly hats. Now, you have Russians escaping the war, Europeans escaping their winter, and Indians escaping the strict visa requirements that most other countries place on them whenever they think about leaving the country.

The list goes on.

And the end result of it is that Thailand is suffering under its own weight of success, a machine that forever marches forward with an endless stream of new construction. The natural beauty of the country has been pockmarked in the pursuit of tourist dollars and what has been left behind is a disfigured memory of what it once was.

But if you want to experience the old Thailand, the real Thailand, the Thailand with food that was made for Thai people, beaches that are unspoiled by mass development, and locals who are excited to see you beyond the tourist dollars that you provide, you can still find it. You just have to look past some of the rough parts of the country and search for the diamonds that are lurking beneath.

Don’t get the wrong idea when I call these parts of the country ‘rough’ by the way. I don’t mean dangerous, although I have almost died several times in Thailand. I’m talking about the places that haven’t been built up to cater to tourists, not foreign ones, at least, meaning that you’ll have to forego some of your traditional comforts in order to enjoy these places accordingly.

English menus?

Sorry, they’re out.

So are the flashy resorts, the boozy hostels, and non-spicy food.

These diamonds require a little bit more effort on your behalf to see them sparkle but don’t be dissuaded, as the effort will be well-rewarded. After ten trips, eighteen months, and visiting nearly every corner of the country, nowhere has rewarded me as much as Chumphon.

It’s quite possibly my favourite spot in all of Thailand.

If you’ve been to Koh Tao, chances are you’ve been to Chumphon. Transited through it in any case, seeing little more than a bus stop, a train station, and the Lomprayah pier.

But if you had the time and the patience to dig a little deeper and get off the regular tourist trail, you might have discovered one of the best unpolished gems in the whole of the country.

The first thing you’ll notice in Chumphon is being noticed. Locals are used to seeing buses filled with tourists rolling past but are less used to seeing those tourists riding bicycles around their postcard-worthy streets. They’ll smile and wave at you, giving you little choice but to smile and wave back as they use their limited English to welcome you to their small slice of paradise while laughing with their friends and their family.

And it is paradise.

Between the palm trees, coconut plantations, and sprawling farmland, you’ll see the kind of greens you never knew existed, opening up a whole new sphere of colour that will make you think that you’ve been living your life in black and white. It’s one of the most fertile parts of the whole country while also being strategically positioned close to the sea, making it one of the best places to experience Southern Thai cuisine.

There are no cashew nut chickens here.

This is bia liang, khanom chin, and kaeng lueang country. Yellow curries that are so hot they’ll make you beg for mercy by the end of them. Through the sweat, the tears, and the running nose, you’ll go ahead and order the exact same thing the next day because you’re a masochist now and you can thank Chumphon for that.

There are beaches, too.

Nice ones. Long, sprawling bodies of sand and water that are just as beautiful as the ones you’ll find on the islands off the shore. Take a motorbike and ride along quiet, lethargic roads that weave to the coast until you arrive at a place that smells of salt, lime, and grilled chicken. There won’t be a deck chair or sun umbrella or backpacker with a terrible portable speaker in sight.

Excited?

Maybe.

I mean, sure, it sounds okay, but calling it my favourite spot in all of Thailand you’d expect it to come with a few more bells and whistles.

But it’s this lack of bells and whistles that made me fall in love with it in the first place. Chumphon isn’t catered to Western tourists and it still feels like you’re a guest interloping in Thai life, if only for a moment.

It is just one of many examples where if you forgo the island tax and get off the tourist trail, you can experience Thailand without the bullshit that comes along with it. This could have just as easily been an article about Sam Roi Yot or Loei, Mae Hong Son or Surin, all places which you might not have heard of but trust me, they’re diamonds just waiting to be discovered.

While the rest of Thailand gets chopped up and sold off these places remain small and unpolished gems, perfect in their imperfections, glimmering just enough for the right eyes to see the potential that is lurking underneath.