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This is quite an interesting thread. I asked myself what is real? I live in England and I wonder where is the real England. Would it be London or maybe Brighton or Blackpool, or could it be in a tiny village in the Cotswolds? In a couple of weeks I will be travelling to Berlin for a few days. Will I find the real Germany there? Or will I have to go to the Octoberfest in Munich? Whatever the real Germany is, I only hope it does not involve having to eat sauerkraut for breakfast everyday.

Thinking of Thailand I have come to the conclusion that I start to experience the real Thailand when I step off the aircraft in Bangkok. The real Thailand is Bangkok with it's noise and traffic jams, it is "my" village in Isaan, my Thai friends, a Baht bus in Pattaya, the beach vendors at Dongtaan beach, Songkran in Chiang Mai, the rocket festivals in Roi Et, the smells, street vendors with all the exotic fruits and foods, Thai people, elephants on the road, all the signs in Thai language and many more things.

I think very often when people talk about the real Thailand they have an idealised image in their mind of a Thailand that probably never existed.

TomUK