Comments on: Urinators Anonymous

By: Rick

Rick — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:14:24 +0000

That’s OK. Can’t remember whether or not there were changing rooms. Might have mistaken them for toilets!

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:40:09 +0000

Funny you explaining that the farangs are the dirty ones. Is it common knowledge that Russians pee in the water? I doubt it. What about all the locals jumping in the springs without even changing their already worn (and sweated in) clothing?

What your article though describes is that independent verification of what’s clean or what’s not is non-existent in Thailand. Officials rave about the health qualities of the springs without any evidence than a hunch. The same hunch that possibly leads to slagging the Russians.

The entrance fee is just 40 baht for foreigners, not 200. That is for a private bath. BTW, it is 100 baht (or was, Aug. ’09) double the local amount.

Rick

(BD: Thanks for the correction Rick. I wasn’t implying anything actually, but if you’re looking for the toilets they’re hard to find. That’s maybe why the changing rooms smell like them.)

By: MongerSEA

MongerSEA — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:00:23 +0000

Dan, it would have behooved you to have seized the “teachable moment.” You could have let the Thais on the scene that their own government, via the Tourist Authority of Thailand, spent tens of millions of baht of their tax money in Russian-language markets to promote Thailand as a destination.

You would have earned bonus points had you been able to convey a pithy Thai equivalent to the English aphorism “Lay down with dogs, get up with fleas.”

By: Oneditorial

Oneditorial — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:52:05 +0000

I was a bit surprised that you were out of the water so quickly. Forgive me if I am wrong, but I thought most Western men take a lot of pleasure in engaging in water sports. Nice and warm.

(BD: Guess I’m too old-fashioned 555.)

By: Jaded

Jaded — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:10:26 +0000

Chunkton:

You’ve reminded me of an event at the Siam Society early last year. Sumet Jumsai presided at a book launch and reading. He launched into a very odd anecdote about the famous Thai delegation to the 17th century royal court of France publicly bathing in a French river. I had the same cringe response to his remarks on Thai cleanliness then that I am having now … Yep, based on my observations this country is some kind of model of cleanliness alright …

By: Chunkton

Chunkton — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:31:25 +0000

The Thais have a good point about dirty farangs, just visit any dirty farang country and then see the pristine beauty of Thailand, the difference is obvious.

By: BangkokDan

BangkokDan — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:46:53 +0000

Glad to hear you’ll head there Talen.

A few additional points:

- There’s the nearby Green World Resort (tel. 034 531 382), some 1,400 baht the night with breakfast. Jurassic Park-like entrance and neglected, but great golf course attached with a green fee for 490 baht. Am no golfer, but the location and price were tempting so I tried my luck.

- Avoid high season and long weekends to visit Hin Dat. Best is after Songkran all the way through November. December through January the resort is besieged by Koreans flying in for pro golf courses.

- The hot pools are best to be enjoyed when it’s raining cats and dogs. Only snow would be even nicer.

- And if your Thai is good enough to pretend you’re some kind of Thai the entrance fee is 10 baht for the whole day, otherwise 200 baht for 45 minutes …

BangkokDan

By: Talen

Talen — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:32:24 +0000

Dan, I hadn’t heard about the springs before but it’s definitely on my list now … after the cleaning that is. Sounds like a great weekend getaway.

By: David

David — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:40:10 +0000

The Hin Dat hot springs is a personal favorite of mine too. I wish the river was deeper though, so you could take a proper swim in it. I’ll be sure to visit AFTER the cleaning next time.