Q. I'm wanting to travel to Thailand and want to tour the Western and Southern Regions of Thailand at the end of October. What do you recommend for a female traveller for that time period? Would I be safe to travel alone in Thailand?
A. Over the years we have been asked this question many times—is it safe for a woman to travel alone in Thailand?
The advice we give to these women are those things they already know but tend to disregard. For example, we suggest not to travel with fine jewelry, expensive watches or such things as high-priced leather goods. Why? These items will attract unwanted attention. That, of course, we all know, but do we follow it? Not always. We know we should leave expensive items at home.
The best ways for women to stay safe while traveling are still the simplest:
• Don't do things on trips that you wouldn't do at home. That includes flashing lots of money and jewelry, walking alone at night or in parts of town you don't know well, going off with strangers and/or not telling anyone where you're going.
• While overseas, make sure that someone—even if it's just your hotel receptionist—knows your destination, and if you're going out with someone you barely know, tell the desk clerk his/her name.
• Remember, too, that many behaviors that would be acceptable at home send other signals abroad. In some cultures, for example, even the mere fact that you are female and travelling alone can signal sexual availability. Going out on a date with a man you've just met can do the same thing in a culture where dating is more supervised than at home.
• Learn all you can about the underlying values of the culture in the area where you'll be traveling, and be conscious of your own behavior and the signals it might send in that culture. Don't travel with such opinions as "I wear shorts at home why can't I here?"
All these worries can be eliminated, of course, if you travel with Royal Orchid Holidays. And, to answer your last question, October is a fine month to travel in Thailand. It’s one of the coolest months.
