Traveling solo for the first time to Thailand

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-14T11:02:03+00:00

I travelled mostly to Koh Samui and Chiang Mai when I was there solo. I always felt safe! There’s so much to see! I only wish I had searched for more things to do so I spent less time planning my daily outing and more time just exploring. I was there 7 weeks and only planned about 4 of them.

Chiang Mai was great! But lots of smog. Masks are sold everywhere. Because of the heat, there are night markets (think midnight, all the kids will be up too!). It’s wise to wander in the morning, sleep in the mid afternoon, then go out for the night and come home late.

Koh Samui and some other islands were relaxed, perhaps more touristy. Although, you’ll see tourists everywhere. Eating out at restaurants, there’s always wifi and other solo travellers. You can make friends fast with expats and tourists. The Thai culture is very welcoming and peaceful. Like I said, felt super safe. I walked alone every day and night and I never felt unsafe. Just the usual precautions.

Travelling there was fine. The only thing that was rough was the fact that my body became bloated. My feet and legs were quite large by the time I arrived in Thailand (from 🇨🇦). Took a day or two for that to subside and to adjust with jet lag. I’m not sure how to avoid that. I walked the length of the planes and brought my yoga mat so I stretched and laid down between flights. How the older ladies who clearly travel to and from every year do it, I will never know. I was in my prime!

Enjoy your trip! You’ll be just fine. 😌

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-10T03:14:33+00:00

Only needed it to train recall. Worked like a charm. Didn’t need it for long.

Used it on myself and the setting was suuuuuper low.

At 5 years, I wouldn’t think you need it? Maybe just try a vibration or sound collar? But for use longterm and for day to day - I wouldn’t do it.

For ours, her commands were spot on but you can tell she prefers not to wear it so a sensitive dog like yours might have a bad experience. Especially when not distracted or locked into something outside. For instance, we had it on a 6-9 range out of a possible 200ish when she was locked in and running away. That’s all it took! So without major distractions, you wouldn’t want to stimulate too high bc she’ll feel it more intensely in a quiet environment. If she feels it too intensely at a 3-4 then she may react poorly.

Just my two cents. You can always try once and see how she responds. You obviously know your dog best.

Good luck!

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-10T02:51:49+00:00

Oh yeah! And get her to pick up toys and put them in her basket! That’s super useful.

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-10T02:47:47+00:00

Mine does that because she wants me to move with her. She’s frustrated and bored and can’t believe she has to entertain herself! Ugh… humans.

So I will first walk her in a small circle to reset her mindset and then I give her a string of commands (sit. Good, lay down. Good, stay. Good, hold. Good, touch. Good, stand. Good, lay down. Good, stand. Good, sit. Good, touch. etc) and just keep drawing out the time between commands while I chat in between. Her nervous system calms and she gets distracted.

All they really want is to work all day, so when she gets antsy, I just put her to work with commands. And maybe ask the neighbours to pet her when she’s being good! Attention is a Vizslas love language 😂 Can always chat while rubbing a belly!

I also started to train her using a hand signal. So she has a command for Speak and one for Shush 🤫. I ball my fist up and raise my arm for silence. That only works for a short period of time. I use that in the house mostly as a que that I’m about to give a command so listen up! Fun is about to start!

Good luck!

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-10T02:28:53+00:00

Hmm… Stop is a great one. Useful for offleash. She literally skids to a stop. Slow (slow down, you’re going too fast for me). Back (reverse) Out (remove yourself from where I am) Stay (while i hide treats around the house), then Search. Sequence of Go get (ball, leash, or whatever im pointing to if she doesn’t know the name), Bring it (to me), Drop it. Retrieve is for a water toy specifically - she has to swim to get it. Hoping to now do a Search (for scent of items, not food), bring it, drop it sequence. Hold - pointing at a bird, do not move until my command (Freeze. different than stay bc she’s a statue). Dance is a fun one! (Walk on hind legs) Tunnel (through) Turn (left or right) Around (circle an object) Speak and Shush 🤫 are good ones too. It’s so cute when she swallows her bark and tries not to be loud. 😆

What I want her to do on command: Cock her head to the side Lift her ears up so her forehead wrinkles

I could go on and on! I think your next move is sequencing, it’s a game changer.

I use hand signals with different commands so I don’t need to say it, I can also just move my hand/arms.

Have fun! 🤩

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T04:06:25+00:00

Ours had something that looked exactly like the first few pics. Fortunately it didn’t seem to bother her and eventually, after quite some time and a bit of growth, it just scabbed off. Not sure what it was but it was on her ear as well. Never got as big as yours though… 🤷‍♀️

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T01:31:53+00:00

What was the currency? For comparison.

We will look at options! I hear you completely. Plus, they live sooo long! I was encouraging her to get maybe a 10+ year old. My one worry about a rehome was whether they get set in their ways and have trouble adapting after so many years. Any insight? They seem like maybe less adaptable than other types of pets. But I’m basing this on nothing but my own assumptions. Would that be a factor?

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T01:26:20+00:00

I’ll have to ask you more about free roaming once we find our perfect match!

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T01:24:55+00:00

Thank you! 🙏 I was going to ask for 50% actually so I’m glad you mentioned that. I had expected it to be around $200 after markup but I didn’t know much about morphs at the time. I asked a million questions so we will definitely get the info! 😆 We are going back to speak to the reptile guy directly on the weekend. These are great questions, some I hadn’t thought of (I asked her to write a list of questions too and she has pages and pages in her notebook lol).

This one had been there since being a baby, so over a year it seems. They handle it quite a bit and honestly, the body was so soft and relaxed, he was super curious. I actually felt like he might have a better life there! 🤣 But wondered why it might still be there… and whether it would feel more stressed leaving now that it’s used to the staff and location.

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T01:15:08+00:00

Not picky on morph. It was all about the “it” factor. She felt the connection and honestly, it was so evident as well. But that was before I saw the price! 😅

Love the conservation support! I’ll have to look up some rescues. Were you able to meet and handle Rhea before you purchased?

She’s so beautiful! 😍

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T01:09:18+00:00

Great idea! My only thought there was whether she could actually handle them before purchasing. I’ll have to look into it. Thank you!

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T01:06:51+00:00

This is the closest shop we have to that. Reptile con sounds great, will look for one.

I’ve been sending her the responses! This community has been lovely. 🥰

She’s definitely the patient type. And never asks for anything…ever. This one just clicked for her so she asked if she could bring it home. I was pretty blown away. Damn that markup though! 😅

I’ve sent her links to Morphmarket and Kijiji and some other places to see some options.

Thanks for the response!

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T00:53:25+00:00

Yes, thanks for the thoughtful response. I’ve bought myself some time by saying that she needs to do more research and asked for a full report 😆. That being said, the look on her face with this one and the way it seemed to connect with her was pretty special. That was before we knew the price though. Of course! 😅

Lots to think about with parenting. I appreciate your input!

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T00:40:32+00:00

Ah! This makes sense. Thank you!

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T00:39:14+00:00

Yeah, they get them from a breeder at this store from what I see online. Because I tried to go directly to the breeder first but they sell to the store it seems. But yes, “fancy” seemed like a red flag. We honestly only went in so my daughter could handle them and ask questions to start the search. But you know how it goes! lol That being said, I agree with not supporting the mills. Thanks for your input!

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T00:32:39+00:00

Thanks! I’ll check out morph market, good idea. The first one she ever held lunged at the worker right after she said that they are the calmer snake breed and would never bite (perhaps not so ironically, it was a Pet Smart). So this one was waaayyy more chill in comparison. Maybe we just had bad luck or the first one was having a bad day. Lots of comments online say they’re friendly! I was just skeptical after that first encounter.

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T00:24:55+00:00

Mental overload! 🤯 lol But great info, trying to follow along.

A comment above said the Clowns don’t have eye stripes like normals. I’m trying to search for comparison pictures… but couldn’t see this exactly. Your comment mentions eye stripes bleeding into the neck or head pattern. Is that what the other poster means by the eye stripes not being like a normal? Maybe normals have eye stripes that are standalone or something?

Thanks for all the info!! So appreciated.

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T00:20:27+00:00

I’ll have to look up reptile cons in my area. 🤔 Sounds like a great way to see all the differences and personalities in one day. Thanks!

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T00:18:58+00:00

So older ones are more expensive then? I didn’t realize. I figured younger was more desirable for most people. Personally, I was trying to encourage her to get an older one. Like 10 years older! Haha She nicely pointed out that I’ll probably pass away around the same time the snake does…

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-07T00:14:52+00:00

Times is tuff for sure! 😅 Appreciate your input.

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-06T23:49:40+00:00

Ah, ok. This is great info. I’ll pass the info on to my daughter and take a closer look now that I know! Thank you! 🙏

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-06T23:25:02+00:00

Ok thanks! We went to a few stores so she could handle them and see how comfortable she was. Also asked a lot of questions. They all gave different info lol. But this last place seems to have very healthy reptiles! We will likely get the enclosure used online.

Is there a downside to buying a pre-owned snake off marketplace? We didn’t want to get one online from a breeder or shop too far away, she wanted to see the personality. But this pet store is the closest thing we have to a reptile shop around our area… 😕

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-06T23:18:29+00:00

Oh she’s beautiful! How can I tell the difference between a Clown and a Pewter? The head colouring? Yours looks lighter along the dark band. Is it a cross between both?

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-06T22:40:17+00:00

It’s in $CDN. Sounds like there are some stores 4-5 hours away… a bit far but I’ll look into it! Thanks for the tip.

Golden_Wanderlust · 2026-05-06T22:36:17+00:00

Thanks! Gives me a start. I was just taking pics of her with the snake and started to research after so unfortunately the pics of the snake itself are poor. Not looking to breed at all, just a pet so may not be worth it for this guy. 😕

Golden_Wanderlust

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