Last winter, when the dollar was at 80, and prices for trips from tour operators skyrocketed, we quite by accident found cheap tickets from Moscow to Bangkok. At that time, all we knew about Thailand was that tourists from Russia relax in the city of bars and brothels Pattaya or on the beach holiday island of Phuket, but we wanted history, culture, architecture and... fewer compatriots. Having scoured the Internet, we built a route for our a two-week trip to the most interesting places in Thailand, where there are no Russian tourists.

Where in Thailand are there no Russian tourists?

Our the route included visits to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Sukhothai and Sam Roi Yot Beach- a wild place in the south of the country. We booked hotels, found them on the map and set off to conquer that , which is located away from popular tourist routes. We traveled between cities on comfortable night buses, ate in street cafes, talked with local residents and admired the stunning monuments of Siamese architecture. There really weren’t any Russian tourists on our route., except for a few people in Bangkok.

Sights of Bangkok

To see all the sights of Bangkok, it takes a lot of time. For those who are as limited in time as we are, worth to visit:

• Royal Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha;
• Wat Pho;
• Wat Arun;
  

and also take a boat ride on the Chao Phraya River, to feel the atmosphere of this city of contrasts. You can get around the city by taxi, metro or bus.

Northern capital of Thailand

Chiang Mai, the second most populous city, is called the northern cultural capital of Thailand. In the Middle Ages, the Lanna kingdom was located here, which is why the architecture differs from Siamese. You can walk around the old city in a couple of days or go around by songthaew, and There are about 40 ancient Buddhist temple complexes here! Here the most interesting of them:

• Wat Chedi Luang Wora Wiharn;
• Wat Lok Molee;
• Wat Chiang Mun;
• Wat Pa PaoDoiSuthep, which is located outside the city. We also went to zoo and looked at the wonderful pandas.

How to get to Sukhothai

The Thai kingdom of Sukhothai was founded in the 13th century and lasted only 150 years. Now it's the ruins are located in the historical park, which can be walked around in a day or by bike or tuk-tuk. This place lies away from popular tourist routes, so travelers often don't know how to get to Sukhothai, and refuse to visit him. In fact, it's simple. We arrived in Sukhothai from Chiang Mai by regular bus, but you can also get there from Bangkok Mochit bus station.

Sam Roy Yot Beach

We decided to spend the last days of our vacation in Sam Roi Yot Beach, about which tourists from Russia know nothing. Desertion, turquoise sea and cave Praya Nakhon- that's why we came here. Getting here is not so easy: from the Mochit bus station you need to get to the village of Sam Roi Yot, and from there to Sam Roi Yot Beach by taxi.

This trip was the brightest and most eventful in recent years. The memories still take my breath away! But in order to travel to places in Thailand where there are no Russian tourists, You need to speak English at a good conversational level.

More and more often, clients come to our agency with this question. As you understand, in 2014 - especially...

In most southern countries, the main trends of the season have appeared - these are the so-called “No Russian tours” - “tours without Russians”.

“Our Russia” has infuriated both Europeans and its own compatriots.

Egypt, the most visited country by Slavic tourists. Did you know that in Egypt there is a taboo on the left hand? She is considered unclean. It cannot be used to take food or point at people. So, if you are left-handed, take note.

In India, for example, the host country itself is forced to adapt to the mysterious Russian soul. For young ladies who do not hide their charms, they even published a special booklet. Well, you can’t sunbathe topless in India. But who is the Russian decree?

Well, what have Russian vacationers achieved with such permissiveness? There are already tours “without Russians”. Hotel owners were forced to choose: a European or a Slavic tourist.

The trend, in connection with the Kremlin’s policy, has worsened not only in Ukraine, but throughout the World. For example, the Internet is filled with signs like these from restaurants and hotels at various resorts:

Our fellow tour operators have begun to introduce the “Hotel without Russians” filtering function into their online tour search engines:

So where are those treasured places where the sun is brighter, the liver is healthier, the nature is more beautiful (because there are no Russians)?

Previously, tourists were worried about how not to lose money and documents on vacation. They were concerned about the problems of adapting the body to climate and food. But... Everything faded before a new task - how to avoid interfering with Russian tourists on vacation. Moreover, this problem worries Russian tourists themselves! But others.

Many sins are attributed to those first Russian tourists. Moreover, according to eyewitnesses, they commit all these sins while drunk. We take the beach. Okay, not drunk, but... noisy, unceremonious (the Moscow accent at this time begins to irritate beyond measure). Some are stuffy, others are drafty, others read fairy tales to children, but the whole beach can hear them. And what is stuffy for one and drafty for another is also heard by the whole beach. Evening on the hotel grounds - a song is pouring out! Two o'clock in the morning - unbridled loud fun. Four in the morning - inaudible screams and groans. Loud.

Ours, of course, will be more intelligent. By the way, now there is absolutely no sarcasm - all foreign partners say that Ukrainian tourists are distinguished by their curiosity. They are interested in everything: history, how many people live, how much they earn, environmental issues. And Ukrainian tourists will prefer an excursion to a good party! Where - oh horror! - they are often waylaid by drunken Russians (who had previously attended the same party, apparently).

How to avoid this? For example, Europeans, whose proximity to us on vacation is preferable. There is one very picturesque village in South Africa - what nature! What sunsets! European tourists have the most fashionable trend. There are no Russians, but neither are ours! The hotel is on the mountain... that is, not on the first coastline, as all the neighbors in the former Soviet space want.

Or the wonderful islands in Thailand - Lanta and Katao. Europeans dote on souls. For us, it's the countryside. And a magnificent hotel in the Emirates in the desert? An oasis of peace and comfort. But there is a transfer to the sea. That's why…

There are many such examples. There is only one conclusion - Russian tourists are everywhere where we are, because we often like the same thing! We have similar tastes and preferences. The nature of our desires is rooted in our shared Soviet past. And in order to change the conditions of rest, you need to change yourself. Which is the hardest thing.

But if you are ready to change your holiday criteria, then here are our simple recommendations on where and how to go to avoid meeting your neighbors:

1. Get away from the sea. Don't look for a hotel on the first coastline. Hotels on a cliff above the ocean are what you need.
2. Pay attention to unpromoted tourist routes (the same Central Asia (Uzbekistan), for example, in Europe - Norwegian fjords, islands in Thailand, see above).
3. Avoid charters, avoid group transfers.
4. Create your own routes, ask the travel agency manager for exclusive offers (yes, it’s more expensive).
5. Pay attention to hotels located in low-rise buildings.
6. Try relaxing on mountain lakes.
7. Rent yachts.
8. Book excursions in English.
9. Take some rest during the off-season.

By adhering to these simple rules, you will change the flavor and content of your trip. It is useless to look for paths untrodden by Russian tourists. Russians (Muscovites) began to travel en masse before us. And, yes, they introduce fashion in certain directions. Three years ago, Muscovites fell in love with the Philippines, then it was Kenya’s turn. Now all this is becoming popular among us.

And most importantly, relax in the company of like-minded people. Divers, climbers, fishermen - there is a common cause here and there are no nationalities with their own characteristics. Having a varied and bright holiday, nothing in the outside world will confuse you, and your emotions will be the most positive!

Well, don’t tell me, Madame Elizabeth! Russo-tourist - it is Russo-tourist in Africa too! And this applies exclusively to the Katsaps with their cattle mentality. A Russian tourist is a redneck who has saved up money for a trip to Turkey, Egypt, and, less often, to Europe. He considers himself the king of the world and the master of life, and his Russia as the only civilized country. Katsapyo travels abroad solely for the purpose of lying on the beach and eating for free. Sometimes he goes on dull excursions, where he dies of boredom. He prefers all-inclusive packages, which allows him to drink free alcohol without restrictions (both women and men are the same). As a rule, a significant percentage of Russian resort guests disembark from the plane already in a bestial state and never sober up during their vacation. It is a significant source of income for inexpensive resorts, which is why these resorts (to the bitter regret of representatives of other nations) try to meet the simple tastes of Russian tourists. However, sometimes, Russian tourists appear in decent tourist places. But there, as a rule, they are fiercely and madly hated. It even happens that sane Russian tourists (which happens, but extremely!!! rarely) have to pretend to be Poles, Czechs or Hungarians. Or even talk to each other in English. And there is no need, dear Madame Elizabeth, to include Ukrainians, Belarusians and people here!!! other post-Soviet nationalities - as it has recently become fashionable among absent-minded people, well, apparently, for the purpose of self-defense and for a pleasant effect against a false sense of complacency. As for hotels designed (as you noted, for obvious reasons, exclusively for Germans, who supposedly often offer a similar range of services, but for less money), I have to disappoint you, madam, with the unfortunate fact that Russian tourists stay in These hotels do not even shine! And it is precisely, for the reason that the Germans require the administration of hotels of such “filtering” tourists to protect themselves and their rest from “Taaagiiiiiii !!!” from dispersion at 3 o’clock in the morning. And if he shines - then only with a maximum hotel occupancy limit of 10%, where the Russo-tourist famously stands out from the crowd, which is why he has to constantly be under the strict condemning and ridiculing views of civilized Europeans, who reside on the territory of the hotel in the proud majority. But what if If you want to take a chance and “wave” into such a hotel, then go ahead, but keep in mind that the fierce hatred of Russia on vacation has recently gained such proportions that such a move can safely be called not a risk, but, perhaps, suicide. ..as evidenced by the massive appearance of such Ukraine Lukum turgens - and not only in Ukraine, but throughout Europe! So there should be more such agencies with the right marketing strategy, otherwise I’m tired of giving money for a vacation and praying that everything goes well... a vacation should always be a vacation! and if for this purpose it is necessary to divide into classes representatives of European states and countries of the Asian customs union, then I, personally, am only with both hands in favor!!!

“I myself would go on vacation to a place where there are no Russians,” my friend once complained. Why? Maybe you just want a change of scenery and feel one hundred percent like you’re in another country? Or don’t you want to witness the noisy and drunken revelry of our compatriots abroad? There are many reasons to want a “vacation without Russians”. But are there any opportunities? Izvestia decided to find out whether it is now possible to find a place to rest where our fellow countrymen are guaranteed to be absent.

Not long ago, a study by the Dutch scientist Esme Visser, dedicated to the relationship between Russian and Dutch tourists on vacation, was actively discussed on the Internet. The results of the study were the most disappointing - almost everyone criticized Russian vacationers. If there were positive reviews, it was only something like “there were Russians, but everything turned out okay.”

Picky foreigners began to look for workarounds and try to spend their holidays only surrounded by their own kind. Visser herself talks about how, from time to time, offers of “tours without Russians” appear on the Dutch tourism market. There are similar proposals in other European countries. And there is a demand for such trips. Why?

“People who were rarely allowed to travel abroad under communism and who, as political barriers fell, had little money for such trips, are now traveling around the world and enjoying such trips to the fullest,” writes the New York Times. The same newspaper notes that the first powerful wave of Russian tourists abroad did not give the country a reason to be proud of them. “At times, these people behaved like rowdy freshmen who had been released for spring break somewhere in Florida,” the article notes. “They say that some hotels limited the number of Russian tourist groups and even forbade them to accommodate them, which was explained by their excessive drinking and appropriate behavior." Now, as the same newspaper notes, the behavior of “Russo tourists” has become calmer. But problems with misunderstanding of the broad Russian soul arise with enviable regularity.

For example, last year several Austrian hoteliers held a secret vote on the introduction of a 10% quota for Russian guests, arguing that this “forced measure” would help preserve the “mixing of nations.” True, such an initiative was condemned by the head of the Austrian association of hotel owners, and today, at least officially, such a quota does not exist. But for Russian misanthropes and scrupulous foreigners, it remains a problem to find a place to relax where there are no Russians.

Probably, foreigners have at least some opportunities in this regard. One large Russian travel agency told Izvestia that, of course, not all hotels in the world work with Russian tour operators. Accordingly, there are no Russians in such hotels, and there is no risk of hearing drunken voices shouting “Black Raven” through the wall of the room in the middle of the night. A foreigner can contact any local travel agency and ask for a trip “to where Russians are not brought.” Some hotels that do not work with the Russian market have even come up with a clever marketing ploy. They promise their clients “guaranteed rest without Russians” - and this, I must say, works.

But what about our compatriots who dream of relaxing in another country, surrounded by foreigners, and not bearers of the great and mighty Russian mentality? In principle, there are some possibilities, but they are small and very expensive.

You need this in Spain, in the Costa del Sol,” advised the manager of one large Russian travel agency. - This is generally a very expensive resort, and there are fewer Russians there than in other places. I highly recommend the Don Carlos, Kempinski or Elba Estepona hotels. They are expensive, and there are literally only a few Russians there.

That is, only high prices can scare away our people.

What do you want? - Representatives of travel agencies were surprised. - Russians are everywhere now, and hotel owners, by the way, love them very much. Because they are generous, unlike the same foreigners who count every penny.

Finding a vacation without the risk of hearing Russian speech on the beach in Europe, Turkey, the Emirates, Egypt and Thailand is almost impossible. Travel agencies advise trying your luck in distant lands - Seychelles, Mauritius, Polynesia, Madagascar, South Africa. The island nation of Vanuatu (in the Pacific Ocean) and the former French colony of Djibouti (in northeast Africa) were highly recommended. Of course, only very wealthy people can afford a vacation in such countries. The flight is too far and expensive - charters do not send there, since there are simply no mass cheap tours in that direction. But, as they say, hunting is worse than bondage.

There is, however, another option - contact any travel agency abroad that does not have partners in Russia, or directly find a hotel that does not work with Russian tour operators. Then you can really secure a vacation without the company of your compatriots. Of course, not a single hotel will refuse an individual tourist from Russia only because of his citizenship. The main thing is that he pays money. But Russians already know how to squander money no worse, if not better, than Western moneybags.

The most easily accessible of all the countries unpopular with our tourists: you can fly from Moscow by direct flight almost every day. There are plenty of hotels on the Mediterranean island, attractions, beaches and national cuisine - in several layers, a visa is required, but Schengen is valid. At the same time, Malta is visited by at most three tens of thousands of compatriots a year (no more than a hundred people a day), and even those, mostly, go to work or study. Tour operators do not bring charters here, not every cafe has a menu in Russian, you can hardly hear Russian spoken, and the all-inclusive service has not yet been experienced. Prices are steep compared to the rest of the Mediterranean, but you can overpay for innocence.

A magnificent virgin country that lives by selling its first-level domain tv (why would it be in a tropical paradise) and churning out collectible coins. Here you will not meet not only a Russian tourist, but also a tourist in general - the country is visited by a little more than a thousand people a year, and there are either one or two hotels on the island. And only one airline flies here, Air Pacific. And then only when he manages to sell tickets. The only attraction here is the endless tropical beach. Although with such a flow of tourists, you yourself will be an attraction. Yes, and it’s at least twice as expensive as a trip to Bali.

It’s been five years since Albania got rid of the title of the most criminal and poorest country in Europe. Largely thanks to Moldova’s integration into Europe, and largely, to be fair, thanks to our own efforts. But it is still a great success to meet a tourist here, and especially a compatriot. There are no direct flights from Russia, visas for Russians are periodically canceled, Schengen is sometimes considered and sometimes not, the service is aimed at locals, almost no one speaks English. If you haven’t changed your mind, a lot of beautiful things await you - mountains, mineral springs with resorts, a huge number of historical monuments that almost no one has seen. But all this is accompanied by a roguish local population, a complete absence of roads and any sane transport system. In general, it’s hardly worth taking a capricious wife here, but it’s perfect for an adventure. Moreover, tourists here can be robbed, but, unlike Afghanistan or Somalia, they are not kidnapped or killed. To come more often.

It is clear that the Uzbeks are also ours. Apparently, due to the number of citizens of Uzbekistan in Russia, few Russians want to go to Uzbekistan on vacation, as well as to the rest of Central Asia. At the same time, Bukhara, which consists more than entirely of absolutely incredible architectural monuments, has acquired infrastructure, and tourists are greeted here with oriental hospitality. The most important thing is that the transfer is quite simple - the air paths are trodden by hardworking Uzbeks, planes fly every day from several points in Russia.

Slovenia

It feels like a small Eastern European country, which is also not developed in an Eastern European way, is either not noticed on maps, or is confused with Slovakia. Or they just think it’s boring here. While the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, is a damn picturesque, friendly and ancient enough town to appeal to tourists. Not long before our era, the Romans settled here and had their own city. The Slovenians carefully preserve everything that has survived. And by the way, there are a lot of tourists here from other countries.

Birmingham (UK)

That's right, everyone goes to live in London, walk around it and take pictures with the Tower in the background. Slightly more advanced ones go to Edinburgh. Nobody goes to Birmingham, one of the oldest cities in Britain. Not for nothing: it has the title of the most boring city in the kingdom. A bunch of celebrities were born here, Ozzy Osbourne himself declares his love for Birmingham, but at the same time notes that the city is incredibly boring - apart from two cathedrals and a couple of monuments, there is nothing to see here. In other words, what you need to immerse yourself in the English mood and state of peace.

On this tropical island you rarely see a non-tourist; there are not even cities or a capital here. 10,000 people live on the island, there are two hotels and a phosphorus mine, where every second Naurian works. And only one airline flies here once a week, bringing 200 tourists a year. And prices for everything are several times higher than in the Maldives. But who will be surprised by the Maldives today?