Long time no blog!
School has been pretty busy since I decided to take on an extra course, and it's about to get even busier since from next week I will be a teaching assistant for 2 months...
It's fine though, and so far school has been very fun since we've been doing webdev and our webdev teachers were really good!
But before I started school again I went to Thailand on a 2 week long vacation to visit my friends and do some "island hopping".
I don't really have a lot to say about the trip since I was sick about half the time (which is just what I expected to happen, but hoped wouldn't!) but I did notice a few things while I was in Thailand, namely that I almost felt like I was back in Japan!
Japan and Thailand are nothing alike, as I am sure you will know if you've been in both countries, but even so, when it comes to franchises, specifically restaurant franchises, these 2 countries suddenly become eerily similar.
Turns out Japan has been sneaking in all its favourite restaurants into Thailand one by one until every other restaurant you can see in a mall in Thailand is a Japanese restaurant!
There is Matsuya, Yoshinoya, Coco Ichiban Ya, Yayoiken, etc etc, and I'm pretty sure I saw MosBurger too (ew). Then there is everything from Shabu shabu to sushi and ramen and so on. It never ends!
Turns out the best food I would eat in Thailand was my favourite Yakishake onigiri, and man did it taste delicious!
So really, if you want to go to Japan, why not go to Thailand? It's cheaper, the people are very kind, the driving and the roads is horrible, and they have great beaches!
(Warning: Higher risk of getting sick in Thailand compared to Japan)
On a more serious note though, while I did like seeing all those Japanese restaurants in Thailand, because in a way they made me feel at home and they brought a sense of nostalgia, I really hope that Japan does not succeed with their "takeover" of the Thai restaurant industry.
One of the best things about going to another country is getting to try the food there (unless you get sick!) and if everywhere you go is suddenly a Japanese chain restaurant, it kind of takes away from that experience.
