The sheep herder mentality of the tourism industry in Thailand is one of the worst I’ve experienced. (Although, to be fair, I have experienced worse) Once on a Thai bus or van, you seemingly become their “property.” Several times, I felt like a victim in a human smuggling ring. Although the drivers all spoke English well enough, they neither explain nor comfort you whatsoever along the journey. On one occasion, we were dropped off at a house in the middle of nowhere for our “connection” and simply told to wait indefinitely. In Phuket, a group of us were abandoned at a remote police station to fend for ourselves in finding a taxi in the middle of the night. (Thankfully the police were awake and made some phone calls arranging taxis for us)