Jump to content

Holiday From Hell


INTJ

Recommended Posts

Nervous_Dog said:

Have to say I'd like to be out of living in Bangkok, it;s getting very thin in appeals, especially with a family who should also have a good qualiity of life.

 

However would I move back to Australia, no point, no work for me there in my line of work.

 

If I went back I;d be driving a bus.

 

I;d be happy to move to Laos or KL.

 

If I won the lottery though? I think a lot like LP I;d buy a great beach house, Northern NSW, Not Byron but near it, and come to LOS occassionally!

 

DOG

 

DOG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ND,

 

What? Bus drivers in the Land of Aus don't make a decent living? (Made me think of PaulC there ND. :D)

 

KL I can see. Nice place from what I have seen of it. But really, Laos? You think Laos has a better quality of life than Thailand/BKK?

 

But this thinning appeal living in BKK. How so? Do you feel life in Australia would be better for yourself, and your wife and kids? Would you think your wife would be happier in Australia? Would you truly be happier there?

 

My ideal is a house on the beach on Sanibel Island or somewhere in western Florida coastline, maybe the Florida keys even, and a nice beachfront condo near Hua Hin I think. Split time between the two, and maybe a timeshare cottage on the oceanfront mountains in Dingle Bay/Penninsula in Ireland. I'd be happy with that. Mahk mahk! :) Some day it'll happen!

 

Cent

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 89
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I quit from my job (of thirteen years!), sold the golf club membership, and basically exchanged that for my wife :) All this back in 1988. I've been here since then, and normally don't go back home for more than a week, mainly to see relatives and old friends.

 

That week or so away also tends to remind me why I came here in the first place.

 

Part of the secret of living here is learning to go with the flow. Learn the language, both written and spoken. It'll do wonders to your understanding, and you'll be able to decipher all those upcountry road signs (You'll also be able to figure out which expressway turnoff to get down to Chatuchak park - yes, 'morchid' and 'chatuchak' are written in Thai, beneath the main signboard in English that just says Khampeng Phet road 1 & 2:rolleyes:).

I, for one, have never been accused of 'knowing too mutt'. My wife, her colleagues, my colleagues, staff - all speak to me in the language they feel comfortable in. At the hospital dispensary, for example, the pharmacists are normally nervous if they see a 'farang' type face; they'll ask if you can speak Thai, and are usually relieved if you say yes.

 

I am comfortable driving upcountry alone; it's partly expected that I use some back roads in the course of my job. A good, detailed map (and compass) is also a necessity. I'll get GPS when I can afford one. (Yes, I was a boy scout once). Stick to the main, well travelled highways if you have to drive at night. Road rage (and stupidity) is on the rise, drive carefully.

 

Don't get upset with the apparent lack of a get-up-and-go attitude; they're not as pressured as the more modern world we came from. You'll eventually adjust (meaning slow yourself down) and start seeing the world around you for a change, not the blur you were rushing through before ;). Thais are good learners; the only problem is the language barrier. Train them in a job, show them some respect, and they will reciprocate with conscientious work within their limits. There are many Thais that you and I will learn things from, too. It's a two-way street; if you're going to live here you'll have to adapt.

 

The nightlife is one small aspect of it, there's a lot more to this country than meets the eye.

Lots of good, fresh food practically anywhere, the cost of living is not astronomical, some things may be not as readily available (Heaven knows how I waited this long before they finally started brewing Tiger beer here) but they can be had.

 

You'll get more help in finding the right queue at the Thai immigration; it's helpful now though that the signs are more informative. Even in modern Singapore, they won't tell you you'e in the wrong queue until you reach the counter, only to be told then and having to join another (this time hopefully the correct one) line.

 

Welcome to organised chaos.

 

Kwai

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shit-Spattered Dog said:
Cent said:

Rick,

 

Jeezus, an admiring look and a smile and these western women behave as though you're a serial rapist and weirdo.

 

 

Cent

 

Nancy Sinatra sums this up nice and neat in her song:

 

"These Boots Were Made For Walking"

 

Shit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shit,

 

:D Yeah, but the rest of the song is even worse ain't it? "These boots are made for walking, and one of these days they're gonna walk all over YOU ."

 

Ain't that the truth and the way of it. An attitude that seems to have grown over the years/decades since Nancy sang that one. And no longer just about the mistreating guys and cheaters. :: You get in the way of "their" climb to success and happines and they will walk all over you ... boots and all. Not all, still some good ones out there really, but a lot of them in this new world. Problem is I don't see a lot of them as being happy either.

 

Cent

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep - I;d be a LOT happier not living in Bangkok, Hmmm - where do you live cent?

 

Australia, if I didn;t have to work I'd be there, but I need to work, so this is the region for me.

 

Laos, I really like Vientianne! I think its a MUCH nicer city than bangkok, I'd be a LOT happier there than here thats for sure!

 

Bus drivers, make shit money!

 

DOOG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, but surely you also read in his post (INTJ's original post) P that his wife and kids were also unhappy in the UK. There is the rub and the difference I'd say. LP's wife and kid seem to enjoy where they are, as does LP.

---------------------------------------------

Then, what you say is best adressed to INTJ, as he doubted someone can feel differently than him (a problem not uncommon on many topic on the board. the fun of it, I guess):

 

his excerpt best fitting your reply:

 

"I wonder deep down if you can possibly mean it.

 

I understand it must be very difficult for you living here with a Thai wife, and you must keep positive and "look on the bright side of life" in order to keep going...."

 

__________________

 

Thanks for the explanation on shitholes. Still seems the end result is still a big flushing down of the place, if i read him well.

 

There are shitholes one can dig though. Pattaya being one! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

VintageKwai,

 

That is an excellent post that anyone moving to LOS should print off, laminate and keep in their wallet.

 

I would certainly agree about language. I became fraustrated, as Phil says, with not understanding the evening news, and generally not being aware or able to understand what was going on around me.

 

Also the script, after a while I began to feel like an illiterate kid. I made a massive effort with language, now my Thai is good enough to get me through most situations. As VK says, learn to read and write. I constantly practice by looking at signs, car registration plates, even karaoke VCD's. This for me was the major turning point. How people can come to live in a country and not feel it is absolutely necessary to learn the language is beyond me. the difference in attitude from the Thais towards me when they realise there are no language (and potential face) issues is indescribable. When you walk into a shop or restauraunt off the beaten track, you can see the tension in the faces of the staff, but once they realise you can speak passable Thai, they openly breathe a big sigh of relief. And this is advice i would give to anyone thinking of moving to LOS :- language, language and language.

 

I think Cent's definition of what makes somewhere a shit hole was spot on, another excellent post. And I don't buy that "I'm lucky to be English" or "There are people much worse off than me, I should be grateful for what I've got", pure bollocks IMO.

 

 

 

INTJ

 

 

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nervous_Dog said:

Yep - I;d be a LOT happier not living in Bangkok, Hmmm - where do you live cent?

 

Australia, if I didn;t have to work I'd be there, but I need to work, so this is the region for me.

 

Laos, I really like Vientianne! I think its a MUCH nicer city than bangkok, I'd be a LOT happier there than here thats for sure!

 

Bus drivers, make shit money!

 

DOOG

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dog,

 

:D In Surin, of course! But then as you know I've always said I don't like Bangkok for more than a few days at a time, but same in the states really. I wouldn't want to live in a big city metropolis. Visit, sure, but no, not to live full-time. I like Boston, great city, but I wouldn't want to live in the city itself. It's why we get to meet infrequently when I am in the LOS. I'd rather be here in Surin, although I do have fun in Bangkok for a few days at a time on the way through. Mostly go early to get a chance to see you and our friends there. Otherwise I'd likely only stay a day on the way through. (BTW, I'll be down around the 7th until I leave for the states on the 10th. Friday night the 9th for a few beers? Meet at Gulliver's around 7-ish?)

 

You know, I still haven't gotten up to Vientianne yet. And want/need to do so. Maybe I can go along with you some time after I return in October if you are there for some business for a couple days? I'd like that, and you have been there so you know the lay of the land so-to-speak. :: I'll entertain myself while you work, then we can eat and carouse for a bit a couple nights.

 

Really? Bus drivers in the states, at least the ones unionized and working for the big city or longer haul companies like Greyhound and Peter Pan seem to make decent money. They won't get rich doing it, but a decent salary.

 

I never knew you didn't like living in BKK. So, couldn't you do a lot of your present work outside of the city maybe? Just go in for meetings or whatever, the rest phone conferencing, over the computer, etc.? Maybe a house outside the city? Big house, some lawn and yard, etc. for the family? (Much cheaper to do outside of Bangkok.) Or are you held in the city by constant face to face meetings in your job? (Not saying move to the moo bahn, but maybe get out of the greater Bangkok metropolis (sp?). Maybe down the penninsula toward Hua Hin near the beaches. Not really far from Bangkok. (What a couple hours by car?) Just wondering. I know I couldn't stand more than a couple weeks in Bangkok constantly.

 

Myself, I wouldn't move back to the states except to visit on a part time basis. Maybe a couple months a year. A month in Boston area in the summer with wife and family, a month in Florida, the rest in the LOS. I do like it here for the most part most of the time. I miss people, family and friends, in the states, not the states itself really. Although America has some very beautiful areas and good people and lots to do. There's nothing that ties me there except people I love.

 

Going back for my daughter's wedding Oct. 1st. I just found out my oldest son proposed to his girlfriend this weekend and will be going back for his March wedding as well. Making me feel old they are! :) I guess I'll be a grandfather soon enough! :yikes:

 

See you in a couple weeks ND.

 

Cent

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the end of the day, and IME, there are 2 types of LOS resident farangs. The ones who, having fantasized so much about the move, are fleeing their "shithole", still end up in another shithole of their own making, for the simple reason they still have in their luggage/brain, the same shit they pretended to flee. Pattaya has a good number of them, grumpy, exhausted souls and sad beings who will possibly manage to make you feel as if you're home again, being served with the same crap you thought 6000 miles away from you. They do not smile a lot, these guys, needless say.

 

the others made a sound, calculated decision, not really based on a negative, hating a country they leave, but on a positive, the appreciation of life in Thailand and within its culture. And usually, as they come to Thailand, their life is not exactly over, and they can be productive, working people. They tend to be family men (if only having a steady live-in GF), as well, not loners, or eternal sexpats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I would agree with you in general terms, however :-

 

"the others made a sound, calculated decision, not really based on a negative, hating a country they leave, but on a positive, the appreciation of life in Thailand"

 

For me at least, hating the country I was from gave me the vision and the motivation to change things. IMO Sometimes we need to suffer and understand the negatives (for me, life in the UK) in order to fully "appreciate life in Thailand".

 

I don't believe that all people who decide to leave based on what I shall call "the shit hole principal" are automatically doomed to spend listless miserable lives. Certainly I can say I left mainly due to this, and my life is extremely interesting, exciting and ultimately fufilling, in a way which I personally could never have found in my "homeland". However, I am not "living the dream", I am aware that Thailand (beneath the surface at least) is far from paradise, I stay away from the "three B's", bars, birds and booze, and have a very family oriented life. I would agree that some of the long-term residents of Pattaya (I don't live there BTW) that sit along the beach road in little more than rags are truly pathetic specimens, and serve as a constant reminder to me of the possible consequences of not keeping a very honest and stark view of reality whilst living in Thailand.

 

 

 

INTJ

 

 

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...