BelgianBoy Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 mai_pen_rai said: LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 What I do a lot of is walking. If I am at Nana, I walk to Soi Cowboy. If I am at Soi Cowboy, I walk to Nana. Walking provides exercise but allows time to think about what you are doing. As I was writing this, I think that many falangs come to Thailand to drink and chase women. Nothing wrong with that but it should not be a person careers or second career. What you need is another goal, maybe something like buying a condo or something else for diversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirDrill Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 budda you said getting up and going to the office so I take your working here now. Just remember that all of the people in the office can tell if you've been out the night before regardless of how much mouthwash you use. That alone should be enough to keep you thinking. Lose your job and and you lose the sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted July 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 DirDill I don't drink that much, 4 beers will put me over the top, haven't touched the hard stuff yet, and I managed to wake up and run 4-5 miles in lumpini park 3 out of the four times I was in the office last week. I truly over did it on one night, but do not feel I was the 'sweaty pores spewing alcohol falang' at any time this week. I don't use mouthwash, just brush and floss. A great point to think about regardless. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Lots of good suggestions here. I try to limit myself to being a 'weekend warrior', meaning I try to only go out on Friday and (possibly) Saturday nights. There is some sort of strange time warp in the bar areas. You arrive at 8:30 p.m. planning to stay no more than one hour, and the next thing you know it's 1 a.m. and you are walking into Nana disco or Syn bar at an even later hour. Not sure how this happens, but it does. And when it does, you do suffer the next day. And if you need to work the next day, it is particularly unpleasant. This is why I try to limit my adventures to Friday nights. If I am out late on a Friday, I often really have no interest in going out late on Saturday. Another point: the bar scene gets stale if you go everynight. But when you are away from it for a week, it is more sanuk. Final Point: Exercise (and controlling your drinking) is a key. If it is one night a week, the drinking shouldn't be a problem unless you are getting sh*tfaced every weekend. Because of the pollution, I am not a big fan of outside exercise here (but I did run/walk/walk/run the BKK marathon one year (I finished, which was good enough for me)). Gyms are going up everywhere in Bangkok now; it's looks like the start of a new fad. Join one near your work or home. Bargain hard when you join and make sure they explain all fees. To make sure you go, hire a personal trainner and schedule a specific time (maybe once or twice a week) when you train - make it early in the morning before you go to work; you definitely won't go out the night before you have to hit the gym at 7 am. And compared to the US, trainners are cheap here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted July 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Did you mean trannys are cheap here? I am near lumpini and have been running there the majority of the days spent in BKK so far. I am looking into some Thai boxing gyms [another thread] and have made a huge cutback in both money spent frivoulously and nights out. I have a gym in my apt bldg but it sucks. I am most comfortable running and getting a small set of dumbells. The Thai boxing has always interested me. I haven't employed the envelope theory, but I have made some goals on what I would be spending and stuck to them. It's really about self control and to make this my home I need to exert some. I had a very productive weekend. It was also sprinkled with fun. To be honest I don't enjoy the bar scene as much as I had missed it. I will still visit on occaision, but I think you understand what I mean. congrats on the marathon, quite a feat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Personal trainners are realtively cheap here. They keep you motivated. The marathon was last year, but to stay sane in this place, I think you need to try to stay relatively fit and have diversions outside the bar scene. Muay Thai is probably good. Right now there are plenty of fitness centers going up all over Bangkok. I guess it is a new trend, but the large number of new places means that prices have to remain low. Near Lumphini park there is California Wow on Silom and a new Fitness First on Sathorn in some building called a "life center" near the latest Q House office building. On Sukhumvit between NEP and Emporium there is Fitness First (Landmark Hotel), a California Wow near Soi Cowboy and another place (can't remember the name - Finest Fitness maybe?) in the office building across from Soi Cowboy (one of the last of the economic collapse buildings on Sukhumvit to finally finish) and a "women's only" California Wow near Emporium. You also need mental stimulation. The Siam Society on Asoke (across from Soi Cowboy) has good speakers on cultural matters. The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) is good for controversial speakers; you don't have to be a correspondent to join and you don't have to be a member to attend their meetings (I don't think the cost of membership is worth the savings on attending their meetings). The chambers (AMCHAM and BCCT) occassionally have good speakers (BCCT meetings are worth attending when Chris Baker speaks (even though I certainly disagree with him on some points)), but they are more business oriented. I also think it is a good idea to take a language course. There are very few Farangs who can speak, read and write Thai well enough where they would not benefit from a language course (I include myself in this, and continue to take classes). A good course is not only good for learning the language, but also gaining insights into the culture. In the role of instructor, Thais seem to be more comfortable making some pretty blunt and insightful comments about the culture and local politics. And there plenty of interesting books available now on Thai history and culture. The bars are fun, but on a daily basis it's a bit much. I think you enjoy yourself here more by pacing yourself, which means going out only once or several (two not six) nights a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted July 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Thanks gadfly. How much and where is a good language school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Buddha, You could also join the NP quiz team........ BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 I like AUA because it is structured, although I have my doubts about the strange script you learn before you starting learning Thai characters. You can check out their site here AUA Site. There are other schools all over town, particularly on Sukhumvit Soi Thonglor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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