Bangkok Dreaming

[mardhi]

Wierd but I am getting bored of Thailand. I am seriously thinking about spending a few months travelling if my master plan comes off concerning my assets in Thailand. The idea of picking up a sailing boat has a certain appeal to me at this moment in time. Having said that I have always moved around and frankly get bored if I stay anywhere too long. Strangely enough, by pure fluke, I seem to have a habit of doing quite well in whatever I turn my hand to, maybe attending the university of life helped there. If someone said to me 12 years ago, I would be living and working in Asia, I would have laughed my head off.

Incidentally I came to Asia with $4000 in the bank (and a very good job offer I must say), so it can be done, but I would suggest to most, that you dont cut your home ties. I regret selling my flat in the UK, albeit I have used that money to actually make more, but even so, It would be nice to still have it.

Cheers
Mardhi

[divertwo]

(rob69in @ Apr. 17 2007,07:00) Often the little paradises we visit on holiday create false impressions for us, as we are also in a different frame of mind. You save up, so you don't need to look too carefully at what you are spending, & you generally do what you want, when you want to do it, unless your a package tour sheep with everything organized for you. You stay in luxury ( ish ) hotels where, if chosen correctly, the staff will take good care of you. You eat in nice restaurants, Japanes Sushi & Korean in my case. Its a false life, very different to the realities of living there.

Great point and one I live every time I walk down the street and see the tourists having fun and laughing/smiling. I often say "it would be fun to be a tourist here" Or asked daily by the cutomers on our boats.."You get paid to do this?, how is living in paradise?" No doubt "paradise" is in one's mind. The vacation mentality is way different from the "I live here and I'm trying to make a living" mindset. However, with all of that said, a tropical setting and culture does offer up a slower pace of life, fewer traffic issues and certainly better weather than many watering holes around the world. Having made the decision to move to Belgium and Norway 10 years ago I still have the emptiness of not having as close of friends as I had back in California. Then coming to Hawaii from Norway 8 years ago to live the "diving as a career change"..still has not built up any friendships like those in CA. I'm bored with the diving and lack of intellectual stimulous that dealing with whining tourists offers....so maybe I'm saying I miss the rat race/challenge of the business world. For sure I underestimated the factor that one's friends play in your life and mental health.

I doubt if I could ever sit still and "retire" but
could I live in LOS and continue my passions of brewing beer , riding my Harley, playing golf and tinkering in my garage....? I lasted 4 weeks in Hawaii before I had sat at the beach enough, hiked enough volcanos and "hung out" with no direction.......I had to get some structure into my life and hence turned my diving "hobby" into a paying job.

So far very few if any regrets in my life but I don't want to be gasping for my last breath and wondering "what if...?"
I see a lot of people ease into island living here by their gradual visits of 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months, etc. For me, I did it cold turkey. Many make it a 6 month split between Hawaii and their mainland home. I figured I could not do that as I'd feel not a resident of either place......BUT maybe with such a big cultural difference between LOS and the USA......a 6/6 split would work. Those with a Thai "partner" might find that a good way to keep her happy with her family/connections and still have "your cake and eat it too"........so to speak Get her a VISA and split your time between the East and West.

My two cents on "change"..........I guess I'll do more soul searching and thinking ......starting next week when I again land in LOS............aloha

[rob69in]

(mardhi @ Apr. 18 2007,02:44)

(rob69in @ Apr. 18 2007,00:00) When i am not doing that I am working on my Land Rovers in my little workshop tucked away on a farm or racing them, its two things I enjoy & makes me happy. Its is very likely that would go out the window if i moved to a developing country.

Dont you believe it - a land rover is still as unreliable a car no matter where in the world they are.    Mine spends more time in the service centre in Bangkok than at my house.      

Your more than welcome to come and fix mine whenever you get the urge - I have even got a huge shed as well.  

Cheers
Mardhi

Mardhi,

Land Rovers are junk, fact, there build quality is appaulling & there ownership by BMW did not improve things. BMW simply wanted to rip-off the 4x4 know how / technoligy then dump the company, which is exactly what they did. Only the latest generation have addressed the quality problems but they are not quite there yet. being owned by Ford helped Land Rover a great deal, but there future ownership is in the balance as Ford are looking to generate capital due to its losses in the USA.

I have been around Land Rovers, all my life & of course there were loads in the army. Its a strange fetish to like them, but there are alot of us Land Rover perverts about.

Depending on what model you have depends on how easy they are to self repair. Fortunately in the UK I have cheap access to a diagnostic computer which has all the relavant software on it to interigate the ECU's up to about 2004 models. The older the model the less technoligy they have. If you have a P38 range Rover in the LOS or a TD5 / V8 discovery 2 or even later model still, they need software to interrigate & reset the ECU, to find alot of the faults they thro' up, especially P38 models. I don't consider Freeloaders ( Freelanders ) to be a proper Land Rover its a gimicky small 4x4 to combat a threat in that niche market.

I'd be happy to chat about your Land Rover next time I am in the LOS, Mardhi, but I might keep getting distracted by LB's wanting to suck my helmet for financial remuneration. I'm normally in the LOS on a "Bishop Fondlers & Back Scuttlers Club" package tour rather than fixing Land Rovers! Strange as that may seem of course.

[rob69in]

(mardhi @ Apr. 18 2007,02:55) Wierd but I am getting bored of Thailand.     I am seriously thinking about spending a few months travelling if my master plan comes off concerning my assets in Thailand.    The idea of picking up a sailing boat has a certain appeal to me at this moment in time.     Having said that I have always moved around and frankly get bored if I stay anywhere too long.    Strangely enough, by pure fluke, I seem to have a habit of doing quite well in whatever I turn my hand to, maybe attending the university of life helped there.    If someone said to me 12 years ago, I would be living and working in Asia, I would have laughed my head off.  

Incidentally I came to Asia with $4000 in the bank (and a very good job offer I must say), so it can be done, but I would suggest to most, that you dont cut your home ties.    I regret selling my flat in the UK, albeit I have used that money to actually make more, but even so, It would be nice to still have it.  

Cheers
Mardhi

If you like wild sex & rabid sex hungary GG's & TS get yourself over to Brazil, I've yet to experience better.

[rob69in]

(divertwo @ Apr. 18 2007,05:31)

(rob69in @ Apr. 17 2007,07:00) Often the little paradises we visit on holiday create false impressions for us, as we are also in a different frame of mind. You save up, so you don't need to look too carefully at what you are spending, & you generally do what you want, when you want to do it, unless your a package tour sheep with everything organized for you. You stay in luxury ( ish ) hotels where, if chosen correctly, the staff will take good care of you. You eat in nice restaurants, Japanes Sushi & Korean in my case. Its a false life, very different to the realities of living there.

Great point and one I live every time I walk down the street and see the tourists having fun and laughing/smiling.  I often say "it would be fun to be a tourist here"   Or asked daily by the cutomers on our boats.."You get paid to do this?, how is living in paradise?"   No doubt "paradise" is in one's mind. The vacation mentality is way different from the "I live here and I'm trying to make a living" mindset.  However, with all of that said, a tropical setting and culture does offer up a slower pace of life, fewer traffic issues and certainly better weather than many watering holes around the world.  Having made the decision to move to Belgium and Norway 10 years ago I still have the emptiness of not having as close of friends as I had back in California.  Then coming to Hawaii from Norway 8 years ago to live the "diving as a career change"..still has not built up any friendships like those in CA.  I'm bored with the diving and lack of intellectual stimulous that dealing with whining tourists offers....so maybe I'm saying I miss the rat race/challenge of the business world.  For sure I underestimated the factor that one's friends play in your life and mental health.

I doubt if I could ever sit still and "retire" but
could I live in LOS and continue my passions of brewing beer , riding my Harley, playing golf and tinkering in my garage....?  I lasted 4 weeks in Hawaii before I had sat at the beach enough, hiked enough volcanos and "hung out" with no direction.......I had to get some structure into my life and hence turned my diving "hobby" into a paying job.

So far very few if any regrets in my life but I don't want to be gasping for my last breath and wondering "what if...?"      
I see a lot of people ease into island living here by their gradual visits of 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months, etc.  For me, I did it cold turkey.  Many make it a 6 month split between Hawaii and their mainland home.  I figured I could not do that as I'd feel not a resident of either place......BUT maybe with such a big cultural difference between LOS and the USA......a 6/6 split would work.  Those with a Thai "partner" might find that a good way to keep her happy with her family/connections and still have "your cake and eat it too"........so to speak   Get her a VISA and split your time between the East and West.

My two cents on "change"..........I guess I'll do more soul searching and thinking ......starting next week when I again land in LOS............aloha

I'm not sure i will ever be truly happy & content, but if i died in the next 60secs, as i march thru' the pearly gates, & I will be on the up escalator, after all the missionary work i have done in the LOS, ...... I will not be looking back wishing......

I have seen, experienced & done so much in my miserable existance, both in the military & off my own back I think contentment, fulfiment & happyness are out of reach. My cynasism & suspicsion has reached such a point I simply don't trust anything anymore, least of all western women.

I have never had what i consider to be free sex in my entire life, probably because I fall into the provider bracket, & women only see me as income, so i will be paying for it for the rest of my natural life, this makes me very angry indeed when I think about it. The soul mate i would like to have, is merely a dream.

Moving to the LOS does not solve these problems, & may well create new ones, I seriously considered the Philippines as a place to live / retire, but in the end it was only a dream.

A guy I joined the army with left at the same time I did, only he fell into the trap of marriage early on & got scammed big time. His ex wife poisoned his 2 children against him & he has no contact with them what so ever, aided by the biast courts in the UK. On leaving the army he was lucky enough to secure a job in the oil & gas industry & continues to travel exstensively within this industry. He sold his house & put all his assets into long term investment & has all his correspondence sent to his sister, ( a mistake in my view, she's a western women for gods sake! ) who is about the only person who knows where he is at anyone time, & even then that maybe only the name of the country he is working in. His salary is not paid into any European bank & he has no address as such only a contact / forwarding address. His salary is tax free & he pays a volentary class 3 national insurance into the UK to ensure full pension pay out at 65 & also NHS medical when ever he needs it. Basically he keeps 98% of his income. He works month on, month off or 2 on 1 off depending on the contarct at the time. When he is off he doesn't turn up in the UK & hand over his salary to some western bitch who's been getting shagged in his absence for her to squander. He travels to the LOS, Philippines, South America & shags. He insists this is only taking about 30- 40% of his salary, the rest he ploughs into his long term investments.

This sounds like the way to doit to me, & i envy his life style.

[katoeylover]

(mardhi @ Apr. 17 2007,18:55) Wierd but I am getting bored of Thailand.

Very understandable.

I think we all go through periods, eras, in fact where all is well and then suddenly it starts growing like a tumour til all at once it is a powerful force.

Happened with me when I left for the States in the very early 90's - at the beginning I thought i had found nirvana, only after 7 years to be hating the place (S Florida) and wishing for a life back in the UK. As they say, there is no place like home...

However, the itchy feet do return, for me now after another few years, but this time I would not go full time, unless i had a proper ex-pat job, and kept routes here in the UK.

My advice - take a longish trip now before you end up being fed up of the place and keep some roots there, so you can return as easily as you left.

I seriously considered the Philippines as a place to live / retire, but in the end it was only a dream.

I think this is a much worse option than Thailand, despite the English spoken there. A society run by the Catholic Church together with the poverty is looking for trouble. Not a place I would like to be long term.

[nigel69]

Hi Stogie,

don't worry about my bar/restaurant in Hua Hin.Both my wife & I are very experienced in this area and if we can combine living & business in the same building then it's kind of like living for free.All food & drink supplied, a bit of extra cash on the side and most important of all, we do not need this income to live on.My investments and ongoing business in Oz will deliver more than enough for living in LOS. It's just good to have an interest in something ,as I would quickly get bored just watching tv & reading the Bangkok Post every day. Also enjoy a chinwag with the customers.

[stogie bear]

Good for you...

If you already have experience running a restaurant in Thailand and profit is not the main motive for doing so again, then your future in Hua Hin should be a content and peaceful one.

(Obviously, don't be seen working in your restaurant... it's strictly illegal and the fines are heavy!)

Good luck and I hope to see you there for a chinwag...

[Guest]

About the happiness topic:
I have been told that there were two types of developments of mankind - let me elaborate - those of so called civilized worlds, and those of so called "native people". Many people in the "civilized" world consider "native" people lazy, because they work for today's consumptions, not for savings. I used to have many employees who take off the day after I paid them even I withheld some of their salaries. If they got enough money for next week's food and beer, they are done.
And amazingly these people would come back in 2 weeks and acted all shocked that you won't hire them back....
Ok, pardon the long prelude, but I think (IMHO), Thai is really a "civilized" culture that thinks very much like "native" people. Bhuddism gives them the "theological foundation" and the tropical weather gives them the environmental frameworks. The sanuk way of life hence formed.
I will admit I am more more intrigued by this way of thinking and I will share my own self analysis - maybe some people are on the same boat ....
The "saving" idea has a lot to do with the next generations. With this sexuality and want to freely "exercise" it, I decide to stay single. So the saving idea does not make much sense to me. On the other hand, the "training" you got since childhood still effect you somehow, making it hard to let go. We just constantly living in a struggle. Based on the info on this thread, I should be able to wrap everything up and go live in paradise at a very young age. What do worry about? I don't know how to explain things to my folks and I hate to see them "disappointed". I can't stop thinking about the earning possibilities if I just stay in the trench longer. Ah......
do you look at flickr.com with keyword Thailand every 20 minutes at work?

[Mr. GRUMPY (Grrr!)]

Anyone got a decoder for that?

[andre459]

I have enjoyed reading everyone's posts as it's a topic I have put a bit of thought into myself recently.  After 8 years in a small business I will finally be out in about a month. I will have to make some serious decisions about my future and moving to Thailand was something that seemed appealing. But like Rob and others have said I imagine the reality is a lot different to the dream. Anyway I can still live in Australia and be able to get to LOS 2-3 times a year to get my fix.

So for now I am looking foward to having an extended break and long holiday. South America calls.

[jaime24]

Hi andre459
where abouts in Australia are you? im in Melbourne,

[andre459]

Hi Jaime24, I'm in Sydney.

[jaime24]

I envy you being in Sydney at least there seems to be quite a few thai LB's there, would certainley help with my withdrawl symptoms

[dommy6]

(jaime24 @ Apr. 19 2007,20:43) I envy you being in Sydney at least there seems to be quite a few thai LB's there, would certainley help with my withdrawl symptoms

Melbourne here too mate. And would never live in Sydney.

For me I could never see myself living or retiring in Thailand. I am single but have many ties here. I actually like living here. I don€™t mind the winters here as they are mild and sometimes quite pleasant. I love the football season and the women are not that bad. Not that I am a high flyer or anything like that, in fact I live quite simple. My job is ok and Im not even really looking forward to retirement in 20 or so years

Been in Australia it is a bit of an advantage as it is only a nine hour flight to Bkk non stop. You can leave in the afternoon and be there the same night. No jet lag and ready to go.

Ideally I would eventually like to spend say about 4 months in the year in LOS. Like Jan €“ March and perhaps a month in October. That way it is like being in semi holiday and semi living mode. Probably based in Phuket.

I don€™t feel comfortable with the idea of selling up everything and moving. That is a real strong commitment which I don€™t have the guts to do. I would never buy property in LOS unless I had mega bucks to burn.

Another alternative to buying property is that if you can afford it, is buy a property in full in your own country. You can rent that out and use the proceeds to fund your rent in LOS. You may even have change left over. This way your capital gain should be greater than if you were buying in LOS. Especially with a condo. It also gives you the flexibility to move around and a fallback if you need to go back home. Let€™s face it you don€™t know what condition you will be in when you are in your older years.

Then there is also the quality of life aspect. And I don€™t mean what you can afford and money matters. You must really consider what you are going to do with your life in LOS. You cannot go whoring and barhopping every day. Firstly you will get bored of it fair quickly. If you don€™t I can€™t see a long life ahead. You have to consider about finding new real friends (and if that includes members of this board that is a bonus too), persuing your hobbies or new pursuits and real social life with real people outside the P4P scene. I don€™t believe this is as easy it may sound. It really is starting over. If you are lucky enough to work and earning a western salary then that is a very good start. I can€™t comment on the LOS scams as I have not been subject to them yet. This quality of life issue I believe should be the most important factor when deciding to make the move.

And please don€™t invest in bars and restaurants if you have had no experience.

Good luck to all who make the move.

PS found this site for a legal firm.

http://www.siam-legal.com/default.html

If it not appropriate to post link the moderators may delete it. I don€™t know if they are good or not but they have lots of free information regarding anything legal in LOS. From visas to property buying.