Reasons you like living in Thailand

[MM 6,562]

Ok, maybe the ladies are a big big part of it, but there's more.

 

As an example, today I had to get a computer repair done for the bar computer. Damned thing came up saying "no operating system found". So, I checked and it turns out the hard disk wasn't being found. I had my reception guy meet me with the computer at Tuk.com (he didn't complain, even though it was outside his work hours).

 

We took the computer to the Hardware Store on the 4th floor. The fixit guy promptly took it back to his workroom while I followed like a concerned parent. He took the cover off, jiggled some wires, hooked up a monitor and keyboard, booted it and the disk was found. Hmm, I thought. All this time wasted for a loose connector. He rebooted and we tried to recreate the problem, but it never failed again. This computer had been dead for a month, so it apparently just wanted to get out for an afternoon.

 

He replaced the connector between the motherboard and the hard disk, just to be sure. Rebooted a few more times...no problem still.

 

I said "thanks for that, how much do I owe you?" He said "nothing". I said, "You put in new connector". He said "mai bpen rai, up to you". I gave him 100b.

 

Nowhere in my home country of the USA would this ever happen, especially in a tourist area.

 

There are lots of reasons to live here...little things that are unimaginable back in the old country.

[neil324 0]

Yeh its defo cheaper than the west, i dont like working, love to drink the weather, the people you meet, the different things you do, every thing is so black and white to me nothing is new at home.

[LocalYokul 177]

why did you make the receptionist meet you at TukCom outside his work hours if the computer had been dead for a month ?

 

 

I liked the smells in Chiang Mai, there's lot of flowers, and parts of the city smell nice

 

I like being able to get pissed all day on Sunday and no one complains about it. Yeah we could do that back home, but it's more fun here

 

WTF can I say, it's just different from back home, and I am sure I could think of many reasons after a two week stay back where I was born

[MM 6,562]

why did you make the receptionist meet you at TukCom outside his work hours if the computer had been dead for a month ?

 

uh, cause it became an emergency...oh, and cause when he's working the bar is open and the computer repair shops are closed.

[LocalYokul 177]

cool, have a nice party at 7 on the 7th

[casper_uk 12]

The food, the smiles (obviously), the all night drinking hours, the price of just about everything.

 

My live in lost the 'screw' from her Motorcycle visor the other day, so we went into a 'bike repair' shop to see if they had one.

 

They did and one guy spent a couple of minutes repairing and washing the visor, whilst another guy adjusted the brakes on the bike.

 

The charge? ........ 5 baht.

 

My live in gave them 10 baht, so that's a 100% tip ....... don't tell Roland for god's sake!!

[LocalYokul 177]

stick with your live-in, leave Banchang alone, LOL

[casper_uk 12]

change country ...... you've obviously banged every decent girl in Thailand.

[LocalYokul 177]

no, there are still some left (and more turn 18 every day), but the better shopping is in Pattaya

[joekicker 53]

There are lots of reasons to live here...little things that are unimaginable back in the old country.

 

No kidding.

 

Yet in another thread here we have the opinion of one guy who informs everyone that:

 

2) The more you get to know the thai people the less you will like them.

 

I told him, what do you mean by "you"?

 

I suppose it's a cliche but the Thai people are exactly why I stay here. I try to imagine Bangkok or Pattaya filled with other nationalities and I couldn't stomach that. Bangkok without the Thais would be unspeakable. There's no perfect country but this is among the tops.

[wacmedia 277]

Hi,

 

The computer is only one issue. I was in Burma and the zip on my bag broke. Thinking like a Westerner I was going to throw the bag away but a local fixed it . Because wages are high in the West reparing things is becoming a lost art. Things are recycled in the East while we now just throw things away and buy a new one. I think our economies depend on that behaviour. Crazy World.

[MM 6,562]

No kidding.

 

Yet in another thread here we have the opinion of one guy who informs everyone that:

 

2) The more you get to know the thai people the less you will like them.

 

I told him, what do you mean by "you"?

 

I suppose it's a cliche but the Thai people are exactly why I stay here. I try to imagine Bangkok or Pattaya filled with other nationalities and I couldn't stomach that. Bangkok without the Thais would be unspeakable. There's no perfect country but this is among the tops.

 

Kind of why I started the thread

[jacko 8,766]

The weather and the low costs are obvious... but little things...

 

My girl hanging up the washing right now as I lie on my ass playing on the computer.

 

Going fishing....

 

Getting my gas cylinder relaced at 7pm on a Sunday night, a phone call, and it is delivered and fitted in minutes.

 

Calling Sophon cable and they fix the problem in 20 minutes.

 

Calling the place where they issue driving licenses and getting to talk to a human being.

 

Parking my motorcycle where I need to...

 

Hardly ever having to buy clothes, and when I do, they are cheap.

 

Hardly ever having to wear much clothing....

 

Not understanding politicians when they talk on TV......

 

Arriving at the airport, and being in the lounge within an hour......

 

Having the tyres checked/fixed for 3 baht

 

Did I mention the girls, was I told not to??

Edited July 6, 2007 by jacko

[StupidFucker 0]

Ok, maybe the ladies are a big big part of it, but there's more.

 

As an example, today I had to get a computer repair done for the bar computer. Damned thing came up saying "no operating system found". So, I checked and it turns out the hard disk wasn't being found. I had my reception guy meet me with the computer at Tuk.com (he didn't complain, even though it was outside his work hours).

 

We took the computer to the Hardware Store on the 4th floor. The fixit guy promptly took it back to his workroom while I followed like a concerned parent. He took the cover off, jiggled some wires, hooked up a monitor and keyboard, booted it and the disk was found. Hmm, I thought. All this time wasted for a loose connector. He rebooted and we tried to recreate the problem, but it never failed again. This computer had been dead for a month, so it apparently just wanted to get out for an afternoon.

 

He replaced the connector between the motherboard and the hard disk, just to be sure. Rebooted a few more times...no problem still.

 

I said "thanks for that, how much do I owe you?" He said "nothing". I said, "You put in new connector". He said "mai bpen rai, up to you". I gave him 100b.

 

Nowhere in my home country of the USA would this ever happen, especially in a tourist area.

 

There are lots of reasons to live here...little things that are unimaginable back in the old country.

 

 

I like Thailand because the Laws are more used as vague guidlines. I had some real issues back in my home country. A guy can't have a few beers on the way home? A guy can't have an open beer in public? WTF is the world coming too?

 

I like the food. I have always liked spicey Asian food.

 

I like the fact that I make the same salary as I did in my home country, and can live a hell of a lot cheaper.

 

I like the fact that I am different than the locals, and I get more attention than I did back in my home country.

 

I like the fact that beer is a fraction of the cost here, as compared with beer in my home country.

[jackcorbett 2]

There are lots of reasons for my moving here, many of them already cited.

 

But the number one reason is this. Health care costs in the U.S. and really shitty service. I was paying $3600 a year for insurance and couldn't even use it until I would have paid the $5000 deductible for the year. That was two years ago and it was going up 25 % each year. So I figured, why stick around and be a sucker? Give you one for instance. Back in the U.S. I suddenly developed lower back problems. I'd be on my couch watching t.v. and I had a set of crutches close by that I had kept around since having a foot injury several years previously. I"d have to take a piss and the bathroom was about fifteen feet away and I'd ask myself, "Just how badly do I need to take that piss?" So I"d go and hang on those crutches while taking a piss and before I had finished it got excruciating.

 

Finally I went off to an emergency clinic. Had to hire a cab because I was in too much pain to drive myself. Went into the clinic and had to wait a half hour to see the doctor. Finally I got to see her...for less than five minutes. She prescribed some medication then asked me if I wanted a different medication. I said I wanted Tylenol 3 because it had codeine in it. She looked at me like I was a drug addict, then scornfully told me she'd never prescribe that. So I then had the cabbie take me to a drug store to get my prescription filled. Well....they wouldn't fill it right away so I had the cabbie take me home. A couple hours later I drove myself in my pickup truck. It was less than 2 miles to the pharmacy. Painful as hell driving there and back but I had to do it and that was that. Well........I got a six day supply of that prescription and it cost me around $70.00. And it didn't work at all...not one bit. Between the doctor's visit and the pharmacy all of that cost me over $300.00.

 

So I started seeing a chiropractor (they are viewed as witch doctors by the regular medical establishment in the U.S. Cost me just $600 for a year. And from the first visit on I got instant results.

 

Now....I still have back pain but I'm in Thailand. The Thai massages and oil massages keep the back pain in check. And for just five bucks for one hour....Hey....I'm in paradise.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

I think that some of the reasons for living in Pattaya wouldn't really apply to the remainder of the country and vice versa.

[smullenpe 0]

Hi,

 

The computer is only one issue. I was in Burma and the zip on my bag broke. Thinking like a Westerner I was going to throw the bag away but a local fixed it . Because wages are high in the West reparing things is becoming a lost art. Things are recycled in the East while we now just throw things away and buy a new one. I think our economies depend on that behaviour. Crazy World.

You hit the nail on the head. In the western culture, we have landfills filled with stuff that in Thailand or other developing countries would recycle and reuse. Perhaps, that's one of the reasons that dollar against dropping.

 

I would love to retire in Thailand like some of your guys. But I know too well that I have to plan for unexpected as well and expected expenses. Hopefully, LOS remain the same for next 10 years when I'll be living there on my semi-retirement 6 months out of the year.

[Geewizz 0]

For me it's got to be the Thai people. I come from London and everyone seems to be in their own little world, if you try and talk to someone on the bus/tube or try and have a friendly conversation with a girl in a bar they think you are either crazy or trying to rip them off!............and expensive! if you go out for a drink now you'll need to take your credit card........Unbelievable!!

 

Did I mention the weather...........well in the UK it's been raining now for about 40 days and I'm not joking...........no worries I'm in LOS in September!

[kev0184 12]

for me its a combination of a lot of small things, its cheaper than the UK, the weather is a damm site better, having 3 shops within 300mtrs of the condo all open 24/7, no non-smoking regulations everywhere, always knowing when i go out there will be someone to chat too, in the Uk as i work abroad, often when i was at home a lot of mates couldnt get out during the week.

 

and as others have posted little things like the comp repair, or in my case getting the bike brakes done for next to nothing.

 

1 other little thing is 44kg with a great smile, lol. ( i know it wasnt about the girls, just had to drop that in)

[MM 6,562]

I think that some of the reasons for living in Pattaya wouldn't really apply to the remainder of the country and vice versa.

 

Good point, but can you elaborate on the vice versa part?

 

With respect to your post, agreed now that the topic should have been "Reasons you like living in Pattaya".

 

I like this place because it is very international and has a good infrastructure. Living outside Pattaya, especially if you like technology, would be a bit more challenging.

[LocalYokul 177]

Did I mention the weather...........well in the UK it's been raining now for about 40 days and I'm not joking...........no worries I'm in LOS in September!

here's a news flash for you, it's rainy season in LOS now. I got soaked to the bone just yesterday, and I think it will still be rainy in September

 

at least it's not cold AND rainy, just rainy

[jackcorbett 2]

for me its a combination of a lot of small things, its cheaper than the UK, the weather is a damm site better, having 3 shops within 300mtrs of the condo all open 24/7, no non-smoking regulations everywhere, always knowing when i go out there will be someone to chat too, in the Uk as i work abroad, often when i was at home a lot of mates couldnt get out during the week.

 

Good point about the shops within 300 meters. Right directly below my condo, within the building itself is a Family Mart kind of place and if it's closed there is a Family Mart less than 200 meters up the street from me. So if I need a beer, more Vodka, Coca Cola, coffee, snacks, etc. I literally can call down to the female owner and lower a bucket on a rope with my cash in it. She's so accommodating, I'm sure she'd do it, except there's an overhang because of the tiled roof below me. Within two years or so there will be a shopping center hotel complex complete with movie theaters less than a half mile from me. Lots of low cost restaurants near me. My neighbors in the condo building I'm living in are from everywhere: Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Great Britain, France, Ireland, Russia, Australia, for example so conversing with the neighbors is much more interesting than it is in the U.S. There's sitting in a bar drinking beer and having someone come up to you with an assortment of new movie DVD's to choose from and for just 100 baht. Talk about easy going and minimal effort for entertainment, both before and after. There's the health club at the Long Beach Hotel next door I only have to walk 200 meters to use. Motorbikes---always liked them and here you get to drive them 365 days of the year. Always wanted to explore Asia, and did manage to get to China, Japan Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok around 1980 on two tours but they cost $3000 each or so even back then, so now I have a good base to explore out from at much much lower cost. Got the ocean (Gulf of Thailand ) just 200 meters from me to start out my walks. Beautiful two bedroom condo at a fraction of the cost I would have paid in the U.S. Thai massages and Oil massages at just 200 baht, and they can be gotten everywhere, starting with this great little place about one hundred meters up the street.

 

Basically there's lots of everything very close by. And------in the U.S. there are DWI laws. So okay, I'm single and if I want to go out to socialize with people and have a few there's the Gestapo out there waiting for me. It's only a matter of time they'll get you and then it's huge fines. possible jail time, loss of driving privileges, etc. Just one big example of discrimination against single people in the U.S. where "Good People" sit around with the wife and kids, all of them getting to be fat" and bad people are those who do not toe the line. The U.S. is a police state where having fun is disallowed.

Edited July 6, 2007 by jackcorbett

[StupidFucker 0]

Good point, but can you elaborate on the vice versa part?

 

With respect to your post, agreed now that the topic should have been "Reasons you like living in Pattaya".

 

I like this place because it is very international and has a good infrastructure. Living outside Pattaya, especially if you like technology, would be a bit more challenging.

 

 

I would not consider Pattaya to be a "technologically advanced" city. Far from it to tell you the truth. For that matter, I wouldn't consider Bangkok to be either.

 

When I think of "technologically advanced" cities, I think of Dubai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore.

 

I would consider Pattaya to be one of the more "low tech" tourist destinations in Asia.

[MC_Ldop 40]

I miss buying a meal for two for $2 to $3 USD. It's fresher, healthier, and tastier than the sandwich and soda I bought for $10 today.

[joekicker 53]

I would not consider Pattaya to be a "technologically advanced" city. Far from it to tell you the truth. For that matter, I wouldn't consider Bangkok to be either.

 

When I think of "technologically advanced" cities, I think of Dubai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore.

 

Fair enough, but I'm scratching my head. What's lacking? I file my taxes on the Internet, my car is a Ford at US specs (yes it is, believe me), I'm online 24/7, I work at home and go to the office once every couple of weeks...

 

I know you can keep adding technology and never catch up, but what's missing here between what we've got and what would be "technologically advanced"?

 

Example of what I'm after here: I go to Singapore, there's nothing there that makes me go, "wow, wish we had that in Thailand".