Cuppa

Did you mean the Colchester TOC?

Yeah, sort of. It was a branch of the TOMCC when I first joined, but there was a parting of the ways & we just ended up calling ourselves the Colchester Triumph Riders. I met a good mate of mine there, an eccentric bloke by the name of John Pullen Appleby. Lives on Mersea Island. Still has the same three bikes he had when I met him. No car licence just the bikes, with one always on the road (just). He was also known as Rickman John, cos one of the bikes is a Rickman framed Triumph. The other two are a 650 Bonnie & a 350 BSA. I’m sure he would have been a customer of yours at some stage, he went to Norwich uni during the time you had shop.

I left the UK in ’87 & brought just one bike to Oz, the Le Mans. Looked great with a 2 into 1 Dr John pipe. Don’t have it any more though.

Me and a mate riding thru the Fens in East Anglia one balmy sunny evening to a do, me on my T140,

Did you know anyone from the Colchester Triumph riders? A ’76 T140V with breadbox tank was my first Triumph.

My bikes there in the mid 80’s

’52 Ariel VH Red Hunter - 500 single

Moto Guzzi Le Mans II (with Crossbow Equipe fairing) 850 V twin

TriBsa - ’58 T110 in A10 Frame with Triumph Conical hub front end (& green Ferodo linings) -650 vertical twin

Honda C90 90 single

BSA A7 500 vertical twin

3 stories.

1. Riding my old 1952 Ariel VH Red Hunter (500cc single) with sidecar attached. I have a bent nose & goggles always have a gap between the goggles & my cheek on one side. On this occasion a wasp managed to get inside. Total panic. Pulled up as quick as I could in the middle of the road with no regard for other traffic & desperately clawed the goggles off. Didn’t get stung. If I’d been riding a solo there is no doubt I would have come off.

2. Riding a hired bike in Lombok, Indonesia. No other traffic except for a cop car coming toward me. They deliberately swerved to my side of the road & if I hadn’t ridden into a ditch it would have been a head on collision!

3. Riding my Triumph Thunderbird (Hinckley 900cc triple) through northern South Australia. Rode into a swarm of plague locusts. It was unbelievable. I hit the first few at around 130kph & even through my padded leather riding jeans they hurt. Immediately slowed down. Three different ‘life stages’ of locusts. Crawling on the road. Couldn’t see the road. Hopping at up to about handlebar height, & flying. It was the locust equivalent of a ‘white out’. I was wearing a full face helmet. Locusts splatter & leave a gooey residue on the visor which smears worse if you try to wipe it off. I quickly learned that they bounce off at under 40kph, but it was too late, I drove into the town of Orroroo with a spot about 1” square that I could see out of. The bike stank with splattered bugs all over the hot motor. When I pulled up in town, every local car had shadecloth across their radiators to protect them. As I was about to get off the bike a car pulled up alongside me & the bloke got out & said “They’re bad today eh?” He then went to the front of his car & pulled out the shade cloth dumping the equivalent of a large wheelbarrow full of locusts onto the road. I found a place with a pressure washer to get the worst off before the goo all set solid, but was still pickin the little buggers out from crevices months later.

I have lived in cities in the past, London for a year & Melbourne for 5 years, but I grew up in rural Essex in the UK, & gravitated toward a rural setting in Australia. Moving away from the city was ‘burning bridges’ with the knowledge that we would never be able to afford to move back to the city, but we were certain it was what we wanted. I imagine for many thecertainty may be less, & the sense of risk higher.

For 20 years I lived a country lifestyle in a fairly remote spot, producing much of our own food & more, going into town only when needed, often only once or twice a month. Loved it. Over that 20 years I often felt I had made few connections & was astounded by the number of folk in the area who wanted to pay their respects to me when we sold up & moved away earlier this year. I left with a great deal of sorrow having realised just how much a part of the community I had become, even though town was 30 kilometres away & only 10 other houses within a 15 kilometre radius. The reality is that when we lived in the cities, we were only connected to a handful of others. Also with so much available to us, virtually on our doorstep we really didn’t make much use of it. We rarely ate out, went to the theatre or cinema. Our idea of going out for enjoyment was to leave the city boundaries behind. We would pack up the car with camping gear as often as possible. Walking amongst the freshness of the forests & the ‘realness’ of the wildlife gave me a connection to the earth & a clearer & more grounded sense of self, that no amount of spending money in the city could ever compete with.

I have a few friends who are city folk through & through however, folk who’s lives revolve around ‘what’s on’ & meeting up for coffees. They love it & would never dream of leaving. When they visit us they recognise the country is different, & enjoy the difference in much the same way that folk enjoy cute pictures on chocolate boxes, but they don’t see the quail nesting in the grass, the mushrooms ready for picking, or know how to read the weather. They have little or no interest in things which are central to our way of life, the weather means no more to them than whether they need to take an umbrella with them. They notice the quietness, but find it a little unsettling. Bottom line is that we are all different. Wherever you live there are always deeper & deeper levels to understand & appreciate. Those who criticise or generalise about the ‘other’ reveal only something of themselves. Horses & courses.

I have no doubt that if we end up settling full time in Thailand that it will be in a country setting, but we will have to start off in town somewhere. For me population density will be as big an issue to adapt to as the difference in culture I language I think. Moving to a big city would be unthinkable.

I can only wonder what you all must think of us filthy Aussies & Poms (yes I’m both) who seem to manage perfectly well with a single shared bathroom in the average 3 bedroom house

A number of responses have also made me smile because of the differing interpretation of the term bathroom, which here, presumably under American influence, has been taken to mean toilet. Of course the civilised world refers to a toilet as a toilet (or perhaps WC, loo or dunny or even ‘the shitter’ late at night & under the influence of peer pressure & alcohol) and expects a bathroom to be just that, a room with a bath (&/or shower).

I have been perusing some Thai real estate advertisements, no intention to buy, just interested in the differences in style between what I am used to & what the ‘norm’ is in Thailand.

Many houses I have seen have more bathrooms than bedrooms. I just looked at a 3 bedroom house with 5 bathrooms & am struggling to see the point.

Please enlighten me.

and you judged them

I’m sorry I can’t let that go, it is incorrect, although if that is your belief it explains why you responded to me as you have.

I judged no-one, I judged behaviour, expressed my irritation with the behaviour & ‘wondered aloud’ why such behaviour might be so prevalent.

Please don’t post quotes from me which you have altered without at least acknowledging responsibility for the change.

Do any Australians know the eligibility regulations regarding receiving the pension overseas? I seem to remember reading that you had to have worked in Australia for 35 years (do part time/casual work years count?) but when I attempted to find information about eligibility recently, the only provisos that I could find was that the person had to have lived in Australia 35 years (formerly 25). Does anyone know the true criteria?

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/spw/customer/publications/resources/rt010/rt010-1404en.pdf

Page 24

This interview was broadcast on the Australian ABC radio a couple of weeks ago & may be of interest. We heard the broadcast (I think this is an abbreviated version) & it my wife responded to it by suggesting we look into the idea a bit more which set us on the path of exploration which brought me here.

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/a-baby-boomers-guide-to-expat-life/5699160

9 pages, 210 posts ......and still no sense of coming together, of reaching compromise, of accepting difference. Some seem only to want to strengthen division. So much vitriol & abuse. It seems to me that perhaps there are some mother countries who would have been only too happy to have lost their ’sons’.

<Shakes head slowly from side to side>.

Although new here, I have been a regular contributor to internet forums for over a decade now & have witnessed the ups & downs of ‘online life’, but truthfully the only forums I have seen where such abuse & lack of acceptance has been as prevalent as in this thread have been those largely populated by teenage boys. I certainly had not expected it here.

If I believed that much of the input to this thread was representative of the community we are considering moving to...... well we just wouldn’t bother. I don’t make judgement upon how others choose to live their lives but clearly there are many who do...... given the relative anonymity of an internet forum. Big men with little typing fingers?

It really makes me wonder WHY many choose to participate here. I choose this & other forums as a place to share, to learn & to connect. Isn’t that what forums are about? So why such lack of respect from many? Do they feel that those they perceive as different are responsible for the hurt in their lives* & does lashing out somehow makes them feel better. Perhaps lashing out is their only means of connecting? Maybe it’s a good thing & keeps those people’s (& those around them) lives more stable? Perhaps some of what we see here is envy of those who have made a success of their expat transition? Whatever it is, it is not pretty & I doubt that it serves any real purpose other than to maintain the protective walls that folk have built around themselves. It must be lonely inside.

These are my observations, my view albeit a little provocative, which I would like to think might encourage folk to examine their motives for writing what they do, even if only briefly. I may have things completely wrong, but that is ok if the response is one of self reflection leading to an increased willingnes to accommodate difference. My guess though is that well established self protective mechanisms will come into play & that I will either be ignored or attacked....... which of course is just more of the same.

*a belief which is surely a recipe for disaster particularly for folk who choose to leave familiarity & move to a different culture. How many left familiarity because it didn’t work for them - out of the fying pan into the fire? (A rhetorical question).

Just finished watching the programme. To be honest I wan’t very impressed, it certainly wouldn’t have inspired me to consider the idea of retiring in Thailand any further. The focus seemed to be mainly on the cheaper living & more an advert for http://www.thailandretirementhelpers.com (without actually mentioning them) than anything else.

As one of a couple with 32 years of mainly happy marriage behind us & thinking of becoming an expats in Thailand............

It often appears (to me) that posters forget that not all expats are single men, or indeed men.

Would we be part of such a small minority within the farang community that we would be an oddity?

A couple of thoughts here. After reading most of the comments up to this point I've arrived at a few conclusions.

1st, many of us read or comment in a humorous way because it's good to laugh and mostly the Thais don't get our jokes. So it's an outlet for many of us guys.

2nd, as for those fellas saying that many guys on here are old bitter farts with nothing better to do than denigrate people... Well, then I say, those people saying this have not spent much time in the company of regular men in relaxed group settings. Look, men are rough. Men are gregarious. Men have testosterone. It's what makes men, MEN. Not every man in Thailand is on the same journey. We are not all cut from the same Caucasian cloth! We all have our experiences and as such, attitudes shaped by those experiences. This makes the expat community in Thailand a melting pot. And that's a positive thing in my opinion.

3rd, there is coming a day, very soon I'm sure, that Thailand will turn against the whole lot of us expats; regardless of country of origin. This will require us to join together as brothers and walk in lockstep as long as possible. We may not win the fight in the end but our collective voices will be heard and we will have shown that we really do care about our fellow expat.

I am ready and prepared for this eventuallity in Thailand. I will stand and help defend my expat brothers when that time comes. I'm resigned to it. I'm committed. I am an expat. Are you?

1st. Understood. But there is a time & a place, & laughing or making fun at the wrong time or in the wrong place can be disrespectful. Whether the disrespect is intended or not is irelevant.

2nd. Making assumptions about all men is not helpful. Granted there are plenty of men who fit your description, but whether you acknowledge it or not there plenty who are not like that. Sure lots of blokes would prefer to suck on a beer & take the piss out of their mate & often this is good for both of them, but there are also plenty of blokes who also sometimes prefer to communicate at a deeper level as well, to let go of the ‘masculine armour’ & to open themselves up a bit. To share feelings even! When someone asks questions which essentially ask blokes to drop the usual bullshit bravado the blokes have a choice about whether they answer or not. It doesn’t sit well with me when those blokes fail to answer the question but choose to only hang sh*t. It’s not only disrespectful & ignorant, but it also tells all that here is a bloke without the guts to let his armour down. I enjoy a bit of banter at times & give as good as I get, but it’s not the only way of being. We all need to recognise, respect & encourage difference.

3rd. This sounds incredibly defensive. Your neck must get sore from all that looking over your shoulder. In the unlikely event that Thailand, or any country, were to turn wholesale against it’s expats, the ’them & us’ attitude so clear in your statement would probably be the number one reason. You write as though you have a right to expect Thailand to follow your rules & expectations, which, I would suggest is probably not very polite for someone who is essentially a visitor - long term or otherwise.

Would I say all this to your face? Possibly, it would depend on whether my reading of your demeanour suggested you might listen or punch me out.

I wonder how much of the issue is simply part of the cultural divide which makes it difficult for many Farang to read the subtle cues that they are stepping over boundaries until it’s too late?

How do authorities like police & prison guards manage ‘face’ when dealing with offenders?

If you have a visa a return or onward ticket it not required.

Is that the same for all long term visas?

Once again, thank you to all who have replied to my OP & shared your thoughts. My wife & I are blown away by the number of responses & your generosity in sharing them. Thank you particularly to the folk who have exchanged PM’s & emails with me.

One thing in particular runs through many of your posts & is certainly advice we intend to follow - summarised as ‘try before you buy’.

We are thinking that for us the best option will be for us to obtain O-A ‘retirement visas whilst still here in Australia & to then fly over to Thailand for a non time limited ‘holiday’ during which we will travel around, basing ourselves in different places for a month or two at a time. Between now & whenever this happens (could be a while) expect to see me posting here on the forum. It’ll be a mix of information gathering and a means of keeping the dream alive.

Regarding the division between city & country living - I guess it really is a horses for courses thing. We are country horses, but accept that the reality of jumping in feet first to a remote rural life in a country where we have no support, cannot speak the language & have little understanding of the culture would be incredibly difficult & destined for failure. In that respect I am envious of those of you who have inherited a support network to give you a sense of belonging. Clearly marrying a Thai woman for many is as much about belonging as it is about a two person relationship.

regards

Cuppa (& MrsTea).

To answer your question one would also need to know if you are working or retired, if working what kind of work and if your wife is Thai or also foreign.

Several folk have asked if my wife is Thai. No we are both of English origin but have lived in Australia for getting close to 3 decades.

We would not be working in Thailand.

Hope this assists other’s to offer something to this thread.

Cuppa

Cuppa, based on your posts and our PM's, I'm thinking you may wind up doing a half and half. Getting the best of Aussie as well as SE Asia as your whim dictates.

You may find that the Gypsy lifestyle suits you until you finally figure out where you want "home" to be.

Yes, you’ve probably read me correctly. Travel is important but so is having somewhere to belong. I envisage the balance between travel & belonging will change as we grow older.

Hi JAFO,

PM sent.

Cuppa

This is good stuff folks, thanks & keep it coming.

Gsxrnz - I think what you say certainly makes a great deal of sense. I’m not quite sure though what you mean by an ‘enclosed/secure village’ - the community you describe sounds attractive, just not sure what the enclosed/secure bit means. Makes me wonder if there are places where it is not safe to live?

Right off to check Jomtien on Google maps.

I wonder if when you say why you live where you live, if you might also tell us what area you are in (needn’t be too specific) & maybe a brief description of your community for those of us not familiar with the regions? e.g.. living in XXX, rural area populated mainly by farming/smallholder families, with a few farangs dotted around, or town, population approx xyz, with active farang community etc etc.

I would find these sort of snippets of info (& any more you might add) to be really helpful in trying to build a picture of the country & the possibilities for potentential areas to consider as places to move to.

Thanks

Cuppa