Back in the UK after 10 years in Thailand

[sanemax]

First time back in the UK since 2010 .

First think that I noticed was that were lots of machines doing peoples jobs .

All the airport immigration officers gone and all done by machine  ,  put your passport in a slot and wait for the green light .

At the tube station, no human cashiers , just machines . Get on a bus , doesnt accept money , just cards .

  Found the UK people to be vary direct , polite , but direct . They dont shrug their shoulders and giggle when you ask them a question .

  The cars drive much faster on the roads , but all the cars drive at the same speed and observe the road rules . Which means you cannot just walk across the road , needs to cross at a crossing when the light turns green .

  No plastic bags in shops , no disposable ones anyway , need to buy a 15 p bag .

 Confectionery is expensive , mars bars , twix , can of coke , crisps , a pound each .

Food in supermarkets is cheaper , food from restaurants ins more expensive than Thailand .

Everything is orderly and people seem to be going places with a purpose , rather than just randomly floating around . And theres no useless junk stored up on the streets , slowly rusting away

The air is so nice to breathe , invigorating .

The food seems to be more wholesome and tasty 

[brokenbone]

how much for short time ?

scary needing cards, i see the thais use it at 7/11 almost exclusively, i dont like using cards, i hope i die before it becomes mandatory

[sanemax]

3 minutes ago, brokenbone said:

how much for short time ?

scary needing cards, i see the thais use it at 7/11 almost exclusively, i dont like using cards, i hope i die before it becomes mandatory

I have no idea about prostitution 

[RichardColeman]

And it's lovely and cool at the minute without having to have the air con on or the fan on full.

 

I'm currently back in the uk, living on trifle, pork pies and english sausages  - the veg can wait until i get back to thailand next month.

 

I came back last autumn . I guarantee you'll be so happy when the trees start to change in a month or so and your lungs fill with those damp leaves

[shy coconut]

8 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

And it's lovely and cool at the minute without having to have the air con on or the fan on full.

 

I'm currently back in the uk, living on trifle, pork pies and english sausages  - the veg can wait until i get back to thailand next month.

 

I came back last autumn . I guarantee you'll be so happy when the trees start to change in a month or so and your lungs fill with those damp leaves

Pretty sure inhaling damp leaves isn't too healthy!!

[Puchaiyank]

Has even 1 person said: "Welcome, handsome man?"

[Thaiwrath]

I am just off for my leisurely walk around a local lake here in Thailand, 4.45am I'll start.

Pretty sure I couldn't do that back in my home city in the UK, although not been back for 14 years myself !

[GalaxyMan]

1 hour ago, brokenbone said:

how much for short time ?

scary needing cards, i see the thais use it at 7/11 almost exclusively, i dont like using cards, i hope i die before it becomes mandatory

Agreed. I don't like the idea of the government knowing where and how I spend my money. I prefer to pay cash whenever possible. If they go to a cashless society, then like the internet, they can just throw a switch and turn it off, meaning you have no money. Same for the 'cloud'; I don't trust it. I prefer to keep my information/data on my own computer, especially in light of the near-constant 'data breaches' which expose hundreds of millions of people's personal information.

[emptypockets]

So SaneMax, are you there for holiday or there permanently?

 

[JamJar]

24 minutes ago, Thaiwrath said:

I am just off for my leisurely walk around a local lake here in Thailand, 4.45am I'll start.

Pretty sure I couldn't do that back in my home city in the UK, although not been back for 14 years myself !

 

I do my training at night and the early morning here in London. Very pleasant.

[seasia]

Mars bars 3 for a pound at Poundland.Not a pound each.

[CharlieH]

Troll comments removed.

[KittenKong]

4 hours ago, sanemax said:

Confectionery is expensive , mars bars , twix , can of coke , crisps , a pound each .

You are buying them in the wrong shop. All those items are much cheaper in the UK than they are here.

[cyril sneer]

Have you done your TM30?

[soalbundy]

2 hours ago, JamJar said:

 

I do my training at night and the early morning here in London. Very pleasant.

without a stab vest?

[theoldgit]

2 hours ago, seasia said:

Mars bars 3 for a pound at Poundland.Not a pound each.

 

£1 for a pack of four in Sainsbury, though smaller than the standard 51g weight  ????

[sanemax]

3 hours ago, KittenKong said:

You are buying them in the wrong shop. All those items are much cheaper in the UK than they are here.

Which shop in the UK can I buy a can of coke for the equivalent of 14 Baht ?

 Even packs of monster munch are 90 pence 

[sanemax]

2 hours ago, soalbundy said:

without a stab vest?

If you arent a hoodie wearing gang member , you are unlikely to get stabbed 

[sanemax]

1 hour ago, theoldgit said:

 

£1 for a pack of four in Sainsbury, though smaller than the standard 51g weight  ????

Those are on special offer at the moment , I was talking about individual bars from the local shop 

[faraday]

1 hour ago, theoldgit said:

 

£1 for a pack of four in Sainsbury, though smaller than the standard 51g weight  ????

How much for a pack of three these days?

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, faraday said:

How much for a pack of three these days?

Are you asking about mars bars or condoms ?

[transam]

6 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

I am just off for my leisurely walk around a local lake here in Thailand, 4.45am I'll start.

Pretty sure I couldn't do that back in my home city in the UK, although not been back for 14 years myself !

Not without constantly looking over your shoulder...

[PatOngo]

Enjoy the cricket!

[sanemax]

6 hours ago, emptypockets said:

So SaneMax, are you there for holiday or there permanently?

 

Had some things to sort out back here and planned to stay for a few weeks, now I'm Back in the UK, I dont want to go back to Thailand 

[bert bloggs]

I was talking to a friend who lives in my old home town ,when i went there 40 years ago it was a nice working class place ,with factories and a small Muslim community ,now ,no factories ,a Mosque that dominates the landscape ,he reckoned half the street where it was has been demolished as its now twice the size ,with a giant car park .

violence is now just a way of life and you dare not go to certain areas at night .

he just wishes he could leave its no longer Britain ,but looks like another country ,he sent me a picture of my old house , i could not believe the number of bins in the street ,he reckons that they are only collected every two weeks and each house has three .

luckily my family live in the countryside ,where little has changed ,

[fredob43]

I own several houses in the UK one is lived in by my daughter so I know the total outgoings.

They now pay 474 pounds a month just for utility bills.

Gas, Electric, insurance. Council Tax that alone is 174 UK. And the great BT phone and internet 150+ a quarter for a whole 10MB. And that doesn't include the TV licence. That compares with the less than the 100UK I pay here for my utility bills.

 

Enjoy your cheaper Mars bars I know where I would sooner be. 

 

Hope your getting on well with the storms you have at present, that's just a precursor till the 10 months of Winter sets in.

[soalbundy]

47 minutes ago, sanemax said:

If you arent a hoodie wearing gang member , you are unlikely to get stabbed 

quite a few stab victims would disagree

[Somtamnication]

I went back last year for a 2 month stint at Cambridge. I found the food cheaper at the local Tescos (fruits and vegetables, in particular).

 

They are more direct and no bs smile. But the PC is overwhelming, as are the amount of Chinese everywhere.

 

Not my grandma's country anymore. I do miss the rule of law, however, and that exists there.

[NightSky]

14 minutes ago, fredob43 said:

I own several houses in the UK one is lived in by my daughter so I know the total outgoings.

They now pay 474 pounds a month just for utility bills.

Gas, Electric, insurance. Council Tax that alone is 174 UK. And the great BT phone and internet 150+ a quarter for a whole 10MB. And that doesn't include the TV licence. That compares with the less than the 100UK I pay here for my utility bills.

 

Enjoy your cheaper Mars bars I know where I would sooner be. 

 

Hope your getting on well with the storms you have at present, that's just a precursor till the 10 months of Winter sets in.

You can’t be comparing like for like. Internet in UK is 27gbp/month not 50 etc

 

Most utility bills are more expensive in UK but food is cheaper. Although it depends how much fuel you use as to how much it costs and also what energy rating your house is.

 

 

 

 

[Jip99]

34 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Had some things to sort out back here and planned to stay for a few weeks, now I'm Back in the UK, I dont want to go back to Thailand 

 

 

There are benefits to both countries.

 

Time in each highlights the shortcomings of the other.

 

For the first time in 13 years I would consider spending more time in the UK. Admittedly, the exchange rate is a major consideration and the the quality/price of foodstuffs/wine etc. Thailand is no longer a cheap place to live (except for accommodation) unless you commit to going native.

 

I think friends who spend 6 months in each camp have probably got it right.