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Anyone else decided that Thailand is no longer the place they fell in love with and will never return?


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2 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

Thailand has changed, obviously, since my first trip in 1991, and in the 17 years since I moved over here to live.

However, so has the city and country I was raised and brought up in.

When I weigh up the pros and cons, the climate and cost of living makes Thailand a far better option for me, and I have no intention of ever returning to the UK. Now in my 60's, I have no intention to look for pastures new either.

well said that man 

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4 hours ago, tonray said:

I guess in all your decades here you never managed to build any relationships to cause you to want to stay. That's quite sad. Building a life somewhere, anywhere, is not just about having fun. You'll find the same problem chasing "sanuk" wherever you end up.

LOL. I was married to a Thai girl. Does that count?

 

I don't have enough years left to worry about where I live. There's only one future left for me and I'm out of alternatives.

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4 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Thought you left because you couldn't afford to live here any more?

Did you miss the bit where I was wanting to have a trip back there? I wasn't planning on LIVING there anymore, but I had plenty of baht saved up for a long stay. Cashed that in now, so no longer an option even if I wanted to, though I don't. All the immigration hoops deter me from bothering.

I can have all the early evenings watching tv where I am without travelling 12 hours to do so.

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4 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Thailand is of course evolving, maybe even developing, but the feeling of lost love is much more down to us getting older.

Our view on life change, what Thailand have to offer we no longer need.

Disagree. What I want from Thailand is bars+girls and nice beaches.

I know the girls are on line, but looking was a lot of the fun for me.

Beaches by myself just don't seem to appeal.

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2 hours ago, madmen said:

Where ever you go there you are. You can't run from yourself 

May I suggest taking a break from AN? The negativity is astonishing and your getting sucked into it 

I spend very little time on it now. There just isn't enough of interest any more. However, it does give me a connection to a place I once loved, and I don't want to give that up.

I didn't write the OP because of the negativity on AN, but because of the lack of things to do in LOS compared to before, and the complications of getting through immigration, plus things like having to have a "smart" phone and being tracked etc. I disliked air travel for a long time, so it would have to be worth it to put up with the hassle, and it just isn't now.

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3 hours ago, Berkshire said:

Yes, Thailand has changed.  But I'm pretty sure the place you're returning to has changed as well.  No place ever stays the same.

Actually the small rural town I live in has changed very little. The city 1/2 an hour away is horrible because too many people moved there and the council didn't build the infrastructure to cope with it. However, I need to visit the city rarely and I can do most of it on Saturdays, so traffic isn't too bad then.

I have noticed that despite the never ending lockdown ( 55 days at level 2 or 3 ) the traffic is pretty much at the same level as prior to corona, and things like mask wearing are slowly being ignored, so life is almost "normal".

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5 minutes ago, Denim said:

Stop reading this forum and newspapers in general and that old sanuk feeling will dust itself off and normal service will be resumed.

Here in the boonies things have changed but not as dramatically as in Bangkok and the tourist towns.

Go up country and step back 10 years or so ( but don't come here or read the papers )

I wasn't referring to the negativity that AN/ TVF is infamous for, but for the situation in LOS as REPORTED through AN. There isn't any other source of info about LOS available to me here, that I can easily use.

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6 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Which is what I'd be if I went back.

Good advice, IMO.

I've never understood the draw of Thailand as a tourist / holiday destination, even pre-covid.

But then, I'm from the Americas, so no need to travel 3-5 days r/t, (from E coast USA) and spend 1000s of $$$ just to get to one of the islands or upcountry.  Only if staying long term, month or more, then might be worth it.  Seems like wasted time & money better spent elsewhere, closer to home, IMHO.

 

I wanting the Asian flare, I'll go to ChinaTown in USA metro area, sometimes even better food there ????

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13 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I've never understood the draw of Thailand as a tourist / holiday destination, even pre-covid.

But then, I'm from the Americas, so no need to travel 3-5 days r/t, (from E coast USA) and spend 1000s of $$$ just to get to one of the islands or upcountry.  Only if staying long term, month or more, then might be worth it.  Seems like wasted time & money better spent elsewhere, closer to home, IMHO.

 

I wanting the Asian flare, I'll go to ChinaTown in USA metro area, sometimes even better food there ????

I think we went to Thailand for different things. ????

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28 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Actually the small rural town I live in has changed very little. The city 1/2 an hour away is horrible because too many people moved there and the council didn't build the infrastructure to cope with it. However, I need to visit the city rarely and I can do most of it on Saturdays, so traffic isn't too bad then.

I have noticed that despite the never ending lockdown ( 55 days at level 2 or 3 ) the traffic is pretty much at the same level as prior to corona, and things like mask wearing are slowly being ignored, so life is almost "normal".

Perhaps on the surface, your small rural town hasn't changed.  But the people there don't use social media?  They don't have smartphones?  They don't shop on Amazon?  Price of everything still the same?  Etc.  If they're Amish people, then I suppose things could stay the same.  If you go back there and your friends and family are still there and they welcome you back as if you never left, great.  But you may have changed more than you know.  I'm guessing you'll be bored out of your mind at some point. 

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19 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I've never understood the draw of Thailand as a tourist / holiday destination, even pre-covid.

But then, I'm from the Americas, so no need to travel 3-5 days r/t, (from E coast USA) and spend 1000s of $$$ just to get to one of the islands or upcountry.  Only if staying long term, month or more, then might be worth it.  Seems like wasted time & money better spent elsewhere, closer to home, IMHO.

 

I wanting the Asian flare, I'll go to ChinaTown in USA metro area, sometimes even better food there ????

If only the three US citizens I bumped into recently held the same views as you......I was just unlucky I guess.

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12 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I think we went to Thailand for different things. ????

Yea, my first trip Sept 1999 was short recon for retirement along with some scuba diving, and a fluke at that, as last minute and no real research.  Returned Sept 2000, a bit more recon, and stayed. 

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