Those who never traveled

[KhunLA]

6 minutes ago, Enoon said:

Your observation is certainly correct of one type.

 

However I submit that a very large pecentage of expats have indeed arrived in Thailand as a member of the age group described in the OP,  and with little or no experience of foreign cultures.

 

20 years holidays in Benidorm, or its equivalent elsewhere in the world, does not count as experiencing foreign cultures.

 

Consequently the moaning and non-stop criticism of Thai culture/society, within which their age/experience renders them pathologically incapable of being at ease.

 

 

 

 

Probably already mentioned, but poor planning = no plan = regret.   Not the country, their stupidity at fault.  Oh well ......

[sipi]

I live in Australia when my Thai wife who is much younger than me, and have had the exact complete opposite experiences to the op.

Most older people I know have traveled, the hard way.

These days if you want to climb Mount Everest you just put your VR headset on and go to YouTube.

[Lacessit]

It's not necessarily unintelligent people who reject travel.

 

When I was a trainee chemist, I worked with another trainee I'll call JW. It was obvious he was going to rise in the corporate world, smart and a driving personality.

 

His ambitions were to marry his childhood sweetheart, have six kids, and barrack for his beloved Essendon football team for the rest of his life. When I expressed the desire to travel and see the world, he called me a fool.

 

When JW got married while still a trainee, his wife certainly gave him a head start on the kids, presenting him with twins. Staunch Roman Catholics.

 

I've traveled the world with my own money and on the company dime. I've seen many interesting cultures, eaten the local food, and talked with the locals as best I can. I've seen abject poverty and obscene affluence. I've tried to absorb the history of each place I have been. I feel enriched by those experiences.

 

I occasionally wonder what happened to JW, and if he stuck to his guns about staying put. If he did, I feel a bit sorry for him, irrespective of what he achieved in life.

[Lemsta69]

23 hours ago, CharlieH said:

One word springs to mind "Bogan" and that says it ALL. ????

 

"Bogan" is the most significant word to be created in Australian English in the past 40 years. It is defined as "an uncultured and unsophisticated person; a boorish and uncouth person" in the 2016 edition of the Australian National Dictionary.

nah mate OP mentioned Dept of Housing so the correct term is "houso". ????

[Lemsta69]

22 hours ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

If you google 'Housos' you'll get the gist. A funny Australian show set in an area of mainly government housing where most live off benefits.

They actually had a double episode where they cheat a current affairs program to give them a free trip to Thailand. Funny. 

 

the episode where they go to Thailand is hilarious. especially the bit where Kev gets upset that the Thai kidnappers think he's Australian ????

[Lemsta69]

21 hours ago, Inala said:

"They were all of caucasian Australian appearance"

 

Does a caucasian Australian look any different from a caucasian British or American or French person? I mean apart from being generally of a more muscular build and handsome appearance, I think the caucasian Aussie is much the same appearance as other caucasians?

So they must've been muscular and handsome which led him to conclude that they were Australian.  

yes, for the most part a white Caucasian Australian looks different to other white Caucasians. generally speaking their ancestry is British (from the First Fleet or free settlers)

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I occasionally wonder what happened to JW, and if he stuck to his guns about staying put. If he did, I feel a bit sorry for him, irrespective of what he achieved in life.

If he has a happy marriage, kids that love him, and enjoys his life he's a winner.

I enjoyed traveling very much, but the bits between when I had to work to afford to travel sucked mightily, and now that my traveling days are over, life is <deleted> and I'm not for the exit any time soon.

I'd trade all my travel days to have/ have had a happy life.

[Sparktrader]

3 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Nah, they would complain no matter where they lived.  They obviously think Thailand is better than where they came from, so you'd think they'd be happy and appreciate they are no longer back 'there'.

50% of humans whinge n whine no matter what

[Sparktrader]

2 hours ago, Lemsta69 said:

nah mate OP mentioned Dept of Housing so the correct term is "houso". ????

2 bogan types

Rich bogans

Poor bogans

 

 

[EVENKEEL]

I want to know how the GF felt about the Spa adventure.  ????

[Lemsta69]

24 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

2 bogan types

Rich bogans

Poor bogans

 

 

true, but not every bogan is a houso and not every houso is a bogan. but OP's new mates sound like they're both. fun times for him ????

[Sparktrader]

1 minute ago, Lemsta69 said:

true, but not every bogan is a houso and not every houso is a bogan. but OP's new mates sound like they're both. fun times for him ????

Triple bogan

Triple houso

[Lacessit]

59 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

If he has a happy marriage, kids that love him, and enjoys his life he's a winner.

I enjoyed traveling very much, but the bits between when I had to work to afford to travel sucked mightily, and now that my traveling days are over, life is <deleted> and I'm not for the exit any time soon.

I'd trade all my travel days to have/ have had a happy life.

I guess I was lucky, I got out of a bad marriage, traveled, and finished up in Thailand with the cutest GF imaginable.

That big word IF. I knew another guy in Australia who has done very well, has a good wife. Unfortunately, his two sons are both drug addicts who will steal anything that is not nailed down to feed their habit, and are headed for a dumpster unless they can get straight. He has spent a fortune on rehab, none of it has taken.

[G Rex]

I am what is known as a 'cashed up bogan'. Not pretentious in any way. 

A retired Australian professional doing what I want , the way I want to do it

Would not change a thing!!

Edited March 1, 2022 by G Rex

[thaibeachlovers]

16 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I guess I was lucky, I got out of a bad marriage, traveled, and finished up in Thailand with the cutest GF imaginable.

That big word IF. I knew another guy in Australia who has done very well, has a good wife. Unfortunately, his two sons are both drug addicts who will steal anything that is not nailed down to feed their habit, and are headed for a dumpster unless they can get straight. He has spent a fortune on rehab, none of it has taken.

I'm not a fan of rehab for drug addicts. Either one chooses to give it up, or IMO nothing will make them do so.

 

[Lacessit]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'm not a fan of rehab for drug addicts. Either one chooses to give it up, or IMO nothing will make them do so.

 

You may be right, as a parent I am grateful I have never had that problem or choice to make.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

You may be right, as a parent I am grateful I have never had that problem or choice to make.

I'm pre diabetic and had to give up sugar. The battle to not buy any sugar laden food that I loved is ongoing and difficult. That's for a non addictive substance that does not cause withdrawal symptoms. I just thank the deity I never tried any hard illegal drug, as I have no doubt I'd have died with a needle in my arm long ago.

[BritManToo]

On 3/1/2022 at 11:56 AM, KhunLA said:

They obviously think Thailand is better than where they came from, so you'd think they'd be happy and appreciate they are no longer back 'there'.

I'm certain Thailand is better than where I came from (for spending my pension).

Knew lots of pensioners back in the UK pre-2009, none of them were having the fun I'm having, and I doubt anything has got better for them since then..

Edited March 2, 2022 by BritManToo

[The Hammer2021]

'People who have never travelled' use this forum to air their views

[KhunLA]

5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I'm certain Thailand is better than where I came from (for spending my pension).

Knew lots of pensioners back in the UK pre-2009, none of them were having the fun I'm having, and I doubt anything has got better for them since then..

If back in the USA, even owning home & transport (car & scooter) free & clear, my soc sec & pension wouldn't go nearly as far as it does here.  Taxes & mandatory insurances would eat up a good portion of it.   Buddha forbid, if I'd actually get sick and have to use that useless mandatory insurance.

[Encore]

I consider myself fortunate to have travelled all my life.  Firstly, accompanying my parents as a babe-in-arms, being schooled in Hong Kong and Cyprus, but always found it difficult to relate to my peer group in the UK who had not travelled. 

 

I then joined the military, being based in Europe, Near and Far East, but my military specialisation required very frequent travel to many other countries for days, weeks or months at a time.  After the military, I joined a multi-national company travelling the rest of the world.  Much of the work was in Asia so I decided to use Thailand as a hub rather than returning to the UK every few weeks. 

 

The upside of international travel, in my opinion, is that it broadens the mind but only for those who are curious and interested.  The downside of a life time of travel is that you may not have any life-long  friends or even roots to call home and I can only have real conversations with those who have had similar experiences. 

 

Although I have lived and worked in more than 70 different countries, I found few that made me as comfortable than Thailand ...