Most of us out here are retired (or working remotely). Just curious as to how you spend your days.

I'm having one of those weeks where you feel weary, fatigued and bored by it all. I came back from the UK a few weeks ago, and honestly back with my mates, the banter, the sports events, the food i just missed all of the UK - the clean air, the crisp countryside, etc.

Last couple of days in Bangkok we have walked around shopping malls after mall (all with the same shops but a different background). My Thai mother seems to love it all, wide eyed, but i am utterly bemused by the city constantly just building another mall after another mall. Wake up the nexxt day and we go to a mall again. Walking around neighbourhoods and the pollution from cars and busses is real.

You get these moments from time to time. Sometimes i feel should i relocate, but then it's deemed too difficult.

How are do you cope with these cycles of mental fatigue, boredom ? Clearly i need some new hobbies incorporated into daily life.

Edited 21 hours ago21 hr by DonniePeverley

Boredom is a state of mind, not a state of being, but it is often driven by depression. And Bangkok doesn’t have much to do to begin with. The outdoor environment is pretty awful, and I don’t do malls or markets anymore. Cooking, gym, reading, watching informative videos. That’s about it.

Cannabis is good for relaxing and improving your mood. So you have to make peace with what’s available and make yourself comfortable at home. If you live in a good Soi, late night walks for half an hour can be pleasant when the city is cooler and devoid of people, cars, and noise.

But the real key is escaping at least twice a year for extended periods. I now spend four months a year away from Thailand, in places where I can enjoy a change of scenery, cooler weather, and nice, clean outdoor environments. Without those trips abroad, it would be pretty brutal.

^

I’m with you 100% on the travelling. I do four trips a year back to my homeland — just me, catching up with family and mates and taking in the major sporting events — plus another four overseas trips with the Thai GF. Being based in Thailand makes so many countries ridiculously easy to get to.

And when I’m actually in Thailand, I’ve got very little interest in sitting in bars all day. Plenty of swimming, regular gym sessions, a different restaurant every night and, best of all, a daily two-hour foot massage at a price that would barely buy you 20 minutes back home 😂.

Add a hot Thai girlfriend to the equation and I’m certainly not complaining about boredom. 😂

For me, the trick is having something to look forward to — whether that’s the next trip home, another overseas adventure with the GF, or simply enjoying the ridiculously cheap lifestyle between trips.

Thank God for Thailand. 🇹🇭

11 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

How are do you cope with these cycles of mental fatigue, boredom ? Clearly i need some new hobbies incorporated into daily life.

Traveling helps. But when I feel like that, it's a sign that I've been slacking off on my exercise routine. Sometimes things get on my nerves, I get grumpy with other people, maybe a bit of anxiety...but after a few days back into the exercise and I always feel better.

I get up and go cycling for 15+Km, and have coffee with a pal.

The rest of the day I sit on the sofa, reading, browsing, watching TV shows and movies, listening to music.

Bit of a break now and then to eat/drink and play with the rabbits.

My watch insists I get up and walk around for 2-3 miins every hour.

That's about it.

As others have said, I find regular exercise keeps my mood positive. I also enjoy Thai road trips and the odd international trip with the Missus, plus solo motorcycle tours.

I'm 'semi-retired' so there's also regular work trips visiting farms and other sites. - Having to do a specific journey for work, rather than just doing what I please all the time, helps me to appreciate my free time.

If I was 100% retired I think I'd still need to do something for other people now and then Just started some business English workshops to help a Thai friend's company, and that can be stimulating.

I have a Work Permit from our own business, so aim to maintain a mix of leisure and work for as long as possible.

Move my body, coffee, food, work a little bit every day, travelling, exercise, reading and music. Unfortunately less and less big screen movies. Not sure if it is age, the selection available in Thailand, or both. Also less TV in general. That is pretty much daily life, normal activities and a simple life, with some travelling around Thailand and Europe.

We have also built a small farm, and there are continuously some projects and construction going on. Hopefully we will be more settled in a few years, with less travelling needed to keep the boredom away.

Things I have done in Thailand before include diving, freediving, kayaking, climbing, SUP paddling, hiking, boxing, Muay Thai, three times around Thailand on motorbikes, and off road riding. Now we are going to do more of the famous hikes in Thailand, so still trying to do something new once in a while.

The very idea of having a routine is scary. Do the same thing every day and before long you've wasted years.

It's one thing when you're working and don't have much choice. But for a retiree? Did you really retire just to switch to another routine? I try to mix things up whenever possible.

32 minutes ago, jas007 said:

The very idea of having a routine is scary. Do the same thing every day and before long you've wasted years.

It's one thing when you're working and don't have much choice. But for a retiree? Did you really retire just to switch to another routine? I try to mix things up whenever possible.

I find doing the same thing every day to be comforting.

Just now, BritManToo said:

I find doing the same thing every day to be comforting.

Comforting, maybe, but before you know it, years slip by. It's easy enough to slip into a daily routine. Up at 5AM, have some breakfast and some coffee, watch the news, play around online, maybe throw some clothes in the washing machine, go out for a walk, stop at the store. It's like you are in a trance.

17 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Most of us out here are retired (or working remotely). Just curious as to how you spend your days.

I'm having one of those weeks where you feel weary, fatigued and bored by it all. I came back from the UK a few weeks ago, and honestly back with my mates, the banter, the sports events, the food i just missed all of the UK - the clean air, the crisp countryside, etc.

Last couple of days in Bangkok we have walked around shopping malls after mall (all with the same shops but a different background). My Thai mother seems to love it all, wide eyed, but i am utterly bemused by the city constantly just building another mall after another mall. Wake up the nexxt day and we go to a mall again. Walking around neighbourhoods and the pollution from cars and busses is real.

You get these moments from time to time. Sometimes i feel should i relocate, but then it's deemed too difficult.

How are do you cope with these cycles of mental fatigue, boredom ? Clearly i need some new hobbies incorporated into daily life.

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In Bangkok it is worth to check out the large area of Benchakitti Park from the Asoke Side (to Queen Sirikit Convention Center) all the way up to Sukhumvit Soi 4 and 10 in between. There is an amazing wetland area with walking paths and some kind of skywalk bridge.You can spend hours there strolling around. You will find large Water monitor lizards and large birds hunting for fish. And from Soi 4 there is the newly built so called green bridge leading all the way up to Lumpini park. Just today I walked from Asoke all the way to Lumpini through the park and along the green bridge and returned the same way taking another route through the park.

Also a trip along Chaopraya river by boat is a nice experience.

1 hour ago, msbkk said:

In Bangkok it is worth to check out the large area of Benchakitti Park from the Asoke Side (to Queen Sirikit Convention Center) all the way up to Sukhumvit Soi 4 and 10 in between. There is an amazing wetland area with walking paths and some kind of skywalk bridge.You can spend hours there strolling around. You will find large Water monitor lizards and large birds hunting for fish. And from Soi 4 there is the newly built so called green bridge leading all the way up to Lumpini park. Just today I walked from Asoke all the way to Lumpini through the park and along the green bridge and returned the same way taking another route through the park.

Also a trip along Chaopraya river by boat is a nice experience.

Sure ... i walk the parks most days. It's a blessing to have a little green space in a polluted city. But surely you need more than 'walks'. Where's the mental stimulation ?

Perhaps we should just resign ourselves that any city we live in will eventually be boring.

Going away on weekend trips, taking trips abroad locally as others have suggested is my new venture forward

3 hours ago, jas007 said:

The very idea of having a routine is scary. Do the same thing every day and before long you've wasted years.

It's one thing when you're working and don't have much choice. But for a retiree? Did you really retire just to switch to another routine? I try to mix things up whenever possible.

I like this motto. What's your daily, weekly style routine ?

19 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

Sure ... i walk the parks most days. It's a blessing to have a little green space in a polluted city. But surely you need more than 'walks'. Where's the mental stimulation ?

Perhaps we should just resign ourselves that any city we live in will eventually be boring.

Going away on weekend trips, taking trips abroad locally as others have suggested is my new venture forward

The parks were just an example, of course you need other things as well. Weekend trips to escape the city are also an important part of my life. I also spend time with photography and videography.