Why Do You Stay In Thailand?

[eurasianthai]

Because of the coconuts in my garden in Bangkok.

I never get thirsty...

Edited February 5, 2010 by Farangrakthai

[eurasianthai]

But it does not mean I will live here forever.

If no job and not retired, I'll leave.

Edited February 5, 2010 by Farangrakthai

[BangRon]

why not

[trogers]

Because I love the colours red and yellow!

[mca]

To be honest after quite a lot of years here it's simply become my natural home. Happy simple contented family life and I'm quite content. Actually on the odd occasion when I take my family back to England for a visit I feel a little uncomfortable. I spent half my time traveling from the airport looking at the plethora of cars driving past thinking "What's that model?"

I hardly saw any cars I recognized from before I came to LOS.For some reason that's what made me think England was no longer my home.

[eurasianthai]

I indeed like red and yellow, i.e. orange when mixed.

The color of the Thai Buddhist monks.

[SeanMoran]

The truth is, I am here in Thailand to try to stop the demise of the culture. I watched my own country go to the dogs throughout my life, and it saddens me still, so I came back here to try to do something to save this poor country from that same fate that the country I grew up in has succumbed to. Something tells me I maybe too late and not rich enough to qualify to be listened to, but that's not my listening disorder.

[eurasianthai]

Culture in developing countries is usually a sorry excuse to do things you would not dream to do in a democracy

For the ones in power, that is.

Edited February 5, 2010 by Farangrakthai

[SeanMoran]

Culture in developing countries is usually a sorry excuse to do things you would not dream to do in a democracy

For the ones in power, that is.

Why are you sorry then? What excuse do you use most often for the things you do that you are too afraid to try in developed aka authoritarian states?

---o0o---

<ed:typo>

---ooo0ooo---

Could it not be that Thailand is a far more highly developed nation than the ones that we came from in that this Kingdom understands the importance of Free Will and allowing an individual to take control of his or her own destiny, whereas where I came from, they prefer to just lock us all up in hospitals and let the so-called professionals shipped in from Haiti administer our daily medication. Maybe that's why we're lucky to be here, and free, in this wonderful civilised country!

Edited February 5, 2010 by SeanMoran

[eurasianthai]

I'm not Thai and it is not my country.

But I get a bit more concerned now that I have a son in Thailand.

Who will live in Thailand far longer than me and change Thailand for the better

Edited February 5, 2010 by Farangrakthai

[mca]

Apologies for wandering of topic but I read a report in the "other" paper that the Ministry Of Culture were on the attack against Korean pop stars being swooned over by Thai kids because the kids might resort to things like stealing and other bad stuff to collect enough money to attend one of their idols concerts.

You couldn't make it up could you.

So remember folks. It's not the headmaster sticking the budget for new computers for the school in his back pocket. It's not the culture of "Do you know who I am?" as somebody illegally double parks their Benz S-Class. It's not Porky Pig and his chums at the top oinking excitedly as the trough is filled with swill. It's not the police general with the 50 million baht condo.

It's those bastards 2PM, Super Junior, SS501, Wonder Girls, Girl Generation. 2NE1 and Don Bang Shin Ki who're responsible for the demise in Thai culture!!!!

(And I have a daughter if anyone's wondering if I'm some sort of middle aged western nut with a K-Pop fetish)

[Xangsamhua]

Where I come from the climate's better, skies are bluer, environment is fresher, beaches are beautiful, people are generally cheerful, but:

1. Wife likes it here in Thailand.

2. It's a good place to batten down till the GFC passes

3. I have good employers and a good job.

4. It's easy and cheap to travel to interesting places.

5. Thai people in my experience are generally courteous and helpful.

6. It's nice to go to somewhere like Central and see good looking and well-dressed people, as most Thais are.

Thailand's fine if you take it as it is; not sitting in judgement all the time.

[simon43]

- Health reasons

- Work

- Lifestyle

- UK is a dump

Simon

[eurasianthai]

1. Wife likes it here in Thailand.

2. It's a good place to batten down till the GFC passes

3. I have good employers and a good job.

4. It's easy and cheap to travel to interesting places.

5. Thai people in my experience are generally courteous and helpful.

6. It's nice to go to somewhere like Central and see good looking and well-dressed people, as most Thais are.

I second this one.

Except for point 1, my wife actually would not mind going out of Thailand for a while.

[SeanMoran]

As consolation, let me honestly add that I do feel more at home in a place like the place I grew up in where it is acceptible for men and women to be equal but still different in our own ways.

One of the underlying attractions of this country to me is not the availability of poor female gonads, because I have a perfectly functional hand, but that we are allowed to behave along the lines of the gender we happened to be born as, and so I can pay respect to good ladies along the way, at the door of the 711 or wherever, and just behave like a gentleman like I was told to as a kid.

Gentlemen are likely to get arrested in Australia now, but here in this civilised country, we might get the respect we give out if we are aware of the importance of a good reputation.

Where I come from, a man's reputation is worth nothing anymore.

[eurasianthai]

let me honestly add that I do feel more at home in a place like the place I grew up in where it is acceptible for men and women to be equal but still different in our own ways.

I don't agree with that.

Thailand has the highest ratio of women working compared to men in the world.

And if the company I work for is any indication, we do not make any difference in between men and women.

Equivalent job, equivalent pay.

And we're not the only ones.

[SeanMoran]

let me honestly add that I do feel more at home in a place like the place I grew up in where it is acceptible for men and women to be equal but still different in our own ways.

I don't agree with that.

Thailand has the highest ratio of women working compared to men in the world.

And if the company I work for is any indication, we do not make any difference in between men and women.

Equivalent job, equivalent pay.

And we're not the only ones.

Speak for yourself. I don't have a job here. Don't bite off more than you and your kind can chew.

[eurasianthai]

Speak for yourself. I don't have a job here.

Well, so why do you stay here?

[SeanMoran]

Well, so why do you stay here?

Because I can.

Don't make me repeat myself again.

Edited February 5, 2010 by SeanMoran

[maxpower]

Because work dictates my location. Long term stays in Thailand are less painful if you live away from expat communities and minimise contact with the social misfits and criminals from western countries.

If I had a choice, Singapore would be my base in Asia.

[geriatrickid]

The abundance of hearing impaired lovelies. Anywhere else, people would run away from my snoring.

Lovely photos indeed. I too wonder why so many Thais do not take time to enjoy or appreciate the natural beauty here. I suppose just as the expat Englishmen in TV discount the resilience of the land that gave us Habeas Corpus and the concept of good government, or Americans too quick to ignore their homeland's legacy of doing the right thing when it has to be done or Australians bemoaning the 10% lout demographic of Melbourne while ignoring the 90% that are otherwise loveable, many Thais also harbour the sentiment that it is nicer elsewhere. People are the same the world over: Never happy and always griping.

[IanForbes]

I guess it's because when I come here for 5 months every winter (November to April) I get the best of both worlds. I'm an avid angler, an outdoor writer and illustrator/artist. I can work wherever I am and that allows me the freedom to travel. I sort of stay in BC, Canada from April to November, but when the weather turns cold, wet and stormy I come back to Thailand where I can ride around on my motorcycle for 5 months and hardly ever see rain. It means I ALWAYS have something to look forward to.

I have more and prettier girl friends than I did when I was in my twenties. And, they are far less upkeep than my two former wives in Canada. I can act like handsome man in his thirties in Thailand, but my options in North America are close to zero unless I give up sex and be willing to put up with a menopausal woman.

It is cheaper for me to live in the Chiang Mai hotel I stay at then it is to turn on my oil furnace at home in Canada. I pay about the same for food, but I don't have to cook it in Thailand. I can hike, bike and take photos without wearing more than shorts and sandals. I can visit fabulous beach resorts for very little and there is some excellent fly fishing in Thailand if you know where to go. My friends who are golfers have a wide choice of venues for a fraction the cost of similar courses in North America.

And, because I like to help people get a better start in life I can do so for very little here in Thailand. And, I get the personal satisfaction of being personally involved. My money goes a whole lot further in Thailand than the charities I used to give to in Canada.

I don't have blinders on, and I can see a lot of problems in Thailand. Even though there are many ways I could see to make it better, there is not much I can do as a foreigner. I am restricted in what I am allowed to do. I can live with that.

[IanForbes]

The abundance of hearing impaired lovelies. Anywhere else, people would run away from my snoring.

When my ladies are with me we aren't sleeping.

I do know what you mean though. Thais can sleep anywhere, through any amount of noise, and on anything... even cold concrete.

[eurasianthai]

Thais can sleep anywhere, through any amount of noise, and on anything... even cold concrete.

This is really something that amazes me.

In Thailand as well as in the rest of Asia.

You've got buildings next to highways, elevated highways.

Any truck or car going on it will make you jump on you bed.

Not for me, thank you.

[Soutpeel]

Love my work here. I get to give orders and do nothing myself

Yeap know that postion very well too....

[SeanMoran]

I guess it's because when I come here for 5 months every winter (November to April) I get the best of both worlds. I'm an avid angler, an outdoor writer and illustrator/artist. I can work wherever I am and that allows me the freedom to travel. I sort of stay in BC, Canada from April to November, but when the weather turns cold, wet and stormy I come back to Thailand where I can ride around on my motorcycle for 5 months and hardly ever see rain. It means I ALWAYS have something to look forward to.

I have more and prettier girl friends than I did when I was in my twenties. And, they are far less upkeep than my two former wives in Canada. I can act like handsome man in his thirties in Thailand, but my options in North America are close to zero unless I give up sex and be willing to put up with a menopausal woman.

It is cheaper for me to live in the Chiang Mai hotel I stay at then it is to turn on my oil furnace at home in Canada. I pay about the same for food, but I don't have to cook it in Thailand. I can hike, bike and take photos without wearing more than shorts and sandals. I can visit fabulous beach resorts for very little and there is some excellent fly fishing in Thailand if you know where to go. My friends who are golfers have a wide choice of venues for a fraction the cost of similar courses in North America.

And, because I like to help people get a better start in life I can do so for very little here in Thailand. And, I get the personal satisfaction of being personally involved. My money goes a whole lot further in Thailand than the charities I used to give to in Canada.

I don't have blinders on, and I can see a lot of problems in Thailand. Even though there are many ways I could see to make it better, there is not much I can do as a foreigner. I am restricted in what I am allowed to do. I can live with that.

Well said. That sums up what I'd like to have written.

[astral]

The eternal hot weather got to me after 20 years.

I now live in the mediterranean where we get 4 seasons.

A nice warm summer, spring and autumn are blissful, and a couple of chilly month of winter.

Snow on the mountains at the moment!!

The changes between the seasons are like a tonic.

[eurasianthai]

The changes between the seasons are like a tonic.

This is actually true.

And sure what I miss most in Thailand.

The seasons.

[tutsiwarrior]

the debris

from ruined bridges

lay under the water

but, really,... my 7 y.o. niece has threatened me with emotional violence if I leave home again to go back to work