Village Life

[thaibeachlovers]

When i go up country with the wife to visit her mum and brothers (both speak english) i usually spend a day in her sisters shop helping out ,this brings in lots of customers ,then for the next week i usually do what i always do ,climb the walls with boredom

Hmmmm. They have a "factory" in the village where they hand loom cloth. Maybe I can take that up.

[jamescollister]

When i go up country with the wife to visit her mum and brothers (both speak english) i usually spend a day in her sisters shop helping out ,this brings in lots of customers ,then for the next week i usually do what i always do ,climb the walls with boredom

Hmmmm. They have a "factory" in the village where they hand loom cloth. Maybe I can take that up.

Every village round here has hand looms where they make cloth, sure you could weave day in day out, what ever floats your boat, Jim

[thaibeachlovers]

Not wanting to ruffle too many feathers here but I feel that most people who wind up in the sticks, bored out of their trees, do so through their partner's or their partner's family's requirements and not their own.

This may be a time for the OP to put the foot down.

While the rural life suits some and sounds attractive to even more, the reality is often as described here; mind-numbingly boring once the novelty has worn off, or simply too big a cultural obstacle to handle at one leap.

If you are doing this for your partner's 'sake' then my guess is that once the boredom is crushing you and you yearn to head back to more developed parts, then due to the tensions this will create, she won't be your partner for long anyway.

If you think you will struggle then say no. Pay for a nurse to take care of mother-in-law or another relative.

If you make this move for the wrong reasons no good will come of it and you'll be back where you are now in 6 months having wasted a load of cash and time and probably minus your missus.

Originally, my wife was going to pay for someone to help her mum, but has decided to move back herself.

I have always promised my wife that I would move to the village if she wanted to go back, and having been before under no illusions about the boredom to come, which is why I am seeking advice from those already done it. A few good ideas already.

The plan was always to get involved in gardening on a large scale, but unfortunately I have injured my arm, which restricts how much physical activity I can do. Still, will see how it works out anyway.

As for leaving the missus, she's the best thing that ever happened to me, and I'd cut off my legs before I let a bit of boredom drive me away.

Any time I think I'm too bored, I'll just think of what my life was like before her, and I know what's important in my life.

[thaibeachlovers]

Quite a few farangs that I know live out in the sticks like me.

Look at the suggestions and explain to your wife that you will try out the life for a time period of your choosing and if it doesn't work out that both of you will have to come to an arrangement.

Find a hobby or 2, get a camera as Ian suggested, consider buying a small motorbike and a cheap GPS and explore the area, get on the internet.

I have no phone line and use a cheap mobile bluetoothed to my laptop and use EDGE through DTAC at 213 baht for 70 hours.

Try a small veg or flower garden or perhaps if water is available try aquaponics and growing your own veg and fish.

I make my own bread, bacon and sausages and I also cook a lot of my own food, a sort of cross between Thai and western food, not because my wife is a bad cook (she used to own a small restaurant) but because I can do the things the way I want them.

Consider getting a dog as you can walk it and get exercise and if the food you cook is not "quite right" the dog will eat your mistakes and you will learn by them.

Find out where you will be living and ask on TV if anybody lives near you and perhaps visit them.

Contrary to several posters I only wish I had enough spare time to be bored. At the moment the weather is not always nice enough for me to ride my motorbike that far as I hate getting wet feet and the rest me doesn't mind.

Try not to let your in-laws run your wife and wander in and out of your house, fridge and beer stocks and you should be fine.

Thanks to you and Dave ( previous post )

Good ideas about the camera hobby. I've always taken lots of photos, can start uploading to the gallery, and editing them etc. However, a couple of hours of editing and I'm up the wall, so need something for the other hours, and don't want to just watch tv all day.

They have broadband, thank goodness.

Good idea about cooking my way. Always wanted to, so this is my chance.

I don't have a Thai or international bike licence, so not covered with my travel insurance to drive bike here. Anyone know how much a Thai insurance policy for a 63 yr old would cost?

Latest is that her mum can't even walk, so guess my wife will be busy with her most of the day. Father passed away long ago.

Don't drink, so that's not a problem

[thaibeachlovers]

I think it's a very personal issue. If you're worried about being bored and not really looking forward to moving, there's a good chance that you'll hate it. That doesn't mean that you're deficient in any way or that you are starting out with the wrong attitude, it's just the way you're wired.

I had to move to a place about 20kms or so outside of CM from Bangkok, I thought I would hate it and I do. Finally, after a year and 4 months, I will be moving back to Bangkok shortly and not a moment too soon for me. Some people, on the other hand, would rather cut off their left leg than live in Bangkok.

One of my main issues was that it was not a personal choice so I was irritated from the start, which I'm sure didn't help. I have a car so I'm not stuck here, I like photography, dabbling with drawing / painting and I read a fair bit but for me, living in a rural location in Thailand feels like being put out to pasture and I'm not ready for that yet. Maybe when I'm 60 I will find it more apealing, but that's not a given either. In fact if I went in for village life I think somewhere in Wiltshire or Somerset in the UK would be much better.

I once spent a year living in a very small village in Nakhon Sawan province and my only excitement was running away on my motorbike and visiting the local karaoke bars. Actually, being able to speak reasonable Thai at the time they were quite good fun but not everyboy's cup of tea I'm sure.

I like modern conveniences, supermarkets that sell Western food and a lively nightlife. If you don't need any of those, maybe you can enjoy village life, if you do then you probably won't. There was no braodband service where I lived either, which is a major bummer if you use the Internet a lot.

Actually, it's not the quiet life that I dislike, just that Pattaya has spoiled me. The thought of never seeing those oh so cute laydees on Walking St again is a bit depressing.

If the village actually had a karaoke bar it wouldn't be so bad, but it's too small even for that!

I just think that if I don't have something constructive to do, I'll get bored, and that might cause a few problems with myself and the beloved, so I'd like to avoid that.

[thaibeachlovers]

Thanks to all that replied.

Some great ideas there, especially photography.

Perhaps I can start a blog.

If I can physically do it, the gardening is a definite, and hopefully cooking. Spent the past year in Pattaya stocking up on cooking implements for her, so no problem there.

Local travel is probably good too. Couple of shirts in the pack and local buses. Sounds promising.

There is quite a large temple in the village. Do they have much doing that I could get involved in?

Someone mentioned teaching English at the local school. What's the chances of getting banged up by the plod? The schoolteacher is her uncle.

Thanks again. It doesn't seem such a vast expanse of boredom now.

[Rumpole]

........watch the rice growing......

Never bored.

I just lost the will to live.

I rarely laugh at loud at anything written on this board, but you just made me spray my computer monitor with coffee!

[inthepink]

By the way, thaibeachlovers, you can opt for the government insurance that is obligatory rather than a comprehensive policy, if you want to ride a motorbike/scooter. Not sure what it is for bikes but as it's only around 760 baht for a car, it's not going to be expensive. You could also take a bike test here if you want to get legal, which will give you something to do for a start.

[HeavyDrinker]

Thanks but I can't afford my own space, and mum refuses to move anyway. Need to save money, so not against living in the country, just want something to do.

All the more reason to stay where you are.

You're being dictated to already.

Grow some balls and tell them it's your way or nowt.

[Kilgore Trout]

I'm always shuttered towards this type that find boredom and irritability in the countryside village life.

Creating something that's really doesn't exist.

Suggest you read the book "Country Mouse, City Mouse;" perhaps you missed this one when you were in kindergarten

[Kananga]

Start your own Khao phan bakery.

[TenDreams]

OP - you are doing the right thing seeking advice on here. My fiance is from Uttaradit, I have been up to her village there twice before with another trip planned this weekend. I have been all over Thailand over the last 8 years(and the rest of S.E. Asia), lived in the country and the city, and have never been shaken by culture shock until I stayed in Uttaradit with the family.

It was a strange feeling, and I explained it to a friend as having the sudden urge to peel off my own skin and run away as fast as I could. Weird, he said that was his exact feeling when he went to his other half's village (not in Uttaradit). This was not due to any lack of hospitality on their part, or lack of language ability on my part (my Thai is not great, and they speak a Lao dialect, but I can just about get by up there) it was just a phenomenon I was unfamiliar with and was equally potent each time. Perhaps if I could ever have spent more than a day or two I would have got over it, who knows. But I am genuinely sorry to say I am dreading the next trip, as much as I like the family.

Hope you find some good advice on here. My ideas would be (sorry if they are repeats):

Get mobile, by whatever means necessary.

Find fishing buddies, and learn about the preparation and cooking of whatever you can catch there.

Take a set of boules or darts or anything that is easy and 'pleasant' to do in the heat and easy to teach others.

Get a daily routine together which might include simple yoga/stretching and meditation.

Look for other ex-pats up there and organise a weekly/fortnightly/monthly poker/movie night or something.

Stock up in Pattaya, up there they only have one Tesco Lotus, and it's probably MILES away from where you will be (everything seems miles away from everything else up there)

< My fiance is saying 'grow fish, fruit and chickens!' >

If all else fails, start drinking!

Good luck!

[bermondburi]

forgot to add but if you are in the middle of nowhere you could quite reasonably grow your own ganja, that will take the edge off of a hot day.

[Kananga]

forgot to add but if you are in the middle of nowhere you could quite reasonably grow your own ganja, that will take the edge off of a hot day.

And make the pain in your gammy arm more bearable no doubt...

[OlafStapleton]

All taxed m/c have insurance cover for the first 15kbht of hospital fees.

You cannot get a tax sticker without showing this policy.

But as for moving from Pattaya to rural village

Do not, it will spoil relationship with wife and turn you bitter and twisted.

I refuse to go now, wife handed money for bus ticket and expenses.

Wild party time while she away, but I do miss her.

Edited June 28, 2011 by OlafStapleton

[BillyBobThai]

I lived in Pattaya for 6 years before moving up north to the third level of Hell. I have been up here for 2 1/2 years, and was getting close to suicide. We are now in the process of buying a house in Chiang Mai, and will be there in a month or so.

My community consist of about 50 houses and 2 Wats. For the first 2 years the head monk played music from 05:30 until 07:00 seven days a week. Turns out the monk liked to drink whiskey every night and was recently replaced. The new monk now starts the music at 04:00 until 08:00. At 14:30 until 17:00, the local government plays their crap. The bad part for me is the speakers,

14" horns, are 30 meters from my house. Whenever some poor soul dies, the Wat plays some music, and I use that term very loosely, it sounds like three 4 year olds are playing with some wind chimes, all day until 19:00 when the party, drinking and gambling

starts.

Mate, I am like you in that my health keeps me from doing much. If it was not for my motorcycle, I would not have lasted this long.

Hong Thong and coke also help. Good luck

[zzaa09]

I'm always shuttered towards this type that find boredom and irritability in the countryside village life.

Creating something that's really doesn't exist.

Suggest you read the book "Country Mouse, City Mouse;" perhaps you missed this one when you were in kindergarten

The individual, and their respected character, will always find boredom......regardless of situation or locale.

[andrewbkk]

I lived in Pattaya for 6 years before moving up north to the third level of Hell. I have been up here for 2 1/2 years, and was getting close to suicide. We are now in the process of buying a house in Chiang Mai, and will be there in a month or so.

Hong Thong and coke also help. Good luck

I really do know exactly what you mean.

In simple English, you either go mad or you become an alcoholic. Or both.

[inthepink]

Both in my case. I'm quite glad I'm not the only person who coudn't cope with a "rural idyll".

[dave_boo]

So is the concensus that if one needs his entertainment shoved in his face and/or is unable to adopt to local customs and cultures they probably do not need to live in the boonies?

[inthepink]

No, I don't think that's the case. I have had people tell me I haven't really adapted to Thai culture / society because I prefer to live in Bangkok. If that's the case then I never adapted to British culture either, because I could not live outside of London. Some of us are happy to live in pastoral locations and some of us aren't. No need to turn it into a competiiton about which of us has adapted to Thai life the most. I've met plenty of Thai people who would also go mad if they were forced to live in Nakhon Nowhere.

Edited June 28, 2011 by inthepink

[dave_boo]

No, I don't think that's the case. I have had people tell me I haven't really adapted to Thai culture / society because I prefer to live in Bangkok. If that's the case then I never adapted to British culture either, because I could not live outside of London. Some of us are happy to live in pastoral locations and some of us aren't. No need to turn it into a competiiton about which of us has adapted to Thai life the most. I've met plenty of Thai people who would also go mad if they were forced to live in Nakhon Nowhere.

I guess I didn't explain myself sufficiently. It was an "and/or" statement with no reference to Thai culture explicitly (hence my not even mentioning Thailand). So I am glad you were the first to respond so that it was quickly clarified.

There are vastly different cultures between city life and country life, even in the same county/province/state. And that's world wide. Were someone like you not comfortable with the life in the countryside in their own country, what chance would they have in Thailand? And those Thai people you speak of; would they not be mostly fine in say London but crawling the walls in Cumbria?

Interesting that there was no quarrel with the thought that not having entertainment provided would preclude someone from enjoying country life.

[Tonto21]

OP…………Horses for courses, it's not for everyone, if you're not sure, go for an extended stay, (don't burn your bridges) if after 2 months if it don't float your boat,pull the pin…….and get out of there. Personally, I don't think you'll like it; you're already looking for advice about it. Do yourself a big favor……………..Don't get boxed in with no option of getting out, commit NO cash, (keep your hand on your sixpence) for at least 2/3 months…………………Hey!, have a good one.

Edited June 28, 2011 by Tonto21

[andrewbkk]

I could not live outside of London.

I once spent a few years living outside of London. It drained me in a way that you can never imagine.

It's strange how it works. Bit by bit you start to sink lower and lower. Depression hits you, you become numb and dull. You lose your appetite for life.

Evenetually -- after a few years -- you become a zombie.

[zzaa09]

So is the concensus that if one needs his entertainment shoved in his face and/or is unable to adopt to local customs and cultures they probably do not need to live in the boonies?

There ya go!

Stimulation, for many, needs to be manufactured or conditioned to be so.

I'm slightly suspicious of those whom are vacant of natural skills, ie, watching the world go by.

[seedy]

I speak French, German, Dutch, Thai but spoke enough to people in my younger years to shut up for the next 100 years, no need to listen to more bullshit and lies.

And I don't drink

Never bored.

Good One !!!

[HeavyDrinker]

LOL @ Kananga!

Colonel Kurtz should be right at home in the jungle though surely?

Will he have the balls to stand up to his "girlfriend" ?

Is he just making this all up?

Can he put his foot down and tell his missus that he is the boss and if "mother" don't want to travel then she can rot?

Tune in next week folks for another episode of Pattaya Liars...

[Kananga]

I don't think he is making it up (for a change) as he was asking about hiring a truck a few weeks back. That should be a fun drive. I have to admit his line about not being able to afford to live on his own did tug at my heart. I mean, if you cant afford your own space in rural Thailand (2000 baht a month???), then where can you?

Maybe he's hoping to inherit the buffalo when the mother reincarnates...

[inthepink]

No, I don't think that's the case. I have had people tell me I haven't really adapted to Thai culture / society because I prefer to live in Bangkok. If that's the case then I never adapted to British culture either, because I could not live outside of London. Some of us are happy to live in pastoral locations and some of us aren't. No need to turn it into a competiiton about which of us has adapted to Thai life the most. I've met plenty of Thai people who would also go mad if they were forced to live in Nakhon Nowhere.

I guess I didn't explain myself sufficiently. It was an "and/or" statement with no reference to Thai culture explicitly (hence my not even mentioning Thailand). So I am glad you were the first to respond so that it was quickly clarified.

There are vastly different cultures between city life and country life, even in the same county/province/state. And that's world wide. Were someone like you not comfortable with the life in the countryside in their own country, what chance would they have in Thailand? And those Thai people you speak of; would they not be mostly fine in say London but crawling the walls in Cumbria?

Interesting that there was no quarrel with the thought that not having entertainment provided would preclude someone from enjoying country life.

No reference to Thai culture explicitly? Perhaps you should have made your post on a forum for expats living in Vietnam then? Otherwise it makes little sense.

I agree, you didn't explain yourself sufficenctly but that is something that you can work on as you mature.

[philliphn]

If you have a very small budget it will be very boring.

However, what I would do is, develope orchards, of all types. Grow Mangos. Grow berries and make berry wines. Have a large pond dug and develope it. Get some chickens, pigs and cows. Build a very large garden incorporating the pond. Ride a motor cycle. Labor should be cheap and I would find a couple of good people to help me make my plan happen. Perhaps these paid laborers could be family members. Have a pool built for swimming laps. Plant all kinds of trees.