JurgenG Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I was reading the NYTimes, a column from David Brooks, The Life Report. He asks "I’d like you to write a brief report on your life so far, an evaluation of what you did well, of what you did not so well and what you learned along the way." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/28/opinion/brooks-the-life-report.html?src=me&ref=general Me, I just would like to know, what in your life led you to Thailand ? Was it a dream from when you were a kid reading exotic stories ? Or a serie of unfortunate events ? In short, why are you here ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Work and once the work is finished will be looking for another place to move to....never actually intended on being in Thailand long term, (nearly 10 years) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mca Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Work brought me here about 17 or so years ago. My parent company gave me a choice. Bangkok or Los Angeles. Been to the States a few times already so chose Thailand. Ended up in Isaan so I guess where the variety of western food was concerned compared to LA I made an monumental f#ckup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_smith237 Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Straight out of Uni.... Offered a job with a choice between Brazil or Thailand. That was 14 years ago. I since worked in the UK for a couple if years, the tax bills pushed me to become an expat once again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayned Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Work orignally brought me here back in the early 1970's and over the years business with Thai Airlines kept bringing me bac. I was director of Customer Support for a division of Sony and had offices in seven countries, but I spent most of my leisure time here. When it came time to finally retire there was no other place in my mind. I have a wife, a son, 9 dogs, an uncountable number of chickens and three houses. Unfortunately the house in Bangkok has recently had and addition; a 1.5 meter indoor swimming pool on the first floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meom Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I met a Thai prostitute abroad. We became friends and when she moved back to Thailand she invited me over. 16 years later we’re still friends and she's grateful for the house I bought her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiliwasabi Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Nice one mca - I just choked on my coffee when I read your post (lucky it wasn't too hot as it is coming out my nose now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mca Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Nice one mca - I just choked on my coffee when I read your post (lucky it wasn't too hot as it is coming out my nose now). Glad someone saw it before it got deleted chili. Mods are on their toes for a Sundsy morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenerli Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 A lack of direct flights between Australia and Turkey led me to a choice of KL, Dubai or Bangkok. KL is expensive, Dubai didn't appeal to me, so figured I'd spend a few days in Bangkok. Then a friend said he plans to travel then too, ended up spending a month around Asia. Didn't see near enough of Thailand in my opinion and a few other friends and people I knew from home were to come at various times so I'm back here travelling around again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JurgenG Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 I think I should be the first to answer my own question. When I was a teenager, my parents divorced, I followed my dad to Singapore. One thing leads to an other, I met my (thai) gf in Australia. We both got an internship in HK. Then I found a job in Bangkok because she wanted to live closer to her family, bought a house ... Then troubles and more troubles, I was asked to move back to our HQ in Europe and when I declined was offered a job in our HK office in charge of South China. Today I'm based in HK, spend most of my time in China, but was still able to keep some (professional) relation with our Bangkok office so I work in Bangkok one week every other month. Totally, I've been living in Asia for almost 20 years. All this gives me a totally different perspective about Thailand. I look at Thailand, its people, its culture, as an asian more than a westerner. That was a long story made short. To be continued .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryk Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 This how I got to Thailand in 1968. What led me? My boss told me to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon43 Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Work - came to Bangkok in 2002 to open an office for my software business. The office overlooked Patong Soi 2 and I soon preferred to look out of the window, rather than write software. Holidays later took me to Phuket where I decided to ditch software and run a less stressful venture as owner of a small hotel. I'm still doing the hotels and also write software from time to time when an interesting project comes by. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Croc Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I retired early in Oz mainly for health reasons, and although I was financially comfortable and owned my home, I found living alone, and having to complete all domestic chores for myself, to be deadly boring. I rarely saw any of my surviving family, and, while I had some good mates for regular boozy get togethers, I found I had zero interest in the pool of available women in my age bracket. (My last long term relationship was with a lady nearly 20 years younger than myself) I started spending more and more time, firstly in Bali, then Phuket, and realised life could be much more interesting for a single retiree away from the nanny state where pensioners are expected to quietly fade away out of sight and mind. I discovered that my comfortable income and assets in Australia translate to rich in Thailand, and that I no longer have to toil with domestic chores. I now live with a little lady who doesn't allow me do these things. We met at her workplace 5 years ago, a resort I stayed in on several occasions. I now live in a nice little pool villa with mountain and jungle views, eat out often, spend without concern and enjoy life. While I miss some things from my old world (good cheap wine!) and am frustrated by many things here, I wouldn't return to Australia to live under any circumstances Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinchester Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Bored of crap European holidays so looked up cheap long haul flights and a Kuwait Airways special to bkk was top of the list. Arrived and on a whim took a trip out to Kanchanaburi to see the Bridge over River Kwai. The lovely girl on the pr desk at Kan busstation stole my heart and after another 8 trips over the next two years we married in 2003. Been living here permantly over 5 years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr78 Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Well, i seem to attract beautiful but CRAZY farang women, you know, the ones that are stunningly beautiful and a wow experience behind closed doors BUT completely insane, violent, stalking kind of women. After the last insane one i felt the urge to do something else, so i asked a friend if he wanted to take a weekend trip to Barcelona, he said: how about a couple of weeks in Thailand? Sure i said, and a couple days later we went. In Phuket i met a gorgeous bar lady that i fell in love with and we've been together ever since (5 years). We live in Thailand 6 months a year, but we'll hopefully be able to live full time in Thailand within a couple of years. To sum it up, crazy farang women, and a wery good friend brought me to Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mucker1234 Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Well, i seem to attract beautiful but CRAZY farang women, you know, the ones that are stunningly beautiful and a wow experience behind closed doors BUT completely insane, violent, stalking kind of women. After the last insane one i felt the urge to do something else, so i asked a friend if he wanted to take a weekend trip to Barcelona, he said: how about a couple of weeks in Thailand? Sure i said, and a couple days later we went. In Phuket i met a gorgeous bar lady that i fell in love with and we've been together ever since (5 years). We live in Thailand 6 months a year, but we'll hopefully be able to live full time in Thailand within a couple of years. To sum it up, crazy farang women, and a wery good friend brought me to Thailand. Honestly? OK, Thai poontang, cheap smack and large amounts of weed. 15 years later, the same things don't keep me here but they were the original draw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazygourmet Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I was "blacklisted" in Indonesia in 2000... Reassure yourself, not any official blacklisting... but something more to do with my Mum family compound in Bali! Then I had two choices, either to move back to the house in Brussels or to the flat in London... I didn't make up my choice... on the way back to Zaventem, I had a stopover at Don Mueang... and I am still here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandboy Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 hmmm!!! no sexpats so far! seems i am the only one who moved to BKK for its three major attractions, Soi Cowboy, Nana Plaza and the massage soapies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tutsiwarrior Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 in 2001 I was working in Abu Dhabi and the boss said: 'yew better take yer holidays 'cause we ain't gonna pay yew fer 'em...'...so, as I was in the middle of a divorce I decided to look up an old girl friend in Jakarta...then I found out that there were election riots as Suharto had been deposed and Indonesia was no longer a tourist destination...some guy at site said hey, go to Thailand as yew look like yew need to get laid... well, I ended up in Patong and I did get laid although I had a horrendous cold but I was captivated by the SEAsian ambiance,,,felt like Indonesia again but without my old girlfriend...but I was a bit put off by the carnival atmosphere...I went back to work in Abu Dhabi a couple of weeks later...I felt like shit and found out a few months later that I had diabetes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGarty Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I too have had the Crazies. Logged over 50 phone calls a day from the last one. Light bulbs left on the doorstep (never worked that one out yet). Malicious, vicious and damaging shit month after month. Coupled with a heart attack and other health probs I retired early and decided a change was as good as a rest. LOL I swapped one lot of nut jobs for another lot. After being here a few weeks sex did play a large part in my coming back for more and more. I might get slammed for this but I would rather have a dark skinned, slim, sexy Crazy than an elephant sized one giving me grief Life is altogether better here too. Much better than being back home. Over all, I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payboy Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Can't tell, would have to kill the lot of you if I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onionluke Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I first came to Thailand as a tourist in1993 ,I was a youngster , I ended up on that Ko Tao ,Taraporn ,and was happy to be offered a sort of odd job position with the guest house people - " you play your banjo and drive my boat for me during the organised trips to shark island and i will let you stay for free" , I was a happy lad indeed . However , I was a poor lad and had heard tale of construction work in Hong Kong , so off i went intending to come back to Thailand with a bit of dough . I met my wife in HK and we started a family and we come and go a fair bit , I kinda like the diffrence . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_another_guy Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Took an early Retirement and couldn’t afford my life style on my pension. I had never been out of the states and decided it was going to be either Mexico, Belize, Phillippines, Thailand or Costa Rico. A friend talked me into to flying over to check it out as he had visited Thailand several times. Baht was 42 and I figured I’d be okay. Now the Baht is 30 and I am still okay and still here after nearly 10 years. No desire to go anywhere else---yet. If I had a million dollars---I’d spend half my time back in the states---for sure. 6 months here and 6 months there---seems like a nice round figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maiphedmaiaroi Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 The girls of course the same as every other hetrosexual man on this forum. They all told me im handsome but if i wanted to get laid i have to pay. I didnt mind that though as its there job . However once normal girls inc doctors, nurses, uni girls, girls with masters degrees and other high earners also said im handsome and gave me sex for free.....well no reason to leave yet. maybe when i get old Im glad girls made me arrive here. Paradise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryk Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 The girls of course the same as every other hetrosexual man on this forum. They all told me im handsome but if i wanted to get laid i have to pay. I didnt mind that though as its there job . However once normal girls inc doctors, nurses, uni girls, girls with masters degrees and other high earners also said im handsome and gave me sex for free.....well no reason to leave yet. maybe when i get old Im glad girls made me arrive here. Paradise Naw when you get old you will have figured out why men prefer to pay for sex. Most young guys don't know, takes a bit of experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onionluke Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I was a poor specimen , they called mr "Srotloi" . I brewed my own tea and threw out thee old fishlines from the rocks and fish caught were gutted and eaten ,what a supper time ! I strummed my banjo and lo ...... " Come fill the cup and .garment of replentence fling ." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bkkwalk Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 It wasn't the ladies that led me to Thailand, but they sure made me come back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tutsiwarrior Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 "I went back to work in Abu Dhabi a couple of weeks later...I felt like shit and found out a few months later that I had diabetes..." I sure hope that I didn't give diabetes to them cute gurls in Patong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GooEng Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 (edited) late '92 and i'd been working offshore in the south china sea and was planning to spend the winter months traveling, first a month trekking in nepal and then touring around india on an enfield bullet motorbike. we paid off the ship in singapore and one of the guys suggested that bkk was a good spot to get a filght to kathmandu, and why not make a trip of it and stop in samui on the way up there? i wasn't convinced but he told me i could hire a bike there and spend a few days on the beach smokin' dope etc - i was in. cut a long story short almost entirely due to a now long gone sense of duty to follow a plan, i managed to drag myself away from the sunkissed fun of samui for a month and go to nepal, but was straight back there after that for the remainder of my winter. i was shocked by the bar girl scene and initially had nothing to do with it and intended to keep it that way, but soon after getting there i met and fell for a bar girl who later became my first wife. the next 15 years are grim reading, so i'll skip them. now married to 2nd thai wife and got two smashing sons. i'm less and less partial to the place as time goes on for a variety of reasons, but the thread's about "what led you to thailand", and "what's pissing you off about thailand" is something already hammered to death in almost every other thread on TV, so i'll leave it there. Edited October 30, 2011 by GooEng Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deke Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I was working for an engineering company in the US when they asked me if I'd be willing to take a two year assignment in Thailand. That was 1981. In those days this country was considered a hardship posting which meant a 25% salary premium, living allowance, etc. I said yes planning to be here for the two years and save some money. That first two years led to another two and another two until 1991 when I decided to hang out my own shingle. Here I still am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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