Phuket Opinion: Navigating the 'expat hump'

[Lite Beer]

Phuket Opinion: Navigating the 'expat hump'
Phuket Gazette -

Whether what you see is pleasing or not may depend on your attitude. Photo: Andrew Morrell; Dale Chihuly's Fiore di Como, Bellagio, Las Vegas

PHUKET: I openly admit that I had no idea what I was walking into when I decided to move to Phuket last August. Not only had I never been to Thailand, but I had never even left my vacuum-sealed bubble of a home country: America.

The gravity of my move became immediately apparent as I left the airport. The sights zooming past my taxi window were unlike anything I had ever seen before.

My initial experiences on Phuket, living in Patong, resulted in a two-month-long sensory overload, despite it being low season.

I came home to my room every night, completely brain-dead and exhausted from the sights, smells and experiences of the day. I have never slept so hard in my life.

I saw in those first months, and still see, magic in everyday island things: the beaches, street vendors, traffic, music, festivals, motorbikes, markets, mountains and even the tuk-tuks.

I believe my blindly positive attitude that everything will work out for the best is perhaps hard to find in Phuket expats who have hit what my friends and I like to call the “cynical hump”.

This term came up in two separate conversations recently, one with a friend who has been here for two years and one who has been here for five.

I am told that during the hump, the magic of the first two years – otherwise known as the “honeymoon period” – wears off and the things you might have once found charming about Phuket culture start to become bothersome.

For example, the apparent lack of structure on the island might, in the beginning, play into a childhood fantasy of a world with no adult supervision. But after several years, this lack starts to annoy some seasoned Phuket veterans.

For others, the quality of restaurant service might start to chip away at a once calm and accepting attitude, as when an order of pad see ew moo somehow comes out as pak boong fai daeng for the thousandth time, and the only acknowledgment of the mishap is a shrug.

How expats weather this cynical hump may lay the foundation for their long-term experience in Phuket.

Adopting the positive attitude of newcomers like myself could help my friends and other expats get over the hump in the best way. Seeing the island as a rookie does, full of magic and new experiences, could allow them to come out on the other side with a new appreciation for it.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2014/Phuket-Opinion-Navigating-the-expat-hump-25665.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2014-02-23

[NomadJoe]

Very true. But if all or most of what you experience of Phuket or Thailand is Patong, your honeymoon is going to be a short one. I rarely set foot in Patong unless I have to. The people there are. well, different. Bangla Rd is not representative of Thailand. Get out of the beach areas and experience other parts of the island and other parts of the country and you will find your honeymoon attitudes may return, albeit with less naivete' about how this island, and county, works. Go take in the views at Promethep Cape, visit the Phuket Aquarium, have a sunset dinner at the After Beach Bar above Kata Noi, wade through the waters of high tide to get to the Reggae Bar on the south end of Kata Beach, rent a paddle board, visit one of the wake parks, or go to the Spash Jungle waterslide park. Go trekking to Tonsai Waterfall in Khao Phra Thaeo National Park, have dinner at one of the fine restaurants amongst the Sino-Portuguese architecture of Dubik Rd. in old Phuket town, rent a big bike and ride to Krabi hot springs, take the ferry to Khao Yao Yai and rent a scooter for the day. Experience the rest of Phuket.

Another way to avoid the hump is by choosing wisely where you live. In my 13 years here I have continued moving south away from the tourist areas. First Kata, then Chalong, then Rawai. If I move any farther south I will be on Racha Yai. I think I am now in the 2nd southern most house in the island. It's a two bedrooms house under the canopy of dense jungle with no neighbors. Dead quiet at night. Walking distance to 3 beaches and Promtheap Cape. 8 minute drive to Chalong, 15 minutes to Kata, and 25 minutes to Central. I pay 7500B per month. Last week I had an 11 foot python visit. It is heaven.

Lastly, to avoid the "cynical hump", get involved in the community some way. This will help you feel like you are doing something to help fix the things that make us so cynical about the island. Help protect the environment with one of the many environmental groups on the island. Join the US Navy League or Rotary clubs who volunteer and fund raising for the needy, volunteer at the Red Cross blood bank, or join one of the many foreign police volunteer groups, if that is your thing. Any one who wants more info on these kinds of groups or opportunities, feel free to PM me.

[keestha]

Quoting the OP: I am told that during the hump, the magic of the first two years – otherwise known as the “honeymoon period” – wears off and the things you might have once found charming about Phuket culture start to become bothersome.

Sure, and the same applies if you settle in Southern France. In the beginning you have the oh la la feeling, walking with a baguette under your arm and a bottle of wine in your hand, but one and a half years down the road the honeymoon period has run its course, and certain things start bothering you.

Wherever in the world you move to. The honeymoon period is gorgeous, you learn so much, also about yourself. But later it gradually starts feeling normal - you have your ups and downs, exactly like you had in your home country.

[Dogmatix]

Phuket was quite charming until the early 80s but it is a right dump now. Can't imagine why anyone would want to live there. I gave up on it years ago.

[robertthebruce]

Very true. But if all or most of what you experience of Phuket or Thailand is Patong, your honeymoon is going to be a short one. I rarely set foot in Patong unless I have to. The people there are. well, different. Bangla Rd is not representative of Thailand. Get out of the beach areas and experience other parts of the island and other parts of the country and you will find your honeymoon attitudes may return, albeit with less naivete' about how this island, and county, works. Go take in the views at Promethep Cape, visit the Phuket Aquarium, have a sunset dinner at the After Beach Bar above Kata Noi, wade through the waters of high tide to get to the Reggae Bar on the south end of Kata Beach, rent a paddle board, visit one of the wake parks, or go to the Spash Jungle waterslide park. Go trekking to Tonsai Waterfall in Khao Phra Thaeo National Park, have dinner at one of the fine restaurants amongst the Sino-Portuguese architecture of Dubik Rd. in old Phuket town, rent a big bike and ride to Krabi hot springs, take the ferry to Khao Yao Yai and rent a scooter for the day. Experience the rest of Phuket.

Another way to avoid the hump is by choosing wisely where you live. In my 13 years here I have continued moving south away from the tourist areas. First Kata, then Chalong, then Rawai. If I move any farther south I will be on Racha Yai. I think I am now in the 2nd southern most house in the island. It's a two bedrooms house under the canopy of dense jungle with no neighbors. Dead quiet at night. Walking distance to 3 beaches and Promtheap Cape. 8 minute drive to Chalong, 15 minutes to Kata, and 25 minutes to Central. I pay 7500B per month. Last week I had an 11 foot python visit. It is heaven.

Lastly, to avoid the "cynical hump", get involved in the community some way. This will help you feel like you are doing something to help fix the things that make us so cynical about the island. Help protect the environment with one of the many environmental groups on the island. Join the US Navy League or Rotary clubs who volunteer and fund raising for the needy, volunteer at the Red Cross blood bank, or join one of the many foreign police volunteer groups, if that is your thing. Any one who wants more info on these kinds of groups or opportunities, feel free to PM me.

Excellent post... with you 100 percent..

[robertthebruce]

Phuket was quite charming until the early 80s but it is a right dump now. Can't imagine why anyone would want to live there. I gave up on it years ago.

I hear what you are saying, but it works for me, saying that i lead a very simple life, but that suits me, and my lifestyle..

In my little simple life, i avoid Patong, like the plague,

Different strokes for different folks...

[BudRight]

Those cynical expats used to think everything was going to work out fine too.

[eezergood]

Phuket was quite charming until the early 80s but it is a right dump now. Can't imagine why anyone would want to live there. I gave up on it years ago.

Predictable......

If you gave up on it years ago, how do you know its such a dump?

[Pinot]

I'd get away from Phuket for awhile. This time of year, late in high season, things get stale for the locals. A change of scenery will remind you what you left. Phuket is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Just remember to lower your expectations, this is Thailand.

[Halion]

Phuket is like the old wrinkled hooker you see in many of the bars. Once young fresh and exciting with an abundance of mystery and promise only owing to the ravages of time and endless abuse she has lost all of her charm and beauty.

[Dap]

So basically, you expect some of us to "regress". That would be to say,

I learned nothing from my hard earned experiences and will now force

myself to be uneducated and blissful. Hahahahaha. Actually, the concept

is quite bizarre ... but equally humerous. Get back to me/TVF in a few years

and let me know how it's all working out for ya

Edited February 24, 2014 by Dap

[NomadJoe]

Related imo.

[Guest]

Phuket is like the old wrinkled hooker you see in many of the bars. Once young fresh and exciting with an abundance of mystery and promise only owing to the ravages of time and endless abuse she has lost all of her charm and beauty.

Now, that's poetry