Is living in Thailand paradise? What are the pros and cons? Who is this lifestyle for? This is a behind-the-scenes look at living in Thailand as a foreigner.

When I tell people that I live in Thailand, I often get feedback along the lines of “You are so lucky”, “I would love to be able to do that too”, “You live in paradise”, or “What an amazing lifestyle”.

Then there are the people who are not sure on which continent Thailand is and who could not find it on a map if their life depended on it.

Here is a tip. China is easy to find on a map, it is plenty big enough. If you look for the lowest or southernmost part of China, then you will see Thailand right below there along with some other small countries like Burma, Cambodia and Vietnam. This part of the world is called “southeast Asia”. Read the rest of this entry

Here in Thailand it is much easier to get a massage than in western countries. You just walk into one of countless massage shops and in most cases there is a therapist available right away. So that’s the easy part.

But how do you know who will work on you - is it just the luck of the draw? Most shops have several therapists on staff. They are automatically assigned to the customers depending on their turn in the queue. However you don’t have to accept just any therapist. You can ask for anyone who you feel comfortable with.

Here are some tips for improving your chance of getting a good Thai Massage. Read the rest of this entry

Thailand is a hot country. Not all tropical areas are hot. You might be at the equator, but if you are high enough in the mountains, the weather can be very pleasant. But closer to sea level, it can get mighty hot in the tropics.

This year we have unusually hot weather in Thailand in May. Thais don’t bake their food, so there are hardly any ovens in Thailand, but these days just being outside feels like being in an oven. The sun is cooking you mercilessly. That is no big deal if you live in an airconditioned house and drive an airconditioned car. But airconditioning is far from being standard equipment in Thai homes, and small motorbikes are the transportation of choice, or rather necessity, for many millions of Thais. Read the rest of this entry

How to communicate effectively with your Thai partner.

Say you found a girlfriend or prospective wife in Thailand. You live together and get to know each other. In almost all cases your English will be much better than hers which makes communication easier for you.  Here is a checklist of things you should not assume:

1. Don’t assume your partner understands you just because she smiles at you as if she understands you. Thais rarely if ever say that they don’t understand you. They will nod and smile even if they have no idea what you are saying.

Solution: Ask your partner what percentage she understands of what you are saying. Ask her if she understands 40 percent or 60 percent etc. You might be amazed to find out how much she has been missing. Ask her what you can do so that she understands more. It might be that you speak too fast and need to slow down. It might be that you use difficult words which you need to replace with simpler ones. It might be that you have to eliminate the use of difficult tenses, like “It would have been better….”, or “If you would have gone to….” Read the rest of this entry

Thailand is known for a great variety of delicious tropical fruits, and when you go to a Thai market, they are bursting with piles of colorful fruits and vegetables. But few vegetarians, if any, live off fruits alone. There is such a thing as a fruitarian, but it is way out on the extreme side of vegetarianism, and very few people try to follow this for an extended period of time.

Are all vegetarians health conscious?

The availability of produce in Thailand is definitely a plus for vegetarians. However there is another side to the story. Although most people think that all vegetarians are extremely health conscious, this is not necessarily so. India is one good example. There are many millions of vegetarians in India, but there is lots of white sugar, white rice, heavy milk products and sweets, and deep fried food in their diet. Many Indian vegetarians are seriously overweight. Read the rest of this entry

In the western world you don’t dare asking a woman how old she is. It is considered rude and intrusive, and many western women will flat out refuse to tell you their age. The idea is that aging is a bad thing for a woman and should be hidden as much as possible. Being secretive about age and even lying about it is considered acceptable.

So here comes our first time Thailand visitor, a woman for our story, and she is taken aback since people regularly ask her how old she is. Why are they so nosy in Thailand? Why do they pry into such intimate subjects?

Little does our traveler know that age has a very different meaning in Thailand than in the west.  Rather than being something to be avoided, it is actually necessary to know people’s age in order to have proper social interactions. Read the rest of this entry

The tourist brochures will tell you that “amazing” Thailand is a tropical lush heaven, the land of smiles, filled with  friendly people, inexpensive, and fun. It is actually all true. But, there is a darker side also. Nothing could be that perfect.

The north of Thailand is a beautiful region- nine months out of the year. But three months out of the year, specifically during the hot and dry season in February, March and April, the entire area is often covered by a nasty layer of pollution. It is mostly caused by agricultural burning which is a cheap and efficient method of clearing the land, but it also makes your eyes burn, prevents airplanes from landing, and sends thousands of people to the hospitals for respiratory issues.

Scenic road on Doi Suthep Mountain

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Many expats or longer term residents in Thailand have to leave the country every two or three months in order to obtain a new visa. Within Asia you can generally only get short term tourist visas. There are exceptions: Retirement visas let you stay in Thailand permanently, but you have to put a big chunk of money in the bank (about US $25,000.-), and you have to be older than 50. Work visas also allow you to stay in the country, but they are only good as long as you are employed by a company.

My visa is good for one year, but I have to leave the country every three months in order to get a  new entry stamp in my passport. And once a year I have to travel to the US or Australia to get a new one year visa. Just recently it was again time to get a new visa, and I went to the US to get it. Read the rest of this entry

After living in Thailand for many years and having received many Thai massages I have come up with a listing of different styles of Thai massage therapists you will encounter in Thailand.

1. The social type: This is the chatty type. She will immediately ask where you come from, if you speak Thai, if you are in a relationship etc. She will chat with you during the massage and she will have lively conversations with her fellow Thai massage therapists who are working in the same room. She keeps her mobile phone next to her and she will take any call. Either she will stop the massage until she is done talking or she will hold the phone with one hand and massage you with her free hand. She is not really focused on what she is doing and sees the massage scene as a perpetual social gathering. It might really annoy someone, but there are clients who actually enjoy this party atmosphere. Read the rest of this entry

Why are Thai men not interested in relationships with foreign women? And why don’t western women care about Thai men? After all Thailand is known for cross-cultural relationships and men come here by the tens of thousands to find female Thai partners. Why is this a one way street? Why do you rarely see Thai men with western women?

Who follows whom?

Thais are shy people compared to most westerners. Culturally it is not acceptable to show strong emotion, get angry, yell at people, confront someone head-on, or have an intense argument. On top of that in many Asian cultures the woman traditionally follows the man much more compared to the total equality concept that is prevalent in the west. And here we have a major sticking point. Read the rest of this entry