The realities of a westerner living in Thailand

Most tourists visiting Thailand, whether it be a backpacker, a package deal tourist , or regular visitor leave Thailand with many endearing memories, the excitement of Bangkok, the fabulous beaches and islands, the whole laid back attitude that is a world away from the life most have in the western world.

Of course Thailand has another allure, that being the warm, friendly, gorgeous and readily available Thai ladies. Although this side of Thailand is frowned upon by many, it still attracts millions of single men from all over the globe to the kingdom every year. Most of these guys would do anything to spend more time in Thailand, its heaven on earth for the 2/4 weeks they spend there every year. Most are not in the position to leave their respective countries and “move” to Thailand as job and family commitments don’t allow such a radical change in life.

Some do make the big plunge and relocate there, whether on a retirement visa, business visa, or indeed marrying a Thai lady and gaining a spouse visa. Then there is the dreaded visa run every month to Cambodia or Laos, which until late in 2006 was a popular way of being able to live in Thailand but not actively (read legally) working there. Now this loophole has been closed and a tourist entering on a 30 day visa can only spend 90 days out of every 180 days on this visa. I.E.. after using 3 / 30 day visa’s up consecutively you may not enter the country again for another 3 months.

The way around this is to get a 60 day tourist visa issued outside of Thailand, then apply for a 30 day extension in Thailand once the 60 days have expired, hence giving you 90 full days without leaving the country. Once the 90 days have gone by, then the 30 day visa runs can start, in total giving you 180 days legally before repeating the whole process again. This is a real alternative if your situation doesn’t allow you to go down the retirement visa, or business visa route.

A popular way for a single guy to get to live in Thailand is to get a job teaching English in one of the many schools there. This involves getting a teaching qualification which is a fairly simple thing to do, then go hunting for that perfect job. In reality teaching is not an attractive proposition to many as salary’s are notoriously low, leading to a poor standard of living.

If anyone of retirement age wishes to spend his/her twilight years enjoying the delights of Thailand, then it is perfectly feasible, albeit expensive. The Thai government has recently announced that anyone wishing to apply for a retirement visa must have on deposit in their bank account 800,000 baht for a minimum of 3 months prior to the application and subsequent applications. This new rule will put many retirees in possible financial difficulties, having a large portion of their retirement fund effectively unusable.

It seems at the present time the Thai government is deterring foreigners from investing in Thailand’s substantial “ex-pat” community, which injects a huge amount of revenue into the economy each year. In due course these rules will have a big impact on many businesses and the regular Thai, (who is already fairly poor to start with).

The realities of living in Thailand full time are now very complicated for the average person. If you are wealthy and do not need to work for a living Thailand is still one of the best propositions in the world, it has so much to offer. A regular joe who’s dream has been to live in Thailand and really enjoy life the way they want now find it next to impossible.

Unless the Thai government relax the rules in the near future, the “regular joe” who has provided an essential flow of cash to a large percentage of the population will be packing his/her bags and heading to one of Thailand’s neighboring countries who will be welcoming them and their money with open arms.

Article Source: http://www.superfeature.com

The author lives in Thailand for 6/8 months a year, legally, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, details of his life in Thailand on www.mythaiparadise.net

Things to do in Pattaya, Thailand   by Antony Chapman

There is more to Pattaya than most people would think, the city being undeniably modern, with all the usual entertainment that you would expect from a bustling metropolis, as well as a few that you might not expect!

Visitors often think immediately of the beach (and well they should with so much going on there) or the nightlife (with its infamous reputation), but don’t overlook the following:

Water Sports The number of water sports available in Pattaya is mind-boggling. Try your hand at sailing, wind-surfing, jet skiing, para-sailing, kayaking or banana-boating. Plus, if you feel like it, mix a boat ride to the outlying islands with some fishing or snorkeling.

Other Sports Pattaya has some gorgeous golf courses (no need to bring your own gear if you are struggling with luggage already), as well as a number of great go-karting courses. You can also try out paintball or laser tag.

Amusement parks In and around Pattaya, there are a couple of parks that should form part of any visit, especially for families with children. Underwater World boasts a fantastic aquarium with many activities for visitors. For something a little more adventurous, try Funnyland Amusement Park, with its carnival rides. Alternatively, Pattaya Water Park offers similar fun, of a watery kind.

Wildlife Parks If you are more interested in seeing some of Thailand’s more exotic wildlife, there are a number of parks that offer a taste of nature. Sriracha Tiger Zoo offers a close (very close) look at these magnificent wild cats. The Million Years Stone Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm mixes plant and animal life in its beautiful grounds. Alternatively, visit Nong Nooch Tropical Garden for a glimpse into Thailand’s amazing flora. And of course no visit to Thailand is complete without experiencing the elephants who have their own Elephant Village in Pattaya.

Shopping Pattaya has a number of modern shopping centres, together with a number of factory outlet malls offering brand names at fantastic prices. Just make sure you have enough space in your suitcases. Remember too that tourists can claim back on the VAT.

Eating out All along both Jomtien and Pattaya beaches you will find some great restaurants offering a mixture of Thai and Western cuisine. Make sure you try the seafood and look for the restaurants that Thais are eating at, as they will be the ones with the freshest ingredients!

Museums with a twist Nearby, Mini Siam offers a glimpse into Thailand’s past, with mini being the operative word, since everything this reconstruction boasts scaled down miniatures of historic buildings. Otherwise, check out Ripley’s Believe It or Not for a museum visit with a difference.

With so much to do, you can easily fill a two week holiday – just remember to make some time for just relaxing!

About the Author

Antony Chapman runs Sailing Pattaya, a sailing school and yacht charter service in Pattaya, Thailand.

Bangkok – angels and canals   by Andrew Regan

Bangkok is certainly a modern city with many skyscrapers and extensive shopping malls, but some descriptions of it as a concrete jungle are a trifle harsh. It is definitely the country’s most built-up city but there are a few oases of green within the city boundaries, and just a short ride outside the Thai capital is a whole world of eastern promise just waiting to be discovered.

The Thais call Bangkok ‘Krung Thep’, which translates as the City of Angels. It is the economic heart of Thailand, has a population of over seven million, and draws millions of tourists each year from all over the world. The city has a massive park in its midst called Lumphini Park – Bangkok’s own equivalent of New York’s Central Park – and is a popular destination for many locals and tourists.

Canals criss-crossed the city known as the ‘Venice of the East’ in the mid-19th century well before the invention of the internal combustion engine and concrete allowed the building of roads and highways. Just a short ride in a boat down the waterways and you’ll be transported away from the hustle and bustle of modern life into a sample of often unseen Thailand.

The River Chao Phraya waterway is almost 250 miles in length and snakes it way between the commercial heart of Bangkok and the rural suburbs. Here the visitor gets a glimpse of the non-westernised heart of the City of Angels; crowded in amongst crude wooden jetties and piers are houses whose residents get the ‘shops’ to come to them. Small boats laden with fresh fruits and vegetables sail door to door to selling their produce to residents along the busy waterways.

Monks are revered in Thailand and at the King of Thailand’s temple at Wat Rajbopit they offer a warm and friendly welcome to visitors. It is prohibited for Monks to touch women but they can converse quite freely with the opposite sex and they will happily tell you about their religion and the temple’s history.

Eating ‘street food’ in Bangkok is definitely worth a try. It tends to be cheap, delicious and will be nothing like the international cuisine featured at top hotels in Bangkok! Available at any time of day or night, street food is for the adventurous; menus are in Thai so unless you can read them everything you order, usually by pointing directly at the food, will be a mystery dish!

About the Author

Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.

Koh Samui

Back in the halcyon days of the 1960′s, there were no Lonely Planets to guide the trickle of adventurers travelling overland between Europe and Asia. Unlike today’s pampered and ubiquitous backpackers, yesterday’s intrepid young explorers had to rely on word of mouth advice about the route lying ahead. Amongst other essentials, this included “approved” lodgings, where kindred spirits globe-trotting in opposite directions congregated, and exchanged information about rutted roads already endured.

One such hostelry was the legendary Thai Song Greet Hotel, (alas, gone forever) near Bangkok’s central Hualumpong railway station. At 20 baht (then worth US$1) a night, it was still considered “expensive” for it had grimy rooms, and guests shared a small, smelly toilet-cum-bathroom at the end of each cluttered and humid corridor. Those who could not afford the hotel’s dubious luxury nevertheless came here to obtain that precious intelligence essential for their onward journey.

If Koh Samui is well known today, the first reverent mention of the name was most likely heard in the packed downstairs restaurant of that dirty but charismatic tryst. Amongst the pungent smoke billowing from the cook’s wok, word frequently passed around about an idyllic island in the south east of Thailand, very difficult to reach, a place with only walking tracks, and as close to being paradise as Mother Earth can possibly provide. Furthermore, this was no tiny islet, but a large and mountainous tropical haven with rushing streams, thick forests, and dozens of deserted pristine palm-fringed beaches, the stuff of dreams and fantasy.

Born therefore – like so many other resorts – of backpackers’ private discoveries, Samui forty years on boasts a network of roads, an entire tourism infrastructure, and almost-hourly flights landing at the picturesque airport. If purists might lament this transformation, the island nonetheless retains much of its magic, and international tourism has done little so far to mar the intrinsic tropical beauty. Development has affected mostly the coastal areas, and much of the mountainous interior remains untouched. Up here, the friendly inhabitants carry on their lives cultivating coconuts, banana, durian and paddy just as before, accepting sun-lotioned foreigners as an inevitable result of progress, like telephones and television.

Today, plump middle-aged codgers, who, as slim pimply-faced youths might have lounged under Samui’s swaying palms in 1962, can still relive that lost island feeling today, albeit with luxury hotels and the conveniences of the 21^st century all around, and the sense of real adventure long since gone.

Roughly 250 square kilometres in size, and rising to a height of 635 metres, this rugged granite island is almost the size of Penang, and Thailand’s third largest after Phuket and Ko Chang. (“Koh”is Thai for island) Settled originally by Malaysian and Chinese fishermen, it is thought that the name Samui derives from the Chinese word Saboey, meaning safe harbour. Less developed than Phuket, it boasts its own distinct personality, and the proud native population of around 50,000 speaks its own distinctive southern dialect.

It has an enjoyable but often unpredictable mix of tropical weather conditions, the sunniest months falling between January and August, with occasional refreshing downpours. More frequent rainstorms arrive in September/October, lasting through to December. The hottest months are from March to June. The sea temperature averages 29 degrees Celsius year round.

Article Source: http://thai.amari.com/

Phuketisland ( Thailand )

Phuket Located approximately 862 kilometers south of Bangkok is Phuket, Thailand’s largest island, which is often dubbed as the pearl of the Andaman, or the pearl of the south. Its natural resources- rocky peninsular, limestone cliffs, white powdery beaches, tranquil broad bays and tropical in-land forests contribute to making it the South’s wealthiest, busiest, most visited and most popular island and province.

Nestled in the tropical zone off the west coast of the southern part of Thailand in the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean, the province covers an area of approximately 543 square kilometers (excluding small islets). It is estimated that Phuket Province covers an area of approximately 590 square kilometers if its 39 other small islands are included. The islands total length, from north to south, is estimated at 48.7 kilometers and approximately 21.3 kilometers wide.

Phuket borders on Phang-nga Province to the north. The other 3 sides are encircled by the Andaman Sea the place where many of the best diving sites are located. The island is connected to Phang-nga Province by Sarasin Bridge and Thep Krasattri Bridge.Staying on the island is easy, as there are only two seasons in a year – the rainy season (May to October) and the hot season (November to April). The low season of phuket is between September and October as they are the wettest months. The best period for a visit, is from November to February, when it is possible to see the clear blue sky, feel the fresh sea breeze and marvel at the crystal clear water while lying on powdery, palm-fringed beaches. Average temperatures ranges between 23°C and 33°C.

Phuket’s topology is exceptional with 70 percent of its area covered with mountains which stretch from north to south and the remaining 30 percent being plains located in the central and eastern parts of the island. The island does not have any major rivers except for a total of 9 brooks and creeks.Phuket is divided into 3 administrative counties namely Amphoe Muang, Amphoe Thalang and Amphoe Kathu.

Article Source: http://www.superfeature.com

phuketisland ( Thailand )