utapaortnab

If your future plans include living full time or part time in Thailand and you decide to tealok or marry a Thai lady take this thought into consideration.

If you like Bangkok, only date Thai ladies whose families LIVE in Bangkok.  If you like Pattaya, only date women whose family are now rooted in Pattaya.

This will keep you from spending the majority of time up-country in bum f**k Issan or deep in the south of Thailand, or anywhere else outside YOUR favorite destination, future home area or the area where YOU want to spend the majority of your time in Thailand.

I married the most wonderful Thai lady ever, and for the first 12 years of our married bliss together, we were very happy, mostly because we lived 10 years of that time in America and only then, returned to Thailand to be there for her mother who was ill.  In 2005, we returned, and I built a huge home in Chaiyaphum Thailand.  I tried for 20 months to adapt to life in the sticks, but I just will never be happy there.  Noo one person in the 17 villages of Gudtum speak a word of English, and although I've spent my life working in/living in/visiting 39 countries and all 50 United States, I ONLY speak English.  Now I fully realize that in the 39 years total that I've worked in, lived in, or visited Thailand since first being assigned to the U.S. Army Satellite Communications Station at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airbase during the Viet Nam war, and from the first week I was in Thailand (I'd been in 6 others Asian countries B4 stepping foot in Thailand at age 35, I knew Thailand would be my home forever.  In Dec 2010 however, forever ended and I find myself back living in Oceanside Ca.

I fully realize it is my problem that I have NO foreign language skills, (even flunked Spanish in college) and my life would have been even more spectacular IF I could speak Thai, Isaan, Kymer, Lao etc. but even if I had full language skills in all the languages mentioned above, I still could never again live in the sticks, in Isaan, in the village.

I know each and every one of you have dreamed at some point of living in full retirement, isolated far from adequate phone services, in an area with no TV, no phones, no hussle and bustle of city life, but believe me, I believe you, like I found myself, were just fooled into believeing that that kind of life is or ever will be sustainable for anyone who has ever lived in a civilized city life situation.

The more free time you have, the more idle hours you have to fill, and to try and do so in an area with less options to fill each day (like offered in Bangkok to the max, in Pattaya to a somewhat lesser max, and in other beach areas of Thailand for those whose lifestyle needs are at a yet lower level, we MUST have places to go, things to do, hundreds of restaurants to choose from, tens of movies to choose from, many shopping malls to choose from, and for those who drink (I cannot because of being an incillin dependent diabetic), hundreds of bars, nightclubs, gogos, massage parlors, whatever floats your boat, rather than living in an area with few or none of these options.  If you live in a small village somewhere in Issan, all you can look forward to is your next holiday in Bangkok or Pattaya etc.  Believe me!!!!!!!!

Anyhow, I'm not handing out advise, just want each and every member who plans a lifetime of trips or permanent residency in Thailand to have a listen and decide for themselves if what I say has ANY value at all.

At age 75, most people would tell you all my few remaining thoughts are muddled in the past.

Ken

A couple days ago, my cellphone text message alert system recorded that there was a shooting at a nightclub in Pattaya.  I tried to get further info from all sources excepting Thai Visa forum because I was out at the flower fields in Chaiyaphum at the time.  Now I'm in BKK and looking for details.

Help''''''''''''''''''''''''

kenandlat