Homesickness
A few more days and then Thailand will be over for a while. I fled the winter in the Netherlands and strangely enough now that spring has arrived I'm getting a little homesick. Although I always enjoy returning home, I have never had this feeling before.
Why this suddenly pops up now is also a mystery to me. Maybe the aging or maybe my trip to Hat Yai and Songkhla which I imagined more. Phuket and Pattaya that I've been looking forward to a bit and have no more surprises in store. Or was it the photo I received of the large magnolia tree that is more than a hundred years old and is currently blooming beautifully in my garden. Perhaps I also miss the beautiful sounds of the carillon that gently wake me up in the early morning.
expats
Do you ever wonder if those who have permanently moved to Thailand from Belgium and the Netherlands also have this feeling?
Although I'm quite restless by nature and when traveling I can't last very long anywhere and want to move on quickly to discover new things, I also love being at home in my own environment. After a lot of travel through Asia to Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Philippines,
Korea, but also to America and Australia, I feel like a kind of world citizen with a provincial touch. Perhaps the reason that at an age when much is allowed and nothing is required, I like to go home again to enjoy the beautiful springtime homeland. Fortunately for them, the Thai-based Belgians and Dutch do not have to share my feeling and opinion. I'm curious about reactions if they never have that homesick feeling. Tell it very honestly.
Gallows meal
As a rule, on the last evening I say goodbye to Thailand with a delicious bite to eat in Bangkok. None of the nine restaurants that belong to the top fifty in Asia are on my list. At the moment, you are still a bit hesitant between the Blue Elephant, Baan Khanita and Pirate Chambre. I am traveling alone this time and that obviously plays a not insignificant role in the choice. All three restaurants are attractive, reasonably priced for what is offered and easily accessible. With the metro you get off at the Surasak stop and within a few steps you will be at the elephant's door. Pirate Chambre is even easier because you can walk straight in from the Chidlom stop. You will find Baan Khanita on Sukhumvit soi 23, so adjacent to Soi Cowboy. From there you have to walk a few hundred meters. In short, not an easy choice because all three establishments are excellent.
Go and enjoy all the beauty that Europe has to offer in the coming months. By the time the leaves start to fall again, the wind picks up, the weather starts to drizzle and King Winter sets in, I get homesick again, but then for the warmth of Thailand and surrounding countries.
Homesickness? You are not alone Joseph. I am always happy to be able to return to the Netherlands. Especially now in the spring and later in the summer. It is true that after a few months I also get homesick for Thailand again, but then more for a short stay to taste the atmosphere again. Then quickly back to our beautiful country.
My last year in the Netherlands (2016) I was homesick for Thailand and wife and daughter. Now that I have settled in Thailand permanently, I don't feel homesick for the Netherlands. I also have nothing left in the Netherlands, no family, no house and no other possessions. In Thailand I have my wife and daughter and of course the family and I have access to a nice Thai house. I do have musings about the past, when my parents were still alive and about the city where I was born and raised. Does my family want to show my birth house and place, so I'm saving for the tickets.
I've been living here for quite some time now, and I'm not at all homesick for the Netherlands.
The last time I set foot on Dutch territory was already 6 years ago , that was when my mother died .
I have very good memories of Holland that may be said.
From my youth time , and later from my working years .
Had good parents and colleagues.
I don't have family.
But unfortunately the Netherlands of my time no longer exists , only in my mind .
I would like to travel around the USA a few more times .
Jan Beute.
Been here permanently since April 24, 2009, never returned to Flanders, and never felt the need to. Thailand is my home country and Flanders my country of origin. Homesickness is therefore an unknown feeling for me
I also always hibernate in Thailand, the last two years I'm not so much homesick for the Netherlands, but I slowly get to the boil in March and then I'm happy to be able to go to the fresh Netherlands for a while. But once a few weeks here I long for Thailand again.
I have been to Thailand every year for 20 years for shorter holidays, seen a lot of course. For the last 6 years I have been staying here with my husband for a longer period of time each year. viz 6 to 7 months. It is now the first time that I enjoy returning to the Netherlands. How come I don't know. Become older ? Missing the children and grandchildren?. What is it about. The luxury we have is that we have an apartment in Ned. have had a rental house in Thailand with a long-term contract all year round.
Probably too late and you are already in the Netherlands, but have you ever tried Baan Khun Mae in Bangkok. BTS to Siam, left exit through the mall (so across from Siam Senter/Paragon) and on the other side you will see this restaurant. Reasonable prices, thai atmosphere and delicious thai food, highly recommended.
Homesickness, I've been bursting with homesickness for my beautiful Netherlands for years. Also miss our very much
great food products, such as vegetables, fruit, meat, spreads, salads and bread. the Netherlands is
the best food country in the world, that is officially known. I also miss our beautiful cities. Heap
going there again this year, after years.
Sawasdee khap,
Looking back seems like a relief…. and then vice versa…..
Baan Kanitha is superb. Been there few times. Sometimes packed on Saturday evenings… reservations are necessary.
In a week I will go to the beautiful Netherlands for 7 months there I miss Thailand and in Thailand I miss the Netherlands, that's fine! Don't complain about the Netherlands and also not about Thailand, which each country has advantages and disadvantages.
See you in 7 months Dick CM
Live in Thailand. And I am grateful to the Netherlands for the good AOW. But absolutely no homesickness. Will never go back either.
I have lived here for 11 years now and have never felt homesick for the Netherlands….
I would like to go to the Netherlands with my Thai wife for a short holiday…
I also lived in Spain for 5 years and it was disappointing every time I went back to the Netherlands, because it was never the same as when I lived there ...
I think after 11 years in Thailand, that much more has changed in my opinion and I want to go back to Thailand even faster… if I were to go to the Netherlands for a short holiday….
“I am traveling alone this time”.
Make a suggestion, maybe your feeling of homesickness arose because you traveled alone, if you usually do it together, the feeling of homesickness seems to emerge more easily, you can no longer share everything with your travel companion?
Homesick, no. Were always happy to travel from Thailand back to our home in NL in the past, the periods varied from 3 weeks to 3 months, lived in Thailand in somewhat different circumstances than now. Nothing to the detriment of Thailand, but think that if you know where you are going again in NL and you are doing well there, then you want to go back to that home. Now that we live permanently in Thailand, things are different, now that is our home, no longer a house / home in NL and that suits us fine. Haven't been back to NL since 5.1/2 years, no need to, despite children and grandchildren there. Sometimes Zaanse Schans passes by on the internet, picture of Amsterdam, etc., that feels good, even more so, don't miss it, in fact, when I see the picture, nice, nice memories, but it doesn't make me homesick. Would you like to breathe in the neighborhood where I grew up again, but if I do that in my mind I'm already satisfied, have I ever consciously tested the feeling of homesickness, looked up my old neighborhood via street view, do I feel homesick? No, but it's nice to see you again. Fortunately, I should say, no homesickness. I am a skating enthusiast, would love to skate in nature again, but simple, you can't have everything. Know people who emigrated and remigrated every other year from NL > Australia > NL > Australia, homesickness, that seems pretty difficult to me and seriously stands in the way of your happiness and health, I think it's best to follow your heart, but ... make sure it doesn't end hits hollow.
Enjoyed your posts a lot, hope that a touch of homesickness doesn't get you down and you can continue to enjoy Thailand in the future.
Regards, Nico B
I don't feel homesick. Wonderful winter in Thailand. Swimming twice a day. Nice chatting with people who also have all the time. Walking along the boulevard. A wonderfully relaxed and quiet life together with my Thai wife. Soon we will go to the Netherlands again for 6 months. I rarely see my children and grandchildren, they are all busy. My family, friends and acquaintances are also rushed and restless through life. That takes some getting used to. My wife especially likes to be in the Netherlands. We feel privileged to live in Thailand and the Netherlands and really feel at home in both countries.
There is simply no better country than the Netherlands. There is a lot of air pollution in Thailand. 3/4 of the year too hot. Always those mosquitoes. Prices are skyrocketing. Language is too difficult to learn. There are so many obstacles. Difficulty dealing with visas. We have to pay extra for all entrances. Can never get a house in name. Can't get a Thai passport. And so on. So trust me many are homesick. But can't go back. It all seems beautiful in Thailand. But when you take off those rose-colored glasses, it looks very different.
I feel sorry for you, but really it's your own fault.
You could have prevented this with better preparation.
Unfortunately for you, it is irreversible.
However, I believe that you can always return to NL if you have the NL nationality. This does not mean that you can immediately use all (social) facilities and therefore must have money or income yourself. But you also need that in Thailand.
I've been away from the Netherlands for over 2 years now and I must say, I haven't felt homesick for a minute. I only have one sister living in the Netherlands. But I have regular contact with them via Skype. I don't even really miss the typical Dutch food. Yes, sometimes I think of the delicious sandwiches on Bankaplein in The Hague. I often came there because of the fantastic quality. But otherwise, no reason to long to return, not even for a short period, to the Netherlands. I'm having a great time here, a Thai woman (not such a young Thai, but a normal woman of 43 years old), children, family and friends who all contribute to sanuk sanaan.
Sometimes I feel homesick. When the weather is deathly hot in Thailand. Usually no homesickness. Holland? means work to me. Thailand? Enjoy doing nothing. (other than my runnings to the ATM for my in-laws) I hate my job. So Thailand is actually always better.
The higher the age, the more frequent the homesickness, if going back is not possible? for whatever reason it is sad for those who have to go there (abroad)! to stay .
I've been here since June 2015 and homesick, no. Of course there is always something, wherever you are. The heat here, the mosquitoes, the traffic, but I knew that beforehand.
No, Thailand is good to live in, the only thing I miss, but I try not to think about it and then I don't miss it, is good bread, pistolets, cheese and other sandwich fillings, well chopped.
For the rest I would say, look at it positively and count yourself lucky that you were born in the Low Countries. Imagine you now have a 'pension' of 500 baht, sorry, just increased to 600 per month.
No, we are not homesick for the Netherlands. We are 66 and 67 years old and have been living here for 9 years now with great pleasure and ok you have to abide by their rules here in Thailand, but that's already in the game, that's what you choose (if only they had more in Europe rules !!! regarding living and staying) and yes it has become more expensive, but still not as expensive as in the Netherlands. Too short of vegetables, meat toppings and/or fruit as Paul writes?? I don't understand, here in the North everything is for sale, including Brussels sprouts, herring (ok, you pay for that) but all Thai food, cheap and delicious, not to mention the delicious fruit, for which you pay quite a bit in the Netherlands.
The hospitals here in Chiang Mai (Lanna-Hospital), fine.
The dentist here, 4 crowns for the price I lost for 1 crown in the Netherlands, care, fine.
The fresh air, yes we miss it and indeed the past, with the people you meet here you have no past and memories to share. I sometimes miss that.
Back to the Netherlands, no – never – never ever.
I have been living and working in Thailand for 10 years now. And don't get homesick at all. Not to the cool weather, not to salt herring, not to the Keukenhof, not to my previous job, not to my previous (much better) salary. The quality of my life has increased in the last 10 years despite the fact that I have much less money.
As the Beatles sang long ago: Money can't buy me love.
This Joseph (baptismal name) Boy is retired, has been living in Muang Buriram for over five years now and I have not felt homesick for the Netherlands for a second, only two of my brothers still live in the Netherlands, near Rotterdam, where I myself come from come and I still have regular contact with them via Skype or Facebook, but during my last thirty years in the Netherlands I had a pub in Waalwijk, 60 km from Rotterdam, so I didn't have time to visit the family then either, actually I technique now more contact with them than before.
I do keep up with the news from the Netherlands, via the internet and BVN and of course the sport, especially now that my football club from Rotterdam is doing so well, just like my football club here.
I just miss all those simple Blokker stuff from Tomado or Leifheit and folding crates, hand blenders, road sweepers, contact grills, etc. And I do know that this can be ordered via the internet, but I would like to see in real life first what I am buying and not only from a photo.
And they have to invent a shower soap that not only smells good but also repels mosquitoes, because those insects are my biggest annoyance here.
Nostalgia for Holland no, absolutely not.
Think back to the last 40 years of my working life. How we were opposed by the government in the beginning. , (officials, rules). How difficult it has been to get to the top and then to hold on to it. The law of dismissal, the unions. BAH. Employees who are not motivated at all and who grew up in a time where it was told in schools that you actually did not have to go to work at all. BAH
Don't need a Thai passport, house in my name, bank balance in my name. (Except 8 tons each time for three months), own car, etc.
Sold everything, put it on my wife's couch, more than 10 years ago. Never regretted it. The book Holland has already been published 3 times and is covered in dust.
I am now almost 80 years old, life can be beautiful.
Without Homesickness!!!