Wintering in Thailand: how beautiful can life be?
When I get up in the morning in Hua Hin and the sun shines brightly on me, I realize I'm lucky.
The laptop on the kitchen table in the attractive bungalow is patiently waiting for the instructions for the coming hours. My lovely girlfriend brings me a cup of coffee and a hug. Worse conditions are conceivable for the 'Homo sapiens'.
I have now been bivouacking in my new accommodation for over a week. When I took my suitcase out of the car eight days ago to walk towards the departure hall of Düsseldorf Airport, I felt the cutting cold wind in my face. It was the harbinger of harsh and angry winter weather. “Leaving just in time!” was the simple conclusion I could draw.
Thailand fever
The journey to Thailand was piece of cake. Between check-in and boarding, I met Rob, a loyal and enthusiastic reader of Thailandblog. Rob also once became infected with Thailand fever. His flight with Air Berlin was therefore a single one travel to Thailand. That is called emigration. The recently retired psychologist is looking for his happiness in former Siam and I am convinced that he will succeed.
A sleeping pill after take-off worked wonders, I woke up about two hours before landing. At the baggage carousel I said goodbye to Rob and ten minutes later I saw my girlfriend beaming in the arrivals hall of Suvarnabhumi Airport. It had been eight months since we said goodbye to each other at more or less the same place.
Makkasan station
I myself like to travel by train in Thailand, which is why we had already decided to use this means of transport to leave for Hua Hin.
With the red Express Line (Airport Rail Link) we traveled to Makkasan station. There you can change to the MRT Metro towards Mo Chit or towards Hua Lamphong (train station). The first thing you notice about Makkasan is the sadness of the gigantic hall that looks silent and deserted. It also shamelessly shows that Thais have strange ideas when it comes to infrastructure.
Transferring to the Bangkok metro sounds fun, but you have to be prepared for a long walk. Including crossing a few times and dragging your suitcase over a bump of stones that the Thai call a road. So don't take it too literally. Only a few fools like me take this route, and see the explanation of a desolate multimillion-dollar concourse called Makkasan. There should be a footbridge to the metro at some point, but the Bahtjes for that will be used up after the floods.
Once you have arrived at Phetchaburi metro station, you can take the underground to Hua Lamphong in a squeak and a sigh.
The ride to Hua Hin then takes another four hours, but on the train we enjoyed some Thai food and a few cans of Leo beer. Hans Bos then picked us up at the picturesque station of Hua Hin and the first sight of the bungalow was a pleasant surprise. The past week was then mainly dominated by shopping, meeting friends, going out, cycling and working.
Winter
From now on I can be amazed again about everything Thailand in general and Hua Hin in particular has to offer. I will share this with the readers on a regular basis.
To annoy those who stayed behind in the Netherlands, I sent an e-mail that it is now also winter in Thailand. With about 30 degrees on the thermometer, it is on the cool side here…
Sawadee Khap!
Nice little story.
I look forward to (very often and very much) a sequel.
Enjoying this warm story in the cold here, I traveled with you in imagination. fantastic
Instead of going to Makasan, an option is to take the airport link to Phya Thai and then take the skytrain to a station with an underground connection (Asok or Sala Daeng). Then you don't have to go on the public road and it usually goes via elevators or escalators. We wish you a nice time here again
http://www.mapjack.com/ with this site you can walk a bit with peter
Enjoyment is the magic word for Thailand, even if things don't turn out the way you expect with your Western slant. Tomorrow we take 2 children and 4 grandchildren to Oma in Bangkok with our Isuzu.
The departure plan and route change hourly as more calls are made.
Beautiful, but I'm not going to set the alarm.
My wife's sons drive buses as drivers and have a nice income with tips.
Basically , I sit back in my Isuzu ne MY kids drive. Me with 1 eye on the Tom Tom, see if it works.
Enjoy them…Thailand is beautiful !
Frank
Despite the beautiful white world in the Netherlands, I enjoyed this "warm" story.
A few years ago also “overwintered” in Thailand…. and now, after reading this story, I feel the homesickness coming on…..
Save for a ticket this year (if that works) so that next year I can say “I fly away to Thailand, see you in 3 months!
Mia , you know .
Your bed is made
In a severe winter you can pay for the air travel, which saves you on fossil fuel and therefore contributes a little bit to cleaner air.
You can also teach 1 fossil there on the PC because without you I can't get any further with that.
On the Ned. association I will introduce you as the best teacher for people my age and far above and also below.
We bet that you will arrive in Thailand every year on New Year's Day.
Your winter clothing will not wear out for the next 10 years.
Your Thai will also come in handy with more vocabulary .
I know that you are very enthusiastic about many things and your first name is very important for a Thai man . LOL .
Left at just the right time. Last night it froze -18 and the feeling temperature was -28 this morning…
Can't wait to fly out on March 1…
You are right to enjoy it. I live and smell with you. Now when I go down the street in The Hague in the cold, I just think of all those Thai smells… really the only way to keep it up.
How and from whom did you rent this house?
Ultimately through me, Hans Bos. 15K per month
@ Khan Peter,
Nice article and honorable that you also mentioned meeting me at the airport.
Your bungalow looks fantastic. Hopefully everything inside is also to your liking.
I myself rented a big house in Jomtien for 6 months, 20K, way too much for my budget, but I had my reasons to take it anyway. My interior leaves much to be desired and it doesn't click at all with the landlady. I will soon write an article about my experiences and the powerlessness of the tenant after signing the lease. I have now learned my lesson and hope that the readers of this blog might also benefit from it.
I wish you and your girlfriend a great time in Hua Hin. We'll keep in touch! Warm regards from Rob, aka Robbie.
Rob, everything inside is also great. Nothing to complain about.
I hope you can work it out with the landlady.
I once rented a house like the one in the photo in BanChang (Rayong). The funny thing is that on the outside it was bigger than it looks, once inside there are no stairs to go up through the ceiling because that roof and the windows are only there for optical reasons.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed staying there because I didn't need that space 'up there' anyway, it didn't matter to me, there was enough space downstairs with all amenities and it was close to the beach.
Such houses are common in Thailand to impress, do not know if that also applies to your house and it is absolutely not intended as envy, see it as a nice anecdote that I want to share on Thailandblog.nl that I enjoy more and more get to write a contribution.
Lots of winter fun!
True what you say. From the outside, the house appears much larger. It looks like there is a floor, but there isn't.
Well, there are two of us and the house is big enough. At least that way my girlfriend can't hide from me 😉
If you want to write something, you can always do so. Just send it.
Actually meant more writing or responding to messages from the editors and or fellow bloggers. 🙂
I also like to receive / read comments on my comments.
Kuhn Peter, I'll send you an Ice Cap just in case the mercury drops a little further down there! Look forward with interest to further publications from you! Regards, Ton.
Haha, I think you need it more than I do. But thanks anyway.
Fantastic story! Now realize how good we have it here , after a lot of negative news also a positive note . More of this please.
Hi Peter,
I'm jealous, but a healthy jealousy. My wife and I have just returned from our wintering (landed on 27-1) and we are now waiting in the cold for the Elfsteden tour (watching on TV)
Hope you have a nice time again in Thailand and especially for you in Hua Hin. Nice house if that is yours in the picture. And for a nice price if I remember an earlier message about the announcement of your hibernation. ( by the way I read somewhere 15 K sorry what does that K stand for ?? For 1000 Bath I think or not ??
I will follow you for sure. As promised I also want to write a piece about a number of winters in Pattaya and surroundings. Just experiences of an "old" couple. from Holland in Siam. Hans Bos do you also have such a house for me in the Pattaya area. Keep me recommended. By the way, I now also have a very nice apartment in Pattaya for 16,5 K If I say that right?!
Well have fun and enjoy it and enjoy the delicious food, your delicious beer (also my brand) and especially the time you can spend together now.
It would have been very cold here alone in bed.
Regards Ruud
Hello Ruud, 15K is id 15.000 The nights here are long and sultry 😉
ps oh yes Peter let us know if we succeeded in insuring a rented motorbike according to our standards ????
I still haven't succeeded in if those years. Only if I buy the bike.
Ruud
Ruud, I rented the motorbike from Hans Bos and it is All-Risk insured. This is only possible if the motorbike is registered to your name, which is not the case with rental. I also have a motorcycle license. It is a 110 cc and therefore a motorcycle.
Otherwise you will not be able to insure AR on him.
Only if you have an accident and tell the insurance company that you have rented that motorcycle/moped, the insurance will not be valid.
You can indeed insure AR for rental, it just costs a lot of money and no one is willing to pay that.
chang noi,
I've been to 4 insurance companies in Pattaya and they all told me they couldn't do that
Ruud
Beats. Rental mopeds/motorcycles are only 'compulsory' insured. That is a minimum liability insurance. More insurance is only possible if the vehicle is registered in your name. Note: these are motorcycles with a minimum of 108 cc. Therefore, an international motorcycle license is required. This is only valid for 3 consecutive months in Thailand.
Nice story Khun Peter,
All very recognizable. Just like Ruud, I am also waiting for the start of the Elfstedentocht. I hope that at the beginning of April it will all be a bit more comfortable in terms of temperature. My girlfriend is coming to NL for the 2nd time. After 3 months we go together again to Thailand (Bangkok, Korat, Sakhon Nakon etc). I stay 1 month. Relax and enjoy! I'm already looking forward to it.
We'd love to see your follow-up story posted Khun Peter. Thx
I myself have just returned from my stay in Thailand (unfortunately much too short) you are absolutely right as soon as I can I will spend the winter in Thailand and explore further of course.
Have fun and good luck
Good to read that you had a good trip.
You guys enjoy it, then I can read the beautiful stories again and enjoy it a bit here too.
A very nice time there.
No matter what I do, it's still messy with this writing, I top messy and you get messy I'll stop, but know one thing dear Peter, I am and will always be a fan of yours.
One more thing another man from Apeldoorn lives in Hun In his name is Peter de Jong he lives on the golf course and regularly eats at the Italian in Hun In greetings from Apeldoorn from Jan Brunswijk.