Living as a farang in the jungle

When I made the decision a few years ago to come and live here, in a small town in the South, as single farang, my friends living in Thailand thought I was crazy. Most of them live on Koh Samui and cannot be beaten away with sticks. I would be bored to death here in that desert/jungle, lonely and much more of that unpleasantness.

But my decision was firm and was further strengthened by the many cremations of farangs who died much too young, which I had to attend over the years. All died of the same ailment: boredom got drunk resulting in a liver that could no longer cope with the hard work or died in an accident drunk.

Suddenly no more time for anything

So I live here very quietly, with a Thai retired professor as my only neighbor. I've known that man since I've been coming to Thailand, which is a long time.

Before he retired, almost at the same time as myself, he had big plans. He wanted and would see Thailand. Driving through Thailand with me by motorcycle (we are both fervent motor cruisers).

Ideal for me, someone to hang out with who speaks perfect Thai and not, like me, a sometimes incomprehensible gibberish for Thai.

But, as with many Thai men, after retirement they suddenly have no time for anything. During their active careers they have earned well, but not spared, that is Thai culture. Why think about tomorrow: Maybe tomorrow never comes.

So in order to maintain their previous standard of living, they throw themselves into all kinds of activities to supplement their pension (a civil servant does have a pension here). The result is that nothing comes of those beautiful plans. Later, which could. Here the proverb applies: Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today, as: never do today what might be done tomorrow by someone else. Good bad??? The choice is yours.

Lots to experience and see

Getting bored in Thailand: No you won't, if you don't want you to. There is of course a big difference between a farang who is coupled to a Thai lady and a bachelor. As a bachelor you enjoy a lot of freedom here, and by that I don't mean chasing the girls every day.

In Thailand there is a lot to experience and see for us farangs, after all it is all new to us: a different culture, different people. The art here is to empathize with Thai life, not always comparable to life in Europe. This is Thailand here and Thailand belongs to the Thai people with their own way of life and culture. It is very interesting to try to understand and live with it. You can be critical, but keep the criticism to yourself, observe and think about it calmly.

 Khun lung addie

This is Eddy de Cooman's second contribution to Thailandblog. In the previous one, 'Everyone in the village knows farang Lung Addie', he introduced himself.

Submitted communication

From the new book of Thailand blog Charity: 'The cold season passed into the warm season. Jan thought it was hot, just like everyone else, Marie had a hard time with it.' Maria Berg in the bizarre story Jan and Marie from Hua Hin. Curious? Order 'Exotic, bizarre and enigmatic Thailand' now, so you won't forget it later. Also as an ebook. Click here for the order method. (Photo Loe van Nimwegen)