A letter to the Netherlands
In major cities in Thailand there is a 24-hour economy; in rural areas people go to bed at 21.00 pm and get up at 05.00 am. I never understood the fun of that. Maybe it's not hot so early and work can be done.
Because I go to the German church on Sundays, I know it's Sunday and also Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, etc. otherwise you wouldn't know.
On Saturdays and Sundays it is much busier in Pattaya and on the coast, but otherwise there is no difference compared to during the week. Everything remains open. Stroll through the market in the evening, nice temperature, good food and drinks. Or going to restaurants. The weather is almost always good, so you can always go out, even in the evening.
Free parking everywhere, even in the department stores! And go to shows that are given (free) in different places.
In my former hometown in the Netherlands I felt trapped, especially on Sundays and Mondays because everything was closed, there was nothing to do and often bad weather.
But the other side is that sometimes the power goes out here, it comes back on after a few hours, regular police checks (driving license, etc.) and you go to immigration to show where you live every three months.
During a tropical downpour, some streets are under a meter of water and you cannot drive there, but the temperature remains nice and after half a day you can go anywhere again.
The country is currently suffering from a severe drought. The government has taken too few measures when it was still possible! The army is now bringing water to certain places, but that is the well-known drop in the ocean.
Greeting from Thailand.
I don't think there is anything to do in NL or Belgium at all. Personally I think that….and especially in the summer months there is much more to do at home, which is also the reason, I was only too happy to go back to the west in the summer months just so that I would miss too many things after a few months in Thailand ……there are concerts….themed exhibitions…performances from all over the world…markets…..second-hand markets…..car and motorcycle meetings…nice terraces…..Spanish parties…..German parties…..cycling races…..in short, there is culturally much more to do than in Thailand where it is always and everywhere a bit the same…..In the south you can choose between a Singha and a Leo and 1500 km further between a Leo and a Singha…..In Chiang Mai you have the Family Mart and the Seven Eleven and 1500 km further the Seven Eleven and the Family Mart.
In the inland towns there is absolutely nothing to do…except for some Buddhist stuff around the temples.
In NL and B people are also much more open to other cultures and things from other countries…..I don't know that something was already organized in Thailand about things from outside Thailand…..About Vietnam…China…Japan …Laos…Cambodia….close neighbors I hear or see absolutely nothing
Dear Fred,
I am not writing that there would be nothing to do in the Netherlands and Belgium, but about my previous residence in Ned.
Personally, I think Europe has a much more varied natural and cultural offer than Thailand, but you can't always go there.
fr.g.,
Lodewijk
Hi Fred,
End of last year , we had here in Pakthongchai
a Chinese festival that lasted seven days
and this year already The Chinese New Year ,
which is also a big party.
But well two non Thailand parties.
I agree with Fred. In Europe, cultural life is much more extensive and widespread than in Thailand. But we and Lodewijk should not compare apples with pears. You cannot compare Pattaya with Lutjebroek, just to name an example. Admittedly, streets were also laid between Lutjebroek and (hamlet) Horn at the time. For example, you cannot make a comparison between Pattaya and a temple with some houses around it in a corner of the Isaan. Fred's reaction apparently stems from the lack of the name of Lodewijk's former residence in the Netherlands and therefore Lodewijk's comparisons between the vibrant life in Pattaya and his former residence in the Netherlands are flawed here.
With moving to Thailand you have to wait until you see the benefits and are bored in Europe. Moreover, you are free to travel from Thailand wherever you want.
I focus on Thailand because I feel at home there. When people ask me what it's like in Thailand and they're in the car with me (I sometimes drove a taxi with foreigners who came on holiday for the first time), I said that at least I could still express my creativity there. That it was like traffic, if I can't pass on the right, I'll do it on the left. That it entails risk and adjustment, that may be clear, but that is precisely the challenge. If you somehow have a piece of land available in the countryside, you can build whatever you want. You can organize whatever you want. Compare the norms and rules with what you encounter in the Netherlands. The disadvantages of Thailand have often been mentioned and can be difficult, but nothing compared to what you are dealing with in the Netherlands, for example. If you want to compare, you have to be honest.
If you only stay around a place like Pattaya, then your knowledge is quite limited, that is precisely a place where, after a short visit a long time ago, I never wanted to be again.
If you can't go left, do it right. In itself it is easy and sometimes handy, but you have to take into account that the traffic here is extremely deadly. Thailand is the country with the most road deaths per 1000 inhabitants, so this is not really something to be proud of. If I can choose, I will still choose safe traffic regulations that are also observed.
Moderator: Comment on the article and not on each other that is chatting.
In Thai traffic law it is allowed to pass left and right, except at intersections. Traffic coming from the left also has priority, except at a roundabout, in which case the right has priority. If you think that the traffic here, in Thailand, is the same as in NL, then you will come across your own good. I drive here car and motorcycle on a daily basis, more than 40 yrs, and still alive. Seems incomprehensible.
I am one of those people who get up here at four o'clock in the morning. In the evening I am always happy to be in bed at least by ten o'clock. I compensate for the lack of sleep in the afternoon, when it is too hot outside to do anything... that works quite well and I love seeing the sun rise in the morning.
It is therefore often cool enough to work in the garden, to exercise or whatever you can do later in the day with much less moderation.
When I used to come to Bangkok as a steward, it was the other way around...in the beginning it often happened that we didn't go to bed before half past eight in the morning... You didn't go out until twelve o'clock at night. That was before curfew times were established. But even after that time, I have experienced a few times where I only got back into the hotel at dawn.
Now I think that is a waste of good time….well it is now a few years later 🙂
well….I can't do without Thailand, but also not without the Netherlands, so only 6 months in Thailand.
“I never understood the fun of that. ” The fun of Thailand is that, more than in NL, it is clear where you have to be to meet real, creative people, people who just work to live, and where you can avoid the people who just consume, and where there is neither taste nor taste, or as my brother from business life says: people who can't do anything, know nothing and understand nothing.