Rens Koekebakker: a bon vivant in Thailand
I think a nice side effect of writing for Thailandblog is that readers can post comments, so interactively! I love to read, not only when it comes to stories written by me, but also those of others. In fact, I also read comments on other weblogs. Every writer likes to get a compliment now and then, good to keep busy enthusiastically.
The disadvantage is that there are people who live in Thailand and, if necessary, criticize inappropriately, not so much about the content of the article, but just bleating about anything and everything. There is nothing good at all, it is too hot or there is too much rain, everything the Thai does goes wrong, the traffic is a mess, Pattaya is no good and so on. It is often unfounded, it is only about venting personal frustrations, I think. On the other hand, there are plenty, even many more people, who have a positive view of life in Thailand, but they don't often speak up.
But recently I received a message on Facebook from an unknown Dutchman named Rens Koekebakker, because a FB friend responded to it. The unchanged text read as follows:
“Hello too dear people who love life just like me because born in the Netherlands we are (still) welcome everywhere in the world and enjoy the freedom granted to us that we no longer have in the Netherlands. I myself have been living in Thailand for 13 years and I have been to many countries, but what we have in Thailand is really unique, everything that is wrong in NL is done completely differently here, so I can really enjoy that and with me the many Dutch people who are also here, come on holiday or have moved here just like me and do business here to please the many tourists and each other. Several NL have started a guesthouse or restaurant here so that we can also eat a delicious frikandel croquette or a delicious Dutch prak, also other things such as Dutch TV with all networks so that we can also receive sports and everything here, insurance, NL websites set up for and by the Dutch here to keep everyone informed of the ups and downs, so dear people it won't get better than here so do like me enjoy the sweet and nice people around you be kind to people and animals, make Have a nice day and don't grumble too much"
Rens Koekebakker
I wanted to meet someone who, as it were, shouts out such a heartfelt cry on Facebook. I made an appointment with him and met him at his usual place in the Eagle Bar in Jomtien.
Rens is a cheerful Amsterdammer from the Dapperbuurt. Early in his life he started working without really having a good education. He ended up at the pipeline company Nacap in Den Helder and has developed into a professional in mechanical engineering through internal training and experience. He has since worked for several firms in a number of countries such as Bangla Desh, Vietnam, Russia and so on. Knowing all too well how difficult it is to get ahead without a good education, he took pleasure in teaching young colleagues not only the trade, but also all kinds of technical skills.
During those periods abroad, he also came to Thailand and enjoyed everything Thailand has to offer, including the attractive ladies. At a later age he settled in Thailand, because he did not want to return to the Netherlands permanently. He still visits occasionally to see his daughter and grandchild, but is happy to be in Thailand again.
The Eagle Bar and Eagle Guesthouse
Rens arranged everything for his Thai partner (I was not allowed to say his girlfriend or his wife) to start a hotel in Jomtien. The hotel is on Soi 4 and you can walk through to the Eagle Bar on Soi 5. He says he doesn't get involved, but to be honest I don't believe that. His partner will certainly make use of his knowledge and smooth talk, because Rens does not just let himself be dismissed when it comes to government agencies. He usually gets a lot done in his own way.
Life in Jomtien
Rens Koekebakker knows many people in Pattaya and Jomtien. He regularly visits Dutch and Belgian restaurants, because Thai or other foreign food is not for him. He likes to chat while enjoying a drink, but also to advise others. He knows what is for sale in the world.
Finally
His story above shows that Rens has a positive view of life in Thailand. Go have a beer in the Eagle Bar and he will tell you all kinds of fun and interesting stories. Occasionally with Amsterdam humor, but he also does not shy away from a serious conversation about certain problems.
Rens Koekebakker: a bon vivant and a man after my own heart!
– Reposted message – From information that has reached us, Rens passed away about two years ago.
“The disadvantage is that there are people who live in Thailand and, if necessary, criticize inappropriately, not so much about the content of the article, but just bleating about anything and everything. There is nothing good at all, it is too hot or there is too much rain, everything the Thai does is wrong, the traffic is a mess, Pattaya is no good and so on.”
Lol, I laughed out loud but it's true. Typically Dutch. bleating and grumbling at anything and everything. Apparently life is impossible without it.
It is often also striking that those complainers and whiners on Thailand also always want to give the Netherlands their home country, because that is after all a country of rules, but then wants to impose the same Dutch rules on the Thai for which they 'flee'.
It is not for nothing that there are so many PVV voters among Dutch expats in Thailand.
Yeah so ? What does political preference have to do with this? I haven't voted in 30 years. whether you are bitten by the dog or the cat, it does not matter. But if I were obliged to vote, it would probably be the PVV. Anything better than D66 or the VVD. And then I forget about the other, meaningless, other parties.
There are four doctors in the doctor's room. One doctor says: 'If I do a driver's license test and then I have to pay half of that 100 euros to the tax authorities!'
“And how about all those long days we work. We work even longer hours than a lorry driver!'
The third doctor complains about all the administrative work he has to do 'I hardly have time for my patients!'
“Well, what I find the worst', says the last doctor, 'is that those patients are always complaining, complaining and complaining again!'
3 old men are sitting on a couch when a beautiful Thai walks by. The first says I would like to hug, the second says: I would like to kiss, The third says: There was still something...
The positive… eventually you forget everything, including the bad things.
The disadvantage is indeed that people keep complaining about others who complain. In short, not respecting the complainant's opinion.
Live and let live.
We are coming to Thailand again for two months next year, will definitely visit the Eagle bar!
Totally agree with article! Good guy, that Rens. Knows a lot, comes up with useful information and solutions. Ongoing Thai source of information. Good hotel, great bar and positive attitude to life. A little about the “well-known NL grumblers”: I usually say: “Then why don't you go back? If everything is so bad here in Thailand…. The strange thing is that there is no answer…. … . Incidentally, it is a known NL problem; you come across in the world. 🙂 ! So… enjoy the country and accept the country as it is. We Dutch were not put on earth to improve the whole world … … . Ad.
My neighbor Colin de Jong has a beautiful song/slogan: “Enjoy life, it only takes a while!”
I have the least trouble with the bleating and grumbling about weather and traffic etc.
After all, it is Dutch to complain about everything.
What has struck me more and more lately is that more and more Dutch people express personal insults via Social Media if you have a different opinion or write something that they simply do not like.
Words like: Bastard, anti-social, arrogant come by daily and comments like: You don't understand anything, you have to learn to read, you have to learn Dutch, You know nothing about this are almost standard comments.
It is a pity that many people invest time in informative messages about Thailand, which can and should sometimes be discussed, but that several readers are not interested in the content but attack the reporter. In English: Don't shoot the messenger.
Rens I know you are reading this too, stay positive and enjoy life. I continue to enjoy the beautiful side of Thailand every day in the now wet south.
That Koekebakker really doesn't sound that positive. He enjoys the freedom offered in Thailand. What freedom I wonder. Don't say a bad word about the royal family or politics because then you will be locked up for years in no time. We no longer have that freedom in the Netherlands, Koekebakker writes. What do you mean sir? And Thailand is truly unique, he continues. Tell me where in the country is so unique. M curious. It is indeed unique that many older Thai people have to live on a 'pension' -600 baht per month - and are dependent on their children. It is strange that some people who have left the Netherlands and settled abroad often criticize the motherland. Mr. Koekebakker, have another delicious frikandel and enjoy the croquettes and, as you say yourself, a Dutch prak. It seems that you are homesick for the Netherlands and have barely settled in Thailand. Glad you can enjoy Dutch TV.
Just read my Facebook stories, but if you don't know what makes Thailand so unique, then you've never been here or you've never been to other countries.
Dear Koekebakker, I don't have a face book and I don't participate in all the nonsense. But don't hold back and write on this blog in which you think Thailand is so unique. I don't know Thailand very well because I've only been there about 50 times and the world is no stranger to me either. It is strange to me that there are so many compatriots who always criticize the Netherlands. You must have been born in that unique Thailand then you are a lot less enthusiastic.
joseph,
Completely agree with you.
I also sometimes wonder why there are 10.000 Thai people living in the Netherlands, when Thailand is such a great country.
Of course Thailand is a beautiful country seen from your resort with a view of the sea, pension from the Netherlands, smiling young ladies who want to get their share and with staff who are very polite.
You don't have that in the Netherlands.
However, it has little to do with Thai life.
Maybe it's time for some to read the books of Sjon Hauser, what he has experienced in his 50 years in Thailand.
Well, what Rens is talking about is experiencing Thailand from a Western perspective and if you have some money it is a good place to be of course. Don't whine too much. But I think it is going too far to dismiss the criticism of Thailand as 'personal frustration' and 'unfounded'. The criticism of Thailand is of course often well founded; much of what the Thai do indeed goes wrong, there is no real freedom of speech, the country is corrupt, the traffic is a mess even according to independent statistics and Pattaya has proven beyond doubt that it has a huge global appeal for people with an advanced stage of mental retardation. In addition, it is indeed very hot every day and it also rains heavily during certain times of the year.
The question is, of course, to what extent you should allow yourself to be influenced by this. As a Westerner it is quite easy to avoid the things you don't like. Life is good for a Westerner in Thailand and you can see negatives, but don't let it influence you too much or complain about it. Many things here are also better than elsewhere. In the end it all remains quite personal; how you stand in life is all-determining.
Dear and dear friends here, I didn't see this coming and I'm blushing like a virgin in walkingstreet here, I was approached a few weeks ago by someone who writes for Thailand bloq and asked me if he could read my positive stories. was allowed to use on his bloq, I thought what I write he can also think of himself, so in itself I had and have nothing against it, well, everyone have a nice day think of something fun to do and enjoy just like me ohhh yes be nice to each other but don't forget yourself, you can also be nice to yourself, grinnnn ♥
A fantastic commercial for a catering establishment in Jomtien. Whether frikandellen and croquettes make you so happy here? Just a little traffic 26000 deaths per year, times 7 the injured, penultimate in the world ranking. Sad stories of farangs with good intentions, who saw all their savings evaporate and lost an illusion.
Nevertheless, if you manage it here, thanks to a Thai wife and family, you can lead a good and meaningful life. It remains personal of course, for one farang this and the other that.
Stick to my opinion, that if you want to live a normal and good life here, a good realistic partner is a prerequisite.
A very one-sided approach. You just assume that a farang is always a good and realistic partner? Look around you I would say. I have a lot of respect for Thai ladies who put up with some farang.
Stand by!
Often enough see around me pathetic if not pathetic 'farang' who only like their prey to show and boast. What humiliations those women must not endure, and that for some money that will never make them rich, only the beer bar or mamasang.
The beautiful and real love stories are also there. Even if you don't see them :~)
Could write a book about all this… others already did, in other languages.
Unfortunately, most of the farang come to Thailand because they do not find a woman in their homeland who is so good in bed and in the household. That could be a title for an entry in Thailandblog. Will generate a tsunami of reactions, and make people see with blinders. Maybe. Think about it.
Greetings, David Diamant (I'm still alive ;~)
I completely agree, also with Fon Tok, I have been in Thailand since 1987 with great pleasure, I love life in Thailand, I will never make problems and I love everyone who leaves me alone. I'm retired I'm going to spend the winter in Thailand and go on beautiful trips with the motorcycle and hope to have many nice conversations with nice people who also love the paradise called Thailand
Fri, Henny
In the end it is something everywhere. I undeniably find some things a lot more fun in Thailand than in Europe. Other things I find much more fun in Europe. We have been taking the best of both worlds for years…..7/8 months to Thailand and during the summer months to Europe.
Thailand is a good alternative for those who want to live a lazy life at (still) affordable prices. If I were a rich person tomorrow, I think I would spend my days in another sunny country…..
You can also enjoy life in Thailand, I've been doing that for 15 years, and still be critical. No country in the world is perfect unless it is Utopia, yet to be made, or the Garden of Eden where a sour apple has been bitten and thrown out.
With rose-colored glasses on your head you can maintain for a long time that Thailand is paradise, but then you consciously or unconsciously do not see the social deprivation of more than 80% of the population, the desire for power of a small elite, the power of uniforms, the limited health services for the poor, the lack of a social safety net, the massive unemployment, the flouting of minimum wage rules, the dangers of traffic, corruption and more. With rose-colored glasses you can also say this -paradise- about the Netherlands and I can also look at other countries that way.
In short, you only look at what you want to see and feel in paradise. Go ahead.
But don't be surprised if people confront you with the facts. And if you don't like that, just say that the other person is a black eye. But that is too short sighted.
But keep enjoying yourself; I do too.
Thanks Dirk. There are only a few who dare to write the truth. For me, Belgium or the Netherlands are no longer necessary, but I see very clearly what is happening here and it really doesn't look very nice. That's what my Thai family thinks too. wife and all my Thai friends about it. It helps me enormously that I speak the Thai language so you can hear what is really going on here.
What I know is that the Thais are very friendly, but believe me if they get angry it is serious and you should definitely take a few steps back and a wai will not help anymore.
A thinker
Laurel&Hardy
Abbot&Costello
Bassie&Adriaan
Plodprasop&Chalerm
Prawit&Prayuth
Dear Rens,
Read carefully what Joseph writes, and you will understand him better. You have something in every country, you pretend Thailand is paradise on earth, while in the Netherlands nothing is right.
Thailand is a beautiful country with very nice people, beautiful nature and good food, but freedom?
No! Then the Netherlands is paradise.
Anyway, I wish you a good time there.
Knowing Rens, everyone knows that these are not normal statements from him, he is a normal thinking and sober person, however::
Rens plans to sell his bar because the bar life in all of Pattaya is just super bad .
As a kind of advertising stunt to sell his bar, he now writes a daily piece on Facebook in which he praises Thailand to the sky and stomps the Netherlands into the ground as deeply as possible and tries to get the Dutch to take over his bar because they will finally being able to get away from the rules of the Netherlands and start a great super well running company in Thailand.
Those who read his daily pieces on Facebook agree that and sometimes even get a little sick of it, despite everything I wish him luck with the sale.,
Then the Netherlands is paradise!
You even have a food bank! We can't make it more fun.
When I still lived in the Netherlands, I worked there as an "intaker" and employee
to look into paradise as a volunteer!
It's something everywhere.
Try to make the best of both worlds!
Rens is one of the (few) positive farang I know. And he, like me, is annoyed by all those negative reports on other sites.
That does not mean that Rens sees everything through “pink glasses”. But he does look at the world around him with a positive look, and takes things as they are. Thailand is simply not the Netherlands!
You know that when you come to live here!
But it's not OUR country, don't try to measure Thailand by Dutch standards! Let alone impose the Dutch laws, patronizing and regulations here!
I have lived here for ten years and enjoy every day, respect the Thai people, their culture and way of life. It doesn't have to be mine, but I can still respect it!
Don't think that Rens got everything as a gift and that everything came to him! (I know him personally). He has always worked hard, had many setbacks, struggled on and emerged. And now he enjoys all the beauty here in Thailand.
A matter of being positive in life and looking at life…
Think of “the glass half full or half empty..”
For myself: I live here, I feel free, I enjoy! And I take the rest for what it is, as you have to do in every country in the world, including the Netherlands.
Freedom in Thailand? How can you speak of freedom in a country that is burdened by the yoke of a military junta? It's not that many people play the cowboy in traffic and the chance is small that you will be fined you are free to drive as you want .... there are also traffic rules in Thailand. Alcohol rules also apply…..and if you get caught you don't get off as easily as in NL or B…..the chance that you will go to jail is high….and then I don't have it yet if you drink a serious traffic accident. How can you speak of freedom in a country where you never have any rights but only duties? A stranger should never raise his voice or stand on his feet or the consequences will be accordingly. The only way to stay free is to stay in the shadows and never profile yourself.
Personally, I think the freedom in Europe is a world bigger…..In NL or the South of France I can safely spend a holiday naked on the beach…..even with a joint…..In Thailand this is all off limits even monokini is strictly prohibited….
In Europe I can safely scold a police officer…..I can even express my opinion in public to a minister….
Thailand has undeniable assets to give you a pleasant time, but personally I feel much freer in Provence or Andalusia where I still have rights in addition to duties.
If your form of freedom is to stay naked on the beach with a joint between your lips, drive around drunk without a license, then I agree with you. For the rest you have either been on a short holiday in Thailand or have read too many newspaper reports.
I raise my voice, I enter into discussion with local and national government, but with clear arguments without offending the person and that is allowed and possible even in Thailand under a Military Junta you mentioned. But have fun in the south of France. I often think that I am the only Dutch person who is absolutely against smoking a joint.
No, you're not the only one. I have also never smoked a joint and am just happy, without having to live in a “dream atmosphere”…
And that Fred really doesn't know what he's talking about: the military junta is the best thing that happened to Thailand. Thailand was the only country in the world where an elected government has NEVER lasted 4 years: red shirts against yellow shirts and vice versa. Occupations, uprisings, demonstrations that economically eroded Thailand. Since the junta everything has been quiet, corruption has been combated and rolled up, illegally obtained lands have been demanded back, illegal constructions have been demolished, traffic rules have been tightened, etc.
I also raise my voice, but with respect, without shouting, in good consultation with administrators, without any problem. It is being listened to!
Dear Fred, you mention exactly all the things that make Thailand unique to me, freedom of expression, Geert Wilders needs security around military police, nowhere in the world do they not have to protect anyone as much as he does, when a Dutch person says something about fellow countrymen he is like a fascist or racist, just go smoke joints and walk naked in France, but here they still have norms and values, I accept anyone who adds me to my ace book and can read that despite the fact that the Netherlands is the most beautiful country and it most pleasant, other countries are also good and safe places to live!
Rens Koekebakker passed away in 2019.
Yes, that is also at the bottom of the text.
It's nice where I've been in every country, but stick to the standards, the most important thing is still money and health and then you can survive everywhere, fill in the countries yourself.
As a tourist it is the most wonderful country on earth for me, and I understand all the criticism of the Netherlands (otherwise I would stay at home). What I want to talk about is the freedom mentioned here. Criticism of politics is dangerous in Thailand, but it seems that so many people are having a good time that you don't have to be wary of anything. That requires severe punishment, and we are too sentimental for that. More understanding for the perpetrator than for the victim, it seems. I still have the idea that where people still learn some respect here, that seems like a dirty word in the Netherlands. But, again, as a tourist, I can't judge where respect ends and discipline begins. A person living in Thailand can say more about that. I do care.
I do come across some irregularities in the above posts, such as that you can unimpededly scold an agent in NL; i wouldn't try. When it comes to weed, things are getting pretty out of hand here; murders under the influence have already happened, the mafia is unstoppable and teachers and healthcare workers have their hands full with heavier resources. No, I'm not protesting against lighting a joint, but against the trade. I am glad that this misery has been spared the Thai youth, largely of course, because I am not blind either. I am happy that it has been suppressed on Koh Chang.
1) “..enjoy the freedom granted to us that we no longer have in the Netherlands”.
2) “..everything that is wrong in NL is done completely differently here, so I can really enjoy that”.
3) “..so dear people it won't get any better than here”.
This is the other extreme: glorifying Thailand compared to the Netherlands. I think it's all a bit "short sighted". Every country has its advantages and disadvantages.
1) I understand that the whole corona thing can also / even in the Netherlands generate a certain, uneasy feeling, but outside of "corona" I really can't think of anything why anyone would feel that there would be no more freedom in the Netherlands.
Watch NL television: the LGBTQ community, homosexuals, transsexuals, transgenders. I think you can be quite yourself in NL. No freedom in NL? Garbage. I wish those who feel too little freedom in the Netherlands good luck in the rest of the world.
2) Everything that is wrong in Thailand is done completely differently here, so I can really enjoy that.
See, I just turn it around and it's still right. Our entire healthcare system is many times better than in Thailand. The difference between rich and poor, the ridiculous number of road accidents, etc.).
3) This is an opinion and this man was of course allowed to think so.
I have no problem with people who emigrate. But stepping on a country where you grew up, where your parents (often also) were born, where you have or have had friends, where you have every opportunity (certainly in the Netherlands) to make something of your life: schools , education, girlfriends… I hate that. Leave and spit on the country where you were born. No country is perfect.
Without comments like this (the bottom layer of frustration), Mr. Koekebakker has been stronger.
It is of course true that MANY Dutch people consider Thailand to be paradise, but they cannot stay in Thailand without the income from the unparadise Netherlands.
And then there are those who say that they themselves have worked for it, (with the exception) what do you think the Thai does all his life.
It is also easy to criticize the Netherlands in Thailand, but if you do that about Thailand you have to watch your words carefully, even to your own girlfriend.
A Thai (se) always sides with the Thai, you can't say that about the Dutch.
I love Thailand, I understand the people who want to live there, I come every year for 3 months and hope that there will come a time when I can stay 2x 3 months, but the Netherlands is and remains my mother country with just as many advantages and disadvantages as Thailand. . Jacqueline