Emigrating to Thailand, a dream for some of us. The land of milk and honey, always sun and your euro is worth more than in the homeland.
So far it's great…or is it? After living in Thailand for a while, you may find that your social life is rather limited. After all, you are not allowed to actively participate in Thai life. Working is only allowed with a work permit, even voluntary work is out of the question. Violations carry severe penalties. Some therefore do not even dare to help a neighbor with a job.
Chatting with your Thai neighbor is not an option either. He only speaks Thai, a difficult language to learn for a foreigner. The list gets longer, no Thai sports club. No Thai club life. In short, participating in Thai society is unfortunately not a realistic option.
The result of this is that expats get bored to death after a while. I remember an expat submission describing his day. He would take hours to go to the local mall with his wife. For him apparently a special trip in a somewhat monotonous existence.
Still other expats kill time by going to the pub early, often resulting in an alcohol problem or other deterioration.
Hence the statement of the week: Many expats in Thailand are bored to death.
And what about you? Be honest, are you also regularly bored? What do you do to spend your time meaningfully? Or is a visit to the 7-Eleven the highlight of the day for you too?
Respond to the statement and give your unvarnished opinion.
About this blogger
-
Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and a lover of good music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
My motto: "Don't worry too much, others will do that for you."
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Before someone else makes this obvious response:
The highlight of the day is a visit to thailandblog.nl
😉
(and I'm not even an expat living in Thailand)
I don't live there (yet). Hopefully I can work another 5 years but that will be a vain hope. Yet I have an opinion, because I have already started learning Thai, and my opinion is: that this is not that difficult at all. Compared to e.g. French, this is a piece of cake.
Apart from the 10 ways to pronounce 'cow'. 😉 (9, white, knee, rice, and I don't know what else)
But the fact that someone is bored does not depend on the country where he/she lives, but on the person. If the expat in Thailand, for example, lived in the Gambia, he/she would be just as bored.
Just to point out a few people who I don't think are bored: the various columnists here, with my immediate thanks for their many well-read contributions.
So folks, if you're bored, try learning Thai. Being able to talk to people will indeed make quite a difference. But even then, by nature there are people who are never bored and people who are always bored. That has little to do with the country where you live.
Mr Bojangles totally agree with you.
The expat are often too arrogant to adapt to the Thai and indeed to learn the language.
But even if you don't speak the language, you don't have to be bored. Shopping mall is an option but hanging around every day is not fun anymore I think. Even if you don't speak the language you can always go to a club or association. Make Thai friends and talk to your neighbor. Even if it's with hands and feet you'll work it out. And so you learn some words and slow sentences etc.
Helping with a job is possible and allowed as long as you don't really work so to speak. Often it is the people who don't fit well in the community or who have pissed off a Thai who are given to ask questions. You will get rid of it with a fine.
In short expatx, we are the immigrant here so WE have to adapt HERE. We can't put the Thai and the culture to our liking. You are allowed to live here / can live here, so adapt and do not remain the eternal EXPAT.
Sawasdee crab
My luck……I'm in Jom-Tien where plenty of Dutch people stay………..and when I have nothing to do, we go to the swimming pool together old man……But we also go shopping more often.
Every day there is a market somewhere here and in Pattaya.
The advantage of Pattaya is that EVERYTHING is here, what you also have in NL. And you can buy almost everything you need there.
In the evening you can meet as many people as you like. From all countries and of course also from your own “race”.
That is also the reason for me to state; Here I will die when my last hour has come.
Too bad for the people who are going to live in Essaan. And I feel very sorry for the people who already live there. Because…..Don't kid yourself that it will work in that community, because you are ALWAYS that weird farang. Please understand that our culture is completely different.
Life is very good here in Pattaya…..And you have plenty of friends and acquaintances. And especially at night!!
For the people who, in spite of everything, still go to Essaan because of “true love”………..Repentance comes after sin. (I get SAT criticism for this)
Bored in Thailand? Well no, I think the days just fly by.
Have been living in Pattaya for 3 years now and after my 4th move I have now found a place that is quite good to my liking and within walking distance of the center, shopping malls and markets.
Highlights for me are getting up early every day and I usually sit before six with my cup of Senseo and start the day with the laptop cranking up, then read news from Dutch newspapers on the internet as well as go through some Thai news sites such as The Bangkok Post.
The 2nd highlight of the day for me is when my son of almost 2 1/2 comes to report around 7 o'clock and kicks life into the brewery with his disarming laugh and Thai gibberish, then mom is forced to get up and daily life can begin.
The drinking water supplier comes on Mondays and Thursdays, but I don't necessarily have to stay at home for that, I just put the empty 20 Ltr. bottle(s) in front of my gate and when I return there are full again with a receipt that I owe them.
Weekly to the Big-C on the klang for the necessary groceries and sometimes popping into Home-Pro if there is something to repair or do odd jobs in the house.
Around 11 o'clock in the morning just an hour of flat as it is popularly called and I am again the guy to get through or plan the rest of the day.
Consuming a few beers is also a fixed ritual almost every day and because I hate drinking alone I then look for my regular place at the neighboring wholesaler and sitting outside I enjoy all the passing things and talk to the others regular visitors, mostly from Norway or Sweden and almost all former fern companions like me.
We talk about European football, politics, domestic events and are still amazed about the Thai and their bizarre laws and rules.
For example, there is another mayoral election going on in Pattaya and no alcoholic beverages could be sold and/or consumed from Saturday evening 18:00 pm to Sunday evening, which again sparked fierce discussions among us.
I myself thought that the water tap should be shut off rigorously during Songkran and then the sale of alcoholic beverages should be banned for reasons that are all too clear every year!
I'm usually home before dusk and my wife is preparing my prakkie, boiled potatoes, fresh vegetables and a pork chop or steak is usually on the menu for me.
As fresh vegetables I often have cauliflower and green beans, frozen vegetables usually spinach a la créme, sprouts and broad beans because I rarely use Thai cuisine, because I'm not such a rice lover.
It is now dark and my wife and the little one cycle through the street a few more times and have conversations with the Thai neighbors who are all sitting outside.
For me then time for BVN, the world keeps turning and some current affairs programs.
When mothers come home, the TV is usually quickly switched to a Thai channel and I go to the bedroom with a downloaded stickey to watch a few films or TV series before the shutters close at my house around 22 p.m. and next to the roaring fan fall asleep and then start the same ritual as above in the morning.
Why boredom?
I think that's a boring life if you stay alone in your bedroom EVERY night and then go to sleep …….
You want it unsalted?
You CAN take part in daily life. You are only not allowed to work without a permit in economic traffic, which also includes voluntary work, internship and so on. No one is forbidding you to participate when playing petanque, volleyball with two stakes in the ground and a piece of rope as a net, football with a lor of a ball, tennis, a round of cycling or just OH-ing.
Expat ? Are you not confusing emigrant and expat? Emigrant usually stands for 'stayer', expat for 'temporary', That aside. I have been an emigrant for a long time.
You do not understand the neighbor because he only speaks Thai? In the Netherlands people talk a lot about integration and language learning and 'adapting' and people do that politically in a broad sense, not just the PVV. Well, then adjust here.
Learn the language. I speak and read Thai and take advantage of it. I can manage in the neighborhood (where the elderly only speak Isan and illiteracy still occurs), in the post office, banks and shops. I live remote in a village of nothing, no farang around, only Thai people. Then you will learn!
I write; in two NL forums, occasionally in this blog, in my own blog. About Thailand and about life here. Anyone can write that down, it doesn't have to be literary. You are busy at least an hour a day.
Music, DVD, books, newspapers here and on the internet, have my family, animals, a house that needs a lick of paint from time to time, I'm running out of time.
But if you sit on your lazy ass all day and then reach for the bottle of fire water… well, then life is very boring. And even shorter…
No, I'm not bored for a minute.
It completely depends on the person in question, we never get bored. Of course it is very important that you have a decent accommodation where you feel at home, which is usually skimped on. Of course you have to have hobbies and there are plenty of expat clubs and parties to join, although the latter is not one of our hobbies. Those who are bored here in Thailand are bored elsewhere too!
That there is nothing to do is up to you. Indeed, you can wait until you weigh an ounce or drink your fill, those are the known problems. I myself go out at least 3x a week with my mountynbyje. Farang on a bicycle is apparently an attraction here in the northeast, so I still get a lot of attention with hands and feet, but slowly I am also starting to learn some Thai. See also farangs around me who only sit at home or indeed go to the pub. I also like a beer, but I drink it with the family, they drink whiskey, I drink Leo. Often the fam gets together and fish is caught and baked right away, but when everyone starts chatting I don't understand anything anymore. But there is always someone who tries to explain to me what they mean. So what I'm saying is that you can do a lot about it yourself.
I enjoy it so much here greetings herman
I can't imagine being bored in Thailand.
Turn on the PC thailandblog and read AD while enjoying a cup of coffee.
Then hoist myself into my sports clothes for my daily run on the treadmill, then have breakfast and then swim laps for 1 hour.
Back home around lunchtime, a bite to eat, then driving my quad for an hour or two, then a plate of fruit and then a game on the PC.
At about 15.30 pm put on sports clothes for 30 minutes on the treadmill, then 1.5 hours of fitness.
And also learned my thai so can chat save myself in the shop.
Hope to enjoy here for many years to come.
greetings harry.
To bore ?. No ! When I didn't live in Thailand yet, I always came here on holiday twice a year.
In Pattaya I met a very beautiful and nice girl, and then traveled with her to the north of Thailand. I loved it there. Now I live here for 14 years. Get out of bed at 7 o'clock in the morning, eat, watch the news
from NL by BVN. Then I go for a walk with my two big dogs. In the afternoon, around two o'clock I go to my regular place to drink a beer. Bring my dogs. Two (German Shepherds) beautiful beasts.
They sit or lie next to me while I drink my beer. How beautiful life is then!!
That's right Hans. It is often thought so easily by outsiders.
For example, yesterday I had to get back into my sweltering car because the adhesive paste for my upper teeth was gone. Had I driven the entire 300 meters of my Soi, there was nowhere to park my gigantic pick-up truck. Then parked on the sidewalk of the Family-Mart. Once inside I forgot my fanny pack with change, I could go back home. Then you would send your wife, you would say, but she is 17 years old, so she is not allowed to drive a car yet.
Also have to go to Bangkok hospital regularly to have my plastic artificial hip filed. Tomorrow to the pharmacy to replenish the stock of blue pills. You keep busy. Two days ago it suddenly started to rain and I had to put the garden chairs inside immediately, I mean. I also spend a lot of time surfing the internet, searching for offers. I also do a correspondence course in flower arranging for advanced students, which takes quite a bit of time, make no mistake.
In the evening at exactly 19.00 pm my wife brings me a bowl of water for my tired feet. Delicious. I usually fall asleep in front of the TV within half an hour. As a result, I recently missed the biweekly evening of synchronous marbles at the NL association. Well, it doesn't matter that much, next week the Rummikub competition starts again.
No, that statement about boredom doesn't apply to me. As the years went by, I've only gotten busier. No day the same here. Busy busy busy.
Laugh !
Can you do something for me in the meantime?
Just going to NL to pick up 10 spokes for my daughter's Batavus Legato bicycle.
Since the battery of her rear light is empty, she can no longer see a pothole in the road in the dark.
She sometimes therefore breaks some spokes and I have something to do again.
The local bicycle shop only has short or thick ones that I can't do anything with.
Bamboo spokes didn't work either, these made the wheel too springy with her big ass.
From China they advised me to use iron wire to solve the problem.
Before it had arrived at the post office it was already rusted .
Boredom is a disease of affluence.
Someone who is structurally bored must look for the cause.
In many cases he will have to look no further than himself, but it may be easier to burden those around you with that guilt.
Get a life…
I'm so bored that I only respond at least have something to do gaaaaaaap.
Well, first brought the kids to summer school and went shopping, had a cup of coffee, opened a PC and read newspapers.
Nasi made in the Dutch style and satay sauce right away at mmm easy that boredom also tasty
Tomorrow my girlfriend will learn to cook chowder and goulash soup again, shit croquettes are already making new ragoult; busy busy.
Just acquainted and asked: bami bites? oops no time for boredom again, madam also has to learn how to make.
Fuck a duck now I'm so busy forget to pick up the kids from school.
Bye my daily cold talk will come soon
Annoying all that boredom 😉
I understand that Hans is too busy 😉
Completely agree Hans, everything in life revolves around the right balance. And it's about what you feel comfortable with.
There is so much work to be done in this country that no one (including the right-minded Thai) should be bored. On this blog it is often pretended that there are only (early) retired and benefit recipient expats, but there are also Dutch expats who simply have a job and work here, with fewer vacation days than in the Netherlands or Belgium.
Don't hear anything new like you don't have to do your shopping in the Netherlands, watch the kids, watch TV, sit behind the PC, or do the laundry.
Could the people commenting hide behind the mundane things you have to do every day around the world to hide the fact that not every day is so terribly exciting and exciting?
I know enough "older people" in NL who are bored every day and who just speak the same language.
So here I am occasionally bored in NL and that will certainly happen if I ever live in Thailand.
There is, of course, a clear relationship between boredom and loneliness. Expats/pensionados who do not feel lonely will not get bored easily. A few facts:
– Of the more than 2,6 million over-65s in the Netherlands, almost 800.000 people feel lonely. 4% Of the over-65s, more than 100.000 people, feel seriously to extremely lonely. (Source: TNS/NIPO study, November 2008).
– There are more than 4,1 million over-55s in the Netherlands. Of these, more than 1 million feel lonely. 200.000 of them are extremely lonely, they only have social contact once a month. (Source: TNS/NIPO study, November 2008).
Hi Hans,
Indeed, there is no evidence whatsoever for this tantalizing claim. It's just a subjective observation and some drinks from Khun Peter's depraved mind. There is no sea too high for me to provoke reactions.
Apparently a sensitive point because I mainly read strong denials in the responses. That is interesting again. When people put too much emphasis on denial, I usually see it as a form of affirmation. Or is that just another weird twist on my part?
Oh well, it's not all that important. And I agree with an earlier comment that boredom is less bad in Thailand than in the Netherlands. Think of the cheerfully shining sun, the sea and the wonderful temperature. And if you really have nothing to do, you can always sit on a bench and watch beautiful high-heeled Thai ladies walk by, it costs nothing and never gets boring.
I have been living in Pattaya for 2 years and have not been bored for a day, no time is short to see everything. staying at home for 4 days is also pleasant, you have comp TV filming as much as you want and swimming pool and good food. should there be more? bored hahaha if you have enough income that will never happen to you
When you are old you are more bored than when you are young, young people have more resilience.
I myself am 79 years old, what do you want to do at that age, I had one seven years ago
cerebral haemorrhage had a splitting headache every day for six years, thanks for the last year
she cleaned up my Thai family again. So I know nothing about boredom for 5 years, me and my girlfriend are going
eating out every day 2 times a week to the masseur and 2x to bigc and makro, we have 6 dogs
who are crazy about me and girlfriend. In the isan there is a party a few times a week for opening a new house, wedding and cremation. My girlfriend can't stand sitting at home and does visit friends.
I have no problem with it, what does she want with me all day, in the evening she is always at home and have it
cozy, when we go to sleep together and she crawls against me I think Leen oldie you got it right
done. Walking and cycling in this heat is no longer an option, my mother always told me I will take my time
well, that's how I think about it. Of course it's not like nine years ago, but I'm satisfied
Greetings for how long. Leen.Egberts
Leen, thank you for this candid response!
It is nice to read that you can still try and share your happiness with your partner every day.
Then boredom is an afterthought, isn't it?
I'm a little jealous of that one sentence in which 'it's crawling together'.
My boyfriend recently passed away from cancer at home in our cottage in Dan Khun Thot. He was just under 40, I'm 42 myself. We were together for 15 years. We barely got along, especially towards the end.
I wish you that it may continue to be so.
Davis.
My son has been living in Khorat for a year; works there as an English teacher at a private institute;
he is not bored for a moment; he therefore works 6 days a week and in addition there is
enough to do chores in and around the house. He speaks fluent Thai and has a lot
acquaintances. It's just what you make of it. He has lived with his parents all over the world
lived, maybe that helped to get used to Thailand so quickly; one thing is certain:
he does not want to return to the Netherlands.
Well, to prevent boredom and loneliness, you can also work on awareness and embark on the adventure of living in awareness. Every moment is new and contact comes alive in the dialogue with the other, where discoveries in existence can be shared.
Evert
I don't get bored. A bike ride three times a week through and/or around Udon Thani. Public transport has my great interest, especially the history of the old rail transport in Bangkok. I wrote a book about that (about the old tramway company of that city, 1881-1968) which is expected to be published this year by White Lotus Press here in Thailand.
I certainly don't speak the language perfectly, understanding is better and reading is also somewhat possible (we can read where we are, and where the bus goes in Bangkok is not an issue), nevertheless I must admit that there are contacts with the population but brief, no endless discussions, Thailand is superficial, so the conversations certainly do not go deep. There is no common past, that is a limitation.
I was not a sports person in the Netherlands, so not here either, no running in shorts on the cinder track! Occasionally I am asked by a local hospital to assist with language problems with foreigners. Furthermore, just like I did in the Netherlands, I illustrate magazines and books, the distance is no problem with the email and scanning techniques. In November 1973 I came to Thailand for the first time, then I started photographing transport, to this day, with all the consequences that entails.
Never a dull moment here.
Dick van der Spek
Recognize it. Indeed, see many expats routinely sitting at home or almost daily on the same terrace with other expats. Not every expat is happy in the supermarkets, so it's nice to shop here.
However, and even though I'm not permanently in Thailand, I'm rarely if ever bored.
When I'm in Thailand for periods of about 8 consecutive weeks, the time usually goes to the huge family that I help with everything. Harvesting rice, overhauling the threshing machine, renovating the local temple, etc. Cousins help with homework, mostly technical subjects. The relaxation at the many Buddhist festivals always gives me pleasure.
I help a Thai friend and engineer design and make specifications for residential and commercial complexes.
I sometimes replace another acquaintance in the small grocery store when he has to go. Do you come into contact with diverse feathers.. really interesting.
Traveling on a low budget with my wife and having time to ourselves is also what I do a lot, I am far from bored with people and country.
Maybe it would be different if I had more time to spend in Thailand, but I can't imagine that right now. Still think I'm running out of time rather than over.
It is true that you have to accept that you are being lived a little more than you might like. But I get a lot of fun for it.
Great, those funny bits above. I'm reading this now because I wanted to take a break and have a cup of coffee…in ten minutes (it's now 16:35pm) I'll get back to work. A few months ago I started digging a hole in the garden and that is already becoming a very complex affair with three water tanks, waterfall, fountain and now a pump house. I have started to close the gaps between the concrete blocks and will later waterproof the whole thing. An acquaintance of mine showed me how to plaster and that's what I've started now. I think it will be a few weeks before I'm done with that...
In between I go shopping with my girlfriend or we go somewhere for lunch or dinner… depending on whether she felt like cooking or not.
Then my computer is also busy downloading the latest new episodes of at least 10 series that I follow. I have so much to watch that I can probably get by for another year. If it's too hot in the afternoon and I don't have to shop or do anything else, I'll lie in bed with my android tablet and watch an episode of my series… Or I'll go swimming in the nearby hotel.
Sometimes I also come to people's homes to help them with their PC problems. Recently I had a lady who had a new laptop and wanted to learn how to use G-mail and Picasa. Well, I know G-mail, but Picasa was new to me too. So I installed that on my PC and then figured out how everything worked. When she got a lesson again, I was able to answer all the questions nicely.
Boredom? I don't know that word. On the contrary. Sometimes I have to force myself to do less. I only have to sit still for five minutes before my eyes begin to close. Due to my busy life – which suits me very well – I often get up at 4 am and go to bed at 10 pm. And I still like to watch an episode every now and then. Then it could be twelve o'clock. I do take a nap in the afternoon, if I have the time.
So not today. And now the ten minutes are over, the coffee is finished, so I can continue working until half past six….
I've been living in Thailand for almost a year now, but I haven't been bored for a second. I built a house here and do a lot of the finishing myself. So I don't have much time to get bored and if there is a day when I don't feel like working then we take the car and drive to town to do some shopping or I go check the news on the internet and so on will my day pass without getting bored?
Willy
I'm not bored at all. I am regularly busy with maintenance of my villa, watering the pool, garden, maintaining and washing the cars. The dogs and to the beach. And then every 2 weeks to the condo in BKK for a few days, eating out, health country, looking around MBK, IT center and so on.
Furthermore, a trip to a neighboring country every 3 months.
Then I also do paid virtual office work for a number of refineries
I also spend 50% of my time elsewhere giving advice. For example, I have been to Beijing, Jakarta, Yokohama and Houston in the last 12 months. In fact just got back from Houston and Saturday again for a few weeks to Yokohama.
The point is just not to drop everything and sit down, the maid who does the work, the gardener, the driver, the chiangs and so on. Yes, you will get bored.
Make sure you have a good subject that is in demand outside Thailand. Then get well known through good work. Get on LINKEDIN and let contacts know you're still here.
I am 66 and have to turn down a job almost every week. Don't do more than 50% of my time and.
Dear Marcus, I am always happy to read your comments. I didn't think if I'm honest you're 66. So today is not a boring day. Been thinking all the time now: What kind of villa does dear Marcus have? Would it be very big, maybe completely full of marble, maybe gold leaf faucets?
The pool? How big would that be? What beautiful tiles is the pool tiled with? Would there be a springboard, maybe a slide? I'm not bored yet, now start thinking about the cars, big Mercedes, Ferrari maybe or a normal pick up? Taking a vacation every 3 months, gee where do I think all the time? Bora Bora, Maldives or Scheveningen? The condo in Bangkok, would it be in an expensive area or not, small, large, luxurious? You understand Marcus, I don't get bored for a moment, but of course I wish you the very best!
Well… I would be less bored if there were more West Flemish people staying in and around Chiangmai. Apart from a few friends who stay here for a short time… I feel very alone here.
In my business on the coast, many tourists visited all day long and now this, they call it "the black hole".
You never know : René from Koksijde , Tel. CNX +66(0) 81 56 80 180
Rein,
Go and listen to:
http://www.thailandgids.be/forum/
There are people near Chiangmai who are from your province.
They don't know black holes from boredom 🙂
Bored is definitely not the word. Struggling to get through the day at times would be a better fit. If your day job is lost, there are many hours to fill, both in Thailand and in your home country. I am lucky enough to speak several languages so that I can always watch something on TV - no sports, neither active nor passive. I also have my dogs and my parrot, who get a lot of attention. Bar visits are not for me, I don't feel like pointless talk about drinking and bed performance ( the main topics of conversation ) However, my main distraction is the computer : reading different newspapers - different blogs / forums - music / film - contact with family / friends – looking for information ………..
In short, without a computer and blogs like this, I would probably be bored, and I think many would be.
Greetings to all.
Didit.
Do not expect bloggers here to admit that they are bored. The family also reads along and then the Thailand paradise dream falls apart.
I see them every day on the wall at the beach on beach road. Staring blankly into space all day long, beer with it. Really don't do it for fun.
It will also depend on how much money you have to spend. Doing nice things costs money.
Yes, I get bored sometimes too. Then I'll look for something useful myself. Do chores, help spouse, clean up mess.
Still, I'd rather be bored in Thailand than in Holland. Here it is nice and warm and the sun is shining.
I think it's wise for people to have a hobby here.
I have many good friends around me here, and built a VERY good life
I like to be on the beach, usually 3 times a week, enjoy and look for beautiful shells that I can be creative with again.
I often make lamps out of them or stick them on a battery box.
maybe a nice tip for you.
you take an empty plastic coke bottle, large model, you take out the bottom, and cover it with shells.
As glue you use silicone glue.
buy cord, and fitting and you're done.
You have a cozy outdoor lighting on your terrace!!!
I also paint a lot, so don't laugh, no time to get bored.
So people do something and enjoy the beautiful life in Thailand.
you are better off in Thailand than in the Netherlands 3 high behind, with right behind the geraniums.
SO ENJOY.
Boredom is also an activity!
They say that when boredom strikes that time lasts longer, seems awful to me, you sit there on your terrace, cold beer, palm tree a white beach and an azure sea in front of you, and then it just takes, you shouldn't be there anyway thinking about.
The statement seems to be correct. Most are bored?. I deduce this from the long long and the many many responses here on TB and the many chatting-which is not allowed?
I don't get bored for a day, my hobby is fishing and traveling through Thailand
Sorry if my comment here and now shows that I didn't read all of the above; I don't have time for that and especially don't have time for that. The bottom line is that people tend to ask; what are you doing all day? As if there is no thinking, no study and - being retired - no finally the possibility to choose another field of study (or call it another field of interest); whether or not based on (or discounted in) your (searching for your) philosophy, your striking memories and salient experiences.
I read what I read on the basis of a “I haven't seen it like that yet” and also: “I think so too and moreover it is formulated more clearly than I did before”. Insight, that's what I'm all about. And insight is always of individual origin, free from mass coercion. Not because you go to the pub, I do too, I don't go to the pub at all. Feel free to add that going to the pub (and getting a beer belly) is too good for me, because I am.
I have more freedom here, because I am left alone here much more than was the case in the Netherlands. Comments that are not physically inserted, I can simply click away with a mouse click. I can't bear the thought of having fellow speakers over with an interest in nothing but really… nothing. With -as was the case in the Netherlands- a meddling, or rather call it a greed for criticism, qualitatively also of nothing (not to mention a small circle of friends, which I still have by the way -I've been here for more than 10 years- fairly intensive contact).
Sure, I'm also a social being, but not one of "as long as it's fun".
Despite the fact that I am not allowed to work in Thailand, I have been able to create a good day's activities. From the village where I live in the Issan I assist the farmers with wise advice and instructions to pump up water from the ground and to provide the planted trees with enough water with an improvised sprinkler system. as soon as a farm is equipped with the water installation, the next farm is taken care of. in addition, they also build a small stone shelter on the farm where they can guard their farm during the harvest. Occasionally I contribute to the labor and the local police do not interfere with me because they know that I do it purely for the local population and do not pursue profit myself. add to that the fact that I regularly explain the use of tablets at the local school despite the lousy internet connection and the local population considers me as a farangthai who occasionally invites the entire village for a village barbeque with limited alcohol stay by means of a voucher system so that the atmosphere stays cozy. no one blames me for the fact that I sometimes skip days on the farms to do other fun things. I don't get bored for a day.
To stick to the point completely:
No, I'm not bored, thanks to the internet and blogs like this one.
Yes, I would be bored without internet and blogs like this one.
Perhaps the statistics would be about the same in our home country, but I think that in Thailand the internet, or the lack of it, plays a very important role.
Didit.
I don't get bored for a moment in Thailand, I do have work and a work permit, but I also have a lot of free time because as a self-employed person I am not always needed at the office.
My days off exist just like working days by getting up early ( 05.00 am ), making coffee, reading the newspaper behind the computer and playing some games, at 6 o'clock the Thai news that I always watch starts.
I have a garden that I spend a lot of time in, despite the heat, I enjoy myself there for an hour or two, then I have to get out because then the heat starts to make it unbearable.
Then eat and then sleep for an hour, then it is now 12.00.
Often after my nap I start the car and go out, often to the shopping mall seacon square in Bangkok, walk around and have something to eat.
Then my tour of Suvarnabhumi Airport, I live close by, and I love planes, back home and a stop at the night market where we walk for a while and then on our way home.
Then it is now 19.00 pm and time to start up the computer and for a chang beer, to bed at 10.00 am.
Yes, you are a guest in Thailand, nothing changes, boredom, there are plenty of things you can do, for little or no cost.
For example, set up an association of expats, form a board and plan activities.
Regards, Leo.
Well , when boredom strikes it is very annoying .
1 week ago I offered to make delicious Limburg sour meat for those interested.
I will come to HuaHin with my wife on May 3rd and I can, and I repeat myself, take a few ingredients, such as apple syrup and gingerbread, to prepare this delicious dish, saves half a day.
Costs nothing.
No one interested? also fine .
Ger Hubbers
Ger, you have had 7 comments. Maybe missed something? https://www.thailandblog.nl/lezersvraag/limburgs-zoervleesch-hua-hin/
I just live in the countryside south of Chiangmai .
Speak little Thai , and have few Farang friends .
But I have many hobbies, and believe me I often run out of time every day.
No, bored, that's a word I don't know.
Living and living in a Moo Baan, and especially in places like Pattaya.
What should you do, live every day on an area of say less than 100 square meters.
Then the shopping center is the swimming pool and eventually the booze and alcohol can be found quickly .
Seems like a life to live here without any content.
But yes everyone chooses their own happiness in life, wish everyone good luck.
Jan Beute.
Everyone's thing for one boredom for the other a pleasure, just enjoy things and life and do things that you like and the statement that you are dead longer than you are alive is really true
Getting bored in Thailand? No ! No different than in the Netherlands. As a retiree you should have enough interests and hobbies.
Especially here in the Isaan you create your own little world, you maintain your house, possibly. pool and your garden. Has a number of falang friends and a few, mostly superficial, Thai acquaintances and neighbours.
Even after 10 years there is still plenty to see and experience, a lot of travelling, driving a car and a motorcycle. Much on you
working on the computer, reading a lot, if your health allows it, doing a lot of odd jobs.
If you already feel lonely, you would also feel that in the Netherlands.
Each place has advantages and disadvantages. In the Netherlands, your social contacts may be more extensive in the long run.
Here you can live out better because of the better weather, more freedom, if you have succeeded in a nicer spacious house with a piece of land than on an upstairs apartment in the Netherlands. But even that is not the same for everyone.
An absolute disadvantage of living in Thailand, especially here in the Isaan, is the superficiality and the eternal sanouk feeling. Too many Thais here live according to the same pattern, work, drink a lot, sleep. Little interest in other things. A good conversation with some depth, enjoying different opinions is soon interpreted as negative. Prefer superficial sanouk with a beer or a Thai whiskey. If you are not a drinker, you will soon have an alcohol problem.
The eternal "parties" with the same music and the same drink and the same Isaan food will soon come out of your nose. But that's very personal.
You have to make it fun and interesting yourself, just like “at home”.
Thailand is now my home. Despite all the disadvantages, I feel freer and more at ease here. Especially freer. Everyone leaves me alone and I can usually do what I want.
If you have problems with people, it's usually Falangs, who are indeed bored and are drinking more and more.
Thailand is not a solution for people who already have problems anyway. Someone who is balanced, has hobbies and interests (and yes ... a little money is not unimportant) with enough social skills can have a great time here. Not getting too worked up about corruption, inequality and in some areas even lack of freedom (freedom of expression turns out differently here) is also part of it. So yes, you may be a little more on your own here as “home”.
I don't like that ever-present group of Thailand worshipers with those rose-colored glasses, who think everything about Thailand is "great". Certainly not everything about Thailand is so positive. It's a matter of weighing up. For me, that balance swings to my life in Thailand. Personal freedom and space are the key words here.
When I'm a bit older and less healthy, it could turn out differently.
Not mastering the language sufficiently is indeed a minus point. That remains a crime for me, which I try to do something about.
i'm having a great time in thailand, would finally like to be married in thailand after 14 months, would like to get recognition here in belgium of my marriage, which was fully arranged by the belgian embassy and approved by the ministry of foreign affairs.
regards
You are not allowed to work… yes, but you are allowed to work for your Thai family, I suppose. And I don't understand being bored in the land of smiles !! There is so much to do, you can grow vegetables, fruit help with the family. Why the boredom!!
Make no mistake John .
Even emptying 1 ashtray can give you a lot of trouble if you do that in a public place.
1 acquaintance of mine once went out with friends.
It cost him 40.000. They accused him of being a tour guide.
I may be one of the few, but admittedly, boredom everywhere.
Then adjust a sleeve by creating a kind of regularity in the boredom.
At least in the beginning of the day, towards the evening it quickly flattens out.
– The most annoying thing is getting up at a certain (early) hour. Force myself to do that, keep it at 9 o'clock, otherwise just lie down, and then you'll move the problem; the boredom starts later and ends later.
– Breakfast: by 10 am; likes to eat and eat well so that is a moment without boredom. You have to be alone, with a partner the rice cooker would have woken you up sooner than an alarm clock. My morning mood would last half a day instead of an hour with a rice cooker that wakes you up.
– Then the newspapers! Online, with coffee. And also Thailandblog, as described very predictably in the first response here.
– Then personal hygiene. Or a bath, or shower, polish biters, shave, lubricate creams. Putting together the outfit that you need to get through the day. Phew.
Then boredom sets in, it is already noon, but for me the day only begins then, where you have to go through purgatory. Then have 2 choices. Going shopping (buying food for the next days), or watching the sky from a lounge chair on the terrace or in the garden (predicting the weather for the next few days). If neither of those two works, I'll have a drink. That stops the boredom, puts them off until the next day, and makes me think spiritually. So the afternoon is over again.
– By – or from – 18 pm the stomach starts to rumble. That breaks the boredom and announces the transition from afternoon to evening. Apart from fixed spots that I mainly stick to, boredom sometimes dares me to pick out something new. If not too tired or fatigued.
– Once the aforementioned problem has been solved, let's say at 20 o'clock, the most annoying thing begins. Find a nice bar. Am not a home sitter, not a picture tube viewer. Unless felled by some disease, which happens more often, I am a cancer patient in remission.
Well then like to sit in a bar, preferably without too loud music, certainly not karaoke, because it drives me crazy. A Thai cannot drink, and certainly not sing to it. Usually they are with a gang and there is nothing against cat time or whining. The boredom then becomes further after a few glasses, a less latent problem; watch the cat from the tree. Sometimes there are interesting surprises, you are seduced as a gay by a Thai Snookerqueen in short, exciting jeans shorts, sometimes a ladyboy makes an attempt only to find out with disappointment that apart from drinks, they and I are only interested in real men. Or the hours pass without conversation and can then contemplate what could save me from boredom and repetition in the following days. Find a new variation on an existing theme *grin*.
So yeah, I'm bored. Drink me drunk - but not trash! -, then bore me a little less because getting yourself slightly drunk is fun, even if it's pathetic. But don't have any problem with that. Don't bother others with it either. Better, sometimes there are highly intelligent Thai people who understand me, at least my way of life, and who try to change me. To put you on the right path. That's nice to hear from a stranger you just met at a cafe. Have something to do with that. Except that such conversations can be profound, sincere, and appreciated, in retrospect they are fun fact divers against boredom. But thanks to those interlocutors for breaking the boredom… ! Had gone for a PhD during my studies, and been successful in my job. Now 42 and jaded by my ailment mentioned earlier. Had that not been the case, even less desirable, but the same would have been the case. Boredom is in the nature of the beast, and I like that. All this honestly and honestly written, after 5 glasses of wine.
Maybe there is also some melancholy, my boyfriend passed away last September, just under 40. Still hard for me. We were together for over 15 years. But before that I also drank and did exactly the same.
And, .. forgot to mention something: regularly buy a few bags of limes, when they are on offer. Squeeze out three per whiskey glass and then put some in the freezer. For the day after. Then you actually have a lime ice block in the bottom of your glass. Add half a bottle of soda and the misery of the day starts refreshingly again!
Dear Davis, Thank you for your kind reply, I know what it is like to be sick, I am senior
refurbished by various medicines, among others. piracetam brand name men-cetam,fleuoxtine better known
in the Netherlands as Prozac, Chinese ginseng available in Bangkok and center plus for the elderly
Vitamin Sambee B1 B6 B12 in a tablet. 3 tablets 2 times a day. I lived like a zombie for 5 years
after my cerebral hemorrhage but I am reborn again. Don't give up there is always hope.
Greetings Lee. Egbert's.
Well Leen, also have to take vital medication and supplements (malabsorption due to no pancreas anymore), on medical prescription.
The pain relief, morphine-like fentanyl patches, are the most annoying. Thailand has very strict legislation on painkillers. Those plasters are also not available - to my knowledge - so they are brought along, and cleared through customs, etc. Also have them sent from Belgium, with an accompanying certificate in English and then declare it. You must, as it were, have a medical passport with the necessary medical visas; to speak in metaphor. Follow the correct path, it is necessary; it takes you a while and all that administrative hassle… helps against boredom, lol!
By the way, I want to clarify again, my boredom is mine, don't blame anyone, and don't think you can be happy without boredom. Contradictory, strange perhaps, but true! Must be in the genes.
The smart I have to work on myself. The mourning has started for about 5 months and it will take a while. I'm doing better in that area.
Your reaction, perhaps without you realizing it, is one of the bright spots that keep me going. Because you give hope, and that gives life, thanks Leen. Just be an ordinary person and love people.
Thanks again Leen, you picked me up.
You and your partner are doing well!
Dear Davis,
The Fentanyl patches are for sale in Bangkok Hospital in Phuket, but with a limit per number and quite a price, because they are only allowed to order a limited number per month (or week), so they are careful with them, plus , my own experience, those things slip off your skin at a certain point, due to the heat and perspiration, ask for Kapanol, freely available, only through the hospital's pain department, slow release, work for almost 24 hours, you will not get there “ annoying” from (a pain patient knows what I mean by that)
For the rest strength and greetings
Lex K.
Moderator: please don't chat.
Dear bloggers.
Hope this tip gets posted.
For those who like cloverjacks and many more games on the PC, but against real opponents, can also chat during the game.
Or just chat in the lobby with people from many countries.
http://www.spelpunt.nl
Hello Harry.
Sad, very sad, sad even.
That you, like me, and probably many others,
having to relieve our boredom with online games instead of socializing with friends at a table,
talking about everyday events.
I also play cards and chess online, and often long for my friends.
Didit.
Yes, I agree with the statement. Do some of those old "expats" go for a coffee at McDonalds, they don't have the same background but they speak the same language, they don't experience anything or maybe they discuss the problems they have with their too young girlfriend who of course is only there for the money is with them. Another statement is "if your girlfriend is 30 years younger, don't kid yourself, it's only about your wallet".
“Expats” in Thailand, the old guys, usually a bored pathetic mess with the worst choice of clothes and a little too often with a bottle of large Leo or Chang (or cheaper drugs) in front of them. I don't think anyone will be happier coming to Thailand in their old age. Negative, yes, but I often see it around me so apparently that is usually the reality.
Yours faithfully,
John Hoekstra
So what you THINK you see is the truth? Well it's nice if you can see that in someone's head.
I often see this myself, but see it differently, maybe it is also your personal attitude, but I view it positively.
Here in pattaya the old men enjoy with their eyes and yes beer dr at fine right?
Just had a music festival, well, just sitting there with a few people enjoying cold chat, just watching what is happening around you is already entertainment.
Khun Jan also describes it: just sitting with a few farangs and chatting about anything and everything leotje dr at nx wrong with it.
Enjoyment is in your head at least for people who can.
Singha hepie on now even nx wrong with it; IF IT IS CLEAN,
No Jan just getting old in the Netherlands nice in the cold behind the flowers in the window sill yes that's just enjoying or would that be really PITTY.
Put on a nice suit with a tie, at least you are still lucky that the 1st hour is already over with the knot in your tie 🙂
Kind regards from Pattaya
Dear Pete,
This is an observation of a busy young (43 years old) expat ;). Maybe in thirty years I'll also be in my Singha/Chang spaghetti top, shorts and socks in my sandals, chatting away large bottles of Leo, nothing wrong with that as long as your shirt is clean ;).
Yours faithfully,
John Hoekstra
Your observation (bored mess, poorly dressed, on alcohol) is, I think, not entirely incorrect, to put it mildly, but your conclusion that no one will be happier if he (or she, could also?) come to Thailand in his old age , is just at least a little too generalized.
In addition, you do not define the term "old age". Someone can walk around with a completely incorrect self-image in that respect and many men (let's just stick to the men for a moment) have done their best to quickly bring that "old age" to themselves without recognizing it. This is due to an unhealthy diet and lifestyle.
Whether you continue with an unhealthy lifestyle in your native country or continue that lifestyle at some point in Thailand, it doesn't matter as much as you would like, unfortunately.
Whether you're bored in your native country or you're going to do that in Thailand at some point, ditto.
Whether you are lazy there or here and as a result become stupid or there, ditto.
Yes lazy (little exercise) and SO stupid (little intellectual activity) you read that right.
The fact that there is a connection between being physically and intellectually active has to do with your frontal lobe. Don't sit all the time, but especially walk quite often. That on a fairly sporty level.
Are you not only interested in the silly everyday, but especially in a (further) intellectual world orientation. Your "old age" has begun as soon as you no longer engage in any activities, only long for some intoxication.
Whether someone's "old age" has already started when he comes to Thailand on his 65th birthday (the current year of being discarded), or whether his "old age" is still ahead, that is a world of difference, although anyone who has turned 65 is no longer 25. So there is a difference between your 25th and 65th anyway. Only the size of that difference, and indeed whether you have laid a good foundation in those first 25 years, that is important.
But now, as far as I'm concerned, the key question: is that typical worn-out behavior (being bored and whatnot) more common among the farangs living in Thailand than among those who stay at home in their country of origin? And if so, why?
I suggest that people from the Netherlands and Belgium are still going to Thailand permanently because they realize that in Thailand you can be more yourself than in that Lower Belgium, where (in my experience in the Netherlands at least) a horde of bossy busybodies you are confronted with norms and values and criticisms (especially if you show that you can do something) while here the Thais (and more Asians than the Thais alone) leave you much more in your values and activities; they are there for you if you need something, that is, let me say, a nuance different in the Netherlands.
On the other hand, there are Dutch people and associates who especially appreciate Thailand because you can easily and cheaply get your money's worth here. But if that is the case - and indeed it is - then it gets boring quickly. Or you have to keep all your preoccupations and your interests very limited.
How can anyone be bored in Thailand when you see this schedule.
get up at 0600 hrs
Shower and then breakfast with wife dear 0800 hours.
Reading newspapers and checking mail from 0800 to 090 hrs.
Swimming in own pool with female from 090 to 10.00.
Then puzzle at the jigsaw puzzle from 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m.
From 11.00 a.m. to 13.00 p.m. to the morning market together with my wife.
In the afternoon from 13.00:14.00 to XNUMX:XNUMX prepare some food together at home and have lunch.
From 14.00pm to 15.00pm to the city plaza shopping and drinking coffee at my favorite coffee shop
Afternoon nap from 15.00:16.00 pm to XNUMX:XNUMX pm
Take a walk in the neighborhood from 16.00:17.00 PM to XNUMX:XNUMX PM.
Cooking Dutch food and eating together with the wife from 18.00:19.00 pm to XNUMX:XNUMX pm.
From 19.00 pm to 21.00 pm to the night market in Udonthani to see all the fun things together.
From 21.00 p.m. to 23.00 p.m. watch a free exciting movie via the internet youtube.
Then take a shower at 23.00 p.m. and fall asleep like a log and get out again at 0600 a.m.
Sometimes my schedule varies due to an unexpected visit or an unplanned trip we take together.
Boredom what is that?
Sometimes I don't have enough time in this wonderful country.
Turns out to be an attitude again whether you're bored or not. When I read Davis's sad story, my heart sinks and even though I'm not bored... but I don't think it's exactly easy to feel good with him because of his illness and loss.
An acquaintance of mine – I've written about him before – two years ago when I met him was a man who did ten things at once. He had refurbished an old fishing boat, was building a second house and turned a hole in the ground into a small reservoir.
But now he's gone completely mad, spends loads of money, borrows here and there and accuses him of being stingy. Every day he has a fight or she just goes to Bangkok for about ten days.
The man is visibly deteriorating. He has too much to lose to give it all up. But he tells me that he doesn't feel like doing anything at the moment. He still does the bare essentials and now goes to a bar more often for a drink. He probably isn't bored yet, but he also doesn't feel like doing anything anymore.
What I want to say: if you have a positive attitude, you will not easily get bored, but if it is a negative one due to circumstances or yourself, you will soon find a lot annoying and experience little or nothing as pleasant.
And of course that can happen to all of us…
Today you write on this blog that you are never bored, but it could happen that in a month you would write that you don't feel like doing anything anymore and you are bored to death….
Downhill is easier than uphill.
Just keep the spirit ;~)
It will all work out, as long as you don't bleat at someone else.
Boredom?
There's a kind of nothing I'm looking for. What you're left with when you've tried to drink from the cup of both your hands: both your hands. Fragrances lounge about the garden. can lie, on my back, the bottom I have, lie.
How is this lying? Like you measure a cognac by placing the glass horizontally, that's how lying is, I don't need much of myself to be full, what I need is above all: little.
There is too little little.
(On "doctor's advice" I work my butt off, unpaid, as a remedy for my uncontrollable laziness or boredom)
Have to laugh about an entrant ... Learning Thai is a piece of cake ... yes of course, until you put it into practice then you will be judged hard! Because a Thai speaks quickly, often with their own dialect. The entrant will sometimes remember my words 🙂 I myself don't think Thailand is a nice country to live. I have never seen such an indifferent and undisciplined bunch together and I should know. 5 years in Malaysia; 3 years in Cambodia; 3 years in Singapore and now more than 10 years in Thailand. My personal love is Malaysia and fortunately my Thai other half thinks the same way, so we regularly fly over to our home in Kuching when we are very tired of Thailand. I speak a nice word of Thai but still. A Thai is a rather distant people and I have often tried to make contacts. However, you remain a 'farang' and are not really accepted by the vast majority. This in contrast to Malaysia. I speak Malay, but as soon as they see a white person they switch to English. Even the little kids do this. It's nice because you can express yourself better anyway. Being absorbed by the environment is normal so I am always busy organizing events with my Malaysian neighbours. Look, there are cartloads of people who emigrate to Turkey, Australia, America, Thailand and so everyone has his reason. Would say do what you want. My wife will stop working in 4 years and you already understand where we are going.
Boredom? For me? Never! I get up and immediately fall into a stress convulsion. I still need this, I still need that. And way too little time, of course. Sometimes I feel like Obama, flying from hot to her to bring about world peace. kidding..
I get really bored sometimes during holidays. But that is, at least for me, not always an unpleasant feeling. You can do whatever you want and then have the freedom to just not do it. The rest of the year, outside of my holidays, I am mostly bored during the meetings at the school where I work. I usually draw cartoon characters in my notebook, so everyone thinks I'm paying attention...
Hi
This expat who is only 55 years old is never bored. This is due to the fact that I have lived in Spain for 27 years (already where boredom strikes just as much as here and the bar visit is no less) and have made it my own to come up with something new every time.
My days are actually too short.
Example:
I bought a motorcycle instead. car (regularly make a tour inland).
New hobby. Photography (nice to combine with the motorcycle tour)
Shopping for textiles in BKK for my youngest daughter. She has just started her own business in Belgium.
Just set up my own BV that you need to buy a house and also provide you with a work permit. ( Dresses and shirts have to be sent anyway. Is WORK. )
Bought a three month old Pup on the market. Requires more attention than my own children ever!
Go golfing with friends (English) once or twice a month.
And so I can go on and on.
So what I should NOT do, visit other expats in the pub. The conversation level is clearly below par, costs A LOT of money unnoticed and then I'm back THERE why I just left Spain.
Have fun,
Peace.