What do you Like/Dislike most About Your Stay in Thailand?

[GLCQuantum]

For me, my favourite thing is the laid back attitude of the Thai people. It can be frustrating sometimes but usually it's a positive thing. Situations which would usually cause a more serious confrontation back in the west are brushed off here with their 'mai pen rai' attitude. The beautiful scenic views and temples come right at the top of the list too.





My dislikes are the soi dogs and the rubbish problem. Rubbish is just everywhere.





What are your favourite things about Thailand and what drives you mad here?

[Deep Blue]

Like; massage parlors, hookers, relative cheapness.
No like; top internet porn tubes and sites blocked, Thai food is too hot and portion size is for medium sized midgets.

[Big Boy]

There are too many likes for me to sensibly mention.

Dislikes are mainly centred around driving:

- Motorcyclists are complete dicks - surely they must see the danger they put themselves in.

- Corners are generally right angled, and rarely curved making it more difficult to turn,

- Obstructions at Corners including walls, parked vehicles and hideous signs making it impossible to pull out without an element of risk.

- Traffic Lights in Thailand are unforgiving. There is one set in Hua Hin which can delay 10 minutes if you catch them wrong.

My other pet hate is shopping. I hate shopping generally, and it takes courage for me to go into a shop to buy something. In Thailand I have 2 problems:

- Barter - I will not barter. If somebody wants to play this stupid game, I see red, and walk away at the opening price. Shouting after me with a sensible price does not work. Starting off with a rip-off price tells me this guy just wants to rob me.

- Choice - I've looked at what is on offer, made my choice, and then the assistant starts, "You don't want that one, you want this one." FFS, I've told them what I want to buy, I've got the cash in my hand, but they don't want to sell it to me - again I walk away.

Thankfully, the likes far outweigh the dislikes (and Mrs BB does most of the shopping ), so I hope that I'm here to stay.

[ste860]

big boy im sure they sit in a car and check which is the most stupid place to put the sign so you cant see on coming traffic , im sure they do it on purpose just to annoy us

[usual suspect]

I'm with you on many of your pet-hates BB..I cannot do with staff that want to do your shopping for you..upstairs in HH shopping mall is dreadful..I shop at Tesco's for the sheer sense of freedom to choose.
Signage on/at road junctions..right where you need to look for on-coming traffic.
Noise! Be it friggin yapping dogs, kids on motorcycles flying up+down, or any Thai in ownership of an amplifer & monster speakers..no Thai will ever think once that they're pi****g other folk off with the noise they are creating..noise is power to them.
Those are just a handful of my pet-hates here in HH.
On the plus side it IS still a cheap place to live, It HAS got wonderful weather most of the year. Yes the roads are chaotic, but just go outa town 2,3,4 miles, & there are lovely quiet roads around HH to enjoy.
Mom+Pop shops..dotted everywhere..cold beer at a good price, plus a cheap bowl of noodle-soup..be it morning, aft, or evening.
Again those are just what spring to mind at the moment.
As old Richard used to always preach "I hate this f****** country"!..then adopt a big smile,& proceed to chink his bottle with yours..
.........

[HHTel]

I think BB and US have covered all my pet hates (especially the driving and 'enforcement' by the traffic police.) What a joke!

[hhfarang]

Some of these apply more to Hua Hin than Thailand in general and some do apply to the entire country (or even all of S.E. Asia) and several items on the lists are probably only applicable to an American. Both lists are what I could think of at the moment and are by no means exhaustive. As you can see the dislikes list is much bigger that the likes list, hence my misery there and eventual exit back to the homeland.

Dislikes during my "ten year retirement" there or what I don't miss:

1. Climate, more specifically the constant heat and humidity with no apparent change of seasons ever.
2. The cost of trying to keep cool in that climate.
3. Soi dogs
4. Trash
5. Noise, i.e., near constant barking dogs, neighbors yelling, chickens cackling, loud bikes and tuk tuks, advertising trucks blaring over loud speakers, advertising over loud speakers in stores, outdoor music venues being so loud as to be heard for miles but too loud to listen to if at the event, etc.
6. Cost of things like new cars, cameras, gas, cheese, wine, etc.
7. Inability to conveniently shop for stuff on the internet.
8. Import duty, if you do find an internet site that will ship to Thailand.
9. Dishonest expats preying on other expats (I encountered this mainly in the real estate trade there).
10. Not feeling welcome or feeling like I belong there, i.e., immigration hoops to stay long term, inability to own property, dual pricing, etc.
11. Rats
12. Snakes
13. Dangerous highways
14. Having to go to a hospital (mostly) just to see a doctor for something minor.
15. Parking hassles in town
16. Not being able to buy decent clothes in a size that fits or a style that I want to wear.
17. Cost of playing golf
18. Caddies
19. Murkiness and general lack of safe sea waters to swim in.
20. Cost of property (rent or buy) in town
21. Motorbikes i.e., the shear number and the way they are driven against traffic, on sidewalks, weaving through traffic, speeding by cars between lanes or near the curb in slow traffic.
22. Corrupt cops
23. Lack of simple logic on the part of Thais
24. Cost of maintaining property, i.e., even though labor is cheap, quality is poor and maintenance is constant because of poor skills and the climate/Mother Nature trying to constantly reclaim her property.
25. Cost of travel to a location outside S.E. Asia
26. Quality of expat choice of friends, i.e., I found it hard to find good friends there with anything in common, maybe because Americans are in a huge minority of foreigners there, or maybe because I'm not a barfly and had to give up golf due to the cost.
27. Thai acquaintances asking for loans or help all the time.
28. The insane way the majority of people drive.
29. The lack of decent public transport in the city, i.e., no taxies except tuk tuks or Songteaws.
30. Potholed or unpaved roads in and around the city.
31. Not being able to own a firearm
32. Having to do extra reporting every year to the U.S. treasury (outside of normal tax filing), i.e. FBAR Fincen stuff.
33. Shortages of municipal water
34. Having to have/maintain a water storage tank/home water pump because of low municipal water pressure.
35. Municipal water quality
36. Single room air conditioners
37. Lack of variety of climate and landscape throughout the country
38. Smokers, i.e., going to a nice restaurant only to have to breathe so much smoke that it affects the taste of your meal.
39. Narrow aisles in supermarkets
40. Restocking of shelves in those narrow aisles during peak shopping hours
41. Cost of western food items in stores, i.e., general high cost of places where I liked the imported selection (Villa Market). In contrast, the Asian market here where my wife can buy all the same stuff she cooked with in Thailand is just as cheap as the American market chains.
42. No Costco
43. No Walmart
43. No Walgreens (mainly for over the counter meds not available in Thailand)
44. No Trader Joes
45. Inconvenience, i.e., here I can literally get anything I want within ten minutes of where I live or over the internet without leaving my home. There I had to search the city, go to Bangkok, beg friends to bring things back from overseas with them, or beg friends/family to send things from the U.S.
46. Inability to sell real estate in a reasonable time frame.


Likes during my "ten year retirement" there or what I do miss:

1. The few good expat friends I did have there (mostly Canadian, English, and Swedish), sadly most of the Americans I liked there left after a short time. The ones who stayed long term (that I met) turned out to be a strange bunch.
2. Weekly lunches with my good friend Lars!
3. The genuine friendliness of most of the Thais I got to know there.
4. Good cheap eats, mainly street food and snacks
5. Chang beer (not the export stuff, but the high octane stuff)
6. Cost of building a premium quality home.
7. Bum guns!
8. Low cost of hand car washes
9. Low cost of a haircut
10. Lower cost of health care
11. Lower taxes
12. The privacy of a walled or high fenced/gated property, i.e., keeps solicitors (not lawyers but the American "solicitors" or door to door salesmen) from walking up to your door
13. Low cost of municipal water
14. Lower cost of auto maintenance
15. Lower cost of general labor
16. Good variety of reasonably priced restaurant food type choices in a relatively small area (Hua Hin)

[HHTel]

Surprised you lasted 10 years (although it would have been shorter if your house was sold quicker). Seems you got out in the nick of time.

Personally, I've been here more than 13 years and wouldn't move if you paid me to. My family is here, 4 daughters and a son. The son followed me out for a 3 month visit and has been here over 10 years.

[hhfarang]

Surprised you lasted 10 years (although it would have been shorter if your house was sold quicker).

Yes, I started trying to figure out an exit strategy in 2008 but it took until the end of 2014 mainly due to financial inability to leave and a home that took 5 years to sell.

[GLCQuantum]

The son followed me out for a 3 month visit and has been here over 10 years.

... and he's loving life here..no,no - he really is.

[Lev]

GLCQ, if you wish to prevent everything you post being moved to Foo we suggest you REFRAIN from constantly posting childish cartoons and images to mock other posters.

Oh, and try to stay OFF the forum if under the influence of something or if it is after midnight. Just some tips from your friendly forum Administrator.

[GLCQuantum]

Thank you kindly oh friendly administrator. By the way... I was not mocking other posters - I was mocking myself, if you didn't notice.

[Deep Blue]

[Admin edit: if you cant post anything worthwhile on the subject matter DONT POST. You should also re-read those terms and conditions if you want to stay here.]

[margaretcarnes]

A good question from GLC. And one which has provoked some interesting responses. Not least from those who hate shopping in the LOS!
We have to remember that bartering is a way of life for Thai people, and that shopping is a necessity for all of us. It just ain't the same in the LOS as it is back home, and you can't expect it to be.
So go with the flow. Barter with good nature and a smile. It can help to establish a good relationship with the vendor which could serve you well in the future.
But don't take bartering to the extreme - my worst experience of bartering ever was listening to an American guy at a stall in Patpong who was nasty and wouldn't give in even when down to the nearest 10 baht. Totally unecessary. He must have read the wrong guide book.
One of my best memories of HH has to be of the people in ChatChai market. Nothing was too much trouble for them. Mincing your lump of pork once or twice was a pleasure. And pretty soon they were throwing in freebies. Tesco simply doesn't do that.
Then the Motorcyc taxi guy who took my money every morning and came back with a Bangkok Post, and could also be trusted to go pay the Electricity bill.
The guy at the bottle gas store who loaded the new gas bottle and me onto his sidecar and took us home.
All other Motorcyc taxi guys who loaded me with shopping onto bike and took me home.
A beautiful little guest house in Ranong, and another beautiful little guest house in Chiang Mai. Neither of them very flash at all - but lovely people.
My regular hotel in Bangkok where the staff haven't changed in over 16 years, and rush to unload your taxi with huge smiles of recognition.
Not last and by no means least, one memorable Christmas Eve on a sleeper train from NongKhai to Bangkok, with all the partying in the buffet car, and arriving at HuaLamphong at 7.30 am Christmas Day to exit the station into glorious sunshine, hop a tuk tuk to hotel, and get a prawn rice soup for brekky.
Yes there can be some very frustrating times as well. But if you can live with the mai pen rai you can crack it.

[Big Boy]

So go with the flow. Barter with good nature and a smile. It can help to establish a good relationship with the vendor which could serve you well in the future.

I'm sorry, but I can't. As soon as somebody asks an inflated price, I'm out of there. Their intention is not to sell for a fair price, but to squeeze as much money as they possibly can out of me, whilst playing stupid games. At least Dick Turpin wore a mask