As the main part of Christmas is over it's time to reflect, it's not a holiday here in Thailand so that in itself makes it a bit wierd. To be honest Christmas is not something Thailand does well, in many parts of the country it's the high season with plenty of sunshine and tourists; it's more like summer in Europe (but hotter).
This year in Chiang Mai it's been a bit different, the week before Christmas the temperature plummeted and for the first for me it was cold, with temperatures below 10°C at night and only warming up to about 20°C during the day. Higher areas experienced temperature approaching freezing. I'm sure many of you think these temperatures are warm but you need to remember Thailand is a tropical country and no one is prepared for cold weather, houses don't have heating people don't possess warm clothing etc.
Back to my point although the cold has been quite serious it has also made it feel like Christmas for us northern people, although I'm not happy because I've just moved to a sub-division that has a communal pool and it's too cold to use it.
For many of us Christmas is really for children, and for me I have 3, although Jessica is still only a baby, in Thailand of course no one believes in Santa Claus, so it quite difficult for us to get our children to believe when everyone at school tells them otherwise. The argument of course is a simple one - if you don't believe in him you don't get anything! Harry and Sarina are now firm followers of the fat bloke in the red suit.
We actually got some presents ourselves this year my wife got a Thai Silk Kimono and I got some Thai Silk Boxer Shorts, I believe Santa sourced them from those lovely people at Fashion Chiang Mai.
Well that's it for now, we are looking forward to New Year which is a bigger celebration here in Thailand.
Thursday 26 December 2013
Friday 8 November 2013
Keeping the Wolf from the Door
Let's face it's many people dream of leaving those dreary winters, boring jobs and high cost of living to go and live in a tropical beach somewhere. Places like Thailand look like they offer that perfect utopian lifestyle.
In face many people have already done it, unfortunately a lot them have also run out of money. A strange this has happened here in Thailand in recent years, we are starting to see an increasing number of westerners 'down and out' on the streets of Thailand. People who would rather live on the streets with no social security than return home, it's becoming an real problem for the Thai Authorities.
So how do you stop this from happening to you? One answer would be to make sure you bring enough money to last your lifetime, or make sure you have some form of pension. Some people that have done these things have still run into problems, the financial collapse in the west, the currency exchange rate has been particularly harsh, with many foreign currencies losing up to 25% of their value.
There is another problem with retiring to Thailand, boredom, believe me the endless white sandy beaches, great food and beautiful people won't keep your interest forever. Being on vacation in Thailand and living in Thailand are two very different things, life here quickly becomes very routine.
So, I believe the only solution is to do something that keeps you occupied and also brings in some money. Depending on your circumstances, that could be just some extra cash every month or some serious income.
Myself and my friend Tony Jones are developing a website that aims to highlight some of the ways you can make some cash with just a laptop and an internet connection. We are not just concentrating on Thailand you could potentially live anyway in the world. Our site is called Amazing Expat Life it is designed to provide real information on making money online. In the Amazing Expat Life Blog we will be sharing some information about life here in Thailand.
To get people started we will be giving away a free ebook that introduces the concept of making money online. So don't wait until you retire start planning your escape now and the Amazing Expat Life could be your life.
Resources: http://amazingexpat.com
In face many people have already done it, unfortunately a lot them have also run out of money. A strange this has happened here in Thailand in recent years, we are starting to see an increasing number of westerners 'down and out' on the streets of Thailand. People who would rather live on the streets with no social security than return home, it's becoming an real problem for the Thai Authorities.
So how do you stop this from happening to you? One answer would be to make sure you bring enough money to last your lifetime, or make sure you have some form of pension. Some people that have done these things have still run into problems, the financial collapse in the west, the currency exchange rate has been particularly harsh, with many foreign currencies losing up to 25% of their value.
There is another problem with retiring to Thailand, boredom, believe me the endless white sandy beaches, great food and beautiful people won't keep your interest forever. Being on vacation in Thailand and living in Thailand are two very different things, life here quickly becomes very routine.
So, I believe the only solution is to do something that keeps you occupied and also brings in some money. Depending on your circumstances, that could be just some extra cash every month or some serious income.
Myself and my friend Tony Jones are developing a website that aims to highlight some of the ways you can make some cash with just a laptop and an internet connection. We are not just concentrating on Thailand you could potentially live anyway in the world. Our site is called Amazing Expat Life it is designed to provide real information on making money online. In the Amazing Expat Life Blog we will be sharing some information about life here in Thailand.
To get people started we will be giving away a free ebook that introduces the concept of making money online. So don't wait until you retire start planning your escape now and the Amazing Expat Life could be your life.
Resources: http://amazingexpat.com
Wednesday 3 July 2013
Size of an Elephant - I Need to Diet
Well sorry about the odd title but those of you who are old enough will know it as a reference to the Arabian Knights cartoon from the Saturday morning TV show the Banana Splits. Well it's basically how I feel at the moment, since moving up to Chiang Mai I have had access to a lot better food, not just Thai food, so my waste band has expanded accordingly, it's so bad that my kids have started making pig snorting noises at me.
So I need to lose some weight before I pass the point of no return and turn into an obese monster with large areas of fat in places where I currently don't have places. I have actually tried a lot of different diets in the past and to be honest none of them have actually worked, and most them cost a lot of cash. Meal replacement diets in my honest opinion are ridiculous, you're just fooling yourself into believing that all you have to is put up with these horrible shakes for a few weeks and you will be slim, the problem is soon as you go back to normal food you put all the pounds back.
This time I'm going Paleo, yes I am going to try the Paleo Diet mainly because it suits what I like to eat and it is something I can keep too even after losing a few pounds. I created a special website to allow you to follow my progress and I will be posting before and after pictures so parental guidance is recommended. My site is called Paleo Diet Power and is at http://paleodietpower.com. I hope for my next post I will be telling you how many pounds or kilos I have lost on the wonderful Paleo Diet.
Take care.
So I need to lose some weight before I pass the point of no return and turn into an obese monster with large areas of fat in places where I currently don't have places. I have actually tried a lot of different diets in the past and to be honest none of them have actually worked, and most them cost a lot of cash. Meal replacement diets in my honest opinion are ridiculous, you're just fooling yourself into believing that all you have to is put up with these horrible shakes for a few weeks and you will be slim, the problem is soon as you go back to normal food you put all the pounds back.
This time I'm going Paleo, yes I am going to try the Paleo Diet mainly because it suits what I like to eat and it is something I can keep too even after losing a few pounds. I created a special website to allow you to follow my progress and I will be posting before and after pictures so parental guidance is recommended. My site is called Paleo Diet Power and is at http://paleodietpower.com. I hope for my next post I will be telling you how many pounds or kilos I have lost on the wonderful Paleo Diet.
Take care.
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