Re: Thailand Trip Report

Time for the "more later"...

>>Only negative, very very hot and humid. Humid like I have never experienced >>in my life. And when the rain fell, it was torrential but luckily only lasted for
>>minutes.

Yep, it can be pretty damn sticky. When I stay at my wife's village
(no a/c), I take several showers a day! When I played golf on my last
trip, I was really thankfull for the cold towels available at those
little kiosks every few holes.

>>Learned that there are over 45 courses just in the Bangkok area.
>>A true undiscovered mecca for golf!

Bangkok is just the 'tip of the iceberg." There are great courses all
over the country. One of the best is in Chaing Rai in the north near
the border with Burma (nee Myamar).
>>This was not a golf trip per se, so a lot of time was spent seeing the local
>>sights. Went to Kao Yhi National Park about 125 km to the north.

The house I built is on the border of the park. The weather is a
little more temperate there than on the plains.

>>Visited the famous floating market. You can't describe it in words, you
>>have to see it. You get on a boat and come across hundreds of shops and
>>merchants. Deals on fruits, veggies, and souvenirs galore.

It's tough to come back to your typical U.S. supermarket selection of
fruit after experiencing the quality and variety of what's available
there.

>>Amazing how far the dollar goes in Thailand!

Absolutely. My meager retirement form the USAF combined with the
wife's civil service retirement will allow us to live pretty well.

>>Never once felt threatened or scared, not once. As compared
>>to downtown Atlanta, where you are always looking over your shoulder
>>wondering when and how your life might end!

Trust me--there are areas where you don't want to go but overall you're
correct. It's also a little dicey going to the deep south now because
there's some problems going on with the muslim population.

>>This is a thriving country. Corporate offices everywhere. Big luxurious
>>hotels. Police everywhere, which gives an incredible sense of security.
>>A great deal of manufacturing and new plants going up everywhere. These
>>folks are fixing to kick our asses on the economic front. Wake up lazy
>>Americans!

I think here you are suffering from a tourist's snapshot view of
things. Thailand has some big problems. A lot of those big office
buildings you see are half empty. Banks are eating non-performing
loans. The baht is struggling against the dollar when other currencies
are kicking its ass. Corruption is rampant--hell, it's ingrained into
the culture by now. There's a lot of good going on--but it's not as
rosy as it appears at face value.

>>The countryside with farms and rice fields everywhere. The
>>people look poor. They are not. They have more food than you could
>>imagine.

Again, trust me--there are some seriously poor folks in Thailand.
While driving around Bangkok, did you not see the shanty-towns along
the expressways? Did you spend any time in the northeast (Issan) part
of the country? My wife comes from a small agricultral village in the
the northeast, and those folks have to bust ass for their rather meager
existance. But you are correct about the peacefullness of the
countryside. I missed air-conditioning and cable TV when I stayed in
the village, but the people were fantastic. I'd pick up a case of
Chang (thai brew) for a couple of bucks and the party was on!!! :-)
And there is nothing like being in the village during festival times
like Songkran (Thai New Year).

>>Did meet amd speak to quite a few Americans and Europeans.. Thailand has
>>become a bit of a mecca for retiring folks.

They have a special set of rules once you reach age 50 that allows you
to stay for a year at a time before needing a visa renewal which is
obtainable in country. A lot of expats have to go the 90-day visa
route which requires quarterly trips to Malaysia to renew the visa.
There's a Thai expat forum on the web with tons of info if anyone is
interested in learning more:

www.thaivisa.com/forum

>>You can literally steal a house or condo in Thailand and then live like a king
>>the rest of your life. I plan on learning more about this.

A couple points. As a non-citizen you cannot own land. There are a
couple routes around that if you want to own a free-standing house.
One is to get a long term lease on some property, and the other is to
form a company (lots of discussion on how that works on the website
listed above). BUT you can own a condo and as you noted, there are
some good deals to be had if you like that route.

>>Their health care is superb,

Yes and no. There is a growing gap between what is available in public
vs private hospitals. Bumrungrad is world-class and cheap by western
standards, but a lot of public hospitals are having trouble with
staffing because they are overworked and underpaid in relation to the
private hospitals. But I had a wonderful experience on my last trip
where I had to bring two of my grandkids at a Catholic hospital in
Korat. They both saw a doctor and had three medications each. Total
charge was under $30.

>>Not ready to retire yet, but Thailand is definately on the radar
>>screen.

I'm ready!! Unfortunately my son won't let me take my granddaughter
(I'm tightly wrapped around her little finger and can't break free).
:-)

>>I was impressed enough by the golf I did see to definately want to plan a
>>golf outing in this fine land for next year.

Check out thaigolfer.com. Reviews of courses all over the kingdom.

>>Hard to get to and a long expensive trip,

Yep...but I want one way tickets!

See about getting us a tee time for 2012--100 baht nassau!! :-)

.

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