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03-20-2024 , 06:16 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fossilkid93
Ha, glorious is probably an exaggeration, but I actually really like the weather so far, but think that will change slightly with April/May + rainy season coming up. We're planning to duck out for a week or 2 and visit Seoul then a trip back to USA/Mexico and probably Japan along the way for a month and a half in Aug/Sep to avoid some of rainy season.

6 months in, and I'm really happy about the choice to spend 5 years in Bangkok. There's always some event going on or different area to explore, and I wasn't huge into nightlife before, but love posting up at an outdoors bar and people watching. I like eating/drinking outdoors, and BKK is one of the elite cities for that.

I think we have a great location too. We're 2 minutes away from Benchakitti so can easily take the dog for a walk there or duck out ourselves and get a bit of fresh air and quiet from the city. The sports complex is also nice for shooting hoops or a playing a bit of pickup soccer or pickleball.

We've got 4.5 years left, but I doubt we'll live anywhere other than BKK. We like big cities too much and Thailand doesn't really have any other larger cities. Maybe if there were a beach city with like 1 million+ people we'd probably check it out for a year.

The main negatives would be that there are a handful of things that are inexplicably expensive. For example, we'd like to do basic muay thai training. Nothing advanced just a place to go where they'll give you some basic technique, but seems like all the classes are like 500+ baht per hour. Even going to watch muay thai is quite expensive as cheapest tickets seem to be $45+ for foreigners.

But most stuff we spend on is quite cheap. All bills are dirt cheap (we don't even use A/C, we're fine with fans), internet, mobile plans, local food, etc. Groceries, rent, and public transport are a bit more expensive, but not bad. Foot or head/neck massage at 300 baht/hour is a hell of a perk too.

Mostly I'm mad at myself that I didn't move here 15 years ago.
Glad to hear it's going well.
I kind of think Thailand is better now than 15 years ago. More western amenities (Ikea as an example) and much more and better international food options.
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03-20-2024 , 06:31 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by rickroll
what about the ping pong shows?
I got a season pass, it's the pinnacle of entertainment.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinkmann
TO-MORROW NIGHT TOOOO MORROW NIGHT
Yah, I'd have to say the megaphones and super loud tuk-tuks are another slight negative. But I lived in Mexico a couple years and it's way worse there. Every vendor thinks they need their own damn annoying sound to sell their wares (megaphones, bells, whistles, recordings, etc.).

Quote:
Originally Posted by 5 south
Glad to hear it's going well.
I kind of think Thailand is better now than 15 years ago. More western amenities (Ikea as an example) and much more and better international food options.
Can't comment on 15 years ago, but the food variety is outstanding here. Thai is good, but I don't eat it super often as I like to change it up often. Ramen, Indian, Korean BBQ, shawarma, burgers, etc. There's a pretty elite option for all those near us. We even stop by Ikea for the Swedish meatballs every now and then.
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03-20-2024 , 08:38 AM
Can you speak a little bit of Thai already, kid?
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03-20-2024 , 11:45 AM
remember going to a ping pong show was in bkk solo on an overnight layover, decided to go out drinking, bumped into a bunch of girls out on a bachelorette party who were going to a ping pong show and asked if I could join and off we went,\

started off doing ping pong tricks which was fun and everyone would cheer, we were giving each other high fives and pounding drinks

it was not sexy

but truly incredible

and then it got weird, that says a lot because it's already incredibly weird watching post menopausal women doing vagina athletics


thought tossing darts was pretty insane until i saw her pull a string of razor blades out and then proceed cut things with them to prove they were genuinely sharp - i deeply hope it was some slight of hand stuff

was deeply intoxicated obv when i went so it still all feels like a fever dream and I'm still questioning to this day whether i actually witnessed what i believed to have witnessed

high fiving stopped, cheers had long since abided, and we just kind of silently shuffled out at the end unsure of what we just witnessed and why we were part of it with no party mood anymore and just drifted our separate ways
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03-21-2024 , 01:19 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by rickroll
remember going to a ping pong show was in bkk solo on an overnight layover, decided to go out drinking, bumped into a bunch of girls out on a bachelorette party who were going to a ping pong show and asked if I could join and off we went,\

started off doing ping pong tricks which was fun and everyone would cheer, we were giving each other high fives and pounding drinks

it was not sexy

but truly incredible

and then it got weird, that says a lot because it's already incredibly weird watching post menopausal women doing vagina athletics


thought tossing darts was pretty insane until i saw her pull a string of razor blades out and then proceed cut things with them to prove they were genuinely sharp - i deeply hope it was some slight of hand stuff

was deeply intoxicated obv when i went so it still all feels like a fever dream and I'm still questioning to this day whether i actually witnessed what i believed to have witnessed

high fiving stopped, cheers had long since abided, and we just kind of silently shuffled out at the end unsure of what we just witnessed and why we were part of it with no party mood anymore and just drifted our separate ways
Had some friends from Vegas here last week and they wanted to do a ping pong show. Much tamer than I remember years ago. I remember the razor blade trick also but they didn't do that this time. My friends loved it but it wasn't nearly as disgusting as shows 10-20 years ago. Show was at Thigh bar in Patpong for the record.
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03-21-2024 , 01:30 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheep86
Can you speak a little bit of Thai already, kid?
I've kinda stalled with it. I'd say my vocab is around 300 words and I can say a handful of generic sentences, but only understand basic stuff. I'm kinda lacking motivation at this point. In the past, I was excited to learn Spanish and French b/c I was chatting in those languages with local girls on Tinder and using it to get more dates.

But now that I'm married, that angle is out the window and it just seems super unlikely that I'm gonna befriend any/many locals that only speak Thai. It seems like Thais that I'd have more in common with have a more western mentality and already speak a great deal of English. I dunno, I'm more introverted and don't like to chat unless it's stuff that interest me deeply like travel, languages, sports, etc. and I think someone that speaks Thai only is very unlikely to have those in common.

On top of that, there's like no interesting Thai media to get me hooked. I like anime and K-Pop, so using those would be a great way to keep learning Japan/Korean and with Spanish and French there were infinite great films and series, books, music, etc. that I was using to learn. I've tried with Thai and so far have come up with very little that interests me. Thai cinema is possibly the nut low. Every new movie that comes out just seems to be a campy horror flick and there aren't too many high quality series to binge.

At some point, I might just break down and do like a 1-2 month intensive course someone to kinda force myself to learn more. I'd like to use it to start visiting different areas of Thailand not frequented often by tourists to get more of an authentic feel of local life.

Last edited by Fossilkid93; 03-21-2024 at 01:37 AM.
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03-22-2024 , 01:58 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fossilkid93
I've kinda stalled with it. I'd say my vocab is around 300 words and I can say a handful of generic sentences, but only understand basic stuff. I'm kinda lacking motivation at this point. In the past, I was excited to learn Spanish and French b/c I was chatting in those languages with local girls on Tinder and using it to get more dates.
You're ahead of most people I know. I've got like maybe 30 words and I'm fine with that. I have friends who have lived here 30-40 years and I speak more words than them. Speaking Thai really isn't needed at all.
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03-22-2024 , 05:33 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fossilkid93
I'd like to use it to start visiting different areas of Thailand not frequented often by tourists to get more of an authentic feel of local life.
Go to Yasothorn for bang fai in May. That's a pretty unique experience
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03-24-2024 , 01:51 PM
fossil, if i knew years ago that you liked kpop there's zero chance I would have grown to like you as a poster
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03-24-2024 , 03:41 PM
Spoiler:
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03-25-2024 , 05:06 AM
Ha, that's a fair comment re: K-pop

I wouldn't say I'm a fan though. Really I only like Blackpink and have maybe 5 of their songs in my library. My main point was that at least it's something culturally interesting about the Korean language, as well as the fact that there are tons of great TV series and movies in that language. If I were spending 5 years in Korea instead of Thailand, then there'd be lots of interesting material to motivate me to go far with the language, whereas in Thai, there's very little.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 5 south
Go to Yasothorn for bang fai in May. That's a pretty unique experience
Thanks, looks like a solid excuse to check out Isaan.
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Today , 02:38 AM
Korea has the best movies. Hollywood only makes movies for idiots and woketards now days.
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