Sipping Don Papa Rum on a white sandy beach
Donnie Baker played baseball in Jaycee Little League many moons ago. He was a talented left-hand pitcher, first baseman, outfielder, gifted enough to be an all-star at the age of 11.
And now he lives in Thailand. No, much more than just lives. He breathes, eats, absorbs, digests and captures Thai. When I asked him to explain this love affair I expected a few paragraphs. But what I got was a flood of tantalizing descriptions, lingering impressions, and brilliant insights.
You, too, will fall in love with Thailand.
I’m going to break this down into four parts. Here’s the first instalment in Don’s words.
The Land of Smiles
After living in Thailand for over 10 years I’ve “gone native” in a positive sense. You tend to lose sight of what interests those outside this country.
I first visited Thailand in 1981 and was immediately captivated by the beauty of the country, the kindness of the people, and the fantastic cuisine. After spending three months in Koh Samiu, Phuket and Bangkok I vowed to return one day.
Fast forward to 2010 when I retired after working 25 years in Bermuda, most of that time with my Thai wife. We settled in Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand, built one house and renovated a townhouse.
Three experiences as a Foreigner in Thailand.
Tourists
They experience the country through the “honeymoon” lens. Everything is carefree and wonderful—delicious, inexpensive food and drink, parties galore, great climate, beaches, mountains and jungle to explore in a seemingly liberal society with an infrastructure catering to everyone from backpackers to the jet set.
Work Permit Holders
Now you need to earn a living and the honeymoon is over. But the parties and exploring are still as front and center as life in the Spanish Mediterranean. As a work permit holder you encounter the inevitable bureaucracy, meet a whole different group of Thais, and most likely struggle to save money unless you’re hired by an international company.
Expats living here without working
Parts of the honeymoon still exist, but you’re much more aware of what it’s like to live as a Thai . You’ll undoubtedly gain a deeper understanding of the bureaucracy, politics, corruption, the education system, the environmental degradation, and poverty. All the things you ignored as a tourist.
I visited Thailand in 1981 and I fell in love twice. First, with the country which pulled me back 20 times in the next three decades. Second, in 1985 I took lessons for nine months in the Tai language from a beautiful, compassionate lady who was destined to become my wife.
On every one of those visits I was still a tourist. And, no matter how much you search the internet, you never really understand this country until you live here and immerse yourself in the culture.
One hundred years ago there were 400,000 elephants living in Thailand. Today there are less than 4,000. Just another example of the sad destruction of animals and the environment by humans. The National Elephant Institute and the Thai government are valiantly working to save these magnificent creatures.
Where to live?
The choice was based on three things.
***A city of at least 500,000 to ensure a decent standard of amenities like hospitals, fast internet, decent house builders, entertainment, and western products.
***A city overwhelmingly Thai and not foreigner dominated. That ruled out Phuket and Koh Samui, two islands heavily tourist oriented. They’re beautiful places to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there. They’ve lost their Thai flavour, but most tourists don’t realize it.
***Good international flight connections for easy access to surrounding countries.
That left Bangkok with 15 million people or Chiang Mai with one million. Bangkok is an exciting city to live in if you’re young and making money. But I was retired and I didn’t need the traffic jams, chaos and depressing pollution.
Salmon from Norway and wine from France
Chiang Mai essentially has the same amenities as Bangkok, just not as much, but how many malls and hospitals do you need? There’s world class medical treatment here and modern conveniences. What’s more, if I ever want a change from the wonderful Thai food, there’s fresh Norwegian salmon flown in daily from Oslo, a wheel of Italian Parmesan cheese, Iberico ham from Spain, French wine, Japanese Scotch, German beer and Argentinian beef.
Chaing Mai has grown as an international travel hub and a one hour flight to Bangkok opens up direct travel to over 100 countries. Before COVID I spent 3-4 months a year exploring everywhere from Singapore to Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, from Macau to South Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
So it was an easy choice. Chiang Mai. After 10 years I’m sure it was the right move.
Weather
Northern Thailand has three seasons. It’s cool from November to February with temperatures ranging from 10 to 28 Celsius and the sun shines every day without fail.
From March to April it’s still sunny but you might get bombarded with as much as 42 degrees. Some like it hot. This is also the season when farmers burn their fields and arsonists torch the forests to poach animals and facilitate mushroom growth, which are both illegal.
As a result the pollution in Chiang Mai is unbearable which is when I head south to the Thai islands and beaches to enjoy two months of fantastic weather and seafood.
Finally, the rainy season from May to October. This is not cold, miserable Vancouver or London rain. Here it’s a quick, saturating downpour every second day. The air is fresh, the countryside is emerald green and fruit is growing faster than a teenager. Temps between 30-35C.
I could never go back to living in a cold climate. One week in the winter snow of Japan or South Korea is great if it’s followed by three weeks sipping Don Papa Rum on the pure white sand of a beach in the Philippines.
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