Post deleted by Mat Sklansky
 

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

I made some work on the FAQ:
http://www.rakereport.net/forum/index.php?topic=19.0

Post deleted by Mat Sklansky
 

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

thx man. Btw Degen, I don't know if this has been asked and answered. Didn't see it when I made the FAQ.

What should I bring? I'm going Nov 10th for a month. Just bringing a backpack, no laptop, just traveling and enjoying life. T-shirts, shorts, socks, toothbrush, $$. Anything really essential?

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

bring passport size photos.

Post deleted by Mat Sklansky
 

Post deleted by Mat Sklansky
 

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

You can pretty much just show up in Thailand with a credit card and go from there.

You can buy cloths and stuff so cheap. Even decent clothes. I have some really nice clothes that are good quality that were like $10 each. I also have a ton of t-shirts that were like 70 baht (<$2)

Best way to Phuket is just to land in bangkok and fly to phuket. There are like 25 flights a day and its only like a 50 min flight.

Degen: Is this the Thai chick from vegas?

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Isn't it hard finding clothes that fit for anyone 6ft or taller, or a bit on the heavy side.

That's what I found in Korea. Most men there are relatively short/slim.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Im 6' 3" and dont have trouble finding clothes.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

This must be some sort of record for an "ask me" thread. Hell, this same comment may have posted multiple times...

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Well most of the 'ask me' threads are pretty lame.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

#1000

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

It's not just a record for an "ask me" thread, its the record for any OOT thread still here. Myspace doesn't count because its gone now. Also, congrats on the 1000th post.

Post deleted by Mat Sklansky
 

Post deleted by Mat Sklansky
 

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

If your buying clothes from street side stalls then you might have trouble but if you are going to stores you can usually find big sizes.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

How's the beer?

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

how does Chiang Mai compare to BKK interms of:

nightlife
prices
food
sociodemographic
modernness

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
thx man. Btw Degen, I don't know if this has been asked and answered. Didn't see it when I made the FAQ.

What should I bring? I'm going Nov 10th for a month. Just bringing a backpack, no laptop, just traveling and enjoying life. T-shirts, shorts, socks, toothbrush, $$. Anything really essential?

[/ QUOTE ]


When you buy your backpack try to get one with a detachable daypack. Otherwise you will need a big hiking/camping backpack and a small one to carry when you go out snorkling/sightseeing or whatever.

Anyways, I've been traveling for ~1.5 months now and I think you would be fine with a single pair of shoes (I've used 4 times hiking/mtb biking/ect) and a pair of sandals you can walk all day in comfortably (Birkenstocks are awesome). Other than that, you could probably land with just the clothes on your back and your guidebook and be fine.

Everything I brought

backpack with daypack
1 pair pants (have not used)
1 pair shorts
2 shirts (one nice button up-have not used)
shoes
sandals
and a PACK OF PENS (the pens here suck for some reason)

then I just bought [censored] when I needed it like shampoo and a razor and whatever

I just bought clothes as I go along.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Chiang Mai kicks ass and if I was going to live in Thailand teaching or playing poker or whatever I would do it there.
Its really cheap, nightlife is OK, not as wild as the islands or whatever, good food like everywhere in Thailand, and there are lots of farangs around. I liked it a lot.



PS

if anyone remembers that travel agency I mentioned, they tried to screw me again. Me and some other people were heading to Ko Tao and had to pass through Surat Thani and the bus dropped us off there and they tried the exact same [censored] scam on us. "No boat tonight because of them monsoon" stay here and so on. I was like "I was here last week [censored]" and we all caught a cab to the pier and hopped on the boat.

screw Thong whatever travel company in Surat Thani

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
Depends what you want to do. Bangkok has many districts for different tastes.

Nana Hotel might be a good bet w/out knowing more about why you are going to Bangkok [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

The only thing I'm really trying to avoid are tourists acting like disrespectful retards and accidentally making out with a ladyboy. For the first couple days I just need a place to sleep and walk to check stuff out. From their website, Nana hotel seems good. Thanks!

Post deleted by Mat Sklansky
 

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

I live in Chiang Mai..

Pro's to living in Chiang Mai over BKK:

Weather: It isn't nearly as hot as in the big city of Bangkok.

Cost: Apartments and stuff are probably significantly cheaper.

Traffic: Not nearly as much traffic as in BKK.

Farang Factor: I'd say you have better status as a Farang. its very easy to go off to a small town and you'll be a rarity/ god. you're still going to have balla status in BKK, but it will be even stronger here.

Landscape: Its quite beautiful up here. They're having a floral expo here, and I understand they'll be having a Muay Thai fight every night.

Cons:

Boring.. I think its prolly a little more boring here..

Nightlife: I don't think there's much of a club scene here at all..

Oceans: Not near the sea.


I'd also say you can get a better feel for old Thai culture up here, and you can also get a better feel for the whole "3rd world" thing. John Voigt, experiencing the culture and stuff might not interest you now, but when you get here, you'll appreciate it more.

As far as internet and things like that go.. I get a great internet connection. There aren't any technological things I need that I can't get.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Degen,

I'm a bit in a quandary now. I'm thinking I probably don't want to go to a backpacker mecca. But then again I don't know what kind of life a backpacker lives, I get a picture of long haired dudes living on noodles, that might not be correct tho [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img].

What about places to eat, i'm guessing they are everywhere?

Is sukhumvit soi a street where all the fancy hotels are at? I saw that the Grand President is also on sukhumvit soi.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
ship it. i hope some of you dude's make it out to thailand as a result [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

100% certain that I'm going.

Travelling to the other side of the world by myself is going to be [censored] scary and I'm probably going to be raped and murdered (in no particular order), but hell I'm doing it.

Question: Are electronics any cheaper there? I'm going to want a digital camera, and would rather just buy one there if it'll be cheaper.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Ok, I'm going to graduate in December.

I'm really burnt out on general life things(family, my job, etc.)

I think getting away from it all for a few months would be a good thing for me. This thread has made Thailand very attractive for a getaway.

I'm not looking to live a baller lifestyle or booze it up every night, although I do enjoy a night of drunken debauchery every once in a while. I am mainly looking to chill, play poker, and get to know a foreign culture.

I am looking at a $750-$1000 budget per month. Bangkok is probably out of the question due to cost and crowds. After reading this thread Chiang Mai looks like a good place for me to stay.

What are the other cheap, quiter, but still has some measure of civilization places in Thailand?

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/4537/houseex9.jpg

Here is my pad in Samui for $250 a month

Post deleted by Mat Sklansky
 

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Its in the north.

Takes me 2 mins to get to the beach on my bike.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/7844/frontoj6.jpg
Here is the view from my porch again.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

what a complete douche bag.

"He thought he'd pursue a self-designed independent photojournalism project on the notorious sex industry there."

"He'll never forget the first time he was offered a girl no older than 12."

"These children didn't choose anything about their lives," he said. "They're just born into it."


"It's estimated that 25 percent of Thailand's national economy is based on child prostitution."

LOL

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

This thread has convinced me, and I am planning on spending hopefully 2 weeks exploring thailand in January. Im thinking half in the bigger cities, half in some remote place hiking/backpacking and just getting away from the world.


I have to give a persuasive speech in class tuesday. I think I might do it on the attractiveness of a vacation to thailand. Which means tomorrow I am gonna read a lot of the earlier posts, maybe browse through the whole thread. INSTA expert on thailand.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

$250 a month for that? wow, if I like Thailand I need to move there ASAP (atleast for the winters, snow has already hit the ground here and will stay put until probably April/May) and just enjoy life. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Actually, I found a much nicer place for only $200 a month.

Its bigger, newer, and has a shared swimming pool! Buts its not availble yet so I need to wait. There are some sweet deals in Thailand.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
This thread has convinced me, and I am planning on spending hopefully 2 weeks exploring thailand in January. Im thinking half in the bigger cities, half in some remote place hiking/backpacking and just getting away from the world.


I have to give a persuasive speech in class tuesday. I think I might do it on the attractiveness of a vacation to thailand. Which means tomorrow I am gonna read a lot of the earlier posts, maybe browse through the whole thread. INSTA expert on thailand.

[/ QUOTE ]

Dude, IMO, u want at least 3 weeks. You've gotta realize what a buzzkill the flight over here and back is. You also gotta understand how crazy the jet lag is.

i'd recommend 3-4 weeks.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Agreed.

You need like 2 days in bangkok to see some sights, then you hope on a plane to Chiang mai for 3 days, fly to Samui for 2 days. Hope over to KPN for a night. Goto Koh Tao / Nangyuan for 2 night. Back to samui and fly to Phuket. See phuket for 2 days. Head to krabi and out to some islands for 4 days at various places. Head to a few more islands for short trips.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Questions:

1. If I was to plan a trip it would likely be for 3-4 weeks and it would be me, my wife and my son. Are you aware of any sort of established babysitting/nanny service? Basically I would want to hire a live-in nanny for a month. I won't ask if it's possible, since you've stated that pretty much anything is on the table for the right price, rather, do you have any ideas on setting something like this up? 18-25 years old and cute would of course be a plus, but as the wife will be along, for viewing pleasure only.

2. My wife really likes the all-inclusive spa style vacations ala Mexico or Jamaica. I don't particularly like the price/quality ratio of these trips. Would it be feasible to go to one the islands mentioned and rent a 4 or 5 out of 5 star apartment or villa for a month that has access to a pool, gym and the like.

3. Alternatly, are the spa resort type places priced at 25%-35% of US costs like everything else, or do you get the standard "This is for tourists so it will be really expensive" markup. There's nothing more irritating than paying $80 for an hour massage when you know damn well the Masseur is getting maybe $5 for it.

4. I understand that the tailors can reproduce mens suits from magazines. Is this possible for women's clothing as well? Or are the tailors for men's clothes only? In other words, do the same sort of services exist for womens clothes?

Random comment: Maybe if I go I can find a nanny/cook/housekeeper and ship her home for like $2000k a year. 4x the average annual wage for her, really really good deal for me.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Got through looking at half of this thread during class today, gonna tackle the 2nd half now.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

You might be able to arainge a nany for your trip in Thailand. Nicer hotels might even have a service available for you.

Spas are not that cheap here but you can goto a reagular massage place and get a 2 hour massage for $10-15.

There is no way you can get a nanny/cook to come to the USA for $2,000 a year. Your out of your mind. The Aurpair program which is basically what you are looking for makes you pay the Thai girl $175 a week or more. You have to pay standard minium wage. You think just cause they are thai you can pay them $2 an hour? Do you know anything about labor laws? What your asking for is a slave.