Try our lifestyle for a few weeks. I bet you'll love it.

People often say to me "but what do you DO all day"? "You must be bored stiff". Well, we're not. Our lifestyle is such that we always seem to be busy and the days pass only too quickly.

My wife Helen has about a third of a rai (about 530 sq metres) of garden to maintain, with the help of a gardener once a month. In the hot season we usually swim in the pool in the afternoon and go shopping in the morning. We are able to buy western food if we wish, at several supermarket outlets in and around the city and there are four large shopping Plazas to browse when we feel like it.

Luckily we have a car, so transport isn't a problem, but if we didn't, the
Girl in pool in Chiang Mai Sorng-tao service works pretty well (see my travel page).

I go to Thai language lessons two mornings a week and we have a high speed Internet connection through which I read the English newspapers every morning.

We are often invited to parties and BBQs which are pretty popular here and we mix socially not only with Brits, but with Australian, New Zealand, American, Dutch, French and of course Thai people all the time.

Thai people have a laid back lifestyle

And the Thais have pretty cool lifestyle too. Although some of them are desperately poor, they seem to enjoy life in spite of that, even though

those who have jobs work long hours, sometimes 7 days a week. Most Thais are Buddhists, although there are also many Christians. The Thais are absolutely tolerant of any and all religions and there are many wats (temples with monks) and even churches wherever you go.

Thais are cool characters and hate any kind of confrontation. Don't get them angry though, because when they get mad, they get MAD.

The Thais also have festivals throughout the year and us foreigners are always invited. To find out more, click on the link.

Farang

Don't be offended when you hear yourself referred to as a "farang". This term means 'foreigner of western extraction' e.g. a Japanese is not a farang. Although this word can be deprecatory it usually isn't. It depends how it's used and unless you speak Thai, you won't be in a position to make a judgement. So, be cool. Don't be offended, because in 99% of cases no offence is intended.

Money

Of course for us, the cost of living is very low compared to the West, so your pound, euro or dollar goes a lot further than at home. The one drawback is the cost of wine, which is freely available but expensive. Western style foodstuffs are freely available here, but if you like Thai food you can eat well on less than 100 baht per day.

Tipping

People often ask me about tipping here in Chiang Mai. Tipping is a
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western thing and Thais generally do not tip. However, because of the influence of us farangs it has become more usual these days, especially in restaurants, bars and taxis. It's true that Thais don't usually earn a huge wage for their services, by western standards anyway so I usually tip about 10% and sometimes you will see a "tip box" on the counter of some establishments. Obviously it's up to you if and how much you tip and it's always appreciated.

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