My-Thai | Thailand eBook

My Thai Experience

free eBook by www.my-thai.org One year in Thailand Living, Working & Traveling switching from a everyday normal office life to an adventurous life in South East Asia e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

Intro

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What this book is not about

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What this book is about

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What others say

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Me, Myself & I

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My Background

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My Situation

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My decission

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Before leaving on a Jetplane

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Why Thailand

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Preperation?

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Leaving the Jetplane

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1st steps

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Welcome, Tourist

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Daily Life

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Food

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Phrases

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Culture Clash

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Take aways

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When living in Thailand there is obviously more than the usual tourist take aways. Especially when considering all the things I already talked about.

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Bangkok for Beginners

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Excuses

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„My English is not good enough“

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„I have responsibilities“

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e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

„I have a job“

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„I donʻt like flying“

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Ressources

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My own & free ressources:

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Other ressources I recommend:

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Special Ressource for Readers of this eBook:

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Illustrations & Pictures

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Khop Khun Khrap - Thank you

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More to come....

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e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

Intro I have been blogging and writing about my travels ever since I started to travel on my own. First it was kind of a diary in order to remember everything I experienced but soon it became more. More and more people came to my sites and started to ask questions.

So I started to give more and more information about what I do, what I experience and how I do things. This is not a „how to“ for everybody but a „how I did it and how it worked for me“.

Nevertheless blog posts are quite often emotional, very subjective and inspired by current events. This is what makes blogs fun and interesting to read. In this book I try to add a little more of objectiveness (but won‘t forget the personal part neither) in order to give you a clue, advice or inspiration for your travel to Thailand, outside your office or the world.

I decided to distribute my experiences as a free ebook and there are quite a few reasons for that. First I am a big fan of free stuff and I do not think that I am such a good writer that it would be fair to charge for my work. Furthermore I want as much people as possible to get inspired by my story and take action themselves. So people, spread the word, share my stuff. I am happy with it!

Moreover I thought writing those experiences together in a book makes it easier to take it with you. Since my blog is a total online thing and while nowadays people are always online when they are at home or on their way to work - backpacking and travelling is still something that sometimes does not offer internet connection. So taking an ebook with you might be easier since you do not need a connection to the world wide web. Actually you could even print it out and take it with you. Make

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notes and comments while travelling, draw maps on it or show inhabitants what you just read and where you want to go.

So I hope you are as happy with my first try as I am. Obviously, since it is my first try, I will need to make some adjustments. I will implement them on the fly. So if you check back in a few weeks, you might already be able to see the updated file. With less writing mistakes ;-)

What this book is not about This book is definitely not about to show you step by step what you have to do in order to live and work in Thailand or abroad.

I will not provide you with a „Top 10 list of things to do in order to escape office life“ because I think those lists are not worthe the (electronic) paper they are printed on.

Furthermore this book is not about making money. That‘s why you can download it for free and that‘s why there are no advertisements in this ebook. It is all about sharing experiences. Nothing more, nothing less.

Last but not least, this book ist not thought to be a travel guide! I will provide you with some information called „Bangkok for Beginners“ though - but that‘s it in terms of travel tips. You all have your lonley planets or other guides by hand. Furthermore I suggest to simply follow your heart and go with the flow. Do what sounds good usually you can‘t make a wrong choice when you are planning a short vacation trip here in Thailand.

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What this book is about As mentioned above this book is mostly about sharing experiences and giving you an idea of what can be done outside the normal office life.

Some might call it crazy, some others call it adventurous. I call it „the right thing“.

For me.

Besides giving you insights about my Thailand experience I am also curious to hear about your experiences and your thoughts about any kinds of long term travel and similar things. So I am always happy when you get in touch (http://my-thai.org/ contact). Do not hesitate to share your opinion!

What others say Just some quotes of friends, family & colleagues „Just when you think he finally settled somewhere, he comes up with another idea. I was totally surprised when I heard Sascha will go to Thailand since he never talked about it before. But respect. Once more I am impressed!“ - Markus, Friend for over 15 years.

„Describing him? Hmmm. Restless, adventourus, always up to something new, curious and sometimes a little bit crazy“ - Surijat - Friend in Udon Thani, Thailand

„Totally different to everything I experienced so far. Classes are a lot of fun and I learned a lot. Amazing Teacher :-)“ - Kat, Student who did not get a better grade because of this statement.

„He can eat spicy“ - Tom, teacher at english language school

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Me, Myself & I I will start this book with a very short overview about my personal situation, my background and how I came up with the decission I made. This might help to understand where I am coming from and why I did, what I did. Nevertheless I think anyone who wants to break away from his daily office job can do it. So having a similar background like mine is not necessary since it did not help me that much.

My Background Grown up in southern Germany, apprenticeship as bank clerk, then studied Business Information Systems at University with working highlights in Sydney, Australia and Berlin, Germany. After graduating working in Vienna, Austria.

As you can see I liked changes and new challenges ever since. Even though I did not travel that much when I was a kid (well the usual family vacations. But nothing more adventurous) the travel bug got me quite fast when I became older. Australia was always my biggest aim, the one thing I want to achieve some day. After I managed to work & life there for a while I realized I can achieve anything if I just try hard enough. This was the start of my ongoing travels.

My Situation When I made the decission to go to Thailand in order to teach English (yes, that‘s what I do) at a College I was not desperate. Going abroad because of desperation is, in my mind, never a good idea. You will always think of home and what you might miss at home. If you go abroad for a long time, it should be because you want it, not because you need it in order to escape from your desperation.

Desperation is a good traveller. It will find you everywhere. Even in Thailand.

So what was my situation. Well I worked in a quite successful new media agency where I was responsible for internet marketing activities. Since I already spent (to) e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

much time in Vienna, Austria I was looking for other opportunities and thought at first of a simple job switch. I applied in some other cities with some big companies, flew there for job interviews and while doing so I realized that I actually do not want to do the same thing again. It would not have been to bad, since I really like the whole internet marketing thing. But I somehow felt the need to break away, do something different. Coming back to the „normal“ job can still be done afterwards.

That‘s when my decission grew. I want to go away. Far away. I want to see something new. A totally new experience.

My decission Luck was a big part of this decission. But I am a strong believer in the saying „Luck is where preperation meets opportunity“. I was prepared to go away, I was researching possibilities and if it would not have been this one, it would have been another one. That‘s what I am sure about.

But back to the luck. I happened to know someone who knew someone who knew that they are looking for English teachers over here in Thailand. I thought for a very short moment but then it was clear „Thailand. Asia. Totally new to me. Let‘s do it!“.

So I sent my resumè, completed a short interview and then received the confirmation.

Since there was nobody but me I had to ask or I had to take care of it was quite an easy decission. I sold many of my belongings, cancelled my appartement and started to research Thai related information. Preperation and oppportunitiy, you know.

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Before leaving on a Jetplane Before entering the plane and leaving for Thailand there were a few things to think about and to handle. Not to many things though, but some stuff simply needed to be prepared. Here is a very quick roundup and then we‘ll get started with the Thai adventure.

Why Thailand As mentioned on the page before, there was some luck included. But when the opportunity arrived I did not hesitate to long to grab it. Thailand actually had everything my destination should have. It is quite far away, it is totally new to me, new culture, new language but nevertheless it is developed enough to provide me with some basic needs (yeah I still need the world wide web from time to time in order to keep up with my internet marketing thingy).

Furthermore....well...enter Thailand into google picture search and have a look by yourself. There are amazing travel destinations over here. Thailand has everything.

Jungle, Mountains, beautiful beaches and the sea. And it never gets that cold. Even in winter it is possible to walk around with a t-shirt. Perfect!

Besides that I always heard about the amazing politeness and happiness Thai people are famous for. The land of Smile is what they call Thailand. So I thought it wouldn‘t be to bad to be surrounded by happy people after having spent more than one year with grumpy and 24/7 complaining Austrians. So Thailand it was! Yeah.

Preperation?

Preperation. Necessary & rarely funny. But what needs to be done, needs to be done. I have to admit I only did the very necessary things and nothing more.

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Starting with a flight. Luckily I was still able to book student tickets with STA Travel agency. I already went to Australia with STA so I trusted them in order to find the best deals for me. Nevertheless I also checked online if I could find anything cheaper but STA had the best deal in this case plus they offer additional services like insurance and the possibility to re-schedule the return flight home very easily.

Flight done. Check.

The next step a visa! This was pretty tricky since I am German and lived in Austria.

First the German embassy in Austria would charge me a hell of money just for sending my passport to Germany, get the visa and send it back. Second: It would take a lot of time and it is not said that it would have been in time for my flight to Thailand.

My Thai contacts always said „don‘t worry, we can do everything over here. No problem. Just come with a tourist visa and we take care of the rest.“ Sounded fine at first but I then realized the German government won‘t see it this way. I needed the visa beforehand. So I went to the Royal Thai Consulate in Munich, Germany.

Applied for a visa right there and was granted the visa the same day. 3 days before my scheduled flight to Bangkok left. Huh. Sweat. But visa done. Check.

The last thing I worried about was vaccination. I read that there are no vaccinations mandatory and that Malaria usually not appears in Thailand (only at the very close border area from time to time) so I decided not to take any extra vaccinations. So far it was a good decission. I hope it stays that way.

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Leaving the Jetplane Somewhen in September I steped onto a plane at Frankfurt International Airport.

Destination Bangkok. And about 15 hours later I was there. In Asia, Thailand. A place I only knew from movies and songs and a culture that was completely new and foreign to me. Adventure, here I am.

1st steps The first steps in a foreign country are always something special. Not to mention the steps in a foreign culture with no existing experience on how to handle everything. But luckily, the very first steps are almost everywhere the same. Visa & passport check at the airport. Luggage claim. Taxi, Bus or Train to the city.

Welcome, Tourist After entering a foreign country you are, of course, a tourist. No matter why you came and what the purpose of your stay is. At first sight everything is foreign, many things are strange and quite the most things are new. So get used to it and be prepared to stay a tourist for the first few weeks. At least.

I myself was quite disappointed of blending in with „typical“ tourists to well in the beginning. I didn‘t want to be one of them. „I am different“ I thought. I am not here because it‘s a cheap holiday, I am here to work, to help, to do something. But honestly...nobody cares! When you are not able to speak the language and have no idea of how to behave correctly you simply are a stranger, a foreigner, a tourist.

Took me quite a while to accept it, but right now I am even happy when I visit other provinces or cities where I can be the tourist again. Funny how life changes.

So my tip: Enjoy being the tourist. It will change soon enough. But, after all, do not be the „I am better than you“ kind of tourist. But I think that‘s something you would never say. People with this kind of attitude won‘t read such an ebook. For all of e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

those who need a little guidance during their first touristic weeks, feel free to check out the travel category in my blog (http://my-thai.org/category/traveling) or the Bangkok for Beginners chapter in this ebook.

Daily Life Finally! The daily life. This might be one of the things you wanted to hear about the most I guess. So let‘s start. At first by saying: Don‘t worry about the things you might want to worry about. Meaning: Thailand has electricity, fresh water and internet. Some things many of my friends doubted. So if you really decide to come here, do not expect to find a third world country. Thailand is - by all means - quite amazing. You will find a lot of poor people who do not even have a roof to sleep beyond but you will also find high technological mega shopping malls. WiFi everywhere (at least in cafès) and mobile phones en massè.

Food But lets just start an average day in Thailand. Most days start with breakfast (until you are one of those work addicts who only need a coffe), right? So breakfast in Thailand. What that looks like you might wonder? Easy: Looks almost like every other dish of the day. Rice, Noodles, Warm. Coming from a culture where I usually had cornflakes, muesli or bread for breakfast (in Thai: ahan chow) this was quite strange. Of course I still can buy cornflakes or bread or whatever I want at a bakery or supermarket. But the usual Thai breakfast does not contain any of these „western“ style foods.

The further meals look basically the same. Rice or noodles as base with different ways of improvements. At least the „normal“ meals are like that. Diversion is brought to the daily rice & noodle dishes by many restaurants that offer hotpot, BBQ or similar services. Since Thai people love to go out for dinner (cultural style.

Going out for lunch or dinner is „normal“) you will have a great variety of food

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available from which you will be able to choose. But be prepared for a lot of rice and noodles. Just saying.

When you go out for lunch or dinner with some of your Thai friends or colleagues you will hear one sentence over and over again (Even after having about 2.492 meals together with my friends in Thailand they still ask me this):

Can you eat spicy?

Even if you say „Yes I can. I even like it spicy!“ this will not change anything. Talking like this is a conversation starter (we will cover some more later) and you should get used to it. You are the foreigner, you will sweat during meals (spicy food & hot outside temperature) so they will ask. Again and again. Usually this sentence is followed by „Does it taste good?“ (Thai: „arroy mai“). Even if you did not even taste much of your meal, this question will appear as soon as you raise your spoon or chopsticks the second time (forks and knifes are for sissies). This might sound disturbing for people from Europe who are used to have a quiet dinner. But over here in Thailand nothing is quiet. Better get used to it and try to blend in by saying „arroy mak“ (very good) or „mai arroy“ (not good).

Tiny Tip: Further important things to know during meals: Do not lick your fingers (even though you might eat with your fingers), if you are invited say thank you (khop khun) and never say „no“ but give a reason why you do not want to eat something (e.g. allergy. otherwise they will ask over and over again).

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Phrases The next interesting / important thing to know about daily life: Often used english phrases. The top spot definitely goes to „same same“. If you ask somebody „should I buy this or that?“ or „What is better? Bangkok or Ayuttayah?“ many peole will respond with „same same“.

Unfortunately same same is not always same same. When I ask people here about the difference between Udon Thani and Nonghkai (2 cities in the North) they will respond with „same same“ again. But actually those two cities are quite different (e.g. Nongkhai has the mighty Mekong River and borders to Laos). But Thai people think „both are two cities, both have the same weather....so it is same same“. So if you receive the same same answer, do not think you can expact exactly the same.

Be prepared for surprises.

Number 2 spot on the list of the most used english phrases goes to „up to you“.

When asking Thai people about decisions they are very likely to reply with „up to you“. „What should I wear?“ „When do we meet?“ - it is always up to you. Well, actually it is not. Many people will say „up to you“ but while saying so they already expect you to know the right answer. So if you really wear clothing up to you (at work for example) or come at a time up to you, you are very likely to see many people shaking their heads and laughing at you. Even the people that responded with „up to you“. So if it someone says up to you and you consider your question crucial, better make sure to double check the answer!

The last phrase that I want you to know is „mai pen rai“ - „never mind“. Actually the translation should be „don‘t worry“ but most thai people will say „never mind“.

So if you feel this sounds a little bit harsh and unfriendly, don‘t mind. They do not mean it rude it is just a translation mistake. If Thai people are to busy or simply do not know how to explain something to you, they will say „never mind“. They are lazy to discuss things and do not want to think to much about how to say something. So e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

if they are stuck explaining they will say „never mind“. This is annoying at first but something you can‘t change. So get used to it.

Talking about getting used to things and behavioural clashes....lets get it really going...

Culture Clash This is going to be a tough post. I don’t want to rant to much since I really like it over here and the people are still amazing. So please do not consider my words as unhappiness – it is just a comparisson and one or two suggestions from a foreigners point of view. Some things are great, some things are stupid, some things crazy & weird and some again very lovely. And all those things lead to one final conclusion: Amazing Thailand!

Politeness Let’s start with the obvious. The politeness in Thailand.

Usually found everywhere. People are polite and treat others with respect. This starts when meeting somebody (you “wai” in order to greet) and goes on to humble when passing monks or elder and respected people (e.g. students humble when passing teachers).

Might sound strange to european ears but somehow I like the way respect is shown. It does not make you feel less worthy but puts the other person in a respected position. That’s just nice.

Furthermore, as you might have already read, Thailand is called land of smile. Well for a reason. Usually people start with a smile when talking to or meeting with you.

Until you give them a reason to stop smiling. This is a just another way of being polite and making people feel comfortable. Something many people back home in Germany have forgotten. And last, but not least, Thai people usually are incredibly e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

patient. They let you talk until you’re finished. They let everybody talk and express his oppinions. For me it is sometimes why to patient, but when thinking of it, it is one more way of being polite.

Now that I already said in the beginning that there some things that sometimes upset me, let’s have a look at the second obvious and well known prejudice.

Thai Laziness Sounds like the typical stereotype. “Thais are lazy”.

But man, I rarely came across a stereotype during my travels that fits more. Thais are lazy! And to get it straight in the beginning: That’s not totally bad and somehow even reasonable. Now that summer starts to make his way back to Thailand it is getting really hot (at least for me, Thais say right now it’s quite nice and it will get even hotter in April & May…) and I really have problems to motivate myself to stay focused during the hot afternoon. That’s what I mean by saying “somehow I understand” why you need to be lazy. Your body just needs some time to handle the heat. On the other hand Thais are used to it…but nevertheless I give credit to this point as a little excuse.

The next point I still see on the pro side: It is not that bad when your take on things is a little bit more easy. Not taking everything to serious would be a good thing for many of you incredibly busy business people back home. Life goes on even you do not attend just another important telephone conference at midnight but if you go home and have BBQ with your family instead. So credits to this too. A little more Thai style in Europe wouldn’t be to bad.

But now here comes the – well – but. When talking about politeness and all that stuff I simply simply simply hate it when people show up late. And I don’t mean the usual 15 minutes. Over here people tend to come insanely late to meetings or dates. When you say you meet at 10 a.m. you shouldn’t wonder if someone shows up at 11 or 11.30. That’s just the way it is. And this is one thing I simply can not – e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

and a thing I do not want to – get used to. In my oppinion letting people wait for a long time is simply impolite and therefore interferes with the before discussed politeness.

What also plays into this point is that people are very hard to convince about improvements. As long as something is somehow working they do not see the need for improving. The most obvious example might be the dirt everywhere. People simply throw their rubbish away everywhere they go. Someone will clean it up later.

And if it takes 24 hours for that, no problem. The rubbish won’t run away. Just throw it away and wait for it to be picked up. God I hate this attitude. It would be so easy to make some cities much more enjoyable with only caring a little more. But it has been this way a long time, it was working, why change it?

This “it is working, no need to change” attitude can unfortunately be found in almost every aspect of life. At home with their appartements or houses, at work when it comes to teaching style or teaching equipement and in personal relations. And as soon as you complain about it or as soon as you suggest improvements they will respond with “that is thai style, thai culture. get used to it”. But you know what? Not everything that is done for the past decades is automatically a good thing. And culture can be obtained even when improving or adjusting current behavior. As much as Europe or Germany can learn from the “take it more easy” Thai style as much Thailand could learn from the western World. If they only tried to listen a little more closely.

That brings me to the last point of my “God sometimes I hate Thai Laziness” paragraphs. Many people here do not listen closely or – if they listen – tell their oppinion. Some of my colleagues told me that is because many people are simply to lazy to argue. They do not want to argue with anybody so the say “yes” even though they think “no”. But in order to prevent discussions and arguments they will simply agree. This – obviously – can lead to further trouble. “Can we meet tomorrow at 10 a.m.?” “yes”….and then nobody’s coming. Been there, seen that.

Quite some times. Same with the “I don’t know where to go. Can you help me?” – “sure. go straight, left, right….” – Quite often they tell you crap because they are e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

afraid of saying “sorry, I don’t know”. I know it is a typical “asian thing” but once more: Just because many people do it, it does not mean that it is a good thing!

Honesty should be a more important factor in everybody’s life & behavior. Be honest even if it brings some extra work with it.

Individuals Another thing that I came across is that people very often do not understand when I change my mind or when I say “yes I could, but I do not want to”. Example: People ask “can you eat somtom?”. I answer “yes I can, but I do not want to because I do not like it”. In Thailand there is only “yes I can” or “no, I can not” but there usually is no “I do not want to”. Looks like it does not matter what people want. You can or can not. When you can, you do…”

Where amazing happens When you remember my first words of this post you will remember that I said “Amazing Thailand” and that I still like it very much over here in the land of smile. That’s why I want to close this post with a nice and awesome point. What I really like about the people here besides their politeness and despite their laziness is the tolerance they show for everybody. I can not think of any other country where “ladyboys” or “tomboys” would be as accpeted as they are here. It is totally okay to be gay, lesbian, ladyboy, tomboy or whatever. As long as you are okay with yourself, everybody is okay with it too.

Same for the believes. In a country where 99% of the people are buddhists you could think that it might be hard to have a different belief. But it is not. They even ask if you, as christian, feel offended when everybody else does the wai in order to pay tribute to the buddhist belief.

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So, to say it again and loud: Even though there are some things that bother me from time to time I like Thailand & I love the people. Amazing Thailand. For sure!

Take aways When living in Thailand there is obviously more than the usual tourist take aways.

Especially when considering all the things I already talked about.

Especiall for us western (europeans, americans, australians...) people there is a lot in the daily life to take away. One thing is, in my opinion, the patience. Thai people are incredibly patient and you have to learn to be it as well. Even if you are in a hurry or want things to be done quickly, that doesn‘t matter! Thai Style baby! I totally understand when people sometimes get upset, but this is something you can‘t change - so get used to it. And actually....when you are used to it it makes everything easier. You will worry less about stuff and simply be quieter and not to much on the run. Your body and your health will thank you.

More take-aways in a greater detail can be found on my website (my-thai.org/ebook - in May 2011) - there must be at least something that makes you come there ;-) I promisse there is no stupid advertising or other annoying things except my writing!

Despite the daily life things that you take away from staying here, there are many more things that not only effect your life in Thailand but your way of living in general. Even more than the patience thing. Or maybe as much. That‘s - in the end - up to you ;-)

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Bangkok for Beginners Since I receive a lot of questions by friends and readers who are comming to Bangkok (oriental city!) concerning tips, tricks or any special advice for first time visitors, I thought I come up with a beginner's post covering do's and dont's, musts and shoulds. It's all based on personal experience. So if you disagree or want to add some advice, feel free to comment. Otherwise enjoy Bangkok for Beginners.

Touch down - Suvarnabhumi - Bangkok Airport When touching down in Bangkok you will enter the Land of Smile at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport. The first thing you will see, besides the toilettes, is the visa check counter. One more time to be patient. But after flying for a decent amount of time this should not bother you anymore.

After you passed the visa check you claim your luggage and canexchange money if needed. Then, maybe after checking out some tourist information desks or restaurants, it is time to leave Suvarnabhumi International Airport. There are different ways to do so, my choice would be the sky train to the city. It beats bus & taxi in terms of time and is right now, due to promotions, pretty affordable. And not crowded. Something you won't find very often in Thailand.

Bangkok City - Hostels - Khao San Road (Kaosan Road) When you leave the Sky Train you are very likely to meet one of the first very very friendly Thais. Asking you where you are from, what you do, etc....and the offering you a lift in a - all of a sudden approaching - TukTuk. For a very very cheap price of course....even though those guys are very friendly, don't buy their stories. If you e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

want to find a place to sleep very quickly and do not feel for a bus adventure on your first day, take a cab, tell the driver you only pay for taximeter, and tell him to bring you to Khao San Road. The Backpacker Home.

Khao San Road itself has everything you can imagine. Hostels, food, bars, travel agencies, small shops. And, most of all, a lot of noise and tourists. Day and night!

That's why I prefer to stay in some streets close to Khaosan Road but not Khao San Road itself. Sometimes it's a little hard to find sleep while there's a 24/7 party going on outside your door. But nevertheless, as backpacker, Kaosan Road is a must. Your place to go.

In Kaosan Road and the other roads (my favorite is the place around soi ram buttri and chana songkhram) around there are many hostels. So simply go there, ask for a room, check it out and if you like it, stay. If you don't like it - no problem. The next hostel is just a hundred feet away. Right now I never had a real bad experience, so there is no 'no go' hostel for me so far. The most chilled and stylish hostel so far was the Wild Orchid Villa (but by far the most expensive one nevertheless still reasonable prices). But also the Baan Sabai or the rooftop garden were pretty decent for a far cheaper price. So please don't worry about finding a bed. It's quite easy and almost never a big problem.

Bangkok City - moving around - public transport Bangkok traffic is crazy! 11.5 million people trying to make their way through this huge melting pot. With a very small subway in terms of reach and only a few sky trains, taxi and busses are the way to go (and TukTuks - as touristic attraction - of course). When using a TukTuk you can have a lot of fun, but be aware of the fact e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

that cheap TukTuk rides never come alone. They do not drive you to the place you wanted, they drive you to some travel agencies or other shops that - once more try to sell you extremely expensive stuff. And if somebody tells you there are cheap governmental TukTuks, simply give him the finger - in a friendly way of course!

So without the TukTuk trouble it leaves taxi and busses (if possible trains are a good choice too, but they don't serve all places in Bangkok). When going for a Taxi make sure the driver uses the taximeter. Otherwise you might pay a huge 'Farang bonus'. Clear this in advance and make sure to have the exact amount of money in your pocket. Many drivers can not or will not give you money back.

When your negotiations are done and you enter the taxi: sit back, relax and enjoy the traffic jam around you.

Busses are the cheap way to travel but need a little understanding of the thai language or a nice and trustworthy hostel guide who tells you which bus to take.

Anyway: Always take a map with you - just in case. When a bus is approaching and you see your number on it, you have to wave at him in order to stop. Then you hop on the bus, sit down or take a stand and whit for the cashier to come. You pay on the go. So don't worry about bus tickets. When you have the feeling of being lost, just try to ask somebody. Usually Thai people are very friendly and appreciate your try of using the 'normal' public transport.

Bangkok City - people As already mentioned people in Thailand are usually very friendly and smile a lot!

The everyday normal Thai you meet in the bus is mostly a very nice guy (or girl) and fun to talk to (if you understand each other). But in touristic regions, and especially in Bangkok, there are a lot of people trying to make profit of the well known 'Thais are friendly' prejudice. They come to you, talk to you for about 10 minutes about everything. Your home, that they have a friend who lives there....and whatever. They talk until they realize that you lost your awareness and then they come up with an idea...and tell you great and reasonable and things and all of a e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

sudden there is a TukTuk approaching - a special cheap one of course - that will bring you to a very special Thai shop where everything is cheap and good....of course....This all will happen very very friendly. So no need to be afraid - just be aware of scam like this. It would be a pitty if you come across one of those duchebags and then blame all Thais for this. The 'real deal' people are amazing!

Bangkok City - Sightseeing So here we go. Sightseeing in Bangkok. What should I say. Take your lonelyplanet or Stephan Loose out of your pocket and check them out.

Temples (wats) everywhere! After having spent a lot of time in Thailand and seeing many temples I would recommend three special ones in Bangkok.

But all others are - especially for first time visitors - great to see too!

In my opinion you should check out Wat Pho (temple of the reclining Buddha), Wat Saket (the Golden Mount - amazing view all over Bangkok when you're on the top) and Wat Arun (temple of dawn).

The most important temple in Thailand, What Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), is located within the grounds of theGrand Palace and definitely worth a visit too. If you are in Bangkok, you need to see this!

Besides the amazing temples there are many more sights in Bangkok and it is up to your personal preference what you want to see during your stay. I recommend sights like the Giant Swing, a cruise on the Phraya river, a short hello to Chinatown and a visit to the floating markets to everybody who asks me for advice.

e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

Bangkok City - Food Bangkok has everything you can imagine. Food from all over the world. From Pizza to Schnitzel, from Snake to Frog. But when you are there for the first time I would suggest to stay with local food. You are in Thailand! Eat like this! Streetfood can be found everywhere and is a decent replacement for expensive restaurants. That's the real Thaifood! Pad Thai, Pad Ga Pow or similar (you can show with your hands what you'd like to try) meals can be found everywhere. So check out the next market, street kitchen or stand before heading to an expensive restaurant. It will be worth a try!

Bangkok City - Shopping If you have any doubts whether you can find what you forget at home in Bangkok...yes you can. There is everything. Big malls, supermarkets, special interest shops, 7-eleven. Everything. So don't worry about anything. If you forget something at home, you can buy it here. And even more. Cheap suits, silk, food, girls and more are famous all over the world and I bet you will find a lot to take home. You even might have to buy a bigger case - but you can find some here too, of course. But besides all the nice stuff, there is a lot of bullshit too. Many fake clothes or technical equipement. So be sure about what you buy and what price you pay.

Bangkok - oriental city Bangkok is a blast! When I was there for the first time it totally blew me away with it's enormous size and hectic. I wasn't even able to enjoy it. After a few visits I can say it has a lot of nice sights and advantages, but it will never be my favorite place to stay. Nevertheless a visit to Bangkok is always worth the time since it is, and will ever be, an overwhelming city.

e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

Excuses Everybody has a lot of excuses why he doesn‘t do what he actually wants. Here are some of the excuses I heard about the most. „My English is not good enough“ No problem. Nobody‘s perfect. Not even the native speakers. In fact they make more mistakes than you think. So it‘s all about learning by doing. „My English is not good enough“ is the cheapest of all excuses and by no means a reason to stay away from travelling. Your English will be quite good within weeks. You won‘t starve. Promisse!

„I have responsibilities“ Yeah. Good one! Partner, Children. Whatever. Guess what, no problem! Take your partner with you. Nobody said that you have to travel alone. In fact travelling with your partner brings you even closer together. And, honestly, what could be cooler for a little kid than travelling with mom & dad? You don‘t need to stay in small little hostel rooms when you travel with your child, simply take a double & clean hostel room, pay a little more and have fun with your family. In terms of working it is, of course, even less of a problem since you will have kind of a „normal life“ then. Just do it and do not blame your family for letting go dreams and chances!

„I have a job“ Congratulations! Does it make you happy? Are you having fun every day? Probably not. Otherwise you wouldn‘t consider going away, would you? So what keeps you there? You can find another job you don‘t like after your adventure.

And if you are one of the lucky bastards who already has an awesome job don‘t you think your boss would give you the chance of an unpaid leave? Try! Do! Now! e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

„I don‘t like flying“ Well, that really sucks! ;-)

Ressources My own & free ressources: • Blog about my life, work & travels in Thailand - http://my-thai.org • German Blog about Travels in general - http://rAusweg.de

Other ressources I recommend: • Backpacking and travel advice and stories - http://the-backpacker.com • 30 Days Challenges - http://30-days-challenge.org

Special Ressource for Readers of this eBook: • Special section on my website for readers will go live in May 2011 - http://my-thai.org/ebook - Password: eb2011

e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org

Illustrations & Pictures Pictures are all taken by me or Sina (hopse.wordpress.com) and remain under copyright. None of them should be used for further publications or commercial use.

Illustrations by one of my students and only drawn for this book and my website. So please do not duplicate or use it any further. Thank you for your understanding.

Khop Khun Khrap - Thank you In no particular order - awesome people that made my life in Thailand what it turned out to be. Amazing.

Thank you to: - all of my awesome students. Thank you for an incredible good time in and outside the classroom!

- my colleagues at R-Chee Wa Udon Thani - All travel mates that came across.

- Mariam Nadee, Somruedee Khamphasee, Dr. Bancha, Sutida Intawai, Arisa Boochakul, Pornpimon Phailomtumle, Juneny Srisongmung, Orranut, Iryn, Ae, the Pie-Apple Lady in front of the College, the best Ga Pow Moo Restaurant ever, Joe, all further students and everybody I forgot to mention. Thank you!

More to come....

If you liked what you read, feel free to spread the word. If I see that there is the need for information like this, I am happy to digg further, tell more and provide more help. So go on, spread the love, comment, say hello and enjoy a life on the road!

e-Book - 1 year Thailand - leaving the job & everything behind - www.My-Thai.org