[Beyond Borders]

tl;dr It's time to put your purse down and take your tampon out - there are adventures to be had.


Okay, was going to post this in the Bangkok thread, but the general concept applies to most places so I thought I'd drop it in it's own thread instead.

I love Bangkok but I've got to say that in Thailand, or any major destination country for that matter, small city living is where it's at. People bitch about the place being overdone and how you can't get away from tourists and prostitution, etc, etc. Hell, I've felt like that myself at times when I lingered too long in brand name places.

I've also spent a lot of my time in Thailand in out-of-the-way spots getting down with the locals. And after getting a bit stir crazy on one of the islands recently, I just picked a new city no one talks about and popped in for a look.

None of this is all that new to me, but after getting stuck in some tourist spots throughout the Philippines and Thailand this year, it has been a refreshing return to the norm. So here goes.

Over this past week I have seen one single white face in the clubs so far, and it belonged to a rough and tumble hippy chick who was hanging out with some Thai guys. And I shit you not last night there were more women in the club than men - not an over-exaggeration there, and I don't know if I've ever seen that anywhere in the world!

Most I talked to were 19 - 21, so we're not talking cougar trolls that got sent home from Bangkok and are out looking for white meat (as if there's any here to find) either. The night market is crawling with fucking cuties too.

Traffic goes at a relatively leisurely pace (without the smog), modern enough gyms, great wifi & coffee shops, no getting hustled, and hands down some of the best food I've had in about five years of cumulative living time around the country. Tuk tuk rides across town are 20 - 40 baht. Funny thing is people blast through this place all the time in transit and generally don't give it a second look beyond the airport or bus station.

Thailand truly is 2nd world these days, and I find this good modern lifestyle can be had in most reasonably-sized cities.

Anyways, compare that description to your experiences in the big city, and tell me it doesn't sound damn nice, especially if you can still have the good puddy on tap.

I mean, that isn't to say the big city isn't a damn good time - hell yeah it is. And even in a spot like Bangkok, you can live in more Thai neighborhoods, as I know a few of you do.

But then you're still in the city and you're still breathing that fucking air. When you could live in a place with a lot of the same recreational opportunities (plus outdoor ones), breath fresh air, experience more old school culture, and be out in the countryside in a matter of minutes on your moto. Much easier to achieve life balance in a place like this too, I'd say, so more likely you maintain sanity. And BKK ain't going nowhere anytime soon so you can always visit.

Granted, most guys wouldn't want to live in a city this small. And I know not everyone feels comfortable branching completely off the farang path (farang is whitey or foreigner, for those of you who haven't popped your cherry in this country yet). But it never ceases to amaze me how easy it still is to get off the beaten track in a country that's got such a rep for being blown out by tourism.

On top of that, I can't say enough about the quality and price of housing in some of these small cities.

If I've already told you where I'm at, do me a favor and don't shout it out here (as I'm seriously considering locking down this place down long-term). Yes, I know that makes it seem like I'm just a big slutty tease...and I kind of am...

But my point is not to sell anyone on a single place. Rather, it's to stress that there are still plenty of wide open spaces for a swinging dick to feel like he's really exploring new territory, as a few of us have often said before.

If you've got longer than a Bangkok week, I strongly urge you to venture out of the big city and away from other main tourist drags to see something original.

Plenty of places are cool as fuck but just aren't smack dab on the radar. I think a long-termer like me could have a pretty good set-up calling one home and saving places like Bangkok and the more hyped party beaches for wild weekends out of town.

Once again, boys, this applies to any fucking country in the world.

Men love to explore, I think, and in what seems like a fast shrinking world, it can sometimes feel like there's no opportunity for that left. But that's largely an illusion. Even with the whole world connected via the web, you'd be amazed at how many things in a place like this still cannot be dug up online...and this in one of the bigger cities in an "overdone" country.

To me, that means the vast majority of what lies on this great green Earth is still only discoverable by being on the ground and asking around. Just think about what that means for a minute...

You can easily go to a place and feel like you're the first guy of your color breaking the ground somewhere if you just aim for a city no one talks about. Hell, just pull up Google maps and just start searching names of the small cities you see to find pics - I promise you that if you've gota taste for adventure you'll find something interesting to check out.

Rant finished.

[RagnarLothbrok]

How are you dealing with the language barrier? I assume you don't speak Thai?

I have plans to do the exact same thing as you are doing at the end of the year. By that time I should be able to hold a conversation in Thai. There are lots of cities like that in Thailand that are overlooked by most tourists. Places like Korat, Surat Thani, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen or Phitsanulok would all fit your description.

I really like the idea of going to places with almost no other tourists. I have done it in Indonesia and to some extent in Myanmar and it was a great experience.

[Beyond Borders]

^ My Thai is pretty decent, but how do you think I learned it in the first place? There's no faster way than to get your ass out there.

Anyhow, there's always someone lingering around in Thailand that speaks some English, even when you're out of the way. I do the same thing in places where this isn't the case, though.

Language barriers are like any other obstacles; you find your work-arounds. In fact, I've dated women long-term with close to no common language starting out (it's actually a huge turn-on to seduce a broad you can't talk to), so I guess for me it's just not one of those things I give much thought to.

If I do decide to live in this country long-term again, though, I'm just going to put in the work to become fluent. I doubt it would be hard at this point - just need to log the hours.

[godzilla]

^There were tons of advertisements on the Thai airlines for visiting Udon Thani when I was there in Feb.

If white face isn't there yet, its only a matter of time. People continue to hunt for more exotic locations but the world is enormous.

It takes a lot of balls to go to small town and actually spend a long period of time there. I commend you for that.

[Beyond Borders]

I'll also say it's obviously easier to make it off the track in other countries outside of Thaiiland. I'm just addicted to the culture, food, and lifestyle here and it keeps dragging me back.

[Swell]

Hey BB. Long time listener, first time caller.

I agree will not naming exact location names.
You can only learn so much online until you have to take it to the real world.

Traveling is adventure. Travel light and stay out of the midday sun.

[mistertruc]

I have a few questions Beyond Borders:

How long did you take to learn thai?
What is the difference in rent price compared to Bangkok? Is internet correct?

[Beyond Borders]

Yeah, it's a lot cheaper than Bangkok - that's a huge city and an international hub - but I can't really say how much on long-term rentals because I haven't done the shopping. Housing is cheap pretty much anywhere in Thailand outside the major areas, though even in bangkok you can get a $20 hotel with a pool on the roof, so it's never too bad.

I'm in a nightly hotel, but it's only $18 a night. Stay for a month and that's only $540, which is a very reasonable housing budget even if it's not the best you can do. You could do much better with a condo and I imagine it'd be way cheaper than Bangkok, but I'm only passing through for a week or two right now...and I actually do like living in hotels for the service and flexibility and lack of utilities cost. It's just damn convenient (and hell, Enrest Hemingway lived in hotels).

Here are some rooms I've rented in various locations for about $20 or less (the two-story suite was $22).

   

   

   

   

Now, you can even go cheaper on hotels, but these are very decent rooms. All of these places have small refrigerators, some have swimming pools, the one I'm in now even has an unfurnished kitchen on the balcony that could be quickly usable by picking up a $10-15 thai cooking stove at the local market.

Maybe not 100% ideal, and like I said you can do better with condos and apartments - I've rented them as low as $60 per month in Thailand, and $150 for something that was actually pretty nice - but I'm a simple guy and hotel living suits me for now. If you're staying longer, ask for a discounted rate...many hotels will cut a monthly deal.

I gave learning Thai an honest effort for my first month of being here. I have a little system I use to pick languages up pretty swiftly, but it pretty much comes down to stuffing a lot of memorization into your brain and putting it into use immediately so it becomes practical. Generally, straight up memorization is not the best way, I don't think; however, if you're on the ground and putting it through trial and error IMMEDIATELY, it will stick.

I also sit down with a native speaker AFTER I have the words memorized and go through my cards, having them say each word for me and repeat it until I can believe the look on their face that I'm getting it right. Then I find a corner to practice and come back when I feel confident with the new words. This process is crucial for learning how to get the accent right. Restaurants are always overstaffed in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, with people sitting and standing around bored, so not hard to find takers if you're charismatic.

Shoot to learn 5 new words and 5 new phrases per day. That adds up FAST, and over time your brain starts to pick up the patterns in the phrases as your vocabulary grows, creating sudden leaps in your learning.

I took a 5-week course later on in Chiang Mai to round it off, and I've got a very big network of Thai friends here, so I spend a lot of time putting it to use when I'm in the country. I also talk to people everywhere I go and am one of the more outgoing people you'll meet, so that gives me a lot of opportunities to practice.

That said, I just got done spending a few years in Cambodia and half a year in the Philippines, so I'm a bit rusty and need to get serious about it again. It's coming back but I've forgotten a ton of what I used to know.

Internet is super solid. It's just gotten better and better since the very first time I came here and is on par with the first world as far as I can tell.

[cascadecombo]

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Shoot to learn 5 new words and 5 new phrases per day. That adds up FAST, and over time your brain starts to pick up the patterns in the phrases as your vocabulary grows, creating sudden leaps in your learning.

I want to second this. That hoe I learned japanese.

[Buakaw]

Solid post that got me motivated to venture outside Bangkok more often

[nomadbrah]

Complety agree there brah, but it is true for most of these heavily travelled countries. You don't need small cities, Southern Thailand outside the islands are almost deserted by white faces, due to the fact that once in a very rare while, a bomb goes off.

[Kamaki4]

I have lived in Chiang Rai for 1 1/2 years before and also spent 4 months in Surat Thani. I should actually lay down a data sheet on Chiang Rai since I still go there for a few days every other month. I also used to think just like BeyondBorders that it may be a good idea not to mention the virtues of cities and islands not named Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Samui, but I realized long ago that no matter how much I or anyone else talks about other locations most expats will still flock to the aforementioned.

[Beyond Borders]

^ It's not so much a scarcity mindset as it is concern with the attention that this forum gets and the fact that my face is already all over the internet. I'm also a bit of a standout in most places abroad as is, so anyone who knew much about me could probably pick me out in a crowd.

On top of all that, I had a hit put on my life about a decade ago, and call me crazy, but I've been a bit more paranoid about broadcasting my exact location to people who don't have a need to know ever since. I rarely even drop that Shit on Facebook, and it's just friend and family there.

I can take the heat, but if I can avoid people easily pinpointing my exact location at a given moment, I will.

[Global Entry]

I'd had the same feeling about the Philippines, a while back.

[Employee22]

Bangkok's my favorite city in the world (not as well traveled as many of you), but I'm a huge fan of some of Thailand's smaller cities, too, BB. Particularly various Isaanian cities, as I've never been to N. Thailand/Chiang Mai or spent much time in the south (save for a 3-week TEFL course on Phuket).

There's a certain serenity you feel when you're walking around smaller Thai cities that is absolutely perfect for a daydreamer like myself . . . Nothing too much going on, but everything just feels right.

I'm back in Midwest, America for probably next 10-15 months, and American living just can't compare.

I spent 10 of the most comfortably relaxing days of my life in Aranyaprathet last year at this time. A highlight of those days was sitting in this outdoor restaurant that was attached to my hotel, watching the monsoon come down, thinking I could maybe do this forever. Or just walking around Aranya or Surin or Khon Kaen and just taking it all in, feeling thankful that I was able to experience and see this stuff. Even the most mundane details are things a guy like me can't help but feel so grateful for having seen and experienced.

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How are you dealing with the language barrier? I assume you don't speak Thai?

My Thai is virtually non-existent. Too much time trying to half-heartedly string together some online income in $10/night rooms BB posted instead of out there mixing it up w/ locals as much as I'd like. And then when you are out there living your life, you feel guilty for procrastinating or worried about money. Which is why I'm spending some time back in America, saving as much as I can for my "Permanently Relocate to Asia" Fund.

With that said, most of the people/business owners living in the city centers in Thai cities are wealthier or well-educated and can usually say a few things in English. The English is probably better in downtown Khon Kaen than on some random side street you might happen to walk down in BKK.

I once met a guy in KK who lived and worked in Kentucky for a while. My closest friend in KK has a sister who lives on Guam and a cousin who lives in New Jersey, so you'll also run into situations like that, too. Don't let language stop you from enjoying these sorts of places, if that's what you'd like to do.

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I'm just addicted to the culture, food, and lifestyle here and it keeps dragging me back.

Yep. And yet there so many places outside of the LOS I want to spend time in.

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The only downside about staying in these locations is that things get quiet early . . .

One of the greatest things about BKK is being able to step out and go get some noodles at 1 AM. Those opportunities are absent in the smaller cities.

Also, as BB mentioned, there's women around, but, in my experience, very, very few stunners. If you're looking for some short-term fun, better head to the more well-traveled locales.

[WalkingMan]

I've been video chatting with my Chiang Rai friend recently and I'm shocked at how much Thai I still remember. It's been almost two years since I left. She was just as surprised as I was.

She might be thinking that I'm video chatting to other girls but that really isn't the case at all (promise! )

[gang]

There's even large capital cities in countries talked about on this board with barely any white foreign faces, mostly depends on the country and how popular that country is with the mainstream. I agree the people who come to this forum trying to get all the information on a place are missing out on a lot of (better) information that they could get just by talking to people who (currently) live in the city/country (taxi drivers, waiters, girls from the street/bar, tinder girls). If someone tells you something negative about a particular place/venue/city or whatever always make sure to hear other opinions because the way they feel may have nothing to do with how you will feel once you experience it yourself. This forum should be used to supplement your traveling, not be your main source of information. I've banged girls from the street by approaching them asking what club/bar is hot that particular night. You invite them out that night and bang them after. 2 birds 1 stone.