The regulations say, “In order to open an ordinary checking or savings account, Bank of Bangkok requires that I get a notarized letter from the US Embassy in Bangkok, stating that I’m a US citizen and that I reside in Thailand at a certain address. The Embassy requires an appointment and a $50.00 document fee, not including the cost of transportation to and from Bangkok, or a hotel and meals. And there’s no guarantee the bank will even accept it.”  R. Butler.

Thailand Retirement Concierge clients, of course, do not have this problem, since we act as your guarantor.

This video shows just how infuriating it can be:

New money-laundering regulations require you to establish and prove permanent residence before you can open a Thai bank account. You can imagine the Catch-22 situation this creates: how can you pay the deposit on your new place if you don’t even have a bank account?, More at paydayloansmonster.

We’ve struggled with this since the regulations came into effect and now, with the help of our angelic bank manager, have created a completely legal process that allows Concierge clients to open their permanent account as soon as they arrive.

We go to the bank together and you’ll have your ATM card and bank book when you leave. Best of all, apart from signing a few more forms, it requires no effort on your part: we’ll be waiting with the completed forms as soon as you step off the plane. Here are some simple steps that will make opening your Thai bank account a breeze:

• Except for businesses, checking accounts are not generally used in Thailand. Thailand Bank Accounts are structured a little differently, like everything in Thailand so, when you ask to open an account the bank will open a savings account without even asking you. The administration of bank accounts and the security procedures are slightly different, too, so here’s a brief primer:

  

• When you go to the bank, take your passport, your permanent Thai address and Thai cellphone number
• Joint accounts are very difficult, so get the account in one name and then get two ATM cards. Trust me, this is the better option.
• You will have to pay for your new (chipped) ATM card. Cost is up to 1,000 baht, depending on the bank.
• Ask for online banking while you’re opening the account. The bank officer will usually not suggest this (don’t ask me why) which means you’ll have to go back again later if you don’t do it on the spot.
• Ask the bank officer to show you how to navigate your Thai online account. They’re set up differently from those at home but work quickly and well once you’ve mastered the interface
• The bank will give you a savings account passbook. Don’t make the mistake I made and throw it away or lose it. Passbooks are extremely important in Thailand and are used for all major withdrawals. So keep it in a safe place.
• Update your passbook regularly. It’s your legal proof of transactions and balances. There are Passbook Update Terminals alongside most ATM transaction machines at all bank branches. When you correctly insert your passbook they will read your account number from the barcode on its cover. Ask your bank officer to show you how to use it before you leave the bank. Then use it at least once a month, and after every significant deposit.
• When you get home, start setting up online bill payment accounts immediately, so you don’t forget how to use the interface. You can pay all your regular bills online. The easiest are your Internet and cable providers, and your cell phone provider. If you haven’t opened those accounts yet, remember to ask for their online billpay account name when you’re setting up the account. Otherwise, you may need to call their customer support line to get that information and enter it into your bill pay account. You’ll only need to do this once.
• I use (and strongly recommend) Bangkok Bank. This is a link to their online banking which, once you learn the interface, is a fast and convenient way to pay all your bills. As with all things to do with banking in Thailand, the trick is choosing a bank manager. My guy works miracles for me and for clients…
• If receiving payments from a US Government Agency: Download the “Direct Deposit Sign-up Form (SF1199A)” from http://www.socialsecurity.gov/online. Complete the form to sign up for Direct Deposit with your relevant US government agency and include information which are your name and physical address in Thailand; your bank account number and the name and address of your Bangkok Bank Branch in Thailand; 9-digit routing number 026008691 of Bangkok Bank New York  Branch. Complete a “Direct Deposit Service Application” form, which you can pick up at any Bangkok Bank branch (except micro branches). You can also choose to fill out an SMS Remittance Alert Service Request Form to receive an SMS notification on your mobile phone when funds have been successfully transferred into your Bangkok Bank account.
  Submit all forms to Bangkok Bank with the following supporting documents:
  Identification Card/Government Official ID Card/Passport together with a customer identification document such as your Social Security Card, Annuitant ID Card etc.
  A document from the relevant agency giving evidence of your right to receive the payments.
  After verifying your documents, Bangkok Bank will submit your application to the government agency, asking them to approve your request to receive the funds via Direct Deposit.
  After the request is approved by the US Government Agency, your payments will be electronically deposited directly into your Bangkok Bank account.
• International Fund Transfers for Americans: Bangkok Bank ACH (Automated Clearing House) transfers from the US via their NY branch will end April 1, 2019 and online US ACH domestic transfers will no longer function after that. Bangkok Bank says this will not affect existing Social Security or other federal government direct deposits. The Bank says that, after April, Americans should use an online banking facility called IAT (International ACH Transfers), though no one seems to know of any U.S. banks that currently provide consumers online access to IAT or any U.S. banks/CUs that have announced plans to support it for consumers. Stay tuned and we will let you know as soon as we know more on this. In the meantime, for transfers of $3K or less, Transferwise puts more baht into your Thai bank account when  both exchange rate and fees are deducted.  For larger amounts use an International Wire/SWIFT. Charles Schwab gives you free transfers of $1000 per day and has modest fees, $25, for wire transfers.
• The Bangkok Bank account must be one that is not accessible by ATM so you have the hassle of going into a Bangkok Bank branch each month (any branch is OK, not just your home branch) and presenting your passport in order to withdraw the funds and move them to another account with ATM/internet access.  But, if you’re suddenly incapacitated, Bangkok Bank will visit your hospital bed and get your thumbprint to release the funds to pay hospital bills. If you’re more conscious, but still can’t make it to the hospital, they’ll give you whatever you request to pay rent, give your GF her allowance, etc. (They won’t do this if you can’t give consent, just pay the hospital bill without consent.) If you have your SS direct deposited to a U.S. account it can be a joint account, with internet access and often it’s very easy to move the money into Bangkok Bank using online ACH transfer. But, if you become incapacitated, no U.S. bank will release your funds unless a court-appointed guardian initiates the request and there is no easy way to set up a guardian for an incapacitated foreigner in Thailand.  So, if you’re using the method of manually transferring money from the U.S. to Thailand, make sure you have the process documented so that someone could do it for you should you become incapacitated.
• If you are living in Thailand, the point of contact for more information or to ask questions about SSA benefits is the SSA Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) at the US Embassy in Manila, Philippines. You can contact the SSA through the following channels: Tel: (63 2) 301 2000 ext. 9 Website: http://ph.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen -services/social-security/.  E-mail: FBU.manila@ssa.gov
• If receiving payments from a private organization. Request the “Authorization Agreement for Automatic Deposits (ACH Credits)” form or “Related Direct Deposit” form from the organization or the agency that will be making the payment to you. Complete the form to request the Direct Deposit service.
  Open a savings account at any Bangkok Bank branch in Thailand. If you already have an account with Bangkok Bank, you can use your existing bank account for this service.
  Request your home branch to issue a bank reference letter to certify your bank account details such as account type, account number, date of account opening and current balance to be provided to your agency.
  Include your name and physical address in Thailand;,your bank account number and the name and address of your Bangkok Bank Branch in Thailand;  and the 9-digit routing number 026008691 of Bangkok Bank New York  Branch in your Direct Deposit Signup Form.
  Indicate the Routing Number 026008691 of Bangkok Bank’s branch in New York and your account number with Bangkok Bank in Thailand on your “Authorization Agreement for Automatic Deposits (ACH Credits)” form or “Related Direct Deposit” form.
  Submit the form with the required information such as your Identity Card or Social Security Card, or evidence of your right to receive the payments from the company, together with Bangkok Bank’s Reference Letter. Mail the signed form to the US company asking it to approve the request and initiate direct deposits into your account.
  After the request to receive direct deposits is approved, your payments will be electronically deposited directly into your Bangkok Bank account.You can read it here.

Thailand Bank Accounts for Australians

• Look for a credit card (Mastercard) that doesn’t charge fees for overseas transactions or a percentage of the transaction and visit loans green for monthly deals
• Make sure you pay its balance off every month so you don’t pay interest.
• Only use it in reputable locations.
• You’ll find the exchange rates between Oz & THB comparable to those offered by the major banks in Thailand
• And better than the exchange rates of the banks offered in Oz.
• Incidentally, if your Australian ATM card has a Maestro or Cirrus logo it will work with Thai ATMs.
• But Visa cash advances  attract a 3% surcharge
• For larger amounts T/T (telegraphic transfer bank to bank) is quicker but costs  $35–$100.
• For larger amounts interbank is slower (overnight) but most economical at $20 per transfer, regardless of amount.
• If you instruct your bank to send Aussie dollars (rather than Thai Baht) you’ll get a better exchange rate.
• If you’re sending more than $10,000 you can negotiate a better exchange rate with your local branch manager – if you tell him 24 hours in advance.
• If you withdraw money from an ATM in Thailand, draw at least 25,000 Baht. Your fee ($7-10) remains the same.

The post Thailand Bank Accounts appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

One of Chiang Mai’s Best Coffee Shops is Sweet Gardens, located here. These are the GPS coordinates 18.82920° 99.00616°. It’s on the second ring road towards the north side of town. Easy to miss because you’re hurtling along the freeway and can easily miss it.

Owned by a wealthy lady who uses it to entertain friends, it is located in her grounds, which has a huge lake stocked with enormous carp and over which she built a big beige, as you can see in the accompanying video:

Fahtara Coffee Shop & Spa

Here’s another great place to hang out in the middle of town: Fahtara Spa and Coffee. It’s owned by a wealthy Bangkok businessman (largely as a vanity project from what I can see), managed by a German, and staffed by charming people who prepare great light meals and some very original drinks – non-alchololic, though they serve alcohol also, of course. Here’s the map. And here’s the GPS: 18.86492° 98.96925° and here’s the video

http://https://youtu.be/VWvWlIDngbk%20

Natwat Home Cafe

Best coffee in Chiang Mai. Hands down. Opens at 7 am!! Cold brewed, organic Ethiopian – or any variety and brew style you can think of. The map.

Mamia Coffee Shop & Restaurant

On the banks of the Ping River in Chiang Mai. Long renowned for serving Thailand’s best coffees, Mamia Coffee hosts regular coffee-tasting events at which coffee international connoisseurs gather to meet prominent coffee-growers and taste their latest harvests. Thailand has 19,000 coffee growing plantations, a reputation for high-quality arabica varietals, and an increasingly discriminating population of coffee-drinkers. Drinking coffee by the river is a wonderful experience. Drinking the world’s best coffees in Chiang Mai’s loveliest riverside garden is a kind of heaven. And if you’re a food lover, you’ll love the desserts, made by the owner herself. GPS: 8.7816969, 99.0060884. Map here..

The post Chiang Mai’s Best Coffee Shops appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

1. Subscribe to our free newsletter, Life in Thailand.

2. Download one of the books: How to Retire in Thailand (and Double Your Income), or Making Money in Thailand.

3. Check out our moving to Thailand Concierge Service: we get you visa’s, banked, insured, moved into your new home, familiar within shops, eating at great restaurants, and knowing where everything is – in 3 days.

4. Check out some of our recent blog posts, at right.

5. Watch a video on the Thailand Retirement Channel,

The post Retire in Thailand appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

What is the biggest obstacle to your retiring overseas?

At the moment it is creating a passive or online income. I’m currently employed as an electrical engineer in Australia. My wife is a stay at home Mum but our youngest boy will be starting kindergarten next year and she will be offering Photoshop services and custom phone/stubby holders online then. I am starting work on how to create websites and generating income through them. Thanks for the link to Building a Niche Site Empire. I’m currently working my way through that. I will also do the TEFL training in Thailand and teach English when we first arrive. I’m also keen to do the Thai language course so that we can become part of the community.

Our children are currently three and four years old and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the school they are going to here has a school in Chiang Mai too (Grace International). This looks like it will be our biggest expense at $4000/year/child.

So the biggest obstacle is making a living. We are planning to build up our joint income to $60 000/year before we move. This includes $2000/month living in Thailand (two adults, two children), $8000/year for school fees, personal insurance (which I should be able to reduce from its current level) and renting out our house which will cover most of the mortgage. I need to make our budget more accurate but this is approximately what we need.

What is the strongest attraction for you to retire abroad?

Even though I have been earning a good income, I value more the experiences I have had in my life, especially travel. I’m not a consumer type looking to shackle myself to a big house and car/boat loans. I’m looking to simplify my life. And because I did not get in on the real estate boom in Australia in recent years, my retirement date is a distant dream of another 30 years of work (I’m 36 now) with no guarantee of a reasonably comfortable life.

The cost of everything has gone up so much in Australia (I live in Western Australia where the benefits of the mining boom have made housing and day to day cost of living extremely high). I also don’t like the attitudes of the average Australian, they are very selfish and consumer driven. The generation Y attitude of me me me and no discipline or respect for others really concerns me. There is a lot of violence in pubs now – being attacked by a large group or being stabbed with a bottle are commonplace and did not happen when I was around 20 years old. I don’t want my children growing up in this culture and I can see great benefits for them growing up in Thailand where they will be exposed to more opportunities for their futures in the Asian Century. We were looking at moving to Brasil (my wife is Brasilian) but the economic boom there has caused real estate and other prices to be inflated – so it is no longer a cheap place to retire. Crime, pollution and the crumbling infrastructure are also major problems in Brasil. The last time we went back (Christmas and New Year just gone) my wife was looking forward to coming back to Australia, which I never thought I would hear her say!

From what you have described in your books, a lot of how Thai’s are, really resonates with me. Some of their ways will take time to adjust to but like you explain in your books, if you are aware of it and accept it, then you won’t get upset.

What is your first goal towards retiring overseas?

To make $2500/month from online sources.

What’s your pet peeve when it comes to your retirement planning?

That I can’t see how I can retire even with another 30 years of work!

What made you decide to buy the book?

I went to a seminar that my financial advisor put on recently and I met another of his clients there who has retired to Thailand and comes back to Australia every three years for about six months or so. I thought, what an amazing life and that is what I want! So I started researching on the net and came across your books via a Google search.

Expats’ Experience Abroad

The Best Places in the World to Retire just polled 389 expats from the United States and Canada and asked why they wanted to retire abroad and what it’s been like. Here’s a summary:

• The striking number of expats who left home for quality-of-life issues, such as a more meaningful and less stressful life.
• Many expats said they were seeking to live a life like they remembered, or believed it to be, growing up in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
• Most thought that by moving abroad they’d achieve a
  • lower cost of living (87%),
  • a simpler, less stressful life (82%) and
  • better weather (74%).
• 84% said they achieved a lower cost of living and 74% got better weather.
• Only 71% are living a simpler, less stressful life, compared to the 82% who were hoping for it.
• While 56% thought they’d achieve “a less materialistic, or more meaningful life” (their #4 reason for retiring abroad), an impressive 61% say they’ve found more meaning.
• Two thirds of women said they achieved a less materialistic, or more meaningful life, but only 56% of men did.
• 85% are happier living abroad than they were before.
• 56% said they’re much happier and 28% said they’re somewhat happier. Only 5% are less happy now and 11% said they’re about as happy as before they moved.
• 64% said they enjoy life abroad much more than their former lives.
• 42% of the expats never plan to go back to the U.S. and
  • 37% aren’t sure;
  • 16% expect to return to America when they’re old or sick,
  • 4% said “as soon as possible” and
  • 3% anticipate moving back within five years.
• If they had to do it all over again, 79% said ‘yes’ and another 12% said they ‘probably’; 3% either wouldn’t or probably wouldn’t.

The post A Moving to Thailand Letter appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

Can you make it in Thailand on $4 (100 Baht) a day? Well… sort of. Here’s a fun video of a young Brit, Alex Putnam, who’s experimenting with living on the Thai minimum wage. It’s not a lifestyle I’d recommend, but it’s an interesting exercise and it shows that living on $500/month is completely do-able:

Budgeting in Thailand: A Reality Check

Until I developed an outside income, I lived on my $1240/mo. Social Security check. Because the cost of living is so low my $1240 paid for a standard of living that would have cost $3,000/mo. back home. Moving here more than doubled my buying power, a you see in the sample budgets above. I lived a stone’s throw from the leafy campus of Chiang Mai University in an air-conditioned studio, ate out three times a day, rented a moped, and lived a comfortable, leisurely life. If I’d had a partner with a similar income we could have lived almost luxuriously. That’s what the second budget outlines.

To help you understand how that’s possible, remember this benchmark: after graduation from university a beginning Thai engineer makes $500/month. When you live in Thailand you enjoy one of life’s great luxuries: forgetting about money and focusing on living.

Ways to Save Money in Thailand

Here are a few tricks to help you save money when you come to Thailand:

1. Come in the Summer: Thailand is much cheaper between May and November. Rooms, food and vehicle rental often discounted. There are far fewer tourists around, and you’re more likely to receive personal service.
2. Stay on the Mainland: Remember how expensive Hawaii is? That’s because everything you buy on an island is transported by boat or plane. Island life is always more expensive than living on the mainland.
3. Choose Basic Accommodation: Simple rooms cost less than 150 baht ($5) a night or you can share with another bargain hunter to split costs. Dorm rooms are even cheaper.
4. Travel at Night, by Train, or by Bus: Plane fare from BKK to Chiang Mai is $70 each way and you see nothing. You can go a long way for a few baht on over- night trains because you won’t need a room that night. An air-conditioned seat or a sleeping compartment is around $25 each way BKK to Chiang Mai, about 1,000 km. Third-class rail is even cheaper. Air-conditioned day bus rides show you the whole country for less than half that and you kill two birds with one stone.
5. Use Local Transport: Local buses and, songthaews (shared taxi/pickups) go everywhere in town for around 20 Baht (70¢).
6. Hitch Hike: Riskier, as it is everywhere, but many people hitchhike around Thailand. Do offer money for gas, even though it’s rarely accepted.
7. Avoid Western Food: Foreign food is mostly imported and not well prepared. For the price of a single pizza you can eat three Thai meals a day for three days.
8. Eat Like the Locals: Thais love food, and you will always be close to a market selling curry and rice ($2) or a small restaurant making Thai food to order. Just watch the locals and point to whatever looks good, smile, and say “khap”. Road- side stalls are literally everywhere, especially at night, and meals cost around $2.
9. Don’t Tip: Thais don’t tip. You need not.
10. Accept Offers of Food, Drink and Accommodation: Thais are friendly and gracious and if you’re around them you’ll be invited for a drink or a meal. The offer of a bed for the night is a generous gesture, but consider it carefully.
11. Water is Good for You: In this flood-prone country it’s best to drink bottled water. Buy big bottles in local grocery stores rather than small bottles in restau- rants or convenience stores; drink plenty of free water whenever you eat a meal. You can even fill your water bottle free in banks, hotel foyers, and Buddhist tem- ples. There are RO (reverse osmosis) dispensers on every street corner that dis- pense 2 gallons for 3 Bt. (10¢).
12. Alcohol is a Luxury: Supermarket beer is $1.65 for a large, cold bottle. Out- side Bangkok you can have it served at your table for $2.10. Lao Kao, the cheap- est alcoholic drink, is a harsh local spirit that’s palatable mixed with Coca-Cola. Thai whisky, like 100 Pipers, is cheap and surprisingly drinkable.
13. Use Free Entertainment: Thais exercise at local parks; often there are free aerobics groups, basketball, tennis, tagraw (an amazing mix of football, volley- ball, and kung fu), tai chi, or concerts and festivals. You can watch free films at resorts or read a free newspaper in a library or a hotel. As a rich farang you can waltz into the most luxurious hotel lobbies and take advantage of the A/C, the latest newspapers, even free cups of tea.
14. Buy Clothes and Personal Items in Thailand: Clothes are very cheap and well suited to the hot climate. I buy a new cotton long-sleeved drawstring pants and great long-sleeved shirts for $14 total. Toiletries are much cheaper than back home, with free soap in some rooms and sometimes in shared bathrooms.
15. Bring Your Own Specialized Equipment: For special activities like diving, it’s often better to bring your own gear rather than renting it. Most such stuff here made in China and not the same quality you’re used to.
16. Watch Your Money: Thailand is a cash economy which makes budgeting easy. Put your daily budget, in cash, in your pocket each morning and let that be your guide. This saves you being distracted by obsessive budgeting on the one hand and tempted by credit cards on the other.
17. Minimize Money Charges: You’ll be charged $5 for withdrawing money from an ATM plus your own bank’s exchange rate plus any other charges they can get away with. So bring cash with you and, if you need to make an ATM withdrawal, take out your daily maximum: usually around $500.
18. Do You Really Need a Guide Book? Do your research on the Internet before you leave. Store the relevant information on your Smartphone or a USB memory stick and use an Internet cafe here. Pick up free brochures when you get here. Or just buy a guide book at a local used book store.
19. Haggle: Bargaining for some items is expected in Thailand. Anything from a market is fair game, but keep it real when trying to get an extra few baht dis- count. Room prices can be negotiated, especially in low season and for longer stays.
20. Do Your Own Laundry: A 10 Baht packet of washing powder and a few min- utes each day is all that you need. If you buy loose, light clothing here, it will dry in minutes in the hot sun. Buy a sarong here to use instead of a heavy towel. Washing machines are everywhere (in the street!) and a 5 lb. (2 kg.) load is 66c. There’s also a laundry on every block that will happily do your laundry for $2.
21. Know the Rules of the Road: They’re like the ones at home, though Thais drive on the left. Bring an international driving license with you (get it from your local motoring club) and always carry it when driving. Always wear seat belts in cars and helmets on motorbikes, or you risk a fine. They’re only $7-10, but a big nuisance. If you are booked for a traffic infraction you will be required to sur- render your license until you’ve paid your fine.
22. Obey the Local Laws: Littering is an offense in Thailand, and people have been fined for dropping cigarette butts on the ground. Police will pay more atten- tion to the actions of a foreigner, so be aware, especially in Bangkok.
23. Don’t Be a Victim: Google “Thailand scams” and study up. There’s nothing original, but it’s best to know in advance that you’re not in Kansas anymore. For example, at the airport, ask the fare in advance. Avoid tuk-tuks. Read the safety tips in the appendix to this book.
24. Get Paid to Travel: Again, Google this idea. Talk to your local newspaper, etc., or act as a buyer for someone or a business at home if you have expertise. Enliven your blog (see the Ten Best Blogs in this book for inspiration). Our workshops include a seminar devoted just to this.
25. Avoid Tourist Traps: It sounds obvious, but there are several places, like Pat- taya, Phuket and Ko Samui that are overpriced and overcrowded. You’ll have more fun off the beaten track visiting remote temples and national parks. And if you want to spend some beach time, try Nakhon Si Thammarat where the unique food is a big plus.

So that’s how to live like a king in Thailand on $4 a day. Not so ‘kingly’, you say? True, but it’s still one of the highest living standards with the highest quality in the world!

The post Thailand on $4 A Day appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

In her excellent book covering five kinds of Thai women, Thai Love Talk : In Search of Love and Romance, Kaewmala helps you understand and navigate the stormy waters of relationships with Thai women: their culture, their expectations, and their shortcomings. Along the way she gives you almost 900 new amorous phrases. Just reading them is an education in the subtleties of the Thai language.

Five Kinds of Thai Women – the Chart:

This is my favorite part of the book: Kaewmala lays out her typology crisply: Average Thai Bargirl, Average Thai Woman in a Low Paying Job, Average Thai Woman in a Poor rural Village, Average Middle-class Thai Woman to Educated Middle/upper Class Urban Thai Woman:

The chart is more legible in the book:

It covers the ‘big issues’ like

The Thai Sexual Jungle

The characters inhabiting Thailand’s love jungle. It discusses your chances of wooing different types of Thai women through animal metaphors like ‘dog barking at an airplane’ and ‘rabbit aiming for the moon’: don’t waste your energy. Unless, of course, you a ‘lucky mouse falling into a rice bin’: luck tends to follow you around and you end up with a beautiful, rich woman.

The Battle between Love and Lust

Is it love or is it lust? Whichever, it begins with sexual attraction. This chapter walks you through the language and falling in love stages: love-struck, infatuated or just plain turned on. Whatever it may be, you will find the right phrase.

Looking for love

There are some wonderful characters out there and the author describes the runners and riders, like ‘Single but not fresh’, for someone who’s been married more than once and is now back on the circuit. Then there’s the ‘Pretty and loaded’ and ‘the playboy’: regular ladies’ man.

The Thai Art of Flirting

Flirting in Thai culture has in the most part been carried out by the men. You will find some of the more common flirting terms, but there are some real colorful flirting phrases in this chapter. Find out what the full explanation is of ‘Selling / tossing around flirty cakes’. What about ‘being dancing – fish excited’? This phrase is a warning to a woman of not to become too excited in the company of a hunk as it were. A lady is supposed to be able to control her excitement and not bounce around like a dancing fish. The term ‘being a golden flower’ sounds good, but in actual fact is rather insulting to women.

Traditional Thai Courtship Rituals

Traditional courtship rituals may in the main be a thing of the past, but there are still certain ways a couple are supposed to act. In fact for a man, acting in the proper manner and meeting the lady’s family are essential. This is apparent in the phrase of ‘Enter through the proper alleyway, exit through the door’. If the parents tend to favour a particular suitor, but the son or daughter are not so keen, then the parents should take a back seat. To try to force the issue would be known as to ‘Force the cow by the horns to eat grass.’ Cute, huh?

Modern Thai Courtship and Dating

Traditional courtship rituals have given way to more modern courtship/dating terms. Now, you can fill in the detail…. want to know what being ‘just friends, more than friends” means? Or ‘before the pot becomes black’? The phrase ‘Arriving mornings and evenings’ describes a persistent suitor and you can probably guess the phrase meaning of ‘Sending out the invitation cards’.

Lovers and Bedmates

In this chapter you’ll find out what ‘Love over the skyline’ means and how to say it in Thai. The meaning in Thai of ‘Secret lover’ and why for a woman you wouldn’t really want to be a ‘Flower by the roadside, a pass-through‘. Or a ‘Plaything or a dead-thing’!!

In the Eye of the (Thai) Beholder

Kaewmala provides the usual phrases for being beautiful, good-looking, good personality and shapely, but then gives you some real gems. How about ‘Chili – carrying crow’? What about ‘Black as charcoal’, ‘charred stump’, ‘chrysalis’? You” find out…

Sexy…Thai style?

Some great expressions here, like  ‘Sizzling hot and flammable’,’appetizingly, crushingly sexy’ and, for guys, ‘Muscular, robust.”

And if you’re interested in another account of how Thai women are taught to handle Thai men, here’s Aimie explaining what her father taught her:

The post Five Kinds of Thai Women appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

Edible Insects

Aimie is an expert on edible insects. She used to catch them as a child and sell them to stall holders to make pocket money. She used to collect crickets and sell the live insects she collected from the ripe crops. Farmers were so happy to be rid of the little critters that they would bring her lunch. Edible crickets, jing reed in Thai, are a favorite snack that are, she says, delicious as well as high in protein (though her two boys refuse to eat them). The biggest crickets bring 2 Baht (6¢) each, and are usually sold live to food vendors. The vendors sell the cooked crickets to customers–tourists and locals–for as  THB6 each, so everyone’s happy.

If a child wants to make even more money, Aimie says, she can remove the cricket entrails and sell the ready-to-cook crickets to vendors for as much as 4 Baht apiece. Peak cricket-collecting season is October – November and kids find the crickets in holes in the field’s ground and need to dig them out with their little fingers. She remembers, “I usually dug for crickets from morning to afternoon. My village friends could  collect 200 crickets on a good day and earn 300-400 Baht a day in today’s money.  We never had any problem selling them. We knew all the vendors in the area and who paid the best for them. After we got paid we’d rush off the store, of course and buy sweets!”

A Professional Traveler Talks About Thai Street Food

British travel writer Derek Workman raves about Chiang Mai’s street food (and Derek has eaten the world’s best street food): The sun might set over Chiang Mai Gate in the temporal sense, but as darkness approaches a new wave of business rolls over the market, diffusing its burning red glow with the smoke from grills and charcoal burners.

Other than a brief pause in early afternoon when market traders take a snooze, resting their weary heads on their stalls, Chiang Mai Gate Market on Bumrung Buri Road is all hustle and bustle even before dawn breaks; locals buying breakfast from the dozen or so food spots, ladies selling stings of marigolds and small foodstuffs to passersby to gain merit by putting them in the alms bowls of the monks, their saffron robes adding a splash of colour to the morning light; a shoe repairer unpacks his last, a watchmaker lays out his cloth pack of slender tools. This is the time when the neighbourhood does its business, but it’s at night when the place really comes alive.

As dusk settles the motorbikes lose their parking spaces, replaced by fold-out tables and plastic stools. Wheeled stalls that have been pushed through the streets from nearby storage have twenty-litre aluminium pans set on gas burners, to be used as both steamers for rice and for the boiling water to plunge a wire dipper full of noodles into for high speed cooking.

Most of the daytime food stalls with their enormous woks blackened with years of frying a feastly menu of chicken, sausages, pork ribs, fish and spring rolls have shut up shop and gone home, but two stalwarts stand behind their eye-high mounds of fried food watching the few early evening diners take their seats. The golden brown crispy-coated food cooked earlier in the day looks dry and unappetizing without its sparkly glisten of oil fresh from the pan.

Crab claws with morning glory, a long-stemmed leafy vegetable that appears everywhere in Thai cuisine but is banned for consumption in the US; pork with long bean and onion, as spicy and biting as the devil’s tongue; plump grilled tilapia, Asia’s favourite fish, laid out on trays of banana leaf; coiled rings of local sausages, chicken bits and liver fresh from deep boiling oil. Almost all dishes cost around forty baht, a portion of sticky rice another ten, but over at Fine Ease of Steak, 79 baht will get you an enormous plate of sausage, two chops with pepper sauce, chips and coleslaw, a welcome change from the lip-numbing spiciness of some of the Thai food on sale.

For dessert, baby pineapples are peeled and cut on the curl; watermelon, mango and durian, a fruit with such a disgusting smell that many hotels and all trains ban it although said by some to have a flavor as delicious as it’s aroma is repugnant, are sliced and film-wrapped.

The majority of stalls directly in front of the market are for take-away food or for finger-picking while you walk around and see what you could have enjoyed if only you had somewhere to take-it-away to. On the small plaza built over the water of the moat tables are set up, catered to by carts that take the place of the early morning second-hand clothes rails. While farang try to balance occidental-size buttocks on stools designed for oriental-size bums, food vendors cook, serve and wipe down tables with a speed and dexterity that goes beyond the name ‘fast food’ to ‘fast absolutely everything’. And not all menus are fast-food, the wonderful khaw kaa moo, spicy pork leg, stews languidly for a couple of hours, served with a boiled egg, its sumptuous sauce slathered over rice.

Nip through the tiny alleyway that connects Bumrung Buri Road and Phra Pok Klao Soi 2, the narrow lane that runs parallel with the market, a diversion into the depths of Dickensian squalor. On a street corner just as you leave the gloom behind, where twelve hours earlier a pair of ladies worked by the light of two small electric lamps to cook up a storm of takeaway breakfasts, ladling rich stews and quick-fried vegetables into plastic bags that look like angular balloons because of the heat of the food, at night two tables form a ‘tot shop’, an impromptu bar where measures of cheap whiskey and rum are doled out with tiny aluminium measures, your choice of either water, soda or coke to go with them, ice if the stall holders are well organized. Seen everywhere, usually outside small grocery shops, where you buy your bottle and mark it as the level goes down, topping up your glass with fresh mixers bought from the fridge. All part of customer service.

A word of warning. If you would like to savour the visual and epicurean delights of Chiang Mai Gate Market, don’t go on Saturday because it’s Walking Street day and packed like sardines.

Have Your Heard About Street Eats in Chiang Mai? It’s time you tried it!

The post Thai Street Food Safety appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

Baht & Sold: Daniel, the expat owner of BahtSold.com designed it as a resource for individuals and businesses. Whether you are searching for the perfect home, a business to buy, a set of wheels or a stroller for the newest addition to your family – from Phuket to Chiang Mai – B&S usually has good listings.

Bangkok Post Classifieds for Chiang Mai: A traditional classifieds section from the leading English language newspaper in Thailand. Very strong Bangkok section.

CCCC Classifieds: Chiang Mai Christian Community, many of whose members are Christian missionaries in Thailand, is an excellent resource that goes far beyond its classifieds.

Chiang Mai Classified Ads: Light on listings but worth checking.

Chiang Mai Classifieds: Their website is unstable (I suspect a home server) but, when it’s working it has some unique listings.

Farang Mart: Another handy site, strong on scooters and motorcycles.

Chiang Mai Locator: A handy real estate advertising site.

Chiang Mai Mail: a re-badged Pattaya Mail site with Pattaya listings.

Chiang Mai Post: Rather weak classifieds but it’s listed here to encourage the publishers.

Craigslist Thailand: The original and still champion. I’ve had many good experiences buying and selling here.

Thai Visa Classified. An excellent resource with wide coverage and strong readership.

Make your promotion pop: Classified advertisements that use illustrations, outskirts and photographs for the most part pull in more eyes than average content just promotions. Simply check the paper – consistently there are postings that emerge from the others. Probably the most valuable elements we offer to do this are the ‘Included Ad’ and Web Graphic alternatives for your Online promotion and including a photograph (where pertinent) in Print. Additionally, keep in mind to utilize a feature that gets the peruser’s consideration.

Recognize what is imperative to individuals skimming in your characterized classification, and ensure you touch on those focuses; and utilize complete sentences – they’re less demanding to peruse than a progression of expressions and irregular words. Placed yourself in the client’s place. On the off chance that you were perusing the ordered advertisements, what might get your consideration? What words or expressions would make an advertisement emerge from the rest for you?

Quote a cost, regardless of the possibility that it’s high or low. In case you’re high, clarify why it’s justified, despite all the trouble (for instance: exceptional, extravagance thing, hand-made, and so on.), and on the off chance that it’s low, make sure to specify that it is an awesome arrangement furthermore clarify why the cost is so low (for instance: moving, snappy deal, extraordinary buy).

Incorporate a  get in touch with: Incorporate numerous types of contact, for example, a home and PDA number or your email address. Likewise, in the event that you are just accessible to answer a call amid specific hours, ensure you express that in your advertisement (for instance: call after 9pm, leave a message, and so forth.)

Determine brand names: If you are offering name brand stock, make sure to name the brand (and model, if correlated) in the promotion – specific should as much as possible. Individuals need to know precisely what it is you’re offering before they call and information should you can give, as much as possible. Consider it in the event that you are a client in a shop, would you like to know the specifics of an item or only a general thought of what it is?

Give white space access print work for you: This is an imperative format component in characterized promoting in light of the fact that the normal arranged page is overwhelming with little sort. The more “void” space in your advertisement, the more it will actually be taken note. Boxing an advertisement (including a basic outskirt around it) naturally makes white space around it, which thus consequently draws the eye.

Ask the peruser to act now: By completion your promotion with a suggestion to take action, for example, “12 hour deal,” “this week just,” or “call now, won’t keep going long”,” you include additional impetus for the intrigued purchaser to call you first.

Agenda – Every ordered ought to incorporate in any event the accompanying:

• Sale date or days and hours

• Price

• Make and model

• Size and shape

• New, utilized or reconditioned

• Service or guarantee

• Name, telephone number

• Address or bearings to area

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A young American expat living in northern Thailand who’s dated a few Thai guys and stuck with one for several years before calling it quits. While her experience may not be indicative of all relationships, everything she says we’ve heard before when it comes to Western female/Thai male relationships.

When I first moved to Thailand people asked me if I found Thai men, or Asian men in general attractive. Personally, I didn’t really know or care, but also didn’t subscribe to the stereotype that Asian men weren’t attractive to Western women.

After being in Thailand for months, I did find some Thai guys attractive but also didn’t interact with them much at all. The only guys I would really speak to or interact with happened to be bartenders, musicians or tattoo artists…usually while they were all at a bar. Even now after several years in the country, I still haven’t had many conversations with Thai guys outside of these professions (aside from my landlord, neighbors and drivers). For the most part, Thai guys wouldn’t even look at me, much less talk to me and take the giant step of asking me out, however these guys had strong enough English skills, and strong enough self confidence, to talk to me as they interacted and worked with foreigners everyday.

Except for a couple minor flirtations, I’ve spent substantial amounts of time with two Thai men. One was similar to my age, kind, caring and incredibly honest, the other was older than me and came from entirely different background in terms of upbringing, education, economic status and life experience. He also turned out to showcase all the negative stereotypes you hear about Thai men … naturally, that’s who I spent several years with instead of the kind, caring one…

With both men, things started off surprisingly but good – after being in Thailand for a while it was a shock to have attention from Thai guys and both men were very attentive and seemed to place great importance on ‘taking care’ of me. I wasn’t allowed to pay for anything when we went out and, after the initial breakthrough in conversation, would regularly message and check in with me.

When I started seeing the guy who is now my ex-boyfriend more regularly things got real serious real quick, though I never really initiated any of it. This is something I’ve heard from other Western women – once things start to get a little more exclusive they seem to speed up and the guy starts to get a little more possessive.

For a long time the thrill of being with someone totally different than myself was intoxicating – at its most basic level it made for a great story but it also opened up a side of Thailand and Thai culture that’s nearly impossible to access unless you’re in a close relationship with a Thai person. I met his family and saw how they lived, I went to make merit at temples, went through rural areas of Thailand that most tourists don’t travel to and had a great in-home Thai cook.

There was also a bit of a thrill with being in a relationship that was not ‘normal’ – you see plenty of older Western men with younger Thai girlfriends, you don’t see many relationships the other way around. People would stare at us, especially if we were somewhere outside of Bangkok or Chiang Mai, and make comments to him in Thai about me –  not realizing I could actually understand them.

It was also really frustrating and difficult throughout the entire relationship because we were so different from each other. We had completely different ways of living our lives, of working, of dealing with money and of being in committed relationships. Between my experience and some of the experiences I’ve heard and read about from other women, the following aspects and issues really stood out in our relationship and I would caution other Western women to be aware of them. This is not saying that all Thai men act this way, but they are things that women should be aware of.

Expectations of Women
While my ex was initially drawn to me for my personality and confidence – I was living alone and working in another country! I wanted to travel and experience everything Thailand had to offer! – over time it became clear that he was also intimated by and resented those attributes. He didn’t want me working for myself, he wanted me helping his business. Over the years there were also comments made about how tidy I kept our shared apartment, my weight and appearance, how I didn’t support him enough, and how it was strange  and selfish that I wanted to travel – by myself if I had to – so much. I was told a Thai girlfriend would never be traveling by herself or be wanting to go out with friends as much as I did.

Jealousy and Protectiveness
There’s a certain level of caring, protectiveness and worry that are charming – everyone wants to feel looked after. But the level of jealousy, protectiveness and perceived ownership that my ex showed was completely new to me and eventually suffocating. I was driven to work, which seemed like a kind gesture until I noticed I rarely drove myself anywhere anymore and he thought I didn’t need to own my own motorbike. My phone was checked for texts or messages from other guys and he had an extreme mistrust in all of my guy friends – even those whom he’d met, hung out with and who I had absolutely platonic relationships before, during and after my ex and I were together. He even managed to find something wrong or shady with all of my female friends and I felt like I had to be able to prove where I was or what I was doing at all times.

Thai Customs and Culture
I love living abroad and experience a different place, language and customs. I have a deep love for Thai culture and don’t mind bending some of the beliefs, habits or customs I grew up with to fit with what is expected and conventional here. I am more than willing to learn what’s acceptable in terms of behavior and ways of doing things, but when it come to my ex there was little meeting in the middle. I had to adjust and conform to meet his expectations, and regularly messed up – or, more commonly, simply had no clue about – the way I did things or how I behaved in certain situations according to Thai norms. I realize I was choosing to live in his country, but felt like I couldn’t catch a break in doing things ‘right’ even when I was trying so hard to be aware and mindful of avoiding a social faux pas.

Money
Our backgrounds, education and jobs made it so there was a sizeable income gap between us…me making the higher income. While at first he had paid for everything – despite me trying to split things evenly – over time I started paying for more and more and by the end of our relationship was completely paying for our rent, transportation, most meals, any extras and even helping out sending money to his family when work was scant and money was tight.

Family
It’s a good thing if a man loves his mother, but it’s insanely frustrating if you can’t make any comment about the mother or family without it being, incorrectly, seen as negative or an attack. Even when you’re helping put food on their table.

Infidelity
Along with jealousy, another common stereotype is the cheating Thai husband or boyfriend. Every single Thai person I have ever asked about this – “Is it really as common as people say?” – have said that yes, it’s true, and it’s not uncommon – heck, it’s normal and even expected to a degree – for people to be in a relationship while enjoying something on the side. While it still is up in the air whether or not this happened during my relationship – most signs are pointing toward yes – it certainly was something that my ex was not hesitant about admitting about his past relationships. I don’t think coming from another country you could ever fully understand this aspect of relationships in Thailand, but it’s certainly something to be aware of from the start.

So there you have it. Good luck. And now, if you’re so inclined, here’s a Thai guy’s eccentric plea for foreign women to date Thai guys:

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BY A THAI LADY LIVING IN A TRADITIONAL THAI VILLAGE – Thai dowries are often criticized so here are a few words in their defense: I’ve often sympathized with foreign men when the word “dowry” is brought up. In the modern-day Thai culture, a dowry is still common practice in wedding ceremonies. Thai dowries typically consist of jewelry for the bride to wear on her wedding day and cash for the bride’s parents. The subject of money is awkward, even for the Thai couples. But a dowry is an even bigger matter (and mess) when the groom is a foreigner. Not a single foreigner I know is comfortable parting with their hard-earned cash (generally at least THB100,000) to marry their Thai girlfriends, most of whom are from the Bangkok middle-class and obviously have no intention of deceiving anyone for money.

Whenever the subject is raised at the dining table, somehow the Thai girl is automatically viewed as a Nana gold-digger. The responses we often get from blue-eyed boyfriends tend to sound something like:

“That’s stupid. I won’t pay to marry someone.”

“I don’t have that kind of money.”

“I thought you loved me for me. This breaks my heart.” (Said in a sarcastic tone.)

When Thai girls talk money, our foreign boyfriends seem to grow earmuffs. I’m starting to think that maybe it is the word “dowry” itself that scares men. One guy even told me that the dowry is an ancient tradition that should have died hundreds of years ago. At the risk of sounding treasonous, I think he may be right, but the fact remains that the dowry still exists and is rightfully important to most Thai families.

The practice of giving the bride’s family a large amount of money was best suited to a past when male commoners had to leave their families every other month for work. In those days, when a couple got married the guy had to pay up so the wife could take care of herself and the children when her husband was away.

Somehow hundreds of years later, the dowry lives on as an integral part of Thai matrimony. The idea seems especially weird when you consider that Thai women these days often earn as much as their partners. The question really should be why these girls still ask you to pay a dowry, and why they are so offended when you refuse to do so.

Let me enlighten you. As funny as it sounds, a dowry represents your respect. Most Thais are very attached to their families and, as a result, Thai marriage is a monumental union of two households. That old aphorism, “if you marry a Thai girl, you marry her family as well” is true.

The dowry is a gift from the groom’s family and a small part of khan mark, an exquisite arrangement of Thai symbols of luck including banana leaves, flowers and fruits presented in golden trays. The khan mark is presented at the wedding ceremony, which is sacred and a chance for the wedded couple to ask their families for blessings. This means you officially ask your girlfriend’s parents for permission to have her as a life partner. Thai parents find the ceremony very important and necessary. If not done properly, it would seem to them that you’re running away with their daughter without respect.

So if you look at the bigger picture, it’s the Thai wedding ceremony that your girlfriend wants, not just the dowry. By refusing to have a ceremony you’re demonstrating that you are not willing to make things official and right for her family.

Now you might think, “In that case, I will just give her THB500. That’s my kind of dowry.”

Thais describe dowry as kha nam nom (translated to ‘cost for breastfeeding’). It is an important display of appreciation for the mother-in law. Essentially, when you hand over a dowry you’re saying, “thanks for raising your daughter so well.” The value of a dowry depends on how much the parents think is appropriate for their daughter. So it is normal for a wealthy family to ask for a more expensive dowry.

[Originally published in Bangkok Coconuts. Reprinted with permission]

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