Future Plans

Two months have passed since we returned to Canada from our month in Thailand. It was an adjustment coming from hot and warm to cold and clammy but the weather did start to cooperate in May, during the Ottawa Tulip Festival.

Our lease was up May 1st and we decided not to sign for another 2 years as we were in the midst of deciding where we would live for the next 2 years, We had lunch with John and Fon and they had decided they had enough of Canada and had booked their return flight to Thailand on November 1st and they have no intentention of ever coming back to Canada to live, only visit.

Thavorn and I decided decisions would be made for grade 7 and 8 and then again for grades 9 to 12. By the end of grade 12, I will be 82 so further planning will be much shorter in length -:).

After talking it over as a family we decided against moving back to Thailand this year. Jaidan graduates from grade 6 tomorrow. Jaidan will spend grade 7 and 8 at Mother Teresa High School with the friends he has developed over the past 4 years.

His 9 to 12 years of school will either be at Mother Teresa or an international school in Bangkok, to be determined 2 summers from now. Nothing is set in stone and we purposely keep our life simple, renting our living space and driving a car that is paid for. With a month to month lease we can be gone in 30 days and that is the way we like it.

The reason we would put Jaidan in an international school in bangkok is to build contacts with hiso society in Thailand. We want to give him the option of living in either Thailand or Canada. He has expressed the desire to become a teacher and be able to teach anywhere he chooses.

That would mean he would attend 5 years of university in Canada, paying his own way by working at the same time. I doubt very much I will be around to fund it and Thavorn will be living in Thailand. I left home at 19 and looked after myself so I have no doubt Jaidan can do the same. He is a smart kid.

I seem to miss Thailand more than Thavorn but then again she has many years ahead of her and I am running out of time. However it is a wonderful time for me!

My older son Jordan just got married last Saturday to a wonderful lady and he is also very happy.

Take care and I will try to publish more often.

TTYL

Back in Thailand for March 2026

 It has been a busy trip so far. The first item is usually sim cards but Thavorn's ID card had expired so we had to get her ID card renewed. Sims next and then Thavorn was off to het village to talk to family and friends and view her land.

Then Thavorn gets back to us and then promptly gets on a plane with Jaidan to go visit family in Phangnga. She also needs to get an ID card for Jaidan while she is there.

Meanwhile I am in Bangkok for 10 days by myself and then I will fly to Phuket to meet up with Jaidan and Thavorn and then take a boat to Krabi for 3 nights at a resort and then we fly back to Bangkok for the last 5 days before we return to Canada.

Thavorn will spend the last 5 days visiting friends and having a few beers. Jaidan and I will play some pool, swim in the pool, an explore Bangkok, and yes dine frequently at KFC :-(

It has been a bit busy but we got lots of things done that needed done. Interesting that Jaidan is now talking about doing his high school in an International school in Bangkok or Phuket. These schools are expensive but he will meet hiso contacts that he would not usually come in contact with. Relationships are important in Thai culture.

We will visit some international schools while we are in our last 5 days in Bangkok for Jaidan to have a look see.

That is it for now. Thavorn has all the pics so next post.

TTYL

Welcome Thailand in 2026

 It has only been a short time since my 3 week trip to Thailand in October. When I got back I talked to both Thavorn and Jaidan and suggested we travel to Thailand in March for the month. March break happens in March so Jaidan only misses 3 weeks of school and he is a good student so no harm done.

We get to fly the non stop route from Vancouver to Bangkok going there and have 2 stops coming back in Korea and Toronto. The non stop from Vancouver is 16 hours which is what I had in October from Vancouver to Singapore so I know it is hard on the ass :-)

We are booked into a Sukhumvit hotel for 4 days when we arrive so we can get over the jetlag. I have then booked us into the Empire Marriott for 2 weeks and the rest of March is yet to be booked. Thavorn is looking forward to visiting friends in Bangkok.

Thavorn and Jaidan have to get their Thai identity cards. Thavorn also wants to check on her land in Koksum Lan and vist some friends and family. Jaidan and Thavorn will also spend a week in Phang Na with her 3 Thai children as well as her sister. I will spend that time in Bangkok to save on airfare and indulge in some fun.

I also plan on taking Jaidan to Universal Studios in Singapore if time and funds permit.

March is the end of the dry season so it is a good time to visit. October was the end of the wet season so March will be better in terms of weather and comfort such as pool time.

I also plan on teaching Jaidan how to play pool as he is now tall enough.

As we get close to our March 3rd flight, Thavorn and Jaidan are getting excited. It should be fun!

It appears that we will visit Thailand on a 2 year schedule until Jaidan finishes H.S. in 6 years as long as I don't get ill and drop dead :-)

TTYL

It's a Long Way Home ... 24 hours total

The journey homes starts tonight at 3:30 am in downtown Bangkok. I may have an exit beer around midnight to celebrate what is probably my last solo trip to Thailand. However the family and I are booked for March 2026.

I have prebooked a taxis for 3:30 am as I do not leave it to chance. That should place me at the airport shortly after 4:00 am which is the requisite 3 hours before my 7:00 am flight to Narita airport in Japan. I then get a 2 hour layover and then fly to Montreal where I will clear customs. I only have a couple of unigo t-shirts for me and a dress that I picked up for Thavorn at Zara, Zara in Bangkok puts the Ottawa Zara to shame.

I certainly am relaxed for the flight home as I have been resting up the last 5 days. I hope I do not get delayed and rescheduled as I did on the outgoing flights to BKK.

These ladies are huge 

3 Storey Food Court at emSphere

Dress I picked up for Thavorn

Was the trip worthwhile? Yes and no. It was time to discover the new me, that is 75 years old. Now that I know me it is easier to plan. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

TTYL

Jouney's End

Not quite over, but soon. This is my last day at the Marriott Empire in Silom. Tomorrow I check out and head back to Sukhumvit. The areas are quite different with the Empire being in the Silom business area and Sukhumvit being the major tourist area.

I have been using the past few days to slow down and think about my trip. In some sense it was to understand what has changed in me in the past 15 years since my first foray into Thailand. I am no longer the kid in the candy shop, if you can call a 60 year old a kid. Perhaps I am the wise old sage who sees Bangkok through different and perhaps tires old eyes.

Thailand has changed and that is a result of Thais use of smart phones. Social media has educated Thais where their school system had not, Thais now see their place in the world quite differently. They also see farangs quite differently. The GFE has left and and Thais understand much more how to accumulate money. Thai women still remain as beautiful as ever but now they see how to use their beauty to earn money and still stay in Thailand.

I still see men, old and young in the chase for the elusive relationship that life has not yet provided for them. John Keats 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' ends with:

When old age shall this generation waste,

                Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe

Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,

         "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all

                Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

The only poem I enjoyed in high school, leaves me with the thought that yearning is seldom fullfilled so be careful what you wish. I don't wish to discourage the folks in pursuit of whatever but do so without the rose colored glasses. Young Thai women are fishing and you are the fish and usually the caught fish end up getting fried.

I consider myself lucky to be married to a wonderful, joy filled Thai woman with an 11 year old who keeps me young. If not for them I would be sitting at Tim Hortons in the morning with old farts complaining about the government and the state of the world.

This trip reinforces my belief that to be successful in life you need be lucky and be in the right place at the right time. I have always said that I do not regret the things I have done, just the things I failed to do.

Half Way

 I am just over half way into my solo Bangkok trip and it is time to share some observations.

First off, Thais are addicted to their smart phones. On the transit system 90% of them are mindlessly scrolling through them. It is also the same walking down a street, You hav to dodge the blind scrollers although it is now down to about 50%. The internet is much cheaper in Thailand than it is in Canada. 

I am also surprided that there are quite a few EV cars and most of them are Chinese with the odd Tesla.

The entertainment districts are about the same, but there are quite a few that have closed. Tourism is down and the type of tourist has changed and I believe there is not as much bar traffic as their used to be. There seems to be no shortage of ladies working in the bars but there tends to be less stunners than in the past. It is low season so I can't figure out how the bar makes money, but I suppose they make it up in high season.

However Thailand is not as inexpensive as it used to be. However, it can still be alot of fun if you use the happy hours and plan accordingly.

I am enjoying my swims and I am now up to 30 laps which I tend to do at 7:30 am to start my day. I feel I am getting back into condition and will probably sign up for a gym membership when I get back to Canada, Walking tends to be not so much fun due to the heat and humidity, but best to walk at night.

I have been relearning the mass transit system which means I can get around more quickly.

My billiard playing has not been so good and I continue to lose but still practice when I feel the urge to get better.

I have some pics to share.

Chong Nonsi landmark ... lost without it :-)

Sliom business district

Thais are now marketing Halloween

some pool pics

TTYL

Rivers

 There is an old saying I am quite fond of. 'You can't step into the same river twice ...' More on this later.

I am about half way through my 3 week trip to Thailand. It did not start well as my 24 hour flight turned into almost 40 hours. My flight from Ottawa to Vancouver was delayed, due to a staff shortage, which meant my flight to Narita in Japan did not happen. However Air Canada rescheduled me from Vancouver to Singapore, a 16 hour flight, which I could handle, but it meant a 12 hour stopover in the Vancouver airport, Twelve hours in an airport is just a pain in the ass, no getting around it. The only good part to it was that I logged about 15K steps,

The 16 hour flight was llllooooonnnnggg, another pain in the ass, despite getting up regularly for a walk. In due course, I arrived in Singapore and waiting another 2 hours for a 2 hour flight to Bangkok and arrived at my hotel about noon, on October the 2nd, rather tham 10 pm on October the 1st. Time for a nap and then a bite to eat, and then a walk-a-round.

My initial observation is that many businesses have come and gone on Sukumvit and the immediate sois, I don't think many Thai startups do the correct market surveys to see what potential, or lack of potential is available. Hence the failures.

The new trend appears to be restaurents, especially craft beer types and hiso hamburgers, neither of which I am interested in, I will stick with San Miquel Light and some inexpensive Thai food.

I tend to see more Indians and farang families with kids. Also more Gen whatevers in pairs, male and female. That is during the day. At night, not much has changed, except fewer as it is the tail end of low season.

The bars are much the same, although the traffic is lighter and the girls tend to be more pum pui. The drinks are a bit more expensive but happy hour is still available. The lady drinks are more expensive by aout 50 baht. Apparently that is how they make a living these days. Better days ahead as high season starts next month. Thais grasp of English has not improved much.

This being the rainy season, I have experienced only 3, three hour storms which is not bad. I have usually forgotten to bring my umbrella so I usually duck into a beer bar and indulge in a few beers as I wait out the rain.

I try to get my 10k ssteps in but it is more tiring in 34 degrees and high humidity. I prefer my laps in the pool which are progressing quite nicely.

Back to the river ...

The meaning behind the phrase is the river has changed and so have you. I have found that so true this time around as father age catches up to me. I indulge less as the next day hangover, both mentally and physically have to be dealt with. Just means the get up and go has gone for the next day.

Also the bar routine is still much the same so there is not much novelty for an old hand as myself. Also many of my drinking partners are either dead, out of the country, or just not available. I have always said partying by yourself is boring.

Time to get creative ...

TTYL