Today's song is: Four Strong Winds .. Willie and Neil Young at Farm Aid
Willie and Neil (Canadian) are great.
We headed off to Pattaya's Walking Street after dark to see what has changed in 6 years. My observations are that bars are not doing well, henceforth, the ladies are older and chubbier, and the hoards of Chinese tourists disgorged by the busloads are just as obnoxious as always and are basically 'look loos', snapping photos but not spending.
No wonder that Walking Street is in decline. As I mentioned previously, Soi 6 is lots of fun and guess what, no Chinese tourists.
Our late dinner, bbq fish and shrimp (200 baht)
Where we played pool 6 years ago and again, last night. BTW, I won :-)
Ocean side restaurant. Same meal as our take home, but 3,000 baht.
It was a quiet Christmas day for us and we failed to connect on a Christmas video but there is hope on Boxing day in about 2 hours.
Today we headed off for some go carting and decided to walk down to Walking Street (pun intended) and ate at McDonalds and played some pool and then headed back to enable me to do about 4 hours of coding.
Some pics:
I am starting to purchase some items for our move back to Canada. So far, courtesy of Amazon.ca I have bought a work desk and a mattress. Next up is a bed frame for the mattress.
We arrived in Pattaya on Sunday, Dec. 22nd, and Thavorn is getting acquainted with Pattaya again after 6 years. Yesterday we played pool in a bar we played at 6 years ago. The difference this time around is 6 years and Jaidan. Jaidan had the bar manager laughing at his comments as he kept score on who was winning, which was me 6 games to 1. Thavorn did not play badly but I was playing well :-)
Pattaya has changed quite a bit since we were here 6 years ago. I asked the bar manager how business was and she confirmed my suspicion that it was more like low season rather than high season.
Russians are still in abundance but they seem to be families and couples who have managed to weather the ruble getting battered over the last 5 years.
The taxis are pretty bad here and when asked how much to go anywhere, the answer is always the same, 200 baht. It should always be about 50 baht if they used the meter. The motorcycle taxis are also over priced by about 100 percent. In bad economic times, Thais always raise the price rather tan compete by lowering the price.
Today, we may attempt to walk down from Pratunmak Hill to walking street which I think will take about 20 mins. We took a taxi yesterday (bargained down to 160 baht, s/b 50 baht) and treated Jiadan to his favorite lunch of nuggets.
I had occasion to visit Pattaya again this past weekend and stayed with John and Fon in their condo. It was a different part of Pattaya, away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist area of Pattaya. It is populated by expats that have been in Thailand for quite some time and most of them have Thais as partners.
We visited one of John's friends who inhabits one of the penthouses on the top floor. We had a great time but drank too much Chivas Regal and Black Label. However, we would definitely do it again.
Thavorn, Jaidan, and I will be using the condo over Christmas and are looking forward to a change from Bangkok.
Today's song is: Home ... Nickleback, a great Canadian Band
The question in today's post title is interesting. All things being equal (like health coverage, standard of living, etc.) where would you choose to live. It is interesting because few people have that choice (except for the filthy rich).
For myself, I seem to be choosing Canada for health coverage. Remove that from consideration and I would still not choose Thailand as I will always be considered a farang (non Thai) so there is no buy in, and that gives rise to all the immigration related issues associated with being non Thai.
Would I choose to live in the United States. That would be the closest to what living in Canada is like, but there is a reason why American backpackers put Canadian flags on their packs during the 70's and 80's. I also believe the gap between the rich and poor is greater in the US and the elite operate outside the rules and regulations, if not the law.
I think Europe is out of the question for a variety of reasons, including language and the standard of living.
Forget about the southern hemisphere continents except for Australia. I have never been to Australia but from what I hear, it is very much like Canada except for being a little more xenophobic. They really don't seem to encourage immigration much.
It appears to me that Canada is home and Thailand is my vacation destination. Not a bad life :-)
I decided to start my countdown to Canada. As mentioned previously, we have major changes in how we live coming. For the past 8 years I have been spending 11 months in Thailand and one month in Canada. The exception was last year, when we spent just over 6 months in Canada.
We will stay in Canada for approximately 18 months this time around. The major reason is to put our son Jaidan into the Canadian school system starting in 5 year old kindergarten during March break 2020.
The next time we visit Thailand will probably be in the summer of 2021 for 3 months (June-July-August). At that time we will probably live in a condo in Pattaya which is a resort city compared to Bangkok. We will miss the night life, but not the prices, pollution, and traffic.
I just booked our flights on March 2nd 2020 and came up with a good compromise. The first leg is with China Airlines, from Bangkok to Taipei Taiwan which is 3.5 hours in duration, with a 2.5 hour stop over. I really hate rushing to catch the next flight and all the stress that created on a long trip.
The second and longest leg is with Air Canada, from Taipei to Vancouver, 10.5 hours, with a stop over of 4 hours in Vancouver. We arrive at lunch hour and get some exercise and eat lunch without rushing to the next gate.
The third leg is from Vancouver to Ottawa and is 4.5 hours in length. Unfortunately we will arrive at 12:03 and I am hoping some kind soul will pick us up. BTW we arrive on March 3rd as we gain a day.
We will also be living with my son Jordan and his gf Jessica in Osgoode Ontario. That is a big change from Manor Park but will be a great place for Jaidan to call home over the next couple of years. They have a great big house with a 4 door garage and a huge back yard with a pool. I anticipate putting Jaidan into Osgoode Public School as it is 8 minutes away.
Our first priority will be buying a car and a couple of beds and mattresses to sleep on. Jordan just bought a truck so he will be pressed into service to deliver the sleeping stuff.
This time around we have no domicile details to take care of such as OHIP, Social Insurance numbers, driver's licence renewals, doctor and dentist appointments, etc. I just have to change my address in multiple locations.
Thavorn will file an income tax return this year and I get to do some pension sharing. It should be a good couple of years.
As always, this blog will keep you informed, so stay tuned. 89 days and counting :-)
