My Thai Life

America was heading down a dark road and has been for the last 8 years. That’s a lifetime to most people and a long time if you ask me. Bush has done more damage to our country in 8 years and I for one am glad for the change. America has always been a shining light for those who seek a path of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Bush took that away. He also caused the death of over 3000 American soldiers in an unjust war. That’s not counting the lives he has snuffed out because of the war. Innocent women and children are dead because of him. But that is done now. It’s over. Bush can no longer cause more pain. It was time for change and change is what America got.

I wish Obama God speed in his new job. America is damaged but she is not defeated. It will take a lot of work to undo what Bush and company has done. America has stumbled but she is on her feet and she will again be that shining light that so many people look for in a dark moonless world. She will shine brighter than before. There hasn’t been this much confidence in a president since John F. Kennedy. JFK was a great leader and while his life and term was cut short, his words, in my humble opinion have been passed on to President Elect Obama.

Race should know no color, no creed, no religion. While Obama is a African American, he is a man. He is a leader. I watched his speech last night from Chicago. I haven’t heard a man talk like that since Kennedy. He reminds me a lot of JFK. He WILL do good things and America needs it.

To all the nay sayers and all the racists people out there. Your words are not harmful. I am from the south, Texas to be exact and I grew up with a society that hated anyone that wasn’t white. I attribute this to a lack of education. Because the simple fact is that if you hate black people or any other race besides your own then that shows a lack of education. You are ignorant and just plain stupid. You have no right to be in a country that was founded on the right to liberty and happiness. I won’t go further on that.

Again, I wish President Obama God speed in his quest to change America. Change that America needs. America threw her hands up and demanded change. America has spoken. It is time for change and change is what is coming.

MyThaiLife

I know a lot of people were a bit nervous to travel to Thailand because of the politics and the demonstrations but believe me, they were small. Sure a person died but to be fair, hundreds more die everyday in Thailand. Not to sound evil or anything but it’s just the facts.

Thailand is safe to travel to. Samak, who has since been forced out by the High Court for having taking a job with another company, which is against the rules of being PM as well as the PAD wanting him gone because he was just another Thaksin wannabe. People were concerned because he issued a State of Emergency. This was only to try to save his ass which didn’t work. So, that will be lifted in a couple days and it’s back to business as usual. So, don’t worry about Thailand. I live here and it’s been safe for over 7 years. Even the Military Coup that happened 2 years ago was really non-eventful. I was on the streets that night and I saw the takes rolling into the capital but it was only about 3 takes and that was it. No one died and nothing really happened.

Thailand is safe so do Thailand a huge favor and help out the economy. Make that trip. Spend a little bit of money and help the Thai people out. They have such a beautiful country and beautiful people, it’s only right.

MyThaiLife

I’m a huge fan of South East Asia. I have traveled all over South East Asia and I have come to love the Asian people and their culture. Don’t like China though. Been to many cities in China and it’s the same thing over and over. Rude and disgusting. But anyway, back to my story.

I love Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Korea. Now, I especially love Thailand where I have lived for the past 7 years. I love the Thai people and I really like their Thai Girls but again, on to my story about Burma. LOL.

Burma, not that new name that I will NEVER mention, but Burma, it’s a very beautiful country to the North of Thailand. The Burmese people are being repressed and no one is doing anything about it. Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest and now it appears she is on a food strike. Not good. She is the only democratic voice of the Burmese people. If she dies then you might as well say that all the people in Burma have died. What the hell is being done about it? Why aren’t other countries doing shit about it? In the recent months and years for that matter, many Buddhist Monks have been killed and imprisoned and it’s not right people. It’s so wrong and we aren’t doing shit about it.

America is a very large country. We have over 140,000 soldiers fighting a STUPID battle in Iraq. We had no business being there. Sure Saddam was a bastard but WTF? If I were president I would have invaded Burma and released Aung San Suu Kyi and done away with the Junta. They don’t deserve to be in power. They lost the election in Burma and the United States will not do anything about it. I do appreciate Laura Bush’s interest in Burma and I know she wants Aung San Suu Kyi out of house arrest and she wants Democracy back in the country. Laura, tell your husband to invade Burma and get rid of the Junta. LOL, like that will ever happen. Will Obama do it? Who knows.

One thing that I can’t stand is that powerful countries have the power to do this. To get rid of the Junta and have the Burmese people have their Democracy. But no one does anything. China won’t do it because the Junta buy weapons from them. It’s all about power and money. When do the people have a say in their country? They did, it just got suppressed. It’s wrong people. It’s wrong down to the core.

Change can happen and I suppose it can only happen within. Junta, lay down your arms and fight with your people. The name is Burma and nothing else…

MyThaiLife

Well, it’s official. I’ve gone to Trang again! YEAH!!!. The last time I was in Trang was for New Years this year and that was amazing. This time I took some time off from my busy schedule and spent 7 days at the Sukorn Islands again. Below is one of my favorite pictures.

The last time before New Years was a couple years ago where I spent a week down in Trang. I stayed in some small fishing village. I remember it well. That’s because lightning struck the small building I was sitting under having lunch. One of many monsoons that hit Thailand.

Trang will always has a special place in my heart. If you want secluded, quite beach time then check out Trang. There are so many islands off the coast that you can hop on that you could spend months exploring them. Some islands have people and some don’t. It’s really a great trip.

So, if you are wanting to hear what waves sound like as they lap onto the beach and hear nothing else, then you need to visit Trang, seriously…

Michael
MyThaiLife

First of all, long live the King and Queen but this morning when I got up, as I always do, I checked out the BangkokPost.com and on the front page was a lovely purple image of Her Majesty the Queen Sirikit with a date at the bottom that read 12 August 2008. I mistook that for her dying. While not paying attention to the actual date and today’s date, I thought she had passed. What a twat I was for thinking that.

It took about 5 minutes for me to figure out that I was absolutely 100% wrong and that she is fine and doing well. I searched high and low for the obituary and couldn’t find anything at all. Nothing on BangkokPost, National Multimedia, nothing anywhere. Then I got to looking at the photo and saw 12 of August. Then it hit me. Ahhh, her birthday is August 12. WTF was I thinking? Did I have too many Singhas last night? Well, it’s easy to see why because when the Kings sister Princess Galyani Vadhana died this past January, they all put a photo of just like this one. See how easy it was for me to think that?

Anyway, her Majesty the Queen is doing just fine and it was all me just overeating a bit. But all is well that ends well. Long live the King and Queen and I wish her the best birthday ever!!!

Chok Dee Mak Mak and Khap Kun Khrup for listening.

MyThaiLife

Well, if you are in Bangkok like me then you really won’t get to see it but if you are in Chiang Mai today you will see a partial eclipse of the sun. Now, the folks in Canada will get about a good minute of nighttime where the moon will pass fully in between Earth and the sun. It’s a great thing to see. I’ve listed a link below where you can see a video of some Canadians that were up in a plane about 27,000 feet and took some really cool video of the eclipse. It’s really cool to watch so enjoy it.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=04a_1217608584

Not sure when we will get a chance to see something like that but it is a pretty cool thing.

MyThaiLife

Just want to give a quick shoutout to the All Star Band, playing for the last night at Club CM2 tomorrow night (July 30th). They have had like a 3 year run there and I got many many many ops to hang with them. Tino and crew will be sorely missed. They are going to be taking some time off and will be playing again soon in Bangkok. Once I find out where they are playing again, I’ll be sure to post it here.

Thanks guys for keeping a whole shitload of people entertained! Rock on!

MyThaiLife

It’s been a while since my last blog so I want to bring you guys up to date on where I’ve been. I’m not back in Thailand but will be back soon enough. I’ve been on a huge travel expedition and it’s been pretty fun. Currently I’m in Saigon, Vietnam doing some sightseeing and will be back in Bangkok in a few weeks. I’ve been in the states, China, Hong Kong and Japan doing some some “Stuff”.

I can’t wait to get back to Bangkok and start writing about my Thailand life. As you know things in Thailand are changing almost on a daily basis and I know some of you have been wondering about it so need not worry, I’ll start reporting them soon enough…

Talk to you all very soon.

Michael

OK, some good news for us expats living here in Thailand. The baht has been falling against the dollar lately and that is a good thing for Americans living in Thailand. I remember a few years ago when the baht was 41 baht to the dollar. WoW, those were cheap shopping days let me tell you. But this year the baht started rising on the weak dollar to about 31 baht to the dollar. Now over the last few days it’s been falling to about 33 baht to the dollar. I know that sounds backwards. If the baht raises to a higher number then that is the baht falling and if it lowers then it’s rising. Lower baht means good for Thai. Higher baht means good for farang! LOL.

What does this all mean really? Well, it’s good for Americans if the baht continues to fall and that means good shopping and good prices on condos and real estate in Thailand. Good for all of us.

I predict that come November in America when the elections are held that the dollar will surge up in value due to the Democrats taking office. Does that mean that it’s a good time to invest in the dollar? Some people say it is. Time will tell. So, enjoy it while you can…

MyThaiLife

Here is a question I get a lot about living in Thailand. Can I live cheap in Thailand? The answer is yes, you can live cheap in Thailand and for under $1000 dollars a month. So yes, it can be done. Probably cheaper than that if you are good with your money.

A cheap but reliable rent is going to cost you about $300 dollars a month but don’t think you’ll get that in the hotspots. You can find cheap condos and apartments for that price all over Bangkok and cheaper as you get away from the city. A studio on around the soi 30 area off of Suhkumvit road would cost you about $350 a month depending on the area. The prices will go up for nicer ones. A one bedroom condo furnished on Soi 13 off of Sukhumvit road will run you about $800 per month.

Of course the cheapest part of living in Thailand is the food. You can eat for mere dollars a day. That’s if you know where to look. If you travel down Suhkumvit road around soi 19 there are some back alleys that provide lunch that is very cheap. You can get some rice and green curry for about one dollar and a coke about 50 cents.

IF you travel, go by motobike. That’s if you can stand the roller coaster ride that you’ll get by being on one. I prefer the skytrain myself. If that is not available then i just foot it or take a taxi. I will never ride in a tuk-tuk again! Not unless it’s in Phuket. Their a lot different than in Bangkok…

So, yes, you can live cheap in Thailand.