I live in Bangkok AMA

[Eledamorena]

Just that. I've lived here nearly 4 years and have 3 children. Ask away, if you're interested!

@notjustacigar and @TheChosenTwo

We did have cockroaches in our downstairs loo/kitchen, originally just one so that didn't bother me too much but of course one became several. My helper got rid of them somehow, clearly she knew what to buy and I did not! My kids still talk about the cockroaches in the loo!

Hardly ever seen a spider. Very rarely a snake in my compound. At my old house we had a cobra in the garden and a real problem with monitor lizards. That was the main reason we moved. Monitor lizards are fucking horrendous creatures.

@Geamhradh yes!! Lots of places are a bit ruined to be honest. The silver lining of all the travel restrictions last year was that loads of people who live here travelled domestically and got to experience the unspoilt, quiet beaches of a bygone era!

And I'm laughing at your cockroach experience!!

@Ribrabrob yes, some places are 24 hour. You can definitely get food and drinks all night, but not everywhere. To be honest it's hard to remember pre-Covid! There are restrictions now but as always in Thailand some 'flexibility'. The law is a grey area!

Normally malls close late, 711 is open 24 hours, some coffee shops and restaurants are open all hours

@HollowTalk to be honest I would tell him to be very careful. Peanuts and other nuts and nut oils are EVERYWHERE, and even if not in a particular dish there is no concept of using different utensils when preparing food. If his allergy is serious he would need to avoid street food altogether in my opinion. Western restaurants/hotels would be safer, or places like McDonald's!! Or 711 food, which I would never eat but lots of people live on (pre-made toasties, microwave rice, rank sausages etc!).

If he does come, get a card printed in advance explaining his allergy that you can show to waiters and chefs. This sounds silly but I know people who do it here. Even if a dish does not appear to have nuts in, you never know! Always carry an epi-pen and bring spares. There is currently a shortage in Thailand so we are in a weird position at my school of having to ask parents if we have permission to use out of date pens on their kids if necessary, as it is simply impossible to get new ones!

Have you eaten a fabulous street food called something like gobi rot sent?

@noteventhebestdrummer no, not heard of that one! Is it something with cauliflower??

No it's rice noodles and broth with a soft poached egg, prawn and something green. We had it daily when we stayed in Bang Kapi, we'd walk through the grounds of a funeral temple to get to the market. I dream of it!

Picking up on some of your comments

What’s so horrendous about monitor lizards?!
Do your children really not use a knife and fork?

And
Now you don’t live in the Uk, which aspects of it do you think are most appealing?

How do you cope with the air pollution in Bangkok?
Has it improved with lockdown?

Thanks OP it is good to hear from someone living there on how the covid situation really is for people, we dont hear a lot here and its certainly a worry.

In addicted to Thai 'BL' television shows. With subs obviously.

What is your favourite Thai tv show?

This is a great thread OP. I can still close my eyes and be transported back 23 years. Thailand has a special place in my heart. I was only there 3/4 months but I fell in love.

I'm.a teacher too, so I'm visualising my life there now!

So interesting!

So did you have a baby over there? Would love to hear about that experience.

I've heard people are very afraid of disrespecting the Thai King. Is that a thing?

@noteventhebestdrummer that sounds delicious, I'll have to look out for it!

@1angelicfruitcake monitor lizards are filthy and can be very dangerous, although they don't usually attack unless provoked. You see them in the main parks in town and they're pretty docile, but they grow to 2m+ long so pretty scary! They seem slow but can move quickly when they want to. They can climb, too. Fucking creepy! They are very dangerous to have around small children so after one weekend that involved a couple of smaller ones in my garden and then a full sized beast, I'd had enough!

Yes, my children really don't know how to use a knife and fork. We eat mostly with a spoon and fork here, or occasionally chopsticks. I'm a bit worried they will seem uncivilized when we visit the UK, but it is what it is! You can't even buy cutlery sets with knife/fork/spoon in lots of shops here, you have to go to a big department store or a western shop like Ikea. Otherwise they come in packs with just forks and spoons.

What's appealing about the UK? Well, compared with Thailand there is much less poverty, much better free healthcare and education, a less corrupt government, and a free press. But I know people living in the UK don't always feel these things are good enough - obviously there is poverty and inequality, schools and the NHS are underfunded, and the government isn't exactly squeaky clean, but it's a different level in Thailand.

Other things that are appealing are the countryside, I miss that sometimes. The temperate weather, although I prefer the heat and I'm used to being sweaty!! Not much else, to be honest. I like the UK but I don't miss it desperately.

@tablesetting the air pollution is bad, especially at certain times of the year. It's worse in the north, though, and it's not as bad as parts of China. Schools closed due to air pollution for the first time a couple of years ago and that was a big deal. Now the international schools all have air filters in every room and they've enclosed some of their open spaces. Depending on the air quality, there is no PE or no outside play. Some people wear masks a lot during the bad period.

Air quality did improve during the first lockdown but I think it's closer to normal levels again now.

@scully29 we don't even know if what we're reading is true or not here, nobody trusts the figures at all. We were so lucky last year, even if the numbers were way off there certainly weren't many deaths or we would have known. I'm sure quite a few deaths were recorded as pneumonia when they were actually Covid, but really we seemed to be in one of the safest places in the world this time last year.

But now, as everyone else is coming out the other side, we are still waiting for vaccinations and our numbers are higher than ever. It's a strange old world.

@kookiekook I've never watched a Thai TV show We have Netflix and HD Prime

@puffalicious come back to Thailand! There are so many schools and new ones opening all the time. Teachers are always in demand!

@biscuitlover09876 having a baby here was... different from the UK! Expensive, too! The medical care here is great but childbirth is VERY medicalised. It's difficult to find a doctor willing to allow vaginal delivery and even those who do often find a reason to switch to a section. I knew I would need a section anyway so this wasn't a problem for me, but for women hoping for a natural delivery it's hard to feel confident your doc will go through with it.

You have a private room, like a hotel really, but they think you're a weird foreigner when you want the baby in the same room as you. Many hospitals point blank refuse to allow this, no matter how much you quote WHO guidelines to them. One hospital I considered actually said they would let me see my baby about 8 hours after delivery, if I was up to it, and then the docs would decide if I could have the baby in my room for most of the day, depending how I was coping. This was considered a generous offer because it was my third baby so I presumably knew what I was doing. But they were not going to budge on overnight so I switched hospitals.

It was an ok experience in the end but generally Thai doctors have zero bedside manner and are very clinical. They put me under to give me my spinal, woke me up to deliver the baby, then put me under again to stitch me up. This was not what we had agreed. Informed consent it is not really a thing here!! I had a photo with the baby but then had to wait hours to see him again. Very few hospitals let you see the baby while you're in recovery. Oh and they won't let you get up after delivery for ages! They wouldn't even let me have a pillow to prop myself up on for hours, I was flat on my back. It was over 24 hours before they tried to get me in a chair. Slight contrast with the UK, where I was in a chair a few hours after an emergency section and in the shower a few hours after that!!!

For vaginal deliveries, you also have to shop around to find a doc who will let you move around during labour, as most expect you to be on the bed throughout. Epidurals are normal but I've heard gas and air is not allowed, not sure why.

Oh and they also gave my baby vaccinations without my permission (which I would have given, but I didn't appreciated finding a cotton wool ball stuck to his leg after they said they were just doing a check-up!)

And they taught my husband, who already had 2 children, how to bath the baby. This was not optional, apparently. It was a bit retro but my god he will never be as clean again! Inside his nostrils and everything!! Thais are very clean people. The hospital staff would be appalled if they saw my kids bathing with a hosepipe

So will/could your baby be a Thai citizen?
Any advantages/disadvantages to this?

@kendodd no, it's almost impossible for a baby born to foreign parents to get Thai citizenship. The birth certificate says is very clear that the baby is foreign!

If it were possible to do, I would do it. The only real downside is military service, but this can be limited to a sort of cadet service during your school years. If you don't complete that, you have to do a proper stint after you leave school. The advantage would just be being free to work and study here in the future, regardless of parents' work visas.

@biscuitlover09876 you're right, disrespecting the king is a big deal here. If you drop money on the floor, you're not supposed to step on it to stop it blowing away, as that would be stepping on the King's face! The royal anthem is played publicly twice a day and everyone is supposed to stand still for this. Most schools have a raising the flag ceremony daily. You stand at the cinema before a film begins for the national anthem, too.

There are strict laws preventing people speaking ill of the royal family and you can go to prison for breaking these laws. This extends to the press, too. The Thai people genuinely loved the previous king, he is still considered something of a hero and his picture is still everywhere. Public buildings, schools, malls, small shops, taxis etc and many private homes have pictures of either the current king or the old one.

The current king is controversial but you can't say that out loud. You can Google him for some interesting stories though!!

We also have strict defamation/libel laws so you have to be careful on social media. You can't leave bad reviews for things as you risk legal action for doing so.

Really interesting thread op. If you moved somewhere else, where would you prefer? Still in Asia?

Thanks @Susannahmoody!

If I didn't have to consider the financial side of things, then Latin America or Africa would be my preferred choices over elsewhere in Asia. Or Spain. But teachers earn a rubbish salary in Spain so that's out.

Asia does have a lot to offer expats, especially teachers. There are great schools and great quality of life in Malaysia, Vietnam, HK, Singapore etc. My adventurous side would prefer a total change if we do move, but there are a lot of factors to consider.

Who knows where we will end up? I didn't expect to enjoy Bangkok as much as we do. I get carried away looking at job posts all the time, and I've even considered random places like Uzbekistan or Mongolia!! But my children are very happy here and life is easy so I'm not sure I'll ever snap out of my comfort zone and go somewhere unusual like that. Also in most places we will have to pay school fees for one of our children, as most schools only subsidise up to 2. So that's a big consideration. Teacher packages are good but not good enough to pay international school fees!