Farewell, Thailand!

So now, let's get the big question everyone has been asking out of the way - "Where are you guys going next?" And the truth is, we don't know. (As of May 22nd) Our thought process has been this:

A) Mexico. Ella has some leads on a university position there. Pros: Good food, cheap, close to the US. Visa process is super easy. Cons: Low salary. We'll have to make sure areas we travel to are safe.

B) Japan. We both want to work there. Pros: Safe, modern, easy for me to get a job. Cons: Expensive. Visa process for Ella is difficult.

C) China (Likely Guangzhou). We both can find jobs there. Pros: Safe, huge modern city. High salary. Near Hong Kong. No visa issues. Cons: We've been to China before.

So we're going to try in that order. If A or B works out, great. If not, C is always an option. In truth the salaries in China are really skyrocketing, so from a financial standpoint I think that would be our best bet. And we've never been to Guangzhou before. That's such a massive collection of large cities in one place (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Zhuhai, Macau, Hong Kong), it could finally be the big city atmosphere I miss from Bangkok (Yes, I know how that sounds). However, I also really want to live in Japan. Because it's just weird enough to intrigue me.

But let's wrap things up for Thailand. Wait, didn't I do this before? Yes, I did! Back in June 2015, when I tried to leave Thailand for the first time. But this stupid awesome country pulled me back, and now I'm stuck saying goodbye for the 2nd time. For all the right reasons however! This time I get to leave it with my best friend, and I am really sure that it is time to move on. So, let's click on the link together and stroll down memory lane as to what I thought of Thailand a few years ago.

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Alright, actually I pretty much agree with everything that I said there. I'm not sure I have much more to add, so let's leave it at that. Seeya!

Alright, I am going to give them some credit in that they made the 90 day check in much easier than it used to be. In fact, you can do it online now. Still, the immigration system is a bit complicated. China and Taiwan do it better, amazingly. As far as positive things, lets remove the one about police officers being helpful. I really lucked out the first year I was here, because after that I got to experience just how annoying they can be. Despite my US Driver's License being valid (according to their government, and my embassy), it turns out the beat cops just don't care. Your choice is either to pay a $10 bribe, or spend a day in the police station getting it cleared. Ugh.

I will say that I certainly never expected I would be here this long. Hell, I was a bit surprised I made it a year. In the back of my mind I always thought that I would give it a go and then go running back to Taiwan, but it's been a wild ride. During my time here, I've visited all four neighboring countries, made it back to China and the US, a sort of trip to Vietnam, plus two trips to Singapore. Not bad for three years, which I can attribute to Thailand's infectious love of time off. I've gone through periods here of working the hardest ever (teaching two jobs while getting my Master's Degree) versus months of no obligations (pretty much my life since February). It truly is an amazing place that you can lose yourself for weeks and months at a time, palling around different beaches, jungles, mountains, and cities without a care in the world. And while I've pretty much explored every noteworthy corner of Thailand, there are still far many more undocumented (in English) villages and other interesting sites only the locals would know about.

So, if you ever find yourself at a crossroads in your life, I can't recommend Thailand more highly. Take a few weeks off and "find yourself", for lack of a better cliche. Wander aimlessly without hurry, and you'll probably find a few incredible experiences while consequently forgetting about all your worries. Try not to take things seriously (they certainly don't). It's easier said than done, but the Thai attitude towards life has been sort of starting to rub off on me, which is a great thing. Take things as they come, don't sweat the small (or large) things, and "Sabai sabai".

With that said, let's take a look back at my favorite Thai photos, minus the first year.

I'll miss you Thailand. You're one of the few countries where I can definitely say, I know I'll be back one day. (As a tourist)

This time I really have to apologize for not updating. It has been several months.
I know, I know! I really have no excuse except, I have not really had too much to write about recently. That isn't to say there have been no interesting developments in my life, just not much to say. So let's get the big stuff out of the way:

• My contract ended at my old job. Since Ella and I plan on leaving Thailand at the end of May, I did not renew.
• Thus, I have had very little to do.
• To occupy myself, I picked up some part time work. Oddly I am working harder at part time then I did full time.
• Of course, I've also been busy getting things ready for jobs and the move. I can now really understand why people choose to come to the US illegally. Applying for a visa is a giant pain.
• I've been throwing myself into my "professional" blog pretty heavily. Just to plug it again, No BS ESL (If you're into English teaching). I'm really proud of it regardless.
• I met Hodor (Kristian Nairn) from Game of Thrones. He was in Bangkok to promote his new album. This is most irrelevant to my life, I just though it was cool.

Right then, enough boring life stuff. In Bangkok things are "same same but different". We had a tragic end to my favorite place in the city, Cheap Charlies. No doubt almost every foreigner who passed through Bangkok has found themselves at the iconic dive bar at some point or another. But unfortunately, Bangkok just needed another fancy hotel. Thus, the whole block is coming down. They had a farewell party that was completely packed, and I for one am sad to see it go. We stayed until midnight (closing time) for the final, final call. Darn shame.

The other point of note is that it is Songkran, which if you are not familiar is the Thai new year. It's basically a time where people go absolutely bananas. Think a college house party, except it's in the street, your goal is to get everyone else wet, and it goes on for days at a time. This is now my 4th Songkran, and I am really, really getting sick of it. In theory the first day is nice, assuming you are prepared for it. However, if you have anything at all to do that day, you have to cover anything you do not want destroyed in plastic. Furthermore, after the first day, the constant inescapable loud music on every street corner gets to you. Add on top of the fact that everyone over the age of 12 is blistering drunk, and... ugh. I don't mean to sound like an old man, but I am really tired of this holiday. It's nice when you're on vacation, but trying to live out your life during that time is impossible.

So, we did the only possible solution - we went on vacation. To the seaside town of Hua Hin. I passed through there a looong time ago, during my first few months in Thailand. Ella and I have also been there before with Sandra, and we did quite a bit of exploration. Much like our previous Koh Samet getaway, our goal this time was to do virtually nothing. Unfortunately, we arrived in the heart of the Songkran nonsense. I did not anticipate this, but fortunately the people of Hua Hin were kind enough to not get our bags completely soaked. After getting to our hotel, I walked out in a T-shirt and flip flops, sans phone, and got completely destroyed. Oh Thailand.

The first day we went to Venezia, a weird sort of park that models itself after Venice. Apparently Hua Hin has a thing for making parks out of famous tourist destinations, like the Santorini Park we went to last time. Venezia is sort of like an outdoor shopping mall with some kiddie rides, art pieces, a mini zoo, and other odd gift shops. I don't really understand why this place exists, but here it is anyway. It had one of those 3D art installations, not unlike the one in Phuket and Pattaya. If you've never been they're pretty cool, and make for some fun Facebook photos. Other than that, it was a lot of fake Italian stuff. Thailand, I get you but at the same time don't get you.

After the Venezia, we took a nap, then went to the night market for beer, food, and shopping. The following day, we went to the beach to swim, got a foot massage, and drank more beer. Rough life, right? Our routine of drinking - massage - beach - sleep was interrupted by a surprise visit from Dmytro and Art. I guess coming to the conclusion that everyone has left Bangkok for the holiday, in a drunken state they decided to pop down to Hua Hin. In particular that night we went a little nuts, and wound up ordering pizza on the beach at 2am. Because you know, life is hard over here. Other than that, the next day was more of the same. Ella and I found a coffee shop to chill out in, then we took a nap until Hua Hin native Aeh joined us for more eating, drinking, and carrying on. The next morning we hopped on a bus back to Bangkok, which gets you all caught up on my life.

So yeah, not much to report. It seems most of my days have been spent lounging about. Not that I'm complaining by any means, it just doesn't make for compelling storytelling. If all goes to plan (this time), this will likely be my penultimate blog for living in Thailand. While it is a lot of work to move, Ella and I are both looking for something to keep us growing professionally and personally. It has been a lovely, low stress experience - if you ever want to basically retire but still sort of sometimes work, I definitely recommend it. I don't recommend this, however: