All good here in Pattaya, apart from a number of additional expenses making this a busy month ...
New passport (due to the other being full 4-years too soon), retirement visa extension renewed & transferred over, plus a re-entry permit, a much needed health check with full blood work done (because it's been too long -all ok). Just the flights home for my annual 2-week trip to the UK to be booked and that's the big spends over for a while.
Thanks for asking
How's life on Thailand's largest island? (colloquially known as 'Jimboland')
I'm about to wrap up my first year in Thailand.
All things considered it went well. My biggest gripe about Phuket is the transportation issue. I'm more comfortable on the road now, but that's probably a bad thing. Phuket's next traffic fatality always seems to be only a few hours away. It's a lottery that I don't want to hit.
I don't go to Patong that often. The longer I've been here the more I see that place as trashy, annoying and ugly.
I quickly grew tired of the bar scene there and that is about all Patong has to offer. I stick to the other side of the island most of the time and only go to Patong to scratch a particular itch.
I'm headed back to the States soon for a visit and I'm going to float a few resumes to see what's out there. Even with taking Thai classes, I've had trouble keeping busy and I kind of found myself missing work.
I'm qualified to teach English in Thailand and I might try that for next year. I'm not really concerned with salary but I want a work permit.
If I can find something at a university teaching about 20 hours a week, I'll probably take it. I will not teach children so I'm going to be picky about it.
If all else fails, I'll do the retirement visa or the education visa.
Although, I've always had a strong desire to see China, and Vietnam, so I'll probably float resumes in those places too.
If I do come back to Thailand for another year, it won't be to Phuket.
I want to experience another location.
Don't get me wrong, I've had a fun year here, but I have the urge to explore another place.