The Venice of the East

How Bangkok's waterways could improve your life no end

Any reader who has lived in Bangkok near a canal for any length of time, will know not only how efficient and inexpensive the system is, but also how unappreciated and unused the system is by expats in general and how they could easily benefit from cheap, reliable and extremely quick transport around Bangkok.

Back to civilisation?

Have I really been away for two and a half years?

I need a little intermission from Asia, from being abroad, from the frustrations. It's time to remember why I moved away again, time to take a step back and get out of the bizarre madness that has become my life.

Thais and speaking English

Postbox letter from Steve

In Thailand they have a genuine disinterest to talk and communicate with foreigners. They're generally not eager to learn about other cultures. They are closed. Why? who knows. Maybe its because its a big country that houses everything that you'll ever need in your lifetime.

Coming back home

Can second time around ever be as good as the first?

Returning to live in Thailand is quite different from coming to live here for the first time. Instead of everything one encounters seeming exotic, one mostly senses the familiar.

Book review

The essential guide to teaching English and living in Thailand

As they neared the end of their first year in Thailand, Michael and Sarah suddenly realized that while chatting with new arrivals, they were answering the same questions over and over again. So they began to compile a guide to help others who might want to give TEFL in Thailand a try.

Neighborhood watch

How do Bangkok neighborhoods differ?

I've been thinking about the five different neighborhoods I have lived in during my twenty-odd years in Bangkok. Which ones did I enjoy? Were there any neighborhoods that I particularly hated? What were the advantages and disadvantages of each community that I spent time in? Perhaps it would be interesting to draw some comparisons.

Watching the pennies in Thailand

Keeping a tight hold of those purse-strings

Before coming to Thailand, I never thought it would be expensive here. After traveling in Vietnam, we arrived and I was aghast at our first night's attempts to find a cheap place to stay and all the while comparing the room prices here to what you would get in Vietnam.

What to expect when you move to Thailand

Life in the sticks and other oddities

I packed my bags and moved to Thailand to eventually become an English teacher. I was offered jobs in different parts of Thailand, but I quickly decided to move to a village in the North East region of Thailand, as opposed to a city. Moving from a city in Canada to a village in Thailand is a radical change but it's the type of challenge I was looking for.

Getting hitched in the Land of Smiles

Continuing the adventure but as a married teacher

Hi, I am Elizabeth (Miss Ellie if you are one of my 5 year old students) and I am a homeroom teacher at an International school in Nonthaburi. I moved here from South Korea where I lived and taught for a year