| Paul lives with his family in Bangkok, Thailand, where he also works for one of the city's daily newspapers. Here he shares many aspects of his expat life in Thailand, including what he's learned so far as well as the things that can still make him go "hmmm." Paul also gives some tips on what to do and consider in order to appreciate living in the Land of Smiles. |
 Paul Dorsey |
-Where were you born?
Burnley, Lancashire, England
-In which country and city are you living now?
Bangkok, Thailand
-Are you living alone or with your family?
With my Thai wife, Thidarat, son Beam, 14, and daughter "Ying," 13
-How long have you been living in Thailand?
Since March 1992, except for 2 years in Hong Kong (2000-2001) and six months in Shanghai (2002)
-What is your age?
54
-When did you come up with the idea of living in Thailand?
I was working for the newspaper in my hometown of Georgetown, Ontario, Canada, but the economy was shrinking the staff and my job was under threat. Then I split up with my first wife, so I was unattached as well. One day I was discussing two topics with a colleague – Buddhism and alternative work destinations. She suggested Thailand, which she'd visited, and I tracked down information on the Net about the Bangkok newspapers, got in touch and received assurance that I could probably work here if I came over.
In the back of my mind, as well, were my vacation trips to Jamaica and Venezuela in the 1980s, which pretty much convinced me that I ought to be living somewhere it's (a) hot and (b) a little "backward", since modernisation seems to have deleted much of the humanity from people's behaviour.
-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
No, once I was hired, The Nation took care of that. Annual visa and work-permit renewals require my presence at the Immigration Department in downtown Bangkok, and then there are visa "checks", initiated a couple of years ago, that require a visit to the office every 90 days, though I'm told these can be handled by mail.
-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
I didn't seek any before leaving Canada, and the newspaper has handled it here.
-How do you make your living in Thailand? Do you have any type of income generated?
I'm a sub-editor for The Nation, one of Bangkok's two English-language dailies. I had to travel to Thailand to secure the job, but had been assured that with my experience (by then 17 years in newspapers, including three years as managing editor of a weekly) there probably wouldn't be a problem.
-Do you speak Thai and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
I reached a level of sub-conversational Thai after a few years that has never improved since, much to my chagrin. I now wish that I'd signed up for classes early on (although I’ve seen few foreigners who’ve taken lessons become fluent). Now, of course, my Thai wife handles all our dealings with Thais, which means I've virtually stopped learning the language. Her English is very good, but my kids have struggled with English and we've developed our own mixed language to communicate, but knowing Thai properly would be of huge benefit to me. I still want to make time to learn it better, but when that will happen remains up in the air.
You don't need to speak the language to appreciate the culture, of course. And for a Westerner, Thailand is blessed with an abundance of wonderful culture, as well as the sort of things we tend to class as beautifully bizarre. I've been here a long time now, but still I never fail to get a kick out of the annual festivals and the royal ceremonies, even if I'm just watching from afar – and I'm still always surprised when I see an elephant.
It's not merely "important" for foreigners to respect the customs of their adopted country, it's essential. To do otherwise, and especially to suggest changes in the way things are done, deservedly fosters prejudice on the part of our hosts. Too many "farang" living in Thailand forget that they are guests here and overestimate their worth.
-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
Since my parents in Canada died, the "homeland" has held no interest for me, other than a sister with whom I'm regularly in touch by email. I will never miss the Canadian snow, but I suspect that when I older I'm going to miss Canada's healthcare system. That was part of the trade-off.
-Do you have other plans for the future?
No specific plans. I've visited Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines since I've been here and worked in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Little else appeals to me by way of travel, and I'm figuring on staying at my current newspaper until I retire.
-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
I've always rented apartments in Thailand and currently have a lovely, large two-bedroom flat overlooking a huge pool for 8,000 baht a month, trees ringing the building. For that amount I could also be renting a three-bedroom house in a nice area, and may soon be doing that. With hindsight, I'd advise newcomers to look into purchasing a condo as soon as they decide they're going to stay in the country. Thailand has restrictions on foreigners buying land, but they can buy a condo or find a Thai partner to buy a house or property. The money I've paid in rent over the years would have purchased a fine house by now.
-What is the cost of living in Thailand?
Relative to the West it's quite cheap; relative to Vietnam, expensive. More pragmatically, I've always been able to save money in Thailand, but I could save more while I was working in Hong Kong. I saved none at all when I was in Shanghai (even though I never went out on the town), which is one of the reasons I left there.
-What do you think about the Thai people?
I suppose that, in my first year or two, I thought of the Thais as a nationality apart, in being friendlier than any other I'd encountered. They do indeed deserve their reputation for being hospitable, but other than that, I've met too many less respectable Thais in the years since to sustain the generalisation. There are good Thais and bad Thais; there are those who welcome chances to get to know foreigners better and who are happy and willing to help us, and there are those who'd like us to get out of the country and take what they perceive as our trivial / diseased / dangerous culture with us.
-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Thailand?
Positive: Climate, cost, pretty good infrastructure, English spoken widely, astonishingly diverse geography, an unending pageant of amazing things to see and do and loads of chances for fun, since "sanuk" (fun) is an integral part of every Thai activity, even work.
Negative: Modern materialism has soaked much of the populace in a country where corruption has been ingrained for centuries. Between greed and graft, politics is a roller coaster that can get dangerous, as in the predominantly Muslim southern provinces, and risky for resident foreigners, as in the continuing, needling attempts to change the laws to our disadvantage.
-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Thailand?
Dispense with preconceptions before arriving, or else be prepared for disillusionment along with the pleasant surprises. This is a developing nation, and circumstances can change rapidly. Buy a guidebook, read it with a grain of salt and tear out the pages that prove wrong or outdated as you discover the reality. Learn the language, focusing on being able to hold a conversation rather than the distant goal of fluency.
And finally, if the Thai way of doing things ever starts to bug you, remember that you're in a Buddhist country and life is just an illusion anyway! Thus, always remember you should be having fun.
-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Thailand?
The best website I've found for keeping track of societal developments and politics in Thailand is Ron Morris' http://www.2bangkok.com
The best for cultural stuff is in the writing of Richard Barrow and Stephen Cleary at http://www.thai-blogs.com
I have my own blog-that’s-not-a-blog called Dorseyland at http://dorseyland.blogsome.com, which often delves into Thai things, but is more of A Place to Store My Stuff.
