Land of Smiles

Thailand is Cambodia's neighbor to the West, and this forum is dedicated to Thai news, stories, reviews, blogs, videos, Thai people and anything else related to the country. A lot of expats have both lived and worked in Cambodia and Thailand, and this area is a place to discuss all aspects of life in Thailand and what's going on there. Most topics are about Bangkok and Pattaya because of their larger populations of expatriates and tourists in those cities, but this is for all things Thai.
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yong
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Re: Land of Smiles

Post by yong »

For anyone who is interested here is a compilation of monthly expenses one can expect living in Thailand. I did a similar exercise 7 years ago and decided over the past few days updating it with a Singaporean friend living in Pattaya (not working just staying here for years). So this is it our latest compilation hope its helpful:

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Bongmab69
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Re: Land of Smiles

Post by Bongmab69 »

i was in phuket for +100 days last year, and i had more or less the same expenses.
Only 4 thing are missing: beer and girls, visas and flights.
I spend all together about 100.000 a month (hotel was 15.000 for IBIS 3-star).
Later i came to PP for 60 days andd in fact i spend more, the only thing what was cheaper in PP was the beer (and the girls, that all depends on yourself).
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truffledog
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Re: Land of Smiles

Post by truffledog »

yong wrote: Tue May 31, 2022 7:23 pm For anyone who is interested here is a compilation of monthly expenses one can expect living in Thailand. I did a similar exercise 7 years ago and decided over the past few days updating it with a Singaporean friend living in Pattaya (not working just staying here for years). So this is it our latest compilation hope its helpful:

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Thank you very much for the updated figures. Just a few comments to give some further details

Beeing a couple reduces monthly living costs considerably as you can share the fixed part of the costs like rent, transport, utilities and phone/internet. In the less known parts of Thailand you can rent a decent place for 2000-4000 a month, even less if you go spartan. Cooking simple meals at home is very cheap if you stick to veggies, rice and fruit bought at the market. As a couple 20K Baht/month may be enough (10K Baht each). Not included are entertainment budgets which can vary hugely from case to case.
work is for people who cant find truffles
Kenr
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Re: Land of Smiles

Post by Kenr »

I have only been to Pattaya twice, but my last time there, February 28, 2020 to March 16,2020, I had decided that is where I was going to retire to in 2021. That was pre-Covid and since have changed my plans. But I did look at some condos to rent in the middle of everything and did a rough figure of what my cost would be living there.

Rent: 15,000 to 18,000 baht (nice places 2-3 blocks from the beach in the LK Metro area)
Utilities: 2,500 baht
Phone, internet, cable: 2,500 baht
Eating out everyday: 12,000 baht (love the bbq buffets and usually don’t eat breakfast)
Fill refrigerator and cabinets with orange juice, sodas, fruits, etc: 3,000 baht

So for my everyday needs it would have been about 35,000 to 38,000 baht per month. (Leaves more than enough for the wants, LOL)

Transportation really not needed because I could walk to get my everyday wants/needs.

A lot of true costs depend on the exchange rates. The best I have ever gotten while there is about 36 baht to the dollar, one of the lowest ever, maybe the lowest, was in 2020 when I couldn’t get even 29 baht to the dollar while I was there.
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yong
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Re: Land of Smiles

Post by yong »

People are leaving Thailand

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yong
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Re: Land of Smiles

Post by yong »

Kuay Jap Yuan - is a popular noodle dish originated from Isaan particularly the province of Udon. Like many dishes found in Udon it has its origin from Vietnam and then adapted into Thai. In Udon you find many Vietnamese immigrants who came during the war years.

This is the shop close to my home
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The inside is simple
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Menu
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Guess I am their first customer today
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Kuay Jab Yuan - quite a portion only $1.60
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Kuay Jab Yuan - consisting Isaan sausage, minced pork vegetables and supposed to have pork bones too but I don't want.


This is actually my first time eating Kuay Jab Yuan, I think its delicious and also sort of a comfort food for me so I will come again.
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yong
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Re: Land of Smiles

Post by yong »

Today is the Dragon Boat Festival where Chinese all over the world celebrate this festival by having rice dumplings that we call "ZongZi" or "粽子“.

For more information about the Dragon Boat Festival you can read it from here - https://www.dimsumwarriors.com/dragon-b ... essential/

For me living in Thailand I started off the day with a rice dumpling breakfast and jasmine tea

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The pork rice dumpling
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Jasmine tea
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Dragon Boat Festival Breakfast
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yong
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Re: Land of Smiles

Post by yong »

Went to a noodle shop for breakfast today. Brought my own sambal chili sauce to go with the noodle

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Very delicious
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yong
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Re: Land of Smiles

Post by yong »

Black Canyon Coffee is a chain restaurant in Thailand and can be found everywhere. I rarely go to Black Canyon for anything but today had a very late breakfast there.

The restaurant
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Counter
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Dining area
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My $5 breakfast
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This is known Kai Kata and is a very popular breakfast in the province of Udonthani many said it’s brought by Vietnamese during the war
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yong
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Re: Land of Smiles

Post by yong »

Felt like having a nice piece of meat my choice is always El Gaucho at Thonglor

Fresh and warm bread
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Always have a nice Malbec with the meat here
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Starters - Jamón Serrano Ham
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Cheese
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Avocado salad
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The star of the dinner - 1.7kg tomahawk
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Slowly carved
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Dinner is ready
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Finally what's left
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