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30 Things I Miss About Thailand When I Go Home

As well as loving many things about Thailand, us expats do a lot of moaning about the Land of Smiles too.

It's probably mostly us Brits; we love a good moan! And a cup of tea.

The usual complaints relate to customer service, health and safety, cleanliness, bad driving and scams.

Seriously, I have noticed a trend though: The longer you are here the more you see certain aspects of living “back home” through rose coloured glasses.

You tend to reminisce about your homeland in the same way a tourist might read about it in a guidebook, and forget all those annoyances that pushed you onto a plane in the first place.

Conversely, living abroad can also make you appreciate your homeland more, and indeed that is why many expats decide to return after a while.

But for most, an extended trip home usually reminds you of why you made the move in the first place, and by the end of your trip you're itching to get back on Thai soil.

Thailand will always have an abundance of “Thainess” that just can't be fathomed – and that's part of its charm – but day-to-day the positives generally outweigh the negatives.

Anyway, here's my list of things I miss about Thailand when I go back home.

30 Things I Miss About Thailand (when I leave)

  1. Weather that enables me to be outside whenever I want (except rainy season).
  2. Fresh fruit and vegetables readily available in my soi.
  3. Fantastic outdoor markets.
  4. Generally very friendly people.
  5. Beach getaways to idyllic islands; just 1 hour from the airport.
  6. Being able to leave BKK and arrive in Chiang Mai, door to door, in less than 3 hours.
  7. Chilling in coffee shops with a book or my laptop.
  8. Hour long Thai massages for £4.
  9. 7-Eleven's everywhere. So convenient.
  10. All types of Thai fruit, except Durian.
  11. Pad Thai.
  12. Songkran. Not so much the water throwing but the vibe.
  13. The vegetarian festival that happens once a year.
  14. No parking inspectors.
  15. A metro system that rarely experiences delays or signal failures.
  16. Cool co-working spaces.
  17. Traveling everywhere by Uber for pennies on the dollar.
  18. Quirky Thai customs.
  19. Nice kids that are usually respectful to their elders.
  20. Visa runs to Laos.
  21. Fresh coconut juice.
  22. Wais, in all their different forms.
  23. Smiles, all 13 of them!
  24. Rarely feeling stressed.
  25. Speaking Thai.
  26. Cheap rent and utility bills.
  27. Dating great women (before I was married)
  28. Never having to wear more than a t-shirt.
  29. Geckos and jing jocks.
  30. Being spontaneous and not having to plan every aspect of my life.

Did I miss anything (no pun intended)? What do you miss?

To give this post some balance, I asked a bunch of friends what they would and wouldn't miss about Thailand. You might find that  interesting to read here.

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  1. Jey says

    Things I hated about Thailand when I lived there:-1- Visas and general bureaucracy (and complete jobsworth uniformed “officials”, trying to make your life hell in every possible way)2- Jomtien immigration office and Bangkok ministry of foreign affairs (relating to point 1)3- Creepy, obnoxious expats from Russia/Germany/India/England4- Chinese tour groups on Walking Street and their buses on Pratumnak hill5- (Sensitive information removed)6- Inescapable noise everywhere at all times of the day and night (loud music/traffic/construction/blaring loudspeakers on every street corner7- Awful Thai music and TV8- Constant harassment from touts/vendors/prostitutes/taxi drivers in tourist areas9- Constant stares, pointing, whispering, “hellos” and the feeling of being an alien from Ronald McDonald-land in non-tourist areas10- Provincial, “us vs them” mentality among most Thais. Ignorant attitudes towards foreigners/the rest of the world. The fact that you will forever be a farang. The fact that in 3 years there, I made no local male friends I could simply have a beer and chat with. The fact everyone who tried to befriend me seemed to want something out of me, be it free English lessons, a trophy farang to show off to their mates, or other things. The fact its so hard to trust anyone out there, Thai or farang. You always have to keep your guard up11- Lack of critical thinking/ common sense among Thai people12- Lack of intelligent conversation to be had with Thai women13- Terrible organisation in every aspect of life from working in the schools and education system to the dreadful traffic on the streets14- Selfishness and lack of common decency (they might paint themselves as compassionate, caring buddhists but watch when they drive, especially when theres an ambulance in traffic and nobody moves for them)15- Phoney, superficial, fake culture of face. The fact that the way things look is more important than how they actually are16- Lack of any kind of health and safety, how cheap life is there17- Lack of any kind of social welfare or pensions for the citizens even though they pay tax, Relating to point 1618- Poorly designed cities and third world infrastructure. You can’t simply walk anywhere like you can in Europe with the bad pavements, dodgy electric cables, stray dogs, awful smells, rubbish and open sewers, aforementioned stares and harassment, motorbikes abandoned/random portable restaurants set up in the middle of the pavement19- Ugly cities that lack character (every city in Thailand seems to consist of rows of identical concrete block shophouses, tasteless shopping malls, massive billboards with the occasional gaudy temple20- Overrated, suspect food (rotten stinky fish paste, rice with slop, deep fried whoknowswhat doused in MSG and chilli to hide how revolting it actually is, plastic chemical junk from 7/11). Constant threat of Bangkok belly.21- Don Muang airport and how dreadful it is (the UK’s worst airports pale in comparison)22- Crap customer serviceThings I miss dearly about Thailand now I’m back in the UK:-1- Awesome weather, constant heat and near constant sunshine year round with epic thunderstorms during the monsoon season. Never needing jackets, jumpers or winter woolies is such an awesome thing, and with the smaller wardrobe, I could save money for other things2- Cheap costs of living for most things3- My awesome, bright, modern condo with a big balcony, security, gym and swimming pool in the suburbs of Pattaya that cost far less than a crappy, inner city shoebox in England.4- My pickup truck and cruising down the beachfront on my scooter. Driving a Vauxhall Corsa in England just isn’t the same as a Toyota Hilux in Thailand5- The amazing colours of everything (I still remember being nearly dazzled by the greens of the lush foliage and coconut trees, massive flowers in every colour, golden buddha statues, blue skies and turquoise seas when I arrived from grey, gloomy England. It was like my eyes were switched to HD!)6- Ease of travel, being able to pop over to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia in my holidays. And even within Thailand, exploring the jungles of Khao Yai, streets of Bangkok and the islands of the south. It really is backpackers paradise out there.7- Feeling surprisingly safe. The fact that in my 3 years in Thailand, the only time I ever came close to getting into a fight was with a drunk idiot from England at the full moon party says a lot. Compared to my city in England where I nearly always look over my shoulder in case of chavs/thugs/hooligans, especially on nights out.8- How easy it was to hook up with the abundant, beautiful, awesome girls in Asia. Between Tinder, Thaifriendly, bar girls and random chicks I met out and about, I hooked up with more smoking hot Thai/Filipina/Vietnamese girls (8’s plus) than my friends at home could dream of. Now, back in the provincial northern England sausagefest, competing with countless other peacocking dudes for overentitled 6’s, I miss Thailand and the awesome Asian chicks more than ever!9- Simplicity of day to day living compared to England. There, if I wanted to fix a punctured tyre on my car it was as simple as paying a guy in a shophouse 200 baht and waiting 10 minutes. Same thing in England? I’d need to take all my documents to a licensed mechanic, schedule an appointment for about 3 weeks ahead and pay through the nose. Aside from the initial immigration and work permit hassle, life seemed so easy in Thailand.10- Teaching in Thailand. Besides the annoying Thai teachers and bad educational system, I miss teaching there. The students were great and the work was so easy, especially with the laissez faire attitude there. Being a white face seemed to be enough to keep the bosses happy. I never had to deal with some horrible superior looking over my shoulder, checking my t’s were crossed and i’s dotted there.11- The awesome friends I made there. In school and out, I made friends from all around the world.12- My favourite grilled meat and sticky rice vender, smoothy vender and noodle stand13- Awesome Japanese food everywhere, awesome international cuisine in Pattaya14- Epic nightlife in Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket. Cheap drinks, good bars and nightclubs, awesome girls and far friendlier and more chill vibe than the UK. What could be better?15- The awesome street markets selling just about everything. Cheap clothes, smacks and random things.16- The work to life balance (relating to point 10). In Thailand, I taught for a maximum of 20 hours a week, usually around 4 hours a day. Other than 8am assembly, my classes and the occasional extra activity, the rest of my work day was spent in the office on facebook or youtube. I left work at 4:30pm at the absolute latest (usually earlier). Other than that, my time was spent at the beach, chilling at home, at a restaurant or bar somewhere. I couldn’t dream of a lifestyle like that back in England!
    Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      Great share. A few of these had me laughing out loud. Harsh in places though, I'd have to disagree on a few things, like music. Some Thai music is great. There's some really talented country/folk singers, past and present. There's also the likes of Sek Loso, Bodyslam, even like some of Da Endorphin's stuff. Whether you like the style or not, there are some very talented musicians.
      Reply

    • TheThailandLife says

      Thanks Jeff. I was told that Koh Samui in particular had very little electricity back in the 70s; did you visit there back then? The country must have been a very, very different experience.
      Reply

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