Amber’s FAQ
For this week, I thought I’d write about some of the most commonly asked questions that I’ve been fielding since moving here -
How are you settling in? Are you feeling settled?
I think this is the main question where my answer probably differs quite a lot from Justin’s. Not really feeling fully settled yet myself. But I think that’s largely due to how much I had to travel in the first few months. Since moving here in May, I’ve been to Chiang Mai four times, to Kuala Lumpur, and to Singapore. But I’m staying put for a little while this time. I won’t be going anywhere other than Bangkok for a few more weeks yet. Also, we finally received our shipment of the items we sent from home and have purchased a few more of our own items, both of which have helped to feel more settled and like we live in this apartment rather than being in a long-term Airbnb. So short answer… getting there.
Are you learning Thai? Is it hard?
Yes, and yes. I began with taking Thai twice a week, but have since increased it to 3 times because I want to learn faster. And it is definitely hard. But I’m learning! I’ll probably be writing a post talking more about it, so keep an eye out!
What’s your favorite part about living in Thailand?
The food. Unequivocally. You pretty much have to try to find bad food here. It’s absolutely amazing and I may now be addicted to mango smoothies and lattes. I get them so often that the people at the smoothie shop and the coffee shop know my order. I heard one coffee shop guy tell the other one what the order was before I even got to the register and am pretty sure I saw him start to make it before I ordered. Funny enough, this is also where I often will get my lunch from. They sell Thai food out front in the mornings and afternoons.
It’s the rainy season there. Is it just raining all the time?
No. It is the rainy season, but in Bangkok that looks much different than what you are likely thinking of. It’s actually quite sunny here almost every day. But we’re now getting in the habit of taking our umbrellas with us everywhere, because it does rain most days at some point. Sometimes it’s a drizzle, sometimes it’s HARD rain. Like hard hard. You will be drenched within a 2 block walk. Like, dripping on the floor, have to mop it up with a towel after you change kind of wet. But nearly every time it stops within about half an hour. A lot of times it actually stops in about 15 minutes. Unfortunately, not all parts of Thailand are like that and some places have gotten absolutely hammered with rain and are crazy flooded. There are organizations asking for item donations to take to these parts of the country for flood victims. Here’s a picture from the Bangkok Post last week.
When will you be ready for visitors? When is the best time to come?
We’re ready now!!!! Please come visit us! We have a guest room and really want to share this amazing place with you all!! As for the best time to visit, honestly I don’t know that there’s really a bad time to come. Yes, there is a rainy, cool, and hot season, but if you look at the average temperature throughout the year, the variance is only about 5 degrees or so. The only thing to be aware of is that the pollution does get particularly bad in February-March when farmers are burning their fields. But if you come then and it’s too much for you, we can all just pop off to the south and kick it on some stunning beach. So pack your bags already and book a flight!