Sunday evening in Bangkok baby. I’m actually just about to have a night out with an amazing friend from Canada who has sent the last 7-months travelling through Southeast Asia. Hearing his stories from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos make me appreciate this part of the world so much. There’s no better place. Hope to see you this way soon! 🇹🇭
BKK Most Liveable City In Asia For Expats
Bangkok has just been ranked as the sixth best city in the world for Expats according to a poll done by InterNations, a global network of 4.5 million people that live and work abroad. Below you’ll find some key figures that paint the picture as to what Bangkok-based expats think about the city.
79% of expats surveyed in Bangkok were happy with life in general
69% were happy with the cost of living
54% said it was easy to make friends
66% were happy with their work
68% were happy with their work-life balance
82% were happy with the quality of medical care
The other cities that rounded out the Top 10 are below:
Valencia
Dubai
Mexico City
Lisbon
Madrid
Bangkok
Basel
Melbourne
Abu Dhabi
Singapore
Our Take
Like I’ve said before, I’m not a huge believer in polls like this because who knows what the sample demographics look like. Having said that, it’s always nice to see Bangkok do well in the court of public opinion. When I first moved here, my buddy Dana (shout out Idea Studio) told me that BKK is the greatest city in the world. After almost 2-years of living here now, I tend to agree. What makes this city unique is the fact that it’s so good at so many things. Yes, Singapore might be cleaner. Hanoi might be cheaper. Tokyo might have better transportation. But when you start to consider all facets of life (cost of living, people, safety, food, nightlife, regional access, etc.), it’s hard to beat the Big Mango!
The State Of Tinder In Thailand
With 2022 drawing to a close, popular dating app Tinder has just released its ‘Year In Swipe’ report with some interesting trends specific to users in Thailand. The key takeaways are broken down below for your convenience.
Top Date Activities Among Thai Users:
Hang Out
Beer With Friends
Coffee Date
Buffet Date
Anime Viewing
Most Popular Foods Among Thai Users:
Hotpot
Thai BBQ
Shabu
Buffet
Grilled Beef
Most Popular Interests Among Thai Users:
Music
Netflix
Instagram
Travel
Movies
Top Spotify Artists On Thai Tinder:
Olivia Rodrigo
The Weeknd
Harry Styles
Joji
Glass Animals
Papri Dev, head of APAC communication at Tinder said that "2022 has been a busy dating year for single Thais with trends from the pandemic such as virtual dates being carried over and fused with an increase in IRL dating opportunities. As Thailand opened up, we saw young Thai adults being more creative in their choices of dates, looking for new and interesting activities to experience together. The desire for authenticity amongst Thai members was coupled with people looking for positivity and humour from their dates this year. With the majority of Thais excited about their dating prospects, Tinder will continue to spark new connections and play an important role in the dating journey of young adult Thai singletons."
Our Take
This was VERY interesting to say the least. I’m not on Tinder these days, but back when I was, it would’ve been nice to have some of these stats! For all you single guys and gals out there coming to Thailand soon, let me plan the ultimate date for you to take full advantage of this critical Thai Tinder information…
Start off with a hangout session at Benjakiti Park. Then head for some Hotpot at CentralWorld. Throughout both of these activities, make sure to talk about how awesome Olivia Rodrigo and The Weeknd are. Once your done all of this, finish things off with a beer (be sure to invite friends) over at W District. Boom, there ya go. The ULTIMATE Thai Tinder date. Good luck!
Thailand Travel Tip
There’s a lot of different travel insurance companies out there and often times it’s a pain to find the right one. We get all sorts of emails about this topic from those of you that watch our videos over on Retired Working for You, so I decided to include the company I use in this week’s edition of Thailand Weekly. SafetyWing is a travel insurance company that provides awesome coverage for anyone that lives abroad, but their rates and coverage make it ideal for those vacationing overseas as well. I think I pay in and around $50/Month for my coverage, and I was impressed with their service when I actually had to make a claim last summer. Everything was taken care of, and I had a solid experience overall. Signing up takes a couple minutes and is super straightforward, so if you have a trip to Thailand booked (or anywhere for that matter) at any point in the near future, I’d definitely recommend considering them for insurance coverage.
Anti-Cannabis Sentiment Surges After Pattaya Incident Goes Viral
Cannabis legalization took a big step back in public opinion this week when photos of 9 and 10-year olds smoking from bongs in Pattaya Beach went viral throughout Thai social media. Opponents to legalization feel that things have gone too far and this is exactly what happens in a society where marijuana is decriminalized. Kritiwat Matrong, the man who stumbled upon the children and called authorities said “I understand that now ganja is free, but shouldn’t we have boundaries? Don’t ignore it. I pity these children. These kids, their future is still far away”, while another social media user said “send this to Anutin to show what he accomplished. This is medical marijuana for you. Ruins society”.
This all comes on the heels of inspectors starting to crack down on street-side sellers slinging cannabis as a recreational product.
Our Take
This is too bad for a few reasons. Firstly and most importantly, it's unfortunate to see such young kids smoking cannabis. I don’t think that anyone below 18 (maybe even 20) should partake, let alone 10-year olds. My hope is that the adults in their lives jump in and guide them down a smarter path, because this is no good. Secondly, one-off incidents like this shine such negative light on cannabis and its legalization here in Thailand. I don’t generally criticize officials, but this is the kind of stuff that happens when you move full steam ahead on something with a rocky plan. In all honesty, this whole marijuana decriminalization has been a total custerf**k. It’s left regular people confused. It’s left police confused. It’s resulted in wild inconsistencies in product quality. It’s left the government without the tax revenue I’d imagine they’re looking for out of all this. Moving forward, it’s time that some order gets implemented. Everyone is better off that way.
Only In Thailand 🇹🇭
Well, another monkey-themed ‘Only In Thailand’ section from Lopburi Province with locals begging visitors to stop giving the animals cigarettes. The outcry comes on the heels of a social media clip (which has since been taken down) of a macaque accidentally burning itself with a cigarette that a man flicked over to the animal. In the video, the monkey grabbed the smoke by the lit end and burned itself, crying in pain. My personal take on this is that it’s just sad. I don’t quite understand why people would stoop so low and do this? These are animals that are already aggressive enough, and getting them addicted to nicotine is one of the worst things you could do on top of the fact that it’s just plain wrong. Pretty shameful if you ask me. I’m sure there’s already rules in place around this, but there should be HEAVY fines for those that take part in such stupid behaviour.