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So, it is now a little over 2 years since I retired and settled down in Bali. Time for a look abck on those 2 years and a SITREP ? Let’s split this in a few points : 11) Stopping your professional activity : Working is for most of us the thing where we spend a good part of our life on, being it time or energy. So, when suddenly you remove this from your life it is quite a change. Hence many people delay retirement, are afraid to be bored, and plenty other reasons. In fact, the adaptation is very easy, and you soon realize that even without you putting in 12h x 6d a week, the company continue to thrive and the world to spin. Yes, in the beginning I sometimes missed the intellectual or technical challenges, but that didn’t last long. One has to accept when it’s time to hand the wheel to the younger generation and sit back. 22) Moving from country : I understand this can be a bit stressing for some, especially if they never did it, but for me that was a very easy part. The country selection, well it happened to be Bali because I am with an Indo woman, it could have been anywhere near the sea in a sunny place. Of course, the administrative process (hassle) for the retirement visa in said country is to be considered with attention. It could turn into a stressing event every year and take away a lot of the enjoyment of “retirement under the sun”. 33) Staying with your partner 24/7 : For people having had a nomad professional lifestyle, this IS quite a challenge ! And even for people who had a more “regular” 8-17 job and every evening at home. I have known several couples who struggled seriously with this part, even in the West. It is a big difference seeing your companion every weekend, or even every evening and being 24/7 with her. In my case I apprehended it a bit, but as we still have our regular separations when the Miss is in Java and me here alone, I makes for nice breaks appreciated by both and it works. Here again a reasonable age difference probably helps as well ! 44) Adapting to your new financial status : Of course, switching from a full expat package to a regular pension, with your income divided by 3, and having to pay yourself for your lodging requires a bit of adaptation and change in habits. But if having a long-term partner, well you don’t hang out in bars every night anymore. And age helps you as well, even you don’t really like it. For those who come to places like Pattaya to finally ,at the end of one’s life, “live the dream” it could be more tricky. Plenty examples around that ended badly. Hence I can not repeat enough “prepare your retirement from very young !”. It must be horrible to realize that suddenly you are out there with 500 Euro/month to live on at 65 y old… 55) What to do with all this free time ? Yep, that is a good question. My answer is simple, we live like we would live a “normal live” in any country. Grocery shopping, buying bread, supermarket run now and then, restaurant, reading etc.. In my case I always loved reading, learning things about the world, so now I have again plenty time for it. But sure, depending on where you settle down, this will be an issue. There are things I would do in France that I can’t do here, but on the other hand there are things I do here I couldn’t do in France (like swimming pool every morning). Important is to impose oneself a certain daily discipline. From my experience in the past 2 years, having a partner helps also as you have a “normal couple” life. I appreciate when the Miss is away for 2 weeks, but longer than that it becomes a bit difficult and knowing myself living alone would be a tricky path. Conclusion : Till now no regret concerning retiring or the partner and country I choose. But I am not saying I found paradise, and I will stay here for life.

These photos were taken Thursday night, Jan. 9, 2020, between 8.30 p.m. and 10.30 p.m. There were lots of people in motion. From what I see every time I visit LK Metro, there are plenty of people out and about. Most of the open-front bars seem to have customers. However, with the exception of KINK, Pandora's and a few others, the go gos are languishing. The outside areas of the bars had a fair number of customers. As usual, Bilabong was busy ... Jibby's and Cafe Racer were also busy ... ... as was Kilkenny.

And there was me thinking it was Mad Joe! ☺️

Thanks mate, and replying to a few of the points you raised : Social life : Yep, my social life was mainly centered around my job, and working colleagues, so that is a bit a empty void now. Add the fact that a majority of residents here are Australians, a circle I have "culturally" little in common with. I mean, sitting in a noisy sport bar drinking beer for hours while watching sport on TV is not my thing. Most socializing happens now in my "regular french cantine" where at least I can speak my language. Getting up : still 06.00 am for me. And 07.00 am I am in the pool. But I have been an early raiser all my live. Wake up in the jungle residence even a bit earlier, thanks to my mate Ahmed ! Travelling : Having travelled extensively during my "career" I am tired of it now, and really not motivated.

My Dad and Mum. they instilled a work ethic and also taught me what was right,and what was wrong. My Father received the OAM ,for time volunteering in the Australia Volunteer bush fire brigade,and from the earliest memory,I was told that if you take from a community,it’s your responsibility to give back into that community. They were church going folk,but after long talks with my Dad,he openly admits he went to church because it made my mother happy,to see the family all together,even if it was just an hour a week. Sadly,these skills that I learnt at a young age,are rarely taught these days. our little community here has changed so much in the last 26 years, and the residents now have never been so much about “me”. Our Rotary Club is a shadow of its former self,partly because when you do give back,you are judged in the manor you are doing it.

Geoff Carter...good ain't it.

My missus,I do as she says....

Gonna open a bar there one day called The Rusty Trombone For those who don't know what it means, it's when a girl kneels behind you and reaches between your legs and wanks you off while licking your shitty arse hole, thus looking like she is playing a rusty trombone 😀

Tonight at about 18.30 downtown Patts time...

Leach sent home from SA due to illness,so we've lost our # 1 fast and spin bowlers,not sure if Archer will be fit for tomorrows test. On the up side Ben Stokes named ICC cricketer of the year,well done young man!

Welcome to Hua hin.

1 baht .. serious ! Beach gal loves McDonalds ( I can't stand the fucking place ) but the ice cream was good

Aussie win never in doubt Gal. Indians lost 9 for 130+ I watched till 12.30am here couldn't stay awake if week-end game would have stayed up, great win for us ,but it's not the same as beating you English bastards.regards, world twenty20 in Oct out here,we are waiting for you bastards. regards grayray

Madam has re-awoken, and joined me for breakfast....

Enjoy !!

Unless you thought of and created that meme , I would say you've been influenced by the person that did .... 😉

Influencers are for sheeple.

Up early! Luang prabang shuts at 11pm. Unfortunately, having satisfied the gf's need to give the monks rice, none of the coffee shops are open to satisfy my need for coffee...!!

10 wicket win for the criminals against India at the Wankhede stadium Centuries for Warner and Finch

Matthewh. I follow him wherever he's not been slung for calling everyone cunts!

Agoda and Booking.com offer different models despite being part of the same umbrella group, Bookings Holdings. I usually look at both to get the best deal, Agoda sometimes is better but they do normally offer the deal based on no refund. Booking.com offer free cancellation, I recently used them for the best deal on a hotel in Angeles which allowed free cancellation up to 1 week before arrival. I also once walked into a hotel at 1 pm in Udon Thani and thought it was so disgusting I went back downstairs to check straight out but I had paid cash on entry, I asked for a refund by calling Booking.com who said as it was before 2 pm they would reimburse me by talking with the hotel reception, a good deal. I think both offer a professional service which has never let me down.

As the promotion banner above Kilkenny shows the beer prices at happy hour, anyone has got to admit, for that price sitting down having a beer with that atmosphere filled with music, pleasant aromas wafting in the air, people watching, and the numerous ladies either working as staff at the nearby bars or just in passing along the soi, it is a great deal of fun to hang out on Soi LK Metro on any given evening. Even at basically 30 baht to a USD, for about $2.30 a beer, a guy could sit there 4-5 hours enjoying the scene with his mates or even solo, and not have it put a crimp in his pocketbook.

A few more sightings.

Watching the early morning river traffic

Thanks for taken the time to visit this place and another cracking report Robb 👍 I'll remember that one "Unfortunately, it was a locomotive steak" lol

The restaurant at the Gulf Siam Hotel on Pattaya North Road just west of the intersection with 3rd Road has an interesting sign, at least for steak lovers: Who can resist a ฿ 89 steak? I can't, but I was sure it wouldn't be anything like the pic. The restaurant itself carries a rather curious name, Gulf Sixty-Eighty, but is also known as the Gulf Cafe & Coffee Shop. Gulf Sixty-Eighty plays up the steak angle pretty heavily, but also pushes its breakfast buffet and cocktail promotion. Inside, it's quite comfortable and attractive. And a photo from the hotel's Web site: Gulf Sixty-Eighty even has a separate "Steak Menu," but it's not very long. I had the "beef steak with black pepper sauce" for ฿ 109. The ฿ 89 steak on the sign is a "chicken breast steak." Well, ToTo, I don't think we're in a Kansas City steakhouse anymore- or even Sizzler. That has to be the smallest piece of beef steak I've seen served that wasn't authentic Kobe. Of course, of course, I know you're not going to get 300 grams of USDA Prime or imported Australian beef for ฿ 109. If the mini-steak had been good, it still would have been value for money. Unfortunately, it was a locomotive steak- chew, chew. chew, chew. Tough and sinewy, without much flavor. The flavor it did have came from the seasoning used, not the meat itself. I asked for medium rare, but got medium. 😒 The small portion of French fries was Pattaya standard. The mixed veggies and salad were good, very fresh and tasty. The one outstanding feature of the meal was the black pepper sauce, excellent taste, better than I've had in many much more expensive places. I just wish I'd had more of it to pour over mashed potatoes. On the whole, however, it's the steak that should have been the star and it wasn't. Tough and bland, it wasn't even a good character actor in a supporting role. I can't rate the meal as more than mediocre, possibly mediocre plus. Maybe if I had taken advantage of the cocktail promotion, the steak would have tasted better. 😀 😀 😀 Bottom line: I haven't given up entirely on Gulf Sixty-Eighty. I plan on trying a few of the other inexpensive dishes on its menu. It's a nice place to eat and the pepper sauce made me think they might have a decent chef who simply had poor quality beef with which to work. Maybe I would have been better off with the "mince beef streak with gravy sauce." Mincing or finely chopping beef has been a counter-measure against toughness for centuries. In the U.S., "Salisbury Steak," named for 19-century physician James H. Salisbury, has been part of Amerrican cuisine for nearly 150 years. Salisbury advocated a diet high in protein from lean meat and low on vegetables, fruits, starches and fats. He urged people to eat a patty of chopped beef three times a day and drink large amounts of water to flush out the system. So in Dr. Salisbury's memory, I might order the "mince beef steak." Or in direct defiance, I could have the spaghetti. 🤣 The service was friendly and attentive, but considering I was the only customer, that shouldn't be surprising. The pic below shows the set-up for the breakfast buffet. I have no idea what the quality is like, but ฿ 159 for an all-you-can-eat buffet isn't a bad price. Evil

Guy Martin....... Fookin' 'ell!

Sarcasm mode OFF Nice post TS, what does SITREP mean? I think it's interesting to hear how people handle one of the biggest transitions of their life. Add in moving to another country plus the relationship challenges. Fair fucks to you mon ami 🙂

Good post TS , it's been 20 months for me and Its flown by ... I don't miss working , apart from the social interaction.. have enjoyed being able to watch the footy and cricket WC matches and the TDF in the afternoons , plus I was busy decorating and furnishing a new apartment and getting the snags sorted out , I am still in the process of selling my old home hopefully that completes at the end of this month ... 🤞 I don't get up at 06:30 any more , normally it's around 09:00 I go to the gym , pool and sauna a few times a week , particularly enjoyable when it is quiet during the daytime ..and when the weather improves I'll get my push bike out I meet up with my Dad for lunch a couple of times a week my main hobby is Family History ( Genealogy ) and I aim to spend more time on that and write up my research so I can share it with other family members Plus I want to travel more , not just Asia , there are loads of places I haven't seen in Europe that are on my bucket list

Yea , I agree ..... my entire purpose in my adult life was banging great code .. and I loved it ... But, my purpose in life has changed since Ziggy was born ... now, it is to be the best father I can possibly be ...

A good attitude JM .... nothing is ever perfect ... it is how you respond to the diversity that makes it all good or bad ....

Pornhub

It good to see you view in this matter and I think what you do with all this free time is the key to it all. I realised this when I was in Pattaya not for my self but for other where i was installing video tv boxes, I'd always get chatting to the buyer while i'd be installing the box and i'd find out they are board and spend too much time on the booze. Many i'd offer a after service and call back maybe a month a so down the line to find the spending all the time on the booze had stopped and they have spare money to do things. its amazing a little bit of tv and a few movies changed many of them.. I see many blow everything before time and go back home with nothing.. I've never once looked at you and thought your one of them as you keep your self busy all the time. 👍 One of the reasons i've not continued building the house in Udon as when its time to move there it was going to be my project. I think you need a purpose in life..

Bloody 'ell.... Was expecting to queue for hours at immigration at Swampy.... 2 people infront of me. I beat the gf through, and she used the thai line!

Not denying theft of shopping baskets and carts is a problem, but "social media meltdown"? Come on, give me a break. Another sensationalist headline by the folks at Thai Visa.

Is that guy on the foreground wearing shorts and a "parachute" the pilot?

Have a safe and hopefully uneventful flight.

Every member on this board should line up, shake your hand, and thank you for saving us from a meal like that. A culinary atrocity, a weapon of mass disgustion.

Lol Remember you posting her videos years back 🤣🤣

Michelle Phan

Hey 230 baht for a dorm bed. Cheap Charlies fine dining opposite and plenty of places doing a 65 baht beer- you'd love it

Yes we did very well with renting out bikes by adding our selfs to google maps.

Spent three days in the vicinity over New Year, stayed at Robin's Nest and walked LK Metro every night. Place had great atmosphere and doesn't trouble the wallet, can't knock what is on offer. Only hit one go go but didn't blow my skirt up as much as the outside bars.

Laos coffee and cake at what must be the poshest coffee shop in luang prabang... ...mind you, there are several hundred we haven't explored...

@Krapow....yes.

Notice displayed yesterday in Megabreak.

I've found patience to be a virtue when dealing with Thai waitresses as most often any problems are caused by her failure to understand me or my failure to understand her. Very, very seldom has a hassle been the result of ill will on the Thai's part. Evil