A week has passed since we touched down in Bangkok, swapping the early chill of autumn in Finland for the sauna-like humidity and heat of Thailand. After a day and night of recovery in Bangkok, we headed to Chiang Mai to stay with our friends Micheal and Nuch.

We have always enjoyed Thailand, ever since our first visit here way back in 1986. The people, the culture, the scenery, the food have always attracted us to spend time here. As the years have rolled on, even we will have to think about retirement one day and the environment we wish live in. Reading of some of the changes the Thai Government has made to ease foreigners wishing to retire here, plus the positive experience we had back in December 2019 during our last visit, makes it worthwhile to try to obtain a understanding of living in Thailand.

So this blog entry will not feature the major temples and palaces, rivers, beaches and mountains but just a few thoughts on Thailand as a possible retirement destination. Ok not all work, I will have to try a few beaches, pools, massages and sunset drinks during our visit.

Michael and Nuch are so welcoming: we have our own guest cottage a short walk from their house which is situated near Nong Yaeng, north east of Chiang Mai. We had indicated that we wanted to get a feel for the area and they obliged by taking us to restaurants, coffee shops, markets, supermarkets and meeting some of their friends.

We even spend a morning visiting a local retirement facility. No, we are not moving in yet, but wanted to understand what does exist here as a long term option. The facility was acquired from local owners by a european group which will offer places to people from Europe. If one did not know better, you would think you were at a resort.

We felt a real sense of community amongst expats living in this area. This is something we consider important in where we might one day end up living.

To obtain a different perspective, we then relocated closer to the city. Staying at the Balcony hotel we had hoped to catch up with a couple who had relocated here recently but our timing coincided with their travels back to Australia but met others who had made the move to Chiang Mai and were now living at the Balcony. It also appears to be the base for other digital travellers who have an interest in motorcycling. Chiang Mai offers an amazing variety of riding, both on and off road including the famous 700km / 430 ml. long Mae Hong Song loop. We did not have any time to ride here on this trip, though we may have covered a small section back in 2014 en route to Laos. I will have to look at my GPS route on return to Australia.

We are lucky enough to spend a little time with Grace, who runs HiVolt. Off road riding is her speciality as well as exporting specialist parts for off road motorcycles. Interesting that here people ride small cc motorcycles, around 300cc when we are used to much larger engine displacements.

The only “sightseeing” we did in Chiang Mai was to visit Changthong Heritage Park – a 12 acre private botanical museum of ancient trees, beautifully curated by Mr Khun Chang over almost 20 years.  It was wonderfully peaceful to meander through this park – and admire the vast selection of ancient trees, the moss paths and stunning waterfalls.

As our week in Chiang Mai drew to a close, we have to thank everyone who listened to our questions, offered their thoughts and generally gave us a very positive view of Chiang Mai and the people who live here.

Next we head off south of Thailand to see whether a place by the ocean awaits us for a potential long term move.

– Anthony and Anne