It has been almost two years since I moved to Thailand, but I think this country is a good place to live for Japanese people without any real trouble. Bangkok has a lot of Japanese products and Japanese restaurants, so I don’t think I’ll miss Japan more than any other country. But even in such a country, foreign countries are foreign countries. What you can buy in Japan cannot be bought in Thailand. What you can do in Japan, but not in Thailand. There are some things you have to put up with.
Troubles
There are my problems.
Shopping
・ The price of contact lenses and related products is high or the same as in Japan.
・ The raw vegetables are suspicious. Products produced in Thailand and imported from China are likely to use large amounts of chemical fertilizers unless they are organic and will not easily fall off with water. These fertilizers accumulate in the body.
・ Japanese books are more expensive than buying in Japan. Although there are some major Japanese bookstores in Bangkok, they are generally sold at a price of about 1-2%.
-The electrical product is suspicious. I want a Bic Camera. The only electrical products that can be trusted in Thailand are a single department store in a high-end department store. Others are pirated versions of well-known brands, and are often brittle with poor quality products.
Thailand
・Even if you turn on the TV, you do not understand the Thai language, so you will not be able to turn on the TV and you will not have much opportunity to read the news. Unless you look it up online, you will be Taro Urashima.
・ Since Thai characters cannot be read, it is easy to interfere with everyday life.
・ The poor quality of water and the quality of the washing machine make the fluffy towels brought from Japan ugly.
・ Due to the air pollution and humidity in Bangkok, washing clothes is smelly and not very clean.
・ Exercise time is limited because it is hot all year round.
What bugs me a lot
You don’t even think about it in Japan
As I wrote above, what is particularly troublesome is that I don’t have much access to the news. When you’re in Japan, there’s no language problem, so get up in the morning and listen to the TV news you’ve casually prepared and get ready for your work.Once you’re in town, read the news on the Shibuya electric signboard while walking. When I read living information on the Yamanote Line TV and went to the office, my colleagues talked about society through chats. It is a situation where information comes in without being aware.
You got to think in Thailand
But that is not the case in Thailand. Even though I speak Thai, I can’t read Thai letters, so the amount of information when I’m in town is overwhelmingly small or almost nonexistent. I can only read the strange alphabets and meanings of Japanese that I sometimes find. I started studying Thai characters, but it is an unfamiliar character, so I have to remember it from scratch, and I don’t usually use it, so it’s very bad to remember. I know that life will be easier if you remember it, but it’s still not easy. If you do not have the aggressiveness to go to the Internet news yourself, you will be a complete Urashima Taro.
Perspectives change
Another reason is that when you are in Thailand, you lose interest in what your country is like. When you live abroad, you tend to think that you are close to yourself, and you are less likely to mention things that are not directly related to you. But this society is an information warfare. That is the same even in Thailand. Therefore, it is still important to watch and listen to the news every day, even if it is a little. You have to push yourself, which is a bit annoying.
Being in trouble makes your life exciting
I don’t expect the same thing because living abroad cannot be the same as in Japan. But when you are in trouble, you are in trouble. But I think it’s important to enjoy it and make it a place where you can live. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to experience what I can’t do in Japan and enjoy growing myself is a wonderful way to enjoy life.
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