I'll always love Thailand but we've definitely missed the freedom of being on the road 😅 I forgot to mention Visa's aren't so easy in Thailand, nor is it easy to get a job that isn't teaching - I'm sure we'll be back one day but right now this is the right decision for us. This isn’t me saying Thailand is a bad place, I absolutely love it there and I’m not trying to put anyone off of going there 😅 Every day in Thailand is like an adventure, but there were a number of reasons stacking up (like having really bad lung problems and not being able to travel with the dog) I hope you're going to enjoy the upcoming adventures and don't forget to let us know what countries/places you want to see in Europe! 🫶
Great to have you back! Sad you had to leave Thailand, but understand why - I must admit I was a bit worried about the heat and smoke especially with Percy and one or both of you always seemed to be sick! Looking forward to what is to come - stay safe and keep us updated. It’s a great time of year to be starting a European trip! ❤👍
Thanks! Yeah I’ve never been so ill in my life, I’ve never had to go to the hospital for anything before! I’m excited to get Percy back out and about, he loves being in the van here 😂 and I hope you enjoy what’s the come! 🥰❤️
I lived in Thailand for nearly 4 years in the early 2010s and wouldn't have lasted a week with lung problems considering the pollution (and farmers having to set their fields on fire every 2 days filling the air with smoke). Good luck on your new travels!
I remember you telling me about this in a previous comment but it is good to see the video proper, and this was only a month or 2 ago I give you and dom tons of credit for being able to adapt like this on the fly, this year has certainly been interesting for the both of you, I continue wishing for the both of you only the best!
Glad you are both doing what's best for you, and excited to follow the return to van life! Good luck with the solo trip down to Austria; if you happen to pass through the Netherlands and need anything, do drop us a line!
That van looks amazing!🔥 I've grown to prefer traveling solo. It's challenging and can be scary and leave you feeling vulnerable, especially as a woman, but it's also so freeing empowering! Hope you have safe and happy travels through Europe!
I'm glad you're all okay. That's the main thing. Have a safe trip and enjoy the freedom of moving about again. Being on your own and having to do things you'd not done before will be good for you and I'm sure you'll get the hang of things quickly. We need that video of your new home on wheels though once you've got things sorted to your satisfaction. Cheers from Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Thank you!! I’m enjoying having the freedom, but definitely keeping on guard without Dom around as it’s my first time solo in the van. You’re definitely right, I think it’s good for me to get out of my comfort zone and be a bit independent! It feels like I’m getting the hang of it pretty quick haha. Yes! I’ll be filming a tour very soon ☺️🫶🏼
Glad to see that you will be traveling again! I figured that burning season would make it hard to do anything at all. I look forward to seeing where all you go to in Europe! Good luck with it all!
Thanks! Yeah it felt like it was really restricting us and making travel impossible there, which is what we moved there to do 😂 the weather was great during the winter months but after a few months of it we were both feeling so low. Thank you! ☺️💕
Good to see you. Sorry about the situation in Thailand, but health concerns & environmental issues are important.. must feel comfortable & safe. Best to you & Dom on your next life adventures. Safe travels & look forward to your next video. Take care & have fun in your camper.
Excited for your new adventures and to live/travel vicariously through your videos! I’m sure some of your anxiety about travelling alone will get better as you go. It took a couple trips for me (though I wasn’t in a van - I wish!), I wish I could still travel, especially alone. Can’t wait to see your van tour, it looks so nice!
Thank you Chrisy! I hope you enjoy the videos, I’m feeling less anxious now I’m on the other side in Europe, but I’m still in familiar territory atm 😅 it’s a chance to build some confidence up 😅 I look forward to showing you what it’s like in a tour! Thanks 🥰🥰
It’s perfectly normal to feel like this! Sometimes when you move to a big new country the culture shock can be too much and you realise things that sometimes can’t work - things and plans change all time 😅 I struggle with anxiety and trips alone seem scary but I am sure you will be fine as you have experience with travel before, just take it easy 😊 love seeing what you guys do and good luck on the next chapter! 🙏🏻😁
Yeah definitely learnt that haha 😅 I get anxiety too, I’m hoping going in at the deep end will help it out a bit haha going slow and steady, enjoying it so far! Thank you 🥰
I feel you, I had to move from one city to another because my asthma was raging . Good luck! I can't wait for the next videos and... come to Poland! ❤️
Good luck on your new adventure 🎉 It really is unbearable here at the moment so completely get why you would leave 😭 one of my friends from France arrived in Bangkok yesterday and said she almost fainted from the heat so not a good start 😢 anyway take care of yourself and I hope you get reunited with Dom and Percy soon ❤
Thank you! Yeah Dom hasn’t gone out much in ages because of it, we didn’t do anything for a month before I left it was so unbearable 😅 I feel for your friend! Bangkok is crazy hot 😓 thank you ❤️
I imagine the limitations of 90 days per 180 will be a pain on any longer term plans in Europe? Smoky season is also making me reconsider Chiang Mai as a future relocation destination. Hopefully things change in the future.
Luckily there are a lot of European countries outside the Schengen zone e.g. Albania and many of the countries that used to be part of the former Yugoslavia! 90 days in these countries and you can go back to the Schengen zone. The balkans are beautiful!
Well take advantage of the non Schengen countries, but also looking forward to travelling Scotland and Ireland too. It’s a bit of a pain but we’ll work around it 👌 and yeah it sucks, because Chiang Mai in the winter months was brilliant, it’s a completely different place during the burning 😖
Yeah no one seems to mention the negatives, I love living in Thailand but it’s not perfect. It might be down to the defamation laws, bear in mind people can’t really say what they want and might leave out the bad bits!
I discovered you recently through your brother’s channel and glad I did! Wow you are so inspiring, what a brave thing to do! I’m 40 years old and have never driven anything other than a small/medium sedan and can’t even parallel park! I definitely haven’t driven to other countries (I live in Australia 😂) or even big road trips alone! I have been overseas alone but always knew at least one person in the country I was visiting if I was on my own. And becoming a Mum at age 22 I’ve pretty much always had company of someone 😅 I can’t even imagine the logistics of driving to Vienna in a van! I know in England and Europe there’s a lot of narrow and congested roads, can you only park at caravan parks? What about in the street and shopping centre car parks? I have so many questions 😅 Are you going to do day in your life vlogs? I’m sooo intrigued in everything from what you will eat and what you do in a day. Would love to see some getting to know you videos too! What an amazing adventure, wishing you a fantastic time ❤ P.S. such a shame about Chiang Mai! I visited in 2002 as a backpacker on my gap year (after Indonesia - my favourite country) and it was a magical experience, luckily no burning while we were there! But we ended up going through Laos to China, which was a spontaneous decision… that was by far my biggest adventure and the highlight of my life (at 19!), all downhill from there! 😂
Thanks for the amazing comment! I do get worried driving such a big vehicle when it comes to narrow roads and parking haha, I got stuck down a narrow road in Italy once and another time realllly stuck in the Isle of Man 😬 have learnt to ignore the maps at times and go with common sense 😅 and also really trying to plan where you’re going to park! We rarely stay in camp sites but around certain countries it’s quite easy to wild camp, Germany and France especially have loads of free parking areas for campers. I’ve driven to Austria before but only the west, but there’s a lot of winding mountain roads. I had one of my scariest times in Austria driving over a dodgy wooden bridge over a gorge 😅 at least i can bring you along this time haha. I’m daily vlogging at the moment, it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen so I’m just filming whatever happens! Ooh that sounds like an adventure! Dom and I loved backpacking through East Asia, I’ll always love it there, but it’s so dog friendly around Europe I’m excited to get Percy back out everywhere with us 😂💕
Sadly the education system is not about learning but about money. And we were shocked how poorly the school was run, given the extortionate fees that parents were paying. So no, it wasn’t for us.
You guys named the channel "Always Away" for a reason, it was a little weird seeing you guys settle down in a house hahaha but best of luck with the new van, hope everything goes well and looking forward to the content!
Wow, I came across your channel yesterday and thought, yay I can watch all about CM, then this came on tonight and your moving already. You just got a house etc. how does that go, organising mobile plans, internet, insurance etc, and now you don’t need any of it.
Haha sorry about that, we literally organised everything like broadband and phones etc. Dom’s still in Thailand sorting out everything we accumulated before he comes back
Probably one day, we tried to arrange driving down to Phuket and a long term stay in Koh Sumui, but a lot of it sits with our dog who we just can’t travel much with in Thailand, that’s really the biggest factor in leaving. We tried to arrange accommodation and it was just hellish without a lot of money, without a dog travel in Thailand is the best, but yeah it’s just been tough trying to organise anything with him
How are you going to manage the post-Brexit 90-day schengen requirements? We gave up permanent van life once Brexit was put into affect - heart broken. And we actually plan to move to Chiang Mai in June....but I'm having second thoughts. Like you say, the extreme heat, the smoke. I would love to get another van and go back to permanent EU van life, but just can't get over the freedom we have lost and how we would work out the timing to make sure we aren't stuck somewhere below freezing in eastern Europe (or the UK) for months in the winter because we've used all of our Schengen time.
We’re planning on spending a lot of time in the UK in between Europe travel, our plan is to spend the warmest months towards Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. It’s very frustrating though, Brexit really buggered it for us all! By June the pollution will have died down, I’d recommend leaving between February and April when it gets really bad. We couldn’t leave because it was hard to travel with the dog and we had tent commitments, life in Thailand probably would’ve worked out without those things but the heat getting to me too. It’s been 40C a lot recently and it’s just unbearable! But our current plan is the spend the warmest months in cold countries and coldest months in warm countries. I feel a lot more free being in the van! 😊
40 degrees? And extreme air pollution? No wonder you couldn't cope. That sounds like hell to me. I just don't know how people deal with such extreme heat. 20-25, with a strong sea breeze is well warm enough for me.
Lived in Thailand twenty four years and the overall pollution is only getting worse ever year. Not just talking about the dangerous air pollution but overall everything. The government has zero intentions of doing anything . Total focus is $$$ nothing more no future foresight about anything as you can see with the mass tourism policies. If I did not have a family here I would have left by now. Tired of the overall B.$ and excuses of the government.
I'm very excited for you guys!!! Looks like you have many epic adventures ahead of you. Looking forward to seeing all that you experience. Maybe one day you guys can visit the States and see all the beauty we have to offer as well! especially in Tennessee (hint hint) lol
Thank you!! I hope so 😄 and I hope you enjoy following along, it’s been a dream of ours to eventually ship our own van to the states, we’ll have to make it happen now for sure 😂🫶🏼
Just misplace. Most foreigners know to leave Chiang Mai in the summer. Bangkok is hot because there're many air-conditoners. Summer is the time to travel the south especially after Song Kran. The weather near a mountain like Khiri Wong is very good even in the summer. If you want to say in Chiang Mai, leave the city and go to a mountain like Doi Inthanon, you can even sleep in the van there.
Yeah I totally get all that, it’s not like we couldn’t have enjoyed Thailand but logistically it’s very difficult with a dog. We tried to leave CM but couldn’t find accommodation with the dog plus we still had rent to pay on our house so couldn’t afford to just leave. It’s easy if you don’t have commitments like him, but then as we decided not to teach anymore visas and work becomes a problem because foreigners can’t do many jobs there. Still love Thailand, but it was taking a toll on us. During winter it’s incredible everywhere in the North!
Renting fee back there is the real issue. This couple said otherwise about a dog th-cam.com/video/vqsA5GbZadg/w-d-xo.html. Thai schools close during summer. Lung problem is often a personal health issue than the dust. I've treated patients in the UK and found that doctors there are worse.
Rent in the Uk is crazy, but that’s why we’re moving into a camper 😅 the couple said it’s easy to get the dog in and out, which it really is, but travelling around Thailand with a dog isn’t easy, finding affordable dog friendly accommodation out of the hotspots. The schools shut for summer but burning season started while it was still on, and that’s when I began getting bronchitis for the first time in my life. CM has really high levels of lung cancer because of the burning season and it’s known to really impact the locals health statistically, the air becomes literally cancer causing and poisonous from the smoke. I by no means dislike Thailand, it’s literally one of my favourite places in the world, for anyone without a dog or other commitments it’s the easiest place to travel domestically too. We’ll always go back there and have Thai family, and there’s endless reasons why it’s an amazing place to live too if you can just leave during the burning
Most single storey resorts owned by locals are cheap and often pet friendly. I treated serious diseases including deadly cancers to people all over Thailand. Numbers of sick people in the north (and northeast) far exceed other parts of Thailand, not from the smoke, but from other various reasons. Lung cancers often coincide with other cancers. Even colon cancer patients in the UK got lung cancers. Smoke is bad but be careful to assume it as the cause of bronchitis. Just find the root cause from your underlying symptoms such as allergy/asthma (night/morning cough), virus (cough with green phlegm), tuberculosis (persistent cough). Smoke doesn't cause serious cough but can exacerbate the underlying diseases. You're right, avoid the burning season.
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I'll always love Thailand but we've definitely missed the freedom of being on the road 😅 I forgot to mention Visa's aren't so easy in Thailand, nor is it easy to get a job that isn't teaching - I'm sure we'll be back one day but right now this is the right decision for us. This isn’t me saying Thailand is a bad place, I absolutely love it there and I’m not trying to put anyone off of going there 😅 Every day in Thailand is like an adventure, but there were a number of reasons stacking up (like having really bad lung problems and not being able to travel with the dog) I hope you're going to enjoy the upcoming adventures and don't forget to let us know what countries/places you want to see in Europe! 🫶
Great to have you back! Sad you had to leave Thailand, but understand why - I must admit I was a bit worried about the heat and smoke especially with Percy and one or both of you always seemed to be sick! Looking forward to what is to come - stay safe and keep us updated. It’s a great time of year to be starting a European trip! ❤👍
Thanks! Yeah I’ve never been so ill in my life, I’ve never had to go to the hospital for anything before! I’m excited to get Percy back out and about, he loves being in the van here 😂 and I hope you enjoy what’s the come! 🥰❤️
Glad you did what’s best for you guys. Where you are isn’t important. Thanks for the update! Looking forward to your next adventures.
Thanks! We loved our time in Thailand but it feels like the right decision :)
I lived in Thailand for nearly 4 years in the early 2010s and wouldn't have lasted a week with lung problems considering the pollution (and farmers having to set their fields on fire every 2 days filling the air with smoke). Good luck on your new travels!
Yeah we spent 2 months hiding inside with an air purifier and it sent us both mad haha. Thank you! ☺️
I remember you telling me about this in a previous comment but it is good to see the video proper, and this was only a month or 2 ago I give you and dom tons of credit for being able to adapt like this on the fly, this year has certainly been interesting for the both of you, I continue wishing for the both of you only the best!
You got this, Emma! Looking forward to the future adventures for the three of you. Sweet Percy is a well travelled puggy. 🥰
Thank you! Haha he is, can’t wait to have him here 🥰
Glad you are both doing what's best for you, and excited to follow the return to van life! Good luck with the solo trip down to Austria; if you happen to pass through the Netherlands and need anything, do drop us a line!
Awh thank you so much! ☺️💕
So great to see another video!! I really hope you’re able to give us a tour of the interior of your new van!
Thanks! And definitely, will be filming a tour asap 😄💕
That van looks amazing!🔥 I've grown to prefer traveling solo. It's challenging and can be scary and leave you feeling vulnerable, especially as a woman, but it's also so freeing empowering! Hope you have safe and happy travels through Europe!
Thank you! I'm loving this van haha. Definitely! It's a big mix, I'm enjoying it so far - nerve-racking and exciting at the same time haha 💖
Happy to see that it worked out,with the camper van.Can't wait to see the layout.I wish you good fresh air in the future🏞️🏔️
Thank you 🥰 haha very much enjoying that cold fresh air! 😅
I'm glad you're all okay. That's the main thing. Have a safe trip and enjoy the freedom of moving about again. Being on your own and having to do things you'd not done before will be good for you and I'm sure you'll get the hang of things quickly.
We need that video of your new home on wheels though once you've got things sorted to your satisfaction.
Cheers from Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Thank you!! I’m enjoying having the freedom, but definitely keeping on guard without Dom around as it’s my first time solo in the van. You’re definitely right, I think it’s good for me to get out of my comfort zone and be a bit independent! It feels like I’m getting the hang of it pretty quick haha.
Yes! I’ll be filming a tour very soon ☺️🫶🏼
YAAAAY! So glad you had time for a video! :D
It was definitely time for an update! 😅❤️
Glad to see that you will be traveling again! I figured that burning season would make it hard to do anything at all. I look forward to seeing where all you go to in Europe! Good luck with it all!
Thanks! Yeah it felt like it was really restricting us and making travel impossible there, which is what we moved there to do 😂 the weather was great during the winter months but after a few months of it we were both feeling so low. Thank you! ☺️💕
Good to see you. Sorry about the situation in Thailand, but health concerns & environmental issues are important.. must feel comfortable & safe. Best to you & Dom on your next life adventures. Safe travels & look forward to your next video. Take care & have fun in your camper.
Thank you! And yeah it was worrying how Ill we both kept getting. Thanks so much 🥰
Excited for your new adventures and to live/travel vicariously through your videos! I’m sure some of your anxiety about travelling alone will get better as you go. It took a couple trips for me (though I wasn’t in a van - I wish!), I wish I could still travel, especially alone.
Can’t wait to see your van tour, it looks so nice!
Thank you Chrisy! I hope you enjoy the videos, I’m feeling less anxious now I’m on the other side in Europe, but I’m still in familiar territory atm 😅 it’s a chance to build some confidence up 😅 I look forward to showing you what it’s like in a tour! Thanks 🥰🥰
Good luck on your upcoming adventures! I look forward to seeing what adventures you guys get up to next. Stay safe!
Thank you!! ☺️
It’s perfectly normal to feel like this! Sometimes when you move to a big new country the culture shock can be too much and you realise things that sometimes can’t work - things and plans change all time 😅 I struggle with anxiety and trips alone seem scary but I am sure you will be fine as you have experience with travel before, just take it easy 😊 love seeing what you guys do and good luck on the next chapter! 🙏🏻😁
Yeah definitely learnt that haha 😅 I get anxiety too, I’m hoping going in at the deep end will help it out a bit haha going slow and steady, enjoying it so far! Thank you 🥰
Best of luck, Emma! Always along for the ride 😊
Thank you! 🥰
Glad to see the update! Can't wait to see more content from you both :D
Thank you! 😄
A new adventure! I'm sure you'll crush the solo travel. Enjoy the quiet time before your boys are back onboard!
Thank you! I hope so 😅 I’ll make the most of it before they get here haha
I've been waiting for one of your videos to be uploaded because love them so much. Sending both of you much happiness from Minnesota!
Ah thank you!! 🥰💕
Bless!! 🙏🙏 happy you are doing what’s best for you
Thanks Vin! 😁
I feel you, I had to move from one city to another because my asthma was raging . Good luck! I can't wait for the next videos and... come to Poland! ❤️
Ah that sucks 😓 thank you! We will definitely come to Poland soon haha ❤️
Good luck and stay safe! Looking forward to the videos of your journey. It’s good that you guys can video chat at least!
Thank you! Yeah it’s great having him on standby 😂😂
Good luck on your new adventure 🎉 It really is unbearable here at the moment so completely get why you would leave 😭 one of my friends from France arrived in Bangkok yesterday and said she almost fainted from the heat so not a good start 😢 anyway take care of yourself and I hope you get reunited with Dom and Percy soon ❤
Thank you! Yeah Dom hasn’t gone out much in ages because of it, we didn’t do anything for a month before I left it was so unbearable 😅 I feel for your friend! Bangkok is crazy hot 😓 thank you ❤️
Happy travels and adventures. Thanks for the update.
Thank you! 😊💕
I imagine the limitations of 90 days per 180 will be a pain on any longer term plans in Europe? Smoky season is also making me reconsider Chiang Mai as a future relocation destination. Hopefully things change in the future.
Luckily there are a lot of European countries outside the Schengen zone e.g. Albania and many of the countries that used to be part of the former Yugoslavia! 90 days in these countries and you can go back to the Schengen zone. The balkans are beautiful!
Well take advantage of the non Schengen countries, but also looking forward to travelling Scotland and Ireland too. It’s a bit of a pain but we’ll work around it 👌 and yeah it sucks, because Chiang Mai in the winter months was brilliant, it’s a completely different place during the burning 😖
Thanks
For the honesty, helpful for us considering the move
Yeah no one seems to mention the negatives, I love living in Thailand but it’s not perfect. It might be down to the defamation laws, bear in mind people can’t really say what they want and might leave out the bad bits!
Have fun on your trip!
Thank you! ☺️
I mean, you all gave it a go and it wasn't for you. There's nothing wrong with that and I'm excited for your new adventures!
Yeah I’m glad we went! It was still a lot of fun, but it feels like the right decision! 🥰 thank you!
I discovered you recently through your brother’s channel and glad I did! Wow you are so inspiring, what a brave thing to do! I’m 40 years old and have never driven anything other than a small/medium sedan and can’t even parallel park! I definitely haven’t driven to other countries (I live in Australia 😂) or even big road trips alone! I have been overseas alone but always knew at least one person in the country I was visiting if I was on my own. And becoming a Mum at age 22 I’ve pretty much always had company of someone 😅
I can’t even imagine the logistics of driving to Vienna in a van! I know in England and Europe there’s a lot of narrow and congested roads, can you only park at caravan parks? What about in the street and shopping centre car parks? I have so many questions 😅
Are you going to do day in your life vlogs? I’m sooo intrigued in everything from what you will eat and what you do in a day.
Would love to see some getting to know you videos too!
What an amazing adventure, wishing you a fantastic time ❤
P.S. such a shame about Chiang Mai! I visited in 2002 as a backpacker on my gap year (after Indonesia - my favourite country) and it was a magical experience, luckily no burning while we were there! But we ended up going through Laos to China, which was a spontaneous decision… that was by far my biggest adventure and the highlight of my life (at 19!), all downhill from there! 😂
Thanks for the amazing comment! I do get worried driving such a big vehicle when it comes to narrow roads and parking haha, I got stuck down a narrow road in Italy once and another time realllly stuck in the Isle of Man 😬 have learnt to ignore the maps at times and go with common sense 😅 and also really trying to plan where you’re going to park! We rarely stay in camp sites but around certain countries it’s quite easy to wild camp, Germany and France especially have loads of free parking areas for campers.
I’ve driven to Austria before but only the west, but there’s a lot of winding mountain roads. I had one of my scariest times in Austria driving over a dodgy wooden bridge over a gorge 😅 at least i can bring you along this time haha. I’m daily vlogging at the moment, it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen so I’m just filming whatever happens!
Ooh that sounds like an adventure! Dom and I loved backpacking through East Asia, I’ll always love it there, but it’s so dog friendly around Europe I’m excited to get Percy back out everywhere with us 😂💕
Good to see you again!
Thanks! ☺️
Excited for you both
Thank you! ☺️
Some people aren't cut out for teaching and living in Thailand. Don't feel bad you quit.
Sadly the education system is not about learning but about money. And we were shocked how poorly the school was run, given the extortionate fees that parents were paying. So no, it wasn’t for us.
Thanks for the update!
🫶🏼
Good luck Emma!! What an inspiration! Xx
Thank you!! 💕
Congratulations on the new Van 🎉 Hope this is the one ❤
Thank you! 🥰🥰
Congratulations guys wish u many great trip’s cheers 🍻 have a good one 🤘☮️🫶🍀🤪🤟🦋
Thank you!! 🥰
You guys named the channel "Always Away" for a reason, it was a little weird seeing you guys settle down in a house hahaha but best of luck with the new van, hope everything goes well and looking forward to the content!
Lmao exactly, we thought we’d be able to travel around a lot in Thailand but we were very wrong 😅 thanks so much! 🥰
Best of luck to you guys
Thanks! ☺️
Wow, I came across your channel yesterday and thought, yay I can watch all about CM, then this came on tonight and your moving already. You just got a house etc. how does that go, organising mobile plans, internet, insurance etc, and now you don’t need any of it.
Haha sorry about that, we literally organised everything like broadband and phones etc. Dom’s still in Thailand sorting out everything we accumulated before he comes back
@@AlwaysAway I lived in CM for just two months and loved it and would love to go back but I definitely don’t want to be there for burning season x x
Yeah it’s heavenly when burning isn’t on!
...but u already bought all that podcast equipments & (leopard) furnitures 😀 bringing those to Europe? Anyway safe travels 👋
I fit most of it in my suitcases, but had to sell the chairs 😅 was gutted about that haha thank you!
Would you guys ever consider trying to live in BKK in Thailand or Phuket / Hua Hin / Koh Samui?
Probably one day, we tried to arrange driving down to Phuket and a long term stay in Koh Sumui, but a lot of it sits with our dog who we just can’t travel much with in Thailand, that’s really the biggest factor in leaving. We tried to arrange accommodation and it was just hellish without a lot of money, without a dog travel in Thailand is the best, but yeah it’s just been tough trying to organise anything with him
How are you going to manage the post-Brexit 90-day schengen requirements? We gave up permanent van life once Brexit was put into affect - heart broken. And we actually plan to move to Chiang Mai in June....but I'm having second thoughts. Like you say, the extreme heat, the smoke. I would love to get another van and go back to permanent EU van life, but just can't get over the freedom we have lost and how we would work out the timing to make sure we aren't stuck somewhere below freezing in eastern Europe (or the UK) for months in the winter because we've used all of our Schengen time.
We’re planning on spending a lot of time in the UK in between Europe travel, our plan is to spend the warmest months towards Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. It’s very frustrating though, Brexit really buggered it for us all! By June the pollution will have died down, I’d recommend leaving between February and April when it gets really bad. We couldn’t leave because it was hard to travel with the dog and we had tent commitments, life in Thailand probably would’ve worked out without those things but the heat getting to me too. It’s been 40C a lot recently and it’s just unbearable! But our current plan is the spend the warmest months in cold countries and coldest months in warm countries. I feel a lot more free being in the van! 😊
40 degrees? And extreme air pollution? No wonder you couldn't cope. That sounds like hell to me. I just don't know how people deal with such extreme heat. 20-25, with a strong sea breeze is well warm enough for me.
Haha yeah 20 degrees is good enough for me too 😅 I really struggled with the heat 😂
Lived in Thailand twenty four years and the overall pollution is only getting worse ever year. Not just talking about the dangerous air pollution but overall everything. The government has zero intentions of doing anything . Total focus is $$$ nothing more no future foresight about anything as you can see with the mass tourism policies. If I did not have a family here I would have left by now. Tired of the overall B.$ and excuses of the government.
I'm very excited for you guys!!! Looks like you have many epic adventures ahead of you. Looking forward to seeing all that you experience. Maybe one day you guys can visit the States and see all the beauty we have to offer as well! especially in Tennessee (hint hint) lol
Thank you!! I hope so 😄 and I hope you enjoy following along, it’s been a dream of ours to eventually ship our own van to the states, we’ll have to make it happen now for sure 😂🫶🏼
becoming Thai citizen you have alot of job to do, ez way, you should get marry with someone else (Thai Citizen)
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Yeah not easy 😅
Just misplace. Most foreigners know to leave Chiang Mai in the summer. Bangkok is hot because there're many air-conditoners. Summer is the time to travel the south especially after Song Kran. The weather near a mountain like Khiri Wong is very good even in the summer. If you want to say in Chiang Mai, leave the city and go to a mountain like Doi Inthanon, you can even sleep in the van there.
Yeah I totally get all that, it’s not like we couldn’t have enjoyed Thailand but logistically it’s very difficult with a dog. We tried to leave CM but couldn’t find accommodation with the dog plus we still had rent to pay on our house so couldn’t afford to just leave. It’s easy if you don’t have commitments like him, but then as we decided not to teach anymore visas and work becomes a problem because foreigners can’t do many jobs there. Still love Thailand, but it was taking a toll on us. During winter it’s incredible everywhere in the North!
Also I was getting very ill while I was there and had to keep going to the hospital for my lungs 😓
Renting fee back there is the real issue. This couple said otherwise about a dog th-cam.com/video/vqsA5GbZadg/w-d-xo.html. Thai schools close during summer. Lung problem is often a personal health issue than the dust. I've treated patients in the UK and found that doctors there are worse.
Rent in the Uk is crazy, but that’s why we’re moving into a camper 😅 the couple said it’s easy to get the dog in and out, which it really is, but travelling around Thailand with a dog isn’t easy, finding affordable dog friendly accommodation out of the hotspots. The schools shut for summer but burning season started while it was still on, and that’s when I began getting bronchitis for the first time in my life. CM has really high levels of lung cancer because of the burning season and it’s known to really impact the locals health statistically, the air becomes literally cancer causing and poisonous from the smoke. I by no means dislike Thailand, it’s literally one of my favourite places in the world, for anyone without a dog or other commitments it’s the easiest place to travel domestically too. We’ll always go back there and have Thai family, and there’s endless reasons why it’s an amazing place to live too if you can just leave during the burning
Most single storey resorts owned by locals are cheap and often pet friendly.
I treated serious diseases including deadly cancers to people all over Thailand. Numbers of sick people in the north (and northeast) far exceed other parts of Thailand, not from the smoke, but from other various reasons. Lung cancers often coincide with other cancers. Even colon cancer patients in the UK got lung cancers. Smoke is bad but be careful to assume it as the cause of bronchitis. Just find the root cause from your underlying symptoms such as allergy/asthma (night/morning cough), virus (cough with green phlegm), tuberculosis (persistent cough). Smoke doesn't cause serious cough but can exacerbate the underlying diseases. You're right, avoid the burning season.