Moving to Chiang Mai

 

 

Some of the things written about in the blogs relating to what to do and how to do it when you get here to Chiang Mai, things like buying a cell phone or adding minutes to your cell phone, paying your water bill or finding an apartment or house to live in. These things are made to sound so easy in the blogs but the reality is this.

 

Yes, you can pay your water bill and buy minutes for your cell phone at the local 7/11 but if you do not speak Thai (how many tourist speak Thai?) then walking into a 7/11 and buying minutes is not so easy and once you buy the minutes trying to add them to a phone you are unfamiliar with, a phone where the instructions are in Thai, is a nightmare.

 

As to  finding a place to live I read advice about keeping your eyes open for signs hanging in windows "Apartment for rent". I found this was advised on a number of blogs. Contact the owner but don't let him/her know you are an American. How do you accomplish that? And what happens when you call the number listed for the apartment and the person answering the phone only speaks Thai? Again, the advice given on the blogs requires you to have a person in your pocket that you can pull out for any given situation and have them assist you. How many tourist have such a person in their pocket? 

 

So much advice out there is predicated upon you speaking Thai. If you don't speak Thai, the advice is worthless ----------- and agrivating.

 

The simplest things become overly complicated when you cannot communicate.

 

Walk up to a street vendor and try to order lunch without understanding how to say, Chicken, beef or pork. or is this spicy?

 

Often times when doing business with street vendors I just open my wallet and hope for the best. I don't recommend this and I only do it with small bills or pocket change. Most of the street vendors want you to come back so they try hard to make a good deal for you and not rip you off. The crime rate here is very low and that is one of the appealing aspects to life in Chiang Mai.

 

Try hopping in a Songthaew or a tuk-tuk and ask to be taken to a location the driver is not familiar with. Many of the drivers know many of the standard locations. The first time I hopped in a tuk-tuk and needed to go to the local phone company to call stateside (TOT) and the driver had no idea where the place was. The address I handed the man was written in English and he did not read English.

 

It is all an adventure and keeping that in mind will help.