1. They have a king, his name is Rama 10.
2 With 43,000 Temples it is the Theravada Buddhism capital of the world.
3. Its land mass is a little smaller than the size of Texas.
4. There are two types of monastic orders, Dhamma-yuts and Dhamma-guys. One are the forest monks and the other are the city monks. The city monks make up about 90% of these 43,000 temples. The city monks are more into rites, rituals, and ceremonies than actual practice of The Buddha’s guidance over 2,500 years ago. Their temples seem to have more flash – gold and are much more decorative.
5. There is food every 2 feet, a Thai massage parlor every 5 and a coffee shop every ten.
6. People turn their everyday homes into a business. Almost everyone sells food. You will not go hungry here.
7. The main employers seems to be grab and food panda with delivery people on mopeds everywhere. The majority of traffic on the main roads and side streets come from this (Grub hub / Uber Eats). Food is everywhere.
8. Stray dogs are common and they are the friendliest, calmest, and most content animals on earth. American dogs are discontent because they are locked up and owners use people psychology on them instead of dog psychology. Cesar Milan was spot on. No one here seems to see the strays as a problem and they let them hang around. In my view, they actually add to the atmosphere.
9. The name Thailand means free land. They do seem to have more freedom and peace compared to back home.
10. Thais take the coronavirus very serious. They wear masks outside. There isn’t a conspiracy theory here.
11. Thais are proficient in all they do and they do not waste energy. They build with sustainability and planetary care in mind.
12. Thais are the most polite, kind and friendly people I ever met (as a whole). Never once felt in danger here.
13. It’s cheaper not to have health insurance here.
14. They do not have the “go,go,go…now,now,now” pace here. They are not in a rush and that’s peaceful. Probably how and why they transport the way they do around town as everyone tends to go slower without rage.
15. US comparison by regions:
- -Phuket is like South Beach,
- -Bangkok is like NYC,
- -Pattaya is Las Vegas,
- -and Chiang Mai would be Denver Colorado (minus the legalization of some substances).
16. Namthip has the lowest flouride content (.03ppm) in bottled water that is easy to come by. Most others are rather high in parts per million (.40)
And lastly on our list brings us to # 17. ) Moving here when Jackson graduates. Start the 11 year countdown… it’s a wholesome, peaceful life that is very inexpensive. You don’t need much and that’s what God intended.
Nicholas Gerace 