Leaving Nakon Nayok

Today is our last day in Nakon Nayok. Tomorrow we start back for Phuket. We will take a couple of days driving. I need to stop at Ranong on the way to do another visa hop over the border to Burma and back for another 90 day stamp.

I do like Nakon Nayok and every time we visit I ask myself the same question, could I actually live here? I'm sure Pon would be happy to move back close to her family. You could set up a very comfortable life here. If we sold our house in Phuket we could build a bigger house here. Set it up just the way we want it. We would get UBC (satelite TV) so I would have my football and western TV.

The cost of living here is so cheap that it would make our finances much better. The people are incredibly friendly, the food is great and the scenery fantastic. There is a bit of nightlife, lots of restaurants and often stuff going on. You could even set up a small business here much more competitively than in Phuket. Nakon Nayok is only an hour from Bangkok and two hours from Pattaya so there are easy options for a bit of life.

The area generally has a lot going for it but still I have to say I always come to the conclusion that I don't want to live here. I think Phuket still offers me a much better lifestytle. Playing in the rivers and waterfalls of Nakon Nayok is fun for a while but it would wear thin after a couple of weeks. In comparison, Phuket offers so much more. The beaches and the islands are so much more varied. Phuket even has waterfalls although they are not that great.

Phuket also has much better facilities. I think about all the things I use there. The shops, the cinema, the gym, the internet, and so much more that I use all the time in Phuket and which is just not catered for in the same way in Nakon Nayok. Phuket has much more nightlife, more restauarnts, western food outlets, all the amenities you could want. It just has more of almost everything than nakon Nayok. Yes it is more expensive but then you are paying for the luxury of living on a tropical island with all the amenities that you need.

Then there is schooling. Visiting Nakon Nayok is really great for Ben and Jenny. They get so much attention and the people set such a good example for children that you know they would grow up to be good people. But I really doubt if I could find a decent bi-lingual school here and the education on offer here would just limit them for the rest of their lives.

The final clincher for me is that I would just feel a bit isolated here. I enjoy spending time with Thai people. They are so hospitable and there are always lots of people around. However, I still want western friends as well. I want to talk to people with a similar background and mindset as myself as well as Thais. As much as the Thais are great company, there is just a limit to how much depth of conversatin you can have when you are trying to use a second language and speaking with people from a very different background.

So Phuket still gets my vote for home. Maybe Nakon Nayok is something I would consider when I am old and ready to hang up my boots but for the moment I still want the life of Phuket.