EBooks Archives | ThaiPulse Blog

Living in Thailand

Many visitors that stay for a week or so start asking themselves about whether or not they could live in Thailand.

Can you handle living in Thailand? For a year or a lifetime??

Years back there were estimates by some Thailand expats that suggested there were well over 100,000 expats from around the world living in Thailand at any one time. I’m not sure that number has any validity considering there have been some sweeping visa restrictions across the board that probably took expats living in Siam to Indonesia, Cambodia, Japan, Korea, and Philippines. Recently in 2014 there has been another major immigration overhaul and the tourist visa appears to have lost its life. Personally I already know a number of expats that were living in Bangkok, Nakhon Ratchasima, Ubon, and Chiang Mai that have left Thailand in search of greener grass.

To me the grass is still green and I’d not rather live elsewhere and deal with an entirely different culture. Thai culture suits me pretty well. Very well really. Living Thailand style is different than in the west – way different, but it’s not a bad way of life at all.

What might you think about when deciding to move to Thailand?

Visiting first. Many people, myself included, just hop on a plane all set to live in Thailand for a year or so, not knowing at all what they’re getting into. I researched Thailand for months before deciding on it over the other Asian countries nearby. Despite how much you look into it – you’ll be surprised at many things when you arrive. You can’t be TOO prepared when it comes to moving to a foreign country to live. My best advice is to find someone that can answer some of your questions for you. I found a guy that did that for me and it helped immensely give me a good feel for what I’d be getting into. I took a chance by not visiting Thailand first – I wouldn’t suggest it for most people. You’ve got to be adventurous, but there’s something else – you have to be committed to staying because you will face some things that put you off. It’s inevitable. So, if you can, visit first and see if it’s really something you could deal with. It’s a world different than your home country. I guarantee that!

Cash bailout money. It’s important to have as much as possible saved before you arrive. I used to recommend less, but since what happened to me could happen to almost anyone, I’m recommending you have minimum 10,000 to 15,000 USD available not only for your basic needs until you find a teaching job or whatever it is you’ll do here (even retire)… but, also for emergencies… like plain-clothed police officers showing up in your hotel room accusing you of things… Or any sort of scam. Ideally you can make money as you travel. If you’re a digital nomad, or have considered learning a skill to become one, here’s some information about it.

Touring around the country and choosing a spot to live. Bangkok is the only place for many people. For me it’s the only place I’d never consider living. I’ve stayed in New York City, Honolulu, Miami, and Tampa – all big cities and besides Honolulu I really don’t enjoy living in a big city at all. Give me Thailand’s out of the way towns of less than 50,000 people and I’m in the right spot. Thailand has many different styles of life – and you should see some of them before deciding where to live. Nothing will predict whether you can stay a year or not like choosing the wrong location to stay. You might last 2 months in such a situation. Take six months to travel the country and see Chiang Mai, Trat, Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat), Nong Khai, Bangkok, Hua Hin, and some of the south. Each Thailand location has a much different style of living.

Thailand food. Sure you like it at the restaurant, but, can you eat it nearly every meal for a year? This is one area that kills expats’ dreams quickly. If you don’t like spicy food – don’t live in the northeast, and maybe not the south either. In the northeast I can’t imagine someone being able to find and order non-spicy food continually day after day unless eating the same foods everyday. How fun is that? Do some research into what Thais eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Be ready to have your beliefs challenged… like, hot noodle soup for breakfast. Breakfast for me was the hardest thing to get over about living in Thailand. Finally I’m fine with it- and love it, but it did take some getting used to no pancakes, no cereal, no good coffee to drink.

Coffee. I think this deserves a separate mention because if you’re considering moving to live in Thailand and you drink coffee… well. I have had about 3 good cups of coffee while in the country. I’ve tried coffee at all the Starbucks, Black Canyons, everywhere that offers coffee and you know what? Laos Coffee in Ubon Ratchathani was the best I’ve found. There is a little shop there on a cross street back behind Tung C Muang park that is really nice. I guess I’ve had about 50 cups there, not 3. I tend to exaggerate. If coffee fuels your mind, your creativity, your good mood… you may have a SERIOUS issue finding decent coffee in this country. I’ve had Nescafe Red Cup instant coffee now for about 8 years. It sucks, but, I just don’t think about it as I drink it… and then it’s fine. It’s just a way to ingest some caffeine, and not a religious experience like it used to be in Hawaii drinking Kona coffee at $50 a lb. Update: I started buying Suzuki espresso ground coffee at Makro and I found a very expensive coffee press for sale at Starbucks. I now have excellent coffee daily.

Mike Fook’s Latest Fiction Book – Free for Download

Thailand’s Sickest – a fiction work from Mike Fook, is free at the link below. You’ll sign up for Mike’s email list to get it, but if you don’t really want to be on it and notified of new books he’s putting out – just unsubscribe from the list after you get your book. You can have the file in any format you require for your ebook reader – PDF, ePub (for Apple devices and Nook), mobi (for your Kindle).

Click the book cover to get it free.

New Jake Needham Book – The Ambassador’s Wife

Jake Needham has a new book - The Ambassaodor's Wife — Is a Serial Killer flying around Asia?

I joined Jake’s mailing list the other day and so far I’ve been happy I did. First was an overview of the terrorist warning fiasco – which I found really interesting. Then a plug for his new book, “The Ambassador’s Wife” – which is set in Singapore and Thailand, and looks to be quite interesting. Dead bodies turning up across Asia. The result of a serial killer terrorizing all of Asia?

I do like the format of this recent newsletter – you can see here. He took actual photos of places that are mentioned in the book. That’s cool.

When I first started writing ebooks I had the same thing in mind – but, I was going to actually put them in the ebook. I thought it would make things so much more real for readers. Sure the books were fiction, but many of the places and even characters – are real people. I thought that would be an interesting spin on plain-text ebooks.

However, the problem becomes… photos in your ebook increase the bandwidth at Amazon for everyone that buys a book. Amazon charges some pretty outrageous rates to send your ebook to someone – so, a book full of photos will cost 50cents or more just to send. That’s 50 cents less that I get.

So, that’s a book full of photos you don’t get.

Unfortunately…

Anyway, if you haven’t checked out Jake’s books – I strongly suggest you do. I’ve read many of the excerpts from his books and I’ll buy one soon too. Just need to find some time to do some reading. That, and I have about 14 free full ebooks from Joe Konrath, sitting on my iPhone Kindle reader that I haven’t been able to get to either.

Need Graphics Dude / Dudette

I have a project I want to publish but my poor graphics will need to be remade. If I did it, it would take 100 hours for me because 1. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, I’m a graphics hacker. 2. It would still never look as good as someone with some training in the field – formal or self-taught.

I will have about 70 simple charts that are already done for the most part – so, you can look at my lame example and then make each one ‘right’.

I may have to re-word some of them, so it would be a couple days before I could give you them to do.

We can work one of two ways…

1. We pay you per graphic. I think someone with skill could whip these up at the rate of one per 10-15 minutes. Let’s say 4 per hour. There will be, lets say 80 graphics – just in case. That’s 20 hours of work. Rate about 15 per hour, that’s $300. We can work in groups of 10 graphics, and I’ll pay you after I look at / approve each ten. After I pay you for this work – there is no residual income from sales of the publication. I’ll give you a sample graphic to convert and you can estimate how long it will take and whether it will be worth your time, or whether it’s something you want to be involved with at all.

2. We split the income from the publication. The creative part is done, I just need the graphics. We can split with you the profits on the publication 80:20. We get 80%. I’d prefer you opt for this choice as it allows me to forget about money and only concentrate on money coming in with sales… I also think people do a better job when their name is on the project, and when they have the potential to make more money – based on how good a job they do.

The potential for this is probably (conservatively) in the $250 per month range. Your 20% would be $50 per month – for the life-cycle of the publication… residual income, you need do nothing after the graphics are done. If it does even half as well as I know it will, you’ll make $25 per month for the next few years from 20 hours of work now. Pay can be monthly – or however you choose.

It’s crucial that your graphics are up to par and this can be published – paper and ebook formats. I’m a harsh critic, but we’ll iron all that out with the first sample you do. I’ll pay you $10 to do the sample so you’re not wasting your time if you decide not to do it.

If this works out I have other ideas and I always need a graphics pro.

If you want to do it – send a resume, samples, your name, age, where you are in the world, and indicate which way you’d prefer to work – option 1 or 2.

Living in Thailand Book

A while back I wrote an article about living in Thailand and I kept adding to it. Eventually it reached many pages and I turned it into an ebook book that we put into PDF, Kindle, Sony, Kobo, Nook, ePub formats.

The book, “Living in Thailand” is about making the transition from life in the USA to life in Thailand – a radical change of day to day living.

Living in a foreign country is just like living on another planet. There are things you will like and things you won’t like. There are people you’ll meet that you’ll like, and those you won’t like. There are customs and traditions in Thailand that I like, and some I don’t like. Living in a new country brings with it a lot of trials and confronts you with new experiences constantly. There are expats that can make a successful transition to living in the Land of Smiles, and those that can’t – and leave within a year or two.

I’ve been in Thailand for nearly seven years now. I remember when I first arrived and talking to Jon – an American friend I met in Ubon. He was still loving it. He had a good perspective on living life in southeast Asia – and I hoped that I could have a similar perspective once I had been here that long. Now that I have, I think Jon’s outlook on continuing to live in the country, the people, is a bit better than mine. Not to say mine is bad, just that Jon had a great outlook. Mine is only good.

The book is mostly about my experience with a girl that I fell in love with – but was afraid to commit to because I had heard such horrible things about Thai girls. I was afraid to be a sucker and fall in love and get my heart ripped out through my nose.

Maybe you’re going through a similar situation. Maybe you don’t know for sure if the girl you are falling for is the “right one”. Is she trustworthy? Can you live with her forever?

I have stayed with my girl now for over 5 years. We’re very happy and, though some days we face differences that seem insurmountable, we always get through them. After 3 failed marriages in the USA – that’s saying something. Thais seem more willing to work out differences than are Americans – at least in my experience.

If you’re looking for a good read, “Living in Thailand” provides that I think, and for just $2.99 (PDF) you can’t go wrong.

Buy this book at Amazon Kindle here ->

“Living in Thailand”

Or, get the PDF version at www.ThailandeBooks.com ->

“Living in Thailand“

Thailand Writers

There are a few good Thailand writers out there – and I’m calling “good” according to what I enjoyed reading.

The best Thailand writer, is, of course – Mike Fook. If you haven’t read Mike’s books you aren’t reading books about Thailand at all. (tongue in cheek).

Other Thailand writers I enjoyed:

Paul Garrigan

Stephen Leather

Christopher Moore

And, who was that guy that looks like a cross between James Taylor and Burt Reynolds? Damn I forget his name, but I did enjoy reading his website a lot – but it was 4-5 years ago and I’ve forgotten his name, site, and books. I’m sure someone knows who I’m talking about.

There was another writer that self-published. I think he was from Ireland, but again – damn if I remember! Ok, i’ll go research this stuff as this post is quickly going down the shitter as entertainment. I’m not even laughing… hold a sec. Nope – couldn’t find anything on the guy. Ok, searched more and found him – David Young.

Ok, the James Taylor look alike I cannot find anywhere. He was a writer from YEARS ago – and was on the web and findable back then – now he’s been lost in the glut of info on google. He had a book about marrying twin sisters or something like that – anyone remember? He had the worst site in the history of the web – bad text on bad website – and it hurt my eyes to read – but I read a lot anyway and liked what he was saying. Anyway – he’s lost in the mix – no idea who he is now.

I’ve not read anything by Timothy Hallinan – but I might break down and buy something. Maybe just contact him and go for a swap on books or something.

Are there any other writers that you enjoy?

I know many people like the following – but I can’t get into the style…

John Burdett, Jake Needham, or the guy that did My Thai Girl or Thai Girl 2004 or something like that – Andrew ______. I used to correspond with him for a bit, but man that was a while back. Ok, Andrew Hicks – there, I looked it up.

Out of the 1,000 stories I’ve read at StickmanBangkok I found about 3 writers I enjoy. Korski, Dana (not my style, but I can appreciate the guy’s writing), and another guy that isn’t coming to mind at the moment. I don’t think any of them have written books though.

Are there any women writers in Thailand that you enjoy reading? Catherine at Womenlearningthai.com writes very well and I enjoy the heck out of her site, but I don’t think she has a book. Richard Barrow writes a great factual based story – but I don’t think he has written a book, but he did help that Thai guy in prison for drugs, Gor, write one.

Tell me about writers you like – I’d like to find some more good ones.

Cheers!

Giving Away 10 Free Copies of “Cleansed” EBook

The first 10 readers to email me and request a copy of “Cleansed” – a vigilante thriller set in Patong Beach, will receive it free. (ThaiPulse -[at]-g m a i l com)

Currently it sells here:

Cleansed ->

English Writer Needed: Hello Philippines?

There must be a couple of million people in the Philippines that could use some extra money – and yet I can’t seem to find one that can help me out with some writing projects I have.

I really need someone that can:

1. Do some online research for me. I’ll be creating ebooks and I need to have someone help me do research that will help me write the books.

2. Your English should be very strong and probably you have a degree in English from a university. You can write English well.

3. You know how to use Google, online forums, and other resources that help me find background information for my book topics.

4. You need a full-time, 8 hour per day job – 5 days/week.

5. You can accept Paypal or Western Union as a payment solution.

Write me if this is you!

thaipulse [{at]}gmail com

Thailand Writers Needed – Your Own eBooks

Thailand based writers needed. Create your own ebooks and sell them through a digital publishing platform. You retain all rights to your work.

What’s an eBook?

A short, focused digital book usually in PDF format, but also in many other formats so the digital ereaders like Amazon’s Kindle, or the iPhone or iPod Touch can read it too.

Ebook Topics Needed?

Anything goes except something that might offend Thailand’s Royalty, or affect negatively Thailand Tourism or other business. Oh, you wouldn’t want to slander anyone either. Stay away from the usual “Farang in Jail for Telling it Like it Is” topics.

Process?

Idea. Write. Edit. Format. I can change to all the ebook formats for you. You can sell on my site and any other site you wish. You can sell it on your own if you wish too. If you sell at our site you’ll make 75% of net. At $9.95 per that’s about $6. Know what it would be if you wrote a paperback book? About $1.50 per book sale. If you produce multiple ebooks or have a great seller we can negotiate the split to be more in your favor. If you’re a well-known writer we may waive our commission altogether just to have your ebooks on our site.

What Formats Do You Create for Authors?

EPub, Mobi, PDF, TXT, LRF, RTF, literally everything that ereaders use. No charge to convert your books. Your formatting has to be right – I can give you formatting tips before you submit your final product to me. As new formats are created – we add those too. When (if) the new Apple iPad comes out we’ll have a format that will work on it.

Why eBooks?

Here’s a list of 50 reasons why ebooks are better. From an author’s point of view I know you can come up with a few more.

Where Will my eBooks be Sold?

One of two sites:

ThailandeBooks.com – ebooks focused on Thailand topics.

AsiaBlackBooks.com – a site dedicated to only ebooks pertaining to Asia. Write about Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, you know – Asia.

Easy Step by Step to Building a Better Blog: By the Master

Darren Rowse is the undisputed champ when it comes to building a blog up to have traffic and make money. He’s been doing it for 5 years (today) and he has written about 5,000 blog posts in that time.

If you’re at a point where you need a plan to follow to ramp your blog up – this is it.

Darren’s workbook is available here >

or, click the image below to see a lot more about this amazing resource…
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31 Days to Build a Better Blog by Darren Rowse

[Disclosure – I’ve purchased this guide myself and reviewed it. I’ve found it extremely helpful for me – and so I know you’ll get a lot of out of it too. I make a commission from the sales of Darren’s guide. ]