You were forgiving with the 3 to 4 months. More like 6 months. Head to Portugal Spain or Bali for fresh air. Very few YTers ever discuss the darksides. Viewers like the escape of utopia. Good job.!
I was in Chiang Mai last month (May). I thought, what a decent place to retire to. Thanks for reminding me about the burning season. I'll just visit around those months!
Long term? I have lived in CNX for only 8 years. In terms of air quality you haven't seen nothing until you see Purprle on the AQI readings and feel pollution in yoiur throat. The worst was probably in the spring of 2019. 2024 was relatively mild compared to the past. The bad air in CNX has been present for decades.
If you want to replicate life in the US in terms of living in suburbia and driving on wide roads across longer distances, then Chiang Mai is a great choice.
👋🏼 Small struggling Travel Channel here. I love your content, thanks for this great video! You inspire me to keep grinding my channel, maby one day I’ll grow as big as you 🥲
Most people complain about how crazy it is to drive in Thailand.The last time I checked in the United States have car accidents literally all day everyday no state in the USA doesn’t go a day without a car accident.The second thing is it’s easy to avoid some of the mayhem in Thailand on the roads just drive in the remote areas where it isn’t a lot of heavy traffic.Out of all the foreigners in Thailand I don’t know why any of them don’t do this I mean seriously 🤔🤣.You purposely choose and decide to drive in the touristy hot spot areas with nothing but constant heavy traffic and then complain about it being too much traffic and motor bikes.
We drive where we live and I don't want to live in the middle of nowhere. Also, the rate of road deaths per capita here is twice that of the USA and over 12 times what it is in the UK. Clearly Thai people are poor drivers.
What about getting involved with the local culture? Integration should be on everyone's agenda ... otherwise, besides a bit of money, what are you contributing to the country? Only coming here to "take" is not how I care to live my life ...
Why should we integrate? I neither give nor take in my life here. And show me a Thai who's integrated in my home country because I never met one. Lastly, the Thai people couldn't care less whether you integrate as long as you don't annoy them.
2 completely different incidents, it was pretty difficult to go to two different funerals in four months in Hua Hin, both Expats killed on motorcycles, we rented a car for four months, You couldn’t pay me to get on a motorcycle in Southeast Asia
How often do you get stopped because I'm travelling soon and I only got a provisional license and I need a full driving license too apply for the international driving licence.
There are checkpoints more often during high season (more or less around Nov-Jan) typically in Old City and on Huay Kaew Road near Nimman & Maya mall. I haven't seen checkpoints in the past few months :)
I actually haven't tried Bolt. There's another one called Maxim but the GPS is terrible and my drivers kept getting lost lol I have the Grab membership so I get points/discounts so I prefer using it :)
Yes, I actually have about 8 or more on my street that don't like motorbikes (especially at night). I don't actually think they're going after me but more so the bike, they usually just bark and chase after the bike briefly. I usually zoom past them or try to avoid that area but definitely something to keep in mind.
@@katherinenic Thanks, im guessing its mostly at night but could happen during the day aswell? Just because ive seen videos and stories of foreigners getting bitten by dogs or getting chased and needing a rabies shot.
@@TrillzMMA Yes, it definitely does happen and could happen in the day as well but I've only had experiences at night. The dogs seem to get more territorial in the evenings. 😔
Good points. Many people have no clue that for 4 months out the year the air is toxic in CM. Also, traffic there has got out of control (gridlock) and mass transit is horrible. Being dependent on a motorbike is dangerous and during the rainy season it absolutely sucks. As for people being transient, that's not unique to CM, that can be said for ALL of Thailand. Another thing you didn't mention, probably because you're trying to be politically correct, is that there has been an invasion of Chinese tour groups that descend on the city like locust at times...they'll cut the line, spit, have no social tact and you'll witness them being incredibly rude hardballing Thai vendors, which will piss you off if you have an ounce of empathy.
I have never encountered these spitting/rude/abusive Chinese tourists that people like you keep talking about. It seems to be an urban myth perpetuated by financially-challenged Westerners in CM who cannot accept the fact they are not important to the local economy.
Don't blame it on farmers. Look at how industries and vehicle numbers have burgeoned there in the last 30 years. During the dry season, all the pollution from those sources alone are sufficiently responsible for the haze since there's no periodic rain to cleanse the smut from the air like it does during the other nine months. Of course conditions are compounded, made worse by any sort of agrarian burning or forest fires during that time when it's exceedingly dry however farmers aren't the sole culprit. Add into the mix that dry seasons are getting drier/ longer due to global warming and the concomittant climate breakdown caused by rampant consumerism and lust for luxuries and gaudy SUVs, etc., etc., etc., and there you have it. Farmers have been burning their fields for millennia yet the haze has been appearing only for the last 20 or so years. Don't scapegoat farmers.
It’s literally called burning season…it absolutely is the farmers. Of course there are other minor factors, but the farmers are “burning” which causes smoke AKA smoky season.
