Tony from Norfolk UK opened a Bikers’ Burger Bar & rentals in Mae Sai, Golden Triangle.

S01E10 Please SUBSCRIBE. Tony, originally from Norwich, tells us a little about his personal background and when and why he first travelled on business to south east Asia and to Thailand. He talks about initially living in the south of Thailand before relocating to Mae Sai in the Golden Triangle which is on the Thai / Myanmar border and in the far north of the country. Perfect biking country.
Tony gives us a tour of one of his new rental units with swimming pool, located close to his Choppers Burger Bar.

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[Applause] [Applause] So today I’m having a chat with my friend Tony who is the proud owner and uh what’s the word not Publican you could be a Publican I suppose the owner of the um restaurant a Resturant yes of the Choppers Burger Bar in mesai which is right up near the border between Thailand and

Myanmar what used to be called Burma how far are you actually here from uh from mesai and from the border 3 kilomet and and the border is right at mesai so you’re practically spitting distance from from another country from Burma and is the is it the Mong river which is the

Border between Thailand and the Mong river is up in Jens sang which is um commonly know as a Golden Triangle which separate the Mong split off to Lao um myamar and Thailand Okay you can actually go there where you see the river split off um many Chinese people live around this

Area as well really yeah and obviously uh M being a Border Town I was just think 60% of the residents are me and my people anyway yes it’s good yeah yeah so Tony um so you’re right here on the border with Myanmar used to be called Burma and

You in your own bar which you opened how long ago uh 3 and A2 years three and a half years so my memory and Mathematics and everything’s correct that must have been just before Co wasn’t it yeah we opened uh yeah we virtually just opened

When uh February and Co came March oh W so I guess so for uh sort of two two years we uh closed shut open cont tried uh restricted ti so so it’s not a a particularly good time to open any premises yeah when when did you decide

To to open the bar when did you decide that was the plan that must have been a bit before then wasn’t it yeah only about um 3 months before oh cuz I say I had my Resort and um we used to do food and stuff and breakfast there and then

We decided um we’ give a place for some place to eat uh foreign food and Fang food so we C it for the local people as well as the tourists basically do people who done border runs so oh yeah yeah what’s the what’s this border run about

What’s that border run is when uh they come to extend their stay in Thailand they can cross over to myamar another country get a re-entry stamp to Thailand they get another 30 days or 15 days extra time of course all that is finished now because the the border is

Closed oh so there’s only now mymar people toy people or members of the uh Asian Community yeah can freely go back and forward but all all for foreigners uh cannot go yeah nearest place is L yes so which isn’t very far either is it CU we’re in that triangle yes the Golden

Triangle which is the yeah three countries that’s why it’s called the triangle um and and it’s also the three countries that meet on the meong isn’t it um so you’re on the one side here on the South Side you’ve got Thailand where we are and then to the North West you’ve

Got Myanmar and to the Northeast you’ve got la la yeah so um and we’re we’re really very close to both other countries aren’t we very close uh just a few minutes really down the road so let’s go back to the beginning maybe Tony so where where are you from

Originally I’m from a place called Norwich in Norfolk oh in England oh yeah uh I was originally born in uh uh north of England in car but mhm my parents from Norfolk so we moved back yeah to the sou Southeast there till I I lived

There for 60 years oh really yeah so you just moved a couple of years ago really no not yeah just a couple of years yeah but I’d been coming on off with the various forms of work to Asian countries oh I see a lot for the last 202 so what

Was that about what you when you say well I used to sit on um a government committee for on the glass and glazing Federation oh yeah which should do stuff for British standard European standards and I sort of Representative for England basically so we to harmonize all the

Standards in Europe but we also went to other countries see what their standards were but that was an old story so uh from what you just said you were involved in the glass trade for most of your life is that right and that was in more North was it where you were

You were living working yeah yeah mainly mainly norol yeah and you used to come not only to Thailand but other countries in the region yes with this with this glass well we used to go all over the world okay yeah cuz every every country’s got different glass standards

So we have to find out all uh particular perimeters and obviously in England you you could export if you had the criteria to meet them their country standards I see so all standards for everything everything’s written down called harmonized standards okay so when did you first start coming to Thailand or to

This part of the world uh 12 15 years ago 15 years ago 15 years AG mine we used to spend time in uh Singapore oh yeah Hong Kong Dubai and uh around them sort of areas yeah where we had uh various meetings with other nations yes other colleagues yes yeah

Was a good place to be then toil Landers um started coming for holid as well cuz it was more cheaper uh the the people were very friendly and open yes and you know you made feel welcome so so you made some friends quite early friends and uh yes yes some good friends yeah

Where did you used to come you used to come up here we’re in the far north not a lot of people come I we used to hang around uh Bangkok oh yeah mainly cuz a big city and then uh we started going uh rayon further down and then um Baya mhm

Uh johen mhm fet not so much yeah yeah and uh and then eventually uh met the girls now my wife oh okay and uh she was born in this this part of the country she’s born in M right right here local local lady so we decided um we’d make

The home here great and when when was when did you meet her oh 10 years ago you’re supposed to know the date exactly for 10 years or do well we got married we got married January the 17th s well you remember that that’s yeah I remember that okay yeah so you met about

10 years ago we’ve been married yeah we’ve married 10 years you married 10 years yeah and uh did you start living up here 10 years ago or no we first um we stayed in um a place called joh Chen oh yeah I know that’s near about one

Year yeah and then uh we decided to she wanted to be near her parents cuz her parents get out people do like the family and uh I like the rural area rather than the city so yes we decided to meet here um we had a a cousin was a

Builder yeah and he decided he would buy a plot land he’d build the house for us oh I see so um we we ordered the house and he said that will take 3 months to complete yeah three months so the house was sort of off the plan you had like a

Blueprint already no they done all they done all the plans and stuff I I didn’t wanted a vast property and then um we decided give some money up front and he went away and he used to ring us up and sort of tell us then about 6 weeks later

You form my wife up the house is ready in six weeks I I think a lot of people around the world would dream of that sort of situation to being because because of the weather and stuff the cement dry the paint Dy as soon as you put it on and

The the labor they work basically 12 hours a day s days a week so the bigger the team the quicker you get your property dry out so quick yes uh so we were sort of happy and not happy we had arranged for another 3 months to move

But uhhuh so we did um we hired a an empty Lorry uhhuh and uh put our our stuff and our rent of the comp in the truck and a uh motorcycle in the truck and we came up here on the bus we the Lorry came with with us and we come on

The bus so originally you you you had the your own accommodation where you were living when you moved up here and uh how many three Apartments is it you’ve got there uh we got four now four Apartments yeah I built built them on extra yeah I bought another bit of land

And bought a like three Apartments uh to to rent lot of be bed and breakfast sort of thing okay and uh I had to swimming pool put in mhm and that was okay and I said what mostly hit us was a CO yes yes so three years we no yeah we

Couldn’t do nothing no that was unfortunate timing but I suppose it gave you chance to get your feet under the table as it were before all the crowds arrived yeah yeah good yeah so you’ve got obviously a Biker’s connection haven’t you I mean this is a this is a

Chopper bar so we’ve got in the background there which I think everybody can see uh a couple of two or three Choppers lined up behind you so what’s your biking connection uh my bike and connection I used to ride in England in my youth yeah uh I lived a short time in

The Aman I Ru bikes there oh yeah and when I came back to Thailand I didn’t get on the bike again till I was 60 oh wow 60 years old and um I knew a few other bar owners in Chang raai yes and they had B connections also and uh so I

Joined a a bikers club and we used to go on bike rides every Monday on around everywhere I’m now the president of the club which club is this uh rude Eagles MC okay cro okay we’s still uh not many of about 16 uh mainly fangs all over the world so foreigners from foreigners

Living in Thailand yeah all over the world we have connection with a lot of toy clubs as well and we do charity things we meet up with them and stuff so it’s quite a good Community cuz this part of the world is perfect for bike Royals it is isn’t it because I mean

You’ve got perfect roads up here yes beautiful mountain twisty roads in fantastic condition I think normally amazing I mean big surprise to me when I came some got very big pot off well one or two you the rules generally speaking and of course you’ve got 12 months of I

Guess if you you know if you watch out a bit when the Rainy season’s on you’ve got an hour or so of rain every day but not normally much more than that much 12 month season more or less isn’t it yeah you know you you think of we watch

YouTube videos of people in the UK okay and they’ve got a very short biking season yeah yeah got we got no ice or no we’ve got no problems with ice and salt on the roads like that so what what sort of bike were you riding back in the UK

Originally then in the UK or in my youth I had to have a Honda Square 4 is a 750 cc oh yeah M yeah but the Bon Community is good in the UK but say that’s not um not so good as here no condition are better lot better yeah and you said you

Were in the states for a while you live I was live in uh Los Angeles of all places uhhuh yeah how long are you there two years okay yeah so i’ done mostly riding along uh they call the Pacific Coast Highway oh yeah and that used to

Run along it could go right down the states to uh San Diego then go into Tiana into Mexico oh yeah and stuff and you used to go on your bike did you yes yes let me guess were you riding Harley or something like that no no I didn’t

Ride Harley then I I I try to stick to Japanese bikes okay Harley were still expensive yeah they love their Harley in the state I love Harley in Thailand but yes they’re a bit out my price League when I was a young young man okay yeah yeah yeah I think with the

Honda you can’t go wrong really Kya is reliable reliable yeah yeah Harley’s if usually agle wrong a lot they’re expensive to fix yes great bik but they are like a a tour and bik yes yeah they’re not yeah I I’ve heard stories about people on Harley’s here maybe

Originally from the states and they’re used to those big wide straight roads and they come here and across them narrow roads narrow roads and that’s actually one of the reasons that people like biking here is because you got those twisties yes and they’re not necessarily made for no harly not not

Made for yeah harly the Cru cruiser bike yeah long stro and that’s why they got such fantastic noise the boom yeah yeah yeah yeah laidback cruising yeah yeah yeah not not Sports bik yes yeah yeah yeah okay there’s a lot of um guys in Thailand who have big touring bites yes

And they geared up with all the gear and they have fantastic times they can go 10 days pack all the stuff up and there usually around there lots of places to stay lot accommodation uh various price ranges usually pretty cheap yes and if you eat toy food the food is plentiful yes yeah

So there’s a lot of to bikes and they enjoy they come from over the world just maybe spend two weeks on a f yes and I guess obviously it’s not practical to Ship N or a multimillionaire you don’t ship your bike here yes but you you hire

A bike for couple of weeks or whatever and it’s not a big problem to get to get your hands on a good bikee up here either is it in changai or good choice yeah good choice yeah and uh yeah and then some of them of course come and

Stay in your accommodation mhm and also frequent your bar which is quiet today cuz we’re talking here but uh we’ll come back again when the crowd in here yeah and uh this is a popular place for bikers as well if you got any um interesting stories to tell about

Experiences you’ve had with well bik bike bikers here in your in your bar in the last couple years when we opened the when we first opened the bar we had a open party and I had 200 bikers wow really where do they come from um all

Over the place me changai Chang raai uh mainly tied nearly all TI bikers like uh 10 or 10 or 20 different clubs really they all come for for a party basically that’s that’s a great way to launch the bar isn’t it yeah put you put

You on the on the map yeah yeah good yeah yeah that was the opening party did you wait until after Co before you could do that or did you start no we actually done it in uh September of the covid Year oh really was it an official party

Well very unofficial it was official we we we were allowed to have allowed to do okay yeah um we had to talk to the headman of the village okay and he said oh keep the numbers down we going to rest restrict it like 50 but if you get

200 bikers turn up you can’t really turn them away but they all well were high they had good fun and we all had good fun everyone was happy the villagers were happy no trouble yeah so yeah so that was a great way to launch the launch the

Bar wasn’t it yeah yeah so uh how long after you opened your accom or built your accommodation your own accommodation and then you had the rooms you added how long after that did you get the idea of having a bar oh not until about 4 years oh I see so you’d

Settle in a bit before you cuz this the premise wouldn’t even built then yeah yeah so you had this purpose build if you no no my uh say my wife’s cousin who is the Builder oh yeah he he built they called shop hous oh yeah and he built a

Row of three MH and I said um would you like to sell one cuz I want to open the premises or the wife wanted to do something as well so um we decided we get the end one yeah cuz that was more bigger and it was easier to put the

Kitchen on the side in the back yes and basically have it all open yes uh I’ve got three floors but we only use the ground floor at the moment but we have got expansion we could go up yeah more if we want useful if you need it yeah

Yeah that’s quite quite and the theme um I thought in the theme itself cuz I like motor bikes and stuff and remember uh maybe AIT something a bit different what is in the local area yes yeah very much I can’t think off hand I

Mean I live in Chang Rai we’ve got a new bikers Cafe there which I think you know as well don’t you yeah um but and I think there’s probably one or two in changai which is a bit further away from here yeah there’s a rubar in um changmai

Yes run by a Ty girl called at she’s nice nice lady um yeah there’s not many but no we thought as well give people who are touring around they come a refreshment something to eat um relax a bit then off they go they might go to

Chang Rai yes 1022 the 1022 yeah stoping there same thing yes go Chang that bar yes yes so was all somewhere for them they know they can come and have good time good food no problem well you’re very much on the route I mean people coming up to you know actually there

What they call the official Golden Triangle yeah yeah whatever it is viewpoint on the on the river you you’re you’re just a couple of kilometers down the road they pass through yeah yeah a lot of people take the route to Jen Jang yeah then Jen Kong then they go up to Nan or

Pooa good many many rules they can take they come up here and do a completely different route yes which is what they like yeah in the old days when the Border was open for foreigners of course they could go across the M Mark yes which is as you say it’s 2 or 3

Kilometers down the road so you’re just on the border here practically that’ll happen I mean in due course I’m sure that border will be opening again sooner or later come back yeah um so um yeah you’re I guess you’re in a strategic a strategically good place to be for for

Bikers yeah and uh it’s also good way to get here as well come on yourik bike you’ve got a lot of parking space out the front and so yeah yeah you can park down the side of the front we’re we’re not so far off a Beaten Track when

People find us yes this road run alongside the main rout Highway one so yes people find us and they tell the friends who want to find us uh yeah pretty good yeah and now the beginning of December well middle of December now actually um and I guess this this is

Considered the when you see the Christmas tree blinking away in the background there yes um and this is considered to be the high season isn’t it this in SE this time of year so we’ve got especially up north I think we’re supposed to have about 3 months of of

What they call winter here in in the north of Thailand which means the temperatures go below 30 yes yeah uh a bit cooler a bit cooler slightly cooler and it normally stops raining for a couple of months which is yeah stop raining uh the rainy season

Seem to last long enough from May till maybe November now yes get longer than before yeah but um the Rainy seed go it’s not cold no yeah you get a torrential rain and stuff that’s quite Pleasant to it is yeah sit in yeah stuff yeah yeah but obviously from a biking

Point of view you don’t normally want to be out in not in even if it’s warm rain you don’t want to be out out in torrential rain if you can help the thing with the rainy season you can go um 15 kilm of torrential rain yeah then

Stop yes and then 10 15 you’re dry yes you’re dry again so uh it’s not too bad yeah not like if you’re in Europe you get you get wet and you’re cold and wet and damp here us just part of the vo scene yes yeah now you’ve got the old

Vcon parked out the front here so when how long have you had that uh that one I’ve only had about one year I’ve got two this this one’s called a volan classic 900cc oh yeah and I’ve got a volan um uh custom oh which is uh more or less the

Same engine and frame but different cosmetically features okay yeah biger slight slightly different but the basically the bait’s Running Train yeah uh for this I got I got another bike I got a cb300r okay which is a like a naked bike but it’s great for in the mountains and the twisties yeah

These bikes are cruiser bikes they’re a bit too heavy yes but if you’re going on a long distance yes they’re comfortable good for cruising have you been any on any long trips a chance to go not this year last I went to kien which is about

Or took me 13 hours wow on the bike I only I I went my colleague we only stopped for gasoline and noodle soup just kept going 7-Eleven yeah yeah so it’s quite a got a bum saw yeah yeah but that’s quite good experience and there there’s very long roads like I don’t

Know 800 kilm straight RS which perfect that kind of bike yes yeah yeah yeah and you got you’ve got space for ailon on that bike um and you got some Luggage in the back yeah I’ve got luggage back and my other one I got a a big back box and

Like a seat for the Ping and more more luggage space but yeah good bikes yeah and uh being a kawazaki you can get all the parts and yes stuff quite quite good yes yes well the last time I remember last time I was here I think it was the

Last time you were thinking about um Royal Enfield isn’t it g some I looked at well I wait waited till they brought the meteor out the meteor 650 was not super meteor yeah it’s not been out that long but they now going to bring a 750 oh really I yeah very

Shortly yeah okay yeah you can get a kit for the 650 to bring it up to a 750 wait till a 750 come yeah and now there’s a dealer in Chang Rai for Royal Enfield yeah just yeah a bit more convenient than yeah carry all all the bikes yeah yeah I’ve been to

S yeah the the 750s I don’t know when they’re going to launch it but they done two or three new bikes and the most popular is the 350 well I’ve got the 350 myself of course one of the 350s I think they have four models now all together

With the same engine yeah I was waiting said before cuz the old n Fields the the bullet 500 and stuff the the engines are a bit um ancient yeah and rattly and agricultural is the word agricultural great looking bike yeah yeah but to own and rid boat one they’re not no not

Everyone’s cup of tea but the they said the super meeting 350 very good yeah engine design CH yeah yeah I think it’s completely different generation different different type of bik also quality of production I think is much better than the old bikes they still got that great look yeah yeah yeah

Absolutely yeah yeah happy with mine anyway I’m thinking about one you’re still thinking about one why not yeah they I don’t really like buying new bikes yeah cuz I like to get them tested and stuff obviously the price come down a bit yeah yeah so um seems they’re not been out that long

Maybe a couple years they’ll come down in PR but yeah yeah yeah yeah cuz I got maybe six bikes so I can’t ride them all you’ve got six all together yeah so if I kept buying new ones I have okay yeah so you’re a bit of a collector yeah collect

Them yeah and the bikes in behind us here these Choppers they actually all three of them that could be ridden or just for decoration four yeah can all be ridden yeah really yeah to uh the long face Choppers of the to long nose or long face yeah uh they’re not actually

Um be able to ride on the road I haven’t got any license plate all I got is import uh papers and stuff like that so you can’t tax more Insurance the other the other two are taxed and insured yeah got these two one here one at home yeah

And I got my little CB and I also got um Honda Rebel oh the Rebel Rebel 500 yeah oh yeah it’s a nice little bik somewhere around yeah okay so how long now you’ve been coming back again so you moved is that right 10 years ago did Jen was it

Originally so you’ve had a you know gathered a bit of experience over the years yeah yeah living here especially in here I mean that’s a bit different to living here it is in Chang Roy Chango is a city but here’s very quiet and everyone know you that’s good so what

What what would you say is the biggest or the or the yeah the biggest differences between being up north not necessarily as far north as we are here right on the border with Myanmar but up in changai or Chang raai compared with being down on the coast where you were before Jen

Uh the price price price yeah Southern Thailand I I say is twice as dear you know in the north really yeah yeah well obviously youve got the beach down there which we don’t have you got the beach and stuff but here you got mountains and rivers and you got the

Meong the beach you get Sandy and salt yeah here us many relaxing places many nice outdoor restaurants and stuff there’s all new restaurants uh usually Monday and Tuesday we shut me shut and we we tour around yeah and all stuff to eat new new place to see and they’re

Very reasonable priced yes yeah yes it’s definitely it’s cheaper up here I think the climate is may be a bit different too isn’t it climate is great yeah yeah great yeah because down south it’s uh well you know where most people are down near the beach somewhere yeah um so

Maybe they don’t notice it so much if they’re in the water but it’s a lot more humid yes it is yes yeah and I think up here especially now in the so-called winter yeah three month best time of the year many people come from the south or

Bangkok come up here for the weather yes yeah for the weather yeah that’s what I noticed when I first came I came I had to go through puket originally because that was the only way to get into Thailand just after Co you had to stay a

Week in puket before you could uh leave the the island to go anywhere else and I noticed coming up that was November two years ago that it was really humid down there in puket and I came up to changai and it was wonderful the weather was

Much nicer for me um than down south so that for me is a big bonus up here actually it was big bonus yeah and I think generally speaking uh probably fewer tourists as well so if you’re not looking to be surrounded the whole time by other foreigners I guess the north is it’s

Easier to if you want to avoid for it’s easier grow a lot of fruit and stuff around there they tobacco corn tea coffee grows up here fam world famous coffee plantation yeah yeah it’s a big sort of Coffee Culture Now isn’t it yeah it’s very big yeah very big so with your with

Your bar here you’re obviously got you’ve got the drinks in here of course but um you’ve also got you’ve got your your Burgers yes um that’s why it’s called the burger Choppers Burger Bar Chopper Burgers bar we do a variety of burgers um we now find a lot of Thai

People like burgers especially the kids and stuff uh we do pork chops steaks uh hot dogs hot dogs yeah classic American hot dogs yeah yeah lot many different food we do a selection of toy food as well do Tha food as well main we got some foreign beers imported beers

And stuff mhm yeah so it’s getting bit bit of taste for everyone find something to eat yeah and like you said before I think you get you get groups from the various biking clubs coming up here yeah yeah we get they come from the south the or come from Bangkok or

Come a couple of days of ride really isn’t it yeah is two or three days two or three days yeah yeah they like like to tour around yeah great great great country north north Thailand yes you ask any bike of they say North yeah well you

Get people coming up as far as uh Malaysia will come up here as well you know yeah um because I haven’t biked myself down in Malaysia but they say that the roads especially the highways are very good but you know most bikers don’t particularly enjoy sitting on a

Highway for a long time fall asleep yeah so from the sort of twist twisty Road point of view I think it’s got a lot to offer and beautiful countryside yes yeah yeah yeah do you have any Pearls of Wisdom any any particular advice you’d give people thinking maybe about not

Just coming here on a holiday like you used to originally but maybe even thinking of moving and living in Thailand maybe retiring here yeah it depends what some if some people like the ocean I mean for me I don’t particularly like the ocean so there Sandy and salty and after few weeks is

Pretty Bor apart from the sunsets and stuff so it’s not exactly out of the world though is it if you want to go to the beach we’ve got airports up here you can be down on the beach in 2 hours local airport is 20 minutes away yeah

And one hour can be in Bangkok yes uh on the plane yes another hour it can get a taxi down to the beaches well there’s a couple if you want to go to puket you can take a direct flight from changai yeah I think they have direct flights to

Kosu and other places maybe crabby as as long as you don’t go in the high SE they’re quite reasonable so if you want to go down to the beach it’s not as if you can’t do it from you’re just you’re not living near the

Beach I like here cuz we do um we got local fishing Parks oh yeah and stuff so we we I go fishing sometimes really yeah so what’s that RI River fishing is it R fishing yeah okay yeah and you you get what do you get big fish in there Bottom

Feeders big all sorts yeah you get all sorts of fish yeah of course you can eat them well I was wondering about that yeah is it safe the safe yeah a lot of ties eat uh River fish oh yeah big big around here and you’ve had some success

Of you catching fish yeah big big big fish from the menu later on yeah be right no my wife’s a good cook so yeah w Cook everything yeah so that that’s a hobby you had back in in England is it used to fish before originally no it didn’t no no

Didn’t too cold yeah well it’s not cold here for fishing that’s for sure yeah okay some my friends used to fish but I didn’t sort of particularly appealing sitting there in the cold wet rain yeah fishing yeah people used to stand in those waiters yeah in the cold River I mean in

Here we do a different type of fishing because uh we eat and drink when we’re fishing yeah it’s a bit more laidback make like a picnic really yeah and catch some fish so you’ve got some local you some local friends as well here some tha

Tha friends yeah a lot yeah okay so you get a lot of ties and expats and other foreigners coming in to the bar and also what what about your guest in the in the accommodation same accommodation about 50/50 is it 50 toys and 50% foreigners

Yeah so we get a lot of repeat customers they come from uh Bangkok yeah they got family in The Villages yes and uh cuz they used to living in Bangkok with the air con and stuff they don’t want to stay in the the village houses so yeah

They come RS and they got the pool they got airon and stuff and they they go out with their friends m or sometime that we let them have parties in our place sit outside around the pool yeah it’s good and what about if somebody watching this video

Today they’ve been bitten by the bug and they want to come here and Sample your best bet is um come here depends what if you want a city life or country life but I mean specifically your place if they want to come and stay in your accommodation yeah

I think you mentioned before you used to be on booking.com we used to be with booking.com but now um uh I’ve not put it since uh Co I stopped it and then we never put it back on we get enough customers with word of mouth and stuff

So um maybe at the end of leaving my phone number well yeah or I guess if you Google well yeah we’ll put all that on the information under the video but if uh if they also just Google bur burger bar Choppers Burger Bar Mesi yeah same thing find the accommodation they’ll

Find 500 me yeah you’re an easy walk from here AR walk from so um so they book basically directly with you can’t get much better than that really can you we have long stay customers I mean we have people come we had a guy last week

He come for one night oh yeah he ended up staying the whole two two weeks he stay two weeks yeah oh stay some more CU he liked the area yeah he tore around he so love it yeah it’s great I I B let Chuck him out if we had other

Guests but we get a lot of people they come or they heard about us or someone told them and they they like the place say relax and and there’s many things to do around here many nice restaurants and everyone’s pretty friendly yeah that’s what that’s what I like about this

Particular area very nice yeah but um yeah if people want to come the tiand to live um best to come say one or two month just rent somewhere yes rent somewhere yes find where the local spots are yes and the toy Spots Don’t yes if you don’t really want be coming here and

Live like you are in your own country no it’s totally totally different way of living yes different concept yeah and and some people would like to live in some people after a few month they they say no I could only live here no six months of

The year or they don’t make a permanent thing but yeah most people uh like I know married to to women as well and got toy families they love it here yeah they never go back to their home country yeah yeah I think your idea is very good

About coming and maybe not staying in a typical Resort hotel or a tourist hotel but it’s very easy and cheap to rent an apartment here yeah yeah for for a month or 6 weeks and you can get a 60-day visa from most countries so you can do that

Before you leave in fact I think there’s an advantage if you’re planning to I saw that recently on a video that if you’re planning to get a retirement Visa or you’re thinking about it it’s best to get a 60-day Visa before you leave your own country uh because it’s then easier to

Trans to to to convert that Visa into a 12month retirement Visa yes if you do it that way so get your 60-day before you leave yes and pay for it up front so you don’t have to bother going to immigration after you arrive and then probably my my experience and my opinion

And my advice would be probably to use an agency to get the retirement Visa it’s very very convenient to do that yeah and uh yeah stay in an apartment for maybe for six or eight weeks yeah or in a part of the country that you’re interested in or stay in several

Apartments or several move around a bit move around check out the north check out Bangkok if you like big cities check out somewhere down near the beach yes and then make a decision about which part of the country you want a lot of people who used to live in the south

Tend to move to Chang yes which is the second biggest city second biggest city bit too hectic for me but I can see why it’s pretty busy yeah it’s pretty busy Chang Ro is a a pretty big city as well much quieter than much more quiet but

Still is still the city yeah and yeah yeah move move around I don’t think anyone to be disappointed I think there a a good idea you know because yeah it’s easy enough as I said to take a plane fly up from puket to changai or from Bangkok of course to changai or Chang

Raai so you can there’s no reason why you can’t try like you said try two or three different places yeah and see what sort of situation appeals most and say if you decide to go one particular place yeah rent it for 6 months yeah very easy

You might 6 month oh I’m not quite sure at least you’re not committed to anywhere yeah you’re not yeah and right now back in where we come from back in Europe and right now this time of the year in the winter I think it’s not it’s not incorrect to say people are spending

More on their heating bills yes than Than People Like Us yes are paying in our rents yeah so you know for the cost of your your your monthly gas bill back in Europe could be here you could be renting a nice place a nice a very nice

Place and eating drinking good food well yeah exactly yes yeah yes so there we are it’s a little bit of advertising for Thailand as a destination as a retirement good yeah well I mean I’ve been come visiting and never thought I’d end up living here but I’m glad I did

Yes yeah glad I did good choice yeah I don’t have any reget regrets either yeah okay great thanks a lot Tony it’s very interesting chat look little pids e them and Stuff couple your biker guests here so and there’s the pool yeah lovely yeah little Caron water fountain here oh yeah you got the the the fountain this is a nice feature isn’t it yeah fish very nice and you got those your bikes or your guest no they’re my guest I got one

Bike in there but looks like a couple of big bikes what do they got they couple of Harley is it yeah here we go there’s a couple of Harley Riders are they living here in time that’s a brand new bike that one isn’t it yeah not too old yeah that’s a brand

New bike I think I’m not a big uh I don’t know a lot of expert on Harley’s but that I can recognize it’s a new bike whatever yeah and this one’s not that old either so are they are they living here in Thailand you think yeah they

Live in Tha they both live in Thailand cuz you can’t really bring bikes in can you and you sh those are big bikes to have here aren’t they but yeah so they’ve uh they’ve been traveling in style haven’t they yeah cruising up here where do they come from do you know I

Don’t no idea I think live in Chang MAA they used to be In Paya this one oh yeah used to live there great well there a lovely and you got of course up here you got this perfect climate pretty well all through the year so all you get is a

Little bit of rain in the rainy season but it’s always warm enough to use the pool isn’t it yes it is yes it never already gets cold up Here