My first Pattaya golfing day with the Pattaya Sports Club & the Golf Links bar

I went to a lot of trouble to bring my golf clubs so playing is a must. Golfing here is mostly done thru bar social clubs. A membership is required but gets big reductions on green fees. I did a bit of googling and chose a bar that publishes their schedule online and includes a lot of good prices local courses. They don’t seem to play at the really upmarket very expensive courses. The bar organises the comp & transport and green fees. My first game was at Pattavia Century Golf club. A big role out there were 10 groups and I am in group 8. Waiting in the bar to be ready to go and get talking to others. They all seem to be open and chat is easy. Am on the bus with several Brits, and Irishman and another Aussie. They warn me about the greens on this course being very difficult. Arriving they guide me thru the steps to pro shop, green fees and change rooms and out to meet your caddy. Caddies are a part of the day and offer guidance on the course and especially putting. There is a fee but adds to the experience at a new course. My group has two Scots and a Brit and me. One of the Scots(Jimmy) is almost impossible to understand and he is my marker so I will get plenty of practice. The Brit (Bob) has the strangest swing I have ever seen. Not sure how he hits the ball. And the other Scot is another Jim and quite serious about his golf. Communication goes just fine significantly better than my golf for the first 4 holes. I couldn’t get the ball off the ground for a while (very embarrassing). Second hole hit an ok driver up over a small hill so couldn't see it land. My ball is always marked with a black texta stripe and when I got over the hump to my drive found a ball with the stripe & hit it. Oops turns out to be a playing partners ball we discovered when I got to the green. He isn’t happy and says he is changing his ball. Not a good start for me. My game is all over the place. Hitting it ok now but can’t get the distances right despite the caddy guidance and the putting is rubbish I just can’t get the speed right. Mind you the greens are all tilted at 30 degrees and faaaast. Then the penny dropped that the distances are in yards not metres and I started to get the ball in the air better so had a few opportunities to make an ok score. Starting to get a handle on things by the time the first nine ends altho score is rubbish. Sadly the damage is done. Ah well the game is for a handicap score only. Just as well but the second nine was much better with only one bad hole. Probably could have been a few shots better with experience of the course. And not having an official handicap I have to play min 3 games likely 5 before I get one so am not in the comp today. Bus trip back is uneventful and bar puts on a small meal of Thai curry & rice included in the fees. Interesting the winning scores were par (36 pts). So just illustrates the difficulty of the greens. I am not disappointed.

Opening the bank account .. .take 2

So next day I went back to the bank with passport, visa and condo lease but they aren’t enough. As I said previously basic tasks like this are complicated here by required paperwork and stuff. Apparently an officialised residency form issued at the immigration office is required. So back to immigration I go to get the pics and doc copies and lodge the form. All the resources are here so its no problem to do it and lodge the form and come back an hour later to get the finished form. Job done so back to the bank I go and like magic all the problems and earlier issues disappear. Bank account is opened and ATM card issued at a cost of 400 baht thank you very much. no free ride with a bank even in friendly Thailand. It is a bit like going back in time to where everything is done by the teller. Australian banks would be horrified. seems to work tho. When in Rome ...

The drama

Next morning I decided to try and open a back account. Like most things here these everyday things are not so every day. And normally I would only carry my Thai money and a backup one or two hundred AU$ but this day I had quite a bit more cash back up to deposit in the bank account. I was going all that far but getting on the baht bus (taxi) I stumbled and was a bit shaken. And when getting ready to get off I pulled the coins from my pocket ready to pay and in my shaken state I didn’t realise my wallet which was in the other pocket must have worked its way out of my pocket or become disarranged. In any case I jumped off the baht bus and acknowledged to the driver I was ok and paid him the coins and crossed the road to the bank. I got a cue number to open an account and sat to wait subconsciously checking phone & wallet…OH NO my wallet is gone. So I bounded out of the bank and across the road to search for the wallet where I got off the baht bus. Looking in the gutters and garden beds and even the rubbish bins… nothing. So I headed back to where I got on and had stumbled, shit it hot walking at this pace. Back there which was only 600-700 metres I searched this area and found nothing. Feeling gutted now and I have exactly one baht in my pocket. I had to drag my feet back to my condo room to get some cash. Hasta la vista wallet including more than usual Aussie money and a few thousand Thai baht. Now at least I have some money so I can catch the baht bus instead of walking. I went back & repeated the searches but still nothing. So now I go to the Jomtien police box. They are sympathetic and ask the number of the baht bus which I don’t know but tell me to make a proper report I have to go to the Pattaya main police station… so off I go. The place is packed and the help desk lady listens then asks me when I lost it and what it looks like? And then opens a drawer that if full of wallets all black like mine but none are it. It occurs to me that there is no personal info in it for someone to call. Mental note to correct that in any new wallet. The report gets done from my notes and conversation re happenings although it’s pretty basic. It didn’t take too long and will cost me 500 baht if I want it translated. I decline at this stage. I will be asking my travel insurance if they provide coverage and need it translated. * Feeling tired mentally & physically by now plus sad & sorry for I I go back to my condo room and try and relax. I am still gutted and very upset with myself. Ah well its pool comp tonight maybe that will cheer me up.

My first visit to the Immigration office

I know that I have to register my address officially with immigration as a resident. So now I have the condo & lease I go over there to fulfil my obligation. Oh dear I think I have picked a bad time to come it’s packed to the front door. Inside I speak to the information desk and am told a form is required but to my surprise she pulls the form from below the desk and starts to complete it for me. All I have to do is show my passport & lease and sign then she gives me a number and I get in the queue. A nice surprise, the queue is not. Looking around the waiting areas I think all the foreigners in Pattaya are here today. This might be a long day. There are people from all over including various Europeans, other Australians, Indians, other Asians and a particularly loud Trump supporting American couple from Florida. It’s a long wait especially listening to the Floridians complain the whole time. When my number is called and I hand the docs over the immigration officer says I need copies of docs. My heart sank thinking I was gonna have to wait again but she said just come straight back which I did and was processed pretty quick. What’s all the fuss about, no problems. Despite the masses of people they all seem to get processed without too many incidents. Generally a positive experience really. My visa requirement is to do it every 90 days so hopefully it will continue.

The decision is made about which condo

After looking at both places again I have decided to rent the new one. Walk in cost was half compared to the other one & it’s new. The decision is made re a condo and contract start date for 4th March confirmed. So the next five days are at leisure including some drinking & massage & sitting under a beach umbrella doing “jack”. I went to an upmarket local bar at Jomtien beach not far from my new condo called Hemingway’s to get a feel for the place and it is nice. It’s advertised as a “Cheers” style design with bar in the middle and patrons all around … works well and was a good experience and have been back since. I’ve tentatively got on their pool team for Tuesday nights. Will want to get a permanent spot if I can. Sunday 4th came around soon enough and checking out my hotel and heading over to the new condo to do the contract and get the keys. All went to plan with the usual exchange of money and signatures and fine details including taking some pics for future reference re bond. Am generally happy with my choice altho is Thai built so workmanship is ordinary in places. Once I completed the deal I plan to get my stuff shipped down from Bangkok. My stuff is the boxes of things I packed & shipped previously plus my big suitcase and golf clubs. Deal arranged for next day for 1000 baht ($45). That’s and xlnt deal. Am happy with that. Monday morning comes around and the stuff arrives earlier than I thought but no problem. Unpacking the boxes and suitcase reminds me of the packing thought processes and how much was rejected. Especially when Thailand has for cheap money here.. Just seemed easier when I was doing the packing. In any case it is here now and fitting into the room space ok. The rest of the day is spent unpacking and buying other basics to make the room ready to live in. Next day turned out to be one to forget with high drama.

Pattaya and the condo search

Pattaya and the condo search I booked the hotel for 7 days to give me time to find a permanent place. Turned out a few days would have been enough… anyway I had been emailing agents from Oz re my needs & wants & budget and have lined up appointment times starting tomorrow. A promising start I think. The great majority of these condos are walk in walk out fully furnished & fitted. What is not so clear is what extras have to be paid for. Most building have internet some include in rent some you pay extra but mostly it is not great speed because of the number of people tapping it. Cable TV is also similar in that some include some don’t or charge extra for it. Electricity & water are always extras based on usage charged monthly. Some of this we know in advance some we don’t. We looked a range of places on Monday and liked two that we asked to take a second look at on Tuesday. Interesting most of the agents I have communicated with are expats. The first one of interest is owned by an Aussie who is back in Australia working and has decided to rent his condo. Impressive place, good size with quality fittings and appliances & separate bathroom/laundry and bedroom. Plus the building is not too big and high on the hill. The second one of interest turned out to be a short walking distance from the main local transport plus immigration & local markets and bars to play pool. It’s a brand new 1br place on the third floor with ensuite & separate living & kitchen and balcony. It’s fully fitted out and ready to move into plus has a nice balcony overlooking the pool. Also no direct sunlight which is a big bonus here. Bitter sweet at this point because I have found a condo on day one but have paid for the hotel for seven days. Ah well who is to know. The other small issue is I had confirmed one appointment for tomorrow that we will go to but really going thru the motions unless something jumps out at us

A new hope begins

The plan was a long time in the making but was finally coming into sharp focus as my birthday came around. Access to tax free super pension money on my 60 birthday along with a bunch of other things convinced me to make the move to Thailand on a more permanent basis. Finalising things in Oz and just getting here have been quite challenging plus many things have happened since arriving. The final days in Oz were consumed by making sure my good friend Gary’s last few items went to good homes. Easier said than done when you are emptying a complete home unit but mission accomplished. Deciding what to pack and trying to fit into the baggage allowance was a major challenge. Despite my best efforts & help from the digital scale I bought the suitcase exceeded my allowance by 4kg. Luckily the Jetstar staff took pity on me and gave me a pass… $100 saved. I haven’t travelled with 44kg baggage including large suitcase, golf clubs & carry-on bag before. So even getting it to the airport was hard work. For this I owe my friend Mandy Wilkinson a massive vote of thanks for getting me to the airport in plenty of time. Turned out we didn’t have to rush because on the way a message came through the plane was delayed 4 hours. Not happy Jan as this meant a midnight arrival in Bangkok and 1am at best to the hotel. Add 4 hours to local 1am and my body clock I was going to sleep after 5am and then getting up local time for breakfast at 9am local time. Eight hours sleep completed and I felt surprisingly good. After breakfast we pack to come down to Pattaya and the condo search.