Update On My Buddy's New House Build

How I Book Hotels In Thailand And Elsewhere

Having lived in Thailand since 2003, I have booked many hotels while travelling around the country. Occasionally, I have spent an enormous amount of time trying to find the best deal. However, I almost invariably end up booking through Agoda. Not only are Agoda rates almost always the lowest, but it is a company I have learnt to trust over the years. In 2023 there were stories about another large online hotel Booking company (whose name I won't mention) who failed to pay accommodation hosts and whose customers turned up at hotels to find that they did not have a reservation. I have never had any such problems with Agoda, and the few minor issues I've had have been dealt with efficiently by their customer service representatives.

Agoda is a company I trust and recommend. Use the following link to book your next hotel room!

https://www.agoda.com/partners/partne...

Disclaimer. I am an Agoda affiliate and will receive a small commission for any completed bookings that are made through my links. However, I only promote goods and services that I am happy with and use myself.

Are You Interested In Learning How To Read Basic Thai?

Being able to read enough basic Thai so that you can negotiate menus and read signs is incredibly useful, and it's not that difficult. It's not like Japanese or Chinese, where you have to remember thousands of characters. Like English, it's just consonants and vowels. Yes, there are more characters than English, but phonetically Thai is a lot more consistent. English vowels and vowel combinations change sound in different words (cough, rough, through, thought, bough, etc). In many ways, Thais is actually easier to learn than English. If you are interested, try the tutorials on my other YouTube channel. With some effort and dedication, you will be able to read quite well after around six months.

   / learntoreadthai  

Video Description

When I bought a house in Thailand I didn't want the hassle of dealing with Thai tradesmen and security was also a concern. I ended up buying a place in a gated community that has security guards present 24 hours and there were foremen to keep the builders in line.

My friend, Johnny, took a different route. He bought a piece of land and then found a builder to build him a house. It has actually worked out very well for him. The builder was very reliable, flexible and did a great job. Although we paid a similar amount of money for our properties he has far more land than I do.

I took a look at his house about a year ago just after the roof had been put on, but it was difficult to imagine what the house would look like when it was finished. I went back today and was very impressed. It really is a lovely place.

In many parts of the world you couldn't get anything like this for 200,000 USD, but because labour is so cheap in Thailand you can get quite a lot of house for your money. My house in the UK is actually worth more than my house in Thailand, but my Thai house is much bigger and I couldn't afford to buy a similar property in the UK. UK property prices are crazy.

If you have any questions I can't guarantee answers because I'll have to ask Johnny, but I'll try.

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