Can you live like a Thai?

No man is an island but for the month of May I sure felt like one. I spent a good part of the month still recovering from my bout of dengue fever and another bout of tonsillitis but I am happy to say that is all behind me now and I am again running at 100%, a claim that Rick from Behind the Noodle Curtain tested the veracity of just this past weekend when he came to Pattaya for a short holiday of sorts.

Rick and I have spent a considerable amount of time deliberating costs and finances in Thailand and this past weekend we touched on these things again, it’s very easy in a town like Pattaya to plan on going home early and spending less on a night out but but more often than not it’s easier to spend more and wondering where the time went as you are watching the sun come up. This isn’t a daily habit for either of us but it happens.

Both Rick and I have come to the conclusion that we can and will be doing some things cheaper such as living arrangements. When my lease is up I will be looking for a much cheaper condo which can be had in certain areas near me for around 5000 baht a month. Of course they aren’t up scale but some of these places are quite nice and actually roomier than what I am paying too much for now.

Our talks this weekend got me thinking back to a great post that Martyn from Beyond the Mango Juice wrote some time ago entitled Red Red Whine, this was an excellent article about what the average Thai makes in a days wages and how we as tourists and expats would be hard pressed to live within such means. At the end of his article Martyn challenged his readers to live like a Thai for just one day and the monetary amount allowed was 170 baht. As far as I know no one took him up on the challenge…until now.

Taking into account inflation and living in a tourist town like Pattaya I am adjusting the daily wage a small amount to take into consideration my surroundings. So, instead of 170 baht a day I will be living on 200 baht a day for the whole month of June. Yes, you read that right, the whole month of June!

The 200 baht a day will encompass all related living expenses except for rent. Rent is beyond my control and is already much more than the daily wage will allow. But, all other living expenses such as food, transportation and bills such as electricity will count towards the 200 baht a day just as it would for a Thai.

Can I live on 200 baht a day? I think I can but obviously I won’t know for sure until I try. It may very well be a hard month for me but I will definitely be giving it the full run and I won’t stop until the month is over. Hopefully I will find new ways of doing things and places to eat and shop that will be a benefit in the future no matter what my budget.

The Living like a Thai series will start tomorrow and will run daily until the end of June so you can keep up with me as I try my hand at living like a Thai. I’ll be giving a daily detailed accounting of my expenditures as well as my feelings and concerns as the month goes by. If nothing else this could turn out to be an interesting foray into living frugally in Thailand but hopefully some tidbits of good information come through and maybe a better understanding of Thai people and Thai incomes.