Tag: decision-making

Entrance to the Customs at the border when entering Mexico by land with an RV

Entering Mexico by land with an RV

March 22, 2022

Map showing the road for entering Mexico by land with an RV at Nogales
Route into Mexico

Entering a new country by land with an RV

When travelling to any new country, there is always a lot of homework that needs to be done before you ever leave home. Travel from Canada into the USA is easy for us because we have more experience. This was our first time entering Mexico by land with an RV.

Air travel is much easier when entering Mexico. They give you the forms you need and you follow the crowd through the lines to the immigration and customs booths and soon you find yourself on the sidewalk outside.

I won’t go into all the details about entering Mexico by land with an RV because there are many websites that explain things quite well that will be up to date. I will highlight the essentials. The links I used will be included with a few tips we observed as we crossed the border into Mexico from Arizona at Nogales Mariposa Truck Crossing. We chose this crossing because the roads are more manageable with an RV.

Essential Documents when entering Mexico by land with an RV from (Canada) USA

FMM

The FMM is a visitor permit for citizens from countries that don’t require a visa to enter Mexico. This includes Canada and the United States. You can complete it online and print it ahead of time. It is best if you know when you are crossing the border. I don’t know if the date of entry is essential but I didn’t want to have to pay twice if my online paperwork was not accurate. It cost about $40 CAD online.

You still have to stop at immigration and have the online document approved and stamped. They will keep half of it and give you the other half. Put it away somewhere safe as you have to return your half to Mexican immigration when you leave.

You can complete and pay for the FMM at the immigration office if you choose. It is generally good for 180 days but immigration officers can choose to make it for less time so check it before you leave.

TIP–If you leave Mexico by air after arriving by land, you have to get your FMM stamped at the immigration booth at the airport before surrendering it to the airline prior to boarding. In Guadalajara, this booth was downstairs before the security escalator. When you return by air, you will complete another FMM on the plane. The price of the ticket includes the FMM.

Temporary Vehicle Importation Permit (TIP)

If you are travelling in the Free Zone along the border, the TIP is not necessary. This permit discourages you from leaving your vehicle in Mexico or selling it without importing it into the country. The Import Permit for your vehicle can be completed online but can only be done 10-60 days before crossing the border. We didn’t plan more than 10 days ahead so we had to complete this permit at the border office. Use the information online to have everything you need, and copies of everything required. Many people in line had to leave to go make copies. We had everything we needed.

If your vehicle has a lien on it from a financial institution, the list of documents calls for permission from them to take your vehicle out of the country. I don’t know if this is just an American requirement, but I did not have that document and there were no issues at the border. I will look into this when we get home and update this information.

Be prepared to spend some time getting this paperwork ready and then more time at the border. You will have to pay for the document and also leave a deposit of $500 by cash or credit card. This permit is good for 6 months for vehicles and 10 years for RVs. You will receive the deposit back when you leave Mexico.

TIP– Only one person could present the TIP documents. ItThey have to have their name on the registration. A Canadian driver’s licence is acceptable. Mexico does not require an international licence.

Mexican Car Insurance

Insurance from Canada and the USA does not cover you in Mexico. Even if you are just visiting for a day, you must purchase Mexican insurance before entering the country. We used Lewis and Lewis who had an online application form and quotes from several companies. Check the prices and coverage carefully. Some policies were cheaper for 3 months than for 1. Insurance for our 2018 truck was $327 USD for 3 months. Our 5th wheel was too old and they would not insure it.

TIP– In Mexico, if you are involved in an accident, call the insurance company immediately. The adjuster comes to the scene. If there are injuries, then call the police as well.

Money

Pesos are the currency in Mexico. It is a country that functions primarily on cash. Some of the large grocery stores, Walmart, Auto Zone, etc will take credit cards. Some smaller businesses will take them but add a 3-7% fee for use. Many smaller places, including the toll roads, will only take pesos in cash. The resort areas may be different.

Our bank in Canada needed a week’s notice to order pesos. A bank in Arizona was the same so we took American dollars from the ATM and then used the money exchange at the immigration stop at km 23 south of Nogales. Apparently, there are ATMs you can access in Nogales, just over the border, but with a trailer, we were unsure of the accessibility for our unit.

TIP-When using the ATM, select English. It will ask if you want to use the conversion calculated on the screen or let your own bank do the currency conversion. DECLINE. We found it saved about $32 on a $300 withdrawal by using our bank’s conversion. Also, be aware that ATM machines often run out of money. Try withdrawing a smaller amount, or find a different machine. The machines have a daily withdrawal limit and the fee is the same to take out a small amount or a larger one. Different banks have different fees and allowable withdrawal limits.

There are currency converting apps for your phone that make the transition easier to learn. As the Canadian dollar is worth about 16 pesos, like a mile is 1.6 km, the conversion works much the same as km/hr to miles/hr. 100 pesos is about $6 CAD (like 100 km/hr is like 60 mi/hr). Just picture your speedometer.

Nogales Mariposa Truck Crossing to enter Mexico

Mexico Customs

When we cross from Canada into the United States, and vice versa, the Immigration and Customs departments are together. When entering Mexico, these two departments are many km apart.

We passed through some booths soon after crossing into Mexico. It was challenging to know which was the RV lane. We were waved through at the first set of booths. Stay to the left towards Hermisillo. The right lane goes into the town of Nogales. There is a toll booth that accepted American dollars soon after the border crossing. Sometimes this toll booth is not occupied.

At the next stop (customs) we followed the truck sign. Guards waved us over, although this was a random stop. They checked our truck and RV registration. They took a quick look inside our trailer and asked where we were going and for how long. Personal belongings are acceptable in an RV. They are really checking to see if you are importing items or extra people. We were on our way to Immigration.

Mexico Immigration KM 21

While this should be the easiest part of the trip, it is not. The challenge of signs in a new language, new terrain and a pile of paperwork made this part a little stressful. The address of the Immigration offices are vague. At least the distances and speeds are measured in km.

KM 21 is the address of the immigration office and also the location to get your TIP and dollars exchanged for pesos. We watched a YouTube video of a dashcam view of the trip. After the yellow overpass, the road curves to the right and there is a slight pull off into the the parking lot. The entrance is a dirt road and the buildings do not look like other official border crossing offices.

The man in the office carefully scrutinized our online FMM forms. He divided them in half and gave us our part to keep.

TIP– Print the copies double sided. Pay for each separately if you have more than one person in your group and keep the receipt accessible on your device.

Temporary Vehicle Importation Permit (TIP)

It took us about 20 minutes, which was faster than most of the other people who had to go to the copy office on site and pay for the requested copies. There are benches available as the other members of your group wait.

We also exchanged American dollars for pesos at the exchange booth on site. Pesos or American coins were acceptable for use in the bathroom if you needed toilet paper and paper towels.

We were at the Aduana-TIP for about 50 minutes after arriving at 11:30 on a Tuesday morning in January.

Our journey continues… Stay tuned.

CISP

Moving to Cambodia…How I got to Phnom Penh

January 12, 2018

Moving to Cambodia

I am writing this blog from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  It was not my plan for this winter, but I found myself open to opportunities and one presented itself.  I have a 6 month teaching contract at the Canadian International School of Phnom Penh. (cisp) They use the Alberta curriculum and I have a grade 5 class with 24 students.

I will share more about the school in future blogs.  This is how I found myself in Cambodia.

Winter in Alberta

December 2017 arrived with cold and snow.  I had subbed at my previous school and helping my mom after hip replacement surgery complications.  We had completed our house renovations and were waiting for it to sell.  The downturn of the local oil patch-based economy meant we had only 2 showings since the summer.

We weren’t sure where we going to be next winter so we booked a trip to Panama and Medellin, Columbia for January to check it out for retirement potential.  We also found the perfect for us mobile home just 5 km out of Rocky Mountain House.  It’s on a rented lot surrounded by forest.  Possession was January 10.  Everything was settled for the winter…

Come to Cambodia

I awoke one morning to an email from my friend and former colleague, Bernice.  A teacher at her school in Phnom Penh had to leave at Christmas break and was I interested in a short-term contract.  After initially dismissing the idea since we had our plans already made, Pete told me to just go if I wanted and he would stay home for a while and get the new place painted and floored.

I sent in my resume with the required Alberta teaching certificate number and that day had what I thought was going to be a Skype interview with the principal. With 2 former teachers from Rocky already at the school, and the fact I had done a professional development session at the school last February while we were living in Thailand, she really only wanted to know where to send the contract.  By Dec 14 I had agreed to teach and live in Cambodia for 6 months.  I had 3 weeks to get ready.

Preparing to move to Asia again

White board of planning

This called for the “whiteboard of planning”.  I needed a large visual to finish planning for Christmas, a visit by our children, and preparations for this newest adventure.  I needed to pack for 6 months,  and include some teaching resources.  Knowing that our house could sell while I am away meant that I wanted to go through a few more boxes and purge some last items that won’t fit in our new place.  It was difficult to stay focused.

I was able to borrow a few resources from grade 5 teachers at my previous school, scanned them on the copier and emailed them to myself.  That saved a lot of weight in my luggage. A few key books came along with me since I didn’t really know what resources would be available.

Packing

I packed lots of dresses and skorts since I knew what the climate was like, having lived in SE Asia last winter.  I also went through our camping box and selected a few kitchen items I suspected would be missing in my new kitchen, like good knives, cheese grater, extra cutlery etc.  To ensure I had something for breakfast for my first days of school, I added Instant oatmeal packets, just in case.  I tried to buy another pair of sandals, but the stores said they had put the sandals away to make room for boots.  That’s such a Canadian problem.

The airline allowed two 50 pound bags to Asia, which sounds like a lot.  It is until you add 6 months of contact lens solution that’s not available in Cambodia, 2 pounds of coffee requested by my friends, and some Septo bac ordered to help with the septic tank in our buildings.  With a little creative balancing in and out of my carry on, Melissa’s expert rolling of clothes and the use of zip lock bags to compact clothes, I was ready to go.

Packing

Travel to Phnom Penh

Banff Springs Hotel
From Banff
to Phnom Penh

I had a great family time over Christmas and said good-by to everyone.  We spent the last 2 nights in Banff, Canada before heading to the airport.  I flew from Calgary to Vancouver to Hong Kong to Phnom Penh.  My flight left at 10 pm on Wednesday and I arrived at 10:30 am on Friday. My luggage took an extra day to arrive but that’s a story for another day.

After paying  $35 for a business visa, a driver from the school and my friend Nancy met me at the door.  I bought a cell phone card just outside the airport for $5 which included 3 G of data and a few minutes of calling.  That was it and it’s good for a month.  Sure beats my plan at home.

Accommodation

My new job included a second floor furnished apartment about a 5 minute walk from the school.  It has a bedroom and living area with high ceilings and lots of windows.  Two of them have screens so I can get some air moving on occasion. There are lots of kitchen cupboards , a kettle, a coffee maker, a toaster, a sink with only cold water and a 2 burner cooktop.  It is like camping.  I also have a good-sized fridge and freezer.  That’s not like camping.

The bedroom has a wardrobe with a few built-in drawers, a desk, TV and the usual hard bed found in Asia.  The bathroom has a shower, sink and toilet.  It took me a few days and lots of questions to discover that the hot water is turned on by a light switch on the outside of the bathroom.  Both rooms have air conditioning units.

There are 2 washers downstairs and a drying rack on the balcony.  My unit is along the side of a large house that’s been converted to 6 suites.  It is surrounded by other houses so I don’t receive any direct sun, which is a good thing in a hot, sunny country.  The school provides a night guard who sets up in the front yard every night.  The community itself is called Elite Town and there are some spectacular homes in this gated community.  I’ll share more pictures of those another day.

My balcony
Front view
Sitting area
Kitchen
Big windows
View from balcony
Bedroom
Bathroom

Stocking up

Bernice and her husband live in a highrise about 10 minutes from here.  They made supper for me the first night.  On our way home, we stopped in the grocery store in their building for a few supplies.  Milk is $4 a liter, but local beer is only $10.50 for 24.  I was able to buy Shredded Wheat–made in Canada– for just over $5 a box, about the same as at home.  I also got a papaya for a dollar, peanut butter, eggs, canned tuna, cheese, shampoo etc.  It was enough to get me started.

As this is a wealthy neighborhood, there are not the little shops we had in our Chiang Mai streets.  There is a mall about 15 minutes away (all are walking times).  It has high-end products and could be in any city in the world.  It has a movie theatre as well as a skating rink with real ice!  There are a couple of “dollar” stores where everything is priced at $1.90.  Since Cambodia runs on American dollars, that is about $2.50 Canadian.

There is also a department store with a large grocery store, liquor store and bakery where I could find most of what I need.  A tuk tuk home is $2-$3.  My Sobey’s shopping bags and backpack are very handy when shopping on my own.

I will  spend some time in the markets looking for interesting things, but for staples, the shopping nearby has been very convenient and reasonably priced.

Updates

With working every day, I don’t expect to post as frequently as last year, but I want to share what this city is like and how I’m adapting to a new place.  I will also share how it is the same and different teaching in an International School.

 

White Rim Road… alone in the desert wilderness

September 3, 2017

Canyonlands, Utah–White Rim Road

[gmap-embed id=”1921″]

To prepare us for this road trip, we took a side trip down the Shafer Trail when we visited Canyonlands, Utah in 2016. This road has to be seen to be believed.  It heads over the side of the Mesa and in 8 km it drops 1400 ft. into the canyon.  It follows the cliff with many switchbacks and is a single track gravel trail.  We didn’t need 4 wheel drive that day, but high clearance is necessary. Once at the bottom, we turned on Potash Road and followed an interesting road out to Moab, with views of arches and the river.

There is another road that continues from where we turned off.  It is 160 km and travels around a third of the park with the Green River to the west and the Colorado River to the east.  There are a number of campgrounds available for booking along the way.  Peter decided then he wanted to take this White Rim Road and explore the desert in his truck.

Planning

This was his trip so he did most of the research and planning.  He read up on the regulations in the park.  He watched YouTube on others who had done it and checked out the route on Google Maps.  The campgrounds were analyzed and booked.  The truck had all the fluids topped up and the tires checked.  Extra water jugs were pulled out of the basement and the backup battery charger for the engine’s battery was prepared.

I was rather anxious about this kind of adventure, but I trust his driving and I knew the truck was safe, so I was in.  Not ecstatic, but in.  I thought of it more like a backpacking trip with our Coleman Instant Tent, where you needed to be self-sufficient for a number of days, in this case, 4  We had 2 coolers, 1 for ice and 1 that runs off the 12 volt.  I checked the first aid kit and made sure we had all the necessary supplies.  

After a pleasant journey through Montana, Wyoming and Colorado, we arrived at Canyonlands National Park at 5 pm on a Friday afternoon.  It is about 45 minutes north and west of Moab, Utah.  We fully expected to have to camp somewhere in the Land Management Area in order to find a spot, but drove through Horsethief Campground just in case.  It was almost empty!  We couldn’t believe our good fortune.  Our site overlooked the desert and although it didn’t have water, vault toilets were available and it was only $15.  

Desert Sunset
Sunrise

It was hot and breezy, but the sky was so dark.  The moon was almost new and I enjoyed working on my night photography skills without having to wear my toque and mittens.  The MIlky Way was so clear and it was hard to see all the constellations for the stars.  

Milky Way

Milky Way with our tent and a plane trail

Shafer Road to White Crack Day 1

We stopped at the information center at Island in the Sky to check in.  The sites we booked were confirmed and after looking at the entire trip, we decided that 3 nights would be adequate for this trip and cancelled our final night.  The fee for our back country permit was only $30 and was good for up to 7 days.  It included our camping.  

There was water available here and we topped up all of our containers.  They recommend 4 liters per person per day when travelling in the desert where temperatures were usually 35 Celsius in the day and 18 at night.  We had 47 L plus our filled water bottles.  The cooler had a variety of canned drinks as well.  There was plenty to drink, but I felt thirsty the whole time between the heat and knowing that my water supply was not unlimited.

Model of the White Rim road in red

We tipped off the top of the world onto Shafer Road.  I felt okay since we had been down this cliff before.  I had been in the back last time so hadn’t seen how many times the road seems to disappear at the corners.  The road was smooth and a little more than 1 lane wide with amazing vistas.  Looking back though, it is hard to know where you just drove.  As we wound our way to the bottom, there are sheer red cliffs above you, and sheer drops below.  Fortunately we didn’t meet anyone until the bottom.

We passed 2 tour vehicles ready to head up the trail.  We also met a park ranger whose truck you can see in the picture.  The info center told us they drive the White Rim Road daily, but this was the only official we saw in 3 days.  We were also passed by a couple of Land Cruisers.  They didn’t have any camping reservations and were driving the entire loop in one day.  They could travel much quicker than us as they had a shorter wheel base, were not loaded with equipment and could reduce their tire pressure to go over the bumps and rocks more easily.  

The Road

The road was primarily one lane wide.  It was dirt or small gravel in lots of places which made for easier driving.  The challenging sections were in the drainage and washout areas.  Rain run off had washed away all the small rocks and left large rock or sometimes bedrock called sliprock.  There were many large holes in front and behind these larger rocks that required lots of driver attention.

It wasn’t too bad in the flat areas, but the same thing happened on lots of the steep up and down climbs. Some climbs were so steep we couldn’t see past the hood of the truck. Watching for rocks sticking out from the side, holes in the road, drop offs and having no idea if the road turned left or right at the top of a climb made for full-time navigating for us both.  Fortunately the 4 wheel-low works flawlessly.  4 high did a good job too when needed.

The advantage of being 1400 ft below the usual viewpoints is that you are that much closer to the canyons.  We walked into Mussleman Arch and could look at the other hoodoos and formations and colours that are not apparent from the top.  I took a picture of Mesa Arch from the top last year and was able to look at it from behind this time.  The Washerwoman looks so interesting from close up.  It is just a tiny formation seen through Mesa Arch.

Mesa Arch and Washerwoman from above March 2016

There were a few campgrounds and picnic stops along the way.  We had a picnic in the truck and completed 60 km to our first stop.  It had taken most of the day as we were travelling between 10 and 40 km/hr. White Crack Campground was 2 km off the road and set on a rise overlooking the lower basins.  We were at the very southern tip of Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands.

White Crack Campground

The camping area can be booked by a group of up to 10 with 3 vehicles.  Since we were only 2 people with 1 vehicle, that is all they booked into this site.  It is remote and silent. The sound of jets flying over were all there was to remind us that we were still part of the modern world.

It consisted of a vault toilet with the most spectacular view in the world, a large slab or red rock and a single juniper tree that we moved our chairs around to get a little shade.  There was a short squall soon after we arrived but the wind died quite quickly and we didn’t lose any of our supplies over the cliff.

The sunset showed itself with clouds and lots of virga, although by true dark, the stars could be seen through the open windows of the tent, even without my glasses.  We got up to watch the sun come up over the mountains and light up the canyon walls in the west.  There was a short trail that took us neared the views to the south where  we could clearly see the white rim of stone that was the uppermost layer in the canyons.

White Crack to Murphy Hogback  Day 2

Our second day was much shorter than the first at only 15 km and about 1 ½ hours. We returned to the main road and travelled over several washout areas.  We stopped several times to look at rock formations.  Erosion is always at work here.  We saw towers with harder rocks balanced precariously on top.  There were some rocks that stood out from the canyon walls like fins.  

Our first real challenge for the truck was driving up Murphy’s Hogback.  It is a section of land raised up from the White Rim where we felt like we were driving straight up like those trucks you see in the commercials.  It was very scary but the truck and driver did a great job.  By the time I arrived at the top, I had a few tears of relief.

The road up!

Murphy campground

The camping area was right at the top of the Hogback at almost 1600 m.  We were there by 11 am but I was glad for a break after all the anxiety of this trip.  The steep section was a success, but I knew we had to go back down the other side.  We did see one more truck go by all day, and that was the last of humanity that we saw until we completed our trip.

This campground had 3 separate sites, but we were the only ones there. Again we had a vault toilet with a view and a friendly juniper tree to give us so more shade. There were no tables provided, but we had a portable table top that unrolls and sits on a base.  

We also had Coleman Instant Screen room.  It was really handy on our trip to the Alaska Inside Passage.  We set it up over the picnic table and used the propane fire ring in the doorway to keep us warm and dry in all the rain.  Since we were encouraged not to exert ourselves in the heat of the day, we set up the room, covered the sunny side with a tarp, spread out our camping mat and had a day off.  I worked on my blog and read.  Peter read the maps and rested from the driving of the last week.  We had lots of water to drink and finished the day with rib steaks on the grilling pan and wished we had brought wine as well.  Those kinds of meals are definitely not backpacking meals. (Pinot Grigio)

A juniper tree gives a lot of shade
shade in our screened patio
Stay out of the sun!

The sky was very cloudy around sunset.  There was rain and virga in the area, but we didn’t get moisture.  I didn’t want to have to worry about slippery roads for the way out.  After sitting and relaxing all day, we realized that we didn’t need another night in the desert so planned to drive out the rest of the way.  We planned to stop at our last camping spot and check it out just in case.  It was also the day of the North American Solar Eclipse so we needed to be somewhere open enough to see what effect an 80% eclipse had on the landscape.

Murphy’s Hogback to Potato Bottom and beyond  Day 3

Getting up so as not to miss the Canyon sunrise meant we were on the road by 7:30.  The trip down off the summit was like pointing your skis down a black run.  You just have to go.  It was steep and rough, but it was okay.  Luckily no one was coming up at the time.  We used the GPS more today to see which way the road curved before we got there.

 

The road today took us along several canyon edges and eventually down to the Green River.  The weather was clear and sunny again and the views amazing.  We could look up at towers and mesas.  We got to our booked camping spot about 9 and decided to carry on to the Mineral Bottom boat lauch for the eclipse, just past the end of White Rim Road.

Or next scary section was up Hardscrabble switchbacks which very quickly takes you up and over a high section and back down to the river again.  It really took 2 of us to get through this.  I watched for rocks and holes on the  right and Pete kept his eye on the left.  I was also responsible for any big rocks jutting out from the right although there was seldom any room on the cliff side of the road to do anything about it. Neither of us looked down.  There was one switch back that we had to enter a turn around area to get the right angle to continue up the hill.

We got back down to the river again along a narrow trail that caught us by surprise and were soon found ourselves at the exit to the White Rim Road, 3 days and 160 km of adventure later.

We got a chance to see the eclipse through some paddler’s glasses.  The light seemed to glare less off the cliffs but it was really not that noticeable, considering how much of the sun was covered by the moon.  We did notice some really interesting shadows on the sand and the temperature dropped from about 35 to 25 Celsius for a short time.

After watching the paddler’s prepare for their trip, we finished our trip on the White Rim Road by exiting up the Mineral Bottom Road.  It was steep with lots of switchbacks, but it had signs for curves and reinforced corners and felt like a highway.  It was time for a shower and dinner in Moab.

Why Thailand? How to choose one place from so many.

October 18, 2016

How did we end up going to Thailand? Once we decided to start living our life now, and not waiting for it to happen to us, we started looking for a place to go.  After watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel we could see the appeal of spending time living and learning in a new country.

We heard of a magazine called International Living  that also had regular email notices.  It is a “dream of retirement” publication that is mostly aimed at Americans, but describes how you can live somewhere else for less money in retirement.  It has testimonials from people who have done it and good guidelines on how to start thinking about this possibility.  Panama came up several times as a place to go, due to its low cost of living and discounts given to retirees.  You can live in the city, near the beach or in a smaller town in the mountains

We read some of these testimonials and looked up the names of the places on Google Maps.  We then used Google Earth and zoomed in to get a closer look.  With streetview, we could check out the feel of the place and see the kind of shops and parks or the general upkeep of the homes along the streets.  This was such an easy way to check out a town so far away.  We thought that we could learn a little Spanish and had some sense of the culture from our trips to Mexico and Arizona.  I realize that is a pretty naive understanding, but it’s all we had to go on.

Peter also found a website that compared the cost of living in cities around the world.  Calgary was about $5400 a month for most of what you would need to live well.  Panama City only required $3600 for the same living expenses.  He used this site to start checking out other places in the world from Spain to Thailand, Costa Rica to Australia . We began narrowing down the list to places that were economical based on my pension and investments.  Health care availability was something else we wanted to know more about.

As we were in the midst of this conversation, I received a call from my friend Bernice, who has been a much braver traveller than I for her whole life.  She has worked and travelled in Asia for the last 5 years and spent the last 2 winters in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  She skyped me around her apartment and talked about the benefits of living in Thailand, as compared to Central or South America.  Bernice felt very safe there.  The cost of living was very low for rent and food.  The area that they lived in had excellent transportation to the places we would want to go.  The winters were like our summers only more so.  She also added that Chiang Mai was a city with a large number of ex-pats, many from Canada.  That made it possible to learn about a new culture, while still being able to pursue many of the same interests we would have at home.

I asked her about the Eastern Culture.  We have never been to Asia and didn’t know much at all about the people and their way of life.  Her reply was that everyone in the world is on the Internet these days.  They share the same Facebook posts and wear the same clothes.  Globalization is a real life thing, not just something you hear about on the news.

That was all I needed to hear.  It was a place that met our needs as new retirees, and, it had the seal of approval from someone who had gone there and done it.  That last part was really the tipping point for us.  We booked ourselves into the same building I had seen on her computer camera for a 5 month stay.  (Smith Suites ) We decided that if we were going to learn about a new place, we needed to be there long enough to feel like part of the community, and not just tourists passing through.  Next we started in with the practical issues of moving for 5 months to another country halfway around the world.

Cost of living comparison Calgary vs. Chiang Mai  chart  $5400 vs $2600

map of Thailand