Today, we have a Reader Question from a Canadian reader who contacted me and asked about insight of spending the winter months in Thailand or an alternate Southeast Asian country.
Readers are encouraged to send us questions, comments, or opinions by email, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We’ll try to cover them here several times a week.
Thailand is one of the most popular countries for people to travel to and has maintained this spot for several decades, although the face and cost of tourism in the Kingdom has changed a bit.
What has changed as well is the price structure for services and products, not only in Thailand but all other countries that have become mass tourism destinations.
Christopher wrote to us last week, describing his situation:
Hi Sebastian,
Reading your articles it appears you spend a lot of time in Thailand so I’d like to ask for your ideas how to structure a multi-month stay there during the cold winter months here in Ottawa. Talking Canadian winter months, by that, I mean pretty much half the year, but I gues I’d settle to stay from the end of November until the end of March.
Usually I always went down to Florida but prices have gone up and I don’t feel like spending that much time in the U.S. (and Canada for that matter) anymore as the overall mood has become too dire and tense.
I work remotely, so I don’t need to be back home, although I’m aware from my own research that this is somewhat of a grey area doing so while living there.
Since it doesn’t look like I can stay a long time in one stretch I’m also open to other countries in the region if you have suggestions. I only visited Hong Kong, Korea and Japan before.
Best,
Chris
It’s good that Chris already did some research on his own so he has a good idea of what he’s looking at. One thing that still concerns me is that he mentions not having any experience with South East Asia yet, living in the climate of 33 degrees Celsius with high humidity isn’t for everyone so that’s something to take into account, although he already seems to be familiar with Florida.
Location
Thailand is a large country and he didn’t specify where he wants to stay. There is of course Bangkok which has all amenities of city life but also all the downsides that come with it (noise, dirty air, traffic, many people). Another option would be Chiang Mai in the north. Islands (Koh Samui, Phuket) or beach towns such as the areas around Hua Hin and Jomtien/Pattaya. All this depends on what you’re looking for as a traveler and what the budget is.
Accommodation
For such a long stay, I’d recommend looking at an apartment rather than a hotel. There are multiple reasons for that. One is cost, while it’s possible to get a very decent apartment on Air BNB for 20-30,000 Baht/month you’d pay A LOT more than for a hotel, and if you’re looking at chain hotels, even more. Even the lowest priced Marriott’s such as the Courtyard, Four Points or Aloft are 3,500 Baht all in per day. That’s 105,000 Baht per month. You can add 50% if you’re looking at full-service properties.
Hotels don’t upgrade to suites for extended stays, and I guess the only way to secure a suite for a longer period would be if you’re a Globalist with Hyatt and book multiple 7-night stays to apply suite upgrade awards to. Still, I don’t think it’s cost-effective, and after a month or so, hotel living goes on your nerves.
Air BNB is plentiful in Thailand, but as I’ve covered before, it’s only legal if you rent for a period of 30 days or more.
There are many offers, even for several days or weeks, but doing that could end up in bad situations with the building management and even the authorities. Residents are supposed to be reported to Immigration as far as their residence status is concerned. It goes without saying that most hosts don’t do this.
Legalities
As a tourist with a Canadian (and most western) passports, you will get a 30-day entry stamp with visa exemption upon arrival. That means you can stay roughly four weeks, and then you have to leave, or you can extend the visa once at the immigration department for 1900 Baht. It’s less the cost but more the process that is a real pain in the neck. Dealing with administrative processes at the immigration department in Thailand can easily take half a day, depending on the location. The easiest to get this done is in Phuket at the Patong Beach sub-division and several smaller offices in beach towns. Still, I’d try to avoid it.
You can get a 60-day tourist visa at the Thai Embassy/Consulate in Canada. They now use an e-Visa system, and it’s rather easy to use now. I suggest getting on with that soon, as they usually need 1-2 weeks for first-time applicants to process it. The price is 65 Canadian Dollars since October.
Goodbye Consulates: Thailand E-Visa Website Is Now Up & Running For Many Nationalities
You can extend this for an additional 30 days as well if so desired, once in the country. Alternatively, you leave the country and come back using an exemption stamp next. Or apply for a new visa while you’re gone but that requires a longer stay in a neighboring country.
There is chatter again about extending the visa waiver for Western foreigners from 30 to 90 days, but these things have been discussed for months now, and nothing has come of it.
Foreigners aren’t really supposed to do these “Visa Runs” with back-to-back exemptions, and immigration has gotten more strict with it. Also, one isn’t supposed to stay more than 180 days per calendar year in the country, or he would lose the tourist status and be considered a (tax) resident. That doesn’t apply to this situation, and the reader could argue with the truth that he’s simply escaping the cold winter months in Canada and plans to go back in March.
There is still the issue of working remotely in Thailand while on a tourist visa/exemption. Although usually not enforced, it’s not legal to do so. Thailand currently follows a “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy in this regard. I guess it’s possible that someone simply took an extended vacation over the winter.
Insurance
I know from a friend that Canada is rather fiddly when it comes to the national/provincial health insurance when you leave the country for extended periods. There is an option to extend it against payment, or it would go dormant. In any case, I’d check whatever coverage applies overseas and, at the very least, travel with decent travel insurance that covers accident and medical (including repatriation).
Alternatives
There are many interesting countries here in the region. Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan… it’s possible to reach all these places within a few short flight hours, and airfare is often reasonable. I have no first-hand experience of how it is to live an extended time in these countries, but it’s definitely something attractive to think of spending 1-2 weeks there.
Conclusion
This got a little longer than I planned to answer the reader’s question, but I hope the things that came to my mind help to untangle some thoughts and provide a basis for proper planning.
Thailand is still a nice place to visit and stay with a budget of ~$1500-2000/month for a comfortable life, so coming here for the winter months sounds attractive. Flights from Canada are quite long and usually go via Tokyo/Seoul or – in the case of eastern Canada – the European/Middle East gateways. Such long trips should definitely warrant a long stay either way.
