Expat Teaching & Living: Living in Bangkok

Living in Bangkok has been a very mixed experience for me. Overall, I do enjoy living in Bangkok at this point in time, and I would like to point out some positive and negative things about living in Bangkok.

Cost of living:

Living in Bangkok is very affordable. The essentials are not nearly as expensive for me as they were living in Canada. For example, I rent a one bedroom condo with a nice living room, small balcony, kitchenette, and bathroom with a shower that has hot water. My condo also has a shared pool. The cost of this is 9000 Thai Baht which is approximately $300 CAD.
One month of internet access is 450 Thai Baht ($15 CAD).
One month's phone bill is 400 Thai Baht ($13 CAD).
One load of laundry costs 20 Thai Baht ($0.66 CAD).
Public transit ranges from 7 Thai Baht ($0.33 CAD) on a SongTao to about 300 Thai Baht ($10 CAD) for a 1 hour taxi ride.
Eating out at a Thai restaurant costs between 30 Thai Baht ($1 CAD) for a basic meal with water to drink to around 120 Thai Baht ($4 CAD) for a larger meal with a couple of litres of beer.
One litre of beer at a moderately priced bar costs 90 Thai Baht ($3 CAD).
The cost of a one hour massage is generally 200 Thai Baht ($6.66 CAD).
The cost of going to the movies on 'cheap night' is 100 Thai Baht ($3.33 CAD).
A Dairy Queen Blizzard(Mini) costs 29 Thai Baht ($1 CAD), (Large) costs 79 Thai Baht ($2.66 CAD).
I purchased a pretty nice little folding bicycle for 6000 Thai Baht ($200 CAD).
A new pair of on sale Adidas running shoes costs 1500 Thai Baht ($50 CAD).

Lifestyle:

My lifestyle is a strange one relative to most people I know, so of course my view on this is my own and may not apply to all. Getting around Bangkok is not that difficult, especially if you live near the city centre. Even living int the suburbs like I do I can easily get anywhere in Bangkok as long as I am patient. There are heaps of taxis driving at all hours of the day -- though they will not always pick you up if they don't want to drive to your destination. There are also busses, an underground train, and a skytrain.
Riding a bicycle is a nice way for me to commute 5 km to and from work every day. I wear a surgical/medical mask to protect myself from the pollution on the busy street. Leisure rides are a bit trickier, since I live far from any type of green space. There also is not a lot of green space in the city of Bangkok, so riding around a beautiful park on your bicycle is easier said than done. However, in traffic it is really convenient to weave between the gridlock and leave cars in the dust.
If I do not feel like riding my bicycle I can take a Songthaew which is a truck with seats in the back that costs 7 Thai Baht ($0.25 CAD).
There are markets everywhere, selling all kinds of things. On the small street I live on there is a market which sells fruits, vegetables, meats, and a random assortment of other things. 10 km from where I live is the Chatachuk Weekend Market. This is arguably the biggest market in the world. Here you can buy everything from exotic pets like snakes to Thai folk music.
In the evenings it is very easy to find something to do in Bangkok. On weekdays I visit with friends, playing sports after work in the school gymnasium, heading to the city to play volleyball, going to the movies, going for a drink, or just relaxing at home. On weekends there are a ton of bars and parties to explore. Some of the favourite destinations include:
KhaoSan Road - Backpackers hub in old Bangkok. Market stalls, bars, live music, hookah, and often buskers (saw an amazing beatboxer and breakdance crew last time I was there).
RCA - Dance clubs.
Sukhimvit Soi 11 - Clubs, bars, and restaurants. A bit shady due to proximity to an alleged prostitute neighbourhood.
I still have a lot to learn and explore within Bangkok but so far I am enjoying the lifestyle here and the opportunity to experience Thai culture.

Work:

I am employed by a Thai school with an English Immersion program which is loosely based off of Manitoba's French Immersion program, and uses Manitoba curriculum. I work from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. However I am often at work earlier and later than that finishing grading, prepping, cleaning, or working with extracurricular activities. I teach grade 5 - grade 9 physical education. I spent one half of the year teaching in the gymnasium, the second half I am mainly teaching in the pool. I didn't expect to enjoy the pool as much as I do... A nice break from the hot and sweaty gymnasium. I am generally given ample prep time during the day. Our school utilizes in house subbing, and since I do not have a full schedule I sub quite a lot. The subbing ranges from dancing with the nursery kids to teaching math to the grade 9 students. The subbing helps keep variety in the job. The staff that I work with help make everyday enjoyable, and the kids drive me crazy at times, but are really cute and respectful most of the time. This year I receive 2 weeks holiday in October, and 2 weeks holiday in March, along with December 24th - January 4th off. The school has 2 buildings full of classrooms along with a gymnasium, pool, and a few outdoor play areas. We also have a nurse on duty every day, who checks the younger students temperatures every morning to ensure that students who are sick do not spread their illness. So far I have found the job to be enjoyable and challenging which is quite nice.

Culture Shock:

So living in an Asian city has forced me to feel some culture shock. Some Thai people speak some English, but not a lot. A Thai person will often say an English word different than a native English speaker due to their accent. (Ex: A Space Condos would be said: A Spassse Contdo). Also, I have mainly heard Suvarnabhumi Airport pronounced as (Sue-Ven-A-Poom), so even speaking an English word to a Thai speaker can be quite tricky. The food is different. Rice is common at every meal. Spicy dishes are too spicy. Not spicy dishes are still spicy sometimes. I grew up eating meat and potatoes so all this spicy food is a new ball game for me. I have not had digestive issues during my first 3 months here **Knocks on wood**. Personal space when in the heart of the city or at a busy event is non existent. After growing up in a town of 5000 people in Northern Manitoba I find myself feeling a bit claustrophobic here in Bangkok. The roads are organized chaos. Drivers tend to do whatever they want, but within reason. Nobody wants a crash especially due to strict manslaughter penalties, but people still drive pretty aggressively and sporadically. There's no Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. There is however a rainy and dry season. The rainy season is a bit exaggerated, there is still a lot of sun during the rainy season. Pollution of all kinds is very present. Air pollution makes it tricky to live a healthy lifestyle. Noise and light pollution make it difficult to find a peaceful moment while out and about.

Travel:

Bangkok is a major travel hub for South East Asia, and cheap flights are almost always available to anywhere you want to go. There is a lot to explore within Thailand, and relatively close to Thailand you can visit Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, South Korea, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Nepal. (All countries within approximately 3000 km of Thailand, or 1000 km closer than Vancouver is to Toronto).

Based on my experience the difficult things are a small price to pay for all of the great things I am able to experience living here in Thailand.

Thank you for taking some time to read this post.
Below are some pictures to demonstrate my experience living here in Thailand.