A few months ago I took the trip back to England to visit family and friends. I’d just spent 13 months in Bangkok and I needed a ‘system clean out’.
If you stay in Thailand for a prolonged period of time without going back home, I believe it’s a lot harder to mix with friends and family past the surface level the longer you hold out.
I don’t intend to be that guy who stayed in Asia too long.
Not to mention that Thailand has a habit of getting on your nerves and sometimes you need a dose of dull, boring, reality to balance you out.
It’s been a little over 2 months since I’ve been back and here’s a timeline of my feels.
The first few days
When I landed at London Heathrow, from the moment the pilot said:
“The weather today is overcast with mild rain and highs of around 4c.”
I knew I didn’t want to be here.
The weather was gray for the first 72 hours of my trip, not a single ray of sunlight was seen.
Where had I landed?
I’ve been told withdrawal symptoms from heroin is meant to be hell on earth, after 72 hours in England after a year in Thailand, I fully understood their pain.
Some people are stuck in this mentality forever hating their home country and feeling depressed, typically those who want to go back to Thailand but can’t for whatever reason.
The first few days were absolutely brutal.
I felt sad, depressed and like I made a huge mistake.
The last time I felt like this was during exams at school.
However, once I left my shoebox room and met up with my friend for some beers and Indian food, life was just about manageable.
Looking for things to do
There’s only so much time in the day you can spend jerking off to Game of Thrones, browsing web forums and being unproductive continually reading several pointless Whatsapp and LINE groups.
I was getting out of shape and decided it was time to round up the boys to play some football and badminton.
But the boys weren’t there.
I found it impossible to find 10 people to setup a football game or regular badminton partners. Everybody was busy, doing what I don’t know (I think it was because they were tired from working 8 hours a day, 6 days a week).
I live in a small city with absolutely zero nice restaurant or things to do.
If I head to a nightclub there’s a good chance I’ll see a fight, assuming the bouncers let me in if they like the look of my shoes of course.
I got so bored that I actually decided to write this blog post!
And then it hit me.
Life is one big, fat turd
Life is shit for the 99%.
If you don’t live in a tropical climate and are reading this from the UK/Canada/USA/Australia I’ll assume your life is shit too.
Everyone I know in England works for someone else and pays 30-40% of their dismally low salary in tax.
If we add in their transportation costs, student loans and other bits and bobs, around 50% of their salary is out their pocket before it even goes in. #Brexit.
You can spin it how you want but life is shit for most people.
Unless you run your own business or are your own boss, most people whether they like to admit it or not are simply coasting through life doing nothing other than feeding the system.
I live in small town and there’s nothing to do asides from going to the gym, and that’s all everyone seems to be doing.
Maybe that’s why there’s a huge gym culture nowadays, people have such shitty lives and no money that they spend hours each week at the gym.
For most people, the gym is just to fill a hole in their lives because the daily grind has voided them of all hobbies and interests.
I’ve almost never hit the weights in Thailand, but each time I’m in England I find myself getting a gym membership and ordering a bunch of supplements online thinking I’ll get swole. #IIFYM
Unless you’re doing a job you love or have a family and are providing for your children, life in England (outside London, London is great) is depressing.
I think that’s why people get married, life is so miserable that by having children to support, their suffering at least has a meaning.
If you’re working a job you don’t love and don’t have children to feed, I feel sorry for you.
And before you say:
“I don’t mind my job it’s easy”
That is just an excuse and waste of potential.
What are you doing with yourself? The last 2 months in England I felt were a total waste of my life if I weren’t here to meet my family.
Life is shit…but I’m Lucky
While extremely bored in England, I am enjoying my time with friend and family.
Why?
Because I know that in a few months I’ll be back in Thailand and traveling around Asia doing all the things I love without any of the stress.
Only when I come back to England do I truly realize how lucky I am being able to be 100% free of the matrix.
What do you think? Am I making things out to be worse than they are, is the Western world really a great place to be if you’re not making bank?
If you’re having an awesome time then leave a comment letting me know, I’d love to hear your comments about what I’ve said. If you agree with me, then what are you going to do to change your position?
