I moved to Thailand, started a family, and can't picture ever returning home to Scotland

27.05.2024 - 01:03 / insider.com / Willy Wonka

A friend recently said that living in Southeast Asia was akin to winning one of Willy Wonka's golden tickets. And it's impossible to dismiss a long list of advantages that include the cuisine, cultural heritage, diverse landscapes, low cost of living, and generally friendly, laid-back hosts.

There are trade-offs, including terrible air quality, horrendous traffic congestion, and temperatures that veer toward the inhumane. But on the plus side, I get sun-kissed winters, palm-fringed beaches, and a less stringently regulated existence.

Like anywhere, life in Bangkok has its difficulties. The city is enervating, largely incomprehensible, and as batty as Mr Wonka. Yet, overall, I do feel like I was handed the keys to the proverbial chocolate factory.

With its gilded temples, sci-fi-worthy skyline, and heady mélange of sights, sounds, and smells, Bangkok could barely be more vivid. This intensity helped me fall for Thailand's lovably deranged capital when I first traveled here 14 years ago.

Here are four other things that have kept me in Southeast Asia's occasionally grubby grasp.

From pavement vendors serving up banquets for just a few dollars to bustling markets packed with produce and vibrant with color, the city has a knack for whetting appetites, including my own.

Bangkok is often cited as the planet's street food capital . For high-quality street food in a safe, clean environment, it's hard to beat Or Tor Kor Market. It's a great place to sample a wide range of tasty creations, from som tam (spicy green papaya salad) and kao ka moo (braised pork served with rice) to mango sticky rice. Another choice destination is Yaowarat Road in Chinatown where delicious noodle dishes and roast meats such as pork, duck, and goose are the order of the day.

The diversity of options still floors me. On a recent Sunday, I started my day with a bowl of Chinese-Thai jok (rice porridge) from Jok Prince, where charcoal fire imparts added smokiness. I then had lunch at South Indian stalwart Tamil Nadu and finished the day off with a dinner at Ojo, the sky-high signature Mexican restaurant at the crown of the MahaNakhon Tower, Thailand's tallest building.

This one is such an exile privilege that it comes with caveats.

Many Thai friends despair about the country's broken politics and surface-level media which favors soap opera-style stories over critical analysis.

But personally, I find it liberating to detach from the yoke of everyday consumption of Western news outlets through choice or osmosis.

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