Redcurlnomad

🦗🐛🪲 INSANELY loud 🤣🤦‍♀️😴😭😱
Whatever that background critter is, it's every 3 seconds for hours tonight, non-stop!! When I first moved in, there was also some type of bird squawking it's head off for hours on repeat... wildlife hits different in Southeast Asia let me tell you 😂😂 I live in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world, and yet in my neighbourhood the loudest noise imaginable is the wildlife 😂 As a nature lover hippie-at-heart, I've got to say that does kinda make it even more special, and I'm super grateful for my green "backyard" of all the views I could have ended up with in Bangkok 🥹

🌏 Still don't regret moving here...not one bit 🙏

🧘‍♀️ Been a tough initial few weeks mentally...have brought a lot of emotional baggage with me so this is to be expected, because as I've said dozens of times on my socials already - your problems don't just disappear when you move somewhere new (even if we'd like them to), and I have to keep reminding myself that I've also just gone through a MAJOR life-change selling everything I own and relocating to the other side of the world at 37 on my own after multiple years of trauma and starting my first ever degree PLUS a whole new career after being out of work for a while due to health ‼️‼️ No easy f**king feat!!
Constantly need to remind myself to give myself some grace, and believe people when they keep telling me how brave I am (coz i don't feel it 🥹).

🎥 Will be posting more reels soon, updates about my first almost-2 months here, how it's going, etc... just need to crucially get through the next 10 days as I have the final assignments of the 2 modules (English & Spanish) of the first year of my degree to complete, and then I can catch up on all the content I've been meaning to post 😭

🧠 I was also officially (finally) diagnosed with last week, after a long few years wait... Still haven't fully processed this and how I feel about the diagnosis, but it provides a little clarity and self-forgiveness I guess on some level 🥺

📚 Just need to pass this first academic year - words cannot describe how important it is 🥲 and t

5 things i hate about living in Thailand 🇹🇭

Spoiler 👀 it may not be what you think 😏

🌏 Thailand is a non-confrontational culture largely founded on respect, keeping the peace, saving face, not causing disruption, and staying calm.
And there really is nothing worse than seeing foreigners here behaving badly (usually reform voters who go home & complain about foreigners 😥)!
It gives us all a bad rap, and ultimately makes it harder for those of us who DON'T come here acting like idiots 😞

✈️ I did immense amounts of research before moving here, started to learn a little Thai even before I arrived, clued myself up on cultural norms...and have adapted to their way of life as best I can 🙏
It's not easy - certain situations can be extremely frustrating, I have been openly gossiped about (despite always being polite & friendly), I have been treated as less valued than a white male foreigner in an identical situation, and I have had to work very hard over a long (ongoing) period of time to build rapport with locals in my neighbourhood who have in the main now all warmed to me & recognise me (which means A LOT to me)...... Despite all this, I still strongly believe in knowing your place in someone else's country 🙏
⚠️ This doesn't mean you should be disrespected or blatantly taken advantage of... but your way of dealing with things in your own country is likely very different to Southeast Asia (or in this case Thailand).
🌴 I do not see myself as superior to Thais (which sadly a lot of Westerners do), i do not think my country is better...but I also don't think Thailand is perfect either 🙌
👉 If we chose to live in/visit another country, then it clearly has more appeal than our own ...so we should respect their way of life.
🌍 I grew up in a foreign country as a child and was subjected to racism (yes I'm white) and bullied almost every day untill I left home and moved to another country at 18 (where i didn't experience this)... so know first hand what being an outsider feels like.
❗️But one of my MANY reasons for moving here, is precisely because it's a more peaceful less aggressive culture than my own, and it allows me to be a better version of myself 🙏🙏🙏

5 things i hate about living in Thailand 🇹🇭

Spoiler 👀 it may not be what you think 😏

🌏 Thailand is a non-confrontational culture largely based on respect, keeping the peace, saving face, not causing disruption, and staying calm.
And there really is nothing worse than seeing foreigners here behaving badly 😥
It gives us all a bad rap, and ultimately makes it harder for those of us who DON'T come here acting like idiots 😞

✈️ I did immense amounts of research before moving here, started to learn a little Thai even before I arrived, clued myself up on cultural norms & customs...and since living here, have adapted to their way of life as best I can 🙏
It's not easy - certain situations can be extremely frustrating, I have been openly gossiped about (despite always being polite & friendly), I have been treated as less valued than a white male foreigner in an identical situation, and I've had to work very hard over a long (ongoing) period of time to build rapport with locals in my neighbourhood who have in the main now all warmed to me & recognise me (which means A LOT to me).... But despite all this, I still strongly believe in knowing your place in someone else's country 🙏
⚠️ This doesn't mean you should be disrespected or blatantly taken advantage of... but your way of dealing with things in your own country is likely very different to Southeast Asia (or in this case Thailand).
🌿 I do not see myself as superior to Thais (which sadly a lot of Westerners do), i do not think my country is better...but I also don't think Thailand is perfect either 🙌
👉 If we chose to live in/visit another country, then it clearly has more appeal than our own ...so we should respect their way of life.
🌍 I grew up in a foreign country as a child and was subjected to racism (yes I'm white) and bullied almost every day untill I left home and moved to another foreign country at 18 (where i didn't experience this)... so know first hand what being an outsider feels like.
❗️But one of my MANY reasons for moving here, is precisely because it's a more peaceful less aggressive culture than my own, and it allows me to be a better version of myself 🙏🙏🙏

🇹🇭 5 beautiful things moving to Bangkok has taught me after just 1 month of living here 💙

➡️ Automatic natural self-improvement 🙏🙏

1️⃣ Patience.

2️⃣ To slow down.

3️⃣ To be calmer.

4️⃣ To go with the flow more.

5️⃣ More resilience and self-belief.

✈️ Today marks one month since I arrived in Bangkok, and coincidentally also the end of Songkran (The Thai New Year) 🔫💦🫶
So far, i don't regret a thing 🙌🙌 I cannot believe how fast time has flown by 😳😱😱

No country is perfect, Thailand isn't perfect, and living in a foreign country is NOT easy and is very different to being on holiday!!!
But Thailand has already, in a very short space of time, started to help me become a better person - and this is something I'm very grateful for 🙏
The UK (particularly nowadays), is quite an angry aggressive tense country. People are a lot quicker & more ready to start an argument (or worse get into a fight), respect is being lost, and cultural values are not attractive (imo)...so it was hard to be the best version of myself in England, and if you've followed me for a while you'll know I've been been a fan of my homecountry.

🌏 Moving here was not a light easy decision and there have been some challenges along the way already, which is normal. Plus a bit of a scary incident 2 nights ago sadly (which i never expected here in Thailand and will need time to process)...but otherwise, things have gone relatively smoothly so far all in all (I did do A LOT of research before moving here😅!!!), and considering how much emotional baggage & trauma I've brought with me I've settled in really well 🙏
It's a MASSIVE city...The fact that I feel much safer, happier & more relaxed here than any small city I lived in the UK, is in of itself amazing enough for me 🙌

🏙 Also. Can we take a second to admire the sky & view is in this reel... no filter 😳😍😍

Songkran Water Festival 🔫💦 Bangkok 🇹🇭 Part 3 💙

Today marks 1 month since I arrived in Bangkok, and I CANNOT believe how insanely fast time has flown by 😳😱😳😱
It also coincidentally marks the end of Songkran week 🙌 Reality resumes now (a little😅)!
🌏 It was actually an amazing experience...and whilst I was a little apprehensive about the chaos and getting randomly soaked whenever I stepped foot outside my apartment - it was actually fine, and I'm once again proud of myself for choosing a quieter more local neighbourhood, far enough away that it's a little more peaceful but close enough that I can get to all the central madness if I want to in under 15 mins 👏👏

🥳 Until next year I guess...hoping I'm still here 🤣🤣☝️

Songkran 💙 2026 📌 Bangkok 🇹🇭 Part 2!

🎥 Too many clips to post and too big to capture it all 😅😳😱🥹🙏🫶🙏

Songkran 💙 2026 📌 Bangkok 🇹🇭

Songkran is the traditional Thai New Year... it marks a time of renewal, fresh starts, and letting go of the past 🫶
Water symbolises washing away the past and welcoming good luck for the new year ahead 🙏🙏🇹🇭💙

🌏 Songkran usually lasts for a whole week in most areas in Thailand (11-17 April), and this was my first time being here during this huge celebration.... and omg was it a phenomenonal experience 🥹
The energy was electric and I was literally shaking like a leaf when I stepped off the BTS in this area (Silom Rd) 😱

Over 140,000 people were recorded on this one road on the day I went (13th - busiest day)!!!!

You couldn't pay me a million ££ to be in street-level carnage, but it was an amazing thing to witness 😳😳😳

I don't think this would work in the UK 🇬🇧😅 Someone would without a doubt be getting drunk & stupid and starting a fight 🤦‍♀️
But Thailand is a non-confrontational culture and behaves respectfully (one of the many reasons I moved here) 🙏🙏🙏

🚆 Even the skywalk was PACKED, and many people doing what I did & just observing from a safe high-up dry distance 🙌

I would never go back to this particular spot because the crowds on the BTS were really really overwhelming and borderline scary at one one 🥴 but definitely worth leaving my "quiet" little local neighbourhood to experience the atmosphere 🫶👌👌