About Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai University
I had high hopes for Chiang Mai, which I visited recently for a week. Bangkok certainly has it’s positive points, but it’s easy to get burnt out, which I was. The deafening traffic, smog, crowded skyline and general atmosphere of people rushing around have a way of wearing on you.
If you live in a big city I think it’s helpful to take frequent breaks, that’s not a revolutionary thought, but big city life impacts us more quickly than we imagine. And it’s probably better to take a break from the city periodically, before you feel like you need one. It’s a bit like dehydration, by the time you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated.
I haven’t felt like writing that much lately. My work has gradually started to take over. Even while I was away in Chiang Mai, I spent a lot of the time working. When I first started investing I had to push myself much of the time. Now the work has taken on a life of it’s own and it draws me in.
Learning any new skill, like a musical instrument or a new language is exactly the same. Right in the beginning you have to push yourself a little, until you gain momentum. Then as you improve, the practice itself becomes more and more enjoyable. Finally when you become fluent, you can start to really enjoy yourself and be playful and creative.
I think many people give up too early when learning something new. They get frustrated right at the beginning, when progress is slow and they can only scratch out a few notes. The more complex the skill, the longer that initial (sometimes tiresome) phase is. With something as complex and nebulous as investing, it can take a period of years to get past the beginner phase.
The ‘hard-work’ aspect never really stops though, because to push out the boundaries of your skills does take mental effort. It’s like gaining strength in the gym, you can only do that by gradually lifting heavier weight. For me that takes the form of studying the intricacies of accounting, which I really have to push myself to do. It’s about as fun as it sounds, but it allows me to better understand what’s going on with the companies that I’m looking at. They do all sorts of funny things with their numbers.
Investing is a solitary pursuit, at least when done well. Sure you can consult with others, if you’re lucky enough to have someone that can provide suitable input. But in the end, all great investing comes down to the training of one mind, the input of as much information as possible and finally the best possible judgement. It reminds me of one of the great moments in the Odyssey, where Odysseus after a ten year war and ten years at sea returns home to a hostile group of aristocrats, trying to usurp his throne. Disguised by the gods as a beggar, he enters into their chamber and strings a bow that requires great strength, then he shoots an arrow between 12 loops. Twenty years comes down to that one moment, and Odysseus is successful, but many are not.
That emphasis on individual performance is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand it gives you complete autonomy, both intellectually and in determining how you spend your day. On the other hand, you are denied the benefits of working collaboratively with others.
As much as I enjoy the intellectual freedom that comes with my work, I feel that other aspects of who I am have atrophied. I think back to the days when I was teaching English in Japan and how extroverted I was. How I was able to engage whole groups of people and hold their attention in the palm of my hand as I moved them to new insights in learning the English language, along with the other lessons that I wove in to my classes.
One time while making a presentation to a room full of Mitsubishi engineers, I laced in that the reason Nagasaki was chosen as Japan’s trading port (during the Edo period) is because it is maximally distant from Tokyo and therefore any foreign influence could be minimized. That titbit blew their wigs off. I miss that sort of thing. I had some cheek though, a 28 year-old giving a room full of high level engineers a history lesson about their own country.
Sometimes I wonder if I’ve given up too much of everything else to focus on investing. Or if as planned I can return to those other things later on.
Focus is important though. I’m up against some of the smartest and most motivated people on the planet. Fortunately for me, most of them are trying to trade, that is take short term positions and time movements in the market. So I already have most of them beat by taking a long term approach. Still, I have to pick winners. Companies that will do well over the long term. And that’s not easy. Then I have to make sure I get them at a good price and hold on during times of inevitable turmoil.
It’s now the 27th of December, and I’m back in Melbourne for a few weeks. I suppose I should say something about Chiang Mai since it’s in the title.
It was a nice place, a far more comfortable pace of life than Bangkok and surrounded by mountains which are easily accessible from the city. The city itself is larger than I expected with an almost unlimited number of coffee shops to explore. Every place seems more laid back in Chiang Mai. In coffee shops people sit quietly, working on their laptop or reading a book, as opposed to Bangkok where there always seems to be a business meeting or a life and death phone call happening whenever you sit in a coffee shop. Then what do you do? You’ve already paid your 100 baht for the drink. All you can do is glare at them and hope they shut up, which they never do.
There also seems to be a great expat community in Chiang Mai and a range of coworking options. Despite those positive points, I can’t picture myself living there. Now back in Melbourne I’ve realised something very clearly about Bangkok, it’s very hard to get any decent rest there. All the things that I took for granted about Melbourne such as the clean air and water, the quiet streets, the trees and gardens, the spacious houses, the clean and nutritious food, the absolute stillness at night-time and the temperate climate, are exactly the things that I have missed while living in Bangkok. They are also the things that allow your body and mind to rest and regenerate. I look at people in Melbourne and they all seem so relaxed and happy compared to the average person in Bangkok.
Other things I took for granted too, family and friends, being able to communicate with people in my own language, having people to look out for me. There’s a great energy that comes from being totally free, but the other side of that coin is you have to do absolutely everything by yourself. In some ways you’re always in a heightened state of alert, since you know that if anything happens, there’s no cavalry coming, you have to sort it out yourself. That’s a good thing to learn, but living like that all the time isn’t great.
It’s easy to look at the digital nomad lifestyle and imagine how great it would be, but it comes with it’s challenges. I suppose my generation and younger have hit significant hurdles in terms of pursuing the traditional way of life, house, 2 kids, a dog etc. I’m not saying that’s the ideal life for everyone, but I think many of us still want that on some level. Since houses are so expensive compared to wages though (and probably some other factors too, how are you supposed to meet people when they don’t even notice you because they are scrolling on their phone) I think many in their 20’s and 30’s have opted for the next best thing in their view, freedom.
That was certainly the case with me. For the last year, although I’ve had some budgetary constraints (that’s why I chose Bangkok instead of New York), I’ve had absolute freedom. As the year comes to a close I suppose I can draw a conclusion for you.
Freedom in and of itself, living in the city of your choosing and determining how you spend your days, will not make you happy. But freedom is invaluable, because if you use the time well you can begin to discover what is actually important in life. The person who is constantly running around has little time to discover anything.
I can’t say that 2023 was a pleasant year, it was at times extremely challenging. It was however the year I needed in order to grow. And that to me seems to be what we always get, the challenges that give us the opportunity to grow. The important thing is to choose growth and the sweetness that comes with that. The alternative is ossification, bitterness and fear.
Choose wisely in 2024.
Best wishes.