Eastern Dreamer is live!

Introduction from Ensenada

0:04 Coming to you from Ensenada, Mexico. We'll give everybody a minute to hop on here. I just wanted to do a stream because it's a beautiful day here in Ensenada and I'm just enjoying my evening. It's a really interesting weather pattern we have due to El Nino. It's actually a bit humid here.

0:32 And I'll let's see if you can see the park. I've definitely gotten some sun if you can't tell. I'm in a great mood. It's really, really a beautiful day.

1:12 I'm wondering if this is getting out to folks. Looks like it may not be getting out to folks unfortunately. I'm not seeing anybody able to jump on here.

1:55 We'll give it a few more minutes. It may not be great timing. I may have to check in later on. It's not a good time for me to do a stream. It's just such a beautiful day and I've gotten so much done already.

2:12 I got an updated glasses prescription. I got a lot of great fish tacos. What else? It's a great vibe, you know, the park's full of people. It's cooling off. The sun's going down some.

2:31 And Ensenada is like San Diego in a lot of ways.

Viewer Interaction and Chat Issues

2:51 Hey, we got a viewer. Cool. Good to see you. I don't know where the chat is. This looks set up here. Comment if you can.

3:01 I just want to see if uh anyway, it's great to be in Mexico, guys. I'm really enjoying it a lot.

3:52 May have to try to restart this stream. I'm just not seeing any. Oh, there we go. Hey, good to see you, Mega. Hey. Thanks so much for joining us. I hope you are enjoying Pattaya.

4:01 I am really enjoying Baja California. The weather is fantastic. Every single day it ranges from like 67 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, sunny. Sunny.

4:12 We are getting a little of that June gloom even though it's not June, it's August. In the morning it's kind of overcast, but over time the fog and the clouds kind of burn off. This is very similar in San Francisco.

4:24 I can't speak as much for LA, but definitely in San Francisco, we get that overcast weather in the morning in the summers and then it burns off and then it's gorgeous later in the day.

4:54 I would show you guys the park, but there are kids running around and I really try to avoid showing anyone under 18. Any of my streams, even in a fun way, but yeah, feel free to chime in.

5:07 Looks like folks dropped off, but in case you pop in here, I'll try to go for a while if there's interest.

5:15 Oh, nice. How's your new condo going? Are you staying in Jomtien or are you staying in more of the city center?

5:35 I spent about a month in Pats, in 2023. It was really just an interesting city with a lot of great people watching. Similar to Tijuana and Ensenada, but I think a little bit better because Pattaya is really a one-of-a-kind city.

5:54 Okay, very cool. You got a quiet spot in the central area. So, you're super close to a lot of the action. You're able to just walk around.

6:04 And Pattaya to me doesn't get as much credit for being walkable as it deserves. Like, it's super easy to walk around that city.

6:13 And at least in the central area, I felt like traffic kind of knows, "Hey, people are having a good time." And to be a little bit more careful. So, the sun's blasting my. So, you kind of have that sense that, "Hey, I can go out and have a good time and then come back home and it's going to be a good evening."

6:31 Ensenada is more spread out, you know, I wouldn't call it the best for walking around. I mean, you can. I walked around a lot of the city, but traffic's a bit quicker. Not every intersection has traffic lights.

6:46 It's you have to still be somewhat cautious. I would I wouldn't totally let my guard down here as far as just being mindful that it's a more spread out city where Pattaya seems more concentrated in the central area.

6:59 You can go to little hubs like Jomtien, but it's everybody is clustered around the walking street, the I think it's called Soi Buakhao, the mall there. I can't remember the name of the mall, but it's a really cool scene.

Ensenada vs. Pattaya Walkability and Vibe

7:25 Yeah, that's awesome. You walk around. I put I've gotten a lot of steps so just in the last three days since I've been in Ensenada. The first day I walked 27,000 steps. Yesterday, I hit about 30K.

7:38 Today, I'm probably like 15K. I haven't walked quite as much today. But just in those three days, that's probably like $70 in steps or so, 30, 35 miles. And it's been fantastic to get exercise, fresh air.

7:59 It's it's just a fantastic vibe. I wish I could stay longer because I would definitely get in better shape and lose this gut if I was staying here long-term.

8:07 And Tijuana for me is a place I could live. That's one of the reasons I wanted to do this stream is it's got just such a cool vibe. There's so much of what you want.

8:18 Like today, I managed to go to the get the see the optometrist. I got I had an unfortunately I stepped on a piece of glass six months ago and it's been there ever since. I got that removed today for like $50.

8:32 I got I saw the optometrist. That was like $26. I refilled some prescriptions. That was $20, $22. I've eaten a lot of fantastic food here as far as like seafood goes.

8:46 It's a world-class seafood destination. And you really can't beat the weather. It's like Southern California weather, but not quite so expensive.

8:57 Has it gotten more expensive? Yes, it has compared to what it was even five years ago, but I still feel like the value for money is great. The service has been great everywhere I went.

9:10 I it's just uh Yeah, I I like it a lot. Jolo says sucks. I'm sorry to hear that, Jolo.

9:18 Yeah, so that's a big thing for me. Mega is that it's very close. So I live in NorCal right now and I flew down to San Diego and just took the train to the border and then walked over.

9:32 I stayed in TJ my first night in the Playas neighborhood. That was okay. My Airbnb host flaked on me, unfortunately. I had to get a hotel, which whatever, that's fine. But then I took the bus down here to Ensenada because I have a friend who's actually from this city, grew up here.

9:50 He no longer lives here, but he's been telling me for years, "Go down to Ensenada. Go down to Ensenada." Finally, I took him up on it. And it's just such a cool scene.

9:58 It's enough of a city where you get a lot of the city conveniences, like they have a Costco. I had a Costco a couple days ago just to see what that was about. I like going to Costco in other countries.

10:11 And and then I You know, I'm taking care of these chores. Tomorrow I'll probably go to the dentist tomorrow or Thursday. I still have some other stuff that I want to take care of before I start getting the dental stuff done.

10:26 Like I'd like to get my testosterone level check, levels, I should say, checked. That's on the on the calendar. Tonight, I'll probably reach out to a clinic and just say, "Hey, you know, what are you charging for that?"

10:42 Have a sense of what I'm I'm looking at. I've never done that before, but as I get in my mid-30s, it's I actually have a friend, I'm not going to name him, a friend younger than myself who's already on TRT.

10:54 And it's He seems to work out well for him. I'm not sure if I'll need it, but I'll be sure to find out.

11:02 But yeah, I I feel like it's not the cheapest place, I bet. I do think that there are parts of Southeast Asia that are cheaper than here.

11:10 But I feel like for what you're paying, the value is fantastic. Like to have Southern California weather, have pretty decent infrastructure, to have really high-quality protein everywhere, like if you're into fitness, which I was before I moved back to America, I was really into fitness.

11:29 I'd like to get back into it. There's There's some cool beaches south of Ensenada. Not the best for swimming, but still it just for what it offers it's it's a really cool spot.

Ensenada's Atmosphere and Proximity to US

11:42 It feels a lot less sketchy than TJ. Like I've never had issues in TJ, but you get that sense when you're in TJ that it's it's not the safest city here.

11:51 I've seen a few people that have like face coverings. I googled it. Turns out they may be in construction. Those guys kind of sketch you out, but you only I've only seen a few of those. And nothing happened.

12:03 I was kind of eyeing them and that may have given them a weird vibe, but yeah, it's uh I've seen Reynolds around town.

12:12 I I personally think Ensenada like it it gets critiqued because a lot of the cruise ships stop here. So a lot of the cruise ships when they're leaving America, they've got to stop in a foreign port.

12:25 They can't go American port to American port with an American crew. And and so um they stop here. And there's a little strip down by the port where you have the birthplace of the margarita and you have a lot of, you know, souvenirs, that kind of thing.

12:46 But that's only like a small part of the city and you get away from that and it's really just a cool positive vibe. A lot of the plants and the trees remind me of what I see in California.

13:01 And it's it's laid back. Everybody's been very friendly so far.

13:18 I don't explain it. Like it feels more along the lines of what I'm accustomed to. It feels closer to the US than say Southeast Asia. You still feel like, "Okay, there's a Walmart."

13:25 There's um if I want to be back in America from where I'm sitting right here in Parque de Revolución then it's like a two-hour bus ride to the border and then you cross the border however long that takes and you're back in the US.

13:45 So, you're not feeling uh you're not actually feeling like you're so far away, you know, you can be back in like half a day or less. And that's a really good feeling compared to being on the other side of the planet in some ways because over there you're like, "Okay, I got to fly a really long distance if I want to go back and I've got to deal with jet lag."

Ensenada vs. Southeast Asia Value and Lifestyle

14:06 Here, I'm still on California time, so I don't have jet lag down here. It's I wouldn't call it perfect, but as far as it on my radar of places I could live if for some reason Southeast Asia didn't work out then this is absolutely an option for me.

14:25 I might even put it a hair above Southeast Asia in some ways. I should probably do like a pro con kind of list compare and Ensenada to Chiang Mai, which Chiang Mai is is another favorite of mine.

14:36 The Magnus says, "I lost weight and walking around and food portions are small, so I don't over." You know, I feel that way here too. I also feel like in America protein is so expensive and you got to cook it yourself, so if you want to eat out, like I just it's also the stress of work, but here like I

14:52 Also the stress of work, but here I can go get two really big ceviche tostadas for like four bucks. And that's a good amount of food for a meal, but it's also very filling. Like I could eat an entire pizza and still not feel that satiated, and that's going to be 10 bucks plus in America.

15:15 But here, going and getting that $4 meal, like, no, I'm not stuffed. Is it five-star Michelin gourmet? Well, it is actually Michelin. They have some Michelin signs out, probably Michelin Bib Gourmand, which is like the street food grade for Michelin.

15:36 I'm eating a lot more protein. I only really feel the need to eat lunch and dinner. In America, like, 'Oh crap, I'm at work, I'm stressed.' Okay, I eat something because I'm stressed. Where it's more laid-back here, I feel like I could eat healthier.

15:53 Yeah, cost of living, I can spend less on food. Now, rent is going to be more down here. Like, my rentals are running like 200 to 250 for a week for a fairly nice room. You could probably get a decent apartment down here for like 6 or 700 a month.

16:24 Certainly not as economical as say, Thailand. But far cheaper than if you were to try to live in San Diego. You're easily spending two grand, 2,500 on a decent apartment in San Diego. Maybe you could get a deal for 1,800 if you were in a smaller unit, an older unit, closer to like University of California San Diego.

16:45 But for a comparable lifestyle, for that California lifestyle, it's really a great fit. And there's a lot of gyms. Like, as far as fitness goes, there's a ton of gyms. I walk by a bunch of gyms throughout the city.

17:02 They, uh, I see a lot of people riding bicycles. And it's got some of that California vibe, but it doesn't feel pretentious. So, like, California straight-up can feel very pretentious.

17:14 A lot of the people I've met native to California, please don't take this the wrong way. Not all, but many can come across a bit pretentious at times. Yeah, I think because it is a bubble, because like, wow, we have everything here. We have great weather, we have great nature, we have world-class universities, we have a lot of great job opportunities.

17:36 And we don't really have to go very far to have a cool time. Like in other states, you might have to travel pretty far to have a good time. But in California, you've got the redwoods, you've got the beaches, you've got the mountains, you can go out to the desert.

17:52 You've got two world, well, three or four world-class cities. Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles. Like you've got some awesome, a lot of awesome stuff, but that can come across as people can come across as a bit out of touch, not very down-to-earth.

California Lifestyle and Work Pace

18:11 And I don't get that here. Maybe there's a little bit of that, and I just don't speak enough Spanish to pick up on that. My experience here is that people have been pretty chill by comparison.

18:40 I was saying not very far from this park, either, so I'm here multiple times a day. Usually at the end of the day, I'll find my way back up here, and it's a cool scene. They've got like a burger spot, and you can get snacks, and people are playing music, and singing, dancing, kids are running around. It's just a really...

19:03 Oh, you were in Sac. Okay, yeah, mega. Yeah, Sac, like I may end up moving down to Sac for work, but...

19:15 And so you're still living the California grind. One of my good friends who lives in the Philippines, he lived his entire life basically in Socal and the surrounding areas. And you're still living the California grind. A lot of people talk about how affordable it is, and it is affordable compared to the Bay Area.

19:32 But you're still paying over $5 a gallon for gas. You're still paying 1,600, 1,800 for a studio. You're still in that kind of rat race where if you want to take your foot off the gas, you really got to get out of California.

19:47 California is not really a place to chill in the present day. You got to take your California dollars, and I have often heard your dollar is really more like a dollar 50 in California because it's more expensive. So, you take that and then you go...

20:07 you go to Thailand, and you go to Mexico, or you go to, let's call it Colombia, Peru. I really like Peru. I'd probably go back there at some point.

20:20 But you take that money and you go elsewhere. I think California is a cool place to work. Like if you want to work and make money, your wages are high, your labor protections are strong. You got a lot of companies and government agencies you can work for in California.

20:32 There's a lot of cool people in California, a lot of interesting people in California. It's if you want to go abroad, you're not typically more than a few hours away from an international airport.

20:47 You know, I find like living the grind, the flip side is California, like a lot of people are working really hard. So, you're going to meet like-minded people that are like, 'Hey, I'm trying to hustle and get ahead, figure out how to hustle so I can stay in a really nice place.'

21:03 But simultaneously, like it wears on you. I mean, the pace of work in California is faster than where I'm from. People work harder. People work more efficiently. People have higher expectations when it comes to...

Healthcare and Lifestyle in California

21:18 Okay, you're a respiratory therapist. That's excellent. Yeah, that's a career industry that pays sufficiently to deal with the expenses. And you have people, a lot of people too, I think California, they have like a healthy kind of lifestyle, or they want to live a healthy lifestyle compared to other states.

21:43 So, there's more appreciation for what medical workers do versus maybe some other states like Alabama or whatever. You know, people are more suspicious of the healthcare industry. People are not as healthy. You know, I think in California you can have more conversations about preventative, you know, kind of...

22:08 decision-making. I've still thought about going back for nursing. I'm undecided because I've gotten some leads on some good jobs.

22:28 You know, I'd be happy to share that via email. I don't know if I want to share it on here, but...

22:35 You're half Filipino and Caucasian. You talking about California or you talking about Thailand? I think either one could have worked because Thailand is like kind of more of a Pan-Asian destination. Like when you are there...

22:56 Okay, I'm going to run because I'm not going to get off the stream, but I'm going to move just because there's an angry kid out...

23:08 Um, so, yeah, in Thailand, it's kind of like a pan-Asian destination where you see people from Japan, Korea, of course there's Filipinos that enjoy Thailand.

23:27 Are we Taiwanese? I don't know. I don't really remember meeting Taiwanese people in Thailand, but yeah, there's a lot of folks from all over Asia, and then also Asian Americans that want to...

23:45 want to... The sun's in my eyes, darn. Um, maybe I could sit over there. It might be kind of hard with the sun.

24:21 Okay, that's better. Um, but yeah, let's see. I fit in here. And then California, yeah, it's like if you're Asian or you're mixed like I am, people don't really think about it.

24:33 Like when I was back home in my home state in the southern US, people were asking me, 'Where are you from? What's your race?' That kind of thing. And that's only really in like California prisons that you have those kinds of conversations.

24:51 Where in polite society in California, people are so used to dealing with people that look differently. They're too busy and they have too much going on to ask questions like that that are really not appropriate.

Diversity and Culture in Thailand

25:18 Yeah, what's everybody up to? Feel free to chime in. We got several people watching.

25:26 Trying to block the sun with my head. There we go.

25:38 Okay, the owner of your condo is Japanese. Interesting. Yeah, it really attracts a wide variety of people.

25:43 In Thailand, you know, a common complaint is like people only go there for partying. And while that is true, there's a lot of people, or so I say, half true. A lot of people do go there to have a good time.

25:56 It attracts people of all different kinds. Like whenever I spent some time teaching English, I taught quite a few Japanese people who go there on vacation because it's like, wow, okay, it's tropical. There's some overlap as far as culture. Japanese people have funded a lot of infrastructure projects in Thailand, invested a lot of money in Thailand.

26:17 But simultaneously, it's fresh, right? It's different. It's not the same as Japan. You know, it's more relaxed. It's more laid-back.

26:39 It's kind of like, well, when I first visited Thailand in 2018, I had a friend tell me it's like the Mexico of Asia. I don't fully agree with that, but I can see the similarities.

26:55 I think the Philippines is more like the Mexico of Asia. But it definitely has a cool, unique vibe for Asian people that want something different, but not too different, right? Like I think a lot of Asian people would experience more culture shock coming to even Latin America.

27:11 Even though there are immigrants from Asia and Latin America, like in Brazil, even Mexico has a Japanese population in Mexico City. Peru has like some Japanese people as well.

27:28 There's like 100,000 Japanese people in Thailand, and there's a lot of Japanese retirees there as well. In Chiang Mai, for example, they have a community of Japanese people that are like, 'Yeah, we're just going to retire here because it's more economical.'

Pigeons and Retirement Visa in Thailand

27:44 But also, if we're concerned about... Get away from me! That was a pigeon.

27:54 These pigeons do not give up, guys. I'm sorry. I don't have any food for the pigeon.

28:06 Super Dust, 'Where are you really from?' I'm from the United States.

28:30 I can't decide on what I want to get for dinner.

28:41 What are you guys doing this week? Any plans? I'm going to the dentist. I've got to get a wisdom tooth out, maybe two. And chill for a few days, and I got to go back to work and back in Northern California.

29:22 What a blessing to be here in Baja. Mega says I just love the conveniences and services here in Thailand. Yeah, I feel the same way. It's such a frictionless experience.

29:36 You're thinking, okay, I need to go to the doctor. I just walk down to the hospital. I need to go see the dermatologist. I just walk down to their clinic. It's rare I actually make an appointment for anything in Thailand because there's so many service providers that you just walk in and you're getting seen and you're moving down the pipeline toward having your problem solved.

30:00 Where in America it's like, okay, make an appointment. Okay, do you have the right insurance first? Okay, are they do they accept your insurance? Okay, now what's my copay?

30:11 It becomes tedious and complicated. And also, they're judging you a lot. I feel like in America, healthcare providers, I don't know what it is, they're always judging you. Not always, but many of them, like dentists, oh, blah blah blah. I'm like, yeah, yeah, you grew up poor, that's why I have this problem, or I'm maybe lower middle class is probably more accurate to put it.

30:34 But you know, over here, they're like, oh, wow, like you actually need help and this is what you should do. And if you don't do it, like here's the consequences instead of kind of this finger-wagging crap that we have in America.

30:49 I also love the convenience store culture. Like California is, I don't know, it's just too dangerous. There's not enough volume. You can't just go to a convenience store at any hour. They close early, they're expensive.

31:00 Where Thailand, I used to go to 7-Eleven and I can buy so much of what I need. Do I need soap? Okay, they got it. Shampoo? They got it. Do I need a shaving razor? They got it. Do I want some water? Okay, I'm going to get that. Oh wait, I can have dinner here.

31:15 Granted, it's not the best, you know, it's more snacky kind of stuff, but still, you can go and get a lot of what you need there, and it's super easy.

31:35 I have to go to immigration and get a certificate of residency to open my bank account for my retirement visa. Excellent, congratulations on your retirement visa.

Banking and Convenience Stores in Thailand

31:41 It's got to be a great feeling to have that visa and have made that next jump as far as being able to stay long-term.

31:57 I definitely felt like my bank account in Thailand came in handy. To be able to just do the instant pay, so convenient. Not having to exchange money, not having to get change. It's such a game-changer when you get that bank account because you can just transfer. I used Wise, you can just transfer money via Wise to your bank account, and then you don't have to carry as much cash on you. You don't have to think of how you're going to get rid of coins.

32:33 You just scan. I've heard 7-Eleven is starting to implement that. I don't know if you're from there, you can let us know. I heard 7-Eleven is starting to implement the instant transfer pay, and that will also be a big help because it's just so convenient, you know.

32:49 In America, I often have to stock up on stuff because I'm going to Costco or Northern Nevada, and I'm going to go buy. I can't just buy like one bar of soap every time I need one. I mean, I could go to Dollar Tree, but I want to combine trips.

33:09 They all go get like a 20-pack of soaps or like a five-pack of toothpaste or an extra-large, giant tub of shampoo. This, you know, this after a while, it can be tedious.

Pattaya's Dust, Traffic, and Affordability

33:36 The drive-by, traffic congestion, and dusty. I agree, Pattaya can definitely be dusty. I don't know what causes that. I guess they could spray water to keep it down, like they do at Burning Man.

33:49 I'm trying to think, I've lived in a city where they sprayed water to keep the dust down. I just can't remember which city that was, but it helped a lot. It helped to keep the dust out of your eyes and out of your sinuses.

34:07 And then the traffic, yeah, it's not a small town anymore. I heard back in the day when Pat was first developing, it was a lot more low-key. You may have seen photographs like before and after. It's far more built up. There's a lot of condos, apartments, and it's built up like I compare Pattaya to San Francisco in one sense, in that everything is slammed together.

34:36 So, they build every inch of the land to try to accommodate as many people as possible. And the great thing is it keeps it affordable. Condos in Pattaya and Jomtien are fairly affordable for what you get. However, the infrastructure to move people around, you've got the baht buses.

34:57 I don't know. Maybe someday they'll build out the rail there, but I don't know. It's a challenge for sure.

35:08 How much money should I have in order to retire to Thailand? That's a great question, Ed. It really depends on the lifestyle you want to live. I would say the minimum is $1,500 a month, but I think a healthier amount really starts at $2,000 to $2,500.

35:22 You can rent a nice apartment for say $500 a month. You can have a dining budget of $500 a month, and then you can have say, I don't know, depends on what your health insurance runs.

35:39 Yeah, I don't drink. So, Mega says he can live there for about $1,200 a month. He doesn't drink. I'm not a drinker either, really. I'll have a little bit of beer once in a while. I had a beer yesterday, but the last time before yesterday I had a drink was Thanksgiving.

35:57 So, once in a while on the holidays, I'll partake, but it doesn't really agree with me. And if you're not like he said, if you're not a big drinker, I think I was at around $1,000 in Pattaya, but I probably could have bumped it up to $1,200.

36:17 So, you know, I would have been more comfortable. I think $1,000, because then you can save some money, right? You can save money every month. You'll probably want some kind of health insurance policy, which is priced based on your age and risk factors.

36:42 Any more than like, as far as a comfortable life for a single guy, yeah. I think $1,200 to $1,500 is a solid range. You want to start dating more, you're going to need to kick that up to probably $2,000. And then if you want to internationally travel or travel around Thailand more.

36:58 But I find a lot of places are one and done for me, not just in Thailand, but in general. I get it. I get the sense of it. I enjoy it and then I'm like, "Okay, that was cool. I want to go back home now."

37:07 So, if you find your perfect city in Thailand, then you can narrow those costs down because you're not running around as much. You're not paying like hotel rates, you're paying a long-term lease rate. You find the restaurants that are good value for money. You find the places that are good to shop at.

37:26 When I was in Chiang Mai, I got my costs down to $800 or $900, but I knew the right pharmacies to go to. I knew the nice places to eat. Like I found a really good sushi spot right around the street from my condo that I could get a great meal there for say like eight bucks. Another spot I could get great sushi for say $10 bucks.

37:49 And that really helps moderate your cost because you figure out when you live in Thailand long-term, you figure out the tourist traps to avoid. You figure out certain services.

38:05 Like I had a massage therapist in Chiang Mai and she reached in my wallet and pulled out a thousand baht. And I knew, "Hey, you know what? I'm not going to go back to her." It wasn't like a special, but it was, you know, nonetheless, she was trying to hustle for extra money.

38:36 And not in a good way, let's say. You know, taking my percentage is not cool. But, yeah, you find your spot, and you find the condo you want to live in, and you work your way around the neighborhood. You start to make friends, and then they fill you in, right? They're like, "Hey, go here, not there. Do this, not that."

Retiring in Thailand and Cost of Living

38:56 And you're able to get more control over your expenses.

39:12 Yeah, it's fantastic being in Mexico, and just like rub my shoulders now, and it's definitely a more relaxed vibe compared to Southern California.

39:26 Yeah, feel free to keep chiming in, guys. Also, if you give us a thumbs up, it helps to spread the stream and share with more people.

39:51 And the sun's really starting to go down. It's really cooling off nicely. I'm trying to decide on what I want to eat for dinner. I'll probably go get more tacos. It's just so hard to go wrong with the tacos here.

40:02 They're so plentiful. Here, I think I would need more than Thailand. I think you'd need more like probably $2K a month. You'd want to budget here to go back to America for shopping.

40:17 I've heard a lot of expats here in Ensenada will go back and shop. This would be an easier fit for that. You would be able to just get on a bus and go to the border, and you cross over, and then from San Diego, you could get anywhere in America via airplane.

40:59 It's wild to me, too. This is like a Tuesday, and people are really enjoying the park here. That's something that is cool about Pattaya as well and Thailand in general.

41:11 More of a kind of festive or fun atmosphere compared to the states where on a Tuesday in the states, everybody's going home early because they got to get up for work. Tonight, they got to do laundry. I'm wondering how late they're open.

41:36 Yeah, feel free, guys, to chime in. I'm happy to keep chatting for some more time. It's about 6:46 p.m. here. So, I'll probably after this, I'll go get dinner.

41:49 Yeah, and if the laundry's still open, I'd really like to do some laundry.

42:12 The ocean breeze is blowing through now, and I can smell the salty air, and it's just super refreshing. And I love it.

42:57 It's right next to the dental clinic right over there. Yeah, so tomorrow I'm moving Airbnbs. I'm going to leave my current one. I found one that's going to be a bit better fit, and that's more in the south of Ensenada.

43:12 And so in the morning, I'll pack up my bag, and if I haven't gotten to laundry by then, I'm going to head over to the laundromat, do my laundry, then go to a clinic, probably try to get my test levels checked tomorrow.

43:27 And what else I want to do tomorrow? My legs are sore, guys. I walked so much the last few days. I'm going to try to limit my walking tomorrow to let my legs recover or somewhat.

43:56 I may wind down here in a couple of minutes, guys, just cuz maybe 15 minutes or so. And if there's anything else anybody wanted to chat about, feel free to bring it up, but yeah, so tomorrow I'll move Airbnbs and then I'll go do my stuff and then maybe like early afternoon I'll grab an Uber over to my new spot, check in.

44:14 Oh, and the dentist, I should go start the dental. I've been really putting it off. I hate going to the dentist, but it's a necessity and I'll go talk to them, maybe get my cleaning done, and then set up the next appointment to have the wisdom tooth out.

44:37 But that's the big reason I came down here. I last came down to Baja about 4 and a half years ago to get a wisdom tooth out. And everything went well. It was a great experience. It was economical. They were really sweet, did a good job. And I thought, man, if I ever have to do this again, I'm coming back down to Baja, make a vacation out of it, get it done, and then go back up.

44:58 And it's a super common practice with dental costs in America being through the roof. Why not come down here, have a good experience? What if I do something more extreme, like if I needed implants, I don't know. I would probably still do it down here, but I'd do even more research, like I'd do a lot of planning, cuz that's like well, I've heard that could take a month or more, so you probably want to do it in between jobs or like fly down for a few weekends, something like that.

45:26 And schedule it out with work to where they're like they know what's up and they know you need to get it done, but you're not trying to pay 50 grand. So, yeah, that's on my radar.

45:43 Could get food delivered, but there's so much spontaneity that is in a city like Ensenada where you just wander around, you're like, man, this person I've never met or heard of before has a big line of people. There's taco spot near here. Last night I walked by there. I don't eat dinner, but I just looked at it for a minute. I'm like, man, there's there's like a dozen people here. This must be really good food.

46:04 So, I'll probably try to find it again. It's on my it's like that direction behind me toward where my I'm staying. And I just, you know, maybe stop by there and if there's too many people, not enough seating, I'll just get my tacos to go.

46:20 Um, you know, throw the trash in the waste bin after I'm done, but yeah, it's a great city. I don't think Ensenada gets enough credit. A lot of people think about Cabo, but Cabo's pretty ritzy and Cabo's also it's more of a tourist destination and I find I'd rather live in cities that support tourist destinations like Cristo, for example, timed because you get a lot of that tourist infrastructure, but you're not dealing with as many transient people, you're not kind of seeing people come and go as much and you get a more how do you feel like you're fitting in or you get more of the sense that you're living that local lifestyle.

Ensenada's Vibe and Travel Plans

47:09 But yeah, guys, feel free to chime in. We got four folks watching.

47:20 I updated my prescription today. I'm looking forward to ordering some new glasses when I get back from Zenni. They charged me 26 bucks to do the optical exam. I was looking more like 150 bucks to 200 in NorCal. So, that was a good deal.

47:41 It's such a nice vibe here. And the new spot will be more peaceful. It's a really highly rated Airbnb. Actually, that one I was surprised to find it cuz it's so popular. It's booked out all the time. Really nice lady runs it.

47:55 And that'll be a great place to recover, you know, keep my head elevated and all that after post-surgery. And then it's going to be a scramble. I will say it's going to be a scramble to get back to America. My flight leaves San Diego around 3:00 p.m. And I'm staying here in Ensenada until the morning of.

48:13 So, I'm going to try to get to the bus station around 5:00 a.m. I bought a round trip ticket for 450 pesos. The one way was like 350. They were like, "The one way's 350. We're doing a special round trip for 450." I'm like, "Okay, I'll take the 450 one." And she said, "You can just use the ticket whenever you want to come back to TJ."

48:33 So, that morning I'll try to get to the bus station around 5:00. I'll get to the border ideally at 7:00. Hopefully on a Wednesday morning the border won't be too crazy. I've heard it's particularly intense on Mondays and Fridays.

48:55 I'll go over across the border. I may have to pay a fine because I only got a 7-day transit visa. It's kind of this weird thing, but uh I may have to tomorrow or not tomorrow, but like I may even do this Thursday. Literally have to go back up to the border, cross over, cross back over to get another 7 days.

49:13 But the border officer told me, "Don't worry about it. Even though I'm giving you 7 days, you can stay for two two weeks." Like and so I may get hit with a $50 fine. We'll see. And $50 is not the end of the world compared to how much value I'm getting down here. It's really not that big a deal.

49:46 But yeah, so that I'll cross the border like I said when I'm ready to go back home. I'll take the train to the San Diego airport. And then from there well, I'll take it to almost to the airport. You have to hop on a bus for the last like mile or so or mile and a half.

49:59 You get to the airport. Ideally, I get to the airport no later than 1:00 p.m. And I think like 6 hours It's about an hour hour and a half from the border to the airport on the train and bus.

50:18 And yeah, so ideally, I'll get there no later than 1:00 and that'll give me a couple hours to go through security and hop on my flight back to NorCal.

50:32 But thanks so much, guys. The comments have winded down. I think I'm going to wrap up here. I really appreciate everybody watching. I have filmed some stuff, not as much as I wanted to. I really ought to film more while I'm down here.

50:47 So, yeah. Well, maybe I could get more. I could get B-roll. Like that would probably be good. Get B-roll the next few days and then go back up and shoot a video where I can focus and have my thoughts collected and all that.

51:00 So, yeah. Thanks so much for watching, guys. I appreciate it. I'm going to go ahead and get out of here and go figure out some dinner. I hope you all have a great week ahead. We'll check in again soon. Bye-bye.