The Thailand Bush Telegraph

Why wouldn't they, would be a better question! However, here are just three good reasons:

Thailand is safer (especially for South Africans & Zimbies).
Of course there is crime here but violent crime is pretty rare -- save for ;disagreements' between husband and wife! Burglaries and thefts do happen but being killed because someone wants your car or mobile phone is virtually unknown!
Despite the recent (bloodless) coup, Thailand is more stable.
What's more, in a Worldaudit.org democracy survey of ASEAN nations, Thailand came in 4th, ahead of neighbouring Malaysia. For press freedom, Thailand came in ahead of Tanzania, Nigeria, Malawi, Kenya, Zambia, Malaysia, Singapore -- and, of course, Zimbabwe!

But don't go thinking that life here is too different to back home. Consider the following similarities:

The climate is warm, very rarely cold. The figures speak for themselves. Even in Bangkok, the lowest average temperatures (in December) is around 20c. But if you prefer a more bracing climate, Thailand isn't all sunny beaches. Up in Nakhon Sawan, 240km north of Bangkok, it drops down to an average of 19c during December and January!
As it is more often sunny than not, we tend to spend plenty of time outdoors. My stoep (patio) gets plenty of use, as does my braai (BBQ).
Life is suitably slow here, with a calendar being more useful than a watch!
OK, we can't get the same food here (though I have heard some items from home can be found in Bangkok), but we can get biltong (sometimes mistakenly called jerky) -- or Nua Sawan as its known here (Moo Dat Diew if you prefer pork). Also, the Thai love of spicy food means there are many dishes similar to Peri-Peri.
If you like football, so do the Thais, and most locals have a favourite Premier League team.
If rugby is your game, I have to admit that the oval ball gets very little coverage on Thai TV. However, it is possible to get MNet satellite TV here and so it is possible to watch Currie Cup, Super 14 and 6 Nations games.

Imagine: Sitting on the patio, a bowl of dried meat on one side, an icy bottle of lager on the other, and live rugby on the TV. Or if you prefer, sitting in your back garden, the smell of a braai loaded with sausages, chops & steaks filling the air, whilst the sounds of Highveld Stereo (or Algoa FM, Bush Radio, Radio Pretoria, etc.) mingle with the bird song -- thanks to the wonders of internet radio. Sounds like home? Well either of those are a fairly common weekend scenario for many of us living here in the 'Land of Smiles' -- Struesbob!