Keith Hockton
Articles by Keith Hockton
Few countries in the world can compete with Malaysia for natural beauty, the warmth of its people and diversity of cultures…not to mention the amazingly low cost of living (my live-in maid costs $400 a month).
As I meet more and more people who are interested in moving here, I think back to the day in 2008 when I made the decision to move to Malaysia. It wasn’t that I was unhappy—in fact, far from it. I just made a conscious change in the way I saw things, the way I thought about my life.
Surfers and divers have been coming to the Island of Sumbawa, Indonesia since the 1960s; it’s a mecca for both sports. They stay for months, returning lean, tan, and relaxed. When their friends back home ask where they’ve been, they often lie and say Bali. But this island’s days as a secret paradise are coming to an end.
At the height of the British Empire, the colonials in Malaysia used to visit hill stations to escape the lowlands heat. In this lush highlands the men ambled about in tweeds, canes in hand, carrying shotguns in case of a tiger attack. Women wore long skirts and carried parasols to hide from the sun.
In the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands, in the Flores Sea, lies the island of Sumbawa. It’s a magical island, beautiful, traditional, and one of Indonesia’s best preserved. And the warm, turquoise waters surrounding it are a relaxing 90 F.
Thailand is one of Asia’s most popular countries for expats. It’s safe, women can travel alone without problems, the cost of living is low, and getting a retirement visa is simple. But buying property is tricky. Which is why so many expats in Asia rent instead of buy. Renting is easy, affordable, and sometimes the only way to live in a country. Plus, if you want to move on and try out a new place, you just pack up and hit the road.
Buying property anywhere as a foreigner always means jumping through a few hoops. But in Asia, there’s an added complication: Legal restrictions on how (and if) foreigners can buy property are common. It’s a big reason why so many expats in Asia rent instead of buy.
Malaysia is a melting pot of colorful Indian, Chinese, Malay, and Euro-Asian contradictions, making it one of the most fascinating countries in the region. It’s also a great base if you enjoy scuba diving…for surrounding Malaysia are some of the most beautiful, dive-worthy islands in the world. When you need to just get away from it all, they offer a welcome retreat.
Thailand is a steamy and tropical place, so when you arrive in the northern city of Chiang Mai, the cool and pleasant climate can come as a surprise. Nestling among the highest mountains in the country, Chiang Mai enjoys blissfully cool months from October straight through to January…the perfect time to visit.
I never tire of Bangkok. I’ve been coming here for years and although the city itself has changed, a new building here, a shopping center there, the essential feel of the place hasn’t changed at all…and that’s what I love about it. There’s something in the air in Thailand’s capital. It’s a city for city lovers…partygoers…travelers and adventure-seekers. It’s crammed with exotic, bustling markets…17th-century temples…art-deco hotels and has fast-food stalls on every corner. For 24 hours of the day, people are living and making a living all around you.
Penang and Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos. Colorful, vibrant, amazing Asia at its best. This presentation shows you three of Asia’s finest and gives you the inside track on how to live on the beach with budgets as low as $525 a month.
Penang and Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos. Colorful, vibrant, amazing Asia at its best. This presentation shows you three of Asia’s finest and gives you the inside track on how to live on the beach with budgets as low as $525 a month.
Penang and Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos. Colorful, vibrant, amazing Asia at its best. This presentation shows you three of Asia’s finest and gives you the inside track on how to live on the beach with budgets as low as $525 a month.
Picture a tear drop, emerald green and surrounded by myriad blues. That’s what the exotic island of Sri Lanka looks like on a map. Up close it’s even more beautiful, fringed with golden sand beaches, home to lush tropical forests, tea plantations, and mist-enchanted hill country. This is the place to see elephants and leopards in the wild, stand in the shade of the world’s oldest living trees at the old royal capital, surf, dive, fish, and explore thousand-year-old temples and magnificent colonial cities. And it’s undiscovered. Recent history hasn’t been kind to Sri Lanka. A 26-year-long civil war was compounded when the country of 21 million suffered badly in the 2004 tsunami.
As I laze beside the infinity pool of my apartment, sipping a cool drink, it’s hard to imagine why I didn’t make the move to Malaysia, and the island of Penang, sooner. Property, health care, and the cost of living are generally a quarter of what you would pay in the U.S. The weather is great, the beaches are perfect, and there’s a lot to do. I’m not surprised an increasing number of expats are buying property here.
It’s six o’clock in the morning and I am standing at the water’s edge, a pilgrim at the ancient temple complex of Angkor Wat. Like millions of others who have ventured to this same spot in the 900 years it has been a worthy destination—I’m waiting for the sun to rise. I’m waiting in the quiet of the dawn for that moment when the outline of the five stony-gray towers comes into focus and the ancient temple begins to glow.
Since opening to tourists in the early 1990s, Laos has become a magnet for travelers looking for unspoiled Southeast Asia. Two million people visit each year, drawn by world-class hiking, cycling, kayaking, and more in a pristine natural setting unblemished by development. Traditional village life is the norm. The countryside is dotted with Buddhist temples and ancient shrines.
One of the world’s great port cities, Mumbai is highly charged and energetic, bursting with stock-market money, a glamorous international art scene, and high-end bars where the beautiful people stay until the wee hours drinking champagne. Away from the bustling boulevards you’ll find nameless alleys where coconuts sell for 30 cents, haircuts are a buck, and the city’s frenetic traffic…
I ’ve always been attracted to the madness and energy of Bangkok. There’s something in the air in Thailand’s capital. Crammed with exotic sights, bustling markets, old temples, art-deco hotels and fast-food stalls on every corner, its rivers packed with boat traffic, and people everywhere… If you love cities, you’ll love Bangkok.
Jennifer and Elisa were living in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. Both were aspiring entrepreneurs, and both were on the look-out for a business idea. Elisa had lived in China before moving to Cambodia in 2006 with her family. Jennifer, meanwhile, moved to the Southeast Asian country in 2001 with her partner and two children. Jennifer had worked in the tourism industry for years.
A few years ago our friends spent a month in Tahiti, one of French Polynesia’s paradise islands. When they showed us photos of the house they stayed in, my wife and I were speechless. They live in Ingleside Heights in San Francisco in a lovely three-bedroom, two-bathroom home. The house in Tahiti was 2,800 square feet of beachfront opulence. It came with two maids, a cook, and a gardener.
In the musical South Pacific, the island of Bali Ha’i is an exotic paradise off limits to all except the officers. But in reality, the tropical island of Tioman—where the 1958 blockbuster was filmed—is a destination open to any traveler.
A few years ago our friends spent a month in Tahiti, one of French Polynesia’s paradise islands. When they showed us photos of the house they stayed in, my wife and I were speechless.
After dinner one night, Simon and his wife Lisa decided to take on a massive fund-raising expedition—they would ride around the world raising money for charity and taking photographs and documenting their story online as they went. In 2002, they sold their house and all of their possessions—and bought two BMW motorbikes.
This is a special place of stillness and tranquility. Luang Prabang, in north-central Laos, is a riverside town like no other. Here you’ll walk wide, French-style boulevards and feel like you’re in 1920s Paris, yet you can linger in palm-shaded temples and enjoy the serenity of Buddhist shrines.
At the heart of a 1,000-year-old kingdom, it’s a city where a stranger will invite you for a beer, and you’ll find chickens in the streets and wood smoke in the air—a place of peace and beauty.
Nestled between the mighty Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, you won’t find the backpackers you do in other parts of Asia. And the ones who do come here aren’t the beery types. Tourist buses are banned in Luang Prabang and the bars (all of them) close at 11.30 p.m. But it’s a great base for jungle hiking and other outdoor activities, eating, and relaxing.
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