GarySI'd highly recommend Thailand for this Russian/German, she "probably speaks both Russian and German and English", so she'll feel comfortable in Krabi or other parts of Thailand, she doesn't necessarily have to reside in a "tourist area", even 10 miles from many Thai tourist meccas are to be found with much lower prices and less crazy lifestyles, than the "usual" 24/7 never sleep tourist in Thailand! For example, the beaches south of HuaHin and north of Surat Thani are relatively unknown to "most" tourist and she can live her veggie and tropical fruit dreams in fairly sedate splendor, for a pittance of the prices of tourist areas.
As for the problems with Thai visas, well, it ain't easy, but..she could easily fly to KL, Phnompen, Saigon, HK or Singapore for a quick "visa run" [get a 90 visa, then get BEFORE that visa runs out[out of the country]and then return to her steady place for 6 month winter overing in the Land of Smiles...
GarySAlso the Russian/German lady might find the "tropics with veggies" to be an easy beach life in Salinas Ecuador, those mountain/valley towns like Cuenca are nice, but certainly not warm enough like the beautiful Ecuadorean beaches from Manta to Playas,etc...
GadgetVisas in last 2-3 years in Thailand have become complicated, most internet sites have bad information. This is the only forum I know that sort of stays current. Jeroen is the expert on this, but you need to pay. I go to Thailand in about 5 months, but the days of staying in Thailand easily as a casual traveler seem over.
http://www.thaivisa.com/tourist-visa.html
Lawrence14Chiang Mai, Thailand might be right. But only through Feb 15. They burn the fields then and the air is bad in S E Asia except by the beach. There manta tourists and expats there but, that is not all bad. English is often spoken, transportation is excellent and it is is fruit and veg central for thailand
Lawrence14The tourists are Thai from Bangkok, Chinese and European backpackers. They are easy to avoid if you wish and there is the benefit of a large variety of international restaurants as well as Thai to serve them. It is easy to eat cheap and local. I think the visa problem can be worked out if, you make a little effort.
lavirinaHello Andy, Thanks for your answer to my question about "Where is Best Country for German Person to Spend 4-6 Months in Winter". By tropical weather I meant a comfortable spring-summer temperature during north European winter time at least, not too hot and humid. I was born in 1961 but healthy lifestyle, row food diet, yoga and sport help me to keep my body and spirit young healthy and strong. Anyway I would prefer an easy traveling, not too expensive, without extra complications to the country that don't request any visa for French citizen at least for 3 month but better for 6. By economical budget I mean around 10-20 $ per day. My top 4 destinations would be Cuenca/Vilcabamba, Ecuador, Antigua/Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, or some nice places in Mexico or Thailand. I didn't do research for specific places in Mexico or Thailand yet. I'll check about Pai Thailand, North of Chiang Mai. Your suggestions are very welcome. Kind regards. Enjoy your stay in Guatemala. Greetings to your mom and all new Hobo.Traveler friends.
GadgetLavirina, please take great care with the visas, for me, I refuse to get any type of residency visa, or would do so until I had lived in one location for over 2-3 years. Raw food, fresh food is not really a big thing at beach cities, more about mountain cities. I spend 3 months in Vilcabamba, and consider it one of the worst Market cities in Central or South America, although everyone at the Saturday ONLY market had products labeled organic. I think Cuenca, Antigua, and Lago Atitlan have good food markets. The Yoga stuff is probably in Pai,or Chang Mai, and maybe on a few of the Islands, maybe Koh Chang, or Koh Mak close to Cambodia. Our site, or sites are extensive. We have 100 specific location sub-sites, where with only your hobo membership, you are already a member. But, you need to go to your profile, and choose the ones to follow. Look here for the the list of my 100 best places to live, not only 4 though. http://www.hobotraveler.com/about/list-of-all-domains-being-managed-by-hobotraveler-com.php
ToosHi Andy - I noticed you don't have Gangtok in your top 100 list. Have you visited it? It's in the northern provence of Sikkim, India. It may be a bit high for you at 1,650 m (5,410 ft). It's ethnically diverse population of 100,000 are Nepali, Lepchas and Bhutia. It seems like a bit of a tourist destination but perhaps prices are not too bad.
