We spent the next day at the beach from early morning. The sea was calm and inviting, so we spent the day playing and swimming in the water. Fanny and I would take turns harassing each other, yet also accosting one another with playful banter. There were many couples in the water, and it seemed as though most of them were not shy about enjoying their time together. The conditions were perfect for this, as the water was warm, and the waves were very gentle, and a light, hot wind blew by.
I only had a few days left of my holidays, so I reflected on my life back in Europe. At the end of the month, I had a deadline to pay VAT for the previous six months. I shared this unpleasant news with Fanny, and the sum I mentioned left her dazed.
‘This is terrible, that's just your tax for six months!? With that money, you could open a restaurant here from scratch.’
‘Really?’, I found it hard to believe.
‘Yes, including renovation and furnishing of the entire interior and kitchen.’
‘Amazing, how much tax are you paying here?’
‘We don't pay it at all.’
This time I looked at her with my mouth agape.
‘How is that!? There are no taxes?’
‘Nope. There is VAT – five percent, but only for foreign companies.’
‘And for you?'
‘We pay nothing, unless you earn a very large income. I don't remember how much, but it's really a lot. Then you have to pay this VAT – five percent.’
The news shocked me. After all, these were perfect conditions for running a business. There were so many tourists here that it would not be difficult to make good money. The green light in my head started flashing rapidly. I remembered Bangla Road and the countless crowds – all night, every night, all year round. Something incredible!
But where was the catch? The whole world should be sitting here and doing business. I began asking Chonticha for more details, but her knowledge was quite limited. For her, opening a restaurant meant simply finding a place and sending a notification to the local office, plus paying for a license to sell alcohol. A license for a year cost about as much as two bottles of vodka in Europe. And that was all. No complicated accounting, no declarations, cash registers or other such nonsense. Nothing. It was a paradise on earth!
Apparently, it was a little more complicated for foreigners, but Fanny didn't know any specifics. There were no taxes other than VAT – five percent!
After a long day at the beach, we were hungry, and this time Fanny decided to show me real Thai cuisine. We got on the motorbike and drove to the city, where Fanny stopped on the main street and parked the motorcycle on the narrow pavement. We entered a restaurant offering typical Thai cuisine. The choice was vast and was available at almost every second door along the street.
A few simple wooden tables, covered with oilcloth, were all the furnishings present in such places. It wasn't glamorous, but it was relatively clean. When it came to the list of dishes, the choice was simple – take what was on offer, or go elsewhere.
In this place they served chicken soup and a pork dish in a spicy sauce, with rice of course. Everything was bubbling in the pots on the stove at the entrance. As you passed by, you could take a look, smell it, and ask about prices.
We went in and took two portions of what was there and two bottles of cold beer. The wife cooked, and the husband served us. They moved calmly and quietly, and appeared absolutely laid back. They certainly didn't make a fortune here, but since they didn't have those insanely high taxes that kill every initiative in so-called “highly developed” countries, they probably lived without luxuries but still comfortable enough.
The soup was delicious, slightly sour. It was thick and full of various vegetables that I couldn't recognize. The pork was spicy for me, but Fanny said it wasn't spicy at all. We ate our fill and were asked to pay only a few pennies, making me feel like I was bamboozling them. I've left a generous tip.
Chonticha wanted to show me one more place. We went to the rocks in the hills above the sea, where people had already gathered. I asked her what this place was about, and she made me look in one direction, as everyone else did. People were looking towards the sea, where the great red ball of the sun slowly disappeared below the horizon, as if it had plunged into the water. We watched this spectacle in silence, for it was so beautiful that it truly made you shiver. I kissed her in a slightly elated state, thinking that that was her intention.
That evening at the hotel, I took a shower and a blue pill. It worked, though not as fiercely as the night before. Afterward, I fired up my tablet and tried to check out Fanny's morning revelations. Indeed, it was, as she said, but opening a company by a foreigner requires a large capital investment and a lot of formalities. In practice, without the participation of a Thai partner, it is feasible, but rather difficult, and the VAT is paid immediately, regardless of the company's turnover. As for me, the minimum amount you needed to open a business here was prohibitive. And there was a catch!
Apparently our thoughts were on the same subject, because Fanny held up her phone with an advertisement found on Facebook. Someone was selling a whole set of restaurant furniture, at a pretty good value – even very cheap for me, and not far away – about twenty minutes by motorcycle.
We lay hugging each other lazily. The air conditioning purred softly, and my head was buzzing. I had a little over a dozen thousand Euros left from the sale of an old house. The money had been lying idle, as I had no idea how to invest it until now.
I decided to take a chance. Firstly, Fanny knew a lot about gastronomy and, as she said herself, she had intended to open something on her own account. Secondly, you didn't need to invest a lot to get started, and it felt like the first deposit would pay off very quickly – possibly after six months. Thirdly, I liked it here – warmth, sea, friendly people, no bureaucracy, and this great feeling of freedom. On the other hand, I didn't know Fanny very well, and I would have to trust her not to steal too much from me. It was also quite far from home and keeping track of the business activities would be difficult. I would have to travel a lot, but I liked to do so. What if I failed and lost my money?
After a short meditation, I recalled a quote from one writer that accurately reflected my state of mind: “Ah, fuck it, I thought. Because I think rather succinctly.”
So – what will be, it will be – my intuition was telling me to take the risk.
This story has not been rated yet. Login to review this story.