Calm waves brush against the white sands of Huahin beach, as Ole Hjørnelund Jensen sips his Singha Beer under the shade of palm trees. A silver buddha hangs on a chain around his neck, a gift from his wife, Gao, when they first came to Thailand. He has been wearing it for 27 years. This is their home. But dark clouds linger on Ole’s horizon – in a couple of days he will have to leave her.
Love in Aalborg
Ole met Gao at a friend’s house one afternoon in Aalborg. Gao was visiting her sister, who was married to Ole’s friend, and was staying with the pair when Ole stopped by for coffee.
“I almost wanna say it was love at first sight,” Ole laughs. “She was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid my eyes on, and she’s only gotten more beautiful since.”
Gao was on a tourist visa and was only permitted to stay in Denmark for a short while, but the two of them fell in love and on the 3rd of April 1999, they got married at Aalborg City Hall.
“It might have happened fast, but it is the best decision I have ever made,” Ole says with a smile.
A man of the world
The couple lived in Aalborg, but the plan was always to move to Thailand when they grew old together.
Ole is a worldly man. He has worked as a carpenter his whole life. He has traveled across Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and the Baltics, to teach carpentry techniques. Being a carpenter is hard work, but Ole loved it.
He worked in Italy placing wooden floors on cruise ships.
“Being a carpenter can be exhausting,” Ole remembers. “We would carry big rolls of lumber up ladders to where they needed to go. Sometimes they weighed upwards of 90 kilos, and no machine could get them up there, but I could.”
Decades of hard work have left their mark on Ole. His knees ache and his back is in pain.
When Ole finally retired, he and Gao packed their belongings and headed south to live out their lives together, but the rules surrounding Danish retirees are making things challenging.
Retirement in paradise
After staying with Gao’s family in Songkhla, the couple now moved to Huahin in 2016, where they have decided to settle down. .
“Huahin is amazing, it has everything we could ever want and need,” Ole says.
Ole spends his days on the beach or going for walks, exploring every alley and side street in Huahin, often with Gao by his side. The couple supports and takes care of each other.
“I have taught her to swim,” Ole laughs. “We live by the beach, so I thought she had to learn. She cooks me Danish food when I miss it. I am her chauffeur since she doesn’t like to drive.”
And then there is the couple’s favorite activity: karaoke.
“We love it,” Ole laughs. “We have become members of a big karaoke group here in Huahin. We meet once a week and sing. That’s where we have all our friends.”
Despite not fully speaking the language, Ole sings in Thai. He has memorized the tones and sounds, and it makes Gao happy.
The karaoke group has become a community. It includes the mayor and the chief of police in Huahin. The group often uses their influence to raise money for schools and hospitals in Huahin, something Ole thinks is important.
But even if they wanted to, the couple cannot spend their retirement fulltime in Huahin.
Held back by Denmark
According to the rules, Danish retirees living outside the EU full-time are not eligible to receive pension supplements. Therefore Ole and Gao have been travelling back and forth between Thailand and Denmark every six months since they retired. That way Ole remains eligible to receive the pension supplements that the couple needs to stay afloat.
But this year is different. This year Ole will make the journey on his own.
“Gao is 73 now. She can’t travel that far for so long. This year it will only be me going to Denmark. It will be the first time in 27 years we will spend more than a week apart,” Ole sighs.
Ole is not looking forward to going to Denmark for the summer. The cold makes his back pain worse. Being in Denmark means a constant painful reminder of his long worklife. But the pain is not just physical. He will miss Gao.
“Thailand and Gao will always be on my mind,” Ole says. “I am worried about leaving her. I know she is bothered – she has been more quiet than usual recently. Luckily she has a niece in Huahin who will check on her, and I have a Danish friend not far from our house, but I am worried she will be lonely.”
Many Danish retirees living in Thailand decide to break the law and remain in Thailand while registering with an address in Denmark to continue receiving the pension supplements. But to Ole, this is not an option.
“I understand the people who do it, but it wouldn’t sit right with me. I will not knowingly break the rules like that,” he explains. “But it is hard. Thailand is my home. My wife’s family has become my family. I will be alone in Denmark. I will be lonely, Gao will be lonely. But the Danish pension rules leave me no choice.”
