Sam Gold

Sean Connery or Roger Moore?

I suspect most women from any culture in the world would say you've just described a "typical" male, irrespective of race.

Yes so true.

OP imagine your own home country, it was invaded by guys from another country who had a salary 15 times you and your friends salary, and these guys, was struttin around, arm in arm, with your local chicks, it would not take long before many of, if not you, many other males in your city would show aggression towards these men. And add on top of that, many of these rich men, you walked arm in aem with your local chicks, would also look down on you, and treat you like a monkey...

I am actually amazed how much Thai men put up with us and our snobbish attitude towards many of them

Thai men are usually amused when seeing local girls with farangs, as these women are often worth less than nothing on the Thai social scale due to their having children from previous relationships.

Secondly, they are usually very happy to deal with farangs professionally as it allows them to grossly inflate prices and make a lot more money than back home.

I've never seen a Westerner treat a Thai like a monkey nor show racism as we are typically born and bred in melting pot societies. I have, however, on numerous occasions heard Thais insult farangs openly between each other, arrogantly assuming nobody understands what they say.

Apart from Bangkok, Phuket and its surrounding islands, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, the remaining 95% of the country have an extremely low proportion of foreigners so we're hardly dealing with "invasion" here.

The traits described in the OP are a local thing and a typical product of Thai culture, foreigners have nothing to do with it.

As long as they stay in Phuket.

To all those who regularly go on about how it's different in upper urban classes, that obviously if you hang out with the wrong crowds in low-class rural environments etc...:

75% of Thai people live in a village. It's not just Isaan (another seemingly popular myth, I've noticed) but everywhere, North, South, East and West, and the sociological trends are consistently identical from Ubon to Sukhotai, from Chiang Rai to Songkhla.

Those who observe and discuss relevant flaws in Thai society are often well-travelled within the country, have gathered hands-on experience, developed various relationships in all sorts of circumstances and over sufficient time to actually know what they're talking about.

I have to disagree, my partner is a ''Thai Male'', and he is nothing like what you have written,

My only negative about him, is that he is ''Stubborn'', but at the end of the day we can all be ''Stubborn''...

For the sake of relevance, it's fundamental to take a step back and see things objectively without bias.

Of course there are good Thai men, but anyone failing to concur with what the OP is saying is either a newcomer or lives in a temple.

Yes, OP, you are correct about a lot of Thai men.

Their repressed anger is usually released when they sit behind the wheel of their motor vehicle, behind the anonymity of their tinted windows.

Or it bursts out uncontrollably after ingestion of a bottle of Hong Thong.

Bottom line is, always say "ok, you are right no problem" to them, especially in front of their acquaintances, always pay them every penny they are asking for and you will be fine, let them fight amongst each other.

Just an update on this matter:

Jomtien immigration does issue 60 day extensions for visiting a Thai spouse. Just go with your wife (she must go with you as she will have to sign a form) and present the following docs:

Photocopy of wife's Tabien Baan. If she isn't registered in Chonburi, you must also get a letter from your accommodation office or landlord specifying your current address (both your names on document).
Photocopy of wife's ID
Photocopy of your passport

Photocopy of marriage certificate
TM6 form

1 pic of you
1900 baht

Nothing! Why spoil the women with a holiday created by the dam_n candy/flower/greeting card industry. Stop perpetuating the insanity. (Treat them nice everyday, treat them special as a surprise, and you don't need to do Valentines Day).

It wasn't created by any industry, it dates back to the 3rd century when St Valentine was executed by the Romans.

But I'm not a fan either.

Sorry, but that was made up by the Industry to jusify this billion dollar ''special day''

Love and sex sells, always have and always will till the end of days, my friend.

It sells nowadays as we live in a consumer society - however if you do a little reserch you will see the tradition dates back centuries.

So if I follow the reasoning, Christmas and Easter were also fabricated by Big Brother in order to relieve the sheep of their funds?

Or maybe we participate in it willingly because it's part of human nature to celebrate traditions - the fact that it involves spending money is just a symptom of the times.

Awesome, I'd never actually noticed the car par there.

Thanks a lot to the 3 of you for your help!

Where did this happen by the way?

Sent from my GT-S7270 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Good evening,

The question's in the title, I would ideally drop off my car early (5-6 am) and get it back on the next day during the afternoon.

Any info would be much appreciated.

Cheers.

No big deal. I spend a lot of my time in Singapore and Mercedes are a dime a dozen. Even many of the taxis are Mercedes. The traffic in Singapore is not much better than in Bangkok, but at least in Thailand you have a 'hinterland' where you can go on weekends and open it up a bit. No such thing in Singapore. And to make matters worse, high end cars are much more expensive in Singapore because of a special government tax on vehicles (a Honda Civic will put you back over US$100,000). Yet every day in Singapore you will see people driving around in Porsches, Lamborghinis, etc etc (people who wouldn't be caught dead in a Mercedes). It's part of Chinese in Singapore here... showing off your wealth and success. Perhaps the Sino-Thais of Bangkok are no different...

Traffic in Singapore is significantly better than in Bangkok - and people can actually drive which makes a refreshing break.

That's not my experience of living Singapore. Traffic's better, but not a whole lot. That said, I avoid Bangkok as much as I can. The other thing to keep in mind is that there are functional road cameras along all of Singapore's highways (90kph limit) so even if traffic is light, there's not much you can do. Back in Canada, if you were on the 401, doing 120 would put you in the slow lane.

Yes, more functional road cameras would make a massive difference in Thailand as (and that is also the case everywhere else for that matter) they will only listen and change their habits if you hit them where it hurts: their wallets.

However, the only solution to the congestion problem in Bangkok would be a congestion charge such as the one in London, which also decreased pollution levels.

No big deal. I spend a lot of my time in Singapore and Mercedes are a dime a dozen. Even many of the taxis are Mercedes. The traffic in Singapore is not much better than in Bangkok, but at least in Thailand you have a 'hinterland' where you can go on weekends and open it up a bit. No such thing in Singapore. And to make matters worse, high end cars are much more expensive in Singapore because of a special government tax on vehicles (a Honda Civic will put you back over US$100,000). Yet every day in Singapore you will see people driving around in Porsches, Lamborghinis, etc etc (people who wouldn't be caught dead in a Mercedes). It's part of Chinese in Singapore here... showing off your wealth and success. Perhaps the Sino-Thais of Bangkok are no different...

Traffic in Singapore is significantly better than in Bangkok - and people can actually drive which makes a refreshing break.

Absolutely not surprising for anyone who knows Thai culture. Logic and reason aren't factored in when it comes to face.

Also bear in mind these people sometimes aren't as well-off as they strive to show, as living above one's means is common in Thailand - Their exclusive ride could entail bigger sacrifices than having to sit in traffic jams.

Of course it's possible, I've had several. And it's helped me a lot in understanding Thai women as there was no sexual tension getting in the way of my judgement.

Leave Phuket, it's the worst place in Thailand, I used to live there, it's the land of violence against foreigners and corrupt cops.

You can't decide to leave Thailand because of something that happened in Phuket.

Agree.

Don't blame Thailand for what happens in Phuket.

Places like Phuket and Pattaya are just dirty pimples on the butt of a pretty good country.

Look in the worst places and find the worst things.

Come to Thailand!

Yep. Thats like saying dont leave Syria because an areas of Damascus were bombed. Get out while you can. All of THailand: It is a lack of decency and law aviding citizens, led by DISHONEST Police, Political Leaders, religious leaders.

It has nothing to do with saying "Don't leave Syria".

Just as a reminder, this is what is going on in Syria:

http://www.google.fr/imgres?sa=X&hl=fr&biw=1067&bih=503&tbm=isch&tbnid=acaZOkE_A3GzsM%3A&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fnews%2Fmiddleeast%2F2013%2F10%2Fworld-powers-discuss-syrian-conflict-20131021918558324.html&docid=Msr_mM_n4gHhtM&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fmritems%2FImages%2F2013%2F10%2F21%2F201310219194433734_20.jpg&w=680&h=450&ei=ymXrUpHBMoOQrgfLv4H4Bw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=3305&page=3&start=20&ndsp=12&ved=0CLcBEK0DMB4

Regarding corruption, Western leaders are just as bad if not worse - not a day goes by without another tax fraud/offshore/Swiss account/misoppropriation scandal popping up in every single country in the world.

Thailand isn't perfect but it sure is a lot better than a lot of places.

I was just asking this very question on another thread. It's hard for me to fathom some girl losing millions to her friends, or even in some of these little gambling dens. It would make more sense if she said she lost this money gambling, but instead, took said money offshore to some untraceable account. That way, the fish...eh farang husband/BF wouldn't even think to track down the money as it was lost "gambling" and not retrievable. Hmmm, that sounds like a pretty good scam.

They don't know what an offshore account is. In mum's account seems more plausible.

Master criminality at its finest. In fact, I will now refer to this as "The Thai scam".

My wife started out like that but I didn't try to argue my points....waste of time. I was patient and always waited

(hopefully)for the time when a situation would prove my point and, when it did, I politely pointed it out to her. For a while she would just blow me off, but after a while she picked up on my routine. After that I would also let her find a space to

correct me in the same manner. Now we both listen to each other more and try to respect each other's ideas. It ain't perfect

but it is better.

Pretty much the same here. It takes time but it is efficient.

Women tend to believe they are right no matter what.

Thais tend to believe they are right no matter what.

Thai woman = well, you do the math.

Nothing! Why spoil the women with a holiday created by the dam_n candy/flower/greeting card industry. Stop perpetuating the insanity. (Treat them nice everyday, treat them special as a surprise, and you don't need to do Valentines Day).

It wasn't created by any industry, it dates back to the 3rd century when St Valentine was executed by the Romans.

But I'm not a fan either.

See! How'd we go from an execution to a gift buying occasion?

Marketing! Them boys know how to sell sh*t and make you believe your buying prime steak.

qdinthailand

Valentine allegedly wrote a farewell letter to his bird before his execution on Feb 14 and has since been considered to be a martyr symbolising love.

The custom of writing greetings to your sweetheart developed in Europe from the Middle Ages so is by no means a recent thing.

The consumerism aspect is a symptom of modern times and is secondary - celebrating traditions has always existed in human societies.

Much cheaper to go for a weekly Soapy at least you only part with a thousand or two why would anyone want to live with a Thai woman most of them from what I have heard watch tv all day and cannot hold a conversation

You heard wrong.

You seem to be an expert in Thai sociology, and your weekly stint in a massage parlour sounds pretty awesome.

"acceptable"

Well since I'm willing to accept it without making a fuss, I guess yes.

I completely understand that others haven't learned to be quite so patient.

Basically I choose my battles so that my time energy and peace of mind are only spent where my efforts might make a difference.

The rest I (try to) accept.

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

I think this was the first time I've ever complained about sale's staff behavior to a manager in Thailand. It was that bad and I am happy I made the effort of communicating that even if it changes nothing. I don't agree with you. What I experienced wasn't "normal" bad, it was VERY bad. There are limits. I agree expectations should be low but that low ... no!

Customer service as a concept does not exist in Thailand.

Everyone from the cleaning lady to the Managing Director:

- Will see you as a nuisance and try to ignore you

- When that fails, will try to shake off the burden of having to deal with you ASAP

- In any case, will see you as the problem as if you weren't here the problem would not occur

It is a waste of time and there are no limits. Expecting Thailand to be like in the West is such a waste of time and energy.

cockroach in among the cooked meats in a supermarket chain that isnt the big D or the big E

and isnt located on ratchada rd ........

Alright, but the target here is retail store SERVICE horror stories. Not so much product defects themselves. And there's the naming thing, that's a no no.

i went out of my way to avoid naming the company so i think my post should be allowed

it was a live cockroach walking on the cooked ham and cocktail sausages and none of the

staff seemed to be giving a shit until i took out my phone to get a picture of it

Go on then, post the pic.