Sam Gold

Just shows politicians sometimes slip up and say the most outrageous c**p. Last time I heard anything that stupid was when one of them last year publicly recommended Thai women marry foreigners and go to live with them abroad.

Thais don't want foreigners to go home, they have worked hard on building the "Welcome to Thailand, the land of Smiles" thing, as well as one of the top airports in the world in order to sustain the growth experienced since the early 2000s.

Unfortunately, the notion of "farang", is more than just a need to classify a specific group of people, it is THE most important thing Thais will see when they see a white person. No matter education, or status i society, "farang" is first off, very close to be seen as an group object, and only secondly as an individual/person.

Yes, Southeast Asians do indeed make clear distinctions between races (there is a box on Lao immigration cards where you need to indicate your race).

Farang means foreigner, and that is what we are and always will be. That doesn't mean we are looked down upon. Actually the tendency in Asia is the more like a farang you look, the better you look.

In our Western cultures, two of the most socially inappropriate things you can do is to make open references to race and money. So obviously it takes some acclimatizing in Thailand as Thais do those two precise things as often as they breathe.

If I was to single out one trait that seems to cause the majority of bad driving events we see, it is the Thai inability/unwillingness to wait behind another car...rather than wait for whatever (often unseen) even caused that car to slow, the immediate response is 'swerve into another lane and pass'.

Very true, and I would add the tendency to drive much too near the preceding vehicle. When a driver abruptly changes lanes with no prior notice (but still turning on the indicators while he's changing lanes as if that made any difference whatsoever), the oncoming car hits the brakes major time and gets rammed into by the one behind him. I saw it happen again the other day.

in fact it is considered in much of Thai society as a few steps down the social ladder if getting involved with a farang.

It is indeed considered a step down if she brings home an older guy who isn't intent on speaking any Thai nor shows particular interest in Thai culture, as the underlying nature of the relationship becomes only too apparent. This would be the case in any country.

Dress well, speak the language, be polite, basically make an effort to be likeable and you will be liked. This particularly applies to the educated middle class and upwards, as they are a lot less likely to see a farang as a walking pot of gold, but will instead tend to consider him for what he is.

Lower class Issan families typically have little education and take stereotypes for granted without question. This ultimately leads to totally erroneous beliefs and expectations.

Hi,

Ubon Ratchathani is a nice province but less tourist-friendly than Chiang Mai. If you speak limited Thai and are predominantly looking for other Westerners to have a party with, it may be safer for you to go back to CM. If you're coming from Bangkok I'd stop at Sukhotai which has amazing sights.

Driving yourself is definitely the way to go here if you want to spare your heart. I've never had an accident in 4 years, but avoid one per second, literally. Just a question of habit

My own brother in law reversed my car straight into a tree when he'd had a few at Songkran - I didn't mind the bump in the back as it's only metal, however I did ponder on what his reaction would've been had I done that to his precious 4x4 monster. Nice guy nonetheless.

That's why most people here drive automatics - brake and accelerate like in a video game, no knowledge of how it actually works.

You let someone here drive your car................ .................

He talked my wife into it while I was away for the afternoon - if I'd been there he would never have dreamt of it

Driving yourself is definitely the way to go here if you want to spare your heart. I've never had an accident in 4 years, but avoid one per second, literally. Just a question of habit

My own brother in law reversed my car straight into a tree when he'd had a few at Songkran - I didn't mind the bump in the back as it's only metal, however I did ponder on what his reaction would've been had I done that to his precious 4x4 monster. Nice guy nonetheless.

That's why most people here drive automatics - brake and accelerate like in a video game, no knowledge of how it actually works.