Expat68

This week the rains have arrived in NE Thailand!! At this moment it is absolutely pissing down

13 minutes ago, Hellfire said:

The reason for this kind of questions is different: they just have nothing else to talk about. Imagine meeting up with a horse that somehow learned to speak. What will it talk to you about? I bet it will be hay or something similar.

 

 

Everyone is entitled to there own opinion but I have lived within the Thai family for three decades

Food is massively important to Thai people, if you notice, within a few sentences of meeting up, they ask if you have eaten.

Yes it is the hottest I can remember up here in NE Issaan, I have live here permanently since 2010

44 minutes ago, kaneko86 said:

 

I always find people friendly in Pattaya... Your ST girl in Pattaya charged you too much last time that you make this statement?

People in Pattaya have to be friendly, that is their job!!

12 minutes ago, Taco said:

In my opinion top 3 most friendly

1 Nepal

2 Cambodia

3 Thailand 

 

Personally I would put Vietnam number one

54 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

How many decades have you been in Thailand?

 

Like I said, it's not just Thailand. Nowhere are people happy anymore. The fear machine has been working overtime. If it isn't climate change is going to kill us all if we don't buy an EV, it's too many genders or the council is building too many cycle paths. I'm pretty sure people didn't worry about so many things 60 years ago.

First time I came to Thailand was 1990. Loved permanently 14 years

Don't think so

Issaan 

2 hours ago, andux said:

 

Cool story but notice that in my post I refer to strangers many times to make it clear, not people you already know. I have the same good experiences with non-strangers.

 

Basically, the observation is that strangers seem less friendly/happy overall and less likely to be friendly nowadays.

Expat strangers are down right rude, thank god for their wives and girlfriends.

8 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

went to city yesterday as usual to ride bike..

 

stopped at my mechanic--we joked and i chatted with his daughter while he did repairs..

 

walked to 7-11 to get a water...smiled at the somtam gals as i walked in--they smiled back

 

got my waves from usual massage gals sitting outside cat calling me as i see them daily

 

the little kids came out to say hello where i leave my mbike and lock up my bike for the night...

 

joked and chatted up the couple that sells me fruit every night on my way home....

 

depends where u look i suppose.....or maybe its just me 🙂

 

 

Absolutely spot on, where I live it is exactly the same

I think it all depends on what circle of friends you live within Thailand. The place where are I live it is mostly just one happy family. Usually on a Friday night we meet up, expats, wives, girlfriends. Lot of food and drink flowing and everyone enjoying themselves. If I were to meet them in a supermarket with or without their partners, they stop and smile, have a chat and move on. Any newbies would be made welcome 

23 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

Taking Farang out of the situation, why do people think Thai people are so friendly anyways? Comparing them to Americans I never see them making chat with random people in public like markets, make smalltalk when queuing, customers don't talk to clerks or at restaurants etc... They seem very withdrawn in public and tend to keep their heads down. Americans are more in your face and can be rude but they're also more friendly in my opinion.

It is called culture, Americans are brash, Thais reserved 

5 hours ago, Walker88 said:

Wow! I couldn't disagree more.

 

While there are some things unpleasant in today's world, life is largely as great as it has ever been, and certainly better than most times going back thousands of years. People are more equal under the law than at any time in human history. For anyone in a developed country, it has never been easier to gain knowledge and---if one is so inclined---to rise to a economic position, and with more conveniences, than the wealthiest people in the world a hundred years ago. It has never been easier to become stinking rich, if that is one's goal. Also, almost the entire body of human knowledge is within easy reach, owing to the internet and web. That is an astonishing advantage and a great equalizer. Look around and one can find decent and interesting people most anywhere, too, so long as one is open to it.

 

As for Thailand, there may well be more pressure on the average person due to rising prices, personal debt and a political system that is designed to never change, but if one behaves politely, most Thais are as friendly as ever. They are looking for a peaceful oasis as much as anyone, so be that oasis and they will respond. Yes, some do judge books by their cover, so the fat, tatted up gruff old foreigner in a wife beater t-shirt may well put some people off and have to work harder to win people over, but be well presented and under emotional control, and few will experience any problem or feel any resentment. (Sometimes foreigners are their own worst enemy...yesterday I was shopping in Siam Paragon and a young 30-ish Western male was walking around that major shopping center shirtless. That isn't going to win friends and influence people in a positive way.)

 

Though slightly off topic, I have a residence in the countryside of a European nation with a reputation for arrogant and dismissive people. On a recent visit there, the folks were incredibly welcoming and friendly.....in shops, restaurants, the airport, even in my gym. It seems in many places in this world there are pockets of friendliness breaking out. A good many people are simply sick and tired of wallowing in self-pity or depression.

 

To quote Andy Dufresne, Get busy living or get busy dying.

Too boring to read such a long post. I could have died by the time I had finished reading it😂😂

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The real Thai smile vanished decades ago.

Thailand isn't alone. I have not been in any country this century where the people are happy. Modern life sucks biggly.

Disagree, where I live the Thai smile is just the same

16 hours ago, sandyf said:

What on earth are you talking about, I was in the UK at the time I claimed pension credit, and you ought to be aware that nobody claims winter fuel allowance.

If you had bothered to keep up you would have seen that someone tried to say you had to be retirement age to get pension credit but that didn't come about till 2010, before then it was 60.

The bizarre thing was when I sold my house I wrote and told them the change in circumstances and I was moving abroad. They acknowledged the fact and said payments would stop in due course, but it took 6 months for that to happen. Tight as a ducks xxxx when needed and throwing it away when it's not.

No idea I have lived in Thailand 13 years, never been back. Just someone I know who continued to get pension increases and also got winter fuel allowance until he got found out

32 minutes ago, sandyf said:

You should get your facts straight before trying to lecture someone.

Pension credit has nothing to do with pensions, it is a benefit under the income support regulations and on the 6th April 2010 the qualifying age was increased from 60 to match the retirement age.

I was 62 when I claimed in 2009.

I know someone who was also claiming winter fuel entitlement, until he got found out 

Waste of time, one of the reasons ladies don't wear helmets is that it messes up their hair 

5 minutes ago, Luuk Chaai said:

 

Ha..   even the Irish speak "English" better than the Brits   ( 10-9-8-7-6.....)

Far better than Philippine's teaching English in Thailand which is the way it is going

18 minutes ago, Smokin Joe said:

 

Actually you should be grateful that we allow the language to continue to be called "English". We could have renamed it to "American" long ago.

 

 

International is what it really is called nowadays 

There are not many people who actually speak true English. I think I read sometime ago that Oxford and Cambridge are the perfect English language.

2 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Where did you get that "double taxed, double VAT" garbage from?

Pay tax in my own country and pay VAT in my own country 

No

38 minutes ago, dogfish180 said:

As usual the government have come up with an idea that is NOT thought through. Why let the details get in the way of a dumb idea 😆

They will not release from PO, have to go and pay first