Gerontion

If growing the biofuel doesn't replace food crops, and if it doesn't degrade the land, and if it doesn't disrupt the local ecosystem, maybe, yes.

But generally, the question to ask isn't "what type of fuel should we use to do x?" but "do we really need to do x?"

A better question would be, why do the uneducated remain uneducated.

Because they're kept that way.

Why don't they pull themselves up bit by bit?

When they try, they're shat on by the Thai state. Didn't you notice the coup? Or were you too busy wanking over your bank balance?

if something so simple bothers you that much, then you are likely used to people from your own country thinking you're a tw@t, and the Thais thinking the same won't bug you at all.

Best response yet.

On the issue of how many foreigners are living in the country ... I have been unable to find current figures despite inquiries to relevant agencies, but here is some old data I found in the National Statistics office web site.

We know the total foreigners resident in thailand in 1999 (265,849) and that of these 24,728 had work permits.

We know that as at the end 2007 there were 69,974 work permits issued (meaning that about a 3x increase in numbers since '99).

What we don't know is the number of foreigners resident in thailand at end 2007 who did not have work permits. If this group had also increased threefold then you would be looking at a figure of just under 800,000 foreigners resident in thailand.

Realistic? Probably too high I would have thought.

To this figure you might want to also consider adding foreigners on tourist visas who are within the country at any point in time, a proportion of whom would be regular visitors - possibly even with holiday homes/condos here

Foreigners and whitey aren't synonymous terms; unless your data specify otherwise, the former include Burmese maids, Laotian construction workers, Indian tailors, etc. etc. And I'm not sure you can draw too many conclusions from the increase in work permits issued. It could just be that the authorities have tightened up on foreigners in the country and this has increased the proportion of foreigners here who work legally (certainly something that's happened with EFL teachers.)

Shopping for food in the market.

The smiles my neighbours routinely greet me with, even when (or especially when) I'm in a shitty mood.

My wife.

So what is Kop khun krab for then??? Is a wai a greeting or a thank you or both? In the west we would shake hands as a greeting and say thank you as a thanks. Another thing is when someone walks past me in a supermarket they will duck down making their head lower then mine a kind of excuse me, but why not just say Ko tuuuuuud? The head lowering thing is the bit I dont like.

So why dont they just teach them to say "thanks"?

Assuming how long I have been here is just that.

In other words, why aren't "they" just like "us"?

And I hope that when you put the question like that, you can see just how f*cking stupid it is.

I've no idea how much it is but I'm pretty confident that it's a lot less than the average, narcissistic, self-regarding expat imagines it to be.

The question really is why a wai and not a thank you? I find it hard to accept a hierarchical ( have I spelt that right) society, waing for me is part of that along with the different greetings for old young although I can in someway relate it to Mr or Mrs but this is just defining "sex" not status. Ive got no time for status and who is older younger etc etc. I can't have respect when its rammed down my throat.

You're confusing two different things. I can't see anything inherently hierarchical or deferential about a wai, just as there's nothing inherently egalitarian about saying "thank you". In the instance you gave (a child thanking someone for a gift), I can't see how hierarchy comes into it. It's just good manners, which are a fairly good technique for ensuring that we all get on. If you want to complain about wives waiing the feet of their husbands, I agree that it's repulsive. But that's a different matter.

In the whole province of Trat there is no Tesco, Big C or another major shopping mall.

I'm moving there.

If you have rose colored glasses keep them on. It for makes a peaceful life.

Nice post. I like that.

But is that then not a bit strange as you are not a Muslim ? Would you not feel uncomfortable doing it for no other reason than mimicry, or trying to fit in ? Its to do with their religion and culture, same as a wai, but its not ours.

It's not about 'ours' and 'theirs', at least for me.

And I think I'd feel considerably more uncomfortable if I refused to acknowledge the customs of those I was associating with.

i come here to find enlightenment and true happiness.

Good for you, and I hope you find it but I'm afraid that posting on Thaivisa is not a good place to look.

So is this the same as being in say Malaysia when you meet a muslim, he shakes your hand and then touches his chest/heart with the same hand? Would you do the same back ?

In principle, I don't see why not but I've never been to Malaysia so I'm not sure what the deal is. After all, I'd expect a Thai in England to shake my hand, not to wai me and to think the opposite (ie that an Englishman/woman in Thailand should wai) doesn't mean one has to be a "foreign wannabe-thai sock-puppet".

On the way into the village where I live (which is pretty far off the beaten track), there's a big F-U-C-K painted down a telephone pole. Interestingly, you can see it's been repainted a few times.

In answer to the OP, I don't know but I'd imagine a good hiding would be a distinct possibility.

QUOTE (MikeSoi11 @ 2009-07-05 14:14:28) *

i just decide to move to Thailand to start my new and improved life. i think the Thai people are amazing and kind so i choose to live here but many farang seem to only complain endlessly about everything and everyone in Thailand so why do they want to live here?

They don't, most of the complainers are just losers who have not advanced in any way since being here, have no family and rely on drunk bar buddies and bar girls to entertain them. If this was your life wouldn't you be depressed and lash out ?

I'm not sure that's true. I've met plenty who've been here for years/are married/have children/have careers/clearly aren't going anywhere else but who would rather walk over burning coals than say something positive about the country or the people. I'm sure lots of these people are really just miserable f*ckers who'd never be happy anywhere. The fact that they're in Thailand just provides a convenient excuse for their bitterness.

The amount of outright and blatant brainwashing which goes on here under the guise of the ever elusive and most likely mythical thing known as "thai culture" is enough to wobble the mind.

I have all too often seen thai parents forcing their children into wai'ing. Most of these children are so young they have no idea what they are doing, nor possess the motor skill development to carry out the maneuver. It is sad really.

It's no different to parents forcing their children to say "please" and "thank you". The fact that one is verbal and the other is physical is irrelevant; what matters is that children are taught how to get along with those around them. If you think children shouldn't be taught this, fair enough, but please make sure your children have no contact with other people. Ever.

On the rare occasion I am wai’d; I discount it as a ‘thai thing’, and either nod back or totally ignore it.

While off topic (yet still concerning the penchant for wais); my motto is' "wais are for thais", and in over 4 years here I've never wai'd a single person in this country, and probably never will. Of course not being enamored by, enchanted with, or endeared to either this country or its native inhabitants I choose to ignore most things the foreign wannabe-thai sock-puppet contingent tries to pawn off as thai culture.

If that's true, you're a selfish, self-indulgent fool. Whatever you feel about your environment, extending a little courtesy to those around you costs nothing.

I'm working my way through a pile of ป 3 Thai-language text books at the moment (so a BA is sadly just a distant dream) and there's no end of spelling practice in them. Dull but worthy (at least the ones I don't skip are).

I think that's a great idea and one which I'll take up. I like to give up meat and drink for January (sometimes until March or April); I started when I still lived in England and it was a nice way to cleanse oneself mentally and physically from the inevitable excesses of Christmas but in Thailand the timing doesn't really make much sense.

It could have been written by a Thai who has lived a long time in the west and really internalized the western point of view. More likely in my view, written by a long term European descent person in Thailand who is putting on Thai airs and imagines that he has internalized the Thai point of view. I also can't imagine the PM of Thailand writing such a piece.

schadenfreude, indeed!

If I had a dollar for every Thai who uses that word in everyday conversation I could buy a latte at Starbucks!

Good to see that a forensic linguist has offered his opinion. How did you deduce that it was authored by a European?

Many long term expats often incorporate Thaiglish syntax. Its a fake, clearly.

Absolute <deleted>. How many native speakers decide on arriving in Thailand to start misusing prepositions? How many decide to convert uncountable nouns into countable ones? How many start to make errors with participles? How many make errors with tense? None. There are plenty of native speakers of English on this board who can't use their mother tongue but their errors are errors of native speakers and these are completely different to L2 errors. It's of course possible that it's a fake by there's nothing in the text to make me think that it is.

A small list of a few of the more serious kind of scams:

1. You drive your car and is stopped by a police who slips a small bag of yabaa thru your open window without you noticing. You leave and are again stopped further down the road at a checkpoint. Police immediately discovers the bag and you are taken into jail until you pay ransom around 80,000 Baht.

2. At a gas station the attendant slips same bag behind the lid cover of your gas tank nozzle, police stops you and same procedure as in item 1.

3. Someone sticks a hole in your radiator at the gas station when your car is unattended. Later on the road you have to stop for overheating and a few helpful guys pulls up to help you with your money problem.

4. At a gas station on your way out into the traffic, a crappy old car suddenly accelerates from a parked position nearby inside the gas station right up in front of you. If you are not very quick you collide and because you ran into him you are in the wrong. and of course calling police will not help as they are in on it and you are just a farang anyway. Nobody of the gas station staff gives a rat as they also get a commission.

Increase the medication.

It could be that western societies are hyper-sexualised and Asian ones aren't. Or it could be utterly random and the next Indonesian guy you meet will be a sex-crazed loony while the next European one will be utterly asexual in his outlook.

That Thai who wrote the text, Is also complaining isn't he? He schould accept the truth, most Thai's are verry arrogant, although they smile and be polite. We foreigners just have different values and tend to complain more, not for nothing our countries are modernized. If they can't handle a little critics.....

Arrogant?

The words "pot", "kettle" and "black" come to mind.

"not for nothing our countries are modernized". My arse.

Oh, and what is "a little critics", Mr Superior white man?

Regards,

A non-smiling arrogant Thai.

Did you ever woke up?

A little quiz for you.

Do you think that you're:

(a) Confronting the OP

or

(B ) Confirming the OP

As you're clearly not the sharpest tool in the shed, I'll help you out. It's not (a). I'll give you two attempts. Off you go, my boy.

I do believe it was written by a Thai, because of certain parts of the syntax.

I agree. For what it's worth, I do freelance editorial work here and I've no reason to doubt the authorship; it reads convincingly enough. I suspect that those who doubt its authenticity simply haven't met any Thais with a solid education. But, as you say, it doesn't really matter what nationality the author is. The request, "I feel that it shouldn't be too much to ask for more culturally sensitive comments from the majority of forumers" is simple, straightforward, and utterly reasonable. Sadly, as the responses here show, it is too much to ask, at least of the simian majority.

Difference between red-shirts and yellow-shirts? Easy. Yellows are c*nts. Reds aren't.