eumenades

Impression management.

So what are you accomplishments in life, Coco? Swilling down aluminum kegs in Nana Plaza, or what?

Good point. But we might be sure this kind of thing will get around - and provoke a lot of bad press.

Yep. They certainly do little to encourage a welcome.

Sorry. Just a bit of facetiousness..

That photo of a bound Thai cop still bothers me, as it may many others.

The grumpy simplifications are often mutual.

More Russian bashing. We have our own curmudgeonly visitors and murderous football hooligans. Barcelona now wants to stop cruise vessels landing due to drunken passengers shouting in the streets after midnight. Okay, so what do Russian readers of this site have to say? Let them have their say. (Any cheers for Navalny?)

Dear Editors, Surely not abusive or that controversial. Any comments? - John

I'm inclined to agree. Over the years, I was starting to get stoned but not getting high any more, so I stopped. It became pointless. The brain changes colour over decades. I reckon you get 'brilliant experiences' when young on cannabis, but not when you are older.

The current wind direction is much against hardened ex-socialist Soviets. Russia is currently the social pariah of most countries due to having an uneliminable dictatorship and a policy of warmongering and imprisonment easily publicised thoughout the Western media. Russians in Pattaya, we are told, have come to escape Putin's victimisation and a totalitarian regime. But just as much, I reckon, to prosper inside a country that has lax tax laws and may sometimes turn a blind eye to self-employment by foriegners eager to supplement an undeclared source of income. But, I suspect, the Russians living in Thailand are not comparable to Russian dissidents escaped to Lithuania and Poland. Rather, I suspect, many are a species of wealthy 'economic refugees', with stowed away offshore assets, seeking a cheap place to live in a pleasant climate and a people famous for tolerance of unconventional lifestyles. Supporters of democracy and Navalny they are not. And, if so, we certainly have not heard much about it. The recent scurrilous-provoking behaviour by a peroxide blond (?) does nothing to further their integration into a fairly cosmopolitan country like Thailand, itself often divided concerning the infiltration of Western culture versus the traditional values of modesty, discretion and politeness. I considered several countries before coming to live in Thailand and am glad to say I made the right choice. Unlike some, I am lucky in my marriage to a Thai national - we look after each other in many ways and I am glad to contribute financially. But the issue of emigre Russians is something still to be understood. Some posters are quite right when they say the new Russians here are sullen and reserved - a nice way of saying they might turn out to be isolationists, amidst our mixed farang community of British, Americans, Germans, Swedish, Chinese, Singaporeans and others eager to get cheap street food and take inexpensive holidays when the occasion arises. Antisocial Russians? Anyone here to defend them? Including themselves? Which way will the wind blow? (All will be revealed.) John Graham Wilson (eumenades) is a retired college humanities teacher and an avid consumer of Kao Moo Dairng. https://assumptionuniv.academia.edu/JohnWilson https://mastodonapp.uk/@eumenades https://www.saatchiart.com/account/artworks/932640

I have paid more than that for a motorcycle traffic offence in Thailand!

In linguistics, the word 'farang' can be a fuzzy variable, often known as 'a floating signifier'.

Well said, Spider Mike.

Back to Putin?

Yes. So far, no apologies. I hope the NZ Embassy attempts to make ammends in this recent period of gross bad behaviour from Thailand's visitors. Most of us don't deserve these lousy reputations - broadcast by a rowdy few. The Thais have always treated me well and I try to reciprocate.

Many tourist locations around the world have a distaste for their visitors. They come and go and spend money but turn the place into a metropolis with no lasting social contacts. Then, there are the percentage who get drunk, shout in the streets after midnight and generally make themselves a niusance.

This sort of thing is getting more common and will do us all no good, especially with the lesser educated Thais who can jump to quick generalisations about foreigners.

Understandable, really. Kicking ladies legs is objectionable in any culture.