ChrisThailand1977

More than Thais, yes. Why? I don't know. Unconscious bias? Racism? Well, my other half is Thai. I'm definitely not racist. But for some reason I've become extremely suspicious of people's motives. Perhaps I've just read too many negative stories on forums like this... It's clouded my opinion and I admit it is probably ridiculous.

Nice to read that👍

That's an interesting point. I'll admit that I thought my experience would be a bit more positive. I'm horrified by the corruption and incompetence, and the environmental destruction, it's considerably worse than I thought. If I was an average Thai, I wouldn't be smiling much to be honest... They're treated like slaves by their own government and companies. But it's become a lot worse where I come from in the last 20 years. So that's not something that would make me leave necessarily. There are more important things in life. And there are good and bad people everywhere.

It's my own lived experience and I don't claim to have any insights at all

I just said I had a partner, and then the word "he". Should I have lied? I hate comments like this, as if I'm trying to draw attention to something just by mentioning it.

🤣🤣🤣 Well, I'm not ugly. But no model either. However, I think the perception of having money is more important. And I wear old clothes and I'm often somewhat unkempt. So that could be a reason people generally ignore me 🤣

I'm not surprised really. I must have hit on a nerve somewhere. I'd like to thank those who made useful and constructive comments and suggestions here and apologise if I haven't replied to them. But I have been reading them and appreciate it very much. My perspective has definitely changed somewhat and I can now see aspects that I hadn't previously considered. That's one point of this forum, isn't it? To exchange views and experience so that people can learn.

That would be my first assumption too... She's more concerned about her family or herself (understandably)

That's a ridiculous suggestion. My original thread had absolutely nothing to do with my being gay and I could just as well be straight. Is there a "heterosexual people in Thailand" forum too? Christ...

Just another observation: Seeing as this thread has got out of control already, I'm gonna throw caution to the wind. I've been called a grumpy old farang, which I have probably become in some ways 🤣 (actually, I'm a really nice guy!), but: - why do so many people here chuck their plastic waste everywhere without any regard for the environment? It really makes me despair. Thailand has such a beautiful landscape, or used to have in some places. Don't people care about the natural environment? My partner says it's because most people aren't educated about it and simply don't understand. And the corporations encourage it (single-use plastic etc.) When you peak behind hedgerows or trees it often looks like a garbage dump. It's so sad. Thoughts?

Right. But girls seem, generally speaking, more intelligent and capable. Boys are revered but don't bother learning much. Is that fair to say?

Wow, that's interesting. So the Thai culture is basically the polar opposite of German culture? Germans can definitely be selfish, but they tend to plan more instead of being spontaneous. That's something I have noticed here - people will just say 'yes, I can do that' and start doing it without thinking. Like tradesmen (electricians, plumbers, builders etc.). The number of times we've had to repeat things to them to make sure they will do what we want.... oh my god. And they'll tell us they can do something, but then it's quickly obvious they can't. Germans are *generally* more honest about their abilities.

Thanks, that made for interesting reading. I guess it's like anywhere, isn't it? People can smile for many different reasons. I also think some people are hiding a certain envy towards foreigners, some don't really like them (for whatever reason). That is the same or worse in Europe where I come from. The difference there is that it is hard to tell from someone's appearance whether they are foreigners nowadays. Yes, it is a developing country and I agree that those in power deperately need to be removed. The fatalistic attitude of Thais seems strange to me, but it is understandable given their history and the culture here. The way they are brought up plays a big role probably as well. Thanks for your comments!

Thanks for your advice Simon, I appreciate it. Bee has tried only speaking Thai with me. It works for a while and then he gets frustrated and reverts to German (he speaks English, too, but German is easier for him). Yes, I need a school so that I can learn the rules and the alphabet/writing system. From my experience, Thai people's level of English is extremely low. It's not their fault of course, as the education system is very badly funded and only people with money can get a decent education. In any case, I am the foreigner here so I should learn their language, not the other way around.

Thanks for replying Bob. I'm truly hoping you're wrong though. Honesty and integrity are two of my most cherished principles actually. Do you live here? Chris