Whenever a foreigner is sat down, there is always an empty space next to him/her. Sometimes I've even seen when a foreigner takes a seat next to a Thai they immediately up and move to another seat. I was just on a short trip on a boat and met some classy Taiwanese women there and they couldn't get enough of me, asking questions, friendly, curious, one of them even asked for my phone number, which I politely declined. Definitely a stark contrast between the two experiences, and one that has given me food for thought!.