samuibeachcomber

Denying service based on nationality, I suppose that is legal here, but it seems very extreme and not really necessary. There is a hotel I regularly visit (to eat at) in which half of their customers are Indian. Culturally, they are just different. They are usually direct and to the point and not very smiley. It is not fair to say all of them or a majority are intolerably difficult. I wouldn't ask Thai people about Indians, they are in general very prejudiced against Indians for irrational reasons such as they think their curries are "wrong". I would hope as farangs we don't fall into this bigotry trap. If certain individuals of ANY nationality are outrageous in their demands, just put the foot down and deal with these individuals. Indian tourism is too large a growing market for many businesses to even afford being so closed minded.

I wonder if the same people who think it is okie dokie to deny service to Indians just based on nationality are the very same people who feel the same way about Israelis. This kind of bigotry is not attractive, folks.

i dont really think its bigotry,no one has to put up with rude,overbearing people,who rightly or wrongly just keep complaining and continually demand attention.due to western political correctness it is deemed wrong to voice an opinion with regards to race incase it might upset them.........time to stand up and be counted in my opinion and say it like it is.people need to get some thicker skins.........my 2 cents worth.

I don't think pointing out certain idiocincracities is racist. I for one, having lived on Taiwan for 20 years, can say with some authority that many (but not all) people from there, and also from the mainland, can be horrible travelers. Luckily, not many mainlanders come here.

As for the Indians, the fact is that they don't make up anything like the lion's share of nationalities here so you can always refer to the owner's right to refuse service to anyone as they see fit. I don't think you'll go under having not kowtowed to an Indian or two.

Or...take the Thai way of doing things: if you complain to a Thai, most often you get, "GO SOMEWHERE ELSE THEN!" I have almost never seen anything resembling, "The customer is always right," here. It's basically, "It's my shop and I can do what I dam_n well please, and if you want to complain, go the hel_l somewhere else."

could n't agree more.

no problem hope you have a good time.

visa side of things are fine,the boats are basic but you will all get a seat,its more of an adventure creature comforts are not part of it for example you will have to take your own food and drink on board but it is fun.the first day from luang prabang takes 9 hours to prakbang and the same again to hua sai.when you are in vientiane you can book the bus to luang prabang with any agent and they will pick you up at your hotel and take you to the bus,you get to LB about 6pm,there are many guest houses and hotels for around 600 baht a night upwards.LB is a beautiful place,used to be the old capital,easy to walk around or hire a bicycle,the town hugs the mekong river and is surrounded by mountains,gets cool at night.the 2 day boat trip takes you up th mekong and the scenery is beautiful,when you arrive at prakbang after day 1 on the boat you walk up the hill to th town,its only about 50 metres from the boat and is a 1 street town with guest houses and cafe's,and a few massage places,kosher ones as far as i remember.at the end of the second day you arrive at hua sai too late to cross over to thailand so stay the night there and cross over next day.you actually come into thailand north of chang rai which is 1 hour bus ride away.its an adventure and i can recommend it.LB is worth a stay of 2-3 days.

I tok a bus from vientiane to luang prabang,long trip 9 hours but very scenic,about 600baht.i guess you could fly local laos airline.are you flying back to chang mai?

I was planning to go by Road ... unless the roads are very Bad.

Are you recommending Flying? (It would avoid any Visa on Arrival problems at the Border).

depends what visa you are getting in vientiane?from luang prabang i took a boat up to hua sai,fantastic trip took 2 days and travels up the mekong river,scenery brilliant,stayed 1 night in a small town called prakbang,then stayed overnight in hua sai before getting a long boat across the mekong back into thailand,can recommend doing it this way.

I tok a bus from vientiane to luang prabang,long trip 9 hours but very scenic,about 600baht.i guess you could fly local laos airline.are you flying back to chang mai?

I'm not writing this put down indian tourist or anything this is just from my experience serving them so far. I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion and entitled to

Good Service

and Allowed if conditions be for a refund if necessary

Have had many indian tourists during the year, and no matter what they always seem to have the highest rate of complants, I wouldn't still be in business this long if I didn't try to make the customer happy. ( NOTE been in business for 4 years. All complants and problems will happen I am aware, but they seem never to be satisfied with anything, and always asking for refunds. I will serve them as a customer but my experience so far makes me wonder is thailand ready for a people who are never happy or satisfied. I guess only 5 - 6 Stars hotels might be able to help them who knows. I've dealt with Germans, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese have far few and little compliments. Maybe its just me but any ideas on how to deal with this people, YES i am aware always improving customer experience and service is the best thing.

1. Have you dealt with indian tourists

2. How to manage to give them service them effectively and make them happy

3. Any bad experiences with them if so what?

I've done free room upgrades / free breakfast/ 30 min free massage to them.

try the fawlty tower approach that should stop them in their tracks.

yes i know and i appreciate you have to do this.

well i see everyone's behaving themselves but its a pity no one is really allowed to say what they really feel.

it was n't reported cos he did n't fall from a balcony and was not sensational enough maybe?

when you've got no money left!

hi mattias,where did you here this?If its true that would be a big blow not only to herbert.

To reply to limbos...

For starters, it isn't 20 years ago, and I never said that I thought that having no tourism was essential (although that is another thought, but irrelevant since it's like saying that without Joseph Bazalgette, London would still be a disease-ridden and very odiferous place).

I am not sure what you mean by "working hard"; perhaps you could elaborate. Most of the workers here in Lamai, at any rate, are in the sex trade, or are you talking about the hard-working farang bosses?

Look, I am not saying that some people are not earnest in trying to make a go of things (in fact, I'd say that everyone hopes to turn a profit), but frankly, this "compassion" angle doesn't move me. I didn't require anyone to set up a business here, nor do I care if they succeed or fail. (This is different from wishing for success or failure, I might point out.)

I doubt that the last time you went somewhere and it was overcrowded you thought, "This may be the pits for me and my family, but I am so happy for the hard-working and honest merchants!" You thought, "Christ, I wish there weren't so many people here. Sure would be nicer if there were fewer tourists here."

I believe that psychological egoism is always at work, but that it often manifests itself in the form of ethical egoism (take the instance of diving into treacherous waters to save a stranger from drowning). So in essence, I am not wishing ill for anyone, but simply have no interest in their businesses unless it will affect me, directly or indirectly. And I should mention that if a few resorts go under, a few bars close, a few eateries shutter their doors or an Internet shop or two go belly up, it will have nothing to do with me. So I don't care.

Samui is, if nothing else, full of clones -- how many bars do we need? How many prostitutes make it fun enough for the horndogs? How many T-shirt/bangles/pirate DVDs/carved soap flowers...the last time I counted (and this was a while ago) there were 18 tailor shops on the beach road in Lamai (about 1.7km). Should I be compassionate toward the Burmese working there? What if this slowdown forces some of them to close? Gosh, I'm getting weepy just thinking about it...Oh, and what about those poor flower girls? Or the beach hawkers? Should they be on my "compassion radar"?

And I was first in Thailand in 1986 -- God knows how I survived without all the tourist infrastructure that I apparently owe my stay here now to.

If you have a business here Limbos, more power to you. If you do well, fine; if not, too bad. Whatever.

Good post Mark.

no matter how you decide to dress up your opinions they always come across to me as self centred and i'm alright jack bugger the rest.

"self-centered"... ....right ...WHINE some more, then take a look in the mirror!!...again, good post Mark! merry christmas to you and beachcomber and "jack bugger"!

maybe by tomorrow you will be less thaierd.

do you have point? please, do tell or, as I am sure the moderators would agree...don't waste our time.

what is this "our business" do you feel that important!

To reply to limbos...

For starters, it isn't 20 years ago, and I never said that I thought that having no tourism was essential (although that is another thought, but irrelevant since it's like saying that without Joseph Bazalgette, London would still be a disease-ridden and very odiferous place).

I am not sure what you mean by "working hard"; perhaps you could elaborate. Most of the workers here in Lamai, at any rate, are in the sex trade, or are you talking about the hard-working farang bosses?

Look, I am not saying that some people are not earnest in trying to make a go of things (in fact, I'd say that everyone hopes to turn a profit), but frankly, this "compassion" angle doesn't move me. I didn't require anyone to set up a business here, nor do I care if they succeed or fail. (This is different from wishing for success or failure, I might point out.)

I doubt that the last time you went somewhere and it was overcrowded you thought, "This may be the pits for me and my family, but I am so happy for the hard-working and honest merchants!" You thought, "Christ, I wish there weren't so many people here. Sure would be nicer if there were fewer tourists here."

I believe that psychological egoism is always at work, but that it often manifests itself in the form of ethical egoism (take the instance of diving into treacherous waters to save a stranger from drowning). So in essence, I am not wishing ill for anyone, but simply have no interest in their businesses unless it will affect me, directly or indirectly. And I should mention that if a few resorts go under, a few bars close, a few eateries shutter their doors or an Internet shop or two go belly up, it will have nothing to do with me. So I don't care.

Samui is, if nothing else, full of clones -- how many bars do we need? How many prostitutes make it fun enough for the horndogs? How many T-shirt/bangles/pirate DVDs/carved soap flowers...the last time I counted (and this was a while ago) there were 18 tailor shops on the beach road in Lamai (about 1.7km). Should I be compassionate toward the Burmese working there? What if this slowdown forces some of them to close? Gosh, I'm getting weepy just thinking about it...Oh, and what about those poor flower girls? Or the beach hawkers? Should they be on my "compassion radar"?

And I was first in Thailand in 1986 -- God knows how I survived without all the tourist infrastructure that I apparently owe my stay here now to.

If you have a business here Limbos, more power to you. If you do well, fine; if not, too bad. Whatever.

Good post Mark.

no matter how you decide to dress up your opinions they always come across to me as self centred and i'm alright jack bugger the rest.

"self-centered"... ....right ...WHINE some more, then take a look in the mirror!!...again, good post Mark! merry christmas to you and beachcomber and "jack bugger"!

maybe by tomorrow you will be less thaierd.

The place is a joke. I went in with breathing probs, the quack xrayed my neck and said I need an mri scan. I walked out went to a pharmasy shop and bought some tabs, 5 days latter I was ok.

Last time I was in Pattaya Memorial, I had to take my GF as she was VERY sick. I represented myself as the BF and they made me sign as the financial guarantor (No big deal - I considered it my responsibility to take care of her). While I was there, I sought reassurance from medical staff that she was being treated well and that she would pull through quickly and successfully. They pretty much ignored me for the entire time (for the few days that she was admitted) until it was time to pay; then they were all over me in a somewhat threatening manner. I pulled the money out of my pocket and handed it over in payment, and then they all left. It was a pretty bad experience. I received the proverbial "walking-ATM" treatment the entire time.

Has a similar experience a few years ago: My friend got involved in a serious motorbike crash, kissed the asphalt with his right ear, and ended up in PM, pretty lifeless. They called me and I appeared. At that time they were busy keeping him alive with the breathing balloon. After half an hour of treating and pumping, they decided that he should be transferred to Chonburi Hospital, because of the scan-possibilities there.

They shoved my friend in an ambulance, but the bloody car wouldn't move until I paid for the treatment and the ride to Chonburi. I still wonder what would have happened, if I wasn't there at that time.

like most thais on their own with no money they would probably die and the hospital would n't care.no pay no treatment life is cheap and in buddhism you come back again anyway so whats the problem.that i believe is the attitude correct me if i'n wrong.

To reply to limbos...

For starters, it isn't 20 years ago, and I never said that I thought that having no tourism was essential (although that is another thought, but irrelevant since it's like saying that without Joseph Bazalgette, London would still be a disease-ridden and very odiferous place).

I am not sure what you mean by "working hard"; perhaps you could elaborate. Most of the workers here in Lamai, at any rate, are in the sex trade, or are you talking about the hard-working farang bosses?

Look, I am not saying that some people are not earnest in trying to make a go of things (in fact, I'd say that everyone hopes to turn a profit), but frankly, this "compassion" angle doesn't move me. I didn't require anyone to set up a business here, nor do I care if they succeed or fail. (This is different from wishing for success or failure, I might point out.)

I doubt that the last time you went somewhere and it was overcrowded you thought, "This may be the pits for me and my family, but I am so happy for the hard-working and honest merchants!" You thought, "Christ, I wish there weren't so many people here. Sure would be nicer if there were fewer tourists here."

I believe that psychological egoism is always at work, but that it often manifests itself in the form of ethical egoism (take the instance of diving into treacherous waters to save a stranger from drowning). So in essence, I am not wishing ill for anyone, but simply have no interest in their businesses unless it will affect me, directly or indirectly. And I should mention that if a few resorts go under, a few bars close, a few eateries shutter their doors or an Internet shop or two go belly up, it will have nothing to do with me. So I don't care.

Samui is, if nothing else, full of clones -- how many bars do we need? How many prostitutes make it fun enough for the horndogs? How many T-shirt/bangles/pirate DVDs/carved soap flowers...the last time I counted (and this was a while ago) there were 18 tailor shops on the beach road in Lamai (about 1.7km). Should I be compassionate toward the Burmese working there? What if this slowdown forces some of them to close? Gosh, I'm getting weepy just thinking about it...Oh, and what about those poor flower girls? Or the beach hawkers? Should they be on my "compassion radar"?

And I was first in Thailand in 1986 -- God knows how I survived without all the tourist infrastructure that I apparently owe my stay here now to.

If you have a business here Limbos, more power to you. If you do well, fine; if not, too bad. Whatever.

Good post Mark.

no matter how you decide to dress up your opinions they always come across to me as self centred and i'm alright jack bugger the rest.

your question to loosecannon is really for another topic.basically i believe over the last 30 years the world has become a very selfish place,and its no different in thailand.in years gone by there were more checks and balances.for example divorce was quite difficult to get and the religions of the world had more moral authority.since the advent of technology,the credit card,and in general consumerism,the new religion has become money,and the church has become irrelevant.govts.have made divorce easy,women now have better jobs than men and often are paid more........women in the west really dont need men anymore(generalising here ok)

Now in thailand its different for the majority of thai women.firstly education is poor so they dont have the skills necessary to find well paid jobs,their men walk out of relationships wether married or not and leave them to support the children and of course there is no govt.welfare to support mother's with children.now this is where we come into the equation cos they need some financial security and if they are good women they in turn will look after you and that i guess is what a lot of us are looking for so its a good deal.

but the danger is some thai women will prey on guys looking for emotional security and try and extract vast amounts of money as soon as they meet you with lame excuses,and as i said before once you start dishing out it can be difficult to stop.so like in the west you need to take time to get to know someone first and if they do start asking for unreasonable amounts of money its time to do a runner.there are many good thai ladies as there are many good falangs but it can take time to find the right one.fools rush in where angels fear to tread comes to mind.i hope you find what you are looking for,just dont rush it ok.

At least she knows how to run a business with a low cost, high profit formula.

and when things get tough she can give the other minister a massage,maybe thats where greasing the palms comes in handy too.

very interesting and honest post loosecannon,its something i never thought of,am here now and very happy and love living here more than i did in australia but maybe those still in OZ and thinking of coming to thailand to find a wife/girlfriend will think again after reading your post,especially right now as its more expensive to come to thailand with the exchange rate as it is.sometimes i think australia is quite a cheap place to live too,except for rents and property prices.

F1fanatic,only bigots,and the self righteous would see "thailand and its apalling reputation" in this way and there are thousands of them out there and they make me sick with their hypocracy.

the OP like most of us who are here has become fed up with the way many western women have become,not very feminine anymore.

some will say no no no you should plan for your retirement,make sure you have enough to survive for you might live to a ripe old age,and of course this is one way to look at it.another way to look at it is this,you could plod along in a job you hate in a country you no longer enjoy,knowing there is another country you would rather live in but are perhaps a little frightened to make the move.

I am a believer "in not putting off until tomorrow what you can do today" life can be too short.

if you can"wing it"financially now then "just do it"with one other proviso,health care in thailand is not cheap.forget the local govt. hospitals for serious stuff.the private hospitals are good but oh so expensive without health insurance,and from my research to get decent cover in your 50's your looking at 70,000 baht per annum minimum.

fortune favours the brave!

just come for a holiday first and check things out,but beware we are initially seen as atm machines and once you begin giving out the dosh it can be hard to say no everytime a request is made.

the great thing about living in thailand and especially here on Samui is if times are tough you can still have a great life here,eating thai food is really cheap,renting is cheap too,electricity is cheap and the weather's warm.of course going out to western restaurants,bars and the women can change all that,just have to cut the cloth etc etc.

Those in the know already knew

so what are you saying?dont bother to post.it was a good trip and i like to post positive responses.i appreciated all the comments to my original post,ngative feedback too.

Just a poke in the eye to Herbert detractors.

Happy you posted it and happy your experience was positive as was mine.

sorry i took your comment the wrong way.

yes i was really glad i made the decision to do the trip,and everyone seemed to get on well and there were some humorous moments too.cheers.