i have traveled past 20 years in china  and all Asia country's   many times  each year

now lived los 14yrs 

you were greeted with smiles and respect years ago 

now china and most Asian country's treat you with  a sour look 

and i am not from usa  why?

 

 

MAYBE THEY THINK you are from the USA..!

Perhaps you have changed.

Do you shower everyday?

I'm confused, what difference would it make if you were from the USA?


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Maybe they now have middle class stress and have no reason to smile.

Development, better education, relative affluence as compared to the past, low cost air travel, and most of all, internet & social media have all contributed. The natives are no longer in great awe of the rich white skinned farang. Due to the influx of economic migrants from the west, they have realised that there are poor and low educated farangs also.

Edited January 25, 20188 yr by saakura

Try Burma especially the smaller towns. I am in Dawei at present and local folk are brilliant. Simple smile and a 'mingalapar' and you get the same in return.

Well I will give a few comments I can remember

 

* Teenage girl all done up getting photo's taken by boyfriend against fence on the street next door (of course I'm looking ) girl worried - Boyfriend > Don't worry he's only a Farang

 

* Getting electric gate put in - Trade Assistant > He thinks we're shit Trady > Mai Pen Rai

You need to earn respect now, with the massive influx of westerners over the last 20  years Asians have been exposed to some pretty bad behaving westerners.

 

The smile thing is still all around in rural areas. My wife calls the Thai smile the bullshit smile, it never meant anything. 

 

In the area I live I have not noticed any reduction in friendliness over the last 15 years, but there are a lot more westerners and plenty get very drunk in public. Maybe Thais used to think we were more respectable, now they know we are not much different to them.

Perhaps the OP is looking at it from a "white privilege" point of view.  It used to be that Asian folks kissed-up to westerners.  But not anymore.  They just treat everyone as an equal.  Some folks can't handle that.

15 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

Perhaps the OP is looking at it from a "white privilege" point of view.  It used to be that Asian folks kissed-up to westerners. 

They did?  When was this?

 You know what they say 'Familiarity breeds contempt" 

I would suspect that many Asians have seen western "Reality" TV programs, giving them the impression that we are all as dumb as a box of rocks.

42 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

Perhaps the OP is looking at it from a "white privilege" point of view.  It used to be that Asian folks kissed-up to westerners.  But not anymore.  They just treat everyone as an equal.  Some folks can't handle that.

I'm not sure I've ever been to an Asian country where everyone was treated as equals.

I'm not sure if it was my race or my job or my role as a customer that determined my position in the hierarchy, but in my experience no-one is equal to anyone else, except in some cafeterias.

 

SC

there is good and bad in life , you want get a smile all the time, but you are right things changed for past years . enjoy it  

They don't need a foreign passport anymore.

To answer the question that you asked. 

Its because you were not born there or are a legal resident there. 

Thats why.  

10 hours ago, opalred said:

and i am not from usa  why?

because you were born elsewhere 

11 hours ago, opalred said:

now china and most Asian country's treat you with  a sour look 

Was in China last year, everyone was extremely polite and helpful.

I'm often in the Philippines, can't believe how polite they are, "Enjoy your stay Boss" from the men, "Thank you Sir", from the women.

 

 

Thailand and Laos, not so much.

MOBILE PHONES.......I blame everything on the mobile phone,.555

PS.....an Ad. for mobile phones just appeared as I wrote the words ....modern technolegy....proves my point really!

Edited January 26, 20188 yr by dotpoom

I'd guess it may be a number of factors, not limited to following items: air travel is cheaper (not saying all with lower wages are louts, BTW), far more Russians can travel now (met some lovely ones, but parts of their general culture probably grates more harshly against Asian values), and just sheer numbers. Not so sure if only farang tourists getting chillier welcome, may just lump us all in category "tourists" be they Euro-ish, African, Chinese, Indian, etc etc

If many of the farangs attitudes or here, reflect their attitudes in everyday life towards the locals, i am not surprised they treat farangs with a sour look.

10 hours ago, patrick1968 said:

there is good and bad in life , you want get a smile all the time, but you are right things changed for past years . enjoy it  

Exactly right. Enjoy your own life with your friends and family. Be polite and courteous but don't worry about what others think or do.

I don't know, call me old fashioned if you want but to me love and respect has always been earned through trust. When you have been accepted.

 

I have always preferred being treated with indifference rather than facing a false smile, at least you know where you stand.

 

But yes OP, over the last 30 years of living and visiting here attitude has changed towards us through a number of reasons. More exposure through greater numbers, different patterns of tourist type and perhaps the greatest changer of all the internet. Here they can see us for what we really are before actually having to meet us..................

Are you surprised?  Cheap air travel has flooded Asia with people who just dont know how to act in another culture.  it may be slightly racist to say it nowadays, but sets of peoples ,  more used to a more  totalitarian/religious based systems of government, are the worst of all in projecting bad manners and a total disregard for cultural  sensitivities.  The Thais don't seem to make any distinction between farangs from different countries, so we westerners all get tared by the same brush. They are equally  dismissive of other  regional visitors who don't know how to conduct themselves.   

12 hours ago, mick220675 said:

You need to earn respect now, with the massive influx of westerners over the last 20  years Asians have been exposed to some pretty bad behaving westerners.

 

The smile thing is still all around in rural areas. My wife calls the Thai smile the bullshit smile, it never meant anything. 

 

In the area I live I have not noticed any reduction in friendliness over the last 15 years, but there are a lot more westerners and plenty get very drunk in public. Maybe Thais used to think we were more respectable, now they know we are not much different to them.

 

Agree very much... 

 

20 - 30 years ago someone coming to asia was generally well off, international travel to SE asia was more restricted. There was of course the hippy backpackers, but even then probably more in tune with locals and islands. 

 

Fast forward to now and the volume of penny pinching budget travellers, bogan / chav pissheads and mongers, and penny pinching pensioners who under estimated cost of living long term.. And you have a serious change in the class and hence perception of the visitor. I am sure there was also badly behaved visitors back then but your average Thai didnt see it on youtube all day, there was still a mystery and cache to us / them. 

 

People where I am up north are still superficially friendly and pleasant, thats enough for me.. As said a Thai smile isnt really what we think it may be, but when handled right theres still good easy interactions to be had. I struggle with high volume tourist areas these days, the smile and friendlyness is very worn out and all thats left is money extraction, sure the beaches are nice, and it still takes good images and photos but the pleasantness of the interaction is so much harder to find. 

Why should Asians "show love and respect" for farang? All of Asia bar Thailand were controlled or colonised by Western nations, and some of the colonial regimes were cruel.

It is for farang to try to show that they are worthy of decent treatment, not to expect it as a right.

I find that you get back what you give out...

 

if I remember correctly, you complained and were angry when people said their version of "Hello" to you... "pie nai" which you interpreted literally... and got annoyed. If you can be angered so easily, in a society where calm and gentleness and non-confrontation are highly valued; well, it is no wonder you do not find it so friendly. 

Has the OP never looked at the examples of farangs in Thailand recently? I don't have "love and respect" for many farangs I see, so I don't expect Thais to.

If you think there ever was love for farangs, you live in la-la land.

Thais are among the most xenophobic people in the world, but they love money, so when they were poor they 'loved' the rich farang.

Now, that they are not so poor anymore, 'love' is on the wane.