How to politely turn down sellers in Thailand?

[sanemax]

3 minutes ago, roo860 said:

Short shorts.

 

Ah OK. I dont wear short shorts or vests and I would never wear any clothes with an alcohol logo on it 

[roo860]

Actually all this about avoiding eye contact, speaking Thai is not as effective as what the British used to do during the Colonial Days, there answer to this irritating trait by the local natives was to get one of the lower rank soldiers to beat the hawkers to death with a rifle butt. This seemed to work very well, but am sure the Human Rights brigade would have something to say if this solution was used today.

 

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[sanemax]

8 minutes ago, roo860 said:

Actually all this about avoiding eye contact, speaking Thai is not as effective as what the British used to do during the Colonial Days, there answer to this irritating trait by the local natives was to get one of the lower rank soldiers to beat the hawkers to death with a rifle butt.

I do not believe that 

[roo860]

I do not believe that 

Yes I must admit I was slightly exaggerating, they used a tent pole instead.

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[sanemax]

3 minutes ago, roo860 said:

Yes I must admit I was slightly exaggerating, they used a tent pole instead.

 

You still need to lower your exaggeration 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

   Some people may just like the attention and the brief companionship

Indeed. I for one enjoy chatting with people I don't know. I find it a good way to learn more. 

I also say hello when I enter a store, I do that with smile and look in the eyes of the other person. 

 

 

 

[roo860]

You still need to lower your exaggeration 

Ok Ok, they didn't beat them to death, just slightly inconvenienced them, how's that?

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[sanemax]

7 minutes ago, oilinki said:

Indeed. I for one enjoy chatting with people I don't know. I find it a good way to learn more. 

I do find it rather monotonous when the chat consists of "Do you want to buy a whatever" and a reply of "No. I dont" .

   But I suppose that they are quite convenient, if you just want a random person to talk to

Edited February 21, 2018 by sanemax
addition

[CG1 Blue]

3 hours ago, oilinki said:

I also say hello when I enter a store, I do that with smile and look in the eyes of the other person. 

That's one way to guarantee they'll leave you alone

[Acemaker]

On 2/20/2018 at 10:39 AM, politetraveler32 said:

Well, i'm more of a passive aggressive type of person. Sometimes I can't ignore someone if they annoy me too much :/

Do you live in Pattaya.    

[Acemaker]

On 2/20/2018 at 2:55 PM, seancbk said:

 

This is the only answer I would recommend.

I just smile and wave my hand to say not interested.   

Agreed.

[Acemaker]

On 2/20/2018 at 6:35 PM, sanemax said:

Problem is when you spend all day saying "no" and shaking your head . It becomes annoying.

    Are you polite to people who harass you, just because you are scared of upsetting them ? 

All day saying No, what are you talking about,  what an exciting life you must lead hanging around Street selling areas all day, the difference is he has class and your just the sort of Farang people avoid like the plague.

[sanemax]

10 hours ago, Acemaker said:

All day saying No, what are you talking about,  what an exciting life you must lead hanging around Street selling areas all day, the difference is he has class and your just the sort of Farang people avoid like the plague.

Well , I do live in a central area , with numerous hotels in the vicinity , on a bad day , I would walk out in the morning to get breakfast and I would get asked 10 times where I was going and whether I wanted a taxi , or whether I wanted to go on a tour that day , asked 10 times on the way to breakfast and asked 10 times on the way home .

   Walking somewhere in the daytime , every suit making shop, which there are many , would ask whether I wanted a suit made , every massage shop would have girls outside asking whether I wanted a massage .

   If I went to the local town square , there would be numerous asks whether I wanted to buy bird/fish food , or to buy a toy .

   Sitting in a bar at night , there would be a constant flow of people asking whether I wanted to buy flowers , peanuts , souvenirs or just asking for money  or various other things and I have never wanted anything on offer . And then theres the constant shouts of "Tuk'tuk" from the passing tuk-tuks

   So, all day and night long saying "No" to people .

These sellers are not being polite and friendly , they are just trying to make business .

  Some of the suit sellers greet you like you are their best mate , shaking hands , asking your life story , telling you theirs and then after ten minutes they ask whether you need a suit , as I dont , by speaking to them, I'm just wasting their time as well as mine .

   Some tourists may like the attention and like to meet "real" Indians in Thailand , after living here for  while , it just becomes a constant hassle , saying No, no, no, a hundred times a day

[MyFriend You]

On 2/20/2018 at 3:48 AM, colinneil said:

How to politely turn down sellers?

Easy..... Learn 3 words,mai mee tang, they soon go away, leave you alone.

Mai mee tang,  English, got no money.

 Mai mee tang is pretty crude talk, might elicit a slap in the face.......roughly means something like "No Way Jose".........   Khup Kuhn, Mai Ow would be a better choice.

 

maybe you meant 'mai mee satang' ??   peace.

Edited February 23, 2018 by TunnelRat69

[Justfine]

Paeng

Mai Ao Khrup

 

Farang Kii Niaw

 

Mai pen rai

 

La Gone

 

 

 

[Justfine]

On 22/02/2018 at 12:41 PM, sanemax said:

Well , I do live in a central area , with numerous hotels in the vicinity , on a bad day , I would walk out in the morning to get breakfast and I would get asked 10 times where I was going and whether I wanted a taxi , or whether I wanted to go on a tour that day , asked 10 times on the way to breakfast and asked 10 times on the way home .

   Walking somewhere in the daytime , every suit making shop, which there are many , would ask whether I wanted a suit made , every massage shop would have girls outside asking whether I wanted a massage .

   If I went to the local town square , there would be numerous asks whether I wanted to buy bird/fish food , or to buy a toy .

   Sitting in a bar at night , there would be a constant flow of people asking whether I wanted to buy flowers , peanuts , souvenirs or just asking for money  or various other things and I have never wanted anything on offer . And then theres the constant shouts of "Tuk'tuk" from the passing tuk-tuks

   So, all day and night long saying "No" to people .

These sellers are not being polite and friendly , they are just trying to make business .

  Some of the suit sellers greet you like you are their best mate , shaking hands , asking your life story , telling you theirs and then after ten minutes they ask whether you need a suit , as I dont , by speaking to them, I'm just wasting their time as well as mine .

   Some tourists may like the attention and like to meet "real" Indians in Thailand , after living here for  while , it just becomes a constant hassle , saying No, no, no, a hundred times a day

Touts are downright rude. No need to be super polite back. Best to ignore them or mumble something in Spanish or French which confuses them or say mai ao.

[asanee]

Just use 1 only: buy that T-shirt (also very populair in India/Nepal etc) that says it all; NO sales, NO tuktuk, NO massage etc. text may vary slightly.

Its not a particular problem at all in normal BKK-only in real touristic places with too many englishmen worrying about still having to be polite. Most of the pushy vendors are not Thai at all, more like Burmese, nepali or even chinese. Perhaps better to change destination..... (inside TH)