The Only Farang

[Odysseus123]

9 minutes ago, ramrod711 said:

When we had been in our village for about 3 years I had never seen another farang here, I was sure I was the only one. Then a policeman came to our house, said he was documenting all the foreigners. Turns out there were 3, I still haven't met the others, although I am sure there are more than 3 now.

Yep.

 

They are all in hiding..

 

..and sending back to their loved ones over the sea"You will love it here..no-one speaks Dutch,German,Finnish,Swedish or..in fact..any other goddamn language on the planet.."

 

I Am really happy (click) I am really Happy (click) I am really....

[55Jay]

12 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Have you ever been anywhere in Thailand where you were the first farang to ever visit that town, city, etc.?

 

Are you the only farang that currently lives in your village or area?

 

Do you know of any areas in Thailand where there are no farangs and/or none that ever lived there?

 

My wife is from a small village in Isaan that is 38 km to the nearest 7-11.

 

There is nothing there, no stores, restaurants etc.

 

People are extremely poor and surviving job to job (Cutting rice, sugarcane, etc.)

 

Never saw one farang there ever

 

 Yeah, we've heard your traumatic life story plenty of times before, you don't have to keep re-telling it in the 3rd person like you weren't ever there.  LOL! 

[Acharn]

Well, I remember back about 1977 or 78 we went to some village near Lop Buri to pick up my stepdaughter why had been staying with some relatives. There were kids there who had never seen a farang, had to rub my arm to see if the powder came off. Right now I'm living in a neighborhood where there are no farangs, but when we go shopping at the Big C once a month I'll normally see one or two. Occasionally at Immigration, too, when I go to renew my extension or make my 90 day report. When I was living in Bangkok I lived in a neighborhood where no other farang lived, too. I think that's why I don't despise Thais, like so many other posters here seem to. I know lots, not very well, but well enough that they are actual people to me.

[Gillyflower]

I have quite a few Shan friends and a few years back, one of them invited me to spend some time with her family in their village,way up high somewhere.  I think it was Wiang Haeng, but am not sure.  We had a stop not far out of CM, everybody controlled.  Then up to near the village. we had five military stops.  Everybody out (except me) and everybody controlled (except me).  I was taken to meet many people in the village and was expected to eat and yuk, drink everywhere.  Came evening I was taken to the village square to have my head to toe wash (under a sarong) with all the other ladies. Breakfast was around the fire in front of the house.  Then I went to the Temple to meet the monks.  After, three of us, no helmets,  went on a scooter, along a highway to the nearest town for a meal.  During the afternoon, I think the whole village, particularly the kids, came to peek at me  The next day was my birthday, but I couldn't make them understand.  I forgot to say that my friend spoke very little English, reads no Thai and the villagers spoke  no Thai.  We had no verbal communication whatsoever, just hands and gestures.  We were four women, so I sent my friend off to buy some goodies to drink and eat.  By the time  we got going ,all the women of the village were there.  It was great.

[Lacessit]

I've never seen another falang in my GF's village, Amphur Phan south of Chiang Rai. So answer is most probably.

I don't know how many villages there are in Thailand; however, there seems to be one every 5km or so on every road. So I suppose it is statistically very likely if you are a falang in a Thai village, you will be the only one there.

[smotherb]

12 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

been traveling in thailand since the md 70's,( all over, by car, motorcycle,walking)  . doubt i was ever anywhere that i was the first Farang to visit.

still recall places treking where the kids took off crying thou. :-)

I tend to agree. I have traveled in Thailand from Chiang Rai to Naratiwat since 1967. I have been many places where I have not seen other farangs; however, to say I have been places where no other farang has ever been may be a stretch. I live in the largest city in the South, in an area where I am the only farang in residence; however, I don't have to go far to see other farangs. Fortunately, there are few other farangs who live here. Did those kids take-off crying before the shouted farang farang?

[Jdiddy]

6 hours ago, connda said:

The only farang? Yeah, I'm one of two farang living in a 35 km long valley in rural Lamphun province, so pretty much. 

 

I lived at an ex GF's house just off hwy 1033, 5 minutes past the railway for a few weeks, burnt through about 30GB of mobile data

 

Didnt realise WW2 POWs were involved in the railway around there

[samsensam]

 

i was one of only four foreigners living in a chinese city of 250,000. i was stared at constantly, shouted at regularly, pointed at, laughed at and followed round the supermarket as the contents of my shopping basket were, apparently, fascinating, and occasionally i was spat at.

 

on the plus side i had a lot of success with the local ladies

[stereolab]

In our fairly large village, there are only a handful of farang. No mixing of farang takes place, which suits me. Today my wife and I drove up to a very remote temple, and had lunch at the roadside, locals came to have a look at the farang, I cycle around local villages, off the beaten track and even now after 6 years, I have small kids running to see the farang, then running away. 

[tutsiwarrior]

ye know yer the only falang when folks look up and are startled when ye walk past...but I've been living in our small town for 15 years now (on and off between work assignments) and the neighbors say hello and the local shop people and the market vendors know me...

 

and that's enough familiarity fer me...invisibility is preferable...

 

market vendors: 'and what does he do with the vegetables that he buys?' stepdaughter: 'dunno, makes falang food, I suppose...'

 

the stepdaughter is actually quite chuffed to be associated with me but would never admit it...

 

 

Edited April 19, 2018 by tutsiwarrior

[Stargeezr]

Gik suggestion if you live in a village.

Geezer

[toofarnorth]

I went to Tha Wang Pha for Sonkran.  TWP is between Nan and Pua , there was a party on the second day in the village square , competitions like ' kick the oil can ' and ' who can eat a 1/4 of a water melon the quickest'   I was invited to give the prizes as the only falang that had appeared since last there last year.

Next day it was a visit to Ban Tham where there was a local dance going on , the way I was surrounded by the locals made me think I might have a twin on Love Destiny .

[ballpoint]

"I'm the only Farang in the village!"

[Aussieroaming]

On 19/04/2018 at 4:28 PM, Brunolem said:

Same here.

No farang around, as far as the eye can see...and the bicycle can go...

The first time I came to this village, almost 20 years ago, I arrived in the night, and the next morning all the villagers were waiting in front of the house...to see me, and more especially to touch my white skin!

Obviously, I was the first farang ever visiting...and since then there has only been one other, for only a few days...

More likely that they had never seen a walking ATM before ?...

[Brunolem]

30 minutes ago, Aussieroaming said:

More likely that they had never seen a walking ATM before ?...

They were not thinking like that at the time...this new mentality arose in the 90s and early 00s, when village girls started moving to Pattaya for easy money, and was made worse with Thaksin populist policies leading the villagers to believe that they could have the good life with little or no work...before that, credit (from the government) and sponsoring (by the stupid farangs) were unknown, and each baht had to be earned by hard work.

[Aussieroaming]

1 hour ago, Brunolem said:

They were not thinking like that at the time...this new mentality arose in the 90s and early 00s, when village girls started moving to Pattaya for easy money, and was made worse with Thaksin populist policies leading the villagers to believe that they could have the good life with little or no work...before that, credit (from the government) and sponsoring (by the stupid farangs) were unknown, and each baht had to be earned by hard work.

That was a tongue in cheek comment by me, but good comeback regardless

[connda]

On 4/19/2018 at 9:16 PM, Jdiddy said:

 

I lived at an ex GF's house just off hwy 1033, 5 minutes past the railway for a few weeks, burnt through about 30GB of mobile data

 

Didnt realise WW2 POWs were involved in the railway around there

You were southwest of Maeta if on 1033.  I'm northeast on 1230 pretty much surrounded by Doi Khun Tan National Park.  Beautiful valley outside of the burn season.