Why do farangs come to Thailand if they dislike Thais and "Thainess?"

[joeyg]

On 5/3/2018 at 11:22 AM, MaeJoMTB said:

You take your wife into town, shouldn't she be at home looking after the house and your children?

 

I gave up on letting my wife mix with foreigners, they invariably had a Thai (former?) hooker with them.

I don't want my wife mixing with foreigners or prostitutes.

Good idea!!!

[DavidAlexander]

Whenever you really want to bitch about Thailand, go live in a China a few months. I worked there about 4 years, 3.5 years too long. Also, a lot of people here sound like friends I had in the US when working. They bitched non-stop about their job or boss. My advice is the same, "if you hate it so much go somewhere else."

[joeyg]

On 5/5/2018 at 7:40 AM, 473geo said:

Would that be the chicken or the Bacon?

 

Both are horrible foods IMHO. I wouldn't consider giving either fit for human consumption. However since the children are use regularly as airbags on motor scooters the bacon would be probably better at fattening them up better. Hence having an improved airbag/s on your scooter at the time of your accident.

[joeyg]

6 hours ago, DavidAlexander said:

Whenever you really want to bitch about Thailand, go live in a China a few months. I worked there about 4 years, 3.5 years too long. Also, a lot of people here sound like friends I had in the US when working. They bitched non-stop about their job or boss. My advice is the same, "if you hate it so much go somewhere else."

In 2016, After I retired, I worked in India six months volunteering with an NGO organization involved in Child Protection. It was in the West Bengal area we worked with the CID in Kolkata and towards the end with Interpol. Everyone in India is corrupt and West Bengal is a filthy dirty disgusting cesspool.  I have spent some time in China I guess it's a coin toss which one is filthier really.

[thaibeachlovers]

18 hours ago, joeyg said:

In 2016, After I retired, I worked in India six months volunteering with an NGO organization involved in Child Protection. It was in the West Bengal area we worked with the CID in Kolkata and towards the end with Interpol. Everyone in India is corrupt and West Bengal is a filthy dirty disgusting cesspool.  I have spent some time in China I guess it's a coin toss which one is filthier really.

Common denominator between India and China. Both have populations over 1 billion.

Humans are rapidly overbreeding themselves into extermination by Gaia.

[darksidedog]

A number of inflammatory Posts have been removed.

[FruitPudding]

A suntan maybe.

 

Could be the weather, cost of living, family, friends, work, study, food, adventure, healthcare, females, shemales, beaches, muay thai, tax purposes, investment, business, beerbumming, slow life, party scene.....etc etc.

 

All good reasons.

 

It doesn't have to be for the love of the culture. I didn't come here for that and it isn't why I am staying.

 

Why does a Thai go to the UK or US -- probably for their own reasons, which I'd bet has nothing to do with loving the local people.

[Joe Mcseismic]

They come for the women and stay for the food......

[Hummin]

11 minutes ago, FruitPudding said:

 

Why does a Thai go to the UK or US -- probably for their own reasons, which I'd bet has nothing to do with loving the local people.

They come for selling their honey to get money. 

 

I would say they come for the lifestyle and possibilities our world can give them. As security, freedom, money, and some do it for a better life for their kids. 

 

 

7 minutes ago, Joe Mcseismic said:

They come for the women and stay for the food......

Well, we all have our different reasons. There is many places there is women, but the combination clima, food, cheap, and women, is a solid one, yess. 

 

 

Not always just black and white 

[dcnx]

I have zero love for Thais, Thai culture, or Thainess. I came for business and opportunity. 

 

This is is my last year and I can’t wait to leave. Made a lot of money over the years and now it’s time to take that money and retire somewhere nice and sane. I actually feel sorry for those of you who are too old to leave or are stuck here. Good luck to you. 

[Shiver]

15 minutes ago, dcnx said:

I have zero love for Thais, Thai culture, or Thainess. I came for business and opportunity. 

 

This is is my last year and I can’t wait to leave. Made a lot of money over the years and now it’s time to take that money and retire somewhere nice and sane. I actually feel sorry for those of you who are too old to leave or are stuck here. Good luck to you. 

I'm not stuck here for anything like my missus (as much as I love her), because if she won't join me that's her answer.  The dogs don't get a say, and that is a biggie.  Even human babies have some say (and eventually taxes). 

In my case, income moves with me as it doesn't come from here, however small or decent it may be. 

I don't subscribe too much to Thai anything really.  I've done my time here and ready to move (13 years in a couple of weeks time).  If single then I wouldn't be here already, but "no person left behind" and all that (unless they want to).

Like many, other Asian countries and Latin America are becoming much more appealing these days...

 

[SteveK]

2 hours ago, Shiver said:

Like many, other Asian countries and Latin America are becoming much more appealing these days...

 

I suspect (know) that many ex-pats came here years ago when exchange rates were more favourable, visas were not the headache that they are now, and you could really enjoy the place without all of these bureaucratic problems. A number of years is long enough to get comfortable with the place, learn a bit of the language, and maybe even get married, have kids, and buy a house. You might even be able to make a passable tom yum gung or som tam.

 

But nothing lasts for ever - almost every other thread on here now seems to be asking about the Philippines, Cambodia or Vietnam. Not surprising really, Thailand would appear to be tightening the thumbscrews with a view to creating a Farang exodus. Yes, that will mean that a large tranche of income for the country could be cut off, but it would appear that xenophobia and getting rid of farang is more important than maybe 0.2% of their GDP.

 

Personally, I think that Thai culture, family values, the weather, food and cost of living are all supremely better than in the UK. But comparing countries is a waste of time, it would never end, so just stay somewhere that you like, the world is a big place.

 

I can't imagine why anyone would jump through all the hoops required for a farang to stay in Thailand if they disliked Thais and "Thainess".

 

If I was rich enough to keep buying elite visas, I would stay in Thailand for as long as possible. But I'm not, so am brutally aware that in the future I may be forced into upping sticks and moving somewhere else. I guess the point at which you have to leave will vary from person to person, depending on if you have any income/savings or any family in the country. So I'm keeping an eye on those threads, whilst hoping that I am never forced into not seeing my family because of Thai immigration rules and regulations.

Edited March 8, 2019 by pr9spk

[Seth1a2a]

joeyg

Posted April 19, 2018

It's such a common theme but it confuses me.  Why would one spend valuable time in a place that one mostly complains about.  seems like madness?

_____________________________________________________________

 

 

Several reasons come to mind.

It happens over and over where the flocks of cheap living expats invade certain places and try to "boss the bull around" with their high opinions of themselves and low opinions of the population and cultures they live in but refuse to assimilate......

["They can't even speak english"  "they're corrupt,"  "they're drive on the wrong side of their roads......." Why don't they kiss my  butt  and kowtow like they used to?]

Then because you can't have it your way, you take your balls and go to someone else's home country. Wash ,rinse, repeat.

 

There was a fable that I grew up with called "The Emperor's  New Clothes" .

We all read it I'm sure, without missing the point that the Emperor had been conned into believing something that everybody else knew was false, but afraid to tell him .

     What you are seeing now is that realization coming to fruition on the part of the Thai government and people towards a certain type of Foreigner who had them convinced of  something that proved to be false . "we thought western Foreigners were rich,"  " we thought western foreigners were intelligent,  we thought western foreigners were superior to us in technology , education and  moral judgement ."

There are large numbers of those  who overstay or don't meet the financial qualifications for a proper visa. 

 

       Also, the new wave of Chinese, North Asian,  Indian, and Russian tourism continued to bolster the Thai economy by leaps and bounds to the tune of an estimated 2 trillion Baht last year. 

https://www.tatnews.org/2019/01/as-chinese-visitors-bounce-back-thai-tourism-income-crosses-two-trillion-baht/

high profile but low maintenance,  I don't foresee  a Chinese flyers club in Pattaya when they realize they've hit rock bottom in their finances . They come, they see, they go.

 

Western Foreigners can't compete with these numbers.  Western Foreigners don't have a designated lane for passport control. and they are not riding in full tour buses down narrow lanes all over Bangkok and other cities in Thailand. We can have all the pride and self esteem in the world  but it appears that the party is over and a loud call for you to get out of the pool is being made over the lifeguards' megaphone.

It's like the restaurant or bar that claims "members only" to the people who are known to sit for a long time and spend very small amounts.

Ever hear the expression "wearing out your welcome" .

 

   Harassment:    Maybe not on Thaivisa but on other forums  a lot of people complained about , or were incensed by, the high profile African pimps and their girls on Sukhumvit who were eventually thinned out by checking their paperwork thoroughly . Guess what , be careful what you ask for because now that they are gone,  those same officers still have a job to do. Now we are hearing more and more about western foreigners being heavily scrutinized at checkpoints and ports of entry.

 

Harassment, Self entitlement,  lack of peace of mind and a financial Inability to survive comfortably,...................... pick your poison,

 

 

Edited March 8, 2019 by Seth1a2a

[SteveK]

A lot of British people are angry with the influx of various immigrants to the UK who can speak no English, and refuse to integrate into British society, and are therefore diluting British culture, but you see so many British guys at bars in Pattaya who have been there for years and can't speak any Thai. I think ultimately what I am trying to say is that if you have zero respect for a country's culture, it's people and it's traditions, then it's fair to say that you shouldn't retire there.

[HLover]

1 hour ago, pr9spk said:

A lot of British people are angry

Really? I never noticed.????????????????

[rumak]

On 5/2/2018 at 7:24 AM, Hummin said:

Fear enough, but lying is a huge part of the life here, and from top to the bottom. It is part of their daily life and culture. 

 

In all cultures there is lies more or less, but I have so far never met so many people who lie so easy, and so convincing eye to eye. It is not only bar ladies who lie, that was my point. 

Thais lie to other people.   Farangs lie to themselves

[DrTuner]

7 hours ago, dcnx said:

I have zero love for Thais, Thai culture, or Thainess. I came for business and opportunity. 

 

This is is my last year and I can’t wait to leave. Made a lot of money over the years and now it’s time to take that money and retire somewhere nice and sane. I actually feel sorry for those of you who are too old to leave or are stuck here. Good luck to you. 

The wait to get out is the worst. It's a beautiful feeling for the first couple of months after you manage to escape, after which the downward spiral of starting to hate the new place starts. I've started to think the nomad tribes probably got it right.

Edited March 9, 2019 by DrTuner

[DrTuner]

2 hours ago, rumak said:

Thais lie to other people.   Farangs lie to themselves

The Thai culture itself is based on a lie. It's a fabrication shoved forcibly down the throats of Thais by a military junta from the 1930's, not an organic thing that grew out of the people. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_cultural_mandates

[orang37]

If you paint all expats with the same brush, most likely you will not end up with a herd that contains only zebras, or palominos.

 

A significant cohort of (male, older) expats arrive here on their mid-life road-kill odyssey; and, like Ulysses' crew on Circe's Island, are turned (seduced by the confusion of money with attractiveness) slowly into their swinish selves; when they lose the power of human speech, they oink a lot in public.

 

Other cohorts come here for different reasons, stay here for different reasons; and, some pass through a "porcine phase,"  and are transformed back into happy humanoid campers.

 

But, teasing out the signal from the static, a lot of the carping here is just ventilation of frustration typical of people who cannot, or will not, adapt to life  in another culture.

 

~o:37;

 

 

[UPDEHSOI]

On 5/19/2018 at 6:32 AM, joeyg said:

In 2016, After I retired, I worked in India six months volunteering with an NGO organization involved in Child Protection. It was in the West Bengal area we worked with the CID in Kolkata and towards the end with Interpol. Everyone in India is corrupt and West Bengal is a filthy dirty disgusting cesspool.  I have spent some time in China I guess it's a coin toss which one is filthier really.

INDIA!!!...just sayin'.....

[dcnx]

1 hour ago, DrTuner said:

The Thai culture itself is based on a lie. It's a fabrication shoved forcibly down the throats of Thais by a military junta from the 1930's, not an organic thing that grew out of the people. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_cultural_mandates

Exactly this. 

[Shiver]

4 hours ago, HLover said:

Really? I never noticed.????????????????

I would be considered a Brit (not so fond of the idea myself but...)  I think they're angry about people coming and getting benefits without contribution more than anything.

Imagine here, you arrive with nothing, ask for a house and social security, health, and nobody can call a spade a spade.  Would you not at least be "rather miffed"?

My sister who is still over there and likely always will be, when looking for a school for her kid, said "I've nothing particularly against other cultures here, but when you go to look at a school and realise that he would be the *only* English white kid, you've got to draw the line somewhere".  I thought she was joking, but it turns out that she was not, he (would have) been the only one.  They got an additional crushing mortgage and moved for the schooling.  Schooling though is a topic I won't get into as I'd be wittering on all week.

Move that marker on the battle map Charlie, we've lost another strategic sector on home ground.

As for people complaining about here (ignoring the 2 week wife with house and car stories) it seems to me a fair chunk of it is about visas and reporting, and not so much about Thai culture, as it's .... well  it's their culture, and we shouldn't be imposing on what they value, even if in the quiet hours you mention that it doesn't make sense to you.

With my missus she'll say something like "I have to ...something something.... big Buddha"
"Okay"
"You want to come with me?"
"No"
"Okay"

And that's the whole of the conversation.  I don't agree with it but I don't enforce my views, I just swerve it.  If it makes her happy, she's nice to be around.

 

[bkk6060]

2 hours ago, DrTuner said:

The Thai culture itself is based on a lie. It's a fabrication shoved forcibly down the throats of Thais by a military junta from the 1930's, not an organic thing that grew out of the people. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_cultural_mandates

May well be but after living here for only 5 years, I trust Thais more then I do Falang.

 

[Date Masamune]

Why ? One Phuket liking guy told me sun sand seafood and snatch not necessarily in that order he explained his method for Thai success is he does not drive and refuses to study Thai.  When I suggested my opinion the country is more interesting if you understand the culture and language he told me he pays "no attention anymore" as it is better to ignore and "anybody worth talking to speaks English". What a negative attitude!

[CMoldie]

I think a big part of the problem for many is that they draw up a sort of balance sheet for living in Thailand - "I do like this, I don't like that"

I know of two people who have ended up leaving because of that. They start taking the pluses for granted and become more and more negative, to the point of obsession, about the minuses.

Thailand comes as a package. Take it or leave it. Any other approach is a step down the road to disaster.

[Shiver]

21 minutes ago, Date Masamune said:

Why ? One Phuket liking guy told me sun sand seafood and snatch not necessarily in that order he explained his method for Thai success is he does not drive and refuses to study Thai.  When I suggested my opinion the country is more interesting if you understand the culture and language he told me he pays "no attention anymore" as it is better to ignore and "anybody worth talking to speaks English". What a negative attitude!

I don't drive hardly at all anymore (got my girl a decent car instead...though she calls the Tuk Tuk for me instead lol), although I'm about to shell out for a large car.  My missus won't want to drive it, but all my mates will.  

The language thing it seems to me to be split down the middle.  A common thing I see/read about is those that learn and then say "don't learn it, it'll drive you insane when you realise what they're talking about".  I listen myself even though my Thai is not so good, but to me all it appears to be is "have you eaten yet? Did you shower yet? Are you working today? Let's go eat".

If you replace "eat" with "beer" then you're a bad farang.  Lady, you started it!

[orang37]

4 hours ago, DrTuner said:

The Thai culture itself is based on a lie.

 

Perhaps you'd care to name some other "narrative of national identity" that is not a fabrication composed of some "real" events overlaid, over time, with mythology, theology, and, often revised, or replaced. ?

 

On the odd chance you may wish to spout more than twaddle in the future, suggest you read Thongchai Winichakul's excellent "Siam Mapped: A History of the Geo-Body of a Nation."

 

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: University of Hawaii Press (June 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824819748
• ISBN-13: 978-0824819743

~o:37;

[brokenbone]

i have no idea what 'thainess' is and nor do i care,

i just want to live in warm climate and be left alone

[orang37]

2 hours ago, Shiver said:

we've lost another strategic sector on home ground.

 

And, how do you think these "alien" multitudes got on the "home ground" ? Simple answer: because they were cheap labor, and were brought in, allowed in.

 

More complex answer: Queen Victoria playing with "Looty," the royal Shih-Tzu stolen from the looted palace of the Dowager Empress of China.

 

~o:37;

[DrTuner]

50 minutes ago, orang37 said:

Perhaps you'd care to name some other "narrative of national identity" that is not a fabrication composed of some "real" events overlaid, over time, with mythology, theology, and, often revised, or replaced. ?

Doesn't exist, at least not for long. People let usurpers take the power from themselves as they are too lazy and next thing you know some clergy member, military or politician is telling you who you are. Thailand is an extreme example of how submissiveness leads to a disaster.

 

France f.ex. was a similar cesspit until the French revolution. Guilliotines fixed the problem fairly fast.

Edited March 9, 2019 by DrTuner