Things that annoy me:

1. Driving, road engineering, traffic law enforcement.

2. Immigration, queueing everywhere, refusal to modernize administration, photocopies.

3. Blind faith in Buddhism, use of religion for personal benefit, temple/monk corruption.

4. Selfish attitude, me, me, me.

5. Use of hospitals and schools as profit centres instead of for good of people.

6. Attitude of government towards sinful habits like alcohol, leading to tax increases.

 

Things I love:

 

Almost everything else eg cost of living, weather, beautiful ladies, food, relaxed attitude (unless in things I hate above), countryside, space, transport links.

 

On balance, I’m staying.

4 hours ago, NetJunkie said:

Things doing things is strange enough, but to then reference "things" as "lesser people" is just poor writing.

Agree. His writing is terrible. ‘Negativity’ instead of ‘Negativism’ (is there such a word?), for a start...

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I rarely interact on a personal level with anyone, anywhere.

If you don't talk to them, employ them or have relationship with them, you have no need to moan about them.

This works anywhere in the world. Mail order, 7-11 & Tesco is a wonderful thing.

That would be the post closest to my position.

 

I live in a small village with no other farang for kilometers around, so I mostly keep to myself, which is fine with my state of mind.

 

Before that, I lived in Bangkok and Pattaya.

What I found the most frustrating is the difficulty to have a conversation with a Thai...and I am not referring to the language issue here.

Assuming that you were fluent in Thai, with whom could you have a conversation like those we have on this forum, for example? (Is a trade war coming? Einstein comments about the Chinese, is the Thai economy in bad shape? and so on)

 

When I worked in Bangkok, all my staff had university degrees, and yet we had nothing to say to each other.

One of them, a designer, went to visit the US, not a small thing for a Thai.

Yet, when she came back after many weeks over there, she had nothing to say about her visit.

 

You need to reach the very high end of the population, generally Thai-Chinese people, to be able to engage in a meaningful conversation.

 

I think for many of us that were raised in the West with Judeo Christian ethics and a common set of morals, we are not so much concerned with the way things get done in Thailand, but we are very disturbed by the moral character of the society and don’t even realize that to be our problem. Let’s face it…we can all be very judgmental when it comes to our religious convictions, so when we find ourselves in a culture where those concepts are totally foreign from our own it can eat away at our very souls. So much of what masquerades as Thainess and Thai culture is nothing more than sin when weighed against the standards of the West. On any given day we are confronted with greed, selfishness, corruption, neglect/destruction of the environment, unfriendliness and downright hostility, lack of concern for one’s neighbor/strangers/the poor and the list goes on and on.

 Galatians 5:19-21

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

²⁰ Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

²¹ Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Of course, one can find this kind of activity in any society, but in Thailand this sort of behavior permeates every facet of the society and is rampant to the extent that I have never observed in all my travels around this world. In the Old Testament it was said of Lot when he moved his family to Sodom…..2 Peter 2:8 ⁸ For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;  

In conclusion, I think that what most of us are feeling when we go about ranting about the Thais from day to day is nothing more than our deep seated disgust with the moral compass of this society, and that manifests itself in a feeling of vexation in our spirits. Some of us will never be able to assimilate for this very reason, and our interests would probably be best served by leaving Thailand. Unfortunately, many if not most of us burned our bridges back home and “made our bed” in this place before we realized what we had gotten ourselves into, and leaving is not an option for us now.  

I cant say I have really had a problem with the Thais; with foreigners yes but the Thais no. Of course you get the odd one who is totally obnoxious but give me a country where you don't find those sort of people.

People moan about motorists, shop assistants and everything else but I wonder of these moaning people how many were exactly the same in their own country?

The rule for being treated nice by someone is the same the world over. You be nice to them and there are few people who wont be nice to you.

So Dan if you complain about Thai's maybe you should take a few minutes to really analyze the situation and you may find it is you who is the one being nasty and they are reacting in the way anyone would in  such a circumstance

30 minutes ago, fittobethaied said:

I think for many of us that were raised in the West with Judeo Christian ethics and a common set of morals, we are not so much concerned with the way things get done in Thailand, but we are very disturbed by the moral character of the society and don’t even realize that to be our problem. 

In conclusion, I think that what most of us are feeling when we go about ranting about the Thais from day to day is nothing more than our deep seated disgust with the moral compass of this society, 

Actually, many Westerners leave their home country disguted by the moral compass of their own society!

 

Once in Thailand, their beef with the locals is not about morals, but rather about small day to day issues...pesky issues such as those described in the posts above.

 

Westerners are lumped in a single package as christians, because it is good for the stats of the Church, but in fact very few are, and certainly they don't share your extensive knowledge of the Bible.

 

For the most part, they don't care much about morals, otherwise they wouldn't chose Thailand, but rather some South American country, for example...

2 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Actually, many Westerners live their home country disguted by the moral compass of their own society!

 

Once in Thailand, their beef with the locals is not about morals, but rather about small day to day issues...pesky issues such as those described in the posts above.

 

Westerners are lumped in a single package as christians, because it is good for the stats of the Church, but in fact very few are, and certainly they don't share your extensive knowledge of the Bible.

 

For the most part, they don't care much about morals, otherwise they wouldn't chose Thailand, but rather some South American country, for example...

Living in Thailand does not mean you have to give up morals, you are the one who makes the choices, lets not blame the country

I love it when farang say thailand has changed. The lovely thai smile that drew me in has long dissappeared 

 

WE'LL HELLO every action has an equal and opposite reaction! when you first got here 10 years ago you were walking around with this stupid grin on your face, couldn't believe how lucky you were, every one smiling back at you 

 

Fast forward to now.. after bad relationships, money running tight, alcoholism creeping in and your jaded and look it 

 

No more thai smile.. Amazing isn't it. Always look inwards before blaming the Thais 

59 minutes ago, upu2 said:

Living in Thailand does not mean you have to give up morals, you are the one who makes the choices, lets not blame the country

and you dont need any religion to have morals

47 minutes ago, InMyShadow said:

I love it when farang say thailand has changed. The lovely thai smile that drew me in has long dissappeared 

 

WE'LL HELLO every action has an equal and opposite reaction! when you first got here 10 years ago you were walking around with this stupid grin on your face, couldn't believe how lucky you were, every one smiling back at you 

 

Fast forward to now.. after bad relationships, money running tight, alcoholism creeping in and your jaded and look it 

 

No more thai smile.. Amazing isn't it. Always look inwards before blaming the Thais 

Usually people drink less as they get older and waste less money on material things or expensive restaurants.

1 hour ago, fittobethaied said:

I think for many of us that were raised in the West with Judeo Christian ethics and a common set of morals, we are not so much concerned with the way things get done in Thailand, but we are very disturbed by the moral character of the society and don’t even realize that to be our problem. Let’s face it…we can all be very judgmental when it comes to our religious convictions, so when we find ourselves in a culture where those concepts are totally foreign from our own it can eat away at our very souls. So much of what masquerades as Thainess and Thai culture is nothing more than sin when weighed against the standards of the West. On any given day we are confronted with greed, selfishness, corruption, neglect/destruction of the environment, unfriendliness and downright hostility, lack of concern for one’s neighbor/strangers/the poor and the list goes on and on.

 Galatians 5:19-21

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

²⁰ Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

²¹ Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Of course, one can find this kind of activity in any society, but in Thailand this sort of behavior permeates every facet of the society and is rampant to the extent that I have never observed in all my travels around this world. In the Old Testament it was said of Lot when he moved his family to Sodom…..2 Peter 2:8 ⁸ For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;  

In conclusion, I think that what most of us are feeling when we go about ranting about the Thais from day to day is nothing more than our deep seated disgust with the moral compass of this society, and that manifests itself in a feeling of vexation in our spirits. Some of us will never be able to assimilate for this very reason, and our interests would probably be best served by leaving Thailand. Unfortunately, many if not most of us burned our bridges back home and “made our bed” in this place before we realized what we had gotten ourselves into, and leaving is not an option for us now.  

Probably the most hilarious post I have read for a long time. Please stay, your thoughts are very entertaining.

7 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

No more infuriating than people anywhere else in the world. So I disagree with the premise that there is anything about Thai people that is uniquely infuriating.

 

And in most cases the sense of irritation experienced by some farang is directly proportional to the farang's sense of entitlement and the devastating consequences of farang loss of face when he realizes he isn't the center of the universe.

Blx! Still talking nonsense I see.

6 hours ago, ezzra said:

Nevermind where you live, when you see things that defy logics and common sense ant that they are there anyway because people are too lazy or too stupid to fix it, you should speak up....and if the affected party think you're bad mouthing them, then so be it...

 

My Thai wife is complaining more than I do.  I wish she was the president. Things would change to the better. I'd be her adviser. ?

4 minutes ago, maximillian said:

 

My Thai wife is complaining more than I do.  I wish she was the president. Things would change to the better. I'd be her adviser. ?

Or the Prime Minister even.

1 minute ago, Justfine said:

My Thai wife is complaining more than I do.  I wish she was the president. Things would change to the better. I'd be her adviser. ?

 

1 minute ago, Justfine said:

Or the Prime Minister even.

 

With my non-imm-O retirement visa ?

 

6 hours ago, Stoker58 said:

Since I left, half the pubs and all but one of the banks in my home town have closed down. Need I say more?

 

They all came to Thailand ? ?

4 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

The way I see it is, Thailand is not perfect, but then again where I came from, Sydney, it is too perfect, controlling a more appropriate word.

 

Sure when I look at Thai's I say to myself how the fark, but then I am sure if they were in Sydney, they would say how the fark.

 

I would have loved to have been raised in an environment that is as stress-less as it is here in Thailand, as opposed to the stressed-out environment I was raised in, in Sydney.

 

So when I look at someone driving erratically, riding a motorcycle without a helmet or a young child on it, no police to be seen within coo-ee, food prepared on the street in an unhygienic way, check out staff at Lotus or Big C not being able to handle more than one customer at a time, i.e. someone holding up the que while something is checking an items price to confirm the cost, eg, stand aside please, next, yiatta yiatta yiatta, I just take a breath and say, do you want to go back to Sydney, and then realise, no, I am not in a hurry anymore, I am living the dream, so no complaints from me, it is what it is, and perfect I do not want because I know it doesn't exist, so I lower my expectations and smile, while I bite my tongue, gently 555 

 

In my home country Germany I had to complain a lot more than I have to complain in Thailand, but I just can't give up "good" habits so easily ?

So I keep complaining.

 

 

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

Nevermind where you live, when you see things that defy logics and common sense ant that they are there anyway because people are too lazy or too stupid to fix it, you should speak up....and if the affected party think you're bad mouthing them, then so be it...

The people that moan and complain about practically everything are hopeless cases. Being associated with negative people can be emotionally draining and best to avoid. They simply can`t see the good in anything and believe the whole world should revolve around and people should have to appease them.

 

Eventually these self righteous end up pushing everyone away to become sad cranky old people, even their own families will start distancing themselves from them. If they can`t find peace and contentment in Thailand, they won`t find it anyway, not even within themselves.

 

 

1 hour ago, Justfine said:

Usually people drink less as they get older and waste less money on material things or expensive restaurants.

Is it a waste? If it gives you some pleasure and is hurting no one then why shouldnt you spend your money on anything you want to spend it on?

5 minutes ago, upu2 said:

Is it a waste? If it gives you some pleasure and is hurting no one then why shouldnt you spend your money on anything you want to spend it on?

If you have 50 shoes and don't wear then it's probably a waste.

2 minutes ago, Justfine said:

If you have 50 shoes and don't wear then it's probably a waste.

If you have 50 shoes you have more money than sense. Why not have 10 toilets in your house, while you're about it?

13 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

The people that moan and complain about practically everything are hopeless cases. Being associated with negative people can be emotionally draining and best to avoid. They simply can`t see the good in anything and believe the whole world should revolve around and people should have to appease them.

 

Eventually these self righteous end up pushing everyone away to become sad cranky old people, even their own families will start distancing themselves from them. If they can`t find peace and contentment in Thailand, they won`t find it anyway, not even within themselves.

 

 

Yes I know some like that. Even their kids won't talk to them. Their negativity pushes people away.

15 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

The people that moan and complain about practically everything are hopeless cases. Being associated with negative people can be emotionally draining and best to avoid. They simply can`t see the good in anything and believe the whole world should revolve around and people should have to appease them.

 

Eventually these self righteous end up pushing everyone away to become sad cranky old people, even their own families will start distancing themselves from them. If they can`t find peace and contentment in Thailand, they won`t find it anyway, not even within themselves.

 

 

Be positive. There are good things in complaining too.

8 minutes ago, Justfine said:

If you have 50 shoes and don't wear then it's probably a waste.

Maybe but it is the choice of the individual to decide that.

No smoke without fire - otherwise why is the article worth writing?  Certainly a'int worth reading.

4 hours ago, upu2 said:

Living in Thailand does not mean you have to give up morals, you are the one who makes the choices, lets not blame the country

Living in Thailand gives you a different choice of morals, mix & match until it suits you.

It was a decent article but kind of late coming, guys been here ten years.

 

 I mean you realise pretty quickly to lower your expectations of stuff going smoothly and prepare for it. 

 

You learn that on holiday <deleted>.

2 hours ago, Justfine said:

If you have 50 shoes and don't wear then it's probably a waste.

I guess you meant 25 pairs of shoes, because otherwise I reckon those 50 shoes are a waste for sure.?

 

I get the pressure to write a column, but really:  This is a null topic.

 

If you are in a foreign country and moan about how it is done there, then you are by default wrong..

 

Get over it or get gone, cause it ain't gonna change for you.