Video: Beg-packing or just hitching? Foreigners with "no money" spark debate

[chang1]

13 hours ago, Throatwobbler said:

On 9/12/2018 at 8:42 AM, apetryxx said:

Like my dear Dad (RIP) used to say “If you can’t go First Class, stay home!”

Possibly the worst advice that anybody could give someone.

I don't understand how he could ever have come to think that is good advice. Sounds like extreme snobbery. Hopefully no one ever took his advice.

[AlexRich]

7 hours ago, Cereal said:

Thai Immigration could help put a damper on this simply by demanding tourists entering the Kingdom show a minimum amount of money per day in cash. $100/day for example. You want a 30 day visa? Show me $3000 cash. Traveler's cheques will suffice as well. Bhutan does it. They don't get a lot of tourists but they do get quality ones.

 

Of course, this would probably eliminate a ton of tourists from the LOS. Of course, they'd all pretty much be the type of tourists who don't spend anything anyway.

 

There no proof this guy is a begpacker. People I personally find deplorable lowlife scum by the way. He could simply be  hitch-hiking, an activity that took my generation from coast to coast back in Worgeordie's day!

 

Why would you want to stop people coming to Thailand? For many young people it's an adventure, they don't harm anyone and giving them a lift or not is simply a choice, you don't have to if you don't want to. For Thais it's interesting to see and meet people from different parts of the world ... I've had Thais of all ages say hi to me in the street who wouldn't have done so had I looked like them ... those young people in the video do no harm to anyone. 

 

There are people in life who are not happy unless they are sucking the happiness from others ... what the <deleted>?

 

 

 

 

 

[holy cow cm]

On 9/14/2018 at 1:25 AM, Throatwobbler said:

This site is the most negative site in the world. Most posters on here are sad old people who hate everything about the country they live in. This is why the number of users on this site is going down day by day. This website has been allowed to turn from what was once a very useful site into what it is now.. In a couple of more years you may as well have a Thaivisa meeting at a funeral as the last couple of users will be saying goodbye to one of their last friends.

Negative? Just a way to vent on things happening. Hitch hiking is just odd to do here. For other things like the government, or self imposed government, take a look for yourself. What do you want to read, every one craps roses until pushing up daisies? 

[CharlieH]

Off topic removed

[zydeco]

The "kids" are breaking the rice bowl of the taxi driver. Westerners used to realize this sort of thing when they came to Asia. Now, they just assume that the habits of the West are God High Almighty. So Thailand had better change their thinking to fit Westerners demands.

[chang1]

On 9/14/2018 at 11:02 AM, AlexRich said:

On 9/14/2018 at 3:06 AM, Cereal said:

Thai Immigration could help put a damper on this simply by demanding tourists entering the Kingdom show a minimum amount of money per day in cash. $100/day for example. You want a 30 day visa? Show me $3000 cash. Traveler's cheques will suffice as well. Bhutan does it. They don't get a lot of tourists but they do get quality ones.

 

Of course, this would probably eliminate a ton of tourists from the LOS. Of course, they'd all pretty much be the type of tourists who don't spend anything anyway.

 

There no proof this guy is a begpacker. People I personally find deplorable lowlife scum by the way. He could simply be  hitch-hiking, an activity that took my generation from coast to coast back in Worgeordie's day!

 

Why would you want to stop people coming to Thailand? For many young people it's an adventure, they don't harm anyone and giving them a lift or not is simply a choice, you don't have to if you don't want to. For Thais it's interesting to see and meet people from different parts of the world ... I've had Thais of all ages say hi to me in the street who wouldn't have done so had I looked like them ... those young people in the video do no harm to anyone. 

 

There are people in life who are not happy unless they are sucking the happiness from others ... what the <deleted>?

 

It's a shame many people associate money with quality tourists. Plenty of thieves, drug dealers, fraudsters, bankers and other such people can have plenty of money but they are still not quality. I met a multiMillionaire who despite having a scholarship to a top UK school spent time in cardboard city before making his millions. Backpackers spend less money but it usually is with the less well off Thais in small guest houses and street food. Tourists with money spend it at large hotels and restaurants where most of the money goes to people who are well off and pay their workers a pittance. Unfortunately money can make some people think they are superior to those less well off, when in fact they are often the ones who are unpleasant and not a quality person.

[simoh1490]

2 minutes ago, chang1 said:

It's a shame many people associate money with quality tourists. Plenty of thieves, drug dealers, fraudsters, bankers and other such people can have plenty of money but they are still not quality. I met a multiMillionaire who despite having a scholarship to a top UK school spent time in cardboard city before making his millions. Backpackers spend less money but it usually is with the less well off Thais in small guest houses and street food. Tourists with money spend it at large hotels and restaurants where most of the money goes to people who are well off and pay their workers a pittance. Unfortunately money can make some people think they are superior to those less well off, when in fact they are often the ones who are unpleasant and not a quality person.

In case you don't understand: Thailand doesn't care at all about quality tourists, that's just code for wealthy, the more the better because that means they'll spend more....they really couldn't care less about a persons morals, background, lifestyle or where they spend their money, just so long as they spend it.

[chang1]

1 minute ago, simoh1490 said:

In case you don't understand: Thailand doesn't care at all about quality tourists, that's just code for wealthy, the more the better because that means they'll spend more....they really couldn't care less about a persons morals, background, lifestyle or where they spend their money, just so long as they spend it.

All depends on who you ask. The little guy wants money just as much as the government wants taxes from the big hotels and restaurants. Of course high spenders are welcome by everyone but that doesn't mean you should drive away the rest of the tourists as they are important as well. I was not criticizing Thailand, I was having a go at the people on here who discriminate and judge purely by a persons wealth.

[JoeLing]

6 minutes ago, chang1 said:

All depends on who you ask. The little guy wants money just as much as the government wants taxes from the big hotels and restaurants. Of course high spenders are welcome by everyone but that doesn't mean you should drive away the rest of the tourists as they are important as well. I was not criticizing Thailand, I was having a go at the people on here who discriminate and judge purely by a persons wealth.

Well me personally, . . . . . 
I prefere loads and loads of happy little spenders
than one snobby big spender. ?

[chang1]

36 minutes ago, zydeco said:

The "kids" are breaking the rice bowl of the taxi driver. Westerners used to realize this sort of thing when they came to Asia. Now, they just assume that the habits of the West are God High Almighty. So Thailand had better change their thinking to fit Westerners demands.

The kids weren't braking or demanding anything, they were just asking for a lift. If they could not get one I doubt they would have demanded one.

[zydeco]

On 9/14/2018 at 9:23 AM, DrTuner said:

I've also missed on the great experiences of living out rough on the streets and getting handouts from governments. To use the old quote, I'll rather cry in a jaguar than a bus.

The only time I ever went backpacking in SE Asia was when my government issued the backpack. Didn't like it then, don't want it now.

[HHTel]

For goodness sake, instead of thinking for the Thai people, let them think for themselves.

Ask them.  I have and most understand the concept of hitchhiking.  They do it themselves.  They call it 'bow' -- wave.  Why do people here voice their opinions as if it is the opinions of the locals.  Well it's not.  Just foreigners who think they know better!

[Kieran00001]

3 hours ago, zydeco said:

The "kids" are breaking the rice bowl of the taxi driver. Westerners used to realize this sort of thing when they came to Asia. Now, they just assume that the habits of the West are God High Almighty. So Thailand had better change their thinking to fit Westerners demands.

What drivel, in what way is someone hitching taking from a taxi driver?  Lets assume they had no money, so the taxi driver stood to gain nothing anyway.  Now lets assume they did have money but chose to hitch anyway, they could have taken the train, bus or a minibus, in which case the taxi driver again stood to gain nothing.  They were going from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi, hardly a normal distance to take a taxi, lets assume whatever way they traveled it would not have been by taxi, now who has had their rice bowl broken?  If you really care about the plight of the taxi drivers then think a little, why are their fares so low, who sets their fares, who voted against further fare rises recently?  The answer is not tourists, the answer is the self imposed government, the elite, who can easily afford to pay more but don't want to, it has never had anything to do with backpackers taking or choosing not to take taxi's.

[RocketDog]

On 9/11/2018 at 10:23 PM, Loaded said:

When I did a lot of traveling in my early 20s, I rarely had spare cash. I usually didn't have any cash. For me at that age, part of the adventure was to do as much as possible with as little as possible. Hitching to Kanch would not only save cash, it might lead to an adventure. They are doing it wrong though - the guys should hide and the girl should stand by the road by herself. As soon as a car stops and says yes, the girl gets in the front and the guys in the back.

In my 20's I did the same in the mid  1970s in USA.

Loaded, you have obviously learned the same 'rules of the road ' that I did. 55555.

I always gave my best smile to the (usually) male driver's grimace of annoyance when I appeared behind the young lady. Worst I received was a grumbled remark under his breath.

In my case, the lady always got in the back seat. Some of the drivers were a bit too free with their hands once we got rolling or I fell asleep.

 

I had no destination. I would go wherever the car took me and traveled all over the country that way. I even had cops pick me up a few times. One cop explained to me that hitchhiking was illegal in Oklahoma and drove me for 2 hours to the state line. He showed me all the cool equipment in his car.

 

As you say, it was purely for the adventure. And I got plenty of them and met all kinds of people, good and bad. People who wanted to help and people who wanted to harm.

Then there were the two young ladies who simply wanted to use my body in the most salacious ways; I fell victim to them and will never forget it! I was glad to help them out of their needy situation. Back on the road outside Washington DC the next morning, hardly able to stand upright. Ain't love grand?!

 

So many experiences and adventures that I wouldn't give up for anything now.  I should note that I was employed on a biomedical research grant at the time and spent my vacations that way. So I had money, but I wanted the challenge.

 

I aways started with some food, a pack, and a sleeping bag. And $50 cash. My goal was to use the cash only for emergencies. I learned many valuable tricks for urban survival and had a few harrowing close calls too.

 

I never begged for money or needed to. As an electrical engineer I was often able to help people with small household repairs in exchange for a bath, a bed, and a meal. It was such a cool win-win. More often I would drive tractors, haul hay, muck stables, unload furniture, or  do other manual labor for my bed and bread.

 

I would be reluctant to advise hitching now though, even (or especially?) in America now though for obvious reasons.

 

Times have changed and adventures in freedom are getting harder to find without significant risk I'm afraid.

 

I find it hard to fault young people from trying it now though. This is the way memories and self-reliance are made. A lot better I think than spending Daddy's money on a pre- packaged trip to a destination resort.

 

For what it's worth.

[retoohs]

On 9/13/2018 at 12:43 AM, DJ54 said:

To some it’s an adventure.....

and of course do not forgot there has been a guide written for hitchhiking the galaxy.

[retoohs]

hictching might be considered illegal because you could pay a Thai to take you. By hitchhiking you are taking a job away from a Thai

[HaleySabai]

On 9/12/2018 at 10:24 AM, james1995 said:

smelly backpackers.  are they still doing the dreadlocks thing or is it all hipster beards now?

Yup,beards & white socks with sandals......er, that sounds like the 60's,man!

[The manic]

1 minute ago, HaleySabai said:

Yup,beards & white socks with sandals......er, that sounds like the 60's,man!

Sounds like 60 year olds with no taste.

[Thian]

6 hours ago, HaleySabai said:

Yup,beards & white socks with sandals......er, that sounds like the 60's,man!

 

I've seen plenty like that in Pattaya...

[boonrawdcnx]

In no other country this would be news.
In Europe you find hitchhikers everywhere especially during the summer month.
It is entirely up to you if you give somebody a ride or not. Where is the story here?

About some greedy taxi driver who got jealous that somebody might give them a free ride to Kanchanaburi ?

“Nutarin” said it all - “Don’t you want us to have your money?”
Money, money, money it is their world and their god!

Funny thing - I was never into hitchhiking but the friend I travelled with when we where backpacking in Malaysia before arriving in Thailand 32 years ago insisted we try.
In Malaysia almost every car stopped and gave us a ride most told us they liked to meet foreigners and have a little chit-chat along the way to pass the time.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[mauGR1]

3 minutes ago, boonrawdcnx said:

In no other country this would be news.
In Europe you find hitchhikers everywhere especially during the summer month.
It is entirely up to you if you give somebody a ride or not. Where is the story here?

About some greedy taxi driver who got jealous that somebody might give them a free ride to Kanchanaburi ?

“Nutarin” said it all - “Don’t you want us to have your money?”
Money, money, money it is their world and their god!




Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 A Thai friend of mine saw me waiting on the road for a taxi, later he told me that he saw me, but he didn't stop to give me a lift, for fear of the ire of taxi-drivers.