Reason for anti-falang rules?

[malibukid]

On 5/22/2019 at 5:26 AM, Bang Bang said:

Your second sentence not only contradicts the first, it's likely flat wrong. A long-stayer by definition is not a tourist. Moreover, a retiree on a budget (=typical long-stayer) almost certainly puts less into the economy than 4 1-week tourists.

 

A previous poster hit the nail on the head: Thais are not anti-farang, they are pro-rich. Case in point, million-baht Elite visa holders are VIPed through airports and have zero immigration hassles to deal with. Another: see the difference in treatment one gets anywhere from shops to restaurants if one is sharply dressed with a stylish haircut vs. casual with a 2-day stubble. I know superficial but Thais are big on appearances. And money talks really loud here.

right, they see with their eyes and not their hearts, perfect Buddhist

[malibukid]

8 hours ago, Los Luver said:

Once, a year or so ago, I read on pattayaone that the police was called to 7/11 near Soi Buakhao. 2 farangs were suspected of stealing from the shop. When the police arrived. They found that the 2 farangs weenre hiding lot of items such tooth paste shampoo and other things... and the only things they wanted to pay were nudles and generally few items that costed less than 10 Baht.....

Later, the police found out that the thieves were overstaying their visas.....

when your down to stealing toothpaste, time to go home

[Katipo]

My impression, is yes, it is more difficult for foreigners here. A significant percentage of foreigners working in Thailand are teachers and retirees, and their salaries have not kept pace with inflation and tax hikes (alcohol and cigarettes), and don't allow them to indulge in the increasing availability of luxury items and foods. The same is true of increasing rents around areas close to BTS stations if you're in Bangkok.

Teachers I know who were earning 28k 15 years ago, are earning 33k today. That's a 19% increase over 15 years, or around +2% per year. Now if you're happy eating local food, living in a more remote area, riding your ageing Honda Click around, you probably are getting along just fine. If however you going out for a beer or more some nights, or have wanted to upgrade your lifestyle, you'll have faced some difficult choices. Beer has gone up 40% in convenience stores, and at least that in small bars. The smaller bars are harder to find, and are increasingly being replaced by more up-market options. And this isn't just in Bangkok. Many smaller cities and towns are showing signs of increasing affluence. 

Part of this comes down to more and more Thais getting higher education and thus better jobs (growing middle class). Plus annual pay rises in many companies and factories are typically 4-5% per year, or double what most teachers get. I also doubt that those on pensions see anything like a 2%, let alone 5%, annual increases.

Finally, let's not forgot the baht is very strong against most major western currencies (especially the pound).

So in summary, unless you are a well off expat worker or retiree, you've probably noticed your income doesn't stretch as far as you used to, and you've probably had to make a few changes, even if they are just minor ones. Apologies for the rambling.

[sydneyjed]

So ok we can  go 'anti farang' bashing and like all of us on here we've witnessed said things fore mentioned such as (in my case)the Irish guy some 5 years back who used to beg for money up around Soi 15 Suk' with his sob story sign to get home..then I busted him drinking in a bar on the corner of soi 20!No remorse and quite arrogant infact...but then the German guy with the beard and rag clothing (no shoes)who slept in the doorways up around soi 14/16 who was mentally ill and did receive help(eventually).My personal spin on things now are that Thailand most certainly isn't the cheap promised land/utopia it once was and any Cheap Charlie landing on these shores now will quickly be found out economically if they have no money.These new laws are aimed at these types I suspect!

[HeyHeyHey]

On 5/22/2019 at 1:26 AM, SteveK said:

Thailand has historically often hosted some of the shiftier farangs, who were either into something suspect or couldn't return home for whatever reason. And then you've got the reputation as being a sex-pat haven. I suppose they want to clean up their international reputation.

Yes I read some stories and news, you are 100% correct.

 

But why those criminals and sex tourists choose Thailand? Did those bad people shifted Thailand from law abiding country to chaos?

 

No. It's because everyone including police and government is easily corrupted. They take their cash and look the other way.

 

That's the issue needed to fix.

[DingDongLing]

17 hours ago, kenk24 said:

It seems to be a thing all around the world now... 

 

It used to be that farang were viewed as being wealthy... there now seems to be a large increase in farang who can no longer afford to live in the Western World and have chosen here above homelessness... 

 

I think most of it so far is not anti-farang just enforcing the rules that existed. No more unverifiable income statements and a bit of tightening up... 

 

In general, I think many farang over value their personal value to the Thai economy. 

Anti-farang attitude everywhere.  The constant attempts of trying to get money out of you in any way they could think of, Even from friends or thai wife with exaggerated bills.

 

Regarding farang value, we can go back to the basic economic law of "More people. more money spent"  Even the west is taking in millions of immigrants and refugees knowing that they will spend money even on basic goods, therefore increasing tax revenue and economic activity

 

 

[DingDongLing]

On 5/22/2019 at 10:28 AM, Traubert said:

That's an awful lot of money between 250,000 farangs.

 

What are they eating? Gold?

 

249,999 when you take the man at Thaepae Gate out of the equation. Plus subtract todays jumpers.

2.3 trillion baht spent between 40m tourists, google it since its against the rules to post links to news.  

[DingDongLing]

16 hours ago, newnative said:

  Thailand welcomes people to come and live here and is far more welcoming than some other countries.  Now, they do want you to be able to support yourself here so they require you to either have 800,000 in the bank or an income of 65,000 a month.  Seems perfectly reasonable to me--they give you not just one but two ways to qualify.  If you have neither 800,000 or 65,000 monthly income, perhaps you should remain in your home country where, hopefully, you will be able to avail yourself of support services for the needy.

ok what about younger guys who made a killing with the internet or crypto.  They still have to mess with the BS

 

No retirement visas for them

 

Thailand can make their choices, we will see in the long run what happens and it does not seem to get better, there are many other countries.

 

 

[SheungWan]

18 hours ago, gamini said:

The retirement reform is to weed out retirees who are breaking the law by using agents to put up the funds required to get the necessary visa. You can't blame Thailand, just blame the dishonest farangs .

No it isn't, though you may wish it were so.

[SheungWan]

18 hours ago, Vacuum said:

lol. These "undesirables" just have to scrape up 20K baht for the agent, to get a one year extension. The real "undesirables" are the corrupt IOs who let them doing this.

Many guys use those agents irrespective some contributors hobbling attempts.

Edited May 24, 2019 by SheungWan

[Tomahawk21]

On 5/22/2019 at 9:09 PM, baansgr said:

Most guys like this is due to the fact they lost all their money to a Thai hooker and her family.....blame the thais if anyone.

NO!  blame to stupid farangs, as the saying goes,a fool and their money soon parted 

[elgenon]

On 5/21/2019 at 12:23 PM, DingDongLing said:

My point of the thread is still, all these anti farang rules just lower thai economy overall. 

 

If they are criminals, they will get arrested here.

 

If they are poor and stealing fruit, they will get deported eventually (hopefully)

 

 

The last 2 things cost Thailand money. And maybe the first.

[1FinickyOne]

5 hours ago, DingDongLing said:

Anti-farang attitude everywhere.  The constant attempts of trying to get money out of you in any way they could think of, Even from friends or thai wife with exaggerated bills.

 

Regarding farang value, we can go back to the basic economic law of "More people. more money spent"  Even the west is taking in millions of immigrants and refugees knowing that they will spend money even on basic goods, therefore increasing tax revenue and economic activity

 

 

Sorry - i live near a small city, in a family oriented village... I just don't see any anti-farang attitude. I am friendly and people respond to me with friendly... there are no constant attempts to get $$ from me... there are occasional loans for health emergencies, but those get paid back.... in direct contrast to farang, who rarely pay back. 

 

I have a couple of times in 20 years seen the exxagerated bills thing, but that was definitely in response to the reneging on the sin sod, and the Thai Family feeling they were cheated. The 'I don't pay no sin sod' farang, at best, pay for it in bad relations with family, though rarely do they connect the dots... 

 

so often you get just one side here... the other factor is that life in Patpong, Patong, Pattaya and Phuket... not representative of mainland Thailand... 

 

If someone is a jerk and disrespectful and calling Thai stupid as I see here so often, sure, they are going to get a different reaction from Thai... and likely they will see people being anti-farang, after they show themselves to be anti-Thai... 

[newnative]

6 hours ago, DingDongLing said:

ok what about younger guys who made a killing with the internet or crypto.  They still have to mess with the BS

 

No retirement visas for them

 

Thailand can make their choices, we will see in the long run what happens and it does not seem to get better, there are many other countries.

 

 

      I agree there shouldn't be an age limit on the retirement visa if you can meet the financial requirements.  However, if someone younger has, as you say, 'mada a killing', then they should be able to afford the Elite Visa if they want to live in Thailand.  Yes, 'no retirement visas for them' but they do have a visa option.   If they can't afford it, maybe they really aren't financially ready to retire yet and should work a few more years--or look for a country with better visa rules for their situation.  

[Berkshire]

2 hours ago, kenk24 said:

If someone is a jerk and disrespectful and calling Thai stupid as I see here so often, sure, they are going to get a different reaction from Thai... and likely they will see people being anti-farang, after they show themselves to be anti-Thai... 

So true.  Just about every Thai-bashing farang I know are unlikable sort of guys.  Complain and whine/whinge is all they ever do.  Funny how they don't realize what pr*cks they are themselves.  True karma. 

[Pattaya46]

7 hours ago, DingDongLing said:

Anti-farang attitude everywhere.  The constant attempts of trying to get money out of you in any way they could think of, Even from friends or thai wife with exaggerated bills.

And do you think it's different for Chinese or Korean guys married to Thai ladies? No it's not.

This "Anti-farang attitude" exist in your mind only, but I must agree that many Thai people have "some attitude" towards foreigners.

[Gecko123]

3 hours ago, kenk24 said:

Sorry - i live near a small city, in a family oriented village... I just don't see any anti-farang attitude. I am friendly and people respond to me with friendly... there are no constant attempts to get $$ from me... there are occasional loans for health emergencies, but those get paid back.... in direct contrast to farang, who rarely pay back. 

 

I have a couple of times in 20 years seen the exxagerated bills thing, but that was definitely in response to the reneging on the sin sod, and the Thai Family feeling they were cheated. The 'I don't pay no sin sod' farang, at best, pay for it in bad relations with family, though rarely do they connect the dots... 

 

so often you get just one side here... the other factor is that life in Patpong, Patong, Pattaya and Phuket... not representative of mainland Thailand... 

 

If someone is a jerk and disrespectful and calling Thai stupid as I see here so often, sure, they are going to get a different reaction from Thai... and likely they will see people being anti-farang, after they show themselves to be anti-Thai... 

I don't where to begin with your post.

 

No doubt there are clusters of guys who came to Thailand with little more than the shallow goal of getting laid as often as possible. But the vast majority who pulled up stakes and moved here had the aspiration of becoming part of a community and forming bonds with someone they loved. That's just human nature.

 

Your post contains two huge fallacies in my opinion. The first is that rural Thailand is a cultural nirvana full of genuine friendly welcoming people, proud you have selected their village to live in and eager to integrate you into their community. The second is that anyone who struggles with this assimilation process must have a social skill or psychological deficiency. That's absolute nonsense, and what's more, I think you know it.

 

Thai villages are extremely insular by nature. With almost all economic activity centered around agriculture there is a shockingly low influx or flow of people coming from outside into the community. The very few people who move into the community do so by marriage, oftentime coming from other villages in the near vicinity. Newcomers who move into the community from totally outside the area are a rarity. In fact, the only newcomers in my area who came from completely outside the area have been foreigners. While poor language skills can obviously severely impair social extension, many people with even advanced Thai skills struggle to get beyond transactional interactions with Thais.

 

I'm not saying people aren't superficially friendly or are unwilling to engage in small talk, but in my opinion, forging meaningful bonds and mutually satisfying relationships is by no means easy in rural Thailand, no matter how outgoing a person is.

 

Huge obstacles stand in the way of this ever happening. In Thai villages bonds are forged in early childhood through play and school, and later in life through working the fields together. A foreigner showing up in mid-life simply can't compete with this. You might as well have landed in a flying saucer in the middle of a rice paddy.

 

Far from the idyllic portrait of daily ordination processions and giggly elementary school kids with talcum dusted faces eagerly hurrying to school for another day of learning, Thai villages are hard-knock, hard-scrabble places, where farmers rarely get a reprieve from worrying about indebtedness, drought, wells running dry, falling commodity prices, or how they are going to put food on the table. Last night I went for a nocturnal bicycle ride after a rainstorm. I couldn't believe how many people were out hunting frogs to eat; I saw close to ten teams all outfitted with headlamps, armed with bamboo tridents. To suggest that a foreigner moving into an impoverished village won't he subjected to attempts to financially take advantage of them simply defies human nature.

 

I'm sorry but your suggestion that paying a generous sin sod is the key to good family relations in my mind ranks as one of the most ludicrous comments I have ever read on TVF. First of all, 95% of the village women who marry foreigners have been previously married, and more often than not have dependent children whom the foreigner assumes responsibility for. The cultural basis for sin sod is not only to compensate the parents for raising the daughter (which chances are they've already been compensated for when she married the first time), and to serve as a gesture of good faith and good intention to provide for the wife, but also has the origins of the new son-in-law buying into the wife's parent's homestead because he will begin to benefit from farming the family's land, and may inherit it in the future (which is something of course that the foreigner will never benefit from). If you're saying that paying a generous sin sod is a good strategy for lasting good relations with your wife's family, I could probably find you a 1000 guys willing to testify that a generous sin sot generated absolutely no goodwill dividends, that it may have helped establish overly high expectations in the immediate family of ongoing financial support, and that if they had to do it all over again, they would advise that the key to good family relations is to live at least 100 kilometers or more away from the wife's family. Which is what I would do if I had to do it all over again as well.

 

You say that people have asked you to borrow money only for medical emergencies, that you are always paid back, and that this is in contrast to other foreigners you have lent money to in the past. It just doesn't square with day to day reality, Ken. Someone has a medical emergency and doesn't have the money, where are the repayment funds coming from? If they're such good credit risks, why aren't they borrowing from other family members or friends?

 

All I gotta say in response to claims that assimilating into village life is easy as pie and all it takes is a good faith effort on the part of the foreigner, and -- blaa-blaa-blaa -- people treat you the way you treat them, is that when I came to my village 16 years ago my heart was brimming over with eagerness to be part of the community, that my willingness to make cultural allowances for bad behavior knew no bounds, that for 9 years before moving there I studied Thai as feverishly as a Muslim school boy studies the Qur'an in a Madrassah school house, and that I am as friendly, outgoing and playful as most Thais I have ever known, but that in my opinion the portrait you have drawn of village life is highly romanticized and fanciful and bears little ressemblance to what the vast vast majority of foreigners are likely to experience. If you want to come back and say something like 'Well, that's just your experience, mine is different', so be it, but, again, I think we both know there is a lot of truth in what I've said.

 

Edited May 24, 2019 by Gecko123

[1FinickyOne]

Geez, Gecks - where can I start, if you add words that I did not use, it becomes something else - right... where did I say Sin Sod had to be "generous" - - yet you go off on the generous aspect. I would have used the term "fair" if you asked.... but it is a Thai custom and should be observed. In my case, my wife was never married and I was pleased to give a gift to her parents... no pain or problem for me. 

19 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

A foreigner showing up in mid-life simply can't compete with this. You might as well have landed in a flying saucer in the middle of a rice paddy.

 Yes, when you show up that is probably true - however, when you stay and participate through time, deal with emergency situations, and are there to help in any way you can, when you are reliable and caring and present, things change. 

 

when you sit on the hospital bed with a dying child, my niece, all night in rotation with many many family members, all who have dropped everything during the crisis, when you cry together through a life and death experience bonds form... and when the toddler survives and you bring the child into your house and go through all the sacrifices and ordeal of putting your all into raising that child, educating that child, as your family, things change... and people notice and though they don't fuss, they do appreciate. 

 

and through nearly 20 years, there are many examples... 

32 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

 

14 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

Your post contains two huge fallacies in my opinion. The first is that rural Thailand is a cultural nirvana full of genuine friendly welcoming people, proud you have selected their village to live in and eager to integrate you into their community. The second is that anyone who struggles with this assimilation process must have a social skill or psychological deficiency. That's absolute nonsense, and what's more, I think you know it

sorry, I can't see any of these implications in my post?? many do not have the luck I have had in finding a nice family. Sounds like you are projecting your situation onto me? Yes, I find many friendly people, proud and eager, again those are your words - no, I would never say that. 

 

i never said it was a cultural nirvana, nor did I make any implications about others who do not assimilate... you are accusing me of saying things that are not even hinted at... becoming part of a Thai village family is quite obviously not for everyone and easier for some than others and much, maybe most, depends upon the family. I met my wife through an introduction from a trusted friend who told me only one thing - she has a great family,... he was right. But, I never even set out to live in a village or try to assimilate into a family. It just happens. And it takes time. 

 

34 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

Someone has a medical emergency and doesn't have the money, where are the repayment funds coming from? If they're such good credit risks, why aren't they borrowing from other family members or friends?

Well, in the most recent example of a motorcycle accident and immediate surgery and hospital stay required, the money was needed immediately, I had it readily available, and a family member working in korea had the funds but it would take a few days to arrive. I was paid back in full in 3 days... thanks for asking... but, and this is what you are missing, maybe, - - they are borrowing from me because they consider me a friend and family member... and yes, the rare time I have needed anything, they were there for me... 

 

My wife has a big family and I am in no way saying that it is "nirvana", again, your word, I did not even say I have assimilated, I just don't look at life in that term, it is more that as living together in a family compound, when someone is sick or legitimately needs help, you help, you don't stop and think how assimilated you might feel. 

 

There have been rare times where errant extended family members wanted to borrow money and my family told me not to lend it... there are occasional instances of bad behavior, but mostly, I have a great family. And I have seen other farang in my area who have really nice family situations too... and none of us ever sit around and discuss or try and measure to what % we have assimilated... 

 

And, thanks in advance for your concern... the niece who nearly died is now 14, my wife and I have raised her as a daughter and she is thriving in school... 

 

[Gecko123]

@kenk24 I stand by what I wrote. If you want to discount what I said based on small differences in wording, that's fine. If reneging on sin sod is bad, and paying up is good, doesn't it follow that being generous is even better? I'm not arguing about your individual experience, Ken. I'm arguing about how applicable your general characterizations of village life are to the vast majority of foreigners who settle in rural Thailand. I leave it to readers to decide to what extent my remarks have validity.

[1FinickyOne]

1 hour ago, Gecko123 said:

'm sorry but your suggestion that paying a generous sin sod is the key to good family relations in my mind ranks as one of the most ludicrous comments I have ever read on TVF.

I never said that!! I made not even a minor reference to people paying a generous sin sod..  what I said is below... I am talking about people who reneged on paying sin sod.. we are talking about opposite things... 

 

"I have a couple of times in 20 years seen the exxagerated bills thing, but that was definitely in response to the reneging on the sin sod, and the Thai Family feeling they were cheated. The 'I don't pay no sin sod' farang, at best, pay for it in bad relations with family, though rarely do they connect the dots... "

 

and yes, though they may not voice it to the farang, I have seen instances where families have been terribly insulted because the farang did not go along with the custom.... 

 

But yes, I do agree that my experience is my own - and likely different than many others... The vast majority, I don't know about... in my area, a place where farang don't tend to settle, most seem to be doing ok in similar fashion. They moved to the area because they have wives who want to be near their family. 

 

good luck in future endeavors... 

 

 

 

 

[uhuh]

On 5/23/2019 at 9:35 AM, kenk24 said:

Geez, that is really over dramatic... 

 

What for most is a simple process of paying an annual fee and filling out a few forms for the privilege of being allowed to take up residence in a foreign country [of my choosing] - - a very minimal effort... 

 

for some reason makes you and others feel discriminated against and like a criminal... really? 

 

Not sure where you are from but how easy is it for a Thai person to go live there? 

 

Not sure what you might want? 

You conveniently omit 90 days reporting, now that most definitely IS like a criminal on good behavior. 

You also omit TM30.

 

I don't have any visa problems.

But since the beginning of this year I have to deal with immigration every month, for different reasons. It has not been like this for the past 20 years. I do not like it.

I am seriously contemplating to go through an agent,  which seems to be the point of the whole exercise. 

Edited May 25, 2019 by uhuh

[uhuh]

On 5/22/2019 at 1:26 AM, SteveK said:

Thailand visa policies are still much easier to adhere to than countries like Canada or the UK.

 

Thailand isn't anti-farang, it's anti-poor (at least when it comes to allowing foreign visitors into the country).

 

 

You should compare Thailand to Malaysia,  indonesia,  Philippines,  not to UK or Canada.  That's Thailand's peer group.

 

If Thailand is anti-poor but not anti-farang why is it so easy for Chinese to immigrate? 

 

[uhuh]

The economic impact of tourism on Thailand is 20% of GDP. That's huge. 

 

The economic impact of foreign retirees as opposed to short-term tourists is far less,  but in the villages of Isarn it is very visible and obviously quite big.

The Thai ruling classes have no interest in economic development of the Isarn poor if they cannot get a cut.  To the contrary,  the conflicts in Thailand over the last 15 years were all about keeping the poor poor so they will better serve the rich. 

Do you remember the good old times when a middle class Bangkokian could afford a live-in maid from Isarn (all condos had a windowless cubicle for her), a driver and a gardener, and a mia noi? Now they build condos without cubicles for the maid,  drivers and gardeners want real money, and the mia noi...

This is owed to Thailand's economic development (not to foreign retirees) through CP, Toyota, Sony, Marriott and so on. From this development, the rich get a cut in form of taxes, tea money, share dividends (Thaksin introduced the current economic model to Thailand with the help of Morgan Stanley and made a killing on the stock market. Ironically, at the time farang didn't like him because they, too, profited from Isarn poverty).

Thai ruling classes don't have any advantages from farang retirees in Isarn, however, just some - relatively minor, but sizable - disadvantages. So why should they keep the farang retirees here?

 

BTW other foreigners in Thailand are treated very differently because the established powers do have advantages from their presence:

Burmese, Cambodians, Laotians are cheap labor

Chinese help to integrate Thailand in the Chinese co-prosperity sphere aka Belt and Road.

[1FinickyOne]

3 hours ago, uhuh said:

I am seriously contemplating to go through an agent

good idea - - it makes my life very easy and I find the cost quite reasonable... and I definitely do not feel as though I am out on good behaviour... quite the opposite, I feel I am lucky to be permitted in, to stay in a country of my choice... I don't like filling out forms either, but when I can pay a professional to take care of it for me, that's great... life is easy... 

[uhuh]

how much do you pay an agent (paperwork is all ok, it's just the hassle)?

And do you still have to go in person with the agent?  For yearly extension? For 90 days?

 

[fusion58]

On 5/22/2019 at 5:26 AM, Bang Bang said:

Case in point, million-baht Elite visa holders are VIPed through airports and have zero immigration hassles to deal with.

That's what I was expecting when I purchased mine.

 

The reality, however, is turning out to be a different story (read: TM30 nightmares.)

 

Feeling like I'm just one small step away from being fitted for an ankle bracelet.

[Bang Bang]

2 minutes ago, fusion58 said:

The reality, however, is turning out to be a different story (read: TM30 nightmares.)

Wow, sorry to hear that. And I was thinking to get one myself. Care to elaborate?

[DingDongLing]

On 5/23/2019 at 8:40 PM, kenk24 said:

Sorry - i live near a small city, in a family oriented village... I just don't see any anti-farang attitude. I am friendly and people respond to me with friendly... there are no constant attempts to get $$ from me... there are occasional loans for health emergencies, but those get paid back.... in direct contrast to farang, who rarely pay back. 

 

I have a couple of times in 20 years seen the exxagerated bills thing, but that was definitely in response to the reneging on the sin sod, and the Thai Family feeling they were cheated. The 'I don't pay no sin sod' farang, at best, pay for it in bad relations with family, though rarely do they connect the dots... 

 

so often you get just one side here... the other factor is that life in Patpong, Patong, Pattaya and Phuket... not representative of mainland Thailand... 

 

If someone is a jerk and disrespectful and calling Thai stupid as I see here so often, sure, they are going to get a different reaction from Thai... and likely they will see people being anti-farang, after they show themselves to be anti-Thai... 

You say thais paid back loans to you?

 

Sure living in a small village and making friends is much better then the average farang. 

[1FinickyOne]

5 hours ago, DingDongLing said:

You say thais paid back loans to you?

Yes, in cash and within the time periods they set... or sooner. I never had to remind or ask... they brought the $ to me when they had it... 

 

one friend who I gave 10,000 baht for an operation around year 2000, I really did it as a gift and forgot about it... he actually gave me a gift of his grandfather's ring after the operation... 

I had not seen him for a while and bumped into him about 15 years later and he said he finally had a decent job and had saved up the money to give back to me... I refused. 

 

I have had several farang who did not even have an intention of paying me back. There was simply more utility for them in drinking etc... than returning the $. 

 

 

[DingDongLing]

On 5/23/2019 at 10:54 PM, Berkshire said:

So true.  Just about every Thai-bashing farang I know are unlikable sort of guys.  Complain and whine/whinge is all they ever do.  Funny how they don't realize what pr*cks they are themselves.  True karma. 

I have many thai friends., many female friends and know their families.  I blend in.  Very likeable and friendly guy.....yet I am not naive or stupid.  I see how they try to scam others and even attempt to scam me.  I do not care if its 200 baht.  But if you lie about needing food/milk when you own a food stall/spa/business and make more then me.......  come on.