Positives and Negatives of Thailand (from Western perspective)

[SEAsia Traveler]

Another negative: the morbid fascination with horror, death, gore and ghosts.

 

Another reason I'm leaving: increasing closure of establishments, depressed vibe and lack of vibrancy, with no end in sight. When it does open properly, it won't be the same. The restart will proceed at a glacial pace. RIP Sanuk Thailand.

Edited October 4, 2021 by SEAsia Traveler

[2009]

15 hours ago, malibukid said:

covid has killed the sex scene.  apart from the go go bars Thai woman are way to conservative and present too much of a cultural and language barrier.  its an exclusive culture. the West has the most open minded woman, but still many good reasons to stay in Thailand.

Those Thai women are mostly weird aliens, dude. Forget trying to get through that cultural barrier.

 

The ones worth knowing are the ones who seek us out. But that's a double edged sword too - though there is no escaping that!

[Hanuman2547]

A lot of good positives and negatives on the list.  Agree with some to varying degrees and disagree with some, again to varying degrees.  I'm not really a big fan of Phuket so if that was my "Thai experience" I might be a bit jaded and paint the whole country in that light if I hadn't been anywhere else.  Just like NYC and London are probably not good representations of their whole countries.  Perhaps a better way to decide if Thailand was for you would be to live in different regions for 2-3 months at a time.

Some things won't change wherever you are though.  Alcohol and drug use can be found anywhere.  

[OneMoreFarang]

10 hours ago, Stupooey said:

Looking at the post I was replying to, the only reference to weather is 'heat' being shown as a negative. I could easily find 100 countries that are not as hot as Thailand. There is also no reference to Thailand being interesting or not, and anyway interest is in the eye of the beholder. Judging by some of the replies on this thread, the most interesting thing about Thailand would appear to be the availability of prostitutes, but I suppose if you like that sort of thing, then that's the sort of thing you like!

The book Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay (about relationships) shows a very good concept how to think about good and bad and how to decide. With some issues we can make pro and con lists and compare which side is longer..

 

But sometimes it's easier to think about Yes/No situations. I.e. would we want to live in a country with high violence. No. Then that county is off the list, even if the weather is nice. One reason can be enough to make the elimination.

Personally thinking about the things which I don't want eliminates many countries and regions from a possible "where do I want to live" list. 

 

And then there are things which have to be there. I.e. I wouldn't want to live anywhere without good food and pretty girls. And somehow it seems I am not alone with that thought.

 

[siftasam]

I don't believe all this stuff about old guys having young sexy partners or wives.

 

Prove it. Let's see some photos please!

[BangkokReady]

On 10/4/2021 at 7:13 AM, malibukid said:

covid has killed the sex scene.  apart from the go go bars Thai woman are way to conservative and present too much of a cultural and language barrier.  its an exclusive culture. the West has the most open minded woman, but still many good reasons to stay in Thailand.

Isn't it kind of a positive that they have loose women for pay to play and conservative women for marriage?  Who wants to marry someone with a huge number of sexual partners?

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

Isn't it kind of a positive that they have loose women for pay to play and conservative women for marriage?  Who wants to marry someone with a huge number of sexual partners?

A woman with a low notch count probably doesn't like sex.

I prefer a woman who's ready to rock.

[Sambotte]

Having been travelling all my life, and mostly long time in Thailand (my answer is here actually), i would say simply :

 

+ Business, daily business like renting a condo, a scooter, buying a transport ticket, food, massages, shopping, etc. Thailand is imo by FAR the No 1 in the world ! Like it's on another planet. Everything works well, good price, excellent service, trust, easyness, quality, politness !

And i mean by far. Compared to any country in Europe, USA, and hmm of course Latin America, Africa, India, but too Philipine, Laos, Cambogia, Vietnam, etc.

 

+ People. No argument, always polite (with very few exception in overtouristic area), easy to live by, funny.

+- : not many are strong intellectually and culturally suited, but to be nice is more important.

+ People are beautiful (and let's say "slim" to not offense the others ????) especially in the north. And let's say it : girls are much more "cool" than in many other countries.  

 

+ Buddhism ! It's a philosophy, a way of life, source of many of those positives (but curiously it's not the case in India as i remember - 20 years ago that's said)

 

+ Safety.

 

+- Climate : the BIG problem is pollution. The high season is actually the smoky season, even in the south.

At least it's not cold, there are some nice beachs, mountains, the Mekong, etc.

 

+- Government/immigration policy : opposite to "before", it has become very complicated, and not nice sometimes. Hope it will change for the best, not only for Chineese/Indian tourist-pack, but for high or medium networth tourists/travellers/expats too. Waiting for that.

 

- Driving ha ha ! Not a big issue for me, but wow !...

 

Being in Mexico now since 6 months (with 2 in Colombia), i can say i really can't wait to come back in Thailand !!!!!!

But i may have to wait actually, some clarification about the entry soooo-many conditions still affecting maybe the strongest force of Thailand, it's hospitality (but i mean business too ???? ).

[mokwit]

The two that really get me are the heat which will likely eventually drive me away, and not being able to order something online without the risk of customs hell/gauging duty.

 

The key to living here is to adjust your lifestyle and your expectations to how it is - e.g. I minimise dependence on Thais not educated to Masters level (lovely people that they are personally). If you are trying to be dependent on people like maids and tradesmen and whatever like you would in the west you are in for a frustrating time. I rent despite being able to buy several times over because it is my landlady not me who deals with all the issues. those who claim a blissful no problem existence probably do as I do or have a wife who absorbs and deflects the problems.

 

For the benefit of the Mr "well I must say I have never had any problems" who always chime in on this board, my born and bred Thai friends have the same problems you claim not to have, and no they are not the "wrong" type of Thais - they have Masters degrees and even a "na" in the name in one or two cases - speak pretty good Thai too [so it can't be because they haven't bothered to learn Thai].

 

They are sick of many things and complain about the incompetence and cheating in a way that gets you a stern lecturing on TV, and directions to the Airport.

Edited October 5, 2021 by mokwit

[BangkokReady]

48 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

A woman with a low notch count probably doesn't like sex.

I prefer a woman who's ready to rock.

So a woman being sexually conservative has nothing to do with values or upbringing, she simply doesn't like sex, while a woman being promiscuous equally has nothing to do with values or upbringing, she just does like sex?

[BritManToo]

16 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

So a woman being sexually conservative has nothing to do with values or upbringing, she simply doesn't like sex, while a woman being promiscuous equally has nothing to do with values or upbringing, she just does like sex?

Would depend on her age obviously.

If she's still a virgin at age 35 then she's probably not interested in sex.

Edited October 5, 2021 by BritManToo

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, mokwit said:

The two that really get me are the heat which will likely eventually drive me away, and not being able to order something online without the risk of customs hell/gauging duty.

I have ZERO problems with the heat, but do admit to using air-con set to 28c for a few hours some nights.

I also have ZERO problems with customs as I mostly buy from local online suppliers or China.

Yep, a big box arriving from the USA will attract customs officers, a box from China is ignored.

 

As for a Thai woman deflecting problems,

Mine creates as many as she deflects.

 

Most foreigners living here learn to avoid problems, as I have.

There are a few that repeat their mistakes again and again.

Edited October 5, 2021 by BritManToo

[Sticky Rice Balls]

On 10/2/2021 at 9:22 PM, SEAsia Traveler said:

26.  Low class of foreign visitors (criminals, drug dealers, cheap charlies, scammers, mentally ill)

Welp you got me--all correct but you forgot hansum 2 much! ????

[BangkokReady]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Would depend on her age obviously.

If she's still a virgin at age 35 then she's probably not interested in sex.

So what about two 25 year old women, one who has only been with one guy, her childhood sweetheart, and the other has been with 50 guys.  The first one doesn't like sex, but the second one does?

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

So what about two 25 year old women, one who has only been with one guy, her childhood sweetheart, and the other has been with 50 guys.  The first one doesn't like sex, but the second one does?

I've been with 50 girls, why would I worry if a girl had been with 50 guys?

Beyond having a lady checked out for disease before she moves in, what difference would it make?

 

PS.

25 is a bit young for me, I prefer ladies aged 30-35 years (and weighing 38-50KG).

Edited October 5, 2021 by BritManToo

[BangkokReady]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

I've been with 50 girls, why would I worry if a girl had been with 50 guys?

Beyond having a lady checked out for disease before she moves in, what difference would it make?

You're not going to answer the question?  You made a claim that a woman with a low body count probably doesn't like sex, I'm challenging that.

[thaibeachlovers]

18 hours ago, possum1931 said:

Depends on how you look at it, there are refugees, asylum seekers or whatever you call them, been arriving in the UK in boats from France after passing through other countries on their way to the UK, then getting put in hotels, given food and money provided by the taxpayers.

This unelected PM, or any other previous PM would never have allowed  that to happen in Thailand.

On the other hand, look at the damage this unelected PM has done to Thailand and it's people through their greed, I can't be bothered going through it all again just now, but it has been well documented by AN members on this forum.

IMO Thaksin did more fundamental damage to LOS than any succeeding PM.

However, other than Thaksin's loathsome stooge's ( Purachai ) attempt to destroy the farang nite scene, no government prior or after affected me personally. I don't even understand why so many posters are so consumed by the military government. They did nothing to make the Thai experience worse for me.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

So what about two 25 year old women, one who has only been with one guy, her childhood sweetheart, and the other has been with 50 guys.  The first one doesn't like sex, but the second one does?

Personally, I reckon the one man girl would be pants in bed. It takes practice to be good in bed.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

You're not going to answer the question?  You made a claim that a woman with a low body count probably doesn't like sex, I'm challenging that.

Unless the guy had a high body count to teach her how to do it properly, I can't see that sex with her would be anything but boring.

[vinci]

everything mention is a PROS only one negative immigration

[vinci]

everything mention is a PROS only one negative immigration

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

So a woman being sexually conservative has nothing to do with values or upbringing, she simply doesn't like sex, while a woman being promiscuous equally has nothing to do with values or upbringing, she just does like sex?

I'd agree with that. People that enjoy any activity usually try to do it as often as possible. If someone doesn't do something very much ( not just sex ) it's likely they ain't that interested in it.

IMO if someone is "conservative with sex" they are likely to not be very adventurous, and unadventurous sex gets boring very fast, IMO.

Why do you think promiscuous women wouldn't like sex, if they do it a lot?

[thaibeachlovers]

5 hours ago, mokwit said:

For the benefit of the Mr "well I must say I have never had any problems" who always chime in on this board, my born and bred Thai friends have the same problems you claim not to have, and no they are not the "wrong" type of Thais - they have Masters degrees and even a "na" in the name in one or two cases - speak pretty good Thai too [so it can't be because they haven't bothered to learn Thai].

Sorry, but I was never impressed by a degree. Met too many plonkers with degrees in my hospital career.

Obviously, THAI people will be affected by THAI politics. I fail to understand why some farangs claim to be. The government never hassled me- perhaps other farangs have a different experience. Do tell.

[thaibeachlovers]

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

A woman with a low notch count probably doesn't like sex.

I prefer a woman who's ready to rock.

Other than in Thailand, they must have been hiding from me, as I never found any "ready to rock".

[thaibeachlovers]

10 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:

A lot of good positives and negatives on the list.  Agree with some to varying degrees and disagree with some, again to varying degrees.  I'm not really a big fan of Phuket so if that was my "Thai experience" I might be a bit jaded and paint the whole country in that light if I hadn't been anywhere else.  Just like NYC and London are probably not good representations of their whole countries.  Perhaps a better way to decide if Thailand was for you would be to live in different regions for 2-3 months at a time.

Some things won't change wherever you are though.  Alcohol and drug use can be found anywhere.  

Chiang Mai was not my first choice of places to live in LOS. However if I could live in N E Phangan I'd be as happy as a sandboy in a very big pile of sand.

[mokwit]

9 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Sorry, but I was never impressed by a degree. Met too many plonkers with degrees in my hospital career.

Obviously, THAI people will be affected by THAI politics. I fail to understand why some farangs claim to be. The government never hassled me- perhaps other farangs have a different experience. Do tell.

I fail to understand what your point is but in light of your age will leave it there.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, mokwit said:

I fail to understand what your point is but in light of your age will leave it there.

My point was that the government never bothered me ( except for Purachai ), and I don't understand why other farangs believe they are affected by the government. I'm still waiting for an explanation after many years of such posts on this forum.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 10/4/2021 at 1:13 PM, malibukid said:

covid has killed the sex scene.  apart from the go go bars Thai woman are way to conservative and present too much of a cultural and language barrier.  its an exclusive culture. the West has the most open minded woman, but still many good reasons to stay in Thailand.

LOL. No western woman I knew was open minded on Thailand. I made the mistake once of telling a female friend that my wife to be would take my shoes off for me. From the reaction I got I thought she misheard me and thought I was talking about being an axe murderer.

[sirineou]

On 10/3/2021 at 8:22 AM, SEAsia Traveler said:

Positives:

1.  People (manners, values, consideration)

I might have a small disagreement with that.

Perhaps it's the area we are in but I find many people, not all, but many people in our area to be very inconsiderate. 

Sitting in the car in the parking lot at Macro,

    People come to their cars with their carts, unload all their groceries into their car, push their cart behind another car, so that the owner of that other car would have to deal with it, and they leave. The area to drop of the carts is only three or four cars away. but nooo. I see that all the time. 

I am coming out of a parking lot , wanting to cross the street to make a Uturn, There are a lt of car, and I wait, light turns red and cars start to stop, Them one of them comes and stops right in front of me, all he would have to do is stop a couple of metters back so I can cross,It would cost him nothing,  Bur Nooo. 

It has happened many times,

I can go on on on.  

 

[mokwit]

5 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

My point was that the government never bothered me ( except for Purachai ), and I don't understand why other farangs believe they are affected by the government. I'm still waiting for an explanation after many years of such posts on this forum.

 

The visa situation became stricter under Thaksin and again under this lot.