Farangs Who 'go Native'.......

[cdnvic]

Oh! and my Wife says she never says ANYTHING just to please me. O Bluddy K?

....and that pleases you right?

[Johpa]

A dietician would tell you that adding insects to your diet is smarter than you might think.

They're high protein, virtually fat free and cost free.

Ask any aardvaark or pangolin.

Perhaps that is why Pangolin is such a tasty delicacy up north.

[terry57]

Still raining Terence, thought you was back to the mighty bangers today?

just a point regarding the punters with wives and families. some of my friends are like this and they are on a marrage visa, so what is the problem.? others on retirement visa's and others on working permits, so i dont get it when people complain about the visa's situation.

Visas can all be revoked Terry. Citizenship grants to many more rights and those with families here need those rights. It's about stability I suppose. If you have no wife or kid that's fine to be a bit unstable, easy to pack and leave if you have to, but when you have a family here and still have to apply for the correct visa to stay with that family, knowing full well it could be turned down, well that's a different story.

Right now the visa situation is OK, but it's the future you have to think of. 20 years down the line (5 years down the line even!), maybe after another coup or two and suddenly the government turns round in this country and makes some real harsh visa changes, that's when your friend with wives and kids may have wished they had attained citizenship rather than just living year by year of visas they are given.

hello maddy,

and im back in bangers this morning and waiting for my room so im back into this thread again as its a little cracker.

i understand where you are coming from when you talk about the unstability of the visa situation, but do you really think that the government will revoke marrage visa's and force farang's with wives and family to pack up and leave.?

i really dont think that this would ever happen and its more likely that its a way of gaining revenue than anything else.

there are that many farang living here under the visa situation that it would be absolute madness to force family's apart and it will never happen.

you must remember that there are economic reasons for the visa situation and also many highly influencial farang live under these conditions.

i realise that its not the ideal solution but its been like this forever and i would be very suprised if it ever changes but there's one thing for sure and that is farang will never be given citisinship.

actually im wrong there as los does grant a few farang citisinship every year but under very strict guidelines and being married to a thai just dont cut it.

so in conclusion maddy,

we must just go with the flow and not worry about these things too much, and just to keep on topic, its good to see that the vast majority of punters are siding with our friend going native.

thank you very much.

[Creeper]

I asked my GF what the locals think of him. She told me that they laughed behind his back.

I don't believe this, it just seems to me that you cannot get along in Thailand as well as others do, you constantly whinge and seem very bitter about your life, and now you are on an internet forum hoping to get some support from total strangers to make your unenviable position in life appear to be not quite as bad as it really is.

Would your old friend want to swap places with you and move into a barricaded house in Pattaya ?

I think the laugh is aimed at you, your GF is actually wishing that her knight in shining armour was as cool as this up country Farang seems to be.

[astral]

Howdy,

I been following the topic a few days, and had a thought about it. Looking at it from the Thais point of view, I too laugh at white guys acting black or hispanic. Ever see a white man walking like a black man or talking like a Mexican? Just to be cool?

I see nothing funny about the way a black man walks, or a mexican talks, unless a white man is doing it. Only thing funnier is a white woman acting black (with the head weaving back and forth). It's just funny to me, hope no one gets mad.

Chung *j*

I think you have missed the point, totally.

The OP is talking about how a foreigner acts, in his adopted country.

Your comments are about the exact opposite.

You may have been to Mexico to see how Hispanics behave,

have you ever been to Africa, where black people come from?

[Gary A]

I don't have any problem with eating bugs. It's just that I don't think I could EVER get that hungry.

[garro]

I don't drink alcohol, eat insects and my flip flops look brand new. The Phu Yai Baan has just asked me to leave the village because he claims I haven't made the effort to fit in.

[terry57]

I asked my GF what the locals think of him. She told me that they laughed behind his back.

I don't believe this, it just seems to me that you cannot get along in Thailand as well as others do, you constantly whinge and seem very bitter about your life, and now you are on an internet forum hoping to get some support from total strangers to make your unenviable position in life appear to be not quite as bad as it really is.

Would your old friend want to swap places with you and move into a barricaded house in Pattaya ?

I think the laugh is aimed at you, your GF is actually wishing that her knight in shining armour was as cool as this up country Farang seems to be.

cricky's luckydog,

your getting a good flogging about paying out on your mate, and i bet you wish you never raised this post.

the boys are coming out of the woodwork to support that friend of yours thats just trying to life his life the best way that he can.

actually id like to meet him and buy him a beer because i bet he would have some very interesting stories to tell, unlike the other punters that inhabit bars at that sea side resort.

but luckydog,

dont you worry about getting a good kicking because any thaivisa member worth his salt has also been there.

and just to make you feel better, im getting a good flogging at the moment in bedlam so im off to sort a few things out before one of those cats has a stroke.

and just to keep on topic,

that guy who has gone native has my support 157% and buddha bless him for giving thailand and there customs a good crack.

thank you very much.

[Chung noi]

Howdy,

I been following the topic a few days, and had a thought about it. Looking at it from the Thais point of view, I too laugh at white guys acting black or hispanic. Ever see a white man walking like a black man or talking like a Mexican? Just to be cool?

I see nothing funny about the way a black man walks, or a mexican talks, unless a white man is doing it. Only thing funnier is a white woman acting black (with the head weaving back and forth). It's just funny to me, hope no one gets mad.

Chung *j*

I think you have missed the point, totally.

The OP is talking about how a foreigner acts, in his adopted country.

Your comments are about the exact opposite.

You may have been to Mexico to see how Hispanics behave,

have you ever been to Africa, where black people come from?

I may have missed the point as you are concerned. My point being that anytime you a differant people are going to make a judgement. To answer your question I have never been to Africa, and I do not laugh at Africans. However, I would laugh at a white boy from Kansas running around with a bone in his nose, wearing a grass skirt, dancing to the beat of a homemade drum.....in some up county village in Africa. That is not to say that I could not learn from this mans experiences.

I have really learned alot from your site.

Thank you, and please forgive me for getting off topic.

Chung *j*

[November Rain]

I don't drink alcohol, eat insects and my flip flops look brand new. The Phu Yai Baan has just asked me to leave the village because he claims I haven't made the effort to fit in.

[cmsally]

A bit of a massive generalisation. Some of my BKK friends would look really out of place in some village out in the boonies. Some of my Northen Thai friends don't particularly like central Thais , they think they are snobby. Thailand is a pretty diverse place. I just do my best to fit in where I happen to be and who I am with. Just because I speak Thai doesn't mean to say I don't like to hang out with farangs and have gone native. Just that I like the best of both worlds

[macb]

Best of luck to the guy i Say:

Yes it is far better than a lot of Farangs who let there Countries down by visiting this wonderful Country or even living here, who spend most of there time drunk and then becoming abusive towards Thais and even there fellow Farangs: What sort of picture does this portray, you might respond by saying yes but a lot of Thais are drunk as well, yes but certainly in the villages its a different sort of drunkenness and harmless 99.9% of the time

Good luck whoever you are for trying to integrate into the community and the culture, and the laughing behind the back does not necessarily mean its in bad taste or of mocking value either when you study the culture

Edited July 5, 2007 by macb

[garro]

Best of luck to the guy i Say:

Yes it is far better than a lot of Farangs who let there Countries down by visiting this wonderful Country or even living here, who spend most of there time drunk and then becoming abusive towards Thais and even there fellow Farangs: What sort of picture does this portray, you might respond by saying yes but a lot of Thais are drunk as well, yes but certainly in the villages its a different sort of drunkenness and harmless 99.9% of the time

Good luck whoever you are for trying to integrate into the community and the culture, and the laughing behind the back does not necessarily have to be in bad taste either when you study the culture

Well said macb. It is a pity that they don't conduct some sort of persnality test before they hand out passports.

[Neeranam]

i will strongly disagree on this point - I have lived in a northern village for years and always do my best to duck around the lao cow circles (if you sit, then you have to drink - the only way to refuse the bannana is not to sit with the monkeys)

but anyways - I have brought some average scotch (jameson, black label) for the villagers to drink and they dont like the stuff and prefer their lao cow or maybe even sangsom - remember we are talking about working villagers here - not those intelligent bangkok thai people or police officers

I sometimes sit in the lao khao circles but I live in the city. It is quite easy to refuse the stuff.

Coming from Scotland and being an alcoholic - I've drank more whisky than the average guy, and more types.

My favourite drink when drinking was 'saeng som' or 'sang thip' and coke. THESE ARE NOT WHISKIES I preferrred it to 100 pipers or Chivas regal.

Many Thai people, waling around with a Johnny Red box is showing off - inside many of them have bottles of cheap stuff. I've even seen some fill up old bottles of Johnny with saeng som when taking it to the restaurant.

[Chung noi]

Oh, by the way I'm a white boy from Kansas.

Chung *j*

[chanchao]

My favourite drink when drinking was 'saeng som' or 'sang thip' and coke. THESE ARE NOT WHISKIES I preferrred it to 100 pipers or Chivas regal.

hel_l yes.

And to JW Red Label too.

Edited July 5, 2007 by chanchao

[davidjtayler]

You know you've gone too native when ...

1- You're not invited into the lao kao 'circle' because you hog the bottle

2- You carry fresh chillis around with you as a condiment

3- You wai soi dogs

[sbk]

You know you've gone too native when ...

1- You're not invited into the lao kao 'circle' because you hog the bottle

2- You carry fresh chillis around with you as a condiment

3- You wai soi dogs

Number 3 is in direct relation to number 1 on your list I believe

But anyway, there is nothing wrong with learning the local customs of the place you live, you would expect it of someone who moved to your own country wouldn't you?

[garro]

You know you have gone native;-

- when you lose your house gambling on how many seeds there are in a tamarind pod

[observer21]

Many this dont really understand a ferang acting like a thai -- and they usually assume it is because they are poor.  They have a term for ferangs acting in this mode - "key nok" ferang.  Literaly translated - "bird shit" ferang. But really implying that you are a poor ferang so have resorted to going naitive.

"Farang Kee Nok" is a type of Guava tree that grows amongst other fruits such as mangoes.(I feel like I'm on that Call My Bluff program)

It spreads by birds eating the seeds then flying off and shitting the see somewhere else. The foreigner who is seen amonst "baan nok" or country people is called this as he is out his own environment(like the 'farang kee nok tree in the mango orchard). Many foreigners hear this and thinkthe worst, but don't actually know what it means, including myself in the past.

Also, the fruit doesn't have much meat on it, so the poor people end up eating it -hence the poor foreigner is sometimes called it.

My thai wife of 15 years - fluent English -  states categorically tht it means poor ferang , as you state, but it is commenly use as  a put down.

[observer21]

If you want to live in your farang bubble, why did you travel halfway across the world??

Stay home.

The whole point of living in a foreign country is to enjoy the experience, to the full.

To Wai is good manners.

Thai food is very tasty, you should try it.

Thai dress can be very comfortable in the right situations.

IME local people appreciate the effort a farang makes to integrate.

One should expect more from a moderator.  Just because you dont agree with anothers opinion you resort to the " if you dont like it stay home" line!!  The whole point of living in another country may not only be to enjoy the experience - i think you should come outside your bubble.

[bkkmadness]

\ Of course everything flushed away with a bottle of lao kao because that's what the thais drink. Given the choice any thai would rather drink a bottle of real whisky but a lot can't afford it so there you go.

i will strongly disagree on this point - I have lived in a northern village for years and always do my best to duck around the lao cow circles (if you sit, then you have to drink - the only way to refuse the bannana is not to sit with the monkeys)

but anyways - I have brought some average scotch (jameson, black label) for the villagers to drink and they dont like the stuff and prefer their lao cow or maybe even sangsom - remember we are talking about working villagers here - not those intelligent bangkok thai people or police officers

Shah Jahan, to be careful how you make your quotes, you have quoted something someone else has said and put my name to it! I know you don't post much dude but check your quotes please.

The working villagers I know all like Lao khao, and to be honest I don't mind sitting in a circle having a few shots of it myself.

Edited July 5, 2007 by bkkmadness

[larvidchr]

I stay in Thailand as a guest, and I am unmistakably treated like a guest by my Hosts, being a guest means that I am polite and mindful of local costums and culture, I personally don't want to go native, I want to be living my western lifestyle getting more for my buck, and that is why i am here, I enjoy that very much and se no reason to change that.

If somebody wants to enjoy Thailand in a different way, like going native and dig themselves fully into Thai life, I say up to them, each their own.

The only time I see a problem is when people start to tell others what to do, and that their way is wrong, It would be nice if people had it in them, to allow others to live the way they seem fit and are happy with.

Kind regards

Edited July 5, 2007 by larvidchr

[qwertz]

Rarely does a thread run so long unless it involves putdowns and/or support of farangs.

In reality, garro, T57 and their "for" faction are the only ones who have it right in this debate.

There's a frequent cry on this forum to people to "get a life".

So the troppos got a life.

And now half of the TV community are displeased because going troppo was not quite what they wanted to see.

Sometimes you can't do right for doing wrong.

[bkkmadness]

i understand where you are coming from when you talk about the unstability of the visa situation, but do you really think that the government will revoke marrage visa's and force farang's with wives and family to pack up and leave.? blink.gif

Nope I don't. Pity they have that power over many farangs with families here though. Seems ridiculous to me that some dude with a wife and a couple of kids has to apply for a visa every year to stay with them. They need to make the requirements for citizenship easier I think.

there are that many farang living here under the visa situation that it would be absolute madness to force family's apart and it will never happen.

It would be absolute madness, remember what government we are dealing with Terence, and also be aware that in several years time you don't know whether this country will have an elected govt or a dictator at the top of it. Look at the situation now, Thailand the land of the free is run by the military. Democracy has been thrown out of the window, absolute madness could quite easily follow and over the next few months/years we're going to find out.

so in conclusion maddy,

we must just go with the flow and not worry about these things too much

I don't worry about these things too much Terence, got no kids or wife here. It is a bit easier to go with the flow in Thailand if you live in Australia though.

Just one more thing I'd say Terry, you mentioned that this situation has been like this forever. But how longs forever, how long ago was it when large amounts of farang came to this country with the intention of moving here permanently? Hardly forever is it, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years? Now move forward another 50 years, think how many foreigners will be here then, rules will change as the farang population increases to a significant number in this country. We are all pretty new here really, a first wave of immgrants.

Anyways Terry, either a new topic starts or we leave this one back to Luckydog.

[Luckydog]

If you want to live in your farang bubble, why did you travel halfway across the world??

Stay home.

The whole point of living in a foreign country is to enjoy the experience, to the full.

To Wai is good manners.

Thai food is very tasty, you should try it.

Thai dress can be very comfortable in the right situations.

IME local people appreciate the effort a farang makes to integrate.

One can go to the Beach. But you don't HAVE to swim......

Incidentally, when my GF said that they were laughing at my friend behind his back, she got it wrong in the translation. Actually, they, a lot of them, were SNEERING! Not as some of you have suggested 'LAUGHING KINDLY' at his antics........ This came out in a discussion I had today, with her English speaking Sister.

Look. Gents. I don't give a Monkeys Fk what you do. I just want you to be aware that Thai people do not necessarily admire those Farangs who try to Ape them!

I love my Thai Lady because she is DIFFERENT, and she feels likewise. Viva La Difference!

[Neeranam]

Can you speak Thai Luckydog?

[Luckydog]

Can you speak Thai Luckydog?

You can't teach an old Luckydog new tricks old bean. Can YOU speak English?

[bkkmadness]

Incidentally, when my GF said that they were laughing at my friend behind his back, she got it wrong in the translation. Actually, they, a lot of them, were SNEERING! Not as some of you have suggested 'LAUGHING KINDLY' at his antics........ This came out in a discussion I had today, with her English speaking Sister.

So when you want to find out what the villagers say you ask your girlfriend. When you want to find out what your girlfriend is saying you ask her sister.

But your native friend, (an old dog who learned new tricks?) could just talk directly to whoever he wants.

It's that why he's gone native, because he doesn't need a translator to speak to his gf? In fact he doesn't even need a translator when he speaks to your girlfriend. Furthermore if you wanted to speak to your girlfriend your friend could translate for you.

Ouch, that's gotta bite, I can see why you type in bold now.

Edited July 5, 2007 by bkkmadness

[qwertz]

Can you speak Thai Luckydog?

You can't teach an old Luckydog new tricks old bean. Can YOU speak English?

Lucky, where else apart from LOS can you be what you want to be?

In brief, be yourself, whatever that may be.

Whether you're admired, loved or ridiculed is really not important in the grand scheme.

I think, apart from the few people who have to be there, we all go there because we can live differently - and hopefully better - than we could back home.

Is this fair comment?

Edited July 5, 2007 by qwertz