it seems that the majority of foreigners living in thailand (myself probably included) have some sort of mental malfunction.

Whether it be alcoholism, depression, narcissim, chronic lying, excessive womanizing, drugs etc etc etc.

 

Just last night I met a bloke in the pub who had been living here for 30 years and his brain was completely fried.

he told me he lost everything gambling in cambodia about 10 years ago and had to sell the house that his mother left him back in Aus to repay his debts. his kids no longer talk to him.

 

couple weeks ago i met a real character walking down the street. he was wielding some kind of a bat and approached me and made small talk. he gave off a really creepy vibe so i walked away. then he asked me where i was goin and did i want to go back to his house to meet his wife. I declined and carried on walking.

 

i have had many such encounters over the years and its making me question. does Thailand attract losers or do people become losers when they have been here too long?

 

over the years i have met countless what I would refer to as down and outs back home just existing here in Thailand.

im not exactly a winner myself but I pay my way, have no debts and have a good relationship with my kids.

some of these guys ive met make me look like a saint in comparison????

 

so whats going on? are there any normal farangs living in Thailand or are they just few and far between??

No

Many are normal and do their very best for their Thai families and many certainly have not got pots of gold.

Who wants to be normal? 

9 minutes ago, thaitom said:

No

I came here to say only this as well.

 

But really I'm sure you'll find a lot of very normal guys that married women say up country and just have a quiet life. You'll never bump into them anywhere but all quite" normal".

 

At a certain level I would consider myself normal although others probably wouldn't. But that eccentricity is allowed me to be out here for 30 years, understand some way to squirrel away a modicum of retirement savings, remain married to a woman that loves me, hold down a series of respectable jobs here.

 

Years ago there were a lot of eccentric and colorful people now it's just people with mental malfunctions and those running away from debt, family, drug problems.. whatever

Normal.

Whatever that is. 

 

 

When in doubt, just avoid 'em. 

A much richer life is to be had by non-association. 

confused. first you say farang and then you say foreigners. which group are you really asking about, whiteys or all non-Thais?

1 minute ago, zzaa09 said:

Normal.

Whatever that is.

i suppose i meant what society would deem as normal. i e none of the problems i listed in my OP

1 minute ago, Lemsta69 said:

confused. first you say farang and then you say foreigners. which group are you really asking about, whiteys or all non-Thais?

westerners in particular.

11 minutes ago, bogs smith said:

i suppose i meant what society would deem as normal. i e none of the problems i listed in my OP

Normal people live in their home countries.

27 minutes ago, bogs smith said:

so whats going on? are there any normal farangs living in Thailand or are they just few and far between??

Where do you meet people?

Somewhere is a bar late at night?

In a coffee shop?

At an art exhibition?

At work?

 

Not same, very different. 

But then, I met lots of guys through other guys having a drink in bars. Some of them became my customers and/or friends.

2 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Where do you meet people?

alot of the time in bars.

1 minute ago, bogs smith said:

alot of the time in bars.

There is your problem.

It is very easy to meet idiots of all sorts in Thailand,mostly in bars i would think.

There are many foreigners who never go to bars and stay home most of the time.

Many are into gardening and other hobbies.

Same as in the newspapers,you never read good news.

 

I worked with guy and he took a day off from work.  I asked what happened and he said that he had to take his fish for a walk.

15 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Where do you meet people?

Somewhere is a bar late at night?

In a coffee shop?

At an art exhibition?

At work?

 

Not same, very different. 

But then, I met lots of guys through other guys having a drink in bars. Some of them became my customers and/or friends.

This is true.

 

If you are hanging out in/near the fleshpots of Pattaya or some other "entertainment district" is may colour your impressions.  

13 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Normal people live in their home countries.

Nothing is black and white... however how many doctors, engineers or scientists have you seen in your home country with their hands or neck tattooed? Mostly uneducated low class settles here. Russians are maybe an exception but they have their own issues.

Eventually, every criminally inclined pervert makes his way to Thailand.

I moved here with my white wife. A few dozen bringing a ham sandwich to the picnic jokes later, we have become normalcy status symbols.

 

Our mere presence provides a warm bath of normalcy for many a monger or pothead. Older Thai women seem very approving.

 

A guy who's being supported by his parents pimped us out as normalcy-provers when his family visited. I got a free pizza out of it.

15 minutes ago, jvs said:

There is your problem.

It is very easy to meet idiots of all sorts in Thailand,mostly in bars i would think.

There are many foreigners who never go to bars and stay home most of the time.

Many are into gardening and other hobbies.

Same as in the newspapers,you never read good news.

 

If I have to choose between someone who spends lots of time in the garden or lots of time in bars, I know what I prefer... 

2 minutes ago, John Drake said:

Eventually, every criminally inclined pervert makes his way to Thailand.

A bold statement..I presume you include yourself in this assessment.

What about perverts who aren't criminals?

 

I think the technical definition of such people is: friends.

2 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

I moved here with my white wife. A few dozen bringing a ham sandwich to the picnic jokes later, we have become normalcy status symbols.

 

Our mere presence provides a warm bath of normalcy for many a monger or pothead. Older Thai women seem very approving.

 

A guy who's being supported by his parents pimped us out as normalcy-provers when his family visited. I got a free pizza out of it.

That reminds me of working for a big construction company in Bangkok a long time ago. They had maybe 30 expats working in that company, most of them arrived here with their farang wives.

A few years later the situation was very different. By then almost all of them had a Thai girlfriend. Only a few were still married to their farang wives. 

48 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

you say farang and then you say foreigners. which group are you really asking about

Same same, all foreigners are farangs are they not?  

12 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

If I have to choose between someone who spends lots of time in the garden or lots of time in bars, I know what I prefer..

 

the garden?

1 hour ago, bogs smith said:

i have had many such encounters over the years and its making me question. does Thailand attract losers or do people become losers when they have been here too long?

Depends where you choose to live. 

 

The tourist ghettoes are not typical of the rest of the country.

What is normal?  

I would say the most abnormal; religious cult, political cult, woke mind, sexless weak mentally deranged people I know are in my home country.

 

I seem to meet normal people, but not always 

 

Some want to boast about their possessions, condo size, cars, motorcycles girlfriends...but that could occur in my home country as well....

I usually tell them I have nothing but a small pension and a small condo,  but am happy to give half of my income every month to the multitude of one hour female therapists who work here in Pattaya for $45 dollars an hour.  It is my way of supporting local entrepreneurs!  Some get it, some do not  5555

2 minutes ago, Skallywag said:

my multitude of one hour female therapists who work here in Pattaya for $45 dollars an hour

your gettin ripped off pal ????

9 minutes ago, Skallywag said:

Same same, all foreigners are farangs are they not?  

Nope. Farang = whitey.

12 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

By then almost all of them had a Thai girlfriend. Only a few were still married to their farang wives. 

Golden era-ThaiVisa advice was to watch out for the 7/11 cuties. They were the willful home-wreckers.

 

Have looked into Chiang Mai charities and expat gatherings in terms of other white couples. We see a lot of fund-raising going on but no one tossing a 1,000 baht into the pot. They have a thing called The Algonquin Club where you have to be invited to join. Not a concept I'm particularly drawn to.

 

I'm smoke-dodging in Hua Hin. I go to breakfast at Pat's Place and every old Scandi/German sitting there is the same: Hard Rock Teeshirt and Nike shorts, head shaven, ray bans.

 

So no diff than any mid-level seaside resort in the states. I see plenty of normalcy eating a schnitzel every 20 feet here.