Here in Thailand: Are you Old Money? Or Nouveau Riche?

[GammaGlobulin]

GUYS!

 

I am actually not as crass as Our Boy Bob seems to me to be. Concerning crassness, he sometimes seems, to me, to be the epitome.

 

Although I will say that the guy who recently talked of Brooks Brothers and Sperry seems unaware that Sperry is for the Nouveau Riche, and not for those who come from old money. Sperry is synonymous with cheap boat shoes. And this young whippersnapper who calls Brooks Brothers “Brooks Brothers & Sperry” clearly knows nothing about how to dress for school.

 

Back in the day, in the 60s, we didn’t even wear shoes. We wore those low-cut boots with the zipper on the inside of the ankle, and those were really cool. Being 13, living just outside NYC, with boots like the Beatles, and anointed with a sprinkle or two of Jade East, really got the juices flowing. But, what a shame that there were no girls at our school, and so we mostly just told each other stories. Sperry, indeed. Sperry is for the New-Monied kids, offspring of the upstarts who grew up dirt poor, and made their money servicing swimming pools of the families with Old Money, families that still occupy land which is no longer for sale, land having been passed down through generations to their ugly little rich brats who grew up deprived of sufficient parental attention.

 

But this Topic is NOT about Money. This topic is about Farang, the Old-asian Farang versus the Farang Néo-asiatique:

 

You see, this New-Asian Farang Cohort that has been flooding Asia, and mucking up the atmosphere of this place, is here for a very different reason than that which drove us Old-Asia Farang.

 

And these New Farang often become unreasonably offended when we do not smile at them, or return their casual wave of greeting as we pass them on the road. We don’t acknowledge them because..why would we? Do they even matter here, to you and to me, would you say? No, they only think that they SHOULD matter to us; I say.

 

If they would just stop getting in such a huff when we ignore them, then maybe we could tolerate them. But, no, they just cannot see the many offenses they commit, and so to hell with them; I say.

 

I have been around awhile in Asia and China, and maybe that is why some people refer to me as being “The Old China Hand”. But actually, I am not, and, deep down, I am, unfortunately, nothing but a relatively “New China Ham”.

 

And so just as we used to do at boarding school, when there were no girls around, I thought we could share a few stories this Sunday morning. I do NOT mean that we should share any stories of any significance. I thought we could share insignificant stories about three insignificant events that happened to us during the first year of our many years in Asia.

 

I will first use only a few sentences to relate three insignificant events that happened to me. And then you can reciprocate with your most insignificant events in your Asian life, during your first year here, many years ago.

 

Very few here will care about us or the events we relate in this Topic. But the people who are ignoring us are the very New-Asia Farang that we ourselves always ignore, anyway. So then, why should we care?

 

My Three Random and Insignificant Recollections from My Life in Asia Many Years Ago

 

Recollection #1

 

JAL, when JAL was Great!

The first time I flew on JAL was my first trip to Asia, and I had boarded a flight from LA to Tokyo in 1971, aboard a Boeing 707. The flight was pure bliss with the STEWARDESSES 100-percent Japanese in those Kimonos, and a full bar, beautifully backlighting bottles of booze and fine glassware. They would give you whatever you asked for, within reason. There were very few passengers on the flight which made a stopover in Hawaii. Those were the days when refueling was required for such a long-haul flight.  There is not much to say more than this. The reason I recall this so vividly is the beauty of the cabin which was a far better experience than is possible today. Most of the guys riding on this flight were business types, and there were only 15 or 20 of us, total.  Those were the days that I enjoyed flying. I do not fly nowadays; the passenger experience has been degraded so. I wish you had been there because you would not believe what flying once was like.

 

Recollection #2

 

I often flew between Taipei and HK, or Taipei and Japan, in days gone by. The reason I feel such great nostalgia has nothing to do with the flight experience or the destination, or the free champagne, or the very cute Chinese server girls. What I feel such angst about, and what I miss most, is the passing of the Far Eastern Economic Review.  Such a sad thing when FEER lost its autonomy to DOW Jones, and the SCMP, too.  But what I loved, pre-1987, was being provided with a free copy of Far Eastern Economic Review, and being able to actually READ IT on an aircraft winging its way, somewhere above Asia, in the black of night, maybe around 11 or 12 PM. The experience was a bit surreal, in fact.

 

 

Recollection #3

 

I once lived outside Taipei, sometime around the early 80s, in a small village only sparsely settled with five-floor walkup apartment buildings. The quality of the buildings was primitive, just bare unpainted concrete stairwells, balconies that were not even level, and bare light bulbs in sockets in the ceilings; not a place where most would enjoy living, but I enjoyed it because the area was surrounded by mountains, and we even had our own abattoir where they would slaughter hogs on the weekends, early in the morning, at dawn, but not before offering the hogs a last cigarette.

 

Soon after moving into the building with my GF, someplace in NeiHu, we decided to buy a new TaTung refrigerator and have it delivered in the evening. However, for several evenings, the vendor failed to show up at our building, and I think those were the days before phone service was available there. Or, if phones were available, then you had to wait for months, and then they would charge you up to about USD800.00 for a landline connection.

 

Naturally, we couldn’t wait for our food to be refrigerated, and so that week I decided to order the same machine directly from the wholesaler, and it was delivered promptly the same day. But the first vendor, a few evenings later, decided that he, too, would deliver a refrigerator, and he showed up with his machine in a cart drawn behind his motorbike. My GF tried to explain the mix-up. The vendor, who was probably also one of those very beefy guys that delivers 50 KG bags of rice all day, became irate. And that GF of mine often had a bad temper, too, and would easily fly off the handle at the least provocation. Neither she nor the rice delivery man would see reason. And then, perhaps my GF might have insulted the man, for he ran back to his cart and pulled out one of those rusty Chinese cleavers and began chasing us up the bare concrete stairs to our 5th-floor cold-water flat which, fortunately, had a heavy metal door.

 

That’s all really. We didn’t get hacked to death. My GF went out on the inclined balcony and began shouting JIU-MING!, JIU-MING! (救命, 救命)...Save Life!, Save Life!...until all the neighbors came out on their balconies, too.

 

The strange thing is that I sometimes wonder whatever happened to that refrigerator, because I am fairly sure that it is still in service, even after these over 40 years that I have lived in Asia.

 

So there you have it, just three random recollections, and completely insignificant as I warned you before I began the telling.

 

I am sure that you can do better relating your three random and insignificant recollections of your first years in Asia, over 40 years ago, or over 30 years ago, or whenever…Correct?

 

Whether you are drinking coffee, tea, or beer, this fine Sunday morning, and I am drinking Sichuan Tea grown on some Sichuan Mountain, I wish you a satisfying time looking at the young Thai women, if you happen to be in some place where they are walking around, up close and personal, like, preferably on a beach with almost nothing on except one of those string-type bathing suits that covers almost nothing at all.

 

Ever envious of you lewd & drooling Old Oglers, and,

As Usual,

Gamma

 

Pleaze Note:  Now being here in this part of Modern Asia, I think it’s really sad when someone is about to upload a Topic to TV, only to find that, just about when the entire Topic has been typed into the TV Editor, and one is just about to hit the SUBMIT button, the entire Fiberoptic Connection crashes. Such as sad feeling for me, but such a glorious feeling for others, I can easily imagine. (Any ERRORS in this topic are solely due to the Internet problem this morning, and not my own.)

Who knows how much longer before I can re-submit my Topic? Could be days…for all I know…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by GammaGlobulin
typo

[bob smith]

20 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Here in Thailand: Are you Old Money? Or Nouveau Riche?

 

 

GUYS!

 

I am actually not as crass as Our Boy Bob seems to me to be. Concerning crassness, he sometimes seems, to me, to be the epitome.

by Thai standards I am the Elon Musk of my village.

 

Everyone else pales in comparison. 

[Celsius]

I am nouveau pauvre

 

I came to thailand with a million and leaving with a thousand

[mfd101]

6 minutes ago, Celsius said:

I am nouveau pauvre

 

I came to thailand with a million and leaving with a thousand

Yes, my b/f spends all my money.

 

But I have a large library and a well-furnished mind. They should last me till death do us part.

[Fat is a type of crazy]

Have fond memories of the Far Eastern Economic review piled up on my fathers desk. Would open one up from time to time but not much of interest for a teenager.

Liked the Economist. Not dry at all and good summaries of goings on in the world. 

[LaosLover]

I am so much richer than my parents.

 

I recall my father holding up a small leather-crafting tool and saying:

 

"Someday Son, this awl will be your's".

 

[Ralf001]

Like many I know here, Iam a wage slave !

[connda]

Connda Rockefeller.  Now you know! 

[lamyai3]

"Are you Old Money? Or Nouveau Riche?"

 

I don't see the option for Old, No Money.

[bignok]

Don't understand the topic. GG could you start again from the beginning?

[a3tsw]

The photo of the refrigerator with cloths wrapped over the handles is a good idea and  brings back memories , we used to use a wooden spoon to open the door on ours , occasionally one of us would forget and get zapped ⚡

[GammaGlobulin]

3 hours ago, bignok said:

Don't understand the topic. GG could you start again from the beginning?

I would not risk it.

Somebody might complain.

You know who...

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

3 hours ago, a3tsw said:

The photo of the refrigerator with cloths wrapped over the handles is a good idea and  brings back memories , we used to use a wooden spoon to open the door on ours , occasionally one of us would forget and get zapped ⚡

They're smart, those Chinese.

 

 

[bignok]

Speckled Hen Rich

[herfiehandbag]

Neither.

 

Just skint!

[Toolong]

I enjoyed reading this post, GG. It's lavishly nostalgic, on your part and mine too, for times to which I can - though a tad younger than yourself I think - relate quite a bit. ????

 

Of distinction for me is the (unexpected & humorously & strangely challenging!) notion of one recollecting INsignificant experiences in old Asia, rather than significant ones. 

 

Well, I've got plenty of those. But none I could tell as well as you do. 

[GammaGlobulin]

21 minutes ago, Toolong said:

I enjoyed reading this post, GG. It's lavishly nostalgic, on your part and mine too, for times to which I can - though a tad younger than yourself I think - relate quite a bit. ????

 

Of distinction for me is the (unexpected & humorously & strangely challenging!) notion of one recollecting INsignificant experiences in old Asia, rather than significant ones. 

 

Well, I've got plenty of those. But none I could tell as well as you do. 

Maybe I should read my Topic! 

 

 

[swissie]

14 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

GUYS!

 

I am actually not as crass as Our Boy Bob seems to me to be. Concerning crassness, he sometimes seems, to me, to be the epitome.

 

Although I will say that the guy who recently talked of Brooks Brothers and Sperry seems unaware that Sperry is for the Nouveau Riche, and not for those who come from old money. Sperry is synonymous with cheap boat shoes. And this young whippersnapper who calls Brooks Brothers “Brooks Brothers & Sperry” clearly knows nothing about how to dress for school.

 

Back in the day, in the 60s, we didn’t even wear shoes. We wore those low-cut boots with the zipper on the inside of the ankle, and those were really cool. Being 13, living just outside NYC, with boots like the Beatles, and anointed with a sprinkle or two of Jade East, really got the juices flowing. But, what a shame that there were no girls at our school, and so we mostly just told each other stories. Sperry, indeed. Sperry is for the New-Monied kids, offspring of the upstarts who grew up dirt poor, and made their money servicing swimming pools of the families with Old Money, families that still occupy land which is no longer for sale, land having been passed down through generations to their ugly little rich brats who grew up deprived of sufficient parental attention.

 

But this Topic is NOT about Money. This topic is about Farang, the Old-asian Farang versus the Farang Néo-asiatique:

 

You see, this New-Asian Farang Cohort that has been flooding Asia, and mucking up the atmosphere of this place, is here for a very different reason than that which drove us Old-Asia Farang.

 

And these New Farang often become unreasonably offended when we do not smile at them, or return their casual wave of greeting as we pass them on the road. We don’t acknowledge them because..why would we? Do they even matter here, to you and to me, would you say? No, they only think that they SHOULD matter to us; I say.

 

If they would just stop getting in such a huff when we ignore them, then maybe we could tolerate them. But, no, they just cannot see the many offenses they commit, and so to hell with them; I say.

 

I have been around awhile in Asia and China, and maybe that is why some people refer to me as being “The Old China Hand”. But actually, I am not, and, deep down, I am, unfortunately, nothing but a relatively “New China Ham”.

 

And so just as we used to do at boarding school, when there were no girls around, I thought we could share a few stories this Sunday morning. I do NOT mean that we should share any stories of any significance. I thought we could share insignificant stories about three insignificant events that happened to us during the first year of our many years in Asia.

 

I will first use only a few sentences to relate three insignificant events that happened to me. And then you can reciprocate with your most insignificant events in your Asian life, during your first year here, many years ago.

 

Very few here will care about us or the events we relate in this Topic. But the people who are ignoring us are the very New-Asia Farang that we ourselves always ignore, anyway. So then, why should we care?

 

My Three Random and Insignificant Recollections from My Life in Asia Many Years Ago

 

Recollection #1

 

JAL, when JAL was Great!

The first time I flew on JAL was my first trip to Asia, and I had boarded a flight from LA to Tokyo in 1971, aboard a Boeing 707. The flight was pure bliss with the STEWARDESSES 100-percent Japanese in those Kimonos, and a full bar, beautifully backlighting bottles of booze and fine glassware. They would give you whatever you asked for, within reason. There were very few passengers on the flight which made a stopover in Hawaii. Those were the days when refueling was required for such a long-haul flight.  There is not much to say more than this. The reason I recall this so vividly is the beauty of the cabin which was a far better experience than is possible today. Most of the guys riding on this flight were business types, and there were only 15 or 20 of us, total.  Those were the days that I enjoyed flying. I do not fly nowadays; the passenger experience has been degraded so. I wish you had been there because you would not believe what flying once was like.

 

Recollection #2

 

I often flew between Taipei and HK, or Taipei and Japan, in days gone by. The reason I feel such great nostalgia has nothing to do with the flight experience or the destination, or the free champagne, or the very cute Chinese server girls. What I feel such angst about, and what I miss most, is the passing of the Far Eastern Economic Review.  Such a sad thing when FEER lost its autonomy to DOW Jones, and the SCMP, too.  But what I loved, pre-1987, was being provided with a free copy of Far Eastern Economic Review, and being able to actually READ IT on an aircraft winging its way, somewhere above Asia, in the black of night, maybe around 11 or 12 PM. The experience was a bit surreal, in fact.

 

 

Recollection #3

 

I once lived outside Taipei, sometime around the early 80s, in a small village only sparsely settled with five-floor walkup apartment buildings. The quality of the buildings was primitive, just bare unpainted concrete stairwells, balconies that were not even level, and bare light bulbs in sockets in the ceilings; not a place where most would enjoy living, but I enjoyed it because the area was surrounded by mountains, and we even had our own abattoir where they would slaughter hogs on the weekends, early in the morning, at dawn, but not before offering the hogs a last cigarette.

 

Soon after moving into the building with my GF, someplace in NeiHu, we decided to buy a new TaTung refrigerator and have it delivered in the evening. However, for several evenings, the vendor failed to show up at our building, and I think those were the days before phone service was available there. Or, if phones were available, then you had to wait for months, and then they would charge you up to about USD800.00 for a landline connection.

 

Naturally, we couldn’t wait for our food to be refrigerated, and so that week I decided to order the same machine directly from the wholesaler, and it was delivered promptly the same day. But the first vendor, a few evenings later, decided that he, too, would deliver a refrigerator, and he showed up with his machine in a cart drawn behind his motorbike. My GF tried to explain the mix-up. The vendor, who was probably also one of those very beefy guys that delivers 50 KG bags of rice all day, became irate. And that GF of mine often had a bad temper, too, and would easily fly off the handle at the least provocation. Neither she nor the rice delivery man would see reason. And then, perhaps my GF might have insulted the man, for he ran back to his cart and pulled out one of those rusty Chinese cleavers and began chasing us up the bare concrete stairs to our 5th-floor cold-water flat which, fortunately, had a heavy metal door.

 

That’s all really. We didn’t get hacked to death. My GF went out on the inclined balcony and began shouting JIU-MING!, JIU-MING! (救命, 救命)...Save Life!, Save Life!...until all the neighbors came out on their balconies, too.

 

The strange thing is that I sometimes wonder whatever happened to that refrigerator, because I am fairly sure that it is still in service, even after these over 40 years that I have lived in Asia.

 

So there you have it, just three random recollections, and completely insignificant as I warned you before I began the telling.

 

I am sure that you can do better relating your three random and insignificant recollections of your first years in Asia, over 40 years ago, or over 30 years ago, or whenever…Correct?

 

Whether you are drinking coffee, tea, or beer, this fine Sunday morning, and I am drinking Sichuan Tea grown on some Sichuan Mountain, I wish you a satisfying time looking at the young Thai women, if you happen to be in some place where they are walking around, up close and personal, like, preferably on a beach with almost nothing on except one of those string-type bathing suits that covers almost nothing at all.

 

Ever envious of you lewd & drooling Old Oglers, and,

As Usual,

Gamma

 

Pleaze Note:  Now being here in this part of Modern Asia, I think it’s really sad when someone is about to upload a Topic to TV, only to find that, just about when the entire Topic has been typed into the TV Editor, and one is just about to hit the SUBMIT button, the entire Fiberoptic Connection crashes. Such as sad feeling for me, but such a glorious feeling for others, I can easily imagine. (Any ERRORS in this topic are solely due to the Internet problem this morning, and not my own.)

Who knows how much longer before I can re-submit my Topic? Could be days…for all I know…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Truly rich Farangs I have not met in Thailand. Not old money, not nuveau riche. They don't retire in Thailand.

But I met a lot of Farangs that worked hard all their lives. Having accumulated some "wealth". But most of them relying on some sort of pensions, coming from the home country. Most get by nicely in Thailand. I have not yet met a Farang that made his fortune in Thailand.

Of course, due to favorable exchange rates and generally lower cost of living, Farangs may easily feel "rich". Inevitably some arrive with a million and leave with a thousand. Those cases are almost always "woman related" in one way or the other. Such situations are usually explained as "a series of bad decisions", or even better "acts of God". Fortunately rather the exception than the rule.

I'd say that most Farangs are doing OK, without "old money" or being "nuveau riche".

PS: The authors posts are full of twists and turns. It's his trade mark. But bringing refrigerators and airlines into a context within the headline of "Old Money and Nuveau Riche", the direct linkage is hard to establish. Unless the message is: With "old money", I was able to buy a refrigerator in Asia, some 500 years ago. Embedded in many twists and turns, I suppose, this was the message of this post.

- Well understood, I woulden't want to go without the daily postings of the OP. It is recommended that old folks shoud do crossword puzzles to stay mentally fit. Not me! I try to figure out, what the OP is trying to tell me today instead. All is well.

[bignok]

3 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Maybe I should read my Topic! 

 

 

Can you remember the ones from 2 weeks ago?

[bignok]

25 minutes ago, swissie said:

Truly rich Farangs I have not met in Thailand. Not old money, not nuveau riche. They don't retire in Thailand.

But I met a lot of Farangs that worked hard all their lives. Having accumulated some "wealth". But most of them relying on some sort of pensions, coming from the home country. Most get by nicely in Thailand. I have not yet met a Farang that made his fortune in Thailand.

Of course, due to favorable exchange rates and generally lower cost of living, Farangs may easily feel "rich". Inevitably some arrive with a million and leave with a thousand. Those cases are almost always "woman related" in one way or the other. Such situations are usually explained as "a series of bad decisions", or even better "acts of God". Fortunately rather the exception than the rule.

I'd say that most Farangs are doing OK, without "old money" or being "nuveau riche".

PS: The authors posts are full of twists and turns. It's his trade mark. But bringing refrigerators and airlines into a context within the headline of "Old Money and Nuveau Riche", the direct linkage is hard to establish. Unless the message is: With "old money", I was able to buy a refrigerator in Asia, some 500 years ago. Embedded in many twists and turns, I suppose, this was the message of this post.

- Well understood, I woulden't want to go without the daily postings of the OP. It is recommended that old folks shoud do crossword puzzles to stay mentally fit. Not me! I try to figure out, what the OP is trying to tell me today instead. All is well.

Did you prefer Mr Bean or Black Adder?

[bunnydrops]

I liked the part where he gets in a huff about farangs getting into a huff because he ignores them. I'm sure they didn't know how lucky they were.

[save the frogs]

47 minutes ago, swissie said:

PS: The authors posts are full of twists and turns. It's his trade mark. But bringing refrigerators and airlines into a context within the headline of "Old Money and Nuveau Riche", the direct linkage is hard to establish.

the main message I got from skimming his long-winded post is ENVY.

he seems envious towards newer generations of farang because they have deeper pockets than he did when he arrived in asia. 

don't beat yourself up for missing the main gist of his post.

try harder next time or go back to doing crosswords perhaps. 

 

[bignok]

6 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

the main message I got from skimming his long-winded post is ENVY.

he seems envious towards newer generations of farang because they have deeper pockets than he did when he arrived in asia. 

don't beat yourself up for missing the main gist of his post.

try harder next time or go back to doing crosswords perhaps. 

 

And you know this from looking at their shirts?

[GammaGlobulin]

16 hours ago, bob smith said:

by Thai standards I am the Elon Musk of my village.

 

Everyone else pales in comparison. 

Elon?

 

Are you saying that you plan to send the Thai people in your village to Mars?

 

 

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

the main message I got from skimming his long-winded post is ENVY.

he seems envious towards newer generations of farang because they have deeper pockets than he did when he arrived in asia. 

don't beat yourself up for missing the main gist of his post.

try harder next time or go back to doing crosswords perhaps. 

 

Hmmm

 

Is this frog turning green again?

 

If he is becoming green...

 

Then it's either with envy...

Or, he is about to save the planet.

 

 

[SuperSaiyan]

Oh, I understand.

 

The never ending sleep is near.

 

I wish you farewell.

[GammaGlobulin]

18 minutes ago, SuperSaiyan said:

Oh, I understand.

 

The never ending sleep is near.

 

I wish you farewell.

Wherever you are off too...please just remember one thing...

Always stay in touch.

 

We care about you.

 

 

[bignok]

4 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Hmmm

 

Is this frog turning green again?

 

If he is becoming green...

 

Then it's either with envy...

Or, he is about to save the planet.

 

 

Turning red with rage

[bluebluewater]

It matters not to me one little bit how anyone might describe whatever wealth I may have.  I'm just glad I have it.

[Walker88]

I'm likely Nouveau Riche, but try to behave like Old Money. Discreet. Anonymous. Not loud or boisterous. No logos (to tie into one of your earlier posts). No tatts. No spare tires, no beer belly, no excess adipose tissue. No red Ferrari and no yellow Lamborghini, and certainly no pastel Rolls Royce. Refused the Black and Platinum Mastercard and AMEX, but accept the special section at banks, because the lines are shorter. I've been told by several expats that "You're the only 'normal' expat I've ever seen in Thailand", whatever that means, though I think it has something to do with my shape, demeanor, lack of daily public drunken-ness, and failure to subscribe to bizarre conspiracy theories. Oh, and I'm happy.

 

To add to your Asian anecdotes, I once took a JAL flight from Tokyo to NYC, At that time, JAL's Business class seating was 2-3-2, which kind of obviates the 'upgraded status'. I specifically chose a "No Smoking" seat.

 

Soon after take-off, the Japanese man sitting in the middle of the "3", lit up a cigarette. I called the flight attendant and noted to her that I was in a non-smoking seat.

 

She agreed. I was.

 

I then noted the obvious to her...that the guy next to me was smoking away.

 

"Yes", she said. "He is in a smoking seat."

 

Anyone who has lived In Japan understands her thinking, or rather why she would think both the smoker and I are totally in compliance with the rules.