Stories Of Good Thais?

[pattyboy]

Sorry, that heading should read "Let's hear about the nice things Thais have done for you" (Is there any way to edit the title/subject lines when we make a mistake?)

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It seems that the vast majority of comments I read at TV are aimed at complaining about Thailand and Thais, and I'll be the first to admit that I get frustrated with the way things are often done here, but certainly there must be some people that have encountered good honest Thais who have bailed them out in one or two situations. Let me start off with a story of my roadside hero.

Some time ago, I was driving along highway 331 near Phoenix Golf Course Road (at least that's what i call it) when something happened with the cooling system in my car. The temperature indicator shot up to a dangerous point, so I immediately pulled the car over and popped the hood. There was a hissing sound, indicating a leak somewhere in the cooling system, but no steam was present, and determining where the leak originated from was almost impossible. Within 5 or 10 minutes, a Thai man driving a pickup truck stopped and offered assistance. To my luck, this guy was an auto mechanic. After poking around under the hood, we both agreed that the likely culprit was one of the rad hoses. He quickly had his tools out and pulled both the upper and lower hoses off then explained that he was going to drive to his shop in Ban Chang to get some new ones, about 20 kilometers away. I waited and eventually he returned with new hoses and clamps. Without the benefit of a hoist and doing it at the side of the road, replacing the lower hose was quite difficult, but the mechanic persevered and did it. Triumphantly, we poured water into the radiator only to see the level dropping which meant there was a leak elsewhere. Then we saw a little stream of water coming out the side of the block -- one of the frost plugs had corroded and had formed a small hole. Without hesitation, the mechanic was in his truck driving to Ban Chang again to get a new frost plug. After a while, he was back and replaced the frost plug, fixing the problem. Needless to say, I was very grateful and willing to pay a fairly hefty price, as this had chewed up 2-3 hours of this guy's time. When I asked him how much he wanted, he only asked for 300 baht -- a ridiculously low fee, I thought. I gladly paid what he asked and added quite a large "tip" on top of that, for which he was very happy. Let's face it, this guy bailed me out of a situation when he didn't have to, and then he even had the decency to charge me no more than he would a fellow Thai.

I bet this type of thing happens often in Thailand, and it would be nice to hear about other kind things Thais do for farang.

Edited July 19, 2007 by pattyboy

[jbowman1993]

I have great experiences with people in Thailand everyday. My students are the salt of the earth. Warm, generous, and kind. Always quick to help each other, and to help me, if I need it.

Same goes for most of my neighbors. We were having a problem with our water pump last night (after starting it up, after a 2 year lull). Our neighbor came over in the pouring rain, to help us figure out the problem. We all ended up soaked, but SHE got it working (needed to prime it), and I thanked her by buying her a pizza, lol.

Its amazing what will happen if you open up to people. Now admittedly, I live in a very nice neighborhood, and interact mostly with educated upper middle class people, but this has been my experience thusfar, after 5 years. Love it!

[Neeranam]

Its amazing what will happen if you open up to people. Now admittedly, I live in a very nice neighborhood, and interact mostly with educated upper middle class people, but this has been my experience thusfar, after 5 years. Love it!

Do you think that the fact that they are educated upper middle class Thai people they are more likely to help you out than say a somtam seller with no education in the middle lower class caste? In my experience in Thailand this is definately not the case. Why do you have to admit you live in a very nice neighbourhood? Acts of kindness and goodness are not related to education and class, IMHO.

[jbowman1993]

Its amazing what will happen if you open up to people. Now admittedly, I live in a very nice neighborhood, and interact mostly with educated upper middle class people, but this has been my experience thusfar, after 5 years. Love it!

Do you think that the fact that they are educated upper middle class Thai people they are more likely to help you out than say a somtam seller with no education in the middle lower class caste? In my experience in Thailand this is definately not the case. Why do you have to admit you live in a very nice neighbourhood? Acts of kindness and goodness are not related to education and class, IMHO.

To true, Neeranam. I stand corrected.

[canadiangirl]

When I first got to BKK, I had huge problems crossing the street (it sounds silly I know, but you should see the traffic where I lived!). I would stand there like a dork, trying to find an opening in the traffic, for probably like 5-10 minutes. Then an old Thai lady came, took my hand, crossed the street with me, and then crossed back.

[rak sa_ngop]

Got my wallet back yesterday. Must have slipped out of my pocket when seated in a BKK coffee bar. Nothing missing.

[TopDogger]

Without even asking a motorbike taxi driver charged me the Thai rate one day about 3 years ago, it was touching.

[girlx]

i can honestly say no one here has done anything nice for me in the 8 years i have been coming here. well, one old lady shared her mango with me when we were waiting for a train together.

[bendix]

i can honestly say no one here has done anything nice for me in the 8 years i have been coming here. well, one old lady shared her mango with me when we were waiting for a train together.

Another true to form post from girlx.

Tell me - why do you bother staying? I can't think of another poster who comes across as so persistently miserable.

[steveromagnino]

i can honestly say no one here has done anything nice for me in the 8 years i have been coming here. well, one old lady shared her mango with me when we were waiting for a train together.

Can you tell me a bit more about yourself?

Hearing your stories, I am fascinated that anyone could attract some much misery. Honestly, you are the most interesting person on this website; I just struggle to imagine what a life like yours must be like.

Come on. Background, where you are from etc, your stories are better than watching Oz. And I consider watching naked men in the showers of a penitentiary to be fairly breathtaking.

[sibeymai]

Good Thais ?....all those whom I haven't met yet and therefore haven't had the chance to try and lie, cheat and swindle me.

However, as an eternal optimist I conclude I've just been unlucky so far.

[sutnyod]

I have never complained about Thais or Thailand (although after more than 20 years would probably be entitled to). On the contrary: even if I wished to, I couldn't. It's part destiny (mostly meet friendly and honest people) and part selective memory. I still remember last Xmas when one of my neighbours dressed his cat as Santa, let it sit outside and shouted "Merry Christmas" when we came home. That was sweet.

[qwertz]

For some people, one kind gesture makes up for all the everyday petty meanness of others.

20 years ago there my wife died after a fairly short illness.

My world collapsed and I hit bottom and thinking drinking would help, became the archetypal undesirable, useless farang.

I had barely enough money for a ticket home after medical and funeral expenses.

I might have ended my days like the poor Welshman recently mentioned in a thread if it hadn't been for help from people there.

Bargirls I hardly knew or remembered dropped in every day with food, washed and cleaned and reported to their expat friends who collected enough to cover my rent and overstay, contacted my relatives in England, got me back to reality and made sure I got a flight.

It was long ago, most of the girls and expats have long since moved on or died but I never forget that lesson in kindness.

[DamianMavis]

Wow Qwertz, that's an awesome story. I know there are nice Thais, I'm desperately trying to wrack my brain with some sweet story but I can't think of any, I know they have happened but right this minute I can't recall them. Like girlx (from what I read above), someone very close to me has had one horrible experience after the other and those I remember crystal clear. (rape, attempted murder, theft, beatings, threats)... perhaps girlx falls into the target category. As an example, many of you might not be aware but small Japanese women are a total target here, large (tall) falang women generally are not. So their 2 experiences are going to be completely different and their Thailand is not the same for either group. Working and living in Japanese circles I hear all the bad crap (Japanese girls getting gang raped by taxi drivers, murdered by taxi drivers, attempted murder and theft by motorcycle taxi drivers etc.. ) I've heard of petite falang women being targetted too, guess its the size issue but I know that Japanese women are seen as submissive and less likely to resist/argue. And sadly this is true, witnessing falang women in a bad situation and many will be defiant and strong, witnessing japanese... they crumble and do nothing but weep. At least in my experiences and the recountings of those situations. My point is, I think the reason we have so many different attitudes and opinions on this forum about life in Thailand is because we are different people and live in different levels of society and interact with different circles and attract different levels of trouble. So we shouldnt judge those that don't live our lives.

Don't know if this counts but a Thai director remembered me from a small movie job and gave me the biggest movie job of my career so far, I love him for it! He made all the negative crap go away in a single move.

Damian Mavis

[Ping]

Interesting thread. What nice things have you lot done for Thais?

[sibeymai]

spend money here.....but as yet I've forgotten to leave.

[TopDogger]

i can honestly say no one here has done anything nice for me in the 8 years i have been coming here. well, one old lady shared her mango with me when we were waiting for a train together.

Ahh, you just reminded me. A taxi driver gave me a piece of chewing gum once also.

[sbk]

Well, we obviously live on entirely different islands. I have too many stories to relate so will only share a few, from people who have driven me home and offered to stay with me when my husband ordained as a monk many years ago, to a mother-in-law who always makes extra when she makes my favorite dish so that I can have some too. Taxi drivers who never charged me for a ride (back when the taxis were local people) to fishermen who have given me a free fish because I admired their catch as they walked past my house. The neighbor who came over and helped us dig out the stream next to our house so it wouldn't get flooded, to the man who found my cat over a kilometer away (he had jumped in the back of a truck parked at our house) and walked back to our house with the cat because he knew it would be too scared to go on a motorbike.

Guess you get what you give.

[Gimbo]

My wife married me, that was rather nice. And they do still let me into their country, I think thats cool too.

And once a girl on a baht bus handed me back 1000 baht that fell out of my pocket, and the cute girl in the car hire office worket her ass off to find me a car to rent with a competitor when we needed to go up country becouse the sister of my girl friend back then was giving birth, and wanted her mama, who was visiting us.

Then there was the police officer who smiled and told me to stay bellow 100Km/h and wished me a nice stay in Thailand, after catching me driving at 130km/h. This happened twice with two different officers on the same trip.

The bank girl who went the extra mile and helped me get some cash when the magnetic strip on my ATM stopped working. She made some calls, and got me a taxi to the bank branch that could actually help me.

Need more?

[Heng]

It was rainy out, so I slowed down for a bunch of falangs waiting for a song taew the other day.

[sutnyod]

Interesting thread. What nice things have you lot done for Thais?

That is a very good question. I could answer with taxi-driver wisdom: if you are kind-hearted, you will meet mainly kind-hearted people.

But what I usually do is telling them stories. Thais (like everyone I guess) LOVE to hear what happens in other countries. They LOVE to hear you have been at least close to their home village. You tell a taxi driver that he forgot to turn his meter on and you reimburse him for the distance not measured. When visiting, I bring presents that show I have thought about what they like. I call my Thai friends just to chat away and because I have not seen them for a while. I ask for advice and take it. And I smile back. Or first.

[girlx]

Hearing your stories, I am fascinated that anyone could attract some much misery.

i am not miserable, i just can't come up with much evidence of kindness or generosity amongst the thais i have met. sorry!

Guess you get what you give.

&

if you are kind-hearted, you will meet mainly kind-hearted people.

actually i have never in my life found that to be true, starting from a very early age. i am a very kind, generous, friendly person and as someone recently mentioned in another thread i tend to care as much or more about the lives of those around me than my own. i have a very nurturing nature- & in thailand they call me "too soft" like being kind and solicitous is some sort of flaw. any of the people who know me here will attest to my being a good person... but i don't usually get it back. partly that's because i do keep to myself quite a bit, as i work at home, and i am shy so others have to make the first move. but i also rarely am in a situation where i can't take care of myself! still, i know a lot of friendly people but they seem to be trying to trip each other up more than help each other.

Interesting thread. What nice things have you lot done for Thais?

excellent question.

Edited July 19, 2007 by girlx

[siam-i-am]

Sorry, that heading should read "Let's hear about the nice things Thais have done for you" (Is there any way to edit the title/subject lines when we make a mistake?)

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It seems that the vast majority of comments I read at TV are aimed at complaining about Thailand and Thais, and I'll be the first to admit that I get frustrated with the way things are often done here, but certainly there must be some people that have encountered good honest Thais who have bailed them out in one or two situations. Let me start off with a story of my roadside hero.

Some time ago, I was driving along highway 331 near Phoenix Golf Course Road (at least that's what i call it) when something happened with the cooling system in my car. The temperature indicator shot up to a dangerous point, so I immediately pulled the car over and popped the hood. There was a hissing sound, indicating a leak somewhere in the cooling system, but no steam was present, and determining where the leak originated from was almost impossible. Within 5 or 10 minutes, a Thai man driving a pickup truck stopped and offered assistance. To my luck, this guy was an auto mechanic. After poking around under the hood, we both agreed that the likely culprit was one of the rad hoses. He quickly had his tools out and pulled both the upper and lower hoses off then explained that he was going to drive to his shop in Ban Chang to get some new ones, about 20 kilometers away. I waited and eventually he returned with new hoses and clamps. Without the benefit of a hoist and doing it at the side of the road, replacing the lower hose was quite difficult, but the mechanic persevered and did it. Triumphantly, we poured water into the radiator only to see the level dropping which meant there was a leak elsewhere. Then we saw a little stream of water coming out the side of the block -- one of the frost plugs had corroded and had formed a small hole. Without hesitation, the mechanic was in his truck driving to Ban Chang again to get a new frost plug. After a while, he was back and replaced the frost plug, fixing the problem. Needless to say, I was very grateful and willing to pay a fairly hefty price, as this had chewed up 2-3 hours of this guy's time. When I asked him how much he wanted, he only asked for 300 baht -- a ridiculously low fee, I thought. I gladly paid what he asked and added quite a large "tip" on top of that, for which he was very happy. Let's face it, this guy bailed me out of a situation when he didn't have to, and then he even had the decency to charge me no more than he would a fellow Thai.

'I bet this type of thing happens often in Thailand, and it would be nice to hear about other kind things Thais do for farang.'

A song taew driver living near me has helped me change a tyre, provided jump leads, gone out of his way to tell me I'd left my lights on, these 3 things have happened over 3 years but it amazes me considering the things I shout at song taew drivers.

[UnknownPoster]

I lost my cell phone one day and my neighbor returned it,..and only wanted a 1,000bt.

That's nice.

[keestha]

How people treat you, depends on your own attitude. If (usually because of being ill adjusted) you mistrust the Thai people, your attitude towards them will be none too friendly, and you don't give them a chance to approach you in a positive way. Of course after 16 years here, I have had bad experiences with some Thai people, but the same goes for some people I had to do with whilst still living in my native country. Funny that discussions like this often lapse into a black or white type of argumentation: some posters moan about everything Thai, whilst others declare everything holy which has written the word Thai in front of it.

[RueFang]

ohh, way too many to count. Lots of people in my village often stop by to give me fruit (2 durian today and a huge pineapple yesterday !) If I start walking anywhere, within 50 metres someone would offer me a lift, I get discounts in town almost every time I go (because they can laugh with me speaking Thai!), I've been invited to eat with countless Thais I've only met for 5 minutes....that's just off the top of my head.

girlx "but i don't usually get it back"...the secret is not expecting it back

[WaiWai]

Let's face it, this guy bailed me out of a situation when he didn't have to, and then he even had the decency to charge me no more than he would a fellow Thai.

I bet this type of thing happens often in Thailand, and it would be nice to hear about other kind things Thais do for farang.

I would hope kindness is universal.

Perhaps I am wrong, but it seems to me a little like we "protest too much" if we need to write to a forum for foreigners about good deeds done unto us by Thais .

Gwertz - that's a powerful story anywhere - you should write the book.

[blizzard]

unkwown poster, the guy probably took it in the first place............lol.

the builders of the flamingo hotel casino charged bugsy many times over for the same palm trees. tress delivered in morning and at night they went for a ride and next day they came back as new and bugsy paid for them again.

[JetsetBkk]

It was rainy out, so I slowed down for a bunch of falangs waiting for a song taew the other day.

I was waiting with some mates for a song taew while it was raining, and this rich bugger in his Merc slowed down. We thought he'd stop, but he just aimed at a puddle and drenched us.

[qwertz]

Let's face it, this guy bailed me out of a situation when he didn't have to, and then he even had the decency to charge me no more than he would a fellow Thai.

I bet this type of thing happens often in Thailand, and it would be nice to hear about other kind things Thais do for farang.

I would hope kindness is universal.

Perhaps I am wrong, but it seems to me a little like we "protest too much" if we need to write to a forum for foreigners about good deeds done unto us by Thais .

Gwertz - that's a powerful story anywhere - you should write the book.

The thread just reminded me after all this time, I must have done something good in my life, can't remember when though.

As for book, there are too many already I think.

Edited July 19, 2007 by qwertz