Is That How Thailand Affects People?

[iegova]

Hi peeps!

Wanted to share one interesting observation with you, just had it recently. I visited my old friend in Thailand, really good friend of mine whom I've known for many years and shared good and bad times in the past. What I faced surprised me to the deep.

He changed. Dramatically changed. In a very negative way. His every second phrase was a paraphrasing of "Being in Thailand I shit on all of you". Literally every other sentence implied he is somewhat superior being because he lives in Thailand - the best out the best places out there, top of the crops of the Universe. Nothing can compare and will not compare to Thailand. Nothing in the World can beat a tiniest and ugliest aspect of Thailand. Literally a superior country of the World and he is now a superior dude because he is part of the superior society and has the superior know-hows. His another line was "all the bargirls are mine, they cheat you, stupid tourists and backpackers, but I got some special knowledge that makes 'em all love me to death". God I was shocked! Just a sorry ass. I have to say he had difficulties in getting to know girls back home. He got the first gf when he was about 23. Oh, backpackers and tourists is another story! He hates them wholeheartedly for what they are. Backpackers diligently follow Loonely Planet guide thus ruining the best and wildest places of Thailand. Basically they are undehuman and deserve nothing but endless picking on. Maybe because they screw his bargirls? I don't know. I was shocked by the amounts of superiority poured on me. He wasn't like that in the past.

Is that the effect Asia (or just Thailand) makes on people or what? Why did my firend's ego corrupted and collapsed so much that he now needs such intense sessions of auto-training? If that's what Thailand does to people there is something wrong with it, very wrong. It is quite sad to almost lose a good old friend you know. Possibly deep inside he feels he is a downshifter who exchanged the possibilities of doing something in life, making a difference for easy pussy? Yeah I think so.

I used to love Thailand but having had to hear about the total superiority of this country for two weeks I feel I want to throw out. It will definitely take time to recover the image of Thailand I had from my previous visits. Cheers.

Edited January 24, 2008 by iegova

[ignoramus]

Hi, you've just posted and I'm here, so thought I'd mouth off, being in the mood.

He sounds a little bitter, or at least unhappy. Is he stuck here I wonder.

Either way I reckon he has disconnected from you, and perhaps from the person he once was. I can see why you are shocked.

As a matter of interest, backpackers here in Australia spend far more per head than any other tourists.

Cheers, and good luck with your learning experience...

[Robski]

Nice friend... does he live under a bridge too?

[lannarebirth]

Colonel Kurtz?

[garro]

Up the river with Marlon Brando.

[Jimjim]

So, because your friend acts like a jerk, there is somehow something in Thailand's water that made him that way? Different people act and react to their lives in different ways and usually the responsiblity for actions lies completely with the individual. Nothing to do with how Thailand "affects" people. Everything to do with your friend. He could act the same way if he'd been living in Argentina or Dubai.

[lazeeboy]

he probably works outside central world when you've gone home .

[Robski]

Colonel Kurtz?

Oh the horror!

[moldy]

Hi peeps!

Wanted to share one interesting observation with you, just had it recently. I visited my old friend in Thailand, really good friend of mine whom I've known for many years and shared good and bad times in the past. What I faced surprised me to the deep.

He changed. Dramatically changed. In a very negative way. His every second phrase was a paraphrasing of "Being in Thailand I shit on all of you". Literally every other sentence implied he is somewhat superior being because he lives in Thailand - the best out the best places out there, top of the crops of the Universe. Nothing can compare and will not compare to Thailand. Nothing in the World can beat a tiniest and ugliest aspect of Thailand. Literally a superior country of the World and he is now a superior dude because he is part of the superior society and has the superior know-hows. His another line was "all the bargirls are mine, they cheat you, stupid tourists and backpackers, but I got some special knowledge that makes 'em all love me to death". God I was shocked! Just a sorry ass. I have to say he had difficulties in getting to know girls back home. He got the first gf when he was about 23. Oh, backpackers and tourists is another story! He hates them wholeheartedly for what they are. Backpackers diligently follow Loonely Planet guide thus ruining the best and wildest places of Thailand. Basically they are undehuman and deserve nothing but endless picking on. Maybe because they screw his bargirls? I don't know. I was shocked by the amounts of superiority poured on me. He wasn't like that in the past.

Is that the effect Asia (or just Thailand) makes on people or what? Why did my firend's ego corrupted and collapsed so much that he now needs such intense sessions of auto-training? If that's what Thailand does to people there is something wrong with it, very wrong. It is quite sad to almost lose a good old friend you know. Possibly deep inside he feels he is a downshifter who exchanged the possibilities of doing something in life, making a difference for easy pussy? Yeah I think so.

I used to love Thailand but having had to hear about the total superiority of this country for two weeks I feel I want to throw out. It will definitely take time to recover the image of Thailand I had from my previous visits. Cheers.

verbal fecal icontinence.

[howtoescape]

As a matter of interest, backpackers here in Australia spend far more per head than any other tourists.

Cheers, and good luck with your learning experience...

I travelled Australia and the backpackers i met had little arms and deep pockets, maybe they spend more in the 6 months there then a ordinary tourist spends in 2 weeks.

Back to the OP many expats of all persuasions i meet do seem to have the gained the secret of life and know more about the human condition that us mere tourists. As many have been bitten by a bar girl they seem to be rude and very resentful to these girls and for some reason still like to drink in their company.

The one thing that i find most amusing about many younger expats (under 35) is that they now believe themselves to be gods gift to women and have no fear approaching any girl. Was in a nightclub last week when some fool who could never get a girl back home started playing the stud to one of the girls i was with, they way she teased him then made him look silly with one of the best knock backs i have ever seen really did make me smile.

[iegova]

So, because your friend acts like a jerk, there is somehow something in Thailand's water that made him that way? Different people act and react to their lives in different ways and usually the responsiblity for actions lies completely with the individual. Nothing to do with how Thailand "affects" people. Everything to do with your friend. He could act the same way if he'd been living in Argentina or Dubai.

The fact he changed so drastically after 2 years in Thailand made me think like that. Seems Thailand opens dark sides of a person. No seriously, has anyone got the opposite experience, i.e. a person you know improved greatly, good sides have grown and overwhelmed the bad ones while living in Thailand?

Either way I reckon he has disconnected from you, and perhaps from the person he once was.

For sure he disconnected from the person he once was and as a consequnce from me as well. Someone different was born. And that's during 2 years in Thailand - Thailand played its role here for sure! The question is why/how? Bizarre! This is an influencing place. Most common kind of influence is affection to Thailand, but interesting to find there is another one - opening up people. In this case quite negatively..

[iegova]

Back to the OP many expats of all persuasions i meet do seem to have the gained the secret of life and know more about the human condition that us mere tourists. As many have been bitten by a bar girl they seem to be rude and very resentful to these girls and for some reason still like to drink in their company.

Yeah I noticed that too.

The one thing that i find most amusing about many younger expats (under 35) is that they now believe themselves to be gods gift to women and have no fear approaching any girl. Was in a nightclub last week when some fool who could never get a girl back home started playing the stud to one of the girls i was with, they way she teased him then made him look silly with one of the best knock backs i have ever seen really did make me smile.

huh! true, very true

BTW both paragraphs suggest you too encountered people that moved into unpleasant zone from where they used to be, or am I wrong?

[GuestHouse]

I've come across a handful of people who have similarly gone the same way - all have wound up really making a mess of their lives.

A common mistake is to misjudge the rules, I think we all do that to some extent when we first arrive, some however never get back on track.

Thailand offers many paths and the chance to go to excess, for some the temptations are too much to pass up on.

On the other hand most foreigners living in Thailand settle in and have very ordinary lives.

However, I think there is something of your friend in many many foreigners in Thailand, and quite a few here on TV - I don't think its something that anyone of us can truly say they are immune too.

[mikethevigoman]

Hi peeps!

Wanted to share one interesting observation with you, just had it recently. I visited my old friend in Thailand, really good friend of mine whom I've known for many years and shared good and bad times in the past. What I faced surprised me to the deep.

He changed. Dramatically changed. In a very negative way. His every second phrase was a paraphrasing of "Being in Thailand I shit on all of you". Literally every other sentence implied he is somewhat superior being because he lives in Thailand - the best out the best places out there, top of the crops of the Universe. Nothing can compare and will not compare to Thailand. Nothing in the World can beat a tiniest and ugliest aspect of Thailand. Literally a superior country of the World and he is now a superior dude because he is part of the superior society and has the superior know-hows. His another line was "all the bargirls are mine, they cheat you, stupid tourists and backpackers, but I got some special knowledge that makes 'em all love me to death". God I was shocked! Just a sorry ass. I have to say he had difficulties in getting to know girls back home. He got the first gf when he was about 23. Oh, backpackers and tourists is another story! He hates them wholeheartedly for what they are. Backpackers diligently follow Loonely Planet guide thus ruining the best and wildest places of Thailand. Basically they are undehuman and deserve nothing but endless picking on. Maybe because they screw his bargirls? I don't know. I was shocked by the amounts of superiority poured on me. He wasn't like that in the past.

Is that the effect Asia (or just Thailand) makes on people or what? Why did my firend's ego corrupted and collapsed so much that he now needs such intense sessions of auto-training? If that's what Thailand does to people there is something wrong with it, very wrong. It is quite sad to almost lose a good old friend you know. Possibly deep inside he feels he is a downshifter who exchanged the possibilities of doing something in life, making a difference for easy pussy? Yeah I think so.

I used to love Thailand but having had to hear about the total superiority of this country for two weeks I feel I want to throw out. It will definitely take time to recover the image of Thailand I had from my previous visits. Cheers.

unfortunatly thailand does seem to attract these ugly @ssholes that cant get laid elsewhere and to them it is heaven, . However, he WILL only be getting his leg over for money and if he tells you otherwise dont beleive it,

[britmaveric]

Sounds like a bitter lost soul.... actually I feel sorry for him.

[iegova]

It's the total and abrupt negation of the fact that other cultures have something to offer too, claims of absolute superiority of thai culture and therefore his own superiority over tourists/backpackers/and other sorts of scum not living in thailand that impressed me.

I think western cultures have something to offer (not technology-wise, just culture-wise, mind-wise). So I could not agree with his radical assertions and we debated a lot.

[kat]

As a Western professional woman who lived in Thailand, I could tell you a lot about characters such as your friend. In fact, I noticed that they come in many different guises, even among some who were doing "well" in Thailand. My experience was that they seemed to think that money could make up for everything, even their lack of character and decency. I guess in Thailand it can.

[howtoescape]

BTW both paragraphs suggest you too encountered people that moved into unpleasant zone from where they used to be, or am I wrong?

I think many lived sheltered lives back in farangland and are all shy and scared in similar situations back home, but in Thailand they think they reinvent themselves into whoever they want to be and with a couple of quiid in their pocket turns them into arrogant tossers.

[chameleon1977]

As a matter of interest, backpackers here in Australia spend far more per head than any other tourists.

Cheers, and good luck with your learning experience...

I travelled Australia and the backpackers i met had little arms and deep pockets, maybe they spend more in the 6 months there then a ordinary tourist spends in 2 weeks.

Back to the OP many expats of all persuasions i meet do seem to have the gained the secret of life and know more about the human condition that us mere tourists. As many have been bitten by a bar girl they seem to be rude and very resentful to these girls and for some reason still like to drink in their company.

The one thing that i find most amusing about many younger expats (under 35) is that they now believe themselves to be gods gift to women and have no fear approaching any girl. Was in a nightclub last week when some fool who could never get a girl back home started playing the stud to one of the girls i was with, they way she teased him then made him look silly with one of the best knock backs i have ever seen really did make me smile.

As many have been bitten by a bar girl they seem to be rude and very resentful to these girls and for some reason still like to drink in their company.

I disagree with this. I believe most guys who stay in Thailand longer than a holiday have been bitten by Thai women but those truly wise to Thailand come to accept the beautiful women for the way they are because they gain the understanding of Thai culture.

The one thing that i find most amusing about many younger expats (under 35) is that they now believe themselves to be gods gift to women and have no fear approaching any girl.

That's got to be better than in the UK where you're afraid to even look at a women through fear of getting a nasty look back, no matter how good looking you are.

OP - Forgive me, but your friend sounds like a bit of cheese piece. The ability to do things he could only dream of before and the inability to control his accelerated ego has blasted him in to his own little world of egotistical corruption. This is not dependant on Thailand but the mind of the individual you described.

Edited January 24, 2008 by chameleon1977

[TheDon]

Well i have met both sides.

I have met the ones thinking here good, but not on the level of your friend, I have met a few who also whinge about everything and even say all Thais should speak english blah blah blah

[qwertz]

Going troppo manifests itself in a variety of ways.

Very few people spend 2 years in Thailand without undergoing some personality changes.

It humbles some people and makes others pompous, makes slobs out of some and gentlemen out of others.

Fair to say, though, if there's bad in you - Thailand will bring out the worst in the course of time.

[howtoescape]

The one thing that i find most amusing about many younger expats (under 35) is that they now believe themselves to be gods gift to women and have no fear approaching any girl.

That's got to be better than in the UK where you're afraid to even look at a women through fear of getting a nasty look back, no matter how good looking you are.

Thats a fair point, but many i see and you must have done so yourself, are very arrogant about it and think all Thai women in clubs are just theres for the taking, when at the end of the day Thai women in contact with farangs know the ones who would get the girls back home and those who like to pretend.

[Naam]

Going troppo manifests itself in a variety of ways.

Very few people spend 2 years in Thailand without undergoing some personality changes.

It humbles some people and makes others pompous, makes slobs out of some and gentlemen out of others.

Fair to say, though, if there's bad in you - Thailand will bring out the worst in the course of time.

thanks for mentioning the group of people to which i belong.

[kiakaha]

Hi peeps!

Wanted to share one interesting observation with you, just had it recently. I visited my old friend in Thailand, really good friend of mine whom I've known for many years and shared good and bad times in the past. What I faced surprised me to the deep.

He changed. Dramatically changed. In a very negative way. His every second phrase was a paraphrasing of "Being in Thailand I shit on all of you". Literally every other sentence implied he is somewhat superior being because he lives in Thailand - the best out the best places out there, top of the crops of the Universe. Nothing can compare and will not compare to Thailand. Nothing in the World can beat a tiniest and ugliest aspect of Thailand. Literally a superior country of the World and he is now a superior dude because he is part of the superior society and has the superior know-hows. His another line was "all the bargirls are mine, they cheat you, stupid tourists and backpackers, but I got some special knowledge that makes 'em all love me to death". God I was shocked! Just a sorry ass. I have to say he had difficulties in getting to know girls back home. He got the first gf when he was about 23. Oh, backpackers and tourists is another story! He hates them wholeheartedly for what they are. Backpackers diligently follow Loonely Planet guide thus ruining the best and wildest places of Thailand. Basically they are undehuman and deserve nothing but endless picking on. Maybe because they screw his bargirls? I don't know. I was shocked by the amounts of superiority poured on me. He wasn't like that in the past.

Is that the effect Asia (or just Thailand) makes on people or what? Why did my firend's ego corrupted and collapsed so much that he now needs such intense sessions of auto-training? If that's what Thailand does to people there is something wrong with it, very wrong. It is quite sad to almost lose a good old friend you know. Possibly deep inside he feels he is a downshifter who exchanged the possibilities of doing something in life, making a difference for easy pussy? Yeah I think so.

I used to love Thailand but having had to hear about the total superiority of this country for two weeks I feel I want to throw out. It will definitely take time to recover the image of Thailand I had from my previous visits. Cheers.

All sorts of people come to Thailand mate.

Your friend sounds like a sex tourist.

Try mixing in different circles, there are loads of good,decent,humble people living in Thailand.

[PhilHarries]

You don't mention how old your friend is now not that that matters. Thailand has an ability to build people up in their own imaginations until they perceive themselves as master of all that surrounds them. There they are perched on the biggest wave riding it like the best pro that ever existed. It is then that the real Thailand rears up and kicks them in the crutch and their whole, imaginary, existance collapses around them. Different people get to different heights on the wave before getting the wake up call and different people react in different ways to that slap down. We all go through it but some have a more fragile grip on reality than others and it is those that make up the majority of the legion of bitter and twisted souls propping up bars all over the country.

In answer to your question "Is that how Thailand affects people?" my answer is "Yes, if you let it".

What is the future for your friend? If what you write is fact best you can do is get him a comfortable bar stool, one less thing for him to complain about.

[Ijustwannateach]

As I've said in another thread- if huge crowds of people are running up to meet you in some social scene, then unless you really are a supermodel then something's wrong with the scene. It's up to the individual to see through the delusion or not. There are plenty of places to go here where you're just one of the crowd and you might get lucky like everyone else in the crowd.

"S"

[qwertz]

Going troppo manifests itself in a variety of ways.

Very few people spend 2 years in Thailand without undergoing some personality changes.

It humbles some people and makes others pompous, makes slobs out of some and gentlemen out of others.

Fair to say, though, if there's bad in you - Thailand will bring out the worst in the course of time.

thanks for mentioning the group of people to which i belong.

Well said, Mr. N!

What's your thing, personality changes, going troppo or both?

Mine is alter ego and a talent for stumbling on fruitloops.

[BFD]

No seriously, has anyone got the opposite experience, i.e. a person you know improved greatly, good sides have grown and overwhelmed the bad ones while living in Thailand?

If I could engage in some self-reflection for a moment, I'd say that being in Thailand has made me a better person. One poster mentioned the God-complex regarding approaching women and I'd have to say that it can be a good thing, to a point. Of course, any confidence that gets close to arrogance is a bad thing, but realizing that you aren't an ugly, inept fool can do wonders for one's worldview. Sure, many of the 'bargirls' are simply stroking egos to get the wallet to come out, but not every girl is a bargirl (thankfully!).

I was one of those awkward, shy, sarcastic fellas back in farangland, and I didn't realize what I had to offer as a person until I came to Thailand. Again, the God-complex thing is definitely bad, but an injection of confidence has seriously changed my life. I was back in farangland for Christmas, and many people commented on how self-assured I was, how I had seemingly 'found myself'. I hope they weren't making up a euphemism for arrogant pr*ck!

BFD!

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I reckon the OP is a troll.

[Edonista]

Possibly deep inside he feels he is a downshifter who exchanged the possibilities of doing something in life, making a difference for easy pussy? Yeah I think so.

Personally I am still quite happy to have done such an exchange

Edited January 25, 2008 by Edonista