The Way Thai People Look At You

[Cuban]

....funniest thing they have ever seen "hey man, look at the falang!" and they all laugh. Imagine if I did that to an asian in another country, everyone would look at me like I am the biggest a#@hole in the world.

Well consider their life, in those situations if it is good humored I will take their picture with my camera, ensure flash is on so they see you do it. No harm and you have interacted with people who will go on to tell of that time many years ago that a farang took their picture while sitting in the back of a builder's truck.

Sometimes when I am driving our car in heavy traffic and pause along side a local bus (non air con) I consider the looks are the external result of the self-realisation that they will never be able to afford a car like this or travel indepently in a country far from their birth.

There are 13 types of Thai smile - choose one and use it.

[YoungFarang13]

i see Thais everywhere holding hands. i think that notion of it being impolite is unknown to the younger generation atleast.

[OlRedEyes]

The smaller the mind, the less it is used to. Wanna live your life according to the dictates of small minds?

[egg6447]

I just think about my bank account when the peasants start with the smirks and jeers, I think about the fact that my money sitting in the bank is earning in interest more than their labor in a month. Peasant today, peasant tomorrow.

Must be very comforting.....

sure is for me. you too i think. welcom maigo. wondered where you,d got to.

[Maigo6]

I just think about my bank account when the peasants start with the smirks and jeers, I think about the fact that my money sitting in the bank is earning in interest more than their labor in a month. Peasant today, peasant tomorrow.

Must be very comforting.....

sure is for me. you too i think. welcom maigo. wondered where you,d got to.

I'm around egg. for a couple of days more anyway, back in Thailand on Tuesday so not much posting from me for a while.

Will you miss me ?

[RasiMike]

We really are aliens. We sometimes have boogers, which they notice. They have little else to do at the time, and we are so much more interesting, handsome or beautiful. I like to engage them in talk, such as "Where are you from?" If they ask, I say "I am from Chiang Mai." Maybe we should ask, "Have you noticed a difference in physiognomy between regular Mennonites and the Kaufmanites, or is that just German squareheadedness? Did you know that American Indians are not Indians, but they are Asians? Your skin is darker than mine, if we were both naked. You do not look like a Siamese cat..."

I'm sorry to comment on something so trivial PB .....but.... I must question this entry. I have been attempting to educate my (allmost) 3 year old on the uncoothness of digging at ones boogers in public... but in reality the 'booger' situation is alive and well in Thailand. My efforts are in vain I'm afraid, as wherever we roam in this great land we are confronted by miners of every description. Thai people ,(on trains, planes and the miriad of automobiles) from all walks of life, are intent on dealing with boogers at any cost. Public dispays are not unusual, nor frowned upon. Boogers in this society are simply dealt with, not given more than a second thought.

Yet another useless observation I suppose.

TTFN.... Mike

[PeaceBlondie]

Sorry, Mike, I guess the boogers were over there, not here in our noses. Maybe we are the boogey-man. I was only kidding, but I am tempted to deliver 89 words of near-gibberish to anybody who spends ten seconds staring at me. I do not mind being an alien, a foreigner, a farang. I could usually buy and sell most of the folks who stare much at me. I do not care. I tried once to outstare one of them, but I blinked first.

[YoungFarang13]

haha i cant help but wave to or give a huge grin to the car full of grinning construction workers.

[Douggie Style]

Staring is a very powerful indicator of the level of sophistication to which a society has elevated itself. Staring is inversely proportional to civilisation. The biggest starers in the world are the French and the Chinese. The biggest non-staring country is Japan.

I rest my case.

:-)

Oh yes the Japanese are truly the benchmark of a civilized society.

Suggest before resting your case you research Japanese history this century, perhaps this is asking too much as Mum will need her computer back soon.

Edited April 12, 2008 by Douggie Style

[rewket]

are you fat or ugly? that might be it... i for one give dirty looks to fat old farangs paying for their thai girlfriend everyday.. and so does a lot of thai

but i dont get any looks outside of females attracted to me or gays.. and my thai girlfriend is pregnant, so i have way more reasons to get looks.

[TheDon]

I look at fat old farangs sometimes with 18-20 year olds, i think its weird. I hate when fat old farangs look at my wife also.

[worldfun]

"fat old farang" - that's great guys just let it all out - say what's bugging you over here in LOS blame it on someone LOL

so it's better for young & handsome guys to pay for their fat, brown & ugly thai whore is it now?

well I'll just get back to work ;-)

anyways I quite enjoy the stares here kinda feels like a movie star & the wife felt likewise for sure over in farangland being that talk of the town LOL.

What's really buggering me though if I may is how the Thais (particularly the females) are experts in staring in a ways so we don't notice while they on the other hand catch us repeatably staring at hot bitches - ah well we just better learn how to be more discreet or less shy as needed!

[ironhut]

I'm a farang and I'm also staring.

Why????? I've been here awhile and still can't believe the amount of ugly farang with attractive Thai girls. It's unbelievable. If you think it's bad here, then some of these ugly guys should try taking their Thai girlfriends/wives back to the US...there would even be more stares by people wondering how these guys were able to land attractive Asian girls.

On a related note, our family has always been observed (sounds nicer than stared at) when out. It's not an issue with us and the Thais mean nothing negative by it. They have always been extremely good to us and love our kids (both blonde). Our son, however, gets most of the attention.

[worldfun]

"can't believe the amount of ugly farang with attractive Thai girls"

really? actually now that you mention it I've got it on reliable reports that the majority of stares from thais on farang-thai 'couples' is that they can't fathom why on earth the farang is chosen a brown unattractive girl while thais sense of beauty is the whiter the better thus the tall chinese/thai/lukkrung variety as per what kind of popular girls you'll see on tv etc.

so really I think it may be the other way around - why is farang supposedly chosing all the ugly girls???

[siamamerican]

No way to avoid the stares. Even a young attractive farang with a young attractive white skinned Thai woman gets a good looking at because this is completely out of place. I stare at the odd - I do my best not to get caught.

If older Asian tourists walked the streets of New York with young tall blond Americans, I would stare and have a good laugh at their expense. Then I would go on merry way and wish I were Asian.

Edited April 13, 2008 by siamamerican

[ade100]

Staring is a very powerful indicator of the level of sophistication to which a society has elevated itself. Staring is inversely proportional to civilisation. The biggest starers in the world are the French and the Chinese. The biggest non-staring country is Japan.

I rest my case.

:-)

Oh yes the Japanese are truly the benchmark of a civilized society.

Suggest before resting your case you research Japanese history this century, perhaps this is asking too much as Mum will need her computer back soon.

LOL

Yes Its' true, even without doing any google searches on "my mothers computer" I can confirm there have been elements of barbarism displayed by Japan over the last hundred years or so. But what I mean, is on visiting the wonderful country I cannot think of a people who are more polite, civilised and welcoming to foreigners. Its a far cry from the Thai savages who stand there gawping, pointing and saying "farang" or the Frenchies who look at foreigners like they are from another planet...and don't get me started on the Chinese...

[TheDon]

"fat old farang" - that's great guys just let it all out - say what's bugging you over here in LOS blame it on someone LOL

so it's better for young & handsome guys to pay for their fat, brown & ugly thai whore is it now?

well I'll just get back to work ;-)

anyways I quite enjoy the stares here kinda feels like a movie star & the wife felt likewise for sure over in farangland being that talk of the town LOL.

What's really buggering me though if I may is how the Thais (particularly the females) are experts in staring in a ways so we don't notice while they on the other hand catch us repeatably staring at hot bitches - ah well we just better learn how to be more discreet or less shy as needed!

you sound cut in your last 2 posts. but that is just reality and what you say is just nonsense

[mistresserika]

The women with envy, and the men with their eyes on stalks

[jayhech]

We really are aliens. We sometimes have boogers, which they notice. They have little else to do at the time, and we are so much more interesting, handsome or beautiful. I like to engage them in talk, such as "Where are you from?" If they ask, I say "I am from Chiang Mai." Maybe we should ask, "Have you noticed a difference in physiognomy between regular Mennonites and the Kaufmanites, or is that just German squareheadedness? Did you know that American Indians are not Indians, but they are Asians? Your skin is darker than mine, if we were both naked. You do not look like a Siamese cat..."

PB, there's a statistics that an average Thai person reads 7 lines a year....it's just a struggle to imagine what would happen if you really try those sentences with the starers. I think most of them would have lost you from the first three words, let alone 89 Though I really do think it's a great idea.

I usually ignore all those stares. If they want to waste their time it's their problem really. Though it could be interesting to see how they react ..... can I borrow your lines?

[PeaceBlondie]

Shirley, you can borrow my lines, jayhech. And speaking of gag lines, here are a few more:

"Do you know what trait I share with actor Peter Falk, the late Defense Minister of Israel, and He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Mentioned? Don't you wish you would have this much blond hair after you retire? Do you realize I do not have a black hair on my entire body? Do you think mine is longer than yours? Do I look like a man who has ten grandchildren, and at least one boyfriend? Do you notice my breath does not smell of somtam or fish sauce?"

[jayhech]

Thanks heaps PB though I think I might HAVE TO change some names or ingredients.

[uptou]

Staring is a very powerful indicator of the level of sophistication to which a society has elevated itself. Staring is inversely proportional to civilisation. The biggest starers in the world are the French and the Chinese. The biggest non-staring country is Japan.

I rest my case.

:-)

Oh yes the Japanese are truly the benchmark of a civilized society.

Suggest before resting your case you research Japanese history this century, perhaps this is asking too much as Mum will need her computer back soon.

LOL

Yes Its' true, even without doing any google searches on "my mothers computer" I can confirm there have been elements of barbarism displayed by Japan over the last hundred years or so. But what I mean, is on visiting the wonderful country I cannot think of a people who are more polite, civilised and welcoming to foreigners. Its a far cry from the Thai savages who stand there gawping, pointing and saying "farang" or the Frenchies who look at foreigners like they are from another planet...and don't get me started on the Chinese...

I have to say that i'm very interested in re-visiting France.One thing that puts me off though is the things that alot of people who have settled there have to say about the place,eg its a closed society (ive met brits whose french freinds even tell them this),& if you speak some french,it has to be perfect,otherwise they dont want too know.I also heard that the french bread in France is crap,& is in fact far superior in Laos.Cheers.

[lalana]

As to why Thai people stare at Foreigners,of course it's a multi-facet issue,..........indeed most of the main reasons have

been covered already!!

We are most obviously,visually different,unlike,say,an Australian who could walk down a street in London and blend in

as one of the locals!!......Unfortunately,this can never be overcome.(unless you know Micheal Jackson's Plastic Surgeon)..

Learning Thai,I mean "really" good conversational Thai can help break down "some " of the barriers as well as being

good fun and practically helpful.Sooo.. many times I've been looking at something being sold,foreigners are in the vicinity,

have been given a price on something, and with a few well-worded sentences I will get the special "Thai-price"

of the same product.....of course this in itself is potentially insulting.........there shouldn't be any "special/double" price

but like -it-or-lump-it, we all know it exists..............Of course I'm not so silly/arrogant to think that this works all the time

and on occasions I do my fair share of sending the missus in to some sales person/establishment to get the price on

something with me hovering in the background!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So bearing in mind that we are visually,"genetically pre-ordained " to have a certain degree of staring directed our way,one of the

big questions would be how to limit the amount of it!!!!!!

In life generally,visual first impressions mean a lot to a lot of people.Like it or not,when human beings of all races see

tatoos,tacky jewellry,fat bellies,low-end crumpled clothing like Beer Singha tank-tops and a slouchy demeanour------------

Human nature is,that because strangers don't personally know you,this is ALL THEY HAVE TO GO ON AND DRAW CERTAIN

CONCLUSIONS...........whether fair or otherwise!!!!!

###Please,please.....This is NOT a generalisation or specifically directed at anyone.There are many decent foreigners here in

Thailand...........However we all have seen our fair share ,I'm sure, of the aforementioned foreigner!!!!!

Combine this with sometimes an age gap of,for example, 55years versus 21years, of a "COUPLE" walking down a soi hand-in-hand

and Well-------------you're "cruising for a staring"""

This may seem an obvious assertion,but not all the time for all the foreigners,I have to say!!!!

I live in Pattaya,and many times in the last 9 years have had foreigners lay out their troubles!!

## As an example,at the "Eagle Bar" on soi 7, during the Loy Kratong of 2001 I remember a poor guy who was crying his

eyes out at the bar.He wouldn't have been a day under 55 and had just broken of a 7 month "relationship" off with

his 24 year old "girlfriend".OOOhhhh how could it happen,he lamented!!!What also really annoyed him was that

on the 3 times he went up to her village,and whenever he holidayed in Thailand he,according to his own testimony,

got lots and lots of stares while with his "darling"................OF COURSE,the guy is 500 per cent entitled to have such

a relationship,and good luck to him..........BUT COME ON GUYS.....--back in your home country how many couples do you see

walking down the street with a 30+ year age-gap???

As I said at the start of this post,we're gonna' get a certain amount of staring anyway,but this guy wasn't doing himself any favours!!!

The crazy thing is,this guy since has been through a couple more "relationships" with "soi 7/8" types and can't figure where

he's going wrong with his"Bad Luck" with women------The mind boggles!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am 35 years old and my Thai wife is 36,believe it or not,so at least,looks-wise we look like a reasonably well-matched couple.

We don't dress like a Nun and Priest, but always smart-casual,and speak Thai together as easily as English.

.......I'm not trying to say our shit doesn't stink,but is merely an example of an

"partially effective minimisation of the Stare-Factor"

I love going to the movies in the Big C (Recently saw Vantage Point+Street Kings) and every time have loads of "couples" walk

around the centre.Some of the girls couldn't be anything else but hookers(we've all seen them) G-strings up the cakehole,skin-tight

Catwoman,figure hugging bodysuits,all jewellery and mobile-phone showing+ chewing the gum like Alex Ferguson on speed!!!!

Once again,I couldn't be happier for these chappies+ I hope she does a good job at sharpening his pencil...... but the stares and

conclusions drawn here will only amount to one synopsis!!!!

This quite commom, Male Falang/Female Thai, age gap simply adds fuel to the "Stare-Factor" that is already burning because

of the features that we were born with.I'll never surmount the facial feature problem,but took care of the age-gap...........

OF COURSE,I didn't marry this lady simply because of age,we got on great,that's all,.......but being of a similar age generation,I find ,

really helps,+ it's a bonus for sure. Also,she's got a degree and a profession,but that's a WHOLE OTHER story and I'd be going

off-topic by going into the virtues of having a wife with good education/upbringing.....so I won't......

To conclude,I personally get a tiny bit sad sometimes when I realise that no matter how long I live here or who I've married,....

in 20 years if I walk down Jomtien beach at the age of 55,Thai people will just see a FALANG,pue and simple,cut and dry...that's

not going to change.................OCCASIONALLY,nice moments occur when Thai people will talk to my wife about something,I listen

for a while,and when I make a comment they are surprised ,and I'm fully integrated into the conversation, and at times,assuming your

Thai is good enough,you feel quite accepted and on-par with the whole proceedings.We say our goodbyes and walk away,having had

a good chat.It's always an uphill struggle for us Falangs,but just try to get a decent compatible missus guys(not just age/looks) ++

get stuck into learning Thai---not the conversational bar-type,... but just as Thai Kindergarden Students do with reading,writing,speaking

the 76 letters of the Thai Alphabet,and taking it from there!!!!!

##P.S###--- Have a good Songkran everybody----mine'll be dry,here in Jomtien!!!

[Spee]

Staring is a very powerful indicator of the level of sophistication to which a society has elevated itself. Staring is inversely proportional to civilisation.

The biggest non-staring country is Japan.

Nonsense. I lived in Japan for almost a year and have visited there on more than a dozen occasions since the late 80's. I have been to several areas, from as far north as Misawa, as far south as Tanegashima, and probably 10-15 points in between, both city and rural. Not only do Japanese stare in their own country, they do it even more in other countries. And in the south, the old people stare at the gaijin with an entirely different reason, because they view English speaking westerners as the ones who dropped the bomb on them. The proverbial image of people stepping off the plane and photographing or cam-cording everything that moves is very true (not to mention rude at times).

As for the Thai people staring, it happens and it doesn't. When I am in the village, almost everyone knows who I am, either by way of personal introduction or just as a familiar face. But when i get out into the country where farangi are a little rarer, the staring does happen.

By the way, sometimes people stare for a reason. I can't count the number of times being out somewhere and someone from European or Middle eastern descent comes in simply reeking of BO. One can't help but stare and wonder why people allow themselves to be out in public like that.

[cophen]

To conclude,I personally get a tiny bit sad sometimes when I realise that no matter how long I live here or who I've married,....

in 20 years if I walk down Jomtien beach at the age of 55,Thai people will just see a FALANG,pue and simple,cut and dry

A Thai friend of mine has pretty much the same problem - maybe slightly worse. He's lived in England for 20 years. No matter how long he lives here when he walks down the street English people just see a Chinese man pure and simple, cut and dry...

[the highlander]

To conclude,I personally get a tiny bit sad sometimes when I realise that no matter how long I live here or who I've married,....

in 20 years if I walk down Jomtien beach at the age of 55,Thai people will just see a FALANG,pue and simple,cut and dry

A Thai friend of mine has pretty much the same problem - maybe slightly worse. He's lived in England for 20 years. No matter how long he lives here when he walks down the street English people just see a Chinese man pure and simple, cut and dry...

Why is that slightly worse?

[ade100]

Staring is a very powerful indicator of the level of sophistication to which a society has elevated itself. Staring is inversely proportional to civilisation.

The biggest non-staring country is Japan.

Nonsense. I lived in Japan for almost a year and have visited there on more than a dozen occasions since the late 80's. I have been to several areas, from as far north as Misawa, as far south as Tanegashima, and probably 10-15 points in between, both city and rural. Not only do Japanese stare in their own country, they do it even more in other countries. And in the south, the old people stare at the gaijin with an entirely different reason, because they view English speaking westerners as the ones who dropped the bomb on them. The proverbial image of people stepping off the plane and photographing or cam-cording everything that moves is very true (not to mention rude at times).

Interesting. I remember exploring Tokyo with one colleague who had red curly hair and another, a Finnish girl, who was over six foot tall. We hardly saw any other Caucasians all day and were aware that we looked rather different to the other folk on the street. However, they didn’t seem to bat an eyelid let alone stare.

This was one experience that led me to believe that the Japanese are a polite, civilised, non-staring people. But clearly there is more to the story.

[meadish_sweetball]

Just go up to staring people, smile, grab their hand and shake it vigourously and say really loudly 'Howdy partener, name of Johnson, Lee Archibald Johnson Jr. 3rd, mighty pleased to meet'cha. What's yer good name?' (use whatever dialect you like but make sure it is fast, broad and as impenetrable as possible, talk a lot without really giving them the chance to answer).

You will intimidate the best of them.

[TheDon]

who gives a toss, many girls look at me, im a young good looking man in my 20's, everytime I go to Thailand the woman stare at me like im the most delicious peice of meat, actually it also happends here in Sydney. I believe im the reason why guys have turned gay (im not gay BTW)

[JetsetBkk]

Talking of staring:

"Where did I go wrong?..."