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29
Crime British and French Tourists Clash in Phuket Nightclub Stabbing
As old as time. read my comment!!! stop!!! no more fighting!!! no more drinking!!!! no more knifing!!!! no more, no more!!!! OK, now translate this and send it off to the 9 billion crazies. in 100-years holograms will be stolen, souls leeched, and bar fines 3 million yuan. so enjoy the fun times. not going to get any better -
21
Bringing Discreet Personal Items into Thailand – Legal Risk Question
If it has rechargeable batteries that cannot be removed, it should be in your hand carry baggage, not checked baggage. -
9
Crime Parents Expose Pattaya Private School Over Fake Diplomas and Receipts
Everything is fake and scammSo is the socalled English teachers who just say there for other things. -
36
Will you be getting boosted now that Covid is back in the headlines in Thailand?
We got a similar thread some days ago. You will see there is a conspiracy group here denying any good in vaccinations. It's useless and wasted time to discuss science with those ignorants. -
30
Trade War Success! My Anoose Mates
The left wants men in girls' showers, mass migration, globalization and endless wars. That's why they do not like Trump. -
200
Why do Thai people ignore Foreigners when they are speaking and begin speaking over them, interrupting them?
Just to add to some of my and other comments, my Thai fiancé is lovely and so are her family and her friends. They are lovely people and we communicate as best we can, joke and interact regardless of language barriers. Not all Thais ignore non-Thai-looking people but I've given plenty of examples where they do. Here are a few more: the other day, my partner took her dog to get vaccinated. My cats arrived the week before from overseas. One of them had severe breathing problems. My fiancé asked me to show the vet a video of his irregular breathing. After showing the vet only 5 seconds of a 45 second video, the man turned to my fiancé and started bellowing at her for almost 2 minutes. After wanting to interrupt the inappropriate shouting, my fiancé told me to wait and that she'd explain everything later. After leaving the vet, I obviously wanted to know what was said about my cat. Remember, it's my cat that I brought to Thailand at great expense. I love my cats. She silenced me again and wanted to tell me in the car what was said. What's the big secret? She finally said that the vet wanted me to bring the cat in immediately. What? That's it?! The man inappropriately bellows at my fiancé for almost 2 minutes and all he said was: "Bring the cat in immediately". About 8 hours later in bed, my fiancé added that I was to accompany the cat. Wow. Still...2 minutes of shouting for something that farangs convey in 5 to 10 seconds without shouting. The next day we took my cat to the vet. Instead of me accompanying my cat, he was taken away for x-rays. Ten minutes later, the vet re-emerged, stuck an x-ray negative on the wall and pointed here and there, bellowing at my soon-to-be wife like the day before. After 3 minutes of bellowing, I raised my hand at the vet and asked him to stop talking for a minute so that my fiancé could catch up and explain to me what was said about my cat. How can a person retain all that information? He should give it in small chunks, it gets translated, and then he can continue. After 10 minutes of bellowing, my fiancé asked whether they could shave my cat's stomach for an ultrasound. I said 'yes'. When the vet walked off, I asked my fiancé what had been said. She said that he didn't know what was the matter. He would explain everything in English after the ultrasound. At this stage, I have to declare that this vet operates highly inefficiently. Why bellow at my fiancé while pointing at an x-ray for 10 minutes when he knows nothing? Is he trying to impress her? 15 minutes later, we were asked to sit at a table and a very polite and professional female vet explained in Thai for ten minutes what the x-ray and ultrasound had revealed. As instructed by my fiancé, I shut up the whole time. I said nothing but I looked at the clock to time the interaction. When the female vet had finished, she started talking to me with the cat's cage between us. I said: "Wait a moment. Let's switch chairs". I swapped chairs with my fiancé so that she was now obscured by the cat cage and I had a clear view of the PC monitor and the vet. I asked the female vet whether she spoke English. After saying "yes", I asked her to please give me the exact, same detailed presentation by referring to the scans and other materials used previously. She was surprisingly excellent and complied. She explained everything in good English. She was very professional. I was impressed. While she was speaking, the male vet occasionally bellowed over her in Thai although he does not understand English. This guy has some of the worst bedside manners ever experienced. I often feel like back in 1976 in Germany when my parents decided to relocate there. I noticed similar behaviour. It is as if foreigners are considered stupid. People spoke to me as if I just crawled out of the bush and never experienced civilisation despite understanding and speaking the language and having lived in a house previously. They were shocked after they said derogative things and I then revealed that I understood everything. I recall an African-German colleague of mine, who was born in Germany, telling me that every time he walks into a shop, the store attendant would speak to him in baby language, such as "You speak Deutsch?" They would address him in the lesser form, as if he were a child rather than an adult. They'd say 'du' which is considered rude to an adult instead of the respectful 'sie'. Decades ago, even today, 'professionals' in Germany like to talk-down to ordinary folk while poor Germans blame immigrants for their poverty. So, yes, comparisons can be made here. Yes, my fiancé generally wants to help me and take the stress and burden off of my shoulders by speaking on my behalf. However, as I pointed out to her many times, where I come from, I am in control until I take my last breath. If my fiancé were in Australia or Germany, I'd respectfully and accurately translate everything in real time without telling her to be quiet, telling her to wait and/or ignore her. It all comes down to basic politeness and how you/they would want to be treated - period. In contrast, yesterday, the Thai postman referred to me as 'kun' when delivering a parcel while my fiancé was at work. He didn't speak English and I don't speak Thai yet the interaction was respectful without anyone's interference and the transaction of handing me the parcel with a smile was without issues. The less interference there is and the more I can interact with the locals, the faster I will learn Thai. Finally, and therefore, before a particular member ridicules me and my post again, I am posting true experiences that are recent and consistent with other complaints by foreigners. As Thailand is obviously grossly dependent on foreigners, they should adopt what many western countries have done. For example, when dealing with government in Australia, you can request a translator and government forms/applications are available in a variety of languages. There are many reasons why foreigners don't speak Thai (or English), and members of this forum shouldn't ridicule those that don't.
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