What Does 'hi So' Really Mean

[phormio]

What does 'Hi Society' or the more commonly heard "Hi So" really mean in Thailand?

Can a farang get their and is it worthwhile to travel in that orbit?

Does one attain the status by being of noble/royal birth, earning a tonne of money, having a high status career, being chinese, or perhaps having rich/famous parents?

What are the responsibilities of being in the Hi So set?

What are the benefits and the drawbacks ?

[alleypanda]

Hi-So are those who always got invited to the luxury events , fashion magazines have thier tel.number and buisness card. Their family name is welknown either came from Royal family or Tycoon department store buisness, banks etc.

They are deviced by two cataglories

1 old rich (Set-tee - kaw) those who had their fortune wheel rolling around for more than30- 50 years , those who, in the past have a summer house in Hua-Hin(imagine Thai men and women 100 years ago in victoria period dress, take train to Hua hin ) these people magazine likes to have them on the event pages

2 new rich (Set-tee-mai) mostly just appear to the social magazine event pages some of them TRYING very very hard to be recognize by magazine social editor, some send gifts, food, sweets, to magazine every week hoping that they can be interview.

both cataglories, if not get their kids attend to the international school they will only go to school like Mater Dei (for girls) on Chidlom rd., saint francis on convent rd. Boys goes to Assumtion school on Chalarn Krung rd., Satit Chula, Satit Kaset Satit Prasanmit. Later on they might attend to boading school in UK some goes to Eton etc.

[mbkudu]

BFD to all of it.

[boris]

What does 'Hi Society' or the more commonly heard "Hi So" really mean in Thailand?

Can a farang get their and is it worthwhile to travel in that orbit?

Does one attain the status by being of noble/royal birth, earning a tonne of money, having a high status career, being chinese, or perhaps having rich/famous parents?

What are the responsibilities of being in the Hi So set?

What are the benefits and the drawbacks ?

I don't think those of royal birth would wish to be described as "hi so" because they would be way above that level.Nor in my experience would genuinely successful Thai professionals be that interested in attending "hi so "events.My impression is that the Bangkok Sino-Thai business element predominates as a quick glance at Thai Tatler, which I suppose is their house magazine, will confirm.The staple element is successful businessmen and their wives who in many cases are sadly unaware of the comic possibilities of mutton dressed as lamb.The "hi so" social calendar consists of charity balls etc and ludicrously events like exhibitions of expensive Europen watches are thought to be fashionable occasions.As in every culture the world of "hi so" fashion always finds a place for pretty young things.

There are a few farang who participate in this world such as American pizza magnates,Australian "millionaire" businessmen,obscure European exiles etc. But on the whole these are rather uninteresting arrivistes.

The chief characteristic of the hi so world is a stunning vulgarity and money worship.There is another Thai aristocratic and cultured world which is genuinely graceful and impressive..and which occasionally overlaps.