Do You Offer Other Westerners A Friendly Smile (or Other Acknowledgement) When You Make Eye Contact?

[Tod Daniels]

No way, I don't acknowledge thais when I see them (and they’re thick as ticks on a dog's back here in the glorious "Land 'O Thais") why would I acknowledge a foreigner simply for the fact that person isn't thai? I prefer to ignore everyone equally unless I am going to interact with them. I am an equal opportunity ignorer, and do not discriminate in my distain of people by race.

Just FYI: I have found the lynchpin which controls whether a foreigner will smile or acknowledge another foreigner in passing is directly related to the age of the "thai-in-tow". The wider the age disparity between a foreigner and his "thai-in-tow" the less likely they are to return an acknowledgement from another foreigner. This is especially so if it is readily apparent the "thai-in-tow" is of the "time share" or "rental" persuasion. I have conducted several studies on this subject and the conclusions are always the same.

[TheDon]

Wow, I thought as a Western woman I definitely encountered open hostility in LOS, but the female expats were almost always very friendly or acknowledging. It is my nature to smile back at someone and sometimes to smile first, but I stopped doing that with Western male expats in LOS.

I think there is a huge difference between what type of western femal and western male in Thailand as females most the females dont go there for what most of the males go there for. So im sure farangs girls are 100 times friendlier then the males

[TheDon]

When i walk past them and they look at me, they look scared shitless.

I bet you only weigh 50kgs and just hide behind that avatar pic!

Yeah my arms weighs about 50 kgs. 10 years of steroid abuse mate

which means your brain has shriveled as much as your testes

But can people with brains bench press 200 kilo's ???

[NoSpeakIt]

i only offer certain people smiles depending on how they are dressed and their general demeanor.

[qwertz]

When i walk past them and they look at me, they look scared shitless.

I bet you only weigh 50kgs and just hide behind that avatar pic!

Yeah my arms weighs about 50 kgs. 10 years of steroid abuse mate

which means your brain has shriveled as much as your testes

But can people with brains bench press 200 kilo's ???

Bet either of the Klitchkow brothers could have you for breakfast.

Oh, and they're smarter than you too.

Please don't kick sand in my face if you see me on Jomtien beach.

Yours, a 7 stone weakling.

Edited July 28, 2008 by qwertz

[TheDon]

When i walk past them and they look at me, they look scared shitless.

I bet you only weigh 50kgs and just hide behind that avatar pic!

Yeah my arms weighs about 50 kgs. 10 years of steroid abuse mate

which means your brain has shriveled as much as your testes

But can people with brains bench press 200 kilo's ???

Bet either of the Klitchkow brothers could have you for breakfast.

Oh, and they're smarter than you too.

Please don't kick sand in my face if you see me on Jomtien beach.

Yours, a 7 stone weakling.

Please..............

The Klitschko brothers were and are pretenders in the HW division, they all fight bums.

They bench something like 160 kgs, they are soft.

Who the hel_l would go to Jomtien beach? Its a hole.

[qwertz]

When i walk past them and they look at me, they look scared shitless.

I bet you only weigh 50kgs and just hide behind that avatar pic!

Yeah my arms weighs about 50 kgs. 10 years of steroid abuse mate

which means your brain has shriveled as much as your testes

But can people with brains bench press 200 kilo's ???

Bet either of the Klitchkow brothers could have you for breakfast.

Oh, and they're smarter than you too.

Please don't kick sand in my face if you see me on Jomtien beach.

Yours, a 7 stone weakling.

Please..............

The Klitschko brothers were and are pretenders in the HW division, they all fight bums.

They bench something like 160 kgs, they are soft.

Who the hel_l would go to Jomtien beach? Its a hole.

So you're not mad at me?

Phew!

P.S. They're still smarter than you.

Edited July 28, 2008 by qwertz

[MiG16]

lets keep this on topic people

by the way...I liked the post someone made about the aussies turning round in the elevator to say G'Day sounds like something Id do in my after midnight mode

[mr_hippo]

I can't remember the last time I saw a farang.

I'll have to correct this! It was a beautiful morning so I went on my daily bike ride. I decided to do my 70km Lam Lukka circuit and I saw a grey-haired westerner putting something into his pick-up - I shouted "Good Morning" and he returned the greeting. Also, someone on Sukhapiban 5 shouted "Morning Hippo" - I have no idea who that was!

[Gary A]

Why would anyone want to bench press 200 kilos? Do you get paid for it? What does it accomplish?

[TheDon]

Why would anyone want to bench press 200 kilos? Do you get paid for it? What does it accomplish?

It accomplishes alot of kickboxes to the head mate. Plus the ladies love it.

[garro]

No way, I don't acknowledge thais when I see them (and they're thick as ticks on a dog's back here in the glorious "Land 'O Thais") why would I acknowledge a foreigner simply for the fact that person isn't thai? I prefer to ignore everyone equally unless I am going to interact with them. I am an equal opportunity ignorer, and do not discriminate in my distain of people by race.

Just FYI: I have found the lynchpin which controls whether a foreigner will smile or acknowledge another foreigner in passing is directly related to the age of the "thai-in-tow". The wider the age disparity between a foreigner and his "thai-in-tow" the less likely they are to return an acknowledgement from another foreigner. This is especially so if it is readily apparent the "thai-in-tow" is of the "time share" or "rental" persuasion. I have conducted several studies on this subject and the conclusions are always the same.

I like your posts because I'm never sure if you are joking or if you really have a borderline-personality.

[TheDon]

Does flexing my BICEPS count?

[roygsd]

Does flexing my BICEPS count?

If you have more than one it does

Roy gsd

[RueFang]

I do sometimes, but many foreign men studiously avoid eye contact with me. Some look anything from annoyed to enraged by my very presence (I know why; they know why). Their Thai partners will sometimes send furtive, apologetic glances.

Foreign women are different. We interact more naturally, it seems, and sometimes exchange knowing 's and 's, despite being strangers.

So true, so true. If I offer a big smile and get very obviously snubbed I can't help but laugh out loud (or at least guffaw!) as I'm passing them as I do find it amusing how people can be. Without fail the Thai wife/gf will give a smile in return though.

[egg6447]

"Because they are unsociable $%^#" is a bit of an over-simplification. They are being unsociable for a reason. And for different people, there are different reasons. I think often the answer lies in why they choose to live here.

Some are living here because they are rejecting all/much about their home country, i.e. bad experiences, disillusionment, etc. They want to purge themselves of everything about their former existence. Encountering farang here is an unwanted reminder of what they have rejected, and all of that negative emotional baggage they are still carrying. "If I wanted to mix with farang, I would have stayed in farangland"

Some are here to live out a fantasy. For some this is Mr Casanova, for some it is some sort of neo-sahib trip (Lord of all he surveys etc), while others are trying to be more native than the natives. For them encountering other farang just puts a pin near their fantasy balloon.

Finally some farang here are just plain strange, ie. misfits and misanthropes, in some cases not quite right in the head. They don't fit in back home and they probably don't fit in here either. Their unfriendly response is probably not specific to other farang, everyone probably gets the same treatment.

i would think your close to the facts there plus the dodgy deviants. years ago i said to some mates, every one that comes here has a problem, one bloke took exception and gushed out , oh and whats wrong with you, my reply, ive no idea, i,m in here looking out, your out there looking in, you tell me. end of discussion.

[lardy]

The westerner with one arm, I wave at him every time I see him driving past.

I do hope he salutes you??

I come to Thailand to escape my own countrymen/women.

Are you a criminal?

I don't know, is it illegal to have sex with donkeys in Thailand?

[lardy]

Probably because they know if I wanted to end there life, I could do it any time I want

Yeah my arms weighs about 50 kgs. 10 years of steroid abuse mate

Maybe the money spend on steroids would be better spent on learning to spell. Also, doesn't steroid abuse leads to organ failure and shrunken genitalia?

It appears so.

Or as in the case of a neighbour in the Uk 3 doors down from me (liked to inject his steroids) blowing your brains out with a shotgun........... you can say what you like about him (and many did), but he was a good shot!!

[Amyji]

As several women expats have so eloquently already stated, we tend to have quite a different experience than of the expat men. How many of you get treated with hostility just for your existence?

In answer to the poll question, I selected "Sometimes" because I lived in Bangkok and there are SO many farangs there, both male and female, that it would be likely that most are tourists passing though. Outside the downtown area, though, and just about any other place outside touristy spots in Thailand, I would offer a smile and a knowing acknowledgment shared with another western woman, should I see her. It's a nice sisterhood bond when it happens.

[oevna]

Do you offer other westerners a friendly smile (or other acknowledgement) when you meet? I know that I probably don't have much in common with many of these guys, and that the only thing we share it that we are not Thai, but it seems the polite thing to do - after all I smile when make eye contact with a Thai.

I did stop for a while after becoming irritated by having other westerners constantly give me cold stares - one guy even tutted and said turned to his Thai girl-friend/wife and said 'falang'. I soon returned to the smile though as it is nice to be nice, and it seems to irritate the morons. I might start giving them a wai too, just to see their faces.

I recently saw this farang walking around Lop Buri smiling at everyone who walked by. Kind of freaked me out and now I don't smile at anyone.

j/k

I don't generally smile at strangers, but I try to put on a friendly face and at least make brief eye contact. If it's returned I'll sometimes say "hello."

-oev

[garro]

Do you offer other westerners a friendly smile (or other acknowledgement) when you meet? I know that I probably don't have much in common with many of these guys, and that the only thing we share it that we are not Thai, but it seems the polite thing to do - after all I smile when make eye contact with a Thai.

I did stop for a while after becoming irritated by having other westerners constantly give me cold stares - one guy even tutted and said turned to his Thai girl-friend/wife and said 'falang'. I soon returned to the smile though as it is nice to be nice, and it seems to irritate the morons. I might start giving them a wai too, just to see their faces.

I recently saw this farang walking around Lop Buri smiling at everyone who walked by. Kind of freaked me out and now I don't smile at anyone.

j/k

It wasn't me. If I see another westerner in Lopburi I now give them a nice wai .

[MonkeyHouse]

hey garro, couldnt beleive it! i just was at carrefour today in minburi, bangkok and a farang smiled at me

It wasnt you was it?

[garro]

hey garro, couldnt beleive it! i just was at carrefour today in minburi, bangkok and a farang smiled at me

It wasnt you was it?

Did I give you a wai and begin speaking to you in Thai?

[MonkeyHouse]

hey garro, couldnt beleive it! i just was at carrefour today in minburi, bangkok and a farang smiled at me

It wasnt you was it?

Did I give you a wai and begin speaking to you in Thai?

Hey i said it was a farang didnt i? LOL

[garro]

hey garro, couldnt beleive it! i just was at carrefour today in minburi, bangkok and a farang smiled at me

It wasnt you was it?

Did I give you a wai and begin speaking to you in Thai?

Hey i said it was a farang didnt i? LOL

I like to pretend I'm Thai on Mondays and Fridays.

[MonkeyHouse]

hey garro, couldnt beleive it! i just was at carrefour today in minburi, bangkok and a farang smiled at me

It wasnt you was it?

Did I give you a wai and begin speaking to you in Thai?

Hey i said it was a farang didnt i? LOL

I like to pretend I'm Thai on Mondays and Fridays.

So you were a yellow shirt on monday? and friday what?

[Andrew Hicks]

Do you offer other westerners a friendly smile (or other acknowledgement) when you meet? I know that I probably don't have much in common with many of these guys, and that the only thing we share it that we are not Thai, but it seems the polite thing to do - after all I smile when make eye contact with a Thai.

I did stop for a while after becoming irritated by having other westerners constantly give me cold stares - one guy even tutted and said turned to his Thai girl-friend/wife and said 'falang'. I soon returned to the smile though as it is nice to be nice, and it seems to irritate the morons. I might start giving them a wai too, just to see their faces.

I live in a small village in a quiet part of Surin and if I go to the bank in the local market town I occasionally see a farang and I'm amazed how unfriendly they sometimes are. Thay hardly give me an acknowlegement, let alone a smile. They have a lot to learn from rural Thais who are openly warm to all comers.

I on the other hand am desperate for contact with any human or near-human who might speak my own language. I tend to rush up to them and throw my arms around them sobbing loudly and not let go.

Maybe they're not that friendly because they remember me from last time.

[mahtin]

Look what happen when I smile nice Thai lady

Not smile farang