Disgruntled Farang Going Home

[cojones]

Letters Page

The Nation

Looks like it's time for expat residents to move on

If you're Thai, it's okay to shoot two unarmed, innocent tourists to death,

admit to it and get bail because you need to "take care of your family". But if

you're farang, you'll get a death sentence for being caught with less than five

ounces of drugs.

If you're Thai, you can routinely rip off well-meaning foreign tourists in a

variety of business or state-sponsored ways. But if you're farang, you'd face an

immediate lawsuit.

If you're Thai, you can broadcast any kind of Buddhist programme 24 hours a day.

But if you're farang, you'll be investigated for "dividing the Thai people" with

a 20-second Christian commercial.

If you're Thai, you could come to my country, buy land, own a business and

obtain citizenship. But if you're farang, you cannot own a business, or buy

land, or obtain residency, even if you're married, without extravagant amounts

of money, money, money.

If you're Thai, you can use public funds to "lend" money to another country,

which in turn buys your monopolised product. But if you're farang, you would be

put in jail for such an obvious and outrageous conflict of interest.

If you're Thai, you will scurry into the first elevator and take the down lift,

even if everyone needs to go up. But if you're farang, you'll calmly wait for

the next, empty elevator going up.

If you're Thai, you will no doubt be forced to stay in this sadly and rapidly

deteriorating nation. But if you're farang, you can leave. And after seven years

of this utter nonsense, I am.

Good-bye.

Disillusioned

BANGKOK

[Jeff1]

Dear disillusioned ,

Dont let the door hit you in the a## on your way out .

Sorry it cant be exactly like your home country .... T.I.T

[ProfessorFart]

Its true that the odds have been stacked against non Thais in Thailand in an ever increasing way for decades now. It does appear that things are reaching breaking point and Thailand is isolating herself not only from invaluable tourist dollars but also invaluable human resorces from overseas.

However, its their mistake to make. Let them make it. They'll learn the hard way.

One can't however, be pushed out by the idiosyncrasies of Thai life. Its the way it is and no amount of complaining will change things though a good vent every now and again does help. You just have to take it on the chin and get on with it.

Maybe Dissilusioned will feel differently after a spell in the UK (or wherever)

The memories of how good you really have it in Thailand come back sharply enough when theres a biting wind blowing in from the North Sea and you're being turfed out of your local at 11PM, when you're paying £5 for a pack of cigs, when the only women showing an interest would struggle to fit in a three man tent, when your boss is bitching at you for no reason at all, when your idea of a weekend away is a weekend in rain sodden Blackpool and not some sparkling tropical beach, when all you see is scowling unhappy faces............thats when you yearn for the noise and chaos of Sukhumwit road, Ko Samet, Pattaya or wherever you love in Thailand.

[medicinebox]

So Thailand isn't for everyone then?

That much is obvious.

But what's just as obvious is, 'Everyone isn't for Thailand'

By saying that I mean, Thailand is a no mark on the 'World Stage'.

Who really gives a flying frig about Thailand in terms of other nations. It's 3rd world neighbours perhaps? Little fish?

What you have to understand is that Thailand is everybody's and nobody's friend. It is it's own man, so as to speak.

It means the world to some, and just a nation that appears in the headlines now and then to the rest of the world. They have no real clout or influence.

But it is their little corner of the world. So if you feel it's not the place for you, vote with your feet.

Hope this dosen't sound anti-Thai. I think it's a great place in small doses. But I couldn't move there permanently. Fair play to all who have made it their new home. Let's hope things eventuallyget better and not worse.

As for farang land. It's not really too bad. I know I go on about it sometimes, but it's mostly tounge in cheek. I will always be British.

[tuky]

I am in Australia at the moment to sort a few things out/let my child meet the grandparents. We booked for two weeks but will be returning after one.

LoS can be frustrating, but there is no place in the world I would rather be.

Everyone is different, where ever you decide to settle good luck to you.

I bet it would be hard to move back to farang land full time, not sure I could do it.

[sua yai]

"I bet it would be hard to move back to farang land, not sure I could do it".

Totally agree. I've been here 6.5 years and am 46. If I returned to the UK, I'd find it really difficult to find employment. Certainly, the newspaper/publishing industry I was in before has moved on so much since I've been here, I just wouldn't have a clue. Plus there would be people 15-20 years my junior who would have considerably more energy and "cut throat attitude" to succeed than me.

A friend went back 2 years ago. He's 10 years younger than myself, but is still signing on, unable to find anything more interesting, job wise, than stacking boxes on supermarket shelves.

I didn't burn all my bridges. Still got my property in London. Whilst the rental allows me a good lifestyle in Thailand, it wouldn't go very far in the UK.

This is just my situation and I wish the original poster well. Me, I'll stick it out here for as long as possible.

[marquess]

Nothing worst than to be in the misery and reflecting on past happiness. (Dante Francesca De Remini)

[Indo-Siam]

Ah yes, I can see it now - Disillusioned returns to his homeland, hungry - seeks out a restaurant - and is greeting upon arrival by big smiles and gracious "wais." But - thsi is soon forgotten anyway, ashe orders a tasty dinner for 2,000 baht.

Then he tries to go buy some land - at 10,000 Euros per square meter.

Etc., etc.

'Wanna bet we'll be seeing Disillusioned crawling back to Thailand??? (but this time: called "Horrified" back in his homeland).

Indo-Siam

[Golf]

Dear Disillusioned,

I wish you luck on your trip home. Thailand might not be the best place in the world, and you feel sick about it after spending several years here. Of course, things are expensive in your homeland and your might find it difficult to readjust your life style. If I were you, I would prefer to pay more money for my equal human rights, fairness, better legal system, and my very own safety.

God speed, Disillusioned.

[Doctor John]

If you're Thai, you will no doubt be forced to stay in this sadly and rapidly

deteriorating nation. But if you're farang, you can leave. And after seven years

of this utter nonsense, I am.

Good-bye.

Disillusioned

BANGKOK

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just sounds like another Farang that came to Thailand with some money, wasted it sitting in a Bar for 7 years and now has to go home.

Seen lots like that over the Years. They blame Thailand for their own failures in life.

Goodbye.

[Covertjay]

Sure they're racist, but they do each other for a dollar so there are some equal opportunities areas here.

Don't forget they have come here from feudalism in 30 years.............

And if they were too switched on, like Malaysia, they wouldn't need us or our money anymore.

[Simbo]

I'm with you, 'Dissolusioned'. This country has a lot to answer for.

The thing that amazes me is how so many so called ex-pats leap to the defence of it, whenever someone ventures a critisism. One would almost think they are Thai themslves.

You are right, this is the most ' bent ' country I have ever known, and the odds are stacked heavily against you. It is not the most beautiful country by far. the uk and europe leaves it standing as anyone who has driven around Thailand will tell you.

Thailands redeeming features are its cheap cost of living, its warm/hot climate and it beautiful women. Thats it.

[Doctor John]

  I'm with you, 'Dissolusioned'. This country has a lot to answer for.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What time is your flight out ?

Goodbye and have a nice time in...where was it.....Grimsby or was it GrimeThorpe

[a man with a plan]

Not that I'm taking any particular stance here but no one can deny how utterly frustrating it is when you feel a constant stream of unfairness just because you are foreign. I know a lot of people who live here very happily but the truth is they are all already rich. They are here enjoying retirement years or maybe still doing bussiness but they have the money for deals sitting around in cash.

I also know a lot of people who work here, some of them have bussiness ventures which invole the bank because they're not weathly enough to plop cash sums around. Most of the later people nearly had a nervous break down from the stress of feeling stepped on, most of them are no longer in the country.

[Simbo]

  I'm with you, 'Dissolusioned'. This country has a lot to answer for.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What time is your flight out ?

Goodbye and have a nice time in...where was it.....Grimsby or was it GrimeThorpe

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry, here to stay. are you any relation to Lord haw haw?

[Pudgimelon]

Dear disillusioned ,

Dont let the door hit you in the a## on your way out .

Sorry it cant be exactly like your home country .... T.I.T

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What's with this kind of attitude? Just because someone isn't a native, doesn't mean they have no right to speak their piece or make critical remarks about their host country.

"If you don't like it, leave", "This is Thailand (said sarcastically)", or "Who are you to tell Thais how to run their country?" are all just sorry excuses for blind acceptance of the unacceptable.

I'm fully aware that this is not America, and I don't expect or ask Thais to behave like Americans, but that doesn't mean they can get away with blatantly unfair and unjust treatment of foreigners on their soil.

I intend to marry and settle down here (at least for the time being). I pay my taxes, I contribute to the economy and the social/cultural community around me, and I provide a valuable service to the citizens of this country (at least, they pay me as if my work was valuable). And that means I have every right to speak my mind about what I think is good or bad or right or wrong.

This "shut-up-and-put-up-with-it" crowd has questionable reasoning, and I find their attitude wholy unjustifiable.

What's wrong with foreigners and permenant residents voicing their opinions and providing input into the social, political, economic, and cultural arenas of their host nation? There's nothing "condescending" or "superior" or "racist" about that, and those people who see insults and racism in the words of others are perhaps projecting their own beliefs into the words that other people are saying.

In other words, perhaps the reason they feel negative comments about Thailand are "racist" or "superior" is because they, themselves, are racist, and can't see a constructive comment in any other kind of light.

As a tax-payer, as a resident, (in the future hopefully) as a parent, and as a (soon to be) spouse, I have every right to give my opinions about the way things should be done here. After all, I LIVE HERE TOO!!!!!!!!

The Cubans handed George Bush Florida in the last election, and while I disagree with them strongly in that regard, I think it's perfectly justifiable for people who live and work and pay taxes in a country to have a VOICE in the way that country is run.

Or maybe this "taxation without representation" is a uniquely British trait that I'll never quite grasp.

[Covertjay]

Nice one on the Poms...

Or maybe this "taxation without representation" is a uniquely British trait that I'll never quite grasp

But were you right to trade one tyrant 12 000 miles away for 12 000 tyrants one mile away.

Your right, I dissagree with what you say, but defend your right to say it.

[DJ Pat]

The memories of how good you really have it in Thailand come back sharply enough when theres a biting wind blowing in from the North Sea and you're being turfed out of your local at 11PM, when you're paying £5 for a pack of cigs, when the only women showing an interest would struggle to fit in a three man tent, when your boss is bitching at you for no reason at all, when your idea of a weekend away is a weekend in rain sodden Blackpool and not some sparkling tropical beach, when all you see is scowling unhappy faces............thats when you yearn for the noise and chaos of Sukhumwit road, Ko Samet, Pattaya or wherever you love in Thailand

Give this man a round of applause.

[chanchao]

The following is a response to the very same letter, on the Thorntree forum however. Sums it up real nice. (Personally don't subscribe to the relevance of the strip club thing, but very much to the rest of it)

---

You sound fairly angry about the place. better you do pack it in and go home. if you are like many of the expats i know, it is no wonder the thais treat you like they do. unfortunately many expats walk around with their head up their asses. i lived there for six years and never had problems, but then again i integrated into the society, not just hanging out on the pong, or the british club bitching about how bad it is there. what most farang fail to see is that thailand is not their country. many of the tourists/expats that go there are very insensitive to the thai culture as a whole. the full moon party is not thai, topless bathing is not thai as an example. whole villages, islands now cater to this kind of bullshit, just for money. many of the expats that live there complain like i've never heard before. again, i don't know what kind of person you are, or what you do, but the expats that i met that complained about the thais and were constantly frustrated were generally speaking, &lt;deleted&gt; at best. i've had completely the opposite experience. i have a thai wife who speaks english, had a great job, made good coin, doesn't have a sick auntie or cow and wev'e been together for eight years. we now live out of country, and go back very often to visit our thai friends and family and always feel welcome, they to in turn have saved up and come to my country. i think thailand and your personal experience depends on who you are, and who you hang out with. i always ask expats this question...

if you were back home, would you always go to a brothel or strip club every weekend? the answer is usually no, i then ask them why do you do it here, they usually answer it's different here. well it is not. i know from personal experience that you can seemingly get away with a lot of shit in that country that you simply could not where i come from.

any way, you should be quite happy that you are going back to your native country where it is all great, don't know how you stayed in such a horrible place for so long, especially when you seem so unhappy.

Good luck with the reverse culture shock, it's a real bitch.

[what a life]

What's wrong with foreigners and permenant residents voicing their opinions and providing input into the social, political, economic, and cultural arenas of their host nation?

I bet the same people that defend Thailand so fiercely with all this "it's not your country, you can't have a bad opinion of it" b/shit are happy enough to complain about America and other countries, and I bet they do not see the hyprocrisy in that.

This country like all has is advantages and disadvantages, it is not the greatest country on earth and fair critiscism of it should be allowed.

Also, remeber all you people that say "go on leave Thailand then. I bet your home country is worse" obviously don't realise that just because you leave Thailand doesn't mean you have to go home, some people have options to go anywhere, and I bet if half the people tried living in other countries, perhaps China, C.America and many more they would soon find out that Thailand is not the be all and end all.

Also, to those that say that farang that don't like it here have not intergretated themselves into Thai society are clueless. I know plenty of Thais that are dissillusioned with this country and love to get out of here and move to another country if they had the chance, and I would say those people are pretty well intergrated into Thai society.

[Doctor John]

I can understand people that do not like a country staying in that country for work, many people that work in the Middle East for example do not really like it, but the money is good. I am in a similar situation in Japan. Money.

But I cannot understand people staying a country that they do not like for any other reason than well paid employment.

I do understand the bitching at times, cos up until 18 months ago, I had not really worked for 12 years, and I lived in Thailand during that time. And I used to complain about this and that and the other also. I just got used to it and then I started to find the bad points instead of only looking at the good.

It is probably since I have beeen working approx 2 months on, 1 month off that I appreciate Thailand more, I have travelled a lot in the past and still do now, but Thailand is a pretty good place to live. It is far from perfect and i suppose your location in Thailand would influence your opinion on the place.

I have spent 3 months in the country of my birth, England, in the last 14 years.

Lived in Thailand since 1990, it's the place I call home and I like it.

[ProfessorFart]

I agree with Dr John here. The guy probably spent his 7 years sat in a bar expecting Thailand to modify itself to his own requirements.

Life in any country requires the old adage 'you get out what you put in' to be applied.

[Simbo]

So Doctor John is only a partimer really.

[Doctor John]

  So Doctor John is only a partimer really.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hehe... Yes at the moment. During the last 18 months anyway, going back next week though till mid January, then back here again in Japan for a few months and on and on.............

Can't buy land and houses for people without working .

[OldAsiaHand]

However, its their mistake to make. Let them make it. They'll learn the hard way.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I doubt it, and that's really the heart of the matter.

Learning implies admitting that one may have once chose something less than the best course. That's something Thais, on the whole, will never do. Thais truly believe they are an exception to the law of gravity and they are too insignificant to the rest of the world for that belief to have any currency. Outside the borders of this quaint and irrelevant little country Thais are mostly shrugged off as a joke. And, mostly, they are.

[ProfessorFart]

Learning implies admitting that one may have once chose something less than the best course. That's something Thais, on the whole, will never do.

Before 1997 I'd have agreed with you 100%. Now I think things are a little, and only a little, different. Thais are slowly waking up to the world around them but the emphasis is on the slowly here.

[Dakhar]

Learning implies admitting that one may have once chose something less than the best course. That's something Thais, on the whole, will never do.

Before 1997 I'd have agreed with you 100%. Now I think things are a little, and only a little, different. Thais are slowly waking up to the world around them but the emphasis is on the slowly here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have to agree with the Professor....

The Asian countries that suround Thailand, are opening their arms to foriengers, forieng envestment etc, and their economies are sky rocketing. While Thailand seems to think the longer it holds out it will be the winner in the long run. Strange and stubborn logic. But I guess if the goal is to be the poorest nation in the Eastern hemisphere, and to be soley owned by it's own country men.... well I guess they will achieve it then...

But actually when you consider the Chinese/Thai population.... their goal has already been defeated.

[Boon Mee]

Letters Page

The Nation

Looks like it's time for expat residents to move on

If you're Thai, it's okay to shoot two unarmed, innocent tourists to death,

admit to it and get bail because you need to "take care of your family". But if

you're farang, you'll get a death sentence for being caught with less than five

ounces of drugs.

If you're Thai, you can routinely rip off well-meaning foreign tourists in a

variety of business or state-sponsored ways. But if you're farang, you'd face an

immediate lawsuit.

If you're Thai, you can broadcast any kind of Buddhist programme 24 hours a day.

But if you're farang, you'll be investigated for "dividing the Thai people" with

a 20-second Christian commercial.

If you're Thai, you could come to my country, buy land, own a business and

obtain citizenship. But if you're farang, you cannot own a business, or buy

land, or obtain residency, even if you're married, without extravagant amounts

of money, money, money.

If you're Thai, you can use public funds to "lend" money to another country,

which in turn buys your monopolised product. But if you're farang, you would be

put in jail for such an obvious and outrageous conflict of interest.

If you're Thai, you will scurry into the first elevator and take the down lift,

even if everyone needs to go up. But if you're farang, you'll calmly wait for

the next, empty elevator going up.

If you're Thai, you will no doubt be forced to stay in this sadly and rapidly

deteriorating nation. But if you're farang, you can leave. And after seven years

of this utter nonsense, I am.

Good-bye.

Disillusioned

BANGKOK

You guys who have already posted in response to the above rant have said it all.

I'll simply add - just another whinging farang...

[sua yai]

The grass is always greener.

[Dondi]

Thailand attracts the lower class farangs that are hungry to be looked upon as "better" , they put others down to make themselves feel better and to try and not remember that if they were to go back home , they would have nothing , no life except for a few dollars and maybe a dead end job.

They go there on holiday and fall in love , which is fine. Ive fallen in love with a number of countries. But these expats decide to stay because they cant handle to depression of hero to zero.

It's got nothing to do with Thai's , if i was Thai i would be doing the same thing. They dont need these old no life Western people in there country to survive but seeing as they want to stay , why not take them for all there got?

What Thailand offers is great. Nice beachs and islands etc etc but alot of things also put a damper on this ie. the sex industry , human trafficking.

I say , leave if you want to leave or stay if you want to be like that but whatever you choose to do, in the end your a no hoper.

im not speaking for everyone of course but sadly most of you guys are.

im sure ill get my head bitten off by this post , but thats just proves my point