The English/British Club

[STEALTH K3]

Does anyone know anything about THE ENGLISH CLUB on Thanon is it for members only and what is the club about

[ProfessorFart]

Do you mean the British Club?

[STEALTH K3]

Do you mean the British Club?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well English/British Club I have it named as both on 2 maps

[Rinrada]

http://www.britishclubbangkok.org/forum/oldwebsite/

and a couple of other related organisation that you may wish to address:

The British Chamber of Commerce Thailand...etc.

http://members.bccthai.com/BCCT/asp/defaul...p?SponsorID=256

There is also the St Andrews,St Georges,St Davids and St Patricks....but I am sure that you will be able to find them easily

[Axel]

THE ENGLISH CLUB on Thanon...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanon means street. Check which Thanon. Thanon Suriwong or...?

[alanw]

This comment maybe a bit off the topic, however - If you are new to Thailand and possibly staying for a while, please DON'T totally immerse yourself in expat clubs.

Get out there and expand your world / expand your thinking, by exposure to a whole lot of different, exciting, frustrating, wonderful experiences with Thais. Long term it will be to your benefit.

If you are working here then it's essentail that you learn how the Thai think and how they interact socially, on the job etc.

I'm not saying you should change your thinking your values or chance anything. But it will be to your advanyage to develop a strong awareness and what underlies Thai thinking, Thai ways, etc.

Good luck

[sumantkumar]

Hi, is anyone a member of the British Club??

Is it worth joining? Anyone have any details...or some better options.

I really need to get out and meet some other expats. All my friends here are Thai, which is great, but I dont totally want to lose touch with where I come from. (Canada)

[Neeranam]

You have a very Canadian sounding name, sumantkumar

Can Canadians join the "British" Club?

Edited January 19, 2005 by Neeranam

[jaidee36]

IMHO the British Club is a truely aweful place - the sort of place that makes you embarrassed to be British (I was a member for 5 years). Dont ask me why?

The whole club is extremely grotty (meaning in need of renovation) and populated with just the sort of farang you dont want to meet. (In particular, it is the sort of place that Brits hang around whinging about Thais and Thailand - the sort of Brit farang who only have expats as friends).

ps. apologies to any members that my generalisation doesnt apply to.

[astral]

IMHO the British Club is a truely aweful place - the sort of place that makes you embarrassed to be British (I was a member for 5 years). Dont ask me why?

The whole club is extremely grotty (meaning in need of renovation) and populated with just the sort of farang you dont want to meet. (In particular, it is the sort of place that Brits hang around whinging about Thais and Thailand - the sort of Brit farang who only have expats as friends).

ps. apologies to any members that my generalisation doesnt apply to.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My experience was along time ago, but Jai Dee's description sounds about right.

I came here to meet Thai's and left the rest of the Brits back home.

[phazey]

<pun> why can't anyone find the canadian club? cos some bugger drank it! </pun>

i'll get me coat.

[p_brownstone]

IMHO the British Club is a truely aweful place - the sort of place that makes you embarrassed to be British (I was a member for 5 years). Dont ask me why?

The whole club is extremely grotty (meaning in need of renovation) and populated with just the sort of farang you dont want to meet. (In particular, it is the sort of place that Brits hang around whinging about Thais and Thailand - the sort of Brit farang who only have expats as friends).

ps. apologies to any members that my generalisation doesnt apply to.

I have to agree.

In over 30 years in Thailand I have been to the British Club perhaps 10 times as a Guest, and not once in the last 20 years.

In the early '70's it was quite literally "The British Club", even Canadians, Australians etc. were not accepted as Members and the only individuals with brown skin there were the Gurkas moonlighting from the British Embassy who were employed as Security.

With the decline of "British" Expats in Thailand the joke now is that the Membership Secretary prowls around outside the gate on Surawong with a net!!

Patrick

[TRIPxCORE]

Just recently went there as a guest of a member to have lunch. First time I had ever been there and I thought the place was kind of nice. Food was good and fairly priced as well. Lots of families there, lots of Thais there. Wasn't predominately one over the other. It might be worth it for the facilites they offer. How much are they asking for?

[PvtDick]

I'm a frequent guest at the British Club, and think it is worth it if you don't live too far away. It is kind of a neat little oasis in the middle of Silom.

[STEALTH K3]

THE ENGLISH CLUB on Thanon...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanon means street. Check which Thanon. Thanon Suriwong or...?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanon Surawong

[paulfr]

Does anyone know if they have a tennis pro there who gives lessons ??

[chonabot]

Does anyone know if they have a tennis pro there who gives lessons ??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A few pro's but a tennis one? No.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

THE ENGLISH CLUB on Thanon...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanon means street. Check which Thanon. Thanon Suriwong or...?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanon Surawong

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Or Surawongse if one is gonna be picky

[boris]

This comment maybe a bit off the topic, however - If you are new to Thailand and possibly staying for a while, please DON'T totally immerse yourself in expat clubs.

Get out there and expand your world / expand your thinking, by exposure to a whole lot of different, exciting, frustrating, wonderful experiences with Thais.  Long term it will be to your benefit.

If you are working here then it's essentail that you learn how the Thai think and how they interact socially, on the job etc.

I'm not saying you should change your thinking your values or chance anything.  But it will be to your advanyage to develop a strong awareness and what underlies Thai thinking, Thai ways, etc.

Good luck

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Your post puzzles me a little because I'm not quite sure what message you are trying to convey.Obviously it doesn't make sense to totally immerse oneself in expatriate clubs like the British Club.If this is your message, fair enough.But if you are suggesting one shouldn't join such clubs at all, I would disagree.Some of the most perceptive and knowledgeable farangs on the Thai cosmos are also fully participating members of the expatriate community(I'm not talking about the retirees, barflies, birds of passage,visa runners etc who are so active on this forum) Don't forget that there is a strong element in Thai thinking which considers foreigners should not abandon thir culture and background in favour of an ersatz Thainess.In essence what I'm saying is that one can be a paid up expatriate and a participant in the Thai world.The two are not mutually exclusive.

[Humphrey Bear]

Hi, is anyone a member of the British Club??

Is it worth joining?  Anyone have any details...or some better options.

I really need to get out and meet some other expats.  All my friends here are Thai, which is great, but I dont totally want to lose touch with where I come from.  (Canada)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you live and work in Bangkok, then I consider it is well worth the (quite considerable) fees. Good facilities, indoor and outdoor, large active membership, good for 'networking' for business and social contacts.

Yes, I know we should all learn enough about Thais and Thailand to appreciate the country we live in, but that doesn't mean one has to throw out the baby with the bathwater. A mixture of local contacts and expat contacts is a very good thing, stops one adopting the 'manana' attitude of many SE Asian countries - if you are working here it is because you have something your local competition does not - a Western attitude to getting the job done. Lose that and you're useless to your employer.

Go along there (it's in a small soi off Silom, about a kilometre down from Sala Daeng BTS) and ask to look around. You will be welcome.

[alanw]

Boris,

Thanks for your comments on my post.

Actually I did say "If you are new to Thailand and possibly staying for a while, please DON'T totally immerse yourself in expat clubs". I didn't say, and I didn't mean, 'don't join expat clubs'.

I have also worked here, in a senior professional position, for a very long time and I'm also well aware of the need for various forms of relationships with other expats. From my Thai family, I have learned many wonderful lessons about life, but I'll always want to hang on to some of the thinking and values etc I learned as a farang child.

I also said "I'm not saying you should change your thinking,your values or change anything. But it will be to your advantage to develop a strong awareness and what underlies Thai thinking, Thai ways, etc."

What was, to some extent driving my thoughts and comments, was a number of farang expats I know (one who worked here in my company for many years) who have never made any attempt to try to explore / build any awareness of local food, local culture, local thinking etc etc.

I venture to suggest (my opinion, and others have the right to disagree) this is quite sad.

The guy i mentoned above who worked here for my company, and his wife, see the whole world in the same values, thinking, behaviors, etc etc as Western Europe. The guy concerned, whilst he was here, had continuous confrontations with the Thai staff, and Thais he and his wife came in contact with when shopping etc etc - using the line " 'that's not the way we do it in Europe".

He, and wife, refused to accept that other cultures have different values, the things which drive their thinking, their evaluations, their decision making is different, etc., and that others have the right have that different culture, etc.

In fact he, and wife, were on a personal crusade (sorry if this word is a little politically incorrect) to totally Westernize: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, & Indonesia.

If he had made some attend to develop some level of awareness of local values, etc etc, then it would have made life much easier for both himself and the Thais. But I'm not saying he had to totally agree, or to change his thinking.

Plus in my personal opinion, perhaps others might not agree, it is surely a good thing to try to have some broader awareness and understanding of other cultures.

I'll say it again, I'm not suggesting that anyone should change their values, etc, however I do think it's valuable to try to develop a good local awareness.

To finish, I'll quote your last sentence "In essence what I'm saying is that one can be a paid up expatriate and a participant in the Thai world.The two are not mutually exclusive". I totally agree.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Boris,

Thanks for your comments on my post.

Actually I did say    "If you are new to Thailand and possibly staying for a while, please DON'T totally immerse yourself in expat clubs". I didn't say, and I didn't mean,  'don't join expat clubs'.

I have also worked here, in a senior professional position, for a very long time and I'm also well aware of the need for various forms of relationships with other expats. From my Thai family, I have learned many wonderful lessons about life, but I'll always want to hang on to some of the thinking and values etc I learned as a farang child.

I also said  "I'm not saying you should change your thinking,your values or change anything.  But it will be to your advantage to develop a strong awareness and what underlies Thai thinking, Thai ways, etc."

What was, to some extent driving my thoughts and comments, was a number of farang expats I know (one who worked here in my company for many years) who have never made any attempt to try to explore / build any awareness of local food, local culture, local thinking etc etc. 

I venture to suggest (my opinion, and others have the right to disagree) this is quite sad.

The guy i mentoned above who worked here for my company, and his wife, see the whole world in the same values, thinking, behaviors, etc etc as Western Europe.  The guy concerned, whilst he was here, had continuous confrontations with the Thai staff, and Thais he and his wife came in contact with when shopping etc etc - using the line " 'that's not the way we do it in Europe". 

He, and wife, refused to accept that other cultures have different values, the things which drive their thinking, their evaluations, their decision making is different, etc., and that others have the right have that different culture, etc. 

In fact he, and wife, were on a personal crusade (sorry if this word is a little politically incorrect) to totally Westernize: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, & Indonesia.

If he had made some attend to develop some level of awareness of local values, etc etc, then it would have made life much easier for both himself and the Thais. But I'm not saying he had to totally agree, or to change his thinking.

Plus in my personal opinion, perhaps others might not agree, it is surely a good thing to try to have some broader awareness and understanding of other cultures.

I'll say it again, I'm not suggesting that anyone should change their values, etc, however I do think it's valuable to try to develop a good local awareness. 

To finish, I'll quote your last sentence  "In essence what I'm saying is that one can be a paid up expatriate and a participant in the Thai world.The two are not mutually exclusive".  I totally agree.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As always with you Alan ... very well put

[boris]

Boris,

Thanks for your comments on my post.

Actually I did say    "If you are new to Thailand and possibly staying for a while, please DON'T totally immerse yourself in expat clubs". I didn't say, and I didn't mean,  'don't join expat clubs'.

I have also worked here, in a senior professional position, for a very long time and I'm also well aware of the need for various forms of relationships with other expats. From my Thai family, I have learned many wonderful lessons about life, but I'll always want to hang on to some of the thinking and values etc I learned as a farang child.

I also said  "I'm not saying you should change your thinking,your values or change anything.  But it will be to your advantage to develop a strong awareness and what underlies Thai thinking, Thai ways, etc."

What was, to some extent driving my thoughts and comments, was a number of farang expats I know (one who worked here in my company for many years) who have never made any attempt to try to explore / build any awareness of local food, local culture, local thinking etc etc. 

I venture to suggest (my opinion, and others have the right to disagree) this is quite sad.

The guy i mentoned above who worked here for my company, and his wife, see the whole world in the same values, thinking, behaviors, etc etc as Western Europe.  The guy concerned, whilst he was here, had continuous confrontations with the Thai staff, and Thais he and his wife came in contact with when shopping etc etc - using the line " 'that's not the way we do it in Europe". 

He, and wife, refused to accept that other cultures have different values, the things which drive their thinking, their evaluations, their decision making is different, etc., and that others have the right have that different culture, etc. 

In fact he, and wife, were on a personal crusade (sorry if this word is a little politically incorrect) to totally Westernize: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, & Indonesia.

If he had made some attend to develop some level of awareness of local values, etc etc, then it would have made life much easier for both himself and the Thais. But I'm not saying he had to totally agree, or to change his thinking.

Plus in my personal opinion, perhaps others might not agree, it is surely a good thing to try to have some broader awareness and understanding of other cultures.

I'll say it again, I'm not suggesting that anyone should change their values, etc, however I do think it's valuable to try to develop a good local awareness. 

To finish, I'll quote your last sentence  "In essence what I'm saying is that one can be a paid up expatriate and a participant in the Thai world.The two are not mutually exclusive".  I totally agree.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

All this, as I would expect from you, is extremely sensible and I wouldn't disagree with any of it.I don't know if this is your experience but my impression is that the narrow focus you describe of some expatriates has become rather less common in Thailand than say 15 years ago.As you correctly point out your original post didn't make any generalisation on expatriate clubs such as the British Club.My response was really inspired by some other rather silly posters railing against the British Club and the RBSC-which is not an expat club anyway-on grounds of snobbery,exclusivity etc.As Oscar Wilde once said, "one shouldn't criticise society:only those who can't get into it do that"

[alanw]

I would agree that the incidence of this, in Thailand, is probably a bit less than 10 to 15 years ago.

Can I quickly share a little more about the expat I 'featured' in my previous post.

The farang concerned had a driver, from Essan early thirties, speaks very good English, married with a couple of children. Wife and kids living permanently in Essan. The driver also had a mere noi here in Bkk. I'm sure the regular posters have all seen this 'scenario' many times before - it's very 'normal' in Thailand.

The farang and wife tried for years to convince the driver that he was a sinner and that 'living in sin' without a marriage certificate was the most dreadful thing in the world.

They tried several times to have their Thai roman catholic priest convince the driver that he should convert and be saved.

The driver avoided 'being saved'.

[boris]

I would agree that the incidence of this, in Thailand, is probably a bit less than 10 to 15 years ago.

Can I quickly share a little more about the expat I 'featured' in my previous post.

The farang concerned had a driver, from Essan early thirties, speaks very good English, married with a couple of children. Wife and kids living permanently in Essan.  The driver also had a mere noi here in Bkk.  I'm sure the regular posters have all seen this 'scenario' many times before - it's very 'normal' in Thailand.

The farang and wife tried for years to convince the driver that he was a sinner and that 'living in sin' without a marriage certificate was the most dreadful thing in the world.

They tried several times to have their Thai roman catholic priest convince the driver that he should convert and be saved.

The driver avoided 'being saved'.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very strange but I think also quite unusual.I met a Franciscan monk in Bangkok some uears ago who cheerfully admitted that his order, though well respected as teachers in Thailand, reconciled themselves as long ago as the the 19th century that the Thais would not be "converted"

[p_brownstone]

I would agree that the incidence of this, in Thailand, is probably a bit less than 10 to 15 years ago.

Can I quickly share a little more about the expat I 'featured' in my previous post.

The farang concerned had a driver, from Essan early thirties, speaks very good English, married with a couple of children. Wife and kids living permanently in Essan.  The driver also had a mere noi here in Bkk.  I'm sure the regular posters have all seen this 'scenario' many times before - it's very 'normal' in Thailand.

The farang and wife tried for years to convince the driver that he was a sinner and that 'living in sin' without a marriage certificate was the most dreadful thing in the world.

They tried several times to have their Thai roman catholic priest convince the driver that he should convert and be saved.

The driver avoided 'being saved'.

I do not for a moment believe that any "Essan" driver "early thirties" who spoke "very good English" would stay more than a month with a pretentious, evangalising family such as you describe, let alone "for years".

Patrick

[Digger]

I would agree that the incidence of this, in Thailand, is probably a bit less than 10 to 15 years ago.

Can I quickly share a little more about the expat I 'featured' in my previous post.

The farang concerned had a driver, from Essan early thirties, speaks very good English, married with a couple of children. Wife and kids living permanently in Essan.  The driver also had a mere noi here in Bkk.  I'm sure the regular posters have all seen this 'scenario' many times before - it's very 'normal' in Thailand.

The farang and wife tried for years to convince the driver that he was a sinner and that 'living in sin' without a marriage certificate was the most dreadful thing in the world.

They tried several times to have their Thai roman catholic priest convince the driver that he should convert and be saved.

The driver avoided 'being saved'.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I do not for a moment believe that any "Essan" driver "early thirties" who spoke "very good English" would stay more than a month with a pretentious, evangalising family such as you describe, let alone "for years".

Patrick

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Could well depend on how much he was earning - both officially and unofficially. Lots of official overtime for a driver and then there is the going to the dry cleaner, grocery store, hardware store etc on errands and making out false receipts and pocketing small amounts of money - call it his service fee. I have seen that happen a couple of times with drivers particularly when the expat family did not speak Thai - always small amounts but they could add up to another 10,000 baht a month in total.

Edited January 23, 2005 by Digger

[Sexy Beast]

The whole club is extremely grotty.

Sounds like my ex-local in Manchester. I'd hate to be reminded of that.

Why would anyone go - to remember what a sad and dreary place the UK is?

Sexy Beast