Why Is It So Dirty Everywhere In Thailand?

[Pierrot]

Thailand is not that dirty at all. The streets might be dusty because of the amount of people and cars and the trash is because of lack of rubbish bins and garbage trucks. All in all I would rather go into a MC donalds or fast food here than back in Australia. They really implement sanitization and cleaning. For all other dirty toilets its probably the "MAI PEN RAI" attitude

What a load of bull we are not talking about being dusty we talk about about rubbish thrown every were

Well I prefer my burger in OZ because every body has to wear gloves while handling food.

You ever go to the local markets here? How do they prepeare the food? With bare hands no water to wash and a minute ago they picked theyr noses. Have you ever seen a health inspector checking on all the food stores along the roads? I guess not

Most probably you also have asthma and suffer from multiples allergies. Contact with dust from the early age built your immune system.

You're probably a "bubble kid".

A great hello from someone living outside the bubble.

[Birdman]

Thailand is not dirty considering the tropical climate (re. insects, spiders in the bathroom..) and the gross national product. (A poster said that already. Poor people have other priorities than cleanliness. Which 2nd or 3rd world nation is cleaner than Switzerland.) Thailand is certainly in the upper third on a list of clean countries worldwide.

[Datsun240Z]

Thailand is not that dirty at all. The streets might be dusty because of the amount of people and cars and the trash is because of lack of rubbish bins and garbage trucks. All in all I would rather go into a MC donalds or fast food here than back in Australia. They really implement sanitization and cleaning. For all other dirty toilets its probably the "MAI PEN RAI" attitude

What a load of bull we are not talking about being dusty we talk about about rubbish thrown every were

Well I prefer my burger in OZ because every body has to wear gloves while handling food.

You ever go to the local markets here? How do they prepeare the food? With bare hands no water to wash and a minute ago they picked theyr noses. Have you ever seen a health inspector checking on all the food stores along the roads? I guess not

Most probably you also have asthma and suffer from multiples allergies. Contact with dust from the early age built your immune system.

You're probably a "bubble kid".

A great hello from someone living outside the bubble.

Sounds yammie above.

[chrgrims]

my wife says that hot water is not used much because the weather is so hot, so it doesnt feel good. also, she says that many thai are laidback and dont want to clean toilet etc.

She says that many thai are not aware of basic hygiene. they just think about how to eat, how to get money for food, not bacteria.

many grow up in very poor villages, so even if they later go to live in normal apt, old practices linger.

About dead animals in the street she says that people not feel its their problem, so they leave the animal there. but some villages have people from the community that collect dead animals etc.

This has certainly become an interesting thread. I learn some things about thai, but maybe even more about farangs that live here. The responses from u guys give me an impression of foreigners in thailand. as always, some is good and some is bad.

cheers, wan and chr

[Birdman]

my wife says that hot water is not used much because the weather is so hot, so it doesnt feel good. also, she says that many thai are laidback and dont want to clean toilet etc.

She says that many thai are not aware of basic hygiene. they just think about how to eat, how to get money for food, not bacteria.

many grow up in very poor villages, so even if they later go to live in normal apt, old practices linger.

About dead animals in the street she says that people not feel its their problem, so they leave the animal there. but some villages have people from the community that collect dead animals etc.

This has certainly become an interesting thread. I learn some things about thai, but maybe even more about farangs that live here. The responses from u guys give me an impression of foreigners in thailand. as always, some is good and some is bad.

cheers, wan and chr

sorry to tell you, but your first 4 words disqualifies you from any other serious discussions about Thailand.

[chrgrims]

yes i know. good thing this isnt serious. hehe.

[Misplaced]

hehe. i just might do that. .

btw, I realized just now i am mistaken. Thailand is clean, my wife is african and i love abba.

Africa …..ever been to Africa???? Now that’s dirty, I have worked in many countries in Africa and currently in Egypt which is also very dirty, garbage tipped on the roadsides subsequently blows everywhere makes Thailand look like garden of Eden .

Never been to Africa but India is by far dirtier than Thailand. People don't seem to think twice before urinating on the side of the building I threw away my shoes before boarding the plane back home from India.

[Birdman]

yes i know. good thing this isnt serious. he he.

wrong, 'cause if you need someone else to get an opinion of a certain matter shows that you are not capable of one by YOURSELF.

[Birdman]

hehe. i just might do that. .

btw, I realized just now i am mistaken. Thailand is clean, my wife is african and i love abba.

Africa …..ever been to Africa???? Now that’s dirty, I have worked in many countries in Africa and currently in Egypt which is also very dirty, garbage tipped on the roadsides subsequently blows everywhere makes Thailand look like garden of Eden .

Never been to Africa but India is by far dirtier than Thailand. People don't seem to think twice before urinating on the side of the building I threw away my shoes before boarding the plane back home from India.

Again:...and the gross national product. (A poster said that already. Poor people have other priorities than cleanliness. Which 2nd or 3rd world nation is cleaner than Switzerland)

[chrgrims]

yes i know. good thing this isnt serious. he he.

wrong, 'cause if you need someone else to get an opinion of a certain matter shows that you are not capable of one by YOURSELF.

have u lost your mind? a guy in this thread asked for my wife's opinion. please read the thread for the love of ....

[Texpat]

Lawns are prettier than dirt, but require work to maintain.

Dirt it is.

[bangon04]

I must agree Thailand is dirty, not just talking about BKK or other big cities just adventure in some of the smaller towns and look around if I would be game and not worried about getting abused or shot I would take some pics in our soi to show you the rubbish piled up every where and nobody cares or give's a damm about it. Before I moved here my mate ask me " Why do you like to live in a pigs house" And he is a well travelled business man.

I wonder, when i see a nice house in an Isaan village, with marble tiles on the verandah, maybe even a swimming pool, possibly paid for by a Farang, but certainly a major investment in living comfort. To reach the marble tiled verandah, you have to step over/through piles of old plastic bags, squashed coke cans, old tires, small dead animals, and other household debris, plus an assortment of terminally mangy and flearidden domestic animals, not to mention the accumulation of animal s**t.

I could be convinced of the need to toss such stuff over into the neighbours' garden, but not to just leave it to fester on your own doorstep..... I know if I spent so much money on a nice house, i would feel obliged to keep the immediate vicinity clean - so that I could look at it every day without a rise in blood pressure.

Does Buddhist teaching help you to ignore material things like rotting rubbish?

[Birdman]

yes i know. good thing this isnt serious. he he.

wrong, 'cause if you need someone else to get an opinion of a certain matter shows that you are not capable of one by YOURSELF.

have u lost your mind? a guy in this thread asked for my wife's opinion. please read the thread for the love of ....

...apologizes for skipping that.

[bangon04]

Has anyone noticed how frequently it is that food stalls and outdoor eating places are very close to open sewers, canals or piles of rotting garbage?

So while ordering food or sitting in the soi eating, one has the added pleasure of putrid wafting smells to enhance the dining pleasure.

Personally I prefer not to mix the two, but it seems i am not in the majority.

[Datsun240Z]

@ JR Texas: Why you have to post that picture, just ruined my day

You can report it

[submaniac]

submaniac....<deleted> with the photo of that pr*ck.???

I have no idea what you are talking about.

[Jungian]

Ever been to South Philadelphia? Now that's dirty!

[Lopburi99]

my wife says that hot water is not used much because the weather is so hot, so it doesnt feel good. also, she says that many thai are laidback and dont want to clean toilet etc.

.....She says that many thai are not aware of basic hygiene. they just think about how to eat, how to get money for food, not bacteria.

I'm surprised to read your wife said that about many Thai not being aware of basic hygiene. Seems a little hard to believe, because I rarely come across a Thai with body odor even in a crowded market where many poor people are. Although I am frustrated there is so much litter in Thailand everywhere, my impression is the Thai themselves are quite clean hygiene-wise, especially compared to some other nationalities who bathe once a week whether they need it or not.

Regards.

[chrgrims]

Definition of hygiene

"Hygiene, refers to the set of practices associated with the preservation of health and healthy living."

it doesnt only refer to personal hygiene.

[webfact]

my wife says that hot water is not used much because the weather is so hot, so it doesnt feel good. also, she says that many thai are laidback and dont want to clean toilet etc.

.....She says that many thai are not aware of basic hygiene. they just think about how to eat, how to get money for food, not bacteria.

I'm surprised to read your wife said that about many Thai not being aware of basic hygiene. Seems a little hard to believe, because I rarely come across a Thai with body odor even in a crowded market where many poor people are. Although I am frustrated there is so much litter in Thailand everywhere, my impression is the Thai themselves are quite clean hygiene-wise, especially compared to some other nationalities who bathe once a week whether they need it or not.

Regards.

3, 4, 5 times "abnarm" per day is normal for a Thai.

In the so called "west" once a week bath is still common as personal hygiene, sometimes sharing the water with all family members.

Wearing underwear and socks for a week... read some polls on that.

[chrgrims]

Westerners never shower, and if they shower they use dirty water. westerners dont change underwear, thais are clean and change underwear. LOLs.

[doggie888888]

Westerners never shower, and if they shower they use dirty water. westerners dont change underwear, thais are clean and change underwear. LOLs.

It's too hot for underwear. So I don't wear them hence I don't need to "change underwear".

[Heng]

I'd say bum gun (Thai) vs. smearing feces into your skin with toilet paper trumps more litter at the end of a local street and 'clean' street somewhere else. Not too many threads (even on the Thai forums) on that though because there are far fewer people who are disappointed/frustrated with their lives here.

[garyh]

Westerners never shower, and if they shower they use dirty water. westerners dont change underwear, thais are clean and change underwear. LOLs.

Let me guess you are from the UK?

[cognos]

we have several comments here:

.asia is dirty, so why think about why thailand is dirty.

-my wife is a thai look alike that can say something about this.

-a song was made about a nite in bkk.

-stay at home, it solves the problem.

great thread.

Isn't it? Here's another one: quit your whinging and grab a mop.

..or grab a pack of large black garbage bags..Deeds not words..I'm home again in Phuket, and my little project is always cleaning up the beach by the Phuket aqarium. i come here twice a year for a few months, and everytime in the last 3 years I clean this beach..go to Canada to work..come back and clean it again..Thais are SLOWLY coming around..without going into detail you can see small changes taking place..people are using garbage bins more every time i come here..I will be dead before it is clean here..but it will happen slowly but surely. signed: deeds and words

[IMA_FARANG]

why is it so dirty everywhere in Thailand? Some places they dont seem to clean ever, like many bathrooms. Whats up with this? Is the reason anything more than lack of knowledge about bacteria etc?

cheers,

Chr

Believe it or not individual Thais are as concerned about sanitation and cleanliness as anyone is. If you go to many Thai houses you will see how they are kept.

Certain standards you may assume from your westerner/farang training, however, are not part of the Thai cultural mentality. For example, wearing gloves while handling food is just not part of the Thai culture.

As for places like public rest rooms and such....there isn't a a feeling that they blong to anyone. Thais would not let a tioilet in their own home be dirty, but that public toilet is not regarded as "theirs". Secondly, and I hate to admit it, there is no feeling in Thailand that any effort to put forth effort to clean 'public' areas will get you any anything. That is also influenced by the attitude of government. When was the last time you ever saw an award to a Thai busines from the government for "cleanliness"? When did you see any such awards in the Thai news? (Any Thai official reading this...this is not criticisim, just a statement of my hopes for the future.)

And to be fair, it isn't just Thailand. I work here in Crete. A beautiful island, and a tourist destination. Unfortunately, you will also see trash dumpsters overflowing near the beaches. The trash is emptied at least twice a week, but no Greek will bother themselves to pick up any trash that happens to fall outside of the dumpster. Why should they? Aren't there people who have that job? So why should I pick up trash? That's the Greek attitude here in Crete. And that is also the Thai attude for public areas.

[phetaroi]

Singapore could be cleaner than Thailand, but is a quasi-dictatorship.

And Thailand is the shining light of democaracy in South East Asia...

A couple of observations. First. I spent a month in Singapore a few years back. That certainly doesn't make me an expert. But I talked with several Singaporeans about their perception of their government...one chap was a reporter for the Straits-Times. The ones I talked to liked their style of government. Liked the old laws about gum chewing. The reporter said they mostly self-regulate themselves and feel their job is not to tear down people or the country.

Thailand the shining light of democracy in SE Asia. Well...perhaps it is. Which SE Asian nation is more democratic?

[phetaroi]

Another point about trash...not litter...mounds of trash 1-3 meters high. No good reason for that. And it breeds rats. You walk on an overpass and look down and see roofs strewn with litter and standing water. Breeds mosquitoes.

Now, I love Thailand or I wouldn't live here. But why not clean up that clearly obvious stuff.

[sbk]

Personal attacks have been deleted. Drop the petty bickering.

A perusal of forum rules might be in order here since many members seem to be unaware of them. I strongly suggest a re-read.

[Farma]

<snip> When was the last time you ever saw an award to a Thai busines from the government for "cleanliness"? When did you see any such awards in the Thai news? (Any Thai official reading this...this is not criticisim, just a statement of my hopes for the future.) <snip>

There are tidy town type competitions in the provinces with winning villages receiving additional funding. Unfortunately a lot of times the tidiness only lasts for the month or so the competition is running.