Ways To Improve 'western Foreigner' Reputation Here

[siamamerican]

Simply be courteous and have a good time. The problem here is that many of the jerks were jerks back home. Their pathetic existence is magnified while in Thailand. The vast majority of BG's and other Thais they constantly deride are living far superior lives. It's hilarious how these guys wake up every morning to a loser in their bathroom mirror but while here see a sexy, successful man looking back at them.

[guava]

Simply be courteous and have a good time. The problem here is that many of the jerks were jerks back home. Their pathetic existence is magnified while in Thailand. The vast majority of BG's and other Thais they constantly deride are living far superior lives. It's hilarious how these guys wake up every morning to a loser in their bathroom mirror but while here see a sexy, successful man looking back at them.

Hey - he was lookin at me first.

[G54]

Simply be courteous and have a good time. The problem here is that many of the jerks were jerks back home. Their pathetic existence is magnified while in Thailand. The vast majority of BG's and other Thais they constantly deride are living far superior lives. It's hilarious how these guys wake up every morning to a loser in their bathroom mirror but while here see a sexy, successful man looking back at them.

Hey - he was lookin at me first.

Oh no he wasn't !!!

[Jingthing]

Simply be courteous and have a good time. The problem here is that many of the jerks were jerks back home. Their pathetic existence is magnified while in Thailand. The vast majority of BG's and other Thais they constantly deride are living far superior lives. It's hilarious how these guys wake up every morning to a loser in their bathroom mirror but while here see a sexy, successful man looking back at them.

Your post reeks of stereotyping. Do you see that? (in your mirror?)

[Mark Wolfe]

ucantbeserious

4. i never argue over prices coz i know its "small money for me"

5. i really enjoy being ripped off and laugh as much as they do when it happens.

Great advice to encourage the Thais to continue to attempt to cheat foreigners.

"Wow, we can charge then anything and they'll smile and take it because they think they're 'integrating.' What a bunch of saps!"

[siamamerican]

Simply be courteous and have a good time. The problem here is that many of the jerks were jerks back home. Their pathetic existence is magnified while in Thailand. The vast majority of BG's and other Thais they constantly deride are living far superior lives. It's hilarious how these guys wake up every morning to a loser in their bathroom mirror but while here see a sexy, successful man looking back at them.

Your post reeks of stereotyping. Do you see that? (in your mirror?)

Sorry you feel that way. I have a lot of time on my hands and observe how many people in Thailand act like fools. Yesterday I watched a man throw fit at TOT because nobody spoke good English. Would that same guy do that while travelling in France?

You ask what I see in the mirror. Someone older than yestrday that wants to love, laugh and live another day.

[jackr]

Mannerisms and hygiene are what I hear most from Thais.

... with particular emphasis on the shoes.

Doesn't matter what you look like (as long as you're clean), just carry yourself well in public and be calm, smiling and unassuming when interacting with the natives. Seeing loud, dirty, dishevelled old gits in singlets slumbering down the street is so <deleted> embarrassing. Was in Home Mart couple weeks back and a loud North American chap couldn't find the right sized pipe fitting... remarking to the assisstant "why always mai mii, mai mii, MAI F***NG MII!" What a complete

[T_Dog]

cgit... Good topic, and it really boils down to just doing the right thing. Don't know about improving any image but a couple times a year, my wife will have a restaurant cook up 4 or so dishes in bulk that we throw in the car and haul to an old folks home (rather rare in Thailand) or to a training home for the handicapped. The people really appreciate it, and it is always an enjoyable, as well as humbling time.

[clausewitz]

simple really...

all Thais love me, i have big respect, how?

1. i pay police double what they ask.

2. i pay first quoted price at markets.

3. i never check check-bin and leave big tip regardless.

4. i never argue over prices coz i know its "small money for me"

5. i really enjoy being ripped off and laugh as much as they do when it happens.

got the idea?

warning: don't ever try to gain respect for being a person.

thanks, some great tips there.

[mosdid]

simple really...

all Thais love me, i have big respect, how?

1. i pay police double what they ask.

2. i pay first quoted price at markets.

3. i never check check-bin and leave big tip regardless.

4. i never argue over prices coz i know its "small money for me"

5. i really enjoy being ripped off and laugh as much as they do when it happens.

got the idea?

warning: don't ever try to gain respect for being a person.

interesting

[straightdave]

As for hygiene - I deplore the practice of wiping ones ones bottom with ones hand after taking a crap. Particulary of you are preparing food or eating. Most Thais don't use toilet paper. How hygienic is that?

Actually, the That method (with water) is much more hygienic than using tissue because the area is cleaned properly. Provided they wash their hands afterward of course.

there is the problem- most do not wash their hands properly after use

and the water they use is NOT clean

plus throwing in a bin next to the head-is simply disgusting

best is to use the kleenex, than wash up- with alochol

but, who in reality is ever going to do that?

[whichschool]

Have we farang really got such a bad reputation in Thailand, id imagine your average Thai never meets us doesnt cares less about us.

I used to be up my ass about the older guy with the younger Thai wife when i first arrived in LOS, now from what i see most are decent folk often funding their wives kids with a decent home and a private education.

But the on thing id go for is for farang to drink less.

[dumball]

The problem I see here with all the various 'Methods of approach' in an attempt to improve foereigner image is : Compare the equation to a multi-answer exam with a 50% pass mark , there are many Thai habits many would not feel like employing just to make(hopefully) the natives happy . Better to only try and induce them into practising more healthy practises in their lives by setting a good example , thereby improving lives in general instead of taking retrograde steps to downgrade yourself to their level , like spitting on the sidewalk , tossing anything you have finished with on the floor , regardless of where you may be , shoving your way through a doorway against the flow when the other door is vacant , coughing and sneezing into the air giving all within a 30 foot radius their share of germs and blasting onto street-side vendors proffered food . Ah well , you could be right , much easier to just quit your good points and just go with the flow , Thai are not too open to improving because they cannot see their own faults , only those of you despicable ferang , <deleted> , give us all your money and leave !!!!!!!

[WhiteShrek]

As for hygiene - I deplore the practice of wiping ones ones bottom with ones hand after taking a crap. Particulary of you are preparing food or eating. Most Thais don't use toilet paper. How hygienic is that?

Actually, the That method (with water) is much more hygienic than using tissue because the area is cleaned properly. Provided they wash their hands afterward of course.

I've heard that theory many times over the years. Two important points to add

1. Unfortunately many times public washrooms in thailand often don't have adequate hygiene facilities and things like soap available or the dispensers are empty. Even when they do many people don't wash their hands. So the theory breaks down.

2. My interactions with Thai people's bottoms is thankfully vastly more limited than my interaction with their hands, so it sort of becomes irrelevant how clean their bum is.

[IanForbes]

Body odour often comes from what people eat. I can always tell if someone eats too much garlic or some other spices... even days later. I can always tell when people are smokers or heavy drinkers from their body odour. I'm sure the Thais can as well. I never seem to have problems with any Thais, so it's never been an issue with me. I treat everyone with respect and make a point of not making a Thai lose face... no matter what caste level they might be. I get down on the ground and play with children and they seem to love me.

Fortunately, I stay at a nice hotel with hot water and clean surroundings, so staying personally clean is not an issue. I bathe frequently and wear relatively clean clothes. I treat the bar girls the same way as I treat any of my friends... with respect. If someone asks a fair price for an item, or admission to some show, then I willingly pay for it. If it's more than I want to spend then I move on. I have no problem with Tuk tuk drivers or Indian clothes salesmen. A simple smile and shake of the head is all it takes.

I go for long walks around Chiang Mai (or anywhere I visit in Thailand) on a regular basis and don't have any problem dealing with anybody. I really don't know why others do have a problem. I think there are jerks everywhere and maybe we just see more of them in Thailand because it attracts a certain group of tourists. Thailand is well known for being a good country for "cheap charlies" who don't want to pay the going rate for the fancy tourist destinations.

[473geo]

Have we farang really got such a bad reputation in Thailand, id imagine your average Thai never meets us doesnt cares less about us.

I used to be up my ass about the older guy with the younger Thai wife when i first arrived in LOS, now from what i see most are decent folk often funding their wives kids with a decent home and a private education.

But the on thing id go for is for farang to drink less.

I've done my fair share of partying so I am not exempt from this suggestion to drink less.......

I totally agree, in my opinion many of the 'problem' areas surrounding farang behavior/hygene etc would probably be much reduced if the alchohol intake was more reserved and less regular.......but as ever there are those who can be 'normal' while drinking, and there are those who will cast a poor image without even drinking alchohol!!!

[CarlBkk]

How can foreigners improve their reputation here? When honest locals state the negative attributes associated with us, the same olds keep cropping up:

1. Grumpiness. Some of us are just too serious, smile little and get shirty too easily.

2. Easy. Yep, we're an easy catch. For any girl who admits to slight worry over what other Thais might think of her because she's with a foreigner it's because of this reason: foreign guys, even young goodlooking ones, are so often seen with "below par" girls in the below leagues who resemble poor/rural/bargirls that we're associated with the ugliest lowest classes as our choice of partner. I'm not being derogatory, but it's a fact. Most middle class respectable girls realise that foreign guys are an easy catch for the darker, confident, partying serial-farang-daters that gave up on finding a decent Thai guy years ago. We have a reputation for accepting the first girl that approaches us, which so often happens to be the above type....so the slightly shyer, lighter-skinned and higher class girls don't get a look in and don't try either. Solution is to take time and find someone on a similar level as we would in the West. Darker skin ok, but with some class and education: other Thais will notice it quickly.

3. Body odour. As already done.

4. Dress sense. Going around Paragon in shorts, sandals and fake brand T-shirt just don't cut it here. At home in this heat it wouldn't matter, but this is Asia...people like to be smart when they go somewhere relatively "expensive" and "upper class". Whether we like it or not, we are judged on our dress just as fellow Thais are judged on their dress. Dress for the location to fit in and dress to look clean.

5. Joking with low-class Thai words. Some of us take the swear words or derogatory terms and use them to the wrong people trying to get a laugh. Yes, maybe a laugh...but it'll be an embarrassed laugh. The terms and words thrown around in the barscene should stay there. Foreigners speaking Thai trying to show off what bad words they know is a poor idea for a laugh.

[clinique]

Always keep your COOL.

SMILE at all times even (especially) when pissed off.

DRESS neatly and with decorum.

RESPECT Thai culture - sitting on Buddha image with a beer or a cigarette to get photo taken - not good.

LEARN some basic Thai. (more if you are here long term)

DONT raise your voice ( a bit hard for us older deaf ones)

DONT touch Thais in public

USE deoderant /perfume - more than you normally would.

BE sanook, not serious (often mistaken for arrogance)

DONT talk down to Thai people

DONT assume all Thais are on the game

DONT use Thai slang/bad language(WE dont know when it is appropriate if ever)

DONT get involved in Thai political discussions

DONT Complain.

[Huey]

How about,

Put things back were you found them; especially with women, if you find her in a bar, put her back there, don't try and take her to your home and make a wife out of a whore.

[ronz28]

Let those Foreigners who do drugs know that Mexico and some South American countries have or are in the process of decriminalizing the use of drugs. So those folks should move from Thailand to where it's legal and eliminate the risk of long term jail terms for using. Google Mexico, Argentina, Brazil for details. That should clean up some of the problem but the rest will still need that can of deodorant and powder.

[straightdave]

How about,

Put things back were you found them; especially with women, if you find her in a bar, put her back there, don't try and take her to your home and make a wife out of a whore.

I know you must be joking buddy

For you sake I hope so

After all ,only a real bum would be so sad as to call another human being that

making themselves much worse and far,far lower than any so called 'whore?'

I am sure you agree

SD

[Stricken]

Live a mai pen rai existence like the Thai's do, quit chasing your own tail and trying to change things here in Thailand, this is not your country.

[britmaveric]

Mai Pen Rai and Sanuk - live by this and you will blend in with the thai population.

[Jingthing]

We are not going to change our reputation here anymore than the international reputation of Thailand as the world's brothel (sorry you know that is Thailand's reputation) is going to change. Given this, don't worry about it, just live your life!

[phetaroi]

GOOD topic. Along those lines: my suggestion is to promote atheism and the study of science

At least in terms of the former, then Thailand would no longer be Thailand.

[phetaroi]

Better attention to personal appearance, ie clothing or lack thereof. Tone down the agressive, boisterous & drunken behavior. Don't treat all Thai women if they were hookers. Don't throw money around like drunken sailors and then complain that you were ripped-off.

Oh my...what are you doing in this forum?

[phetaroi]

...Most Thais don't use toilet paper. How hygienic is that?

Their response is, "You only wipe? You not wash? Not clean!"

[phetaroi]

How can foreigners improve their reputation here? When honest locals state the negative attributes associated with us, the same olds keep cropping up:

...

4. Dress sense. Going around Paragon in shorts, sandals and fake brand T-shirt just don't cut it here. At home in this heat it wouldn't matter, but this is Asia...people like to be smart when they go somewhere relatively "expensive" and "upper class". Whether we like it or not, we are judged on our dress just as fellow Thais are judged on their dress. Dress for the location to fit in and dress to look clean.

I think you're out of date on this one. Even 2-3 years ago I would have agreed. By coincidence, just yesterday my Thai SO and I were at Paragon and it was very crowded. As we walked along I asked, "So this crowd of people...they can't all be rich Thai." "No, rich and middle." I then pointed out that it used to be that you could tell by the dress and haircut, but not anymore.

[phetaroi]

Always keep your COOL.

SMILE at all times even (especially) when pissed off.

DRESS neatly and with decorum.

RESPECT Thai culture - sitting on Buddha image with a beer or a cigarette to get photo taken - not good.

LEARN some basic Thai. (more if you are here long term)

DONT raise your voice ( a bit hard for us older deaf ones)

DONT touch Thais in public

USE deoderant /perfume - more than you normally would.

BE sanook, not serious (often mistaken for arrogance)

DONT talk down to Thai people

DONT assume all Thais are on the game

DONT use Thai slang/bad language(WE dont know when it is appropriate if ever)

DONT get involved in Thai political discussions

DONT Complain.

Overall, pretty good. But I would like to make a comment or two:

Always keep your COOL. Well, not always. Everything in life in not "mai pben rai". Somethings really are important. The trouble is that most Westerners are incapable of almost ever saying "map pben rai". It's sort of like "Don't sweat the small things...but not everything is small.

DONT Complain. Again, as above, think carefully about whether it is really worth complaining about and then consider an incremental approach to it.

[dumball]

Always keep your COOL.

SMILE at all times even (especially) when pissed off.

DRESS neatly and with decorum.

RESPECT Thai culture - sitting on Buddha image with a beer or a cigarette to get photo taken - not good.

LEARN some basic Thai. (more if you are here long term)

DONT raise your voice ( a bit hard for us older deaf ones)

DONT touch Thais in public

USE deoderant /perfume - more than you normally would.

BE sanook, not serious (often mistaken for arrogance)

DONT talk down to Thai people

DONT assume all Thais are on the game

DONT use Thai slang/bad language(WE dont know when it is appropriate if ever)

DONT get involved in Thai political discussions

DONT Complain.

I do not know which country you were dragged up in , but that is the manner in which I was raised to behave no matter what country I live in , but when the locals act like children with low morals , what is one supposed to do . Most of what you see Thai doing etc is mostly all about 'Face' , I am whom I am , I do not need nor wish to put on a facade for any person , maipenrai is for the birds , sweep the problems under the carpet until you are no longer able to see over the carpet , that to me is Thailands biggest problem . They are like this with too many things , do not fix it until it is broken , just look at the general state of the country and its people that has deteriorated to this state of sanook , nobody realy gives a S$%t about much as long as they get what they want 'Right Now' , even the small children act that way . When Thai start to treat foreiners with well meant respect instead of a constant SHAM , maybe they will then deserve to receive the respect of others , this has to include all levels of thai society , but do not hold your breath !!!!!!!!!