Uniquely Thai Habits / Customs

[wintermute]

Thank you ajarn wintermute. How would we cope without your comments and corrections on every post? I hereby dub you knight of the internet!

Someone has to be the voice of reason.

[thaihome]

did you mean defensive? actually i was trying to be offensive, but no matter. Despite your subtlety and my own limited ability to read, i think i got your gist. Perhaps it is your own ability to gague the tone of another's post that is limited.

If you do not like the Laos example, i think Cambodia demonstrates an even higher incidence of animist/buddhist beliefs through all levels of society. I would also like to point out that the ploughing ceremonies are generally presided over by royalty both in Thailand and Cambodia.

i understand that thai visa is a hotbed of foreign discontent and i often find it tiresome as well, but try not to put yourself on too tall a pedestal, you really are little better than rest of us. take a good look in that mirror, maybe you will find a latent narcissist staring back at you.

should i add a smiley to show that this is all untertaken in good fun? I think not. i will leave it up to you to draw your own conclusions.

No, I think I gauged the tone of your post exactly. And it was certainly taken as the personal attack for which you intended it. My post on the other hand was firstly an attempt to put some perspective on what people were calling "uniquely Thai traits" and secondly to try and discuss some what I thought might be true uniquely traits.

But, it was a wasted effort; so, tell me, as apparently the Lao and Cambodia expert, do they pick their nose in public there too?

"latent narcissist"? You could be right. But compared to what some have said in this thread, it is a rather mild case, don't you think? Say compared to the poor guy that sat on the bunk bed and watched his GF and her friends and family play cards and wasn’t invited to join? And then called that a unique Thai trait.

It is indeed all good fun. Not near as much as with ole JR, but it does pass the time.

TH

[t.s]

did you mean defensive? actually i was trying to be offensive, but no matter. Despite your subtlety and my own limited ability to read, i think i got your gist. Perhaps it is your own ability to gague the tone of another's post that is limited.

If you do not like the Laos example, i think Cambodia demonstrates an even higher incidence of animist/buddhist beliefs through all levels of society. I would also like to point out that the ploughing ceremonies are generally presided over by royalty both in Thailand and Cambodia.

i understand that thai visa is a hotbed of foreign discontent and i often find it tiresome as well, but try not to put yourself on too tall a pedestal, you really are little better than rest of us. take a good look in that mirror, maybe you will find a latent narcissist staring back at you.

should i add a smiley to show that this is all untertaken in good fun? I think not. i will leave it up to you to draw your own conclusions.

No, I think I gauged the tone of your post exactly. And it was certainly taken as the personal attack for which you intended it. My post on the other hand was firstly an attempt to put some perspective on what people were calling "uniquely Thai traits" and secondly to try and discuss some what I thought might be true uniquely traits.

But, it was a wasted effort; so, tell me, as apparently the Lao and Cambodia expert, do they pick their nose in public there too?

"latent narcissist"? You could be right. But compared to what some have said in this thread, it is a rather mild case, don't you think? Say compared to the poor guy that sat on the bunk bed and watched his GF and her friends and family play cards and wasn’t invited to join? And then called that a unique Thai trait.

It is indeed all good fun. Not near as much as with ole JR, but it does pass the time.

TH

As long as we understand each other then.

no the card guy is just plain sad, although i really dont see the narcissim involved there, quite the opposite really. It seems more a case of denial than narcissim.

I have claimed no expertise, i am merely offering some examples where i believe your staments may not describe a situation uniquely thai and suggesting colonisation and communism may well not have limited the widespread animism you noted.

Truth be told i pick my nose more when in bangkok, i believe it is the pollution. i am pretty sure the lao and khmer do it too, though perhaps that is due to dust.

in your experience do they all cover their mouths when they pick their teeth?

I will say that this thread seems to indicate that there is very little that is "uniquely thai".

Edited November 19, 2009 by t.s

[thaihome]

As long as we understand each other then.

no the card guy is just plain sad, although i really dont see the narcissim involved there, quite the opposite really. It seems more a case of denial than narcissim.

I have claimed no expertise, i am merely offering some examples where i believe your staments may not describe a situation uniquely thai and suggesting colonisation and communism may well not have limited the widespread animism you noted.

Truth be told i pick my nose more when in bangkok, i believe it is the pollution. i am pretty sure the lao and khmer do it too, though perhaps that is due to dust.

in your experience do they all cover their mouths when they pick their teeth?

I will say that this thread seems to indicate that there is very little that is "uniquely thai".

Perhaps you right, the card guy may not have been narcissistic, and maybe the use of the word “I” 12 times in a 230 word reply may have misdirected me. After all, that is 5% of the words and he did manage an entire sentence or two without using it.

I readily admit to not being very familiar with Cambodia or Laos, nver having lived there. My assertion that the level of animism in Thailand my be unique compared to it’s neighbors was based mostly on the thought that due to the current government in Laos not exactly supporting it and the fact that it was ruthlessly suppressed during the Khmer Rouge period in Cambodia, that Thailand has a unique continuing history that others do not.

I think the nose picking thing is mainly due to the fact that Asian seems less inhibited about bodily functions and there is no real cultural taboo against it like in the west.

In my experience the covering the mouth when using a toothpick is seen in other places, but it seems it may be more common here.

I wholeheartedly agree with you that there is indeed very little uniquely Thai and if one was to spend time outside tourist places in other Asian countries, it would not take long to figure that out. That was my point all along, but is often the case, I was not real diplomatic about saying it.

TH

[Matan]

I think in any region where borders have fluctuated so drastically over several centuries you're going to be unlikely to find particularly unique behaviour in any one country.

Edited November 19, 2009 by Matan

[F1fanatic]

the "fact" that the (female) Thai beer-bar sex industry is "world renowned"/"world famous"/ "infamous", yet in fact it is comprised of a VERY TEENY percentage of the overall Thai adult female population. ( like .0002%)

is this "TEENY WEENY" percentage a good enough reason for the majority of non bar worker Thai women to have such a darned hard time getting a visitors visa for western countries? Signed: another (only one of "millions" of former digruntled sponsers whose non bar worker Thai GF was denied a visitor's visa to a western country) farang who married her to get her over as the ONLY WAY

I will take your word on it with the percentages but perhaps its time to answer your own point.

Why does the world think the way it does? And, why do so many old, fat men have younger Thai wives/gf/s?

Perhaps the percentage of women who care about nothing but money is higher in Thailand than in the West?

Western countries understand v well what is going on, which is why Thai women have such a hard time getting a visa for Western countries.

[Matan]

the "fact" that the (female) Thai beer-bar sex industry is "world renowned"/"world famous"/ "infamous", yet in fact it is comprised of a VERY TEENY percentage of the overall Thai adult female population. ( like .0002%)

If there are an estimated 1-2 million female prostitutes in Thailand, out of an adult female population of 26,500,000 women, that puts the percentage of adult female prostitutes at anywhere from 3-7% of the adult female population.

That is significantly more than the 53 (presumably extremely hard working and wealthy) women you have suggested are prostitutes with your 0.0002% statistic.

That is part of why it is very difficult to get visas.

Edited November 19, 2009 by Matan

[Moonrakers]

The highest concentration of special forces personnel anywhere in the world.

Ice-cream sandwiches.

Lying about having a driving licence, because admitting that you do have one will probably get you a bigger 'fine' from the policeman.

[Matan]

The highest concentration of special forces personnel anywhere in the world.

Ice-cream sandwiches.

Lying about having a driving licence, because admitting that you do have one will probably get you a bigger 'fine' from the policeman.

1.

2. That is found elsewhere

3. There are far more corrupt places

[NCFC]

Telephone conversations that go like this:

Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo?"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo?"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo?"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo?"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo?"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo?"

Me: "Who do you want to speak to?"

Unknown caller: click.

Two minutes later:

Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo?"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo?"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo?"

Me: "Hello"

Unknown caller: "Harroo?"

Me: "Didn't you call a minute ago?"

Unknown caller: click

Two minutes later:

A different Unknown caller: "Harroo!"

Me: click

[Matan]

I do that sometimes. It's interesting to see how long I can say hello back to them before they realise that they have to give a bit more than "Hallohhh?" if they want the conversation to progress.

[Moonrakers]

Callers who get angry at you because THEY have the wrong number.

[wintermute]

A more entertaining approach to wrong numbers is to answer with "Pizza Company sawadee kap!"

[cognos]

the "fact" that the (female) Thai beer-bar sex industry is "world renowned"/"world famous"/ "infamous", yet in fact it is comprised of a VERY TEENY percentage of the overall Thai adult female population. ( like .0002%)

is this "TEENY WEENY" percentage a good enough reason for the majority of non bar worker Thai women to have such a darned hard time getting a visitors visa for western countries? Signed: another (only one of "millions" of former digruntled sponsers whose non bar worker Thai GF was denied a visitor's visa to a western country) farang who married her to get her over as the ONLY WAY

I will take your word on it with the percentages but perhaps its time to answer your own point.

Why does the world think the way it does? And, why do so many old, fat men have younger Thai wives/gf/s?

Perhaps the percentage of women who care about nothing but money is higher in Thailand than in the West?

Western countries understand v well what is going on, which is why Thai women have such a hard time getting a visa for Western countries.

Yes they do know what is going on F1, and so do you!! As a farang women, it must be a little irritating seeing what you see, HOWEVER, be careful about your generalizations. I agree with you about why it is hard for most Thai women to get visa's, BUT UNFORTUNATELY women like my now wife get TARRED with the same brush. I am neither fat nor old, 52 and she is 38. This is not the 20 ,25, or 30 plus year difference I think you are alluding to. Her family is very well off ( wedding sin sort was for show only..it was returned the next day..and she has 4 plus acres in a prime area of Phuket given to her from her Dad), and she NOT a money hound. Conclusion F1: our situation is NOT the so- called norm, but we were treated as if it was. For example, there was no sex with her BEFORE marriage, and we dated for EIGHTEEN months. How many farang will wait THAT long??? Signed: so much for GROSS OVERGENERALIZATIONS

[halfhead]

Ice-cream man pulling into a funeral with music blaring

[Moonrakers]

Ice-cream man pulling into a funeral with music blaring

And the congregation rushing out to get one.

[Ulysses G.]

the "fact" that the (female) Thai beer-bar sex industry is "world renowned"/"world famous"/ "infamous", yet in fact it is comprised of a VERY TEENY percentage of the overall Thai adult female population. ( like .0002%)

is this "TEENY WEENY" percentage a good enough reason for the majority of non bar worker Thai women to have such a darned hard time getting a visitors visa for western countries? Signed: another (only one of "millions" of former digruntled sponsers whose non bar worker Thai GF was denied a visitor's visa to a western country) farang who married her to get her over as the ONLY WAY

Perhaps only a small number of Thai women are actively involved in the Thai sex industry at any one time, but a much larger number has been in it at one time or another in their lives. An even larger number are willing to trade money for sex in a relationship based on money, rather than love.

Something about the Thai culture makes trading money for sex OK.

[Ulysses G.]

I am neither fat nor old, 52 and she is 38. This is not the 20 ,25, or 30 plus year difference

Wake up dude, you are old and she is much younger than you (14 years).

It is amazing how everyone can jusify their own behavior while condeming others (your wife is not 20 years younger than you, your wife is from a rich family, you are not fat and so on... ).

You are no different than the other men who come here looking for love.

[t.s]

สีซอให้ควายฟัง (see saw hai kwai fung) “Play a violin for a buffalo to listen”

Talking to your partner and they only get 40% of what you say.

funny how that happens when you marry someone who doesn't speak your language.

[cognos]

I am neither fat nor old, 52 and she is 38. This is not the 20 ,25, or 30 plus year difference

Wake up dude, you are old and she is much younger than you (14 years).

It is amazing how everyone can jusify their own behavior while condeming others (your wife is not 20 years younger than you, your wife is from a rich family, you are not fat and so on... ).

You are no different than the other men who come here looking for love.

thanks for setting me straight sir

[cognos]

สีซอให้ควายฟัง (see saw hai kwai fung) "Play a violin for a buffalo to listen"

Talking to your partner and they only get 40% of what you say.

funny how that happens when you marry someone who doesn't speak your language.

...but perhaps the "sexual communication" is higher than 40%

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi.

I have another one which i think must be "uniquely Thai"..... the "changing mind" thing, or rather the speed at which this happens in a group of people.

So 20 friends plan to have a big party on Friday evening.

They are planning all week, where to go, what to do, what to wear.

They leave the office (they are all colleagues of my boyfriend) at 4 PM Friday with the words "see you all there at 9".

At 8, one hour before "the event", one of them calls "oh i don't feel like going" (read: "there is something on television i want to watch").

And within the coming half hour all 20 of them phone each other and talk each other out of it! A whole week's planning - gone with the wind in half an hour because one person "didn't feel like going".

And another one, related - the total lack of appreciation for appointments. So you have an appointment for meeting someone at a certain place at a certain time. You are there, on time, despite the traffic. And wait. And wait. And wait. After an hour you finally call the person - "Oh i got stuck in traffic so i went back home". Or, almost better - phone turned off. And the next day they call you "why you haven't been there? I was only three hours late and my battery was empty!" My boyfriend's sister is very good at that......

Regards.....

Thanh

[Ulysses G.]

I am neither fat nor old, 52 and she is 38. This is not the 20 ,25, or 30 plus year difference

Wake up dude, you are old and she is much younger than you (14 years).

It is amazing how everyone can jusify their own behavior while condeming others (your wife is not 20 years younger than you, your wife is from a rich family, you are not fat and so on... ).

You are no different than the other men who come here looking for love.

thanks for setting me straight sir

You are welcome you young whippersnapper.

[cognos]

..some more things that are not a bargain in LOS ( many have been mentioned already..).. high quality bicycles ( 20% plus more than in Canada), lawyers fees ( cost me twice as much as in Canada) for simply signing affidavites..land in Phuket..

[sanook2me]

cartoon shower caps!

even better now, my mrs is using recycled family mart or 7 - 11 bags! <deleted> !!

Thanh-BKK

That instant cancellation or organising day trips thing is amazing.... but i am clued up and wise to most Thai manoeuvres and can out flank most of their attempts to get me somewhere dressed in inappropriate clothing by not telling me anything till we are on the way....

I now carry casual and smart clothing in a carry all bag..... come on bring it on..... cancel or take me i am ready

A Thai friend at badminton has a great saying he always uses when we are not sure what is happening while playing....

Yes/no.... in/out no problem...This is Thailand....

[caf]

the "fact" that the (female) Thai beer-bar sex industry is "world renowned"/"world famous"/ "infamous", yet in fact it is comprised of a VERY TEENY percentage of the overall Thai adult female population. ( like .0002%)

is this "TEENY WEENY" percentage a good enough reason for the majority of non bar worker Thai women to have such a darned hard time getting a visitors visa for western countries? Signed: another (only one of "millions" of former digruntled sponsers whose non bar worker Thai GF was denied a visitor's visa to a western country) farang who married her to get her over as the ONLY WAY

I will take your word on it with the percentages but perhaps its time to answer your own point.

Why does the world think the way it does? And, why do so many old, fat men have younger Thai wives/gf/s?

Perhaps the percentage of women who care about nothing but money is higher in Thailand than in the West?

Western countries understand v well what is going on, which is why Thai women have such a hard time getting a visa for Western countries.

Yes they do know what is going on F1, and so do you!! As a farang women, it must be a little irritating seeing what you see, HOWEVER, be careful about your generalizations. I agree with you about why it is hard for most Thai women to get visa's, BUT UNFORTUNATELY women like my now wife get TARRED with the same brush. I am neither fat nor old, 52 and she is 38. This is not the 20 ,25, or 30 plus year difference I think you are alluding to. Her family is very well off ( wedding sin sort was for show only..it was returned the next day..and she has 4 plus acres in a prime area of Phuket given to her from her Dad), and she NOT a money hound. Conclusion F1: our situation is NOT the so- called norm, but we were treated as if it was. For example, there was no sex with her BEFORE marriage, and we dated for EIGHTEEN months. How many farang will wait THAT long??? Signed: so much for GROSS OVERGENERALIZATIONS

F1 was generalising and said "many" not "all". Western embassies need to be careful what they say diplomatically, but Thai women in it for the money is in fact a reason for their caution.

Your marriage has been successful. Excellent. My congratulations. But the posts were generalisations and regretably a necessary precaution by embassies. Using capitals may let off steam but the embassies must do their job. They do issue visas, they did in your case did they not. They need to sort out the rogues.

[caf]

the "fact" that the (female) Thai beer-bar sex industry is "world renowned"/"world famous"/ "infamous", yet in fact it is comprised of a VERY TEENY percentage of the overall Thai adult female population. ( like .0002%)

is this "TEENY WEENY" percentage a good enough reason for the majority of non bar worker Thai women to have such a darned hard time getting a visitors visa for western countries? Signed: another (only one of "millions" of former digruntled sponsers whose non bar worker Thai GF was denied a visitor's visa to a western country) farang who married her to get her over as the ONLY WAY

Perhaps only a small number of Thai women are actively involved in the Thai sex industry at any one time, but a much larger number has been in it at one time or another in their lives. An even larger number are willing to trade money for sex in a relationship based on money, rather than love.

Something about the Thai culture makes trading money for sex OK.

Maybe history and education rather than culture. There are very very rich Thais of course but most are poor and want security. Their choice of thai or farang partner id decided by this need for security more than in the west ( where poverty is less and there are safety nets)

[Hawkup2000]

Maybe not uniquely Thai, but it wouldn't happen back in old Europe. Forgot my ATM card in the ATM today(not the first time...). After one hour I realized that I forgotten the card. Took a taxi back. When I got there a girl approached me asked if I'd lost something. Turns out she found the card in the machine, and took it and waited for the owner to come back. That means that she waited for two hours. She didn't want any reward money but she asked if we could go to a movie together.

Edited November 22, 2009 by Hawkup2000

[zzaa09]

สีซอให้ควายฟัง (see saw hai kwai fung) "Play a violin for a buffalo to listen"

Talking to your partner and they only get 40% of what you say.

funny how that happens when you marry someone who doesn't speak your language.

.....and vice versa.

[cognos]

the over-saturation of Thai expats running Thai restaurants serving bland, under-spiced, over-priced Thai food in the WEST..perhaps as many per capita as there are 7 11's in LOS