Jimmyd Posted April 3, 2010 Share Posted April 3, 2010 A friend is in town, so I went out drinking with him. I guess I can claim alcohol impairment, but I should know better than to act as I did. I was coming back from Walking Street along South Pattaya Road almost to the intersection with Second Road. Traffic was clear, so I crossed to the North side. As I did this, I dropped a ten-baht coin I was carrying, and it rolled close to the curb. I bent down to pick it up, and a pickup truck roared up close behind me, missing me by inches as I bent to pick up the coin, all the while honking at me. I reacted by jumping up on to the curb just in front of me and made my first mistake--I made an angry gesture at the driver, who I realized at this point was a baht-bus driver. He proceeded to get out of his cab, but I was so angry at this point that I didn't care and started to yell at him in Thai: "Thamai tam arai mai suphap bap nee? Rian long tee thanon, lae gaw pom gep. Khun tam arai mai suphap maak loei." Actually, I wish I was that fluent, but I just kind of stammered in Thai. He yellled at me something like "if you speak Thai, why are you so stupid to do something like that." At this point, I'm still very angry and drunk and I crossed the street back to the south side and up to the police booth and started to complain to the policeman that the baht-bus driver was being abusive. He just asked me "What was his number?" I looked back, and I saw the guy driving quickly from the scene and pointed to the songtaew and said "it's that one!" The cop just looked at me pityingly. I realized I was being crazy. Now every time I walk around Pattaya, I have to worry about that baht-bus driver seeing me someplace where there are no policemen around and deciding to throttle me. I know you all are not as stupid as me, so don't do what I did. Trust me, it's not worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_smith237 Posted April 3, 2010 Share Posted April 3, 2010 If everyone reacted like you did these idiots would be less careless. One of the issues I have here in Thailand is that there is no 'concept of consequence'... Other people will tell you that you're lucky he didn't beat you up.... But there is a small chance you made him think twice.. (probably not).. but if he gives the next person crossing the road a little more space because of this then maybe you have inadvertently improved things... Thats what I like to believe anyway, and why I refuse to accept 'this is the Thai way' response from idiots like this. I hear / read 'This is the Thai way', or 'It's the culture' as the excuse for a lot of selfish, careless and inconsiderate behavior. We might read on this forum that this is the Thai way..... but I've been here long enough to know that incidents like that are not the Thai way.. They are the idiots way, no Thai friend of mine behaves like that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropo Posted April 3, 2010 Share Posted April 3, 2010 If everyone reacted like you did these idiots would be less careless. One of the issues I have here in Thailand is that there is no 'concept of consequence'... Other people will tell you that you're lucky he didn't beat you up.... But there is a small chance you made him think twice.. (probably not).. but if he gives the next person crossing the road a little more space because of this then maybe you have inadvertently improved things... Thats what I like to believe anyway, and why I refuse to accept 'this is the Thai way' response from idiots like this. I hear / read 'This is the Thai way', or 'It's the culture' as the excuse for a lot of selfish, careless and inconsiderate behavior. We might read on this forum that this is the Thai way..... but I've been here long enough to know that incidents like that are not the Thai way.. They are the idiots way, no Thai friend of mine behaves like that... Walking the streets of Pattaya drunk with no supervision is a stupid thing to do, full stop. How could you possibly lecture about there being no "concept of consequence" in Thailand when a drunk Farang walks onto the street. He's asking for trouble and when he gets it is likely a consequence of his own stupidity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onnut Posted April 3, 2010 Share Posted April 3, 2010 If someone honked at me and nearly ran me over while I was close to the curb I think I would have done the same as the OP. There seem to be more idiots around lately with driving lisences! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamanoodle Posted April 3, 2010 Share Posted April 3, 2010 If someone honked at me and nearly ran me over while I was close to the curb I think I would have done the same as the OP. There seem to be more idiots around lately with driving lisences! That would be a Thai driving license tho! not exactly a qualification to drive, especially baht bus ones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardt1808 Posted April 3, 2010 Share Posted April 3, 2010 The post by the OP is rhetorical. Anyone who has lived here long enough to speak that amount of Thai, should know better. What's the point of being dead right ? Get it ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manarak Posted April 3, 2010 Share Posted April 3, 2010 He yellled at me something like "if you speak Thai, why are you so stupid to do something like that." actually, the driver has a point... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sokal Posted April 3, 2010 Share Posted April 3, 2010 If everyone reacted like you did these idiots would be less careless. One of the issues I have here in Thailand is that there is no 'concept of consequence'... Other people will tell you that you're lucky he didn't beat you up.... But there is a small chance you made him think twice.. (probably not).. but if he gives the next person crossing the road a little more space because of this then maybe you have inadvertently improved things... Thats what I like to believe anyway, and why I refuse to accept 'this is the Thai way' response from idiots like this. I hear / read 'This is the Thai way', or 'It's the culture' as the excuse for a lot of selfish, careless and inconsiderate behavior. We might read on this forum that this is the Thai way..... but I've been here long enough to know that incidents like that are not the Thai way.. They are the idiots way, no Thai friend of mine behaves like that... Walking the streets of Pattaya drunk with no supervision is a stupid thing to do, full stop. How could you possibly lecture about there being no "concept of consequence" in Thailand when a drunk Farang walks onto the street. He's asking for trouble and when he gets it is likely a consequence of his own stupidity. What ? now we need designated walkers ? I will stick to my Ninja for the ride home, drunk or otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sokal Posted April 3, 2010 Share Posted April 3, 2010 If everyone reacted like you did these idiots would be less careless. One of the issues I have here in Thailand is that there is no 'concept of consequence'... Other people will tell you that you're lucky he didn't beat you up.... But there is a small chance you made him think twice.. (probably not).. but if he gives the next person crossing the road a little more space because of this then maybe you have inadvertently improved things... Thats what I like to believe anyway, and why I refuse to accept 'this is the Thai way' response from idiots like this. I hear / read 'This is the Thai way', or 'It's the culture' as the excuse for a lot of selfish, careless and inconsiderate behavior. We might read on this forum that this is the Thai way..... but I've been here long enough to know that incidents like that are not the Thai way.. They are the idiots way, no Thai friend of mine behaves like that... Walking the streets of Pattaya drunk with no supervision is a stupid thing to do, full stop. How could you possibly lecture about there being no "concept of consequence" in Thailand when a drunk Farang walks onto the street. He's asking for trouble and when he gets it is likely a consequence of his own stupidity. What ? now we need designated walkers ? I will stick to my Ninja for the ride home, drunk or otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodcourt49 Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 If someone honked at me and nearly ran me over while I was close to the curb I think I would have done the same as the OP. There seem to be more idiots around lately with driving lisences! I agree..but..just let it be a one on one situation. The OP make a gesture then verbally abuse the driver..who has then retaliated in a non-violent way it seems. Why then has he gone running to the Police to report the driver as having abused him when it was he (OP) who has instigated the whole thing. The Police have more important things to worry about than this type of frivolous complaint. Filed 'no action'. In future best to look before you leap (or bend down) in a roadway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharecropper Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 As a general observation, Richard Smith nails one troubling aspect of life here - One of the issues I have here in Thailand is that there is no 'concept of consequence'... This, not necessarily in the OPs case, along with the total disprespect for the rule of or application of ANY law to the personal circumstances of individual Thais when they want to break them, makes the place what it is, usually for the worse. Some examples - Thais who beat people with iron bars on Beach Road, or stab tourists in the headwith knives, or flatten 70 year olds with one punch, killing them. These people do not care or are not even aware of the possible consequences of their actions. Disregard for the rule of law, laws of the road for one, corruption at all levels of bureaucracy and state agencies, pathetic self-justification of any kind of assault as "loss of face" allowing the law to be overridden with sympathy from other Thais. Even the current protests in Bangkok and the Yellow Shirt airport nonsense show both these traits at work in Thai society. Rant over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
personchester Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 If everyone reacted like you did these idiots would be less careless. One of the issues I have here in Thailand is that there is no 'concept of consequence'... Other people will tell you that you're lucky he didn't beat you up.... But there is a small chance you made him think twice.. (probably not).. but if he gives the next person crossing the road a little more space because of this then maybe you have inadvertently improved things... Thats what I like to believe anyway, and why I refuse to accept 'this is the Thai way' response from idiots like this. I hear / read 'This is the Thai way', or 'It's the culture' as the excuse for a lot of selfish, careless and inconsiderate behavior. We might read on this forum that this is the Thai way..... but I've been here long enough to know that incidents like that are not the Thai way.. They are the idiots way, no Thai friend of mine behaves like that... This has little to do with culture, i.e. (The Thai Way) this type of conduct by the Thai bus driver is a personal matter based on his general behavier and temperament which can not be generalised, in the same way the conduct of the "writer" is also a personal matter which can also not be compared to general farang culture, nor can there be the automatic assumption that he (the driver) might beat him up, since this depends a great deal on one's physical appearance which could well result into the other round. As to the "writers" street conduct .... No comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarangBuddha Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 (edited) I don't and I won't thank you. What I often feel when I am in this situation (honking at farangs who do non-normative actions when walking or driving in Thailand) is that their activity (while maybe normative and appropriate in their particular farangland) is not in Thailand. Their inappropriate actions are endangering both themselves and others (like me and my car). So the baht-bus driver was honking to give you a warning and then you, instead of being thankful, decided to emotionalize and escalate the situation (never a good thing in Thailand). Well what to say, you see where it got you...you get to walk around Pattaya fearful of this driver and his friends. Edited April 4, 2010 by FarangBuddha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onnut Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 Thais do not honk to warn, they only honk when they are upset. But I was thinking, maybe this baht bus driver was honking to get the attention of the OP to offer him a ride? Then the OP starts kicking off! Oh dear! Please ignore my first post! I had just got home from the pub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heng Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 Count yourself lucky. Compare to the falangs who are just 24 hours off the plane and have woken up 'happily' the next day to discover they've just slept with a transvestite for the first time in their lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 personally I think the op overreacted. HE was the one putting himself in danger, the op should have waited till the road was clear enough to get his 10 baht. If it were a case of using a crossing or the traffic light was at stop & the driver ran through then I would agree he was being reckless but this isn't the case. And by making a rude gesture & being verbally abusive to the driver was just wrong. The guy was doing his job & the op was the one standing where he shouldn't have been. I'm not surprised the driver got out. If the op is man enough to be rude to a bus driver when he was the one in the wrong then he must be prepared to deal with the fall out. Sorry but sometimes it isn't the thai's fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharecropper Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 Count yourself lucky. Compare to the falangs who are just 24 hours off the plane and have woken up 'happily' the next day to discover they've just slept with a transvestite for the first time in their lives. Ha. Now THAT would make an interesting topic. Any volunteers to post their experiences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traxster Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 All of that over 10 baht ??.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somtampet Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 Lets get this into perspective. Sounds like the driver was driving a bit fast,then you scream at him in thai,then he gets angry,this would be the same if it was 2 farangs,remember road rage in European countries. Just maybe some baht bus drivers are getting pissed off with drunken farangs and he has had enough.In 6YEARS i have never ever had a problem with motorbike drivers or baht bus drivers because when i have had a few i am sensible.Come to think of it i have never ever had a problem with farang,except once,and thats much better than the uk.I have seen first hand that many more farangs are abusive than thais,and Pattaya is a very safe place to be compared to other resorts in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapout Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 To the op; do not worry about about the baht driver remembering you, we all look alike and he was probably on his Mobil phone when he noticed you, so consider yourself lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathanpattaya Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 "I'm Just Another Stupid Farang, or how to put yourself in danger in Pattaya" You said it. Yes and yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neverdie Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 If everyone reacted like you did these idiots would be less careless. One of the issues I have here in Thailand is that there is no 'concept of consequence'... Other people will tell you that you're lucky he didn't beat you up.... But there is a small chance you made him think twice.. (probably not).. but if he gives the next person crossing the road a little more space because of this then maybe you have inadvertently improved things... Thats what I like to believe anyway, and why I refuse to accept 'this is the Thai way' response from idiots like this. I hear / read 'This is the Thai way', or 'It's the culture' as the excuse for a lot of selfish, careless and inconsiderate behavior. We might read on this forum that this is the Thai way..... but I've been here long enough to know that incidents like that are not the Thai way.. They are the idiots way, no Thai friend of mine behaves like that... Walking the streets of Pattaya drunk with no supervision is a stupid thing to do, full stop. How could you possibly lecture about there being no "concept of consequence" in Thailand when a drunk Farang walks onto the street. He's asking for trouble and when he gets it is likely a consequence of his own stupidity. What ? now we need designated walkers ? I will stick to my Ninja for the ride home, drunk or otherwise. Can you please mark the word 'sokal' on your body or bike so after your killed we can all have a little laugh. Somebody such yourself that constantly advocates drink driving deserves no pity. I only hope you only kill yourself & don't injure anyone else in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neverdie Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 He may have taught the OP a valuable lesson that could be recalled during his next drinking session. Be very careful in traffic! Sadly, a friend of mine was killed in Jomtien last month. He stepped off the curb without looking.The driver was wrong, and the pedestrian is dead. Very sorry to hear about your friend. Sadly, you only need to make one tiny mistake or overlook something as a pedestrian and you can end up this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSixpack Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 personally I think the op overreacted.HE was the one putting himself in danger, the op should have waited till the road was clear enough to get his 10 baht. If it were a case of using a crossing or the traffic light was at stop & the driver ran through then I would agree he was being reckless but this isn't the case. And by making a rude gesture & being verbally abusive to the driver was just wrong. The guy was doing his job & the op was the one standing where he shouldn't have been. I'm not surprised the driver got out. If the op is man enough to be rude to a bus driver when he was the one in the wrong then he must be prepared to deal with the fall out. Sorry but sometimes it isn't the thai's fault. I agree w/ Boo on this one. The driver was probably close to the curb also and expected the OP to continue walking onto the curb, when he suddenly just stopped without even looking around at the traffic. And so he could have been killed. A warning honk seems entirely appropriate--if not more, for almost causing an accident. The fact that traffic is clear one minute doesn't mean it's clear the next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancelot Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 Thais do not honk to warn, they only honk when they are upset. But I was thinking, maybe this baht bus driver was honking to get the attention of the OP to offer him a ride? Some Thai drivers will give a short "beep" to warn you if they don't think yoou've seen them. I've given short warning beeps when I was driving my honda wave and never (knock wood) had a problem. Long beeps with rude gestures and/or yelling will usually get you in trouble here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmyd Posted April 4, 2010 Author Share Posted April 4, 2010 I agree w/ Boo on this one. The driver was probably close to the curb also and expected the OP to continue walking onto the curb, when he suddenly just stopped without even looking around at the traffic. And so he could have been killed. A warning honk seems entirely appropriate--if not more, for almost causing an accident. The fact that traffic is clear one minute doesn't mean it's clear the next. First of all, I have admitted I was stupid to confront the driver, and that was the main purpose of my post--to remind people that it's not worth it. However, I was in the situation, and the driver was being deliberately rude. He did not politely honk to see if I wanted a ride. He did not honk to warn me either. There was no reason for him to get so close to me--there was plenty of room all around him. Again, there was no question given the situation that he was being a jerk. I was shocked and, I believe rightfully, angry at him. However, I am occasionally shocked and angered by the behavior (of both Thais and farangs) in Thailand, and I as a rule do not confront them as the consequences are not worth it. I screwed up by reacting as I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xylophone Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 As a general observation, Richard Smith nails one troubling aspect of life here - One of the issues I have here in Thailand is that there is no 'concept of consequence'...This, not necessarily in the OPs case, along with the total disprespect for the rule of or application of ANY law to the personal circumstances of individual Thais when they want to break them, makes the place what it is, usually for the worse. Some examples - Thais who beat people with iron bars on Beach Road, or stab tourists in the headwith knives, or flatten 70 year olds with one punch, killing them. These people do not care or are not even aware of the possible consequences of their actions. Disregard for the rule of law, laws of the road for one, corruption at all levels of bureaucracy and state agencies, pathetic self-justification of any kind of assault as "loss of face" allowing the law to be overridden with sympathy from other Thais. Even the current protests in Bangkok and the Yellow Shirt airport nonsense show both these traits at work in Thai society. Rant over. Absolutely agree on this "no concept of consequence" and IMO this is widespread in Thai society..........a few examples; "I'll only wear my crash helmet when I pass an MIB"; "I will travel with four on a small bike and at speed"; "I will throw waste water under my house/shack and wonder why the family gets bitten by mosquitoes"; "I will throw rubbish under there also and wonder why we have rats"; "I will drive the wrong way up a dual carriageway"; "I will let my 12 yr old drive my motorbike, without a crash helmet of course" and so on. The problem is that this "no concept of consequence" can very often mean the injury or death of another innocent person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Mouse Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 When I was a kid in Farangland and crossing the road with my parents, they would drum into me not to stop to pick up anything I might have dropped. Be it a tennis ball, a yo-yo, a piece of chewing gum or whatever. To stop whilst crossing any Thai road is sheer madness....especially Second Road. Life is worth more than 10 baht.....and the shape of my nose is more important than unnecessarily (and wrongly) enraging a baht bus driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyboy Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 Jimmyd, just thank your lucky stars you are still here to tell your story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarangBuddha Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 They should be so lucky Count yourself lucky. Compare to the falangs who are just 24 hours off the plane and have woken up 'happily' the next day to discover they've just slept with a transvestite for the first time in their lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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