Thai Honesty

[kuifje]

It is the odd post like this that sometimes restores my faith in humanity, good to hear something positive, especially when economics are all stacked against honesty at the moment.

What has economics to do be honesty ?

Unless you are living on another planet, the poor people around are hitting hard times, and some are turning to THEFT!

Previously "Honest" people are now stealing water pumps and the like, they are struggling, and economics have turned them to thieving - to survive!

Because people are struggling, does not mean they become not "Honest" anymore.

People who are thieving - to survive ? - are not 'Honest' people, and they will be doing this no matter how much money they have.

[BadBoyBubby]

It is the odd post like this that sometimes restores my faith in humanity, good to hear something positive, especially when economics are all stacked against honesty at the moment.

What has economics to do be honesty ?

Unless you are living on another planet, the poor people around are hitting hard times, and some are turning to THEFT!

Previously "Honest" people are now stealing water pumps and the like, they are struggling, and economics have turned them to thieving - to survive!

Because people are struggling, does not mean they become not "Honest" anymore.

People who are thieving - to survive ? - are not 'Honest' people, and they will be doing this no matter how much money they have.

Not TRUE, I have known some people here for more than ten years and they wouldn't nick a cent, the way things are at the minute....it's a free for all!

[SunSeek01]

I left a small bundle with about $ 1000 USD and about 7000 baht along with some papers at the Bangkok Air counter in Phuket. I talked to them in BKK, it was too late to find out right then.

I called them the next day, they found it, and sent it up on the next flight to BKK. I went up to pick it up. It was all there. I gave a small reward, I think 2000 baht, wish I would have given them more.

I did lose a new phone in a BKK taxi and tracked down the driver, but I am not 100% sure if had it or not, so I had to just forget it.

[Huey]

My first 2 weeks in country I was in Pattaya, I had some girl from the bar staying in my room when I went out, and left her there along with 200,000 Baht in the drawer. She cleaned up everything and put my things in the drawer right next to the money, and didn't take a single baht.

When I returned I asked her why she didn't steal it and run off. She simply said...

"because it's not mine"

I really liked that girl.

[cdnvic]

The topic is about positive encounters and people's honesty. Those who want to complain about the other side of the coin will find plenty of other topics to do it in. Two posts removed.

[Ulysses G.]

When I returned I asked her why she didn't steal it and run off. She simply said...

"because it's not mine"

I really liked that girl.

Excellent post! 

[lothda]

Paid with my debit card at a shop in Fortune and walked away with my purchase. Minutes later my bank called me and asked if I was missing my debit card... I had dropped it and the cashier phoned the bank. Got it back, kop khun maak krub

[MCos]

We have a woman who comes around and cleans the house for an hour or so every Sunday. She’s not too flash at the job, but she’s good fun and she works hard trying to do well for her family. One day my wife asked her to help for a few hours cleaning a house we had vacated, which she did. My wife gave her 500 Baht, but she said it was too much & gave her a 100 back. She knows I’m a farang and therefore fabulously wealthy, but didn’t feel good about taking more than she thought was right. I found that to be a very humbling experience. By the way my wife still grizzles to me every Sunday because she doesn’t thing her work is good enough.

[saraburioz]

[quote name='tod-daniels' date='2010-06-24 13:09' in and out of my small soi. I ALWAYS acknowledge them and say hello but never give them money. To a person they all seem okay with this, often times saying hello to me before I’ve even noticed them sitting on the sidewalk.

One nite I was walking home, (more than a little drunk:blink: ). As I’d seen every day for 4+ years, However, upon returning to where he was sitting he only pointed to my pocket where the 15K baht I’d just taken out of the ATM was about to fall out. He said in thai, “I’m just looking out for you.”

I was so taken aback, that I tipped him 500 baht for him noticing I was gonna drop my money. To his great credit, he took 4 of the 100 baht notes and stuck them back in my pocket, saying, “100 was more than enough”. That I would receive this type of behavior from a guy missing a leg along with half his arm, who sits begging on the street every frickin’ day for as long as I’d been here just blew me away.

Sadly, he was hit by a taxi and killed just a few weeks later, but it’s something I’ll never ever forget.

Note to the poster known as 'bkkjames'. .. I did my best to keep this succinct and to the point. .

some

Disabled people are honest too. I am surprised that you were surprised

[gmac]

Bought 3 cokes from a stall at the Pattaya floating market, the stall owner was not there and the guy from the next stall took the money (60 Baht). About ten minutes later as we sat drinking our cokes the actual stall-holder came running up asking if we just bought cokes from his stall. I was expecting a problem with him saying that we hadn't paid or something but NO, he wanted to give us back 15 Baht because we had been overcharged! Such small moments restore a little faith in humanity.

[billd766]

I have had money returned to me from outside the bank and also when I dropped a 1,000 baht note inside the local 7/11 and neither person would accept anything other than a thank you.

I still see them around and always get a smile and a nod in return.

On the other hand I dropped my money pack with just over 13,000 baht (I had just been to the bank) and my debit cards at the Wednesday market but unfortunately they never came back to me. On the other hand the cards were never used either.

I had to make a police report to replace my Kbank card though.

I would have to say that all of the Thais I have known and met are honest.

I live outside a small village in Central Thailand.

[stefanlarsen1974]

This thread is just what I needed - so nice to hear the positive experiences in LoS!!! Happy Friday everyone - have a cold one!

[cdnvic]

Happy Friday everyone - have a cold one!

If you insist.....

[Kilgore Trout]

Once in Cambodia I dropped a 1 hundred dollar bill; a normal looking poor Cambodian ran up behind me and gave it to me.

[dekestone]

Once in Cambodia I dropped a 1 hundred dollar bill; a normal looking poor Cambodian ran up behind me and gave it to me.

Very cool. And I love the name...long live Kurt!

[donmac]

Has happend a few times

Once went into 7-eleven to stock up, after paying i started to make my way back to the flat when i hear someone running up behind me. It was the 7-11 guy and he returned my phone card i left on the counter, the pone card was not worth much but still worth a 300m run.:jap:

I was out visiting a temple when the same thing happend. A guy ran up behind me and told me i forgot my shades that i left behind, my shade where worth £90:jap:

When traviling to pai on motorcycle i was stopping of up the hills to take a rest, take in the view and having a cig. Cars where stopping to see if i needed help or petrol :jap: , never seen these things happen to me in london in all my years.

.

[craigt3365]

I was having a bite to eat in Central World and left my wallet on the table. Headed to the movies and about 100 meters away from the restaurant, a gal comes running towards me. I figured I did something really bad. She held out my wallet...I was stunned. She didn't speak English. I offered her 100B or something like that...she refused and walked back to the restaurant. One of the reasons I live here....I feel Thai's are basically good people...a few bad apples...but only a few.

[Briggsy]

Guess what, if your life revolves around the bars of Pattaya, lazy hoes, their appalling dysfunctional families etc., you will meet a tremendous number of lying, immoral people. If you associate with people who get off their arse and work for a living, be it as a line supervisor in a Rayong factory or as a qualified tax accountant in a Thonburi office, etc., you will meet a lot of honest people.

[phetaroi]

I no longer trust Thai people. Period.

That's not to say there are not a lot of honest people in the country. There are. And I have had a few experiences where that was revealed. For example, I once left a fairly expensive camera in a railway waiting room...it could have easily been sold...but a nice fellow went around asking every farang if the camera was theirs.

On the other hand, a person I was extremely close to for over 15 years, who I helped many, many times, who has a very good government job and is very well educated, whose family I know well...recently cheated me out of several thousand dollars.

Sometimes in the Thai mind there seems to be a line of thinking that the farang is rich and I'm not, so there's nothing really wrong with taking advantage. Cha-ching!

And, if you go back and read all my posts over the past year or so, you'll see I've often been called a Thai apologist. I doubt I'll ever be called that again. There are simply too many cases that you read about in this forum that cannot be excused.

[Ulysses G.]

You have never had a Western friend cheat you? It is not all that uncommon. Try lending a few Expats $2,000 dollars and see what happens. Believe me now or believe me later.

Edited June 26, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[Thongkorn]

I dropped my credit card out of my back pocket by mistake as I got off my stool to go to the toilet at a bar. when I came back the bar manager asked me if I had lost anything, I Checked my pockets and realised that my card had gone , he just laughed and said this is yours, There are good and bad in every Nationality and society, I live in the Jungle in the middle of nowhere I trust my Thai friends with my life,

[deon]

Had about 9000 baht in the back pocket, which i did not know about or just forgot. took my trouses to get cleaned, and then when i went to collect them. The woman gave me the money back and said she had found it in my back pocket.