Perhaps Things Would Be So Much Easier For Farang

[Chunky1]

If you are a member of this forum you probably know enough about Thailand to understand that is a very socially conservative country. There is no freedom or speech or expression. It is illegal to criticize public officials or those with a higher social caste than your own. The list goes on and on.

Farang in Thailand have a single specific faux pas which I believe just absolutely crushes our imagine in the eyes of the Thai populous and that action is parading around the country in public with women who are not appropriately dressed by Thai social standards and who behave impolitely by Thai social standards. This alone makes it impossible for Thais to take farang seriously. Because Thai people are so polite, instead of confronting farang directly about their public rudeness, they simply turned the other cheek until it became so common that they stopped caring.

Just something to think about the next time the Visa requirements change or you don't get your rental deposit back.

[Slip]

And that's it is it? The sensible Thais I know recognise that there is good and bad in all nationalities. They are too wise to fall into the stereotyping trap.

[Garry9999]

not appropriately dressed by Thai social standards What's that? Blue mini skirt with tight white blouse?

[fletchsmile]

To OP, thank you for sharing your wisdom of a few months in Thailand... Would be interested to hear your follow up views in about 10 years time.

[way2muchcoffee]

Interesting post. I suspect you either haven't been in Thailand long or you haven't traveled extensively here. Polite? Well-dressed? Fact is that most Thais don't have the money to dress well. Polite has regional and social variations. What is polite behavior at a wedding in Issan would be decidedly unpolite at a wedding in the Oriental. Frankly I disagree with most of the content of your post as it points to only a very small subset of the population within very limited social circles.

[Valdezugar]

Chunky1 . . . . mayhap you should tell your GF to dress more appropriately

And try not to generalise and project your personal experience to the rest of us

[mahtin]

If there is one thing that " just absolutely crushes our imagine in the eyes of the Thai populous" it is cretinous postings here that will be read by intelligent Thai members of TV.

[F1fanatic]

If there is one thing that " just absolutely crushes our imagine in the eyes of the Thai populous" it is cretinous postings here that will be read by intelligent Thai members of TV.

Yes, if it wasn't for the "cretinous postings here", farangs would not be looked down on by Thais.

Or then again, it could be because the Thais see the women farang are attracted to, and find it funny.....

It doesn't actually matter as such - the 'higher class' Thais will have nothing to do with the prostitutes or their boyfriends/husbands - in exactly the same way they would not be welcome at home.

[krading]

Perhaps the OP should ask his libranian to update their edition of the 'Lonely Planet'.

[Felt 35]

Thai social standards

[roamer]

Thai social standards

I find its the farang that tends to dress inappropriately and act boorishly rather than his companions.

Edited July 14, 2010 by roamer

[Richb2004v2]

I think there is something in what the OP says. Most TCN's try and try to marry up, socially. So, to them I am sure it is a little strange to see what they perceive as rich white westerners wandering around with Issan farm girls. This has got to happen to some extent. I'm sure the same would be thought of a nation of people coming to our counties and being 50 times more wealthy than us, then heading straight to the rough end of town and marrying a check out girl or a hooker. Not everyone obviously, but some for sure. And I'm not saying it's right to look down on those people either.

[Peshay]

To OP, thank you for sharing your wisdom of a few months in Thailand... Would be interested to hear your follow up views in about 10 years time.

I presume you either stay in Thailand or have visited many time over the years...Question..When you first went to thailand did you not have any opinions or views about Thai cutlure? If so,did you not express them in anyway wether you where right or wrong. :-)

[JSixpack]

If there is one thing that " just absolutely crushes our imagine in the eyes of the Thai populous" it is cretinous postings here that will be read by intelligent Thai members of TV.

Would that they find them as amusing and entertaining as do the intelligent farang members of TV, of which there really are a few.

[Felt 35]

I find its the farang that tends to dress inappropriately and act boorishly rather than his companions

...and I find a lot of Foreigners blindfolded of an image with no substance

[Loz]

I think there is something in what the OP says. Most TCN's try and try to marry up, socially. So, to them I am sure it is a little strange to see what they perceive as rich white westerners wandering around with Issan farm girls. This has got to happen to some extent. I'm sure the same would be thought of a nation of people coming to our counties and being 50 times more wealthy than us, then heading straight to the rough end of town and marrying a check out girl or a hooker. Not everyone obviously, but some for sure. And I'm not saying it's right to look down on those people either.

Ditto,

It would also follow that if they came to our home and did that, we would "assume" they were undesirable in their own country so came to ours because the standards were lower. How would that make us feel about them, I wonder.

I hate being tarred with the same brush, as I wouldn't touch a Thai woman with yours. But they still insist on asking if I have " thai lady " which i find irksome. Was playing an online game recently and when it came out where I was staying, I was asked if I had bought a family yet? and then regaled with a story of their 55 year old neighbour who had just bought a 25 year old wife. I grow tired of this association so probably won't stay much longer. I never had a problem with Britain and I suspect soon I'll be back home and enjoying the lovely ladies and economic opportunities the market presents.

Stop trying to be something you are not. Which is, "Accepted" and "Valued" and "Respected" in the same way you would expect back home. Because this is NOT back home. It is what it is, man. Let it be.

[geriatrickid]

There is nothing wrong with the gist of what the OP has opined. However, the manners of the majority of Thais, like the majority of nationals in other countries, leaves alot to be desired. Yes, the Thais are indeed a bit more respectful in some areas. However, they make up for it, by sharing of their bodies when they pick their noses in public or drain a large pimple. I hold the door for people, however, many Thais think nothing of letting it slam in the face of a pregnant woman. I stand in line politely, but many Thais have Russian syndrome and push ahead. Based on the actions of these Thais, should I consider the population to be savage and ill mannered? Humans are humans, Western males pee on the toilet seat or do not put it back down if they lift it. Thai men, pee on the floor. Same same.

[Loz]

Its not the same though, is it?

If you had someone pee on your toilet seat at home you wouldn't invite them back. If someone peed on your floor, they would leave through the first floor window with a carpet cleaning bill following shortly.

The doors slamming in your face thing is something I find really hard to fathom. How can a society with such exacting etiquette for something as superficial as the "Wai" find it acceptable to let doors slam in peoples faces. It is quite the juxtaposition!

[carmine]

More wisdom from Chunky I doubt very much Thai people would appreciate your post anymore than the majority of others on this thread.

Still, a slight improvement on your last attempt at a troll.

[Payboy]

Most TCN's try and try to marry up, socially.

A bit hard to understand, considering that one party in said marriage would be "marrying down".

[carmine]

The real stupidity of the OP's topic is the fact that chunky has failed to grasp that there are both inappropriately dressed people walking around, bot Thai and foreign. Secondly, there are perfectly polite, well mannered people be they Thai or foreign as well as ignorant and rude. Level headed people are always aware of this.

I sometimes cringe at the behaviour of some foreiners here. It can be very embarrasing. That said, i dislike seeing doors slammed in peoples faces, locals barging ignorantly into queues and the common practice of picking your nose and popping zits in public.

What staggers me is that the OP has'nt grasped the fact that their are good , bad, rude, ignorant in any nationality.

[Judia]

Who give a FXXX about what Thai people like us think. But IF you look at Thai people They have evil intention event tho you think they good THEY NOT THAI PEOPLE ARE NOT I'm Thai and I think Riping White people off And sell stuff high price is consider UNFAIR! soo Whatever U guys Farang or whatever u are do you should think of US Thai Worse that you guy..when you come to Thailand of course

[Chunky1]

Looks like this hit too close to home for some members.

[apetley]

To OP, thank you for sharing your wisdom of a few months in Thailand... Would be interested to hear your follow up views in about 10 years time.

I don't. If that's all the drivel he can come up with now I doubt it will improve much

[Chunky1]

The real stupidity of the OP's topic is the fact that chunky has failed to grasp that there are both inappropriately dressed people walking around, bot Thai and foreign. Secondly, there are perfectly polite, well mannered people be they Thai or foreign as well as ignorant and rude. Level headed people are always aware of this.

I have never seen a Thai man walking around a shopping mall with an obvious prostitute but I have seen thousands of farang doing so. I have never seen a Thai male in the various upscale apartment buildings that I have lived in, bring home an obvious prostitute but I have seen dozens of farang do so. I have never seen a Thai man take an obvious prostitute to a nice restaurant.

Now, I am not saying that that farang who do these are wrong, I am saying that this type of behavior is not socially acceptable in Thailand. Doing any of the above will instantly cause the Thais around you to lose all respect for you.

Now, of course many of you don't care what Thais think about your actions. That is exactly the point. Like I said, this is just something to think about the next time a Thai treats you with less than the amount of respect that you believe you deserve.

Edited July 15, 2010 by Chunky1

[Will27]

The real stupidity of the OP's topic is the fact that chunky has failed to grasp that there are both inappropriately dressed people walking around, bot Thai and foreign. Secondly, there are perfectly polite, well mannered people be they Thai or foreign as well as ignorant and rude. Level headed people are always aware of this.

I have never seen a Thai man walking around a shopping mall with an obvious prostitute but I have seen thousands of farang doing so. I have never seen a Thai male in the various upscale apartment buildings that I have lived in, bring home an obvious prostitute but I have seen dozens of farang do so. I have never seen a Thai man take an obvious prostitute to a nice restaurant.

Now, I am not saying that that farang who do these are wrong, I am saying that this type of behavior is not socially acceptable in Thailand. Doing any of the above will instantly cause the Thais around you to lose all respect for you.

Now, of course many of you don't care what Thais think about your actions. That is exactly the point. Like I said, this is just something to think about the next time a Thai treats you with less than the amount of respect that you believe you deserve.

"Thais around you to lose all respect for you."

You're assuming they have any (respect) to start with.

[richard_smith237]

Perhaps the Op is drawing attention to the fact that unlike us Westerners Thai's tend not to crap on their own doorstep.

Many of the Neighboring Orientals have their own style of Karaoke bars and clubs but we don't see these men parading their 'bit of fluff' up and down Sukhumvit road.

The concept of 'correct time and place' is perhaps lost on many Westerners or as some posters have alluded to some Westerners simply don't care what others think.

I hate to be 'tarred by the same brush', and it was certainly a worry for my Father in Law when I started dating his daughter, his initial concern was that many Westerners have such a poor reputation in Thailand. I believe the Op maybe sympathetic to my FIL's view point, as indeed am I.

As one poster has correctly pointed out, many educated Thai's will recognise that it is only a certain demographic which tarnishes the reputation of Westerners in Thailand and thus we should judged individually.

[inthepink]

I think there is something in what the OP says. Most TCN's try and try to marry up, socially. So, to them I am sure it is a little strange to see what they perceive as rich white westerners wandering around with Issan farm girls. This has got to happen to some extent. I'm sure the same would be thought of a nation of people coming to our counties and being 50 times more wealthy than us, then heading straight to the rough end of town and marrying a check out girl or a hooker. Not everyone obviously, but some for sure. And I'm not saying it's right to look down on those people either.

Ditto,

It would also follow that if they came to our home and did that, we would "assume" they were undesirable in their own country so came to ours because the standards were lower. How would that make us feel about them, I wonder.

I hate being tarred with the same brush, as I wouldn't touch a Thai woman with yours. But they still insist on asking if I have " thai lady " which i find irksome. Was playing an online game recently and when it came out where I was staying, I was asked if I had bought a family yet? and then regaled with a story of their 55 year old neighbour who had just bought a 25 year old wife. I grow tired of this association so probably won't stay much longer. I never had a problem with Britain and I suspect soon I'll be back home and enjoying the lovely ladies and economic opportunities the market presents.

Stop trying to be something you are not. Which is, "Accepted" and "Valued" and "Respected" in the same way you would expect back home. Because this is NOT back home. It is what it is, man. Let it be.

Could you explain why you wouldn't touch a Thai woman?

[barky]

Its not the same though, is it?

If you had someone pee on your toilet seat at home you wouldn't invite them back. If someone peed on your floor, they would leave through the first floor window with a carpet cleaning bill following shortly.

The doors slamming in your face thing is something I find really hard to fathom. How can a society with such exacting etiquette for something as superficial as the "Wai" find it acceptable to let doors slam in peoples faces. It is quite the juxtaposition!

Totally agree Loz. I find it laughable the so called "polite" Thai way of doing things and look around at all the hypocritical crap that goes on that is far far removed from "polite" . In ten years I haven't been fooled by it and never will. Only the feeble minded, those who don't live here, or live in a state of denial would be blinded by the facade that is presented by most Thais .

[tigerfish]

The real stupidity of the OP's topic is the fact that chunky has failed to grasp that there are both inappropriately dressed people walking around, bot Thai and foreign. Secondly, there are perfectly polite, well mannered people be they Thai or foreign as well as ignorant and rude. Level headed people are always aware of this.

I have never seen a Thai man walking around a shopping mall with an obvious prostitute but I have seen thousands of farang doing so. I have never seen a Thai male in the various upscale apartment buildings that I have lived in, bring home an obvious prostitute but I have seen dozens of farang do so. I have never seen a Thai man take an obvious prostitute to a nice restaurant.

Now, I am not saying that that farang who do these are wrong, I am saying that this type of behavior is not socially acceptable in Thailand. Doing any of the above will instantly cause the Thais around you to lose all respect for you.

Now, of course many of you don't care what Thais think about your actions. That is exactly the point. Like I said, this is just something to think about the next time a Thai treats you with less than the amount of respect that you believe you deserve.

your kidding me wright !

youve been i thailand how long? ever heard of the word mai noi?

try opening your eyes next time your out and about.

most thai guys i know including two that come to my home compound where we rent rooms out to thais, come to see their mai noi and pay them money for food, clothes, bills and rent. in exchange for their female companionship.

other thai guys i know are always showing me pictures on their mobile phones of the latest catch. most have not just one , but even 2 or 3 on the go at the same time. and are always lying about their whereabouts to the wife, whilst supposedly working or out with friends. more often than not they can be found at the local karaoke bar, food outlet or local drive in 2 hour rent a room knocking shop.

Edited July 15, 2010 by tigerfish