Culture Shock

[BambinA]

after i read some forums in TH site .. well they talk about Culture shock in farangland as

tube use for clean butt after poo (hard to find ..we re not used to use clenex for wipe our bun)...hard to find

bag in supermarket (have to paid)

charge some buck when ask for sauce (KFC,McDo)

shower ( TH always wanna shower ,atleast 2 times aday ..even its cold)..when we take a shower ..some farangs blame that we waste water..

bidet

..etc...

ok.. now its my turn ... do you guys have culture shock here??

Bambi

Edited September 13, 2005 by BambinA

[wolf5370]

Yeah, and some...

Biggest for me is the 'hole in the floor' toilets - especially in petrol stations.

PS:

In the UK, you rarely have to pay for carrier bags (unless you want Cooler Bags or something) and sauce is free in McDonaulds, KFC and Burger King, but some smaller fast food places still charge.

Edited September 13, 2005 by wolf5370

[BambinA]

Yeah, and some...

Biggest for me is the 'hole in the floor' toilets - especially in petrol stations. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

heheh yah yah .. heard alot about farang cant use that loo ...and worry to fallen down

Bambi

[Totster]

Major culture shock.. takes a couple of days to wear off

toilets,

the smell in the air,

so many beautiful women *ducks*,

the heat,

the language,

the pavements,

the food,

motorbike taxis

I love it

totster

[BambinA]

ohh one thing ..when THs re in farangland..we use spoon for eat...make farangs look!

[BambinA]

ohh and really forget when TH gals are in farang's beach ... they wear T-shirt and pants !! lol ( ok not me )

Bambikini

Edited September 13, 2005 by BambinA

[Totster]

ohh and  really forget when TH  gals are in farang's beach ... they wear T-shirt and  pants  !! lol ( ok not me )

Bambikini

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My missus refuses to wear a bikini, t-shirt and shorts for her..

totster

[BambinA]

now ..its not culture shock ..but TH who live in farangland always get these question

do you ride elephant?

do you have PC?

ohh Taiwan ?

ohh whats language you speak ..Taiwanese?

are you a prince /princess ..so u can study in farangland

do you eat dog?

..etc..

funny... always make me smile

[khall64au]

I'm shocked at how sweet and polite the check-out chicks are here. The cashiers at home are real biatches ..

[Chickenlegs]

1. If you are driving in the UK and let someone out at a junction you will always get a thank-you wave (well 99% of the time).

In Thailand motorists seem unused to this sort of courtesy and you never get a thank-you. So surprising in a country where everyone is so polite and well mannered (well 99% of people)

2. (I could make an utter prat of myself here...)

In the UK cars ALWAYS stop when you step onto a pedestran crossing.

In Thailand cars NEVER stop for pedestrians.

(now go on, someone tell me that the black and white marking across the roads are not crossings)

PS- For Thailand read Bangkok and Pattaya, as I don't know how motorists behave in other parts.

[Totster]

Going back to beaches...

A friend of mine took his Thai girl friend to Holland for three months over the summer. On one particulary hot day they went to the beach. Everyone was dressed in bikinis and speedos etc.. apart from her, she was sat with her coat on.. too cold..

totster

[BambinA]

TH gals love umbella on the beach!! heyyy..hoooo

[Guest endure]

In the UK if someone flashes their headlights at you they're inviting you to go first. Flashed headlights in Thailand mean 'I'm coming THROUGH!!!'

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

Buses with wooden parquet floors

[cobra]

1. Open street sewers, (no separation from storm drains),

2. The heat, always the heat ...

3. Perfect teeth, great smiles ...

4. Low cost of living,

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

white dog poo

[Totster]

3. Perfect teeth, great smiles ...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Perfect teeth... that's a joke right..??

totster

[BambinA]

in LOS we love to have white armpit kri kri

[mrbojangles]

Mosquito's

Dodgy smelling toilets and you have to pay 5 baht for them

Air conditioning, you need it but it's not good for you

Nothing else and i had to rack my brains for those 3

[Totster]

Dodgy smelling toilets and you have to pay 5 baht for them 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh... the worst ones have got to be at Khon Kaen Bus Station, bt5 to get in and the floor is swimming in piss... stinks

totster

[Chickenlegs]

I love that in Thailand they still have people doing jobs that were replaced with machines (or just never done) in UK,

Example:- Drive onto Big C car park and 1 man writes you a ticket, another helps you park your car, several others push the parked cars around to help people get in and out, yet another takes the ticket from you as you leave. And it's free parking.

[buadhai]

Hmmm....

- Less privacy and personal space than in the West.

- Matriarchal nature of family life. (MIL has great power.)

- Different concepts of ownership of personal property.

- Tiny house lots in subdivisions.

- More consciousness of class and class power.

- Different concepts of cleanliness.

- Constant snacking.

Of course, one could fill volumes with this sort of stuff. Many authors have. The above are just a few that come to mind and which continue to surprise me.

[sanook2me]

the parking,, in the LoS is fabulous, leave your handbrake off and out of gear so you can double park and the car is pushed out of the way...wicked idea and makes sense for the overcrowding...

At central lad prao the car park scecurity have a pallet truck to manoeuver tightly squeezed cars in and out... wicked idea...

try this in the Uk and the cars would be pushed into each other by young hoodies(new word in blighty for a thug with a hooded top).

the west has alot to offer but an awful lot to learn..

[dr_Pat_Pong]

the parking,, in the LoS is fabulous, leave your handbrake off and out of gear so you can double park and the car is pushed out of the way...wicked idea and makes sense for the overcrowding...

At central lad prao the car park scecurity have a pallet truck to manoeuver tightly squeezed cars in and out... wicked idea...

try this in the Uk and the cars would be pushed into each other by young hoodies(new word in blighty for a thug with a hooded top).

the west has alot to offer but an awful lot to learn..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Agreed

[Crossy]

1. If you are driving in the UK and let someone out at a junction you will always get a thank-you wave (well 99% of the time).

In Thailand motorists seem unused to this sort of courtesy and you never get a thank-you. So surprising in a country where everyone is so polite and well mannered (well 99% of people)

2.  (I could make an utter prat of myself here...)

In the UK cars ALWAYS stop when you step onto a pedestran crossing.

In Thailand cars NEVER stop for pedestrians.

(now go on, someone tell me that the black and white marking across the roads are not crossings)

PS- For Thailand read Bangkok and Pattaya, as I don't know how motorists behave in other parts.

The black and white stripes are 'Ambulance Stops', this makes it easy for the emergency services to collect their passengers

Anyway, most of the 'Crossings' seem to go only half way across the road, what do you do when you get to the end?

[Girlfrombar]

bag in supermarket (have to paid)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

and after that u have to stuff all shopping things BY URSELF

u can't ask for FREE water in Mc or KFC

some places, even have to pay for using toilet!

the most classic shock is the traditonal ITALIAN toilet,

makes me feeling like peeing on ground!

and the tab without opener, instead they use the feet to push the water out

(classic and love it!)

first time i remembered, after pooping, i wanted to wash my hands but dang i couldn't find to turn on the water from tab, thought to myself.. maybe it worked by shaking at the tab.. no it not, maybe by automatic censer.. not possible, maybe by palming ur hands together.. so funny!..

then it tooks me about 5 mins to discover the pusher on ground for flowing water out!

[Phil B]

For me it was remembering wich way to look before i crossed the street

having the bathroom attendent start rubbing my neck ... that one almost got me and the guy next to me wet

dodging the scooters with a family of 5 carrying groceries, sending an sms and eating a bowl of noodles with the family pet in the basket on the front

[dr_Pat_Pong]

For me it was remembering wich way to look before i crossed the street

having the bathroom attendent start rubbing my neck ... that one almost got me and the guy next to me wet

dodging the scooters with a family of 5 carrying groceries, sending an sms and eating a bowl of noodles with the family pet in the basket on the front

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Jeff1]

white dog poo

LOL

Culture shock ,hmmmm . To many to tell . The funny thing is that im not as shocked as I first was , so many things are just normal now .

The two remaining things that always shock me are :

1 . ) Elephants walking on the expressway .

2 . ) In Thailand im handsome .

[middlepath]

On a rainy day seeing umbellas outside a store waiting for their owners to return for them after they are finished shopping.

In the US of A the umbellas would not be there when the owners returned.

Then back to the thank yous.... I take the whole family ( inlaws) out to dinner, now we eat, drink, all the kids get ice cream and not one of them says, Hay middlepath thanks for the nice dinner, not one. In my heart I know they had a good time though which is good enough, I guess.