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Wai?


ironwolf

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For a Farang to Wai a street cop (not talking about a high-ranking general officer here) he would lose Face in the worst way. :D

Which one, the cop or the farang. :o

I've never initiated a wai to a cop due to my age and position but I would return it if the cop waied me as I would most other Thais, all depends on the situation.

It's funny watching Thai soap operas and see the Thais nearly prostrate themselves when confronted by a cop. Wonder how true that is in the real world.

Edited by tywais
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Ok Ok, you pedantic old fart :D

"The chief of Police came to our restaurant to have lunch one day"

Happy now? :o

edit: not that I know you are old, or even a fart but it sounded good with pedantic :D

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Ok Ok, you pedantic old fart  :D 

"The chief of Police came to our restaurant to have lunch one day"

Happy now?  :D

edit: not that I know you are old, or even a fart but it sounded good with pedantic :D

O.K. It's a fair cop, Guv! :D I admit it, you have got me bang to rights, I am past my sell by date, and certainly would not risk sleeping with my head under the bed clothes!

Happy? :D Not until next month, when we get back to the LOS. :o

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When I first came to Thailand my friend was pulled over for speeding. He Wai'ed politely and talked his way out of a ticket.

I think if I am in a similiar situation, I will Wai as well.

Well, it all depends on your personal tolerance for butt-kissing I guess... :o

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I've waied a few cops, but for different reasons. One is a cop at Sukhothai (an older cousin by marriage) who invited us to their house for dinner. It was just a polite greeting.

Another is a senior ranking officer at Ayuttaya that I met. Come to think of it, I guess he waied first and I returned it.

And a few young cops showed up at our invitation for a big party we threw at Hin Kong in honor of one of the boys who was entering the Wat to do his monkhood duty. They came as a show of security to make sure nothing got out of hand and made a generous donation. The wai was a polite 'Thank You' for their donation as well as their time. Ordinarily, we wouldn't wai anyone first who are younger than we are.

In each case for us, it involved appropriate conditions with friends. No butt-kissing.

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Depends,

If your just acknowledging his presence I'd just smile,

If your in deep doo doo, maybe, assuming your going for the "totally dumb, ignorant and naive tourist" gambit,

followed by holding out a fan of bills for him to decide how much to take, :o:D

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When I first came to Thailand my friend was pulled over for speeding. He Wai'ed politely and talked his way out of a ticket.

I think if I am in a similiar situation, I will Wai as well.

Well, it all depends on your personal tolerance for butt-kissing I guess... :o

It also depends on how much money you have to give away.

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...Well, it all depends on your personal tolerance for butt-kissing I guess... :o

It is a worldwide typical touristbehaviour to underestimate the local police.

Be polite to them, same like you do in the country of your origin. Acting uncivil with the people in power could give you a hard time. :D

Patex

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It's funny watching Thai soap operas and see the Thais nearly prostrate themselves when confronted by a cop. Wonder how true that is in the real world.

i once saw a thai man arrested by two policemen , i'm not sure what he was arrested for , but the arrested man looked very worried .

before he was eventually hancuffed , he was handled roughly by the police , they used the soles of their feet to push him down into a kneeling position on the pavement , and continued to push him around with their feet.

he then prostrated himself in an extreme wai-ing mode , literally lying on the ground head down each time and with his eyes appealing beseechingly to the police on each of his up movements until the foot pushing stopped.

went on for at least five minutes during which time a huge crowd of grinning , gawping , goonlike onlookers (including myself , but i wasnt grinning ) had gathered to watch the show.

eventually he was bundled into a police pickup that arrived and taken away.

it wasnt particularly pleasant watching this scenario , the man was stripped of every shred of dignity and completely and publicly humiliated by the police.

he looked scared stiff.

it was about 2 years ago , one afternoon on sukhumvit near the landmark hotel.

if that goes on in public , then i wouldnt want to upset them in any way down the station.

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