General Opinion Of Thai People Among Tourists/Expats?

[Dave9000]

Narrow minded prawns notwithstanding, I have provided no more than an accurate description of my experiences. Your poor amateur psychology says far more about you than it does about me. Read the post again. I did not generalise about farangs...I said "The people who give me most grief are the broken down expats who want to 'borrow' money". You've got it completely wrong. Or perhaps you are one of those broken down bums who thinks the world owes him a living.

You clown!

And I wish I was born black?!

Grow up junior!

My experience also is largely positive. People are invariably friendly, helpful and always supportive. The people who give me most grief are the broken down expats who want to 'borrow' money. Thais borrow money also, but they pay it back on time, the expat debtor quickly converts the loan to a gift.

Some Thais do have an attitude toward falangs: But as in every other community on earth, people will always feel animosity to wealthy loudmouths who delight in pointing out the financial divide betwen themselves and their minions.

Let me get this right; Thais good…..Farang bad…….Is that about it Dave?

Why do I think you wish you were born black….from some famous ghetto somewhere as well!

[kerryk]

I remember one post which went something on the lines 'beneath all the smiles, they have resentment against westerners' and I'm quite curious why they feel so.

Because they're <deleted>.

Agree completely. They hate foreigners.

I also think most members of these forums are men, they have a different..., er, agenda ( mostly ) and also they get treated a little different than us females as the Thai women are apt to view them as personal family ATM's and treat them accordingly. Also, the married ex pats have their Thai wives running interference for them, dealing with other Thais, etc and may really not be aware of the true ( IMO ) nature of the Thai mentality (Until she screws him over, of course, as evidenced by the myriad of threads running on the subject.)

When I go to Immigration for instance, the foreign men always have a Thai woman doing the talking. They almost never have to really deal with anything on their own. I think they are sheltered from realities.

Your misandry is showing a bit eh what?

[robblok]

I remember one post which went something on the lines 'beneath all the smiles, they have resentment against westerners' and I'm quite curious why they feel so.

Because they're <deleted>.

Agree completely. They hate foreigners.

I also think most members of these forums are men, they have a different..., er, agenda ( mostly ) and also they get treated a little different than us females as the Thai women are apt to view them as personal family ATM's and treat them accordingly. Also, the married ex pats have their Thai wives running interference for them, dealing with other Thais, etc and may really not be aware of the true ( IMO ) nature of the Thai mentality (Until she screws him over, of course, as evidenced by the myriad of threads running on the subject.)

When I go to Immigration for instance, the foreign men always have a Thai woman doing the talking. They almost never have to really deal with anything on their own. I think they are sheltered from realities.

This is absolutely true and very pathetic. They seem to be joined at the hip and unable to do anything alone, banks / immigration / ordering food / crossing the road - you see it everywhere everyday, very pathetic....

JH

Its only normal to take your wife to immigration if your doing a visa based on marriage. So yes you will see a lot of them together in immigration. Also its quite handy to have the wife translate in cases where it is important.

I do many things separate from her in fact she is gone 50% of the time (if not more) because of her job. But for important things i will use her as a translator.

But of course there are couples who are joined at the hip. I would never ever want to be in a relation like that. I need my space and so does she. She has her friends and i have my friends.

[Banzai99]

Sales people here in this country will tell you what you want to hear to get the sale, lies included. Once you're out the door with your purchase they don't care. Most of them don't have a clue about the product or service they are selling, they don't care....

JH

I have had an entirely different experience. I have never had any problems returning any faulty equipment, I always find the sales staff as helpful as they can be, and if I know more about the product than they do, I'll do my best to help them along.

I always have a positive experience when shopping in Thailand, Hong Kong is another matter.

Maybe, just maybe, they feel your hatred towards them, they pick up your negative vibes ?

I pick up those vibes just from a few words on an anonymous forum.

[Jebhead]

To post #35

Translating languages is not as straight forward as what everyone may think ( especially here in Thailand ), what the person is telling your wife and then what your wife is telling you or vice versa may be very different.

Point to note - you will lose a lot of respect from Thai's for having to drag your wife along to "translate".

JH

[Jebhead]

Sales people here in this country will tell you what you want to hear to get the sale, lies included. Once you're out the door with your purchase they don't care. Most of them don't have a clue about the product or service they are selling, they don't care....

JH

I have had an entirely different experience. I have never had any problems returning any faulty equipment, I always find the sales staff as helpful as they can be, and if I know more about the product than they do, I'll do my best to help them along. WOW

I always have a positive experience when shopping in Thailand WOW , Hong Kong is another matterW

Maybe, just maybe, they feel your hatred towards them, they pick up your negative vibes ? No, they just don't care - already mentioned!

I pick up those vibes just from a few words on an anonymous forum. WOW

[TingTawng]

I've lived here for 8 years and have a very positive experience of Thai people. Who are these farangs who always go on about government officials and the sharper end of tourism all the time? Let's talk about normal Thais - very decent people, very kind, and inclined toward a sense of humour. I spent 3 years in Japan and the culture there was very different. I always thought Japanese people were decent but that their culture made them kind of tough and cold. Thai culture is actually quite a care-free one when compared to other asian cultures. I know the "land of smiles" is a cliche, but it's largely true when you do compare other countries.

Edited September 15, 2011 by TingTawng

[robblok]

To post #35

Translating languages is not as straight forward as what everyone may think ( especially here in Thailand ), what the person is telling your wife and then what your wife is telling you or vice versa may be very different.

Point to note - you will lose a lot of respect from Thai's for having to drag your wife along to "translate".

JH

I never had that problem loosing respect. In general i can follow a big part of the conversations so i don't worry that much about her translating wrong. If i were with a woman that i would not trust id be a fool and id leave her.

Why on earth stay with someone you don't trust. My Thai is far from perfect so in situations where it is important she will translate. Other then that friendly banter with the locals is not a problem.

[Jebhead]

I've lived here for 8 years and have a very positive experience of Thai people. Who are these farangs who always go on about government officials and the sharper end of tourism all the time? Let's talk about normal Thais - very decent people, very kind, and inclined toward a sense of humour. I spent 3 years in Japan and the culture there was very different. I always thought Japanese people were decent but that their culture made them kind of tough and cold. Thai culture is actually quite a care-free one when compared to other asian cultures. I know the "land of smiles" is a cliche, but it's largely true when you do compare other countries.

Normal Thai's a genrally decent people i agree....i spent 4 years in the boonies here, not another farang in sight and i have nothing but good memories...

The Thai's in any of the heavily populated tourist areas are generally c**ts!! FACT

JH

[jeanpierre]

Sales people here in this country will tell you what you want to hear to get the sale, lies included. Once you're out the door with your purchase they don't care. Most of them don't have a clue about the product or service they are selling, they don't care....

JH

I have had an entirely different experience. I have never had any problems returning any faulty equipment, I always find the sales staff as helpful as they can be, and if I know more about the product than they do, I'll do my best to help them along.

I always have a positive experience when shopping in Thailand, Hong Kong is another matter.

Maybe, just maybe, they feel your hatred towards them, they pick up your negative vibes ?

I pick up those vibes just from a few words on an anonymous forum.

totaly agree i do busnes for 7 years with thailand bkk

never ever get cheated

even when they have to send me stuff when i am in my country

always correct

taxi tuktuk bars is another story

[janverbeem]

Since the mid-80s I was a tourist to Thailand many summers, usually for 7 weeks at a time. I felt sort of like the OP felt.

Then I moved to Thailand as a retiree and stayed for almost 2 years. I began to see a more realistic side of the Thai people you come in contact with on a daily basis.

1. Dealing with stores: Their unspoken motto is, "The customer is always wrong." Even my Thai friends agree with that one. No, you don't know what you want; they know what you want. If you get the product home and it doesn't work, you must have broken it. You don't understand them because you -- a native English speaker -- don't speak good English. You go to buy a DVD player that will play region 1 DVDs. One clerk tells you that none sold in Thailand play region 1, which is not true. Another clerk in the same store tells you that all the DVD players play region 1 DVDs, which is also not true. Both will sell you what you DON'T want for a 15% discount. Need I go on?

2. Dealing with your best Thai friend: Who happens to work for the government in the field of technology. He is having a great deal of difficulty dealing with American and other western nations' software companies, because they don't want to do business in Thailand. He asks you why. You calmly explain that western software companies are wary because they know how much software is ripped off and copied in Thailand (does Microsoft Office really cost only the equivalency of US$5 ?????). You give examples of when you have both walked into the IT plaza up on Phetburi. When you are done, your friend says in response, "You don't love Thailand."

3. You go to a touristy area (for example the area around the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Keo) and multiple times the touts attempt to cheat you...need I count the ways?

4. You go to get your long term visa approved and are quietly told that for money under the table you can be #1 in line...even though there are about 50 who were there ahead of you.

Need I go on?

I'm not saying you don't also meet some wonderful people who are kind and considerate. But the attempts to rip me off...well, more in the 2 years I was there than in the whole rest of my life in the States...and I'm 62 years old.

Here's the thing. The guys back home at the stores earn at least $2,000 and much more if it's the geek squad and it's expected of them to know about everything they are selling. The girls in the stores in Thailand earn proly 10k or maybe 15k baht. You still expect them to know about what DVD plays on what player? It's cheap in Thailand.

You get what you pay for.

As far as touristy areas and touts, economic conditions drive them to do it. There's 70 million Thais in Thailand. How many touts are there in comparison? Even if there's a million touts, that's still a 70-1 proportion.

Look at countries with the same level of development and with much fewer tourists coming in and how many scams they have up and running and how safe they are. Turkey is much more developed than Thailand and if you have been there you will see how much a real scam or a tout can end up hurting you. I'm sure I lost a couple hundred bahts to little scams but is that even a scam if it's a couple hundred bahts? Let's not be perfectionists here. Size does matter..

I'm looking at Thais with an all-other-things-being-equal mindset. If we had the same economic conditions back home, I think we'd have a civil war. Of course we're used to affluence, we're better educated and we expect and deserve it but then hey, the Thais know that we have a much better lifestyle and all because we hold an American passport?

Your best friend is an engineer. How much does he make in Thailand? How much does an engineer of a similar caliber make back home? Is it your friend's fault that the Thai government does not have working anti-piracy laws in place? Even if they did, do you think an average Thai can afford to pay $140 for an operating system? Hell he proly had to fork out a whole month's earnings to buy that PC without a warranty.

I'm sure there's loads of corruption in the government. But the government doesn't represent the people. Notwithstanding social obligations, all humans are opportunistic with unlimited needs. When resources are scarce and the competition becomes cut-throat we are all cannibalistic with power in our hands.

I'll sum it up.

If you populated an equal-opportunity island nation with a tourism/hospitality-based economy with the average Thai, the Turk, Indian, Chinese, American and European; I would say the Thai would be your model citizen.

Maybe you cannot build an NYC with Thais but you can def make a place that'll make you forget about the rest of the world.

The grass is always greener at the other side

[Jebhead]

To post #35

Translating languages is not as straight forward as what everyone may think ( especially here in Thailand ), what the person is telling your wife and then what your wife is telling you or vice versa may be very different.

Point to note - you will lose a lot of respect from Thai's for having to drag your wife along to "translate".

JH

I never had that problem loosing respect. In general i can follow a big part of the conversations so i don't worry that much about her translating wrong. If i were with a woman that i would not trust id be a fool and id leave her.

Why on earth stay with someone you don't trust. My Thai is far from perfect so in situations where it is important she will translate. Other then that friendly banter with the locals is not a problem.

I did not imply anything about trust purely that a lot can be lost in translation. Unless they speak both languages 100% fluently ( not many ) it can be very frustrating trying to translate and things may be substituted with something that is easier to say when the correct translation is not known.

You are 100% correct, you cannot stay with someone you do not trust

JH

[Tonto21]

I remember one post which went something on the lines 'beneath all the smiles, they have resentment against westerners' and I'm quite curious why they feel so.

Because they're <deleted>.

Agree completely. They hate foreigners.

I also think most members of these forums are men, they have a different..., er, agenda ( mostly ) and also they get treated a little different than us females as the Thai women are apt to view them as personal family ATM's and treat them accordingly. Also, the married ex pats have their Thai wives running interference for them, dealing with other Thais, etc and may really not be aware of the true ( IMO ) nature of the Thai mentality (Until she screws him over, of course, as evidenced by the myriad of threads running on the subject.)

When I go to Immigration for instance, the foreign men always have a Thai woman doing the talking. They almost never have to really deal with anything on their own. I think they are sheltered from realities.

This is absolutely true and very pathetic. They seem to be joined at the hip and unable to do anything alone, banks / immigration / ordering food / crossing the road - you see it everywhere everyday, very pathetic....

JH

Hi 'jebhead' I would say more human nature than pathetic. When you have someone, (a Thai girlfriend) pushing to do everything, basically to be more than eye candy and trying to get into a position so their farang partner becomes dependent on them. Let's face it, we are all lasy to one degree or another and unless you are aware, or just don't give a toss….You could end up as some 18 year Old's bitch, (great for a weekend, not you life)

Getting things done in Thailand; driving license, housebook, visa's, even ordering food, can be done. You don't need a Thai speaker to run your life, If you do allow this.....You lost and you may not deserve all you get.............But you'll get it anyway.

The choice is yours, what starts with your feeling like a big shot ends in frustration because your relying on another person to run your life……….Time to take your life back guys.

I guaranty most farang that are felling lost in Thailand would feel so much better about themselves by doing something…………….For themselves….Take control of your life. Each journey starts with a single step……..start walking!!!

Edited September 15, 2011 by Tonto21

[Jebhead]

^Well said^

JH

[Banzai99]

Sales people here in this country will tell you what you want to hear to get the sale, lies included. Once you're out the door with your purchase they don't care. Most of them don't have a clue about the product or service they are selling, they don't care....

JH

I have had an entirely different experience. I have never had any problems returning any faulty equipment, I always find the sales staff as helpful as they can be, and if I know more about the product than they do, I'll do my best to help them along. WOW

I always have a positive experience when shopping in Thailand WOW , Hong Kong is another matterW

Maybe, just maybe, they feel your hatred towards them, they pick up your negative vibes ? No, they just don't care - already mentioned!

I pick up those vibes just from a few words on an anonymous forum. WOW

What is this WOW crap, u wanna clue me in pal ?

They don't care about you, I can understand that, I don't care about you either.

Like I said, maybe its the negative vibes you give off that makes Thai people wary of you, I never have and have never had any such problems at all.

You're the problem m8.

[Jebhead]

Sales people here in this country will tell you what you want to hear to get the sale, lies included. Once you're out the door with your purchase they don't care. Most of them don't have a clue about the product or service they are selling, they don't care....

JH

I have had an entirely different experience. I have never had any problems returning any faulty equipment, I always find the sales staff as helpful as they can be, and if I know more about the product than they do, I'll do my best to help them along. WOW

I always have a positive experience when shopping in Thailand WOW , Hong Kong is another matterW

Maybe, just maybe, they feel your hatred towards them, they pick up your negative vibes ? No, they just don't care - already mentioned!

I pick up those vibes just from a few words on an anonymous forum. WOW

What is this WOW crap, u wanna clue me in pal ?

They don't care about you, I can understand that, I don't care about you either.

Like I said, maybe its the negative vibes you give off that makes Thai people wary of you, I never have and have never had any such problems at all.

You're the problem m8.

Breaking news buddy - they don't care about you either - lol

JH

[TingTawng]

The Thai's in any of the heavily populated tourist areas are generally c**ts!! FACT

I've never experienced this myself, even with a couple of years living in Bangkok. In fact I think given the size, Bangkok by far has the friendliest people for a large city I've been to (I've been to a lot of cities). I've never worked in a Thai company before, so that's my one lack of experience here, and I always think you get the true measure of a nation if you work there; as a farang living on the "surface" of Thai society, perhaps I am enjoying a life through the prism of a farang-resting-in-Thailand.

Edited September 15, 2011 by TingTawng

[zzaa09]

Normal Thai's a genrally decent people i agree....i spent 4 years in the boonies here, not another farang in sight and i have nothing but good memories...

The Thai's in any of the heavily populated tourist areas are generally c**ts!! FACT

So...you've figured out that there are created differences throughout the transitional class of Thais within their respective worlds, yes?

Deductive reasoning might provide the logic that separates the character transformaion.

Can you guess what element [elements] manufactures the difference in the two classes of Thai that you've provided above?

[Jebhead]

Normal Thai's a genrally decent people i agree....i spent 4 years in the boonies here, not another farang in sight and i have nothing but good memories...

The Thai's in any of the heavily populated tourist areas are generally c**ts!! FACT

So...you've figured out that there are created differences throughout the transitional class of Thais within their respective worlds, yes?

Deductive reasoning might provide the logic that separates the character transformaion.

Can you guess what element [elements] manufactures the difference in the two classes of Thai that you've provided above?

Is there a prize if i get it right?

JH

[Banzai99]

The Thai's in any of the heavily populated tourist areas are generally c**ts!! FACT

I've never experienced this myself, even with a couple of years living in Bangkok. In fact I think given the size, Bangkok by far has the friendliest people for a large city I've been to (I've been to a lot of cities). I've never worked in a Thai company before, so that's my one lack of experience here, and I always think you get the true measure of a nation if you work there; as a farang living on the "surface" of Thai society, perhaps I am enjoying a life through the prism of a farang-resting-in-Thailand.

I would expect many anti Thai posters have been burnt by Thai women or men and then go on to judge a whole population by their experiences with a 0.000000009999999% of the population.

Its almost as stupid as saying that all Farangs are fat mouthed, fat bodied losers , who hate their own lives and blame Thailand for the mistakes they have made, sure, some are, but its a minority.

Most are worse.

[Jingthing]

Tourists vs. long term expats.

Honeymoon vs. marriage

[zzaa09]

Tourists vs. long term expats.

Honeymoon vs. marriage

....and in many cases, nasty divorces incurr.:jap:

[IanForbes]

Sales people here in this country will tell you what you want to hear to get the sale, lies included. Once you're out the door with your purchase they don't care. Most of them don't have a clue about the product or service they are selling, they don't care....

JH

This is true, but not for how you represented it.

Yes, Thais will try to tell you what they THINK you want to hear, but that is only to be polite. It comes back to the "face" thing again. They don't want to lose face by showing they don't know what you want. That is a problem between a lot of Thai-western communication. I've had some funny experiences when asking directions from a Thai who spoke just enough English to answer me, but not enough to know what I asked. Just because I was sent off in the wrong direction does not mean it was intentional. It just means the Thai giving instructions was trying to be helpful but didn't know what I said.

[Jebhead]

Sales people here in this country will tell you what you want to hear to get the sale, lies included. Once you're out the door with your purchase they don't care. Most of them don't have a clue about the product or service they are selling, they don't care....

JH

This is true, but not for how you represented it.

Yes, Thais will try to tell you what they THINK you want to hear, but that is only to be polite. It comes back to the "face" thing again. They don't want to lose face by showing they don't know what you want. That is a problem between a lot of Thai-western communication. I've had some funny experiences when asking directions from a Thai who spoke just enough English to answer me, but not enough to know what I asked. Just because I was sent off in the wrong direction does not mean it was intentional. It just means the Thai giving instructions was trying to be helpful but didn't know what I said.

Do you think he cared if you got lost or not?

JH

[IanForbes]

Do you think he cared if you got lost or not?

JH

I don't think he even thought about it. I believe he thought he had sent me to where I wanted to go. I believe that it was Tonto21 that said to take control over your OWN life and leave the rest to others. Life is an adventure worth living and the downfalls are often more memorable than the good days. They make for better stories later.

[Jebhead]

Do you think he cared if you got lost or not?

JH

I don't think he even thought about it. I believe he thought he had sent me to where I wanted to go. I believe that it was Tonto21 that said to take control over your OWN life and leave the rest to others. Life is an adventure worth living and the downfalls are often more memorable than the good days. They make for better stories later.

Quality.....

JH

[WhingeingMoaners]

I lost all respect and good will around the end of my first year when a horse was dying in a very horrid and painful manner and the Thai neighbors just thought that was the funniest thing they had ever seen and were giggling in that simpering, infuriating manner they have. In fact the horrid conditions most animals are kept in really lowers my view considerably.

Check out the starving horse cruelty thread in Phuket forum

http://www.thaivisa....elty-to-horses/

I find the populace is really money oriented and greedy. Maybe no more so than anywhere else but it seems to be a point of pride to be selfish- look at how they drive.

Of course your hired help will always be nice, but my experience is that smile is all about procuring funds. Two-faced is how I would describe the mores and the wholesale selling off of the women in money oriented marriages to " whitey" and as sex workers is disgusting.

I'm here in Malaysia right now and the difference is amazing. Not one person has referred to me as "Whitey" . I asked my driver today what the slang tem for Cuacasians was and he was a bit embarrased but told me and I realized I hadn't heard it once in my presence and the overtures of friendship from other patrons at the stable feel genuine and not based on how much money they will get off me.

If we wanted to make generalisations about a particular group, race and nation based on the way some people behave, it would be safe to assume that all Caucasian men are potential child molesters, even though it is untrue.

[wedders]

Generally positive for me too. Lived in Chiang Mai mostly, hardly ever socialised with expats, spent 99% of my time with Thais. Never ripped off, cannot think of a single occasion when I wasn't treated with respect. Rented several houses, always got my deposit back in full. The only idiots I ever came across were farangs staggering around the bars, mouthing off and looking for trouble.

[Aloof]

I remember one post which went something on the lines 'beneath all the smiles, they have resentment against westerners' and I'm quite curious why they feel so.

Because they're <deleted>.

Agree completely. They hate foreigners.

I also think most members of these forums are men, they have a different..., er, agenda ( mostly ) and also they get treated a little different than us females as the Thai women are apt to view them as personal family ATM's and treat them accordingly. Also, the married ex pats have their Thai wives running interference for them, dealing with other Thais, etc and may really not be aware of the true ( IMO ) nature of the Thai mentality (Until she screws him over, of course, as evidenced by the myriad of threads running on the subject.)

When I go to Immigration for instance, the foreign men always have a Thai woman doing the talking. They almost never have to really deal with anything on their own. I think they are sheltered from realities.

Firstly, you miss understood the posts you quoted. He was saying the people who believe that are <deleted> not Thai people.

Secondly, you may want to sit down before I tell you this as it may blow your mind. Some of us men have actually managed to learn to speak Thai.

Edited September 15, 2011 by Aloof

[cdnvic]

One personal attack removed, please keep it civil.