A Farang Beggar

[Prudent_rabbit]

With the sign saying what it does, sounds very very very simillar to the man that used to have a same sign outside MBK, he was there for about 2 months every weekend but this is over 6 months ago, 30 ish fairly respectable, not dirty at all and certainly didnt look like a down and out

[jumbo]

a good 5-6 years ago I saw a Brit sitting in front of a McDonalds at Ploenchit

he was holding out a carton cup of coke

I passed him, looked at him and he looked up wiht this strange look in his eyes, lookign shabby and all

On the way back I though some coins in his cup, he stood up and to my surprise started shouting at my why I through coins in his coke.....hehe, needless to say I was a little ashamed, but d..mn he looked shabby...a real britton??

[uhuh]

the guy who is 8000 B short to buy his ticket home was begging at BTS Onnut 2 weeks ago. I didn't like it when I saw him.

[Abandon]

Maybe he is training to work for the police.

[Neeranam]

The first thing that comes to mind is maybe he's a addict,

Probably has resources for plane fare and subsistence but not much extra to feed his habit. Then again he may be telling the truth. IMHO it takes extradinary circumstances to be reduced to street begging. dry.gif

I don't think becoming an addict or alkie is an extraordinary circumstance.

It is a disease that any of us could get! And many would be surprised what lengths one goes to to feed their 'habit'.

What can you do to help?

Try phoning NA or AA and tell them the guys whereabouts.

There are some people in these groups who would be glad of the chance to try and help someone, insuring their own recovery. These guys can help where 'normal' guys cannot.

The guy begging or down and out will listen to someone who has been through similar experiences.

AA(Alcoholics Anonymous) - English 02 231-8300 - โทร. 06 528-5979

NA(Narcotics Anonymous) - 02-231-8080

Altenratively you can say the guy is a bum and it is all his own fault.

[baht&sold]

About a month ago, just before Victory Monument skytrain entrance, I was startled to see a farang guy playing guitar (badly) with an open case. The lady ahead of me put 20 baht in it and judging by his take, he was doing a brisk trade.

Ahead of the farang, was an elderly Thai man, obviously in a bad way, missing a leg, plastic cup, waiing, not getting much attn at all. Not making judgements here but it was strange to witness.

[Neeranam]

Maybe the novelty value.

If I saw a Thai beggar in my country playing the Isaan flute, I'd give him some money.

[Mighty Mouse]

a good 5-6 years ago I saw a Brit sitting in front of a McDonalds at Ploenchit

he was holding out a carton cup of coke

I passed him, looked at him and he looked up wiht this strange look in his eyes, lookign shabby and all

On the way back I though some coins in his cup, he stood up and to my surprise started shouting at my why I through coins in his coke.....hehe, needless to say I was a little ashamed, but d..mn he looked shabby...a real britton??

No wonder he was angry !!!

He probably had paid a small fortune for his coke and just before he gets a chance to snort it up his nostrils, you come along, throw coins into it and scatter his lines.

[Rinrada]

the guy who is 8000 B short to buy his ticket home was begging at BTS Onnut 2 weeks ago. I didn't like it when I saw him.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Probably only flys Business Class

[BambinA]

the guy who is 8000 B short to buy his ticket home was begging at BTS Onnut 2 weeks ago. I didn't like it when I saw him.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Probably only flys Business Class

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

after read..seem he does it more than 2 mths ..now methinks he will get Airforce 1 soon

[meadish_sweetball]

Thwow him to we floow.

[Slim Chance]

A FARANG BEGGAR??? OH MY GOD!!!

How utterly revolting! I may be sick….

Good thing the above highly evolved & oh-so-enlightened minds have figured out that he’s probably not really in need of a plane ticket home. Such commendable observations! Such brilliant detective work!

And the degree at which the posters are embarrassed to have a fellow whitey sitting on the sidewalk with a sign is indeed a credit to indignant honkeys everywhere.

Yes, you’re right -- HE DESERVES PUNISHMENT!

But methinks a lousy little round of virtual pile-up on the net is letting the un-knowing rogue off extremely lightly, no?

If you need some ideas on how these bums are dealt with in the west, just read the newspapers from Europe and the U.S.. Every now and then there’s a story about how a group of upset youthful citizens who couldn’t bear this type of outrageous behavior any longer did society a favor and dealt with some offensive dirty bum with a splash of battery acid to the face or a good petro dousing and the well-aimed application of the old zippo flame.

That’ll teach those phony beggars to sit on the side-walk asking us good moneyed folk for our cash.

And when you finish off the beggars, there's always the whores, whoremongers and drunkards to deal with.

[cdnvic]

It's funny when people get excited, over-react and make a big deal out of nothing.

Nobody suggested anything the least violent. Most are just wondering why this person would not go to their embassy if truely in distress rather than taking money that would be better spend on those who really didn't have any other means (or legs even). Its bad enough when locals have to beg, but when tourists join in and soak up some of the funds that could go to landmine victims then its natural that some people would be offended.

cv

A FARANG BEGGAR??? OH MY GOD!!!

How utterly revolting! I may be sick….

Good thing the above highly evolved & oh-so-enlightened minds have figured out that he’s probably not really in need of a plane ticket home. Such commendable observations! Such brilliant detective work!

And the degree at which the posters are embarrassed to have a fellow whitey sitting on the sidewalk with a sign is indeed a credit to indignant honkeys everywhere.

Yes, you’re right -- HE DESERVES PUNISHMENT!

But methinks a lousy little round of virtual pile-up on the net is letting the un-knowing rogue off extremely lightly, no?

If you need some ideas on how these bums are dealt with in the west, just read the newspapers from Europe and the U.S.. Every now and then there’s a story about how a group of upset youthful citizens who couldn’t bear this type of outrageous behavior any longer did society a favor and dealt with some offensive dirty bum with a splash of battery acid to the face or a good petro dousing and the well-aimed application of the old zippo flame.

That’ll teach those phony beggars to sit on the side-walk asking us good moneyed folk for our cash.

And when you finish off the beggars, there's always the whores, whoremongers and drunkards to deal with.

[unforgiven]

So you think that farangs are never broke?

a popular misconseption, have a little compassion, the guy may be stuck 1000's of miles from home and his doing at least something to get himself back. we are not all walking ATM's

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ya maybe he's orfan or is not good with his family so he ran away to Thailand to forget....you said he's been to a number of bts,,, well it would take some time to save 8,000 bt and slill live,, I doubt any thai's would give him anything...

[leftcross]

I would never give any money to anyone on the street, as instructed by the Thai government and police force.

The limbless/burns/blind brigade all over town are part of organised gangs. If you want to help people in need then support an organisation that takes care of these people.

Giving money to criminals funds criminal enterprises, which harms society for everyone.

I've never seen a farang begging but if I did I would alert the police straight away. It's disgraceful.

[cdnvic]

I would never give any money to anyone on the street, as instructed by the Thai government and police force.

The limbless/burns/blind brigade all over town are part of organised gangs. If you want to help people in need then support an organisation that takes care of these people.

Giving money to criminals funds criminal enterprises, which harms society for everyone.

I've never seen a farang begging but if I did I would alert the police straight away. It's disgraceful.

You must have been popular in school.

cv

[leftcross]

No beggars at my school

[jezchesters]

I can see both points...

I used to live in Bergerac (France) and there was guy that was a very well known beggar - thing was he used to be one of the town's top accountants. The firm went bust, he was down on his luck and started begging in the street. Everyone 'appreciated' how far he had fallen, how much he must be missing his lifestyle, so he was very well looked after. Suffice to sat when I met him, he had never missed a mortgage payment, still owned his Merc etc etc...

When I asked other people in the town whether they were aware of this, they all replied that they were. They figured that there is no point giving an 'accountant' beggar 10 Francs coz that wouldn't pay for anything. So he was getting 100 Francs a hit because of his 'status'...

The 'real' homeless guys were getting 5-10 Francs a hit becuase the local population's attitude was - 'hey! He's got a free homeless shelter to go to, gets free soup, probably only needs the money for cheap wine, so 10 Francs should do him'...

Get that! The really needy get less money because they've got less overheads???!!!!

Same over here - 10 Baht is good for a Thai beggar, because if you get a handful of those a day you're on decent money...

When you meet a farang beggar, better give him 500 Baht coz he's got a plane to catch, and flight tickets are expensive right?

Like they say - its up to you

[WhiteShiva]

I would never give any money to anyone on the street, as instructed by the Thai government and police force.

The limbless/burns/blind brigade all over town are part of organised gangs. If you want to help people in need then support an organisation that takes care of these people.

Giving money to criminals funds criminal enterprises, which harms society for everyone.

I've never seen a farang begging but if I did I would alert the police straight away. It's disgraceful.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You must have been popular in school.

cv

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dunno how popular he was in school, but he certainly seems to see things for what they are. The beggers you see in Sukhumvit & Silom are well organised, and probably make more than your average Thai office worker does. By giving them money, you are adding to the problem.

As for the farang begger - yes, I would alert the police if they were around. Would do the same if I spotted a Thai begger in my own country.

[Patsycat]

Beggers can`t be..... I would give my dross change or i would go and buy him a coffee or some food,

In Edinburgh they sit with blankets and a dog with sad eyes who as the sign would say is hungry... It must take a lot of guts to beg in BKK so i think these guys are for real - but if he is a druggie then there is no hope for him. Just don`t give cash, give food and water etc.

[leisurely]

Never seen the one described, but I did see a farang coouple on the walkway near Pantip recently. They were what can only loosly be described as busking, she strumming a tatty childs guitar and he ululating.

On a different note, when we first arrived here I was walking to the BTS near Bumrungrad when I saw what I presumed to be a blind family. Mum singing, dad operating tape machine and child looking forlorn. I gave our daughter some money to put into their icecream box bank and just as she was putting the money in (very self importantly I may add) blind mum slid a piece of cardboard out from under a rather large pile of coins and hid it all from view. Since then the only beggars I have given to are the women who are breast feeding babies. And I don't give money, normally a snack from a vendor and some water.

[Soph]

Well I have a confession to make - it was actually me disguised as a scruffy bloke

If you saw my previous thread about being skint im sure you will all be very understanding.

he he he he ha ha ha ha

[mrbojangles]

  Well I have a confession to make - it was actually me disguised as a scruffy bloke 

If you saw my previous thread about being skint im sure you will all be very understanding. 

he he he he ha ha ha ha 

And you wasn't actually begging for your airfare home but for the Taxi ride to the TV Christmas Pi55 Up

[Fast Eddie]

I once had a conversation with a guy who was travelling around thailand, who informed me that on a previous visit he had spent two months living on the streets in Bangkok when he ran out of money, begging, rather than returning home to the UK. The lengths some people will go to in order to avoid having to return to reality is quite incredible.

I certainly won't be giving any falang beggars any money, and will instead direct them to their embassy.

[Soph]

  Well I have a confession to make - it was actually me disguised as a scruffy bloke 

If you saw my previous thread about being skint im sure you will all be very understanding. 

he he he he ha ha ha ha 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And you wasn't actually begging for your airfare home but for the Taxi ride to the TV Christmas Pi55 Up

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sounds about right to me - hence dressing like a scruffy bloke to try and fit in a bit better

[lv2play]

Good thing his girlfriend dumped him (I hope this happend for the girl). What a loser. Shows how dumb people in Netherland are. He's embarassing me. Same goes for his ex. They are both embarassing me. My reputation down the drain. Thanks alot

Fanta Rood,i,m wondering if you come from the Netherlands yourself,what a mr.moron !!!

Guesthouse,the true spirit for travellers,anyone can end up in trouble while traveling,specially in countries like India.

I,ve been there,had small problems,had help and gave help.

Just listen to the people and decide if they are lieing or not.

Another good advice if you don,t trust them ....give them food ,no money !!!

BTW,this Dutch guy is a professional beggar,when the planes leave to the Netherlands he,s begging at the airport just infront of the taxcounter,saying he has no money left for the airport tax.

When i asked him for his ticket or boardingpass he just smiled and walked off.

He probable makes more money then most of us.

[Abandon]

The limbless/burns/blind brigade all over town are part of organised gangs. If you want to help people in need then support an organisation that takes care of these people.

Giving money to criminals funds criminal enterprises, which harms society for everyone.

I've never seen a farang begging but if I did I would alert the police straight away. It's disgraceful.

You must have been popular in school.

cv

LOL

[raybkk]

Yes, I agree with BambinA - I smell a rat.

I am pretty sure that the embassy would at least be able to assist in some way if his story is genuine - even if it came to organising contact with friends or family back in his home country.

I should think that 2 months begging on the street would have been more than enough reason for his government to make emergency arrangements - maybe get a ticket organised that he must pay back when he gets home, rather than illegally begging.

Something odd here, IF the guys story is genuine...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well. if he realy comes from Holland then it very well possible that he has to beg while being broke. I have found myself in a situation once where I had no money to return back home in a urgent situation and guess what?! The Dutch embassy wont even reach out one finger!

Thank got my Thai friends helped me out at that time. I have no respect for some of the people at the Dutch embassy for the way they treat you.

[Insight]

I seen this guy about 2 months back at Phrom Pong BTS and didn't buy his story.

However, I've been sprung at Don Muang once. Standing outside Terminal 2 departures having a cig, an Ozzie girl approached me. She was shaking, half in tears and told be how she'd had her purse stolen containing all cash and credit cards. She started to take off her ring, asking if I'd buy it for the 500 baht airport tax. Just gave her the cash and said don't worry about it.

She thanked me, hugged me, then disappeared. Never seen her again (but then again, not likely to at an airport). If it was an act, it's was a bloody good one as I was chuffed with myself at the end of it...

[Heng]

I don't know about all embassies, but I have to drop by the US embassy from time to time and the folks down on their luck there... seems to always be at least one complaining or pitching a hard luck story at the window at American Citizen Services... one gets the overall impression that the embassy folks could care less that you're broke and have no way home.