A Question For Expats

[BKK90210]

A question of all...EXPATS...

Having been in Thailand long enough...

What are some misconceptions about Thailand that you want to tell... the world...the tourists...or the new comers about?

It could be about the country, or where you live, or life in general...etc.

[cdnvic]

Forget what the travel guides tell you about street food. Using a little common sense I've NEVER been sick from street vendor food.

cv

[Boon Mee]

Forget what the travel guides tell you about street food. Using a little common sense I've NEVER been sick from street vendor food.

cv

Same here.

In fact, street food often tastes much better than that from a proper 'sit-down' restaurant. Just be careful of certain combinations like Durian and alcohol and you'll do fine. Develop a taste for 'Som Tom'

[Simmo]

Forget what the travel guides tell you about street food. Using a little common sense I've NEVER been sick from street vendor food.

cv

I was on a similar run of 18 months of street food with no ill effects.

Last Friday Night was spent riding the porcelain bus after a dodgy pad thai.

[PeaceBlondie]

I think many people overseas don't have misconceptions about Thailand, as much as simple ignorance. That's okay; what do most of us know about a lot of places?

Living in the big city, you might tell them, "We don't have elephants in the road." But outside of Chiang Mai, and on the outskirts of Hua Hin, we have domesticated elephants, bulls and cows, and horses walking in the road. Road hazards, including their droppings.

I would tell them that all of Thailand is in the tropics, but the mountains in the north are almost at freezing in the winter, at night. We have endless miles of gulf and seacoast beaches.

I would explain how a Buddhist country is not like historical Christian countries.

I would tell them that Thailand does not have a brothel on every corner.

That Thais are generally a gentle, non-violent, polite people (but not always, of course).

I would tell them that Bangkok is a huge cosmopolitan metropolitan city with skytrains, subways, and skyscrapers.

Most Westerners know so little about Thailand that they may say, "Oh, Taiwan, yes..."

[Richard Hall]

In most cases it is NOT Thailand or her people what may get foreigners into trouble but more likely the cause is to be sought by themselves. Don't believe the myths.

Be always decent and respectful and a smile too much is better than one insufficient. Last but not least don't leave your brain at home not even when you are on holidays.

Welcome to Thailand.

[BKK90210]

Most Westerners know so little about Thailand that they may say, "Oh, Taiwan, yes..."

I live in Seattle. Surprisingly I got asked this question too often...when I told them that...

I'm going to Thailand

Oh...you mean Thaiwan?....can you speak Thaiwanese?

Or

I have a Thai friend and she is Thai-chinese from Bangkok...light white/yellow skin. Most people here told her that she doesn't look like a Thai person....they all think that all Thais have dark skin! She has to explain to them that Thailand has many parts and each part of the country people do look a bit differently than other parts, including dialects as well!

[UncleDonald]

The street food danger myth is odd, but it appears to be a Western prejudice that an expensive "regulated" establishment must be better than something on the street. When you think about it though, the opportunity for spoiled food and bad practices is much greater when things are done behind the scenes. This is easily and distressingly confirmed when you take a peek into many back kitchens. I believe that it is also true that most "Thai food" eaten in Bangkok "Thai restaurants" is not very good.

[Uma~~]

In most cases it is NOT Thailand or her people what may get foreigners into trouble but more likely the cause is to be sought by themselves. Don't believe the myths.

Be always decent and respectful and a smile too much is better than one insufficient. Last but not least don't leave your brain at home not even when you are on holidays.

Welcome to Thailand.

I agree with this, though with the case of Katherine Horton she was just very unlucky indeed and as I have said to friends back home as well as my mum, that was a rare case and something that happens far more frequently at home.

Thailand get's unfair coverage in the British press so I defend the country wherever I can.

[richb2004]

The street food danger myth is odd, but it appears to be a Western prejudice that an expensive "regulated" establishment must be better than something on the street. When you think about it though, the opportunity for spoiled food and bad practices is much greater when things are done behind the scenes. This is easily and distressingly confirmed when you take a peek into many back kitchens. I believe that it is also true that most "Thai food" eaten in Bangkok "Thai restaurants" is not very good.

Surely regulated food establishments have got to be safer than vendors cooking on a dark pavement with piles of rubbish and leftovers all over the place. I appreciate that not all of them are like that but many are. I eat from vendors most days and have had stomach upset a couple of times, but wonder how I haven’t had it more often. Obviously using discretion and avoiding the real dirty looking establishments helps.

[Curt]

Surely regulated food establishments have got to be safer than vendors cooking on a dark pavement with piles of rubbish and leftovers all over the place. I appreciate that not all of them are like that but many are. I eat from vendors most days and have had stomach upset a couple of times, but wonder how I haven’t had it more often. Obviously using discretion and avoiding the real dirty looking establishments helps.

In Bangkok, "regulated" usually just means one more bribe to pay.

I have seen prep work for granite-clad, upscale joints being done in the alley out back, next to the trash and garbage!

The 2 times I picked up a bug followed salads (from real restaurants).

Other than that, the worst is temporary indigestion.

I am really beginning to shy away from non-cooked items, whether from the street or in an established restaurant.

But, I'll eat anything "hot-off-the-grill".

[Butterfly]

Forget what the travel guides tell you about street food. Using a little common sense I've NEVER been sick from street vendor food.

cv

Same here.

In fact, street food often tastes much better than that from a proper 'sit-down' restaurant. Just be careful of certain combinations like Durian and alcohol and you'll do fine. Develop a taste for 'Som Tom'

That was true a few years ago, but the food in the street has been getting worse. Quality went down a lot as vendors couldn't really raise their prices. Quantity and Quality has suffered instead.

Apart from a few places (Nana midnight food market along Sukhumvit), you should AVOID those places at ALL COSTS. They are bad and dangerous. Washing the dishes with water from the street is not exactly healthy. Some expats have strong stomach and can take it but even some Thais are getting sick from the street food. What do you expect with a 40 baht meal ?

A question of all...EXPATS...

Having been in Thailand long enough...

What are some misconceptions about Thailand that you want to tell... the world...the tourists...or the new comers about?

It could be about the country, or where you live, or life in general...etc.

That all those beatitful Thai girls walking slowly and elegantly in the streets are not hookers

That Thais are generally a gentle, non-violent, polite people (but not always, of course).

I think you are the ones with the misconception here... Thais are hot blooded... waiting to erupt when given a chance... they are just being polite because they don't want to lose face... give them a car with tinted window and their true nature will show and they will become as impolite as any farangs... this doesn't make them bad people... they are just like everyone else...

[IMA_FARANG]

I think many people overseas don't have misconceptions about Thailand, as much as simple ignorance. That's okay; what do most of us know about a lot of places?

Living in the big city, you might tell them, "We don't have elephants in the road." But outside of Chiang Mai, and on the outskirts of Hua Hin, we have domesticated elephants, bulls and cows, and horses walking in the road. Road hazards, including their droppings.

I would tell them that all of Thailand is in the tropics, but the mountains in the north are almost at freezing in the winter, at night. We have endless miles of gulf and seacoast beaches.

I would explain how a Buddhist country is not like historical Christian countries.

I would tell them that Thailand does not have a brothel on every corner.

That Thais are generally a gentle, non-violent, polite people (but not always, of course).

I would tell them that Bangkok is a huge cosmopolitan metropolitan city with skytrains, subways, and skyscrapers.

Most Westerners know so little about Thailand that they may say, "Oh, Taiwan, yes..."

Funny just last week my Greek-American supervisor, when I meantioned I was going to THAILAND made a comment about TAIWAN and then told me a long story about his experiences in HONG KONG.

I didn't have the heart to try and explain the difference between those three places.

Does anyone remember the ambassaorial cabdidate that Ronald Reagan wanted to make the U.S. ambassador to NEW ZEALAND. A radio station in Christchurch wanted to do an interview with her. For at least five minutes she carried on with the interviewer about how anxious to meet the bushman and go see the Kangaroos and Koala bears. Seems she thought they were talking about AUSTRALIA. Fortuneatly she never did get approved as the ambassador

Edited January 25, 2006 by IMA_FARANG

[Tippaporn]

Don't fall for the misconception that all Thai women are beautiful. Just most of them.

[mittheimp]

One of the biggest misconceptions about thailand (and other places too) is that you can make accurate meaningful generalisations about a nation with 60 million inhabitants in a few sentences.

[Jim 50]

No info on this thread

[Godders]

I agree with this, though with the case of Katherine Horton she was just very unlucky indeed and as I have said to friends back home as well as my mum, that was a rare case and something that happens far more frequently at home.

Thailand get's unfair coverage in the British press so I defend the country wherever I can.

It depends what you mean by rare, and who you are talking about. While relatively few foreign tourists who come here get sexually assaulted and/or murdered, such events are by no means uncommon. Violence is endemic in Thailand, and visitors experience occasionally what Thais have to put up with all the time and regard as normal. Those fall in love with the Land of Smiles, and stay on as residents run a far greater risk of falling victim to crimes like rape, murder and violent robberty which are commonplace. Why is the humblest Bangkok shophouse protected by steel shutters, with iron cages around balanconies and windows that only Spiderman could reach? Why do taxi and bus drivers habitually carry weapons? Why do Thai wives forewarn their falang husbands not to go jogging on the beach in their Buddha necklaces or draw money from an ATM in a quiet street? Most of us who have lived here for a while know someone who has been a victim of violence. A good friend of mine was murdered for his money, another seriously injured by a Thai business rival who knocked him off his motorbike. The man who sold me my house had to hire a bodyguard to scare off a gang that was out for his blood. He paid 500 baht a day. for his minder - a Magnum-toting policeman, happy to do a bit of moonlighting. You can hire a hit man to do your maiming or murdering - the going rate can be just a few thousand baht, depending on the status and nationality of the target. Falang tourists like poor Ms Horton constitute only a very small proportion of population - hence the relatively small number victims. It's the indigenous Thais who suffer most from crimes of violence as the moral constraints of traditional religion are being shed along with the growth of materialism (Maybe now you understand those Thai protests against extending "free trade" with the West!) Just check out the Thai newspapers' front pages any day and do a body count from the gory pictures. On second thoughts, if you are a visitor to LOS, it's probably better for your peace of mind that you don't. Keep your misconceptions and enjoy without inhibition or reservation the many good things that still make life here, on balance, preferable to most expats from the one they left behind.

Holidays, after all, are about escaping from reality.

[GuestHouse]

I'd tell them to disregard what ever they might have been told or believe about Thais/Thailand being [insert good charecteristic of your choice], and what ever they have been told about Thais/Thailand being [insert good charecteristic of your choice].

I would explain to them that Thais and Thailand are just like people and countries the world over. There is nothing inherently better than other peoples and places, nothing inherently worse.

Some things are better, some things are worse but the sum total is the same.

Not always the same good things, but often different good things. Not always the same bad things, but often different bad things.

[Tippaporn]

One of the biggest misconceptions about thailand (and other places too) is that you can make accurate meaningful generalisations about a nation with 60 million inhabitants in a few sentences.

I'd tell them to disregard what ever they might have been told or believe about Thais/Thailand being [insert good charecteristic of your choice], and what ever they have been told about Thais/Thailand being [insert good charecteristic of your choice].

I would explain to them that Thais and Thailand are just like people and countries the world over. There is nothing inherently better than other peoples and places, nothing inherently worse.

Some things are better, some things are worse but the sum total is the same.

Not always the same good things, but often different good things. Not always the same bad things, but often different bad things.

Whatdayaknow, Guesthouse. Well put and I actually agree with you.

Now, let me mention further that . . .

[wamberal]

I think that the biggest misconception is to do with the Thai smile........

Just because somebody smiles at you, does not necessarily mean that they are happy, or pleased to see you, or anything in particular other than that they are being polite. The smile is part of the culture in a way that it just isn't in western countries.

As a Thai friend said to me once "when they stop smiling, watch out!"

Edited January 25, 2006 by wamberal

[skylar]

That Thais look at actions and situations rather than words and make judgements based upon them - they "read into" a lot of signs. For example, in Bangkok if you walk around in hideous velcro sandals with 2 or more pieces of adidas clothing, you are most likely to be a British tourist. If you walk around town wearing a bikini/bikini like top or without a shirt you are a tourist as well as being easy. If you wear closed toe shoes in an area where everyone wears flip flops/thongs, you are not from there (and vice versa). They look at the details, whereas Westerners only see, really.

Oh, and that Thailand is a multicultural society, just not in the same way it is in the UK, Australia or the States.

[Richard Hall]

I think you are the ones with the misconception here... Thais are hot blooded... waiting to erupt when given a chance...

Oops, pardon me but according to my English text books the expression of "Thais" stand for the people of Thailand.

Individuals featuring the characteristics indicated are usually referred to as bullies, thugs, hooligans and so on rather than brought into dircet context of a specific nation and/or its people. If done, however, this is a classical case of misconception.

Edited January 27, 2006 by Richard Hall

[Noel]

One of the biggest misconceptions has to be that all expats by definition know what they are talking about.

I still shudder at the crap the 'Bar Room Barristers' trot out.

Oh, and every expat bar 'owner' makes a fortune...

[Butterfly]

Don't fall for the misconception that all Thai women are beautiful. Just most of them.

most is good enough as a proxy for all

Generalization means exactly this, most, not all, too many people in this thread are forgetting about this when refuting the "generalization"

Oh, and every expat bar 'owner' makes a fortune...

Some do, not all

[steveromagnino]

I think you are the ones with the misconception here... Thais are hot blooded... waiting to erupt when given a chance...

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5555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555.......

Of the countries I've lived in and visited, I'd say Thailand is the place you are least likely to suffer a random bash up or get into a fight for no reason (and that's compared to NZ, Australia, America, Korea, HK, Singapore).

I'd say if you want to really wind someone up, and you push hard enough, then at some point Thai people will snap. But the tolerance level is FAR higher than the aggressive people I've had run ins with in other countries, who, especially with liquor involved, are what I would call hot blooded. Specifically, sports events, nights out, school, university and looking slightly different (i.e. not white in some neighbourhoods, or for white people wandering into non white areas) were sufficent to enjoy the health benefits of a good brawl - I've never seen that sort of thing here.

Therefore, I'll disagree with the hot blooded bit.

Biggest misconceptions I deal with are:

- you living in a 3rd world country must mean you can't make any money

- that everyone and everything is corrupt and stacked against you so you cannot make money

I'd guess that the most drivel I hear about Thailand is from the self proclaimed experts who spent one 2 day holiday here and now know everything about it rather than the never been here people.

[Ladphrao]

I find the biggest misconception is that "tourist" Thailand is typical of Thailand. I live out in the "Burbs," and prviosuly did some work upcountry in an non-tourist area, and no one ever asks me if I want a massage or tries to sell me overpriced stuff. The Thais that most tourists come into contact with, sidewalk vendors, touts, or "working" girls or boys, and such, do not behavior in a typical Thai manner when they are on the job. They develop a special work personality that helps them make money. In contrast, most Thais live pretty "normal" lives and are not constantly looking for ways to sucker the foreigner out of money. Different lives yes, but mostly normal lives from what I can see. But I do realize after years of living here and being married to a Thai for a double digit number of years, that I will never completely understand Thailand or Thai culture though.

steveromagnino

good point, I think what happens occasionally is foreigners have a misconception that Thais are Push-overs and some foreigners act in overly aggressive ways that they wouldn't at home because they think they can get away with it. I'm sure there are cases where a foreigner takes a beating "for no reason," but do know I have never been threatened physically or felt uncomfortable here in Thailand, but I was threatened in the US (for no reason) on one of my recent trips home. Thais ARE gentle people, but not as gentle or submissive as it appears on the surface, especially if some loud mouth obnoxious Farang insults them.

Edited January 27, 2006 by Ladphrao

[robitusson]

Biggest misconception about Thailand? "The nightlife in Bangkok is great!" You hear it everywhere. It's in every guide book and brochure. Truth is unless you're reeeaaally keen on drinking in whore-bars or dancing drunkenly to 50 Cent and other chart rubbish on Khao San road there's actually very little to do of genuine interest in Bangkok at night. There's plenty of places to go, true but they're virtually all the same dull standard.

[paulnuek]

Don't fall for the misconception that all Thai women are beautiful. Just most of them.

I heard a man talking in a bar once.

He said he saw ugly Thai women.

When I asked him where he saw her he said in Taiwan......

[Uma~~]

Most Westerners know so little about Thailand that they may say, "Oh, Taiwan, yes..."

I live in Seattle. Surprisingly I got asked this question too often...when I told them that...

I'm going to Thailand

Oh...you mean Thaiwan?....can you speak Thaiwanese?

I get that a lot back home too.

[thaibebop]

Most Westerners know so little about Thailand that they may say, "Oh, Taiwan, yes..."

I live in Seattle. Surprisingly I got asked this question too often...when I told them that...

I'm going to Thailand

Oh...you mean Thaiwan?....can you speak Thaiwanese?

I get that a lot back home too.

It took over a year for the entire side of my fathers family to stop refering to my wife (Thai) as Taiwanese.