Im not justifying anything including the ridiculous assumptions being made about me, you think i cant be happy because I dont like Thai culture.

Fdog assumes I am unhappy no doubt he assumes many other things wrongly by the implied wording in his post.

OK, apart from the early retirement and well paid spouse, how and where do you handle the 'cultural deficiency' of your chosen abode and stay so obviously, superbly unruffled and incredibly happy?

I have little to do with Thais at all and grit my teeth a lot when I do

Why are there those that have been living here for some time and still dont know the "rules" ? After all it's not that difficult a custom to understand and follow.

If you are older, you don't initiate the wai. If someone wais you then depending on their age and status you reciprocate with either a "nod and a smile" , a wai at chest level, a wai at chin level, (A wai higher than this is absolutely unnecessary unless you have just met your God.

The ridiculous myth that westerners should automatically wai all and sundry has been propagated by Thais and books such as Lonely Planet. ( I cringe every time I witness some westerner initiating a wai to the 7-11 staff or Tuk Tuk driver)

Perhaps these people you laugh at just want to show the natives that they are not one of the xxxxxxx influx, and are making an effort eh.

This is utter tripe but great PC though. You'd be a great polly. I didnt say laugh, I said cringe..look it up in a dictionary. Just observe the Thais themselves. Maybe you just don't know what you're talking about.

Don't have to use a dictionary, but thanks anyway. And as your a Newbie l think you should watch your manners to someone older than you and Wai me. Where do these guys come from. ..............

The funniest Wai I ever saw was this Farang, when he entered the room he bent over like Groucho Marx criss-cruising the room, and held the wai-ing hands in front of himself, about hip-high. Then while still walking nodded his head to everybody, clasped hands in up-and-down motion.

Why Groucho Marx came into my mind ? Guess he would have waied like this if it was part of his show . . . .

Excuse me, but the PEOPLE make culture. It's not something carved in stone.

I started to go off the "culture" when I saw how badly they treat animals. Seeing a live fish being cooked was a definite "turn off" moment.

Meanwhile, in the civilised west, thousands, maybe millions of crab and lobsters are boiled alive daily. More news at ten.

Which is why I won't eat them, and I dislike their "culture" too. So your point is?

Im not justifying anything including the ridiculous assumptions being made about me, you think i cant be happy because I dont like Thai culture.

Fdog assumes I am unhappy no doubt he assumes many other things wrongly by the implied wording in his post.

OK, apart from the early retirement and well paid spouse, how and where do you handle the 'cultural deficiency' of your chosen abode and stay so obviously, superbly unruffled and incredibly happy?

I have little to do with Thais at all and grit my teeth a lot when I do

A man after my own heart.

I had an unpleasant incident with a local appliance store that sold me something that was not what I wanted, due to their erroneous signage ( claimed that a 29 inch tv was 32 inch ) I ended up with the wrong appliance and when my wife complained gave her the brush off. However, when I went there in person and got very unpleasant with them, they agreed to give my money back, very quickly, probably because I was scaring the other customers.

I noticed that they had changed the incorrect sign with a magic marker. Absolutely rubbish way to sell stuff and treat customers.

But they get away with it with Thai customers because they know they won't make a scene.

Im not justifying anything including the ridiculous assumptions being made about me, you think i cant be happy because I dont like Thai culture.

Fdog assumes I am unhappy no doubt he assumes many other things wrongly by the implied wording in his post.

I am happier the less I am involved with Thai "culture".

I don't include the tourist bar scene, as when I was single I just LOVED it, but many on here claim that it's not part of Thai culture, just some abberation caused by tourists.

I think any town that is involved with farangs in a big way is far superior than a bog standard Thai town for the quality of the infrastructure and things to do. I am getting rather tired of the very poor roads and lack of any infrastructure service in the large Thai ( almost no farangs ) town in which I live. I'd be back to Pattaya in a flash if it were possible.

... The bad choices meant I retired in my 40's, the same bad choices let me marry someone who earns more than 250k baht a month who is 10 years younger than me.

Your right Im so f****ed up.

ps I never said I hated the country I hate the culture but dont let that get in the way of your assumptions

OMG.... if retiring at 40 was a bad choice, all these munters claiming retirement in their 30's and even younger must be in for a hellish time here. I only hope that their girlfriends or wives are different like yours.

I think unless you become a hermit and inhabit a real bahn nawk in the real back of beyond, then it will be very hard to ignore the culture for very long here. That is a sad and undeniable fact about progress in LOS.

It might be difficult to ignore the "culture", but I do my best.

The woman in the market always wais my pork, and overcharges me.

Sorry just got a bit tired of wai threads, wheres my coat.

The woman in the market always wais my pork, and overcharges me.

Sorry just got a bit tired of wai threads, wheres my coat.

The coat lady took it because you would not wai her.

Im here solely for my Wife something MANY including yourself fail to understand, a culture so vile ( my opinion) I want no part of it, is that so hard to understand?

Rattler ... is your wife Thai?

.

Im here solely for my Wife something MANY including yourself fail to understand, a culture so vile ( my opinion) I want no part of it, is that so hard to understand?

Rattler ... is your wife Thai?

.

You beat me to it, there does seem to be a rather large contradiction from Mr.Rat tler.

Having just been inflicted with both a visit from the BIL/ SIL/ nephew and a trip to the village in the same week, the day I wai any of them, is the day I cut my arms off. Bad doesn't describe it.

You wai me... that's all you need to know