Harsh Judgment Of Thai People

[PoodMaiDai]

I avoid most of them. My small and carefully selected group of Thai friends are free thinking individuals, do not believe in the superstitious nonsense, and most of them went to foreign universities. I have zero interest in hanging out with people who believe in the boogieman or are so full of nationalistic pride than they are complete idiots. Ignorance drives me crazy so it is just best if I avoid the masses.

[geronimo]

Unfortunately, negativity is rife on this forum. IMHO Thailand has more than its share of good people. I have been here thirty years and immersed myself in the language and culture but I fear many on this forum have not dipped their toes in and consequently their experiences are different!

[GottaGo]

I avoid most of them. My small and carefully selected group of Thai friends are free thinking individuals, do not believe in the superstitious nonsense, and most of them went to foreign universities. I have zero interest in hanging out with people who believe in the boogieman or are so full of nationalistic pride than they are complete idiots. Ignorance drives me crazy so it is just best if I avoid the masses.

What you're saying to me just translates as "I only want to associate with people that have the same kind of ignorance and believe in the same kind of superstitions as I do" and in my opinion this kind of pretentious, superior attitude is very far from "free thinking".

[pattayadingo]

I have met some great families around Thailand. friendly, helpful, polite and generous.

I've had mothers bringing me fruit and food and even give me a massage when suffering back pain. Calling round just to make sure I was okay - even though they could not speak English.

I've drunk many a beer sat outside on an evening with families too and we all supplied the beers and snacks. Food cooked and served too.

Great times.

The only drawback in each case has been the daughter(s). They started out great, same as the families until the peer pressure started and they began to give in to that.

Some families had no idea why I simply got up and walked away. Others were informed and I could still go back to them now, have a few beers, food and a laugh or two.

No, they are not all money grabbing, selfish or mean people. Many Thais are friendly and caring.

Nice post. I don't know the answers. My experience is not scientific, but I was treated much better in rural Isaan in April than I have been in "touristy" areas. Is it possible that 1. The ripoff prone Thais gravitate toward tourist areas and 2. The farangs who hang around tourist areas aren't on average the classiest of the bunch in their own behavior? Of course many are very nice, but I've seen the worst of farangs in those areas, myself.

Just wondering.

To clarify somewhat.....

Those families I mention ( should have said in my post - especially as I am now in Pattaya ) were all in either Central or Northern Thailand. All out in villages too but near enough to larger towns.

The main component with those relationships from the g/f (s) point of view was that all of them knew someone working in Pattaya / Phuket type areas. I am sure that helped to colour their way of thinking and that after some time, they started playing the money games because of what they were told and led to believe.

Even though I refused the financial requests / demands, pressure was then applied by the g/f (s) who would insist on more for this and that and also in some cases insistent on getting married. One particular female wanted over 1 million and she thought that was a fair price even though she had two children, no uni education or anything much at all.

Yet the families were great.

The mothers in particular started off being very wary as they had not had previous contact with foreigners before. Yet when they saw me integrating more they too became friendlier and happier.

Many a happy evening sat around with the families and neighbours drinking beer, eating food, parties, sonkran, birthdays etc.

I made some great friends away from the families too. Some very helpful and kind people. Advice (in my early days in Thailand) was often forthcoming especially if they thought I was being taken for a ride by others.

To me, life and people in the city and places like Pattaya is different. Yet it is often the case in many countries too. City folk tend to be a bit more distant than the country folk - imho.

Integrating and joining in with life in the villages is a totally different scene here in Thailand and I am all the richer in life for having been there and done that.