What frightens you most here in Thailand

[benalibina]

It's the farangs in Thailand that scare me far far more than Thais - surely Thailand must have the largest selection of duplicitous, lieing, dodgy, mentally disordered foreign expats in the world ?!

They are the 1s who in particular adapted and integrated very well into society here.

[Phronesis]

My neighbour's wife.

And why?

[jackr]

What frightens you most here in Thailand

Thais.

[SinglePot]

so why don't you leave?

Just leave this thread. People have different fears. The topic just asks you to list your greatest fear in Thailand. Nobody's fear is right or wrong. Why would you argue with somebody about their personal fears?

"How little other people and other people's basic rights matter to most Thais."

"99 percent of snakes in Thailand are poisonous."

Because it is not true.

That is why I present an opposing view.

[canman]

Banded kraits, spitting cobras.

(No, not Ang Lee's next big film....)

I grew up in the bush in Australia and so in the past I had a good deal of respect for, but no fear of, snakes. That all changed when I moved into my current house in northern Phuket which backs on to jungle covered mountain on one side and a massive rubber and palm plantation on the other. The place is alive with snakes. I have already had three separate instances of opening the kitchen door to find a cobra on the floor tiles. It is a high end house with proper doors, screens and rubber strips so I have no idea how they keep getting in. There is a third toilet in a room off my kitchen and one bloke suggested perhaps they are coming up through there??? My cat has already caught (and killed) at least four snakes (that I actually saw...maybe she has caught many others I didn't see). She loves to bite the heads off and play with the dead bodies like rope... I have vast range of different snakes here and they all worry me. Not because I am scared of snakes but because here I have no idea whether a snake is harmless or lethal.

Last year I was riding early one evening back from the beach. I cut through a dirt track short cut that runs through the plantation back to my place. I was motoring along amongst the rubber trees and ran over a large snake (circa 2m plus). It flicked up and bit me on the inside of my heel on my left foot. I was wearing flip flops. I freaked and rode the short remaining distance about 500m back to my house. I screamed out to my Thai neighbor (who is also a very good friend) that I had just been bitten by a snake. He came out with a spot light and trained the beam onto my ankle. To my horror there were two perfect fang puncture marks weeping a little blood on the smooth skin on that part of my foot. I went over to my garden and used the hose to wash the bite. I then jumped into my friends Merc and he tore up to Thalang Hospital. After checking in at reception I was jumped to the head of the line went in to see a very young male Thai doctor. My friend explained to him what had happened. He took my blood pressure and asked me what kind of snake it was. I said I have no idea...but it was big and (the best I could see in the darkness) greyish black in color.

Anyway I was ushered to the room where the nurse administer injections and put in a chair. After a half hour or so wait the doctor came around and checked my blood pressure again, listened to my heart and then told me to go home. I put some betadine on the two puncture marks and they healed up rapidly in a couple of days.

So yes...I am also very afraid of snakes here, at least until I learn which ones are actually dangerous...

Sounds like you got lucky mate. Not meaning to criticise, more in the spirt of public education; you should not wash / rinse a snake bite. Best to put some gauze or a bandaid over it as there is usually some venom left on the skin and this sample can be useful to the doctors in identifying the type of snake.

[Ace of Pop]

Alzheimer's Scares me here.Should My Wife and I ever suffer from it i'm sure that when we go for our 1 Year Extension based on Marriage,they will have no record of that same Dam Form,weve filled in for the last 27Years. .And we have both foregotten the "reason" Bit.

[jmccarty]

I fear a slow and lingering death.

Quick and unexpected one for me please.

The slow and lingering option is already happening!

[richard_smith237]

"that not only do they not care about next guy but that he doesn't even register, he's not even there, not worth a millisecond of thought or consideration."

I live in a Thai village. The sensation of "community" is profound. I see it every day.

Postman makes a valid point:

"that not only do they not care about next guy but that he doesn't even register, he's not even there, not worth a millisecond of thought or consideration"...

And yet you SinglePot also make a valid Point in that the Sense of Community is Profound and you see it every day...

It's well known by many that in Thailand people care greatly about those whom they know and care about (Kraeng-Jai). In small communities as with anywhere in the world there is a sense of community. However, once outside this 'community' amongst people who don't know each other the sense of indifference is astonishing.

Amongst people who do not know each other the lack of consideration is extreme. Its not that people are rude or impolite, its that they are so indifferent to others... The extension of this is a frightening world in which to live, one where the powers can take advantage, one where individual rights are lost...

So, it is indifference which frightens me: I'm used to it and the anonymity and privacy it offers me is a positive, however, the downside frightens me - The downside is people driving past an accident and not helping, people ignoring the man in the street having a heart attack, people not getting involved when someone is trying to break into our house or car, when Police and Politicians strategically strip away our individual rights...

Indifference permits the negative to thrive: When a whole society is indifferent, its worrying.

[jmccarty]

Those day glow orange carrots are just a result of cadmium poisoning and should not concern you too much..unless you plan on eating them.

The link button does not seem to work, so check it out here.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/unsafe-levels-of-cadmium-found-in-10-percent-of-chinas-rice-252218.html

The article is specific to rice, but it effects any crop grown in cadmium polluted earth.

[Phronesis]

"that not only do they not care about next guy but that he doesn't even register, he's not even there, not worth a millisecond of thought or consideration."

I live in a Thai village. The sensation of "community" is profound. I see it every day.

Postman makes a valid point:

"that not only do they not care about next guy but that he doesn't even register, he's not even there, not worth a millisecond of thought or consideration"...

And yet you SinglePot also make a valid Point in that the Sense of Community is Profound and you see it every day...

It's well known by many that in Thailand people care greatly about those whom they know and care about (Kraeng-Jai). In small communities as with anywhere in the world there is a sense of community. However, once outside this 'community' amongst people who don't know each other the sense of indifference is astonishing.

Amongst people who do not know each other the lack of consideration is extreme. Its not that people are rude or impolite, its that they are so indifferent to others... The extension of this is a frightening world in which to live, one where the powers can take advantage, one where individual rights are lost...

So, it is indifference which frightens me: I'm used to it and the anonymity and privacy it offers me is a positive, however, the downside frightens me - The downside is people driving past an accident and not helping, people ignoring the man in the street having a heart attack, people not getting involved when someone is trying to break into our house or car, when Police and Politicians strategically strip away our individual rights...

Indifference permits the negative to thrive: When a whole society is indifferent, its worrying.

When I was floating around on my surfboard the other day I was trying to get my head around this (indifference) issue with Thais (usually men). It is far more complex than we westerners realise.

For those that do not live on Phuket, Thep Krassatri is the main arterial road that runs north south down the middle of the island from the bridge to the mainland at Sarasin down to the heart of Phuket town. There is usually a death on this road every single day, and quite often several deaths. In the last two years, on the corner where my street joins with Thep Krassatri, there has been four deaths already, one of which was a policeman directing traffic. Driving on Thep Krassatri is by far the most dangerous thing you can do in Phuket, and that includes any high risk shenanigans in Patong. Huge double decker tourist buses fly recklessly down this road in built up areas, sometimes at speeds in excess of 120kmh, and often they are overtaken by loaded cement trucks, the later being the most lethal of all vehicles on the island.

The most dangerous examples of indifference here in Thailand is when it arises in traffic. I will give you an example that I witnessed just last week. It was peakhour, about 5.30 in the afternoon, and I was driving north of Thalang on Thep Krassatri Road. The two lanes of north bound traffic were hurtling along at breakneck speed and then, suddenly, about 500 meters ahead in the left hand (inside) lane, a large new model pick up screeched to a halt. The driver then put on his flashing emergency lights, jumped out of his vehicle and ran into the nearby 7 Eleven. The drivers of the cars in the lane of traffic behind him had to lock their brakes to avoid rear ending him and then there was instant gridlock as all vehicles in the left lane had to try and pull into the right lane to navigate the pickup parked in the middle of the left lane. Several serious collisions were avoided by mere inches, however not even so much as a single horn blast was issued. By the time I had inched my way up to be level with the parked pickup, the driver, a 30 something Thai male, walked back out of the 7 Eleven carrying a small plastic bag of goods in one hand, and a bottle of M150 in the other. He walked around the front of his truck and then got in and drove off (just in time to pull out in front of me in the right lane).

The 7 Eleven referred to above has just been built and there is a huge flat and well laid concrete area for parking in front of it. There was AMPLE space for the driver to pull off out of the left lane and park in front of the 7. Instead, he stopped dead in the left lane of peak hour traffic on the most dangerous and busiest road in the south of Thailand.

Was this Thai man so very stupid that he didn't realise the danger he created for the drivers behind him, or, even more disturbingly, did he realise what he was doing, but JUST DID NOT CARE?

There is a Thai phrase for this indifference. They call it "Ao Dare Jai".

Anyway...back to my thoughts while floating on my surfboard...In my country, Australia, or on the roads of any of the many other western countries I have driven in, including America, Canada, England and Germany...the guy in the story above would have been set upon and beaten with in an inch of his life by fellow motorists. This is because western countries embrace the concept of CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT (either consciously, by way of formal government or company programs, or subliminally, by way of complaining when something is substandard). But here in Thailand you have FACE which acts as the quintessential antithesis of continuous improvement. No one complains and, as a result, rather than dangerous and antisocial behavior being gradually weeded out, it is FLOURISHING.

And so, by way of conclusion, I would humbly suggest that it is not just indifference that we should be frightened of here in Thailand, but a far more sinister cocktail of indifference mixed with face.

Edited August 14, 2013 by Phronesis

[HeijoshinCool]

Those day glow orange carrots are just a result of cadmium poisoning and should not concern you too much..unless you plan on eating them.

The link button does not seem to work, so check it out here.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/unsafe-levels-of-cadmium-found-in-10-percent-of-chinas-rice-252218.html

The article is specific to rice, but it effects any crop grown in cadmium polluted earth.

Hmm.

The yolks in the eggs here are also orange ....

[Phronesis]

Those day glow orange carrots are just a result of cadmium poisoning and should not concern you too much..unless you plan on eating them.

The link button does not seem to work, so check it out here.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/unsafe-levels-of-cadmium-found-in-10-percent-of-chinas-rice-252218.html

The article is specific to rice, but it effects any crop grown in cadmium polluted earth.

Hmm.

The yolks in the eggs here are also orange ....

Calm down...the oranges in my refrigerator are also very orange...

[HeijoshinCool]

Those day glow orange carrots are just a result of cadmium poisoning and should not concern you too much..unless you plan on eating them.

The link button does not seem to work, so check it out here.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/unsafe-levels-of-cadmium-found-in-10-percent-of-chinas-rice-252218.html

The article is specific to rice, but it effects any crop grown in cadmium polluted earth.

Hmm.

The yolks in the eggs here are also orange ....

Calm down...the oranges in my refrigerator are also very orange...

You could die. The skins on mine are green with brown splotches, like they're supposed to be.

[StreetCowboy]

 

Those day glow orange carrots are just a result of cadmium poisoning and should not concern you too much..unless you plan on eating them.

The link button does not seem to work, so check it out here.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/unsafe-levels-of-cadmium-found-in-10-percent-of-chinas-rice-252218.html

The article is specific to rice, but it effects any crop grown in cadmium polluted earth.

Hmm.

The yolks in the eggs here are also orange ....

Calm down...the oranges in my refrigerator are also very orange...

You could die. The skins on mine are green with brown splotches, like they're supposed to be.

 

Good advice. First thing you notice - brightly coloured fruit and veg. Next thing you know ... Zombie Invasion Apocalypse. You can't be too careful

[amykat]

Phronesis,

Re your post 177 ...GREAT JOB and thanks!

[Phronesis]

Phronesis,

Re your post 177 ...GREAT JOB and thanks!

You're welcome.

[andrew]

But here in Thailand you have FACE which acts as the quintessential antithesis of continuous improvement. No one complains and, as a result, rather than dangerous and antisocial behavior being gradually weeded out, it is FLOURISHING.

True, but also rather naive.

Most expats learn very quickly that "face" in Thailand helps to promote or to preserve mediocrity.

Most of us will also know that the Japanese concept of "face" (which helps to promote excellence) is what you might describe as the "quintessential antithesis".

The trick is to learn how to use the local culture to your advantage. Evidently you've not yet worked that out.

[SinglePot]

"When I was floating around on my surfboard the other day I was trying to get my head around this (indifference) issue with Thais (usually men). It is far more complex than we westerners realise."

"Several serious collisions were avoided by mere inches, however not even so much as a single horn blast was issued."

Long way from Queensland or Kansas.

[SinglePot]

"Most expats learn very quickly that "face" in Thailand helps to promote or to preserve mediocrity."

Thais (in general) don't like open expression of conflict.

It may contribute to what we Westerners would describe as mediocrity.

Fair point.

[andrew]

"Most expats learn very quickly that "face" in Thailand helps to promote or to preserve mediocrity."

Thais (in general) don't like open expression of conflict.

It may contribute to what we Westerners would describe as mediocrity.

Fair point.

Someone told me a joke a few years back..................

When a Japanese businessman fails, he blames himself.

When a Hong Kong businessman fails, he blames his customers.

When a Singaporean businessman fails, he blames the local bureaucracy.

When a Thai businessman fails, he blames everyone except himself.

[SinglePot]

Who do farang expats in Thailand blame?

[MrWorldwide]

Who do farang expats in Thailand blame?

Mate I'm with you, but we both know that you'll just get flamed relentlessly. Let them vent.

[poanoi]

That the girls dont know whats best for them when grand-pa wanna screw them for 10 dollah

and they decline the offer.

[SinglePot]

Or generalisations, bordering on the slanderous, about Thai people.

[Issangeorge]

The Thai Motorbike drivers frighten me the most. I was cut off by one a few months ago, ended up dropping my bike and breaking my left shoulder, left leg (in two places), and right toe. I am lucky I'm still alive. The second thing is the rise of the baht. I'm still okay for a retirement visa and can fall back on a marriage visa, but it still frightens me, especially when I see how much the pound and US dollar have fallen, even the euro.

I'm not worried about the Thais raising the financial requirements, because I have seen them do that before and they grandfathered in all the old timers.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Phronesis]

The Thai Motorbike drivers frighten me the most. I was cut off by one a few months ago, ended up dropping my bike and breaking my left shoulder, left leg (in two places), and right toe. I am lucky I'm still alive. The second thing is the rise of the baht. I'm still okay for a retirement visa and can fall back on a marriage visa, but it still frightens me, especially when I see how much the pound and US dollar have fallen, even the euro.

I'm not worried about the Thais raising the financial requirements, because I have seen them do that before and they grandfathered in all the old timers.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you are now well again. Was there anything that frightened you during your interface with the local hospitals and doctors?

[BwindiBoy]

so why don't you leave?

Just leave this thread. People have different fears. The topic just asks you to list your greatest fear in Thailand. Nobody's fear is right or wrong. Why would you argue with somebody about their personal fears?

"How little other people and other people's basic rights matter to most Thais."

"99 percent of snakes in Thailand are poisonous."

Because it is not true.

That is why I present an opposing view.

But you don't present an opposing view at all. All you do is come out with the pathetic "if you don't like it, leave" response, which I associate with people who cannot come up with something more creative. Any anyhow, how can you possibly determine what someone else fears?!

[SinglePot]

so why don't you leave?

Just leave this thread. People have different fears. The topic just asks you to list your greatest fear in Thailand. Nobody's fear is right or wrong. Why would you argue with somebody about their personal fears?

"How little other people and other people's basic rights matter to most Thais."

"99 percent of snakes in Thailand are poisonous."

Because it is not true.

That is why I present an opposing view.

But you don't present an opposing view at all. All you do is come out with the pathetic "if you don't like it, leave" response, which I associate with people who cannot come up with something more creative. Any anyhow, how can you possibly determine what someone else fears?!

Suggest you read the posts in this thread sequentially to get up to speed.

[Felt 35]

.....the totally lack of responsibility for their own actions....

[Babytalk]

so why don't you leave?

Do you ever get bored of yourself?!

If anyone ever says anything even slightly negative about Thailand or Thais SinglePot sees it as an attack upon himself, even though he is not Thai. There are many others on TV like him: the Love It Or Leave It Crowd. I've never understood any of them, how they think.