Russians, Thais and umbrellas. Not a good mix

[Somtamnication]

In my everlasting quest to lose weight and walk more, I took the village to Nai Harn early this morning.

Towards 9 a.m. I am still in the water coaxing my 7 year old to follow me. I hear an angry Thai man. I look back towards the umbrella.

There is this half drunk Thai (wife smelled alcohol as she was sitting under the shade) waving his arms, throwing an umbrella to the ground. By this time, it was time to head to the car, so off I went towards the wife.

This idiot is going off on a Russian who had put his stuff on the chairs. Fair enough, the thai was pissed as the ruski did not want to pay.

Both sides wrong. I asked the thai guy to calm down, the russian does not understand why you are angry, etc etc...I told the russian to walk away. Ruski was about ready to beat the guy up. Not a good idea.

Turns out, the russians are notorious with putting their stuff on the mafia chairs and refusing to pay. Angrily, the thai told my wife, that he only has problems with russians, no other nationality.

Now, having an argument at 9 am is a bit ridiculous. Russians need to understand how things are done here. I have no idea if umbrellas are free on Lake Baikal or the Black Sea, or Turkey, but here, you gotta pay the 100 baht.

I told the Thai to make up a sign, in Russian, and show to them. They will understand. Russians do not understand an angry thai waving arms, splitting umbrellas and alcohol,with English on both sides.

Hotels need to do a better job with informing them about the beach "rules".

Sigh...just venting.

[jocko]

In my everlasting quest to lose weight and walk more, I took the village to Nai Harn early this morning.

Towards 9 a.m. I am still in the water coaxing my 7 year old to follow me. I hear an angry Thai man. I look back towards the umbrella.

There is this half drunk Thai (wife smelled alcohol as she was sitting under the shade) waving his arms, throwing an umbrella to the ground. By this time, it was time to head to the car, so off I went towards the wife.

This idiot is going off on a Russian who had put his stuff on the chairs. Fair enough, the thai was pissed as the ruski did not want to pay.

Both sides wrong. I asked the thai guy to calm down, the russian does not understand why you are angry, etc etc...I told the russian to walk away. Ruski was about ready to beat the guy up. Not a good idea.

Turns out, the russians are notorious with putting their stuff on the mafia chairs and refusing to pay. Angrily, the thai told my wife, that he only has problems with russians, no other nationality.

Now, having an argument at 9 am is a bit ridiculous. Russians need to understand how things are done here. I have no idea if umbrellas are free on Lake Baikal or the Black Sea, or Turkey, but here, you gotta pay the 100 baht.

I told the Thai to make up a sign, in Russian, and show to them. They will understand. Russians do not understand an angry thai waving arms, splitting umbrellas and alcohol,with English on both sides.

Hotels need to do a better job with informing them about the beach "rules".

Sigh...just venting.

I blame the Russian tour companies they should be printing leaflets to tell there customer about the way to go about Thailand I have seen problems in small supermarkets when they are not allowed to sell alcohol for various reasons and some big Russian pointing to the vodka bottle and the wee girl staff telling him cannot .I am at the stage now if I see Russians in the shop buying top up for there phones and the staff have to input the info I go elsewhere.

You would like to help but unless you can speak the lingo -------

[Khun Loong]

One of my pet hates here. Beautiful beaches covered in ugly deck chairs. All lined up in sub-urban little rows. No need for them.

Edited February 3, 2014 by Khun Loong

[lucjoker]

If you can speak only 1 language ,stay in your home country or learn to speak more languages ,,or cultivate yourself,learn mandarin (most spoken language in the world! ),or french or english as a second or third language.

Don't expect natives to adapt to your language,in colonial times this arrogance was common ,but these times are gone .

The average bar-lady (or Pakistani,Indy,Swahili,........) speaks more languages than the average Russian French English .....tourist.

the fact that you have more money doesn't make you ( look) smarter.

It's time to accept the fact that speaking only 1 language ,you look poorly educated in every non english(french,russian...)country.

please reply only in russian ,lol

[jvs]

Lucjoker,how many languages do you speak?

[little mary sunshine]

The Russians understand, most are just cheap and want to see how much

they can get away with free.........

[CFC]

Where did Russians go on holiday before Phuket. I still cant believe how many of them are over here.

[RuamRudy]

The Russians understand, most are just cheap and want to see how much

they can get away with free.........

I presume that all Russians are know to you so you can speak with authority, or are you just spouting some stereotypical nonsense?

Most of the Russians I know (and, having lived there for quite a few years, I know quite a few) are far more cultured and well read than your average Brit (the only other nation of which I feel I can speak with a degree of knowledge, myself being one).

Russians may have different sensibilities and traits than you, but that is the same with many other nations. It doesn't make them wrong and you right, but merely different.

[jacksam]

The Thais that run their own umbrella section , work hard,pay rent and dills that think they can put their ass or stuff on chairs for free are just tight. You don't need to speak Thai to see this is obviously business. The Russians in general buy their booze from the 7/11 sit on beach in area where no umbrellas all in the name of the holly baht. No wonder there is arguments. After all why pay Thais for anything. That's some peoples attitude .oh and whats with the comment about the umbrella businesses being owned by the Mafia ..give me a break.

[Suradit69]

If you can speak only 1 language ,stay in your home country or learn to speak more languages ,,or cultivate yourself,learn mandarin (most spoken language in the world! ),or french or english as a second or third language.

Don't expect natives to adapt to your language,in colonial times this arrogance was common ,but these times are gone .

The average bar-lady (or Pakistani,Indy,Swahili,........) speaks more languages than the average Russian French English .....tourist.

the fact that you have more money doesn't make you ( look) smarter.

It's time to accept the fact that speaking only 1 language ,you look poorly educated in every non english(french,russian...)country.

please reply only in russian ,lol

"or Pakistani,Indy,Swahili speaks more languages........"

Ah yes, the beautiful country of Swahili.

Maybe a study of geography along with languages would be a good idea.

[belg]

yes they should at least put a sign in english, you know, the commen language spoken by tourists all over the world to be able to communicate with other cultures, specially in tourist zones

but hey, i speak dutch , french & english and mid-advanced german

learning the thai lingo, is just not for me...

i keep repeating to my wife, <deleted> thais have 5 different meanings for the same word with some intonation, too st**p in that time to just name different things with a different name ?

but then hey, i remark that i rememberd from someone else: if a down syndrome thai can learn to speak , why not us farangs?

but how many americans or british, speak anything else than english ???

this would be a 5th language for me and only a second for them... (is my preferred excuse)

Edited February 3, 2014 by belg

[little mary sunshine]

Please let me know where the Cultured, Upper Class Russians are; The ones I have met

must be the Siberian Crowd..".Me Russian I do what I want"....falling down drunk, rude, loud

and "pissing on the lawn type....." I would enjoy meeting the Moscow Russians, but I believe

the Vacation in other parts of the world.

[NoshowJones]

Where did Russians go on holiday before Phuket. I still cant believe how many of them are over here.

How can you tell a Russian from say, an American, or a Brit unless you hear them speaking?

[eezergood]

The Thais that run their own umbrella section , work hard,pay rent and dills that think they can put their ass or stuff on chairs for free are just tight. You don't need to speak Thai to see this is obviously business. The Russians in general buy their booze from the 7/11 sit on beach in area where no umbrellas all in the name of the holly baht. No wonder there is arguments. After all why pay Thais for anything. That's some peoples attitude .oh and whats with the comment about the umbrella businesses being owned by the Mafia ..give me a break.

Work hard at an illegal business........

BUt I take your point about the Russian cheap skates....

Try to open an umbrella stand at any beach, see how far you get - NO MAFIA my arse

[eezergood]

If you can speak only 1 language ,stay in your home country or learn to speak more languages ,,or cultivate yourself,learn mandarin (most spoken language in the world! ),or french or english as a second or third language.

Don't expect natives to adapt to your language,in colonial times this arrogance was common ,but these times are gone .

The average bar-lady (or Pakistani,Indy,Swahili,........) speaks more languages than the average Russian French English .....tourist.

the fact that you have more money doesn't make you ( look) smarter.

It's time to accept the fact that speaking only 1 language ,you look poorly educated in every non english(french,russian...)country.

please reply only in russian ,lol

So by your logic, one should never travel to a country unless you can already converse with the local population?

What utter RUBBISH -

[islandguy]

Please let me know where the Cultured, Upper Class Russians are; The ones I have met

must be the Siberian Crowd..".Me Russian I do what I want"....falling down drunk, rude, loud

and "pissing on the lawn type....." I would enjoy meeting the Moscow Russians, but I believe

the Vacation in other parts of the world.

While I also met many cultured Russians in Moscow, they were a minority (in my experience) there. The social interactions on the streets in Moscow seemed marked by more suspicion, cynicism, and distrust compared to the American, Thai, and Latin American cultures I am familiar with. Russia is a tough place. I don't include comparisons with the many other cultures I only seen during briefer exposures. When Russians feel that they have been cheated here (often justified, more often not justified), they seem to react more aggressively than most of the other tourists the Thais are used to.

[stevenl]

The Thais that run their own umbrella section , work hard,pay rent and dills that think they can put their ass or stuff on chairs for free are just tight. You don't need to speak Thai to see this is obviously business. The Russians in general buy their booze from the 7/11 sit on beach in area where no umbrellas all in the name of the holly baht. No wonder there is arguments. After all why pay Thais for anything. That's some peoples attitude .oh and whats with the comment about the umbrella businesses being owned by the Mafia ..give me a break.

Work hard at an illegal business........

BUt I take your point about the Russian cheap skates....

Try to open an umbrella stand at any beach, see how far you get - NO MAFIA my arse

The renters are paying for the lease to the local OrBorTor. How does that make it illegal?

[Dannyboy6]

Please let me know where the Cultured, Upper Class Russians are; The ones I have met

must be the Siberian Crowd..".Me Russian I do what I want"....falling down drunk, rude, loud

and "pissing on the lawn type....." I would enjoy meeting the Moscow Russians, but I believe

the Vacation in other parts of the world.

. They come to San Francisco, btw I can't stand them in Thailand or living near them, Absolutely No Manners...

[islandguy]

Where did Russians go on holiday before Phuket. I still cant believe how many of them are over here.

How can you tell a Russian from say, an American, or a Brit unless you hear them speaking?

Slavic features, pirate bandana on the head, family on motorbike with no helmets, tight shorts on the men, tighter shorts on the women, buy their booze at the 7, cut and quality of their clothes in general. indifference to real of implied rights/property of others. See my prior comment on this thread before accusing me of bashing.

[Dannyboy6]

Where did Russians go on holiday before Phuket. I still cant believe how many of them are over here.

How can you tell a Russian from say, an American, or a Brit unless you hear them speaking?

. The Ruskies are the ones wearing the American Flag shorts and tank tops, Geez. Not tough at all...

[NoshowJones]

Where did Russians go on holiday before Phuket. I still cant believe how many of them are over here.

How can you tell a Russian from say, an American, or a Brit unless you hear them speaking?

Slavic features, pirate bandana on the head, family on motorbike with no helmets, tight shorts on the men, tighter shorts on the women, buy their booze at the 7, cut and quality of their clothes in general. indifference to real of implied rights/property of others. See my prior comment on this thread before accusing me of bashing.

Will not accuse you of bashing, I know nothing about the Russians, but the way some TV members post, I get the impression that they can tell a Russian by just looking at them. I don't know why. I certainly don't know anything about Slavic features.

When I have seen photos of them, they look like an American or Brit.

[NoshowJones]

Where did Russians go on holiday before Phuket. I still cant believe how many of them are over here.

How can you tell a Russian from say, an American, or a Brit unless you hear them speaking?

. The Ruskies are the ones wearing the American Flag shorts and tank tops, Geez. Not tough at all...

I thought the Ruskies did not like Americans.

[RuamRudy]

Please let me know where the Cultured, Upper Class Russians are; The ones I have met

must be the Siberian Crowd..".Me Russian I do what I want"....falling down drunk, rude, loud

and "pissing on the lawn type....." I would enjoy meeting the Moscow Russians, but I believe

the Vacation in other parts of the world.

I don't know about Upper Class - I never mentioned them in my post and I never socialised with them when I lived there.

But cultured, they are everywhere. I had friends who worked as railway linesmen who would read Bulgakov or Dostoevsky; I know waiters who know intimately the works of Dickens. The lady who cleaned my office spent her evenings going to the theatre or opera. Her daughter speaks Russian, English and Korean, and is studying Japanese at university. And this was not in a large Western facing city, but a small, dirty little town in the Russian far east.

Have you never seen the antics of the more exuberant Brits on holiday in Spain or the Greek islands? Have you never witnessed drunken Australian youths in Phuket even? Every country has its share of low quality individuals, and Russia is no exception, but the continuous bleating about all Russians being as the lowest common denominator is such a weak position to take. Try and open your mind a little.

[eezergood]

The Thais that run their own umbrella section , work hard,pay rent and dills that think they can put their ass or stuff on chairs for free are just tight. You don't need to speak Thai to see this is obviously business. The Russians in general buy their booze from the 7/11 sit on beach in area where no umbrellas all in the name of the holly baht. No wonder there is arguments. After all why pay Thais for anything. That's some peoples attitude .oh and whats with the comment about the umbrella businesses being owned by the Mafia ..give me a break.

Work hard at an illegal business........

BUt I take your point about the Russian cheap skates....

Try to open an umbrella stand at any beach, see how far you get - NO MAFIA my arse

The renters are paying for the lease to the local OrBorTor. How does that make it illegal?

Are you sure about this? Didnt we have a clear the beach campaign in Surin?

Do they have a license to sell alcohol?

the list goes on, as you well know

[RuamRudy]

Please let me know where the Cultured, Upper Class Russians are; The ones I have met

must be the Siberian Crowd..".Me Russian I do what I want"....falling down drunk, rude, loud

and "pissing on the lawn type....." I would enjoy meeting the Moscow Russians, but I believe

the Vacation in other parts of the world.

While I also met many cultured Russians in Moscow, they were a minority (in my experience) there. The social interactions on the streets in Moscow seemed marked by more suspicion, cynicism, and distrust compared to the American, Thai, and Latin American cultures I am familiar with. Russia is a tough place. I don't include comparisons with the many other cultures I only seen during briefer exposures. When Russians feel that they have been cheated here (often justified, more often not justified), they seem to react more aggressively than most of the other tourists the Thais are used to.

I tend to agree with you that, with strangers, Russians are wary and mistrustful. I can only suggest an explanation of it being a hangover from years and years of oppression and internal spying. For example, Russians rarely smile without a reason - I was told that this was because people who routinely smiled were considered to have some secret, and were thus susceptible to investigation or worse. Living in that sort of environment can, I am sure, make you extremely wary of everyone with whom you are unfamiliar.

That said, once you are welcomed into the trust of a Russian, you are treated like the most honoured of guests. It took me a while to understand why Russians referred to their peers as brothers and sisters - it is because the bond of friendship between Russians (or with a foreigner and a Russian) is like that of siblings. I feel honoured and privileged that I have such friendships.

[almafudd]

One of my pet hates here. Beautiful beaches covered in ugly deck chairs. All lined up in sub-urban little rows. No need for them.

Beautiful beaches...

[Rorri]

If you can speak only 1 language ,stay in your home country or learn to speak more languages ,,or cultivate yourself,learn mandarin (most spoken language in the world! ),or french or english as a second or third language.

Don't expect natives to adapt to your language,in colonial times this arrogance was common ,but these times are gone .

The average bar-lady (or Pakistani,Indy,Swahili,........) speaks more languages than the average Russian French English .....tourist.

the fact that you have more money doesn't make you ( look) smarter.

It's time to accept the fact that speaking only 1 language ,you look poorly educated in every non english(french,russian...)country.

please reply only in russian ,lol

So by your logic, one should never travel to a country unless you can already converse with the local population?

What utter RUBBISH -

So true. Here's my opinion, and it's sure to get some negative comments. If people want YOU to come to their country and spend YOUR money, then it is up to them to learn your language, not for you to learn theirs, after all, for all intents and purposes , you are their customer. Please, I don't want ANYONE to say we are "guests" we are NOT, go look at the definition of "guest."

[Dannyboy6]

Where did Russians go on holiday before Phuket. I still cant believe how many of them are over here.

How can you tell a Russian from say, an American, or a Brit unless you hear them speaking?

. The Ruskies are the ones wearing the American Flag shorts and tank tops, Geez. Not tough at all...

I thought the Ruskies did not like Americans.

. Propaganda , Both are Captalistic ... Edited February 3, 2014 by Dannyboy6

[islandguy]

Please let me know where the Cultured, Upper Class Russians are; The ones I have met

must be the Siberian Crowd..".Me Russian I do what I want"....falling down drunk, rude, loud

and "pissing on the lawn type....." I would enjoy meeting the Moscow Russians, but I believe

the Vacation in other parts of the world.

While I also met many cultured Russians in Moscow, they were a minority (in my experience) there. The social interactions on the streets in Moscow seemed marked by more suspicion, cynicism, and distrust compared to the American, Thai, and Latin American cultures I am familiar with. Russia is a tough place. I don't include comparisons with the many other cultures I only seen during briefer exposures. When Russians feel that they have been cheated here (often justified, more often not justified), they seem to react more aggressively than most of the other tourists the Thais are used to.

I tend to agree with you that, with strangers, Russians are wary and mistrustful. I can only suggest an explanation of it being a hangover from years and years of oppression and internal spying. For example, Russians rarely smile without a reason - I was told that this was because people who routinely smiled were considered to have some secret, and were thus susceptible to investigation or worse. Living in that sort of environment can, I am sure, make you extremely wary of everyone with whom you are unfamiliar.

That said, once you are welcomed into the trust of a Russian, you are treated like the most honoured of guests. It took me a while to understand why Russians referred to their peers as brothers and sisters - it is because the bond of friendship between Russians (or with a foreigner and a Russian) is like that of siblings. I feel honoured and privileged that I have such friendships.

Very true, and I was touched by the occasions I experienced this sincere acceptance. What was said about Russians studying, reading classic literature, and being interested in music and the arts I would also agree with from experience. When they are interested in something, they apply themselves to learning it to a degree that is very impressive. Certainly a smart and tough group of people. Still not interested in going back to Moscow, and totally understand why some small Thai businesses prefer to avoid their aggressiveness style while here as tourists.

[eezergood]

If you can speak only 1 language ,stay in your home country or learn to speak more languages ,,or cultivate yourself,learn mandarin (most spoken language in the world! ),or french or english as a second or third language.

Don't expect natives to adapt to your language,in colonial times this arrogance was common ,but these times are gone .

The average bar-lady (or Pakistani,Indy,Swahili,........) speaks more languages than the average Russian French English .....tourist.

the fact that you have more money doesn't make you ( look) smarter.

It's time to accept the fact that speaking only 1 language ,you look poorly educated in every non english(french,russian...)country.

please reply only in russian ,lol

So by your logic, one should never travel to a country unless you can already converse with the local population?

What utter RUBBISH -

So true. Here's my opinion, and it's sure to get some negative comments. If people want YOU to come to their country and spend YOUR money, then it is up to them to learn your language, not for you to learn theirs, after all, for all intents and purposes , you are their customer. Please, I don't want ANYONE to say we are "guests" we are NOT, go look at the definition of "guest."

Agree to a point, but that could potentially be 50 languages.......

The smarter opertors have Russian language signs made up or employ Russian speaking GRO etc....