Phuket crepe maker meets the stranger who saved him from sharks

[benny1616]

wow, good done. she did save him from sharks....... or in other words from one of the mafia of the yellows here in phuket. i have heard from thais that this mafia take up to 30% per month for a small loan. money before legaly "stolen" far overcharging tourists. its out of my imagination how much money they will steal once elected or put in power by the army to become the thai goverment :-D

[cryo]

Always remember that financial planning comes from your education and your parents education its very easy for an educated person to miss this obvious fact and to come to the wrong conclusion when dealing with people who by no fault of their own are uneducated. This was a selfless act that I'm sure was greatly appreciated as to loose your composure and have to recompose yourself to a Thai is a very difficult thing to do in public. Good luck to the guy and I'm sure the young lady will get here reward or already been rewarded by the good carma that cones from such a selfless act:-) Always remember the level of real academic achievement in the general Thai population is quite low so bear this in mind when comparing your financial aptitude with theirs. These people although uneducated run small businesses and many make a living out of it so they might not be academically educated but are definitely educated in life skills :-)

Ken.

[smileydude]

Pay it forward. Thats the philosophy this amazing person has done. If only we all paid it forward imagine the good we could do.

[wvavin]

Ms Gibson, you are simply GREAT!!! 3 cheers.

[SoilSpoil]

Good woman. It's great to help those who need it. The Thai man should be grateful and also learn a lesson from his mischief. It seems that a lot of Thais have zero knowledge of financial planning, or just don't care and need loan sharks to help them out. The poverty circle is not easy to escape from, but not impossible. He needs to save money to replace his assets (cart) once every couple of years, or get an insurance. Start with stashing away 25 or 50 satang per sold pancake. I know I might sound hard, but a lot of people having financial hardship have partly themselves to blame due to a complete lack of planing.

what mischief, the thing caught fire i am sure he did not burn it down himself,as for saving money he probably needs every satang just to live and operate his cart,as for loan sharks tell me how else can many thais get loans,they cannot go to a bank, unless they have a job say with toyota or a company that gives them a payslip,which a crepe seller obviously does not,financial planning is difficult without finances.

I understand your point but it's quite simple actually: if this pancake maker could afford the services of a loan shark, and they are quite expensive, than he wouldn't need him in the first place! The margin on a pancake is apparently high enough to pay off the loan shark.

Of all the people in our village with financial problems, I only for sorry for a few of them who had sincere cases of bad luck. The majority spends money like water whether they actually have it or not. 'Today could be your last day of your life', seems to be the philosophy of a lot of villagers.

Edited April 6, 2014 by SoilSpoil

[Alwyn]

Good woman. It's great to help those who need it. The Thai man should be grateful and also learn a lesson from his mischief. It seems that a lot of Thais have zero knowledge of financial planning, or just don't care and need loan sharks to help them out. The poverty circle is not easy to escape from, but not impossible. He needs to save money to replace his assets (cart) once every couple of years, or get an insurance. Start with stashing away 25 or 50 satang per sold pancake. I know I might sound hard, but a lot of people having financial hardship have partly themselves to blame due to a complete lack of planing.

What an appropriate name you've given yourself! Do you enjoy pissing on other people's parades?

[EASYDOGG]

Good woman. It's great to help those who need it. The Thai man should be grateful and also learn a lesson from his mischief. It seems that a lot of Thais have zero knowledge of financial planning, or just don't care and need loan sharks to help them out. The poverty circle is not easy to escape from, but not impossible. He needs to save money to replace his assets (cart) once every couple of years, or get an insurance. Start with stashing away 25 or 50 satang per sold pancake. I know I might sound hard, but a lot of people having financial hardship have partly themselves to blame due to a complete lack of planing.

80% of all thais don't think about future, better get 5k today than 50k next month..

Not sure it's 80%, but people who work in the sex industry only think of today and that could mean no tomorrow.

[SoilSpoil]

Good woman. It's great to help those who need it. The Thai man should be grateful and also learn a lesson from his mischief. It seems that a lot of Thais have zero knowledge of financial planning, or just don't care and need loan sharks to help them out. The poverty circle is not easy to escape from, but not impossible. He needs to save money to replace his assets (cart) once every couple of years, or get an insurance. Start with stashing away 25 or 50 satang per sold pancake. I know I might sound hard, but a lot of people having financial hardship have partly themselves to blame due to a complete lack of planing.

What an appropriate name you've given yourself! Do you enjoy pissing on other people's parades?

Why would my name have anything to do with a I wrote. Nothing but respect for the good woman. And what I wrote about financial planning is quite logic, and the has nothing to do with pissing on a parade. Please give a constructive response rather than being insultive.

[Torrens54]

Great story to read, kudos to Ms Gibson though I did think the headline meant a completely different thing....I wondered how a man was selling crepes in the sea....

I thought he would have well and truly "CREPED" Himself when he spotted the Sharks circling him.

What a nice woman, very kind and goes to show that NOT ALL FARANG are terrible people.

(Wonder what nationality the "money lenders" are?)

Edited April 6, 2014 by Torrens54

[Gandtee]

Good woman. It's great to help those who need it. The Thai man should be grateful and also learn a lesson from his mischief. It seems that a lot of Thais have zero knowledge of financial planning, or just don't care and need loan sharks to help them out. The poverty circle is not easy to escape from, but not impossible. He needs to save money to replace his assets (cart) once every couple of years, or get an insurance. Start with stashing away 25 or 50 satang per sold pancake. I know I might sound hard, but a lot of people having financial hardship have partly themselves to blame due to a complete lack of planing.

Shades of Mr, Thatcher!!!

[kannot]

Doing good deeds will result in receiving good things in return.

No really it doesnt work like that, you are living a fantasy.

[kannot]

Good woman. It's great to help those who need it. The Thai man should be grateful and also learn a lesson from his mischief. It seems that a lot of Thais have zero knowledge of financial planning, or just don't care and need loan sharks to help them out. The poverty circle is not easy to escape from, but not impossible. He needs to save money to replace his assets (cart) once every couple of years, or get an insurance. Start with stashing away 25 or 50 satang per sold pancake. I know I might sound hard, but a lot of people having financial hardship have partly themselves to blame due to a complete lack of planing.

Shades of Mr, Thatcher!!!

Shades of being sensible!

[deepcell]

Nice history! Still exists good human being around!

[BudRight]

Doing good deeds will result in receiving good things in return.

No really it doesnt work like that, you are living a fantasy.

A selfish fantasy, if receiving good things is the motivation.

[brianP]

Good woman. It's great to help those who need it. The Thai man should be grateful and also learn a lesson from his mischief. It seems that a lot of Thais have zero knowledge of financial planning, or just don't care and need loan sharks to help them out. The poverty circle is not easy to escape from, but not impossible. He needs to save money to replace his assets (cart) once every couple of years, or get an insurance. Start with stashing away 25 or 50 satang per sold pancake. I know I might sound hard, but a lot of people having financial hardship have partly themselves to blame due to a complete lack of planing.

What an appropriate name you've given yourself! Do you enjoy pissing on other people's parades?

Why would my name have anything to do with a I wrote. Nothing but respect for the good woman. And what I wrote about financial planning is quite logic, and the has nothing to do with pissing on a parade. Please give a constructive response rather than being insultive.

Oh, now we are showing sensitivity.

[brianP]

Doing good deeds will result in receiving good things in return.

No really it doesnt work like that, you are living a fantasy.

Thanks God---head.

[sixthelement]

Not always true.

A Friend of mine did a similar gesture to a massage girl in Pattaya.

She was giving massage all day to save money in hope to buy a car and work as a taxi driver, a job she had done for years before she had a terrible accident.

Few handjobs and discussions later, he found the girl brave and wanted to help her rebuild her life, and gave her the 100k she needed to buy the car. (Price 300k)

She did very well for 3 months, but still was moonlighting at the massage shop.

After that, she went to my friend's face to tell him that driving a car all day was too tiring and BOUM! That she had sold the car 200k already.

Needless to say, the 100k difference was on the account of my friend, and she didn't seem to worry about it at all.

My friend raged, and the lady went back to a normal life consisting of handjobs, som tum, and shallow conversations.

Helping people is often like that, so better not expect anything in return, just do it to boost your self esteem.

[tiffanystoyz]

Giving till it feels good is better than taking till it hurts. Most people give because they can others do so and want others know they give. When I give I do it and walk away no need to be thanked or in need of praise for my gift. My reward will come when it is my time.

[sixthelement]

Very well said