Is Thailand really losing Russian arrivals?

[camsouth]

Is Thailand really losing Russian arrivals?

Let's hope so!

Absolutely agreed. Definately some of the pushiest, rudest and obnoxious people I have encountered in a long time.

i agree i am married to a russian lady and she has said many times that she is ashamed how russians act here. she is a kind sweet woman and as we have noticed a lot here work here with out permits ect. she has watch them and here's whatthey say and she was shamed as to why her own people are so rude .she loves thailand and hopes theres less russians here . most all she has meet here are rude and care little about thailand its self . and thinks all the ones that abuse the laws here need to be sent home . was surprised to hereher say that she loves this country and and loves the thai people.

[craigt3365]

OK, enough with the bashing. Back to the OP or warnings will be handed out. Let's keep in mind what we call "Russians" are also citizens from Ukraine, Estonia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Latvia, etc, etc, etc.

[jackcorbett]

Imaginary Russian as always sexy as in the picture above.

The real one is Pattaya are mostly old, fat, urgy.

Worst of all, they are so cheap stake, they refuse to even pay for a beach chair, and thinks that Thai beach are for free! This is Thailand, not Freeland.

The Germans are different.

They don't mind pay for the whole day (shade + chair), but only stay for half and hour.

I am still waking up rethinking this whole Russian in Pattaya thing. Less than one week ago, I just returned from spending nearly one month in the United States where for the first time I took my Thai girlfriend. In the United States my girlfriend and I hooked up with two American friends who have recently married Thai women and our small group was able to visit three American strip clubs, two of them in the Saint Louis Metro East and one of them (Cheaters where some of the scenes for the movie "Showgirls" was filmed) in Las Vegas. Then back to my condo here in Pattaya where I am acting as the chairman of the committee overseeing our small (62 units) condo community. My girlfriend and I have also resumed our exercise activities at the five star fitness center where we are members. Here's some of my observations from my return to the U.S. and very recent experiences with a handful of Russians.

First off, some of the comments here about the boorish, rude behavior of Russian tourists here in Pattaya are very accurate. I invite those who are able to get it to view my video, "The Russian Walking Dead in Pattaya" on You Tube to see how much I agree with such sentiment. However, the key here is that the Russians in this video and those who are most visible here on Pattaya's streets are 1. Tourists for the most part and 2. Those Russians who have chosen to spend time in Pattaya. What this boils down to is such a select group of Russians might not at all be an accurate representation of Russians in general.

As for our recent visit to the U.S. I must report that Americans today (here I will generalize) are not the same Americans I grew up with. Don't get me wrong now. Our experiences were on the whole very positive. I am certain my Thai girlfriend is reporting overall that Americans are in general hard working, polite, helpful and that they are excellent drivers. And from my perspective over the last few months I am much more prone to buying American than I was ever before and that I have become increasingly respectful of American values in general. All this being said, Americans have become terribly overweight. And as far as American women are concerned it was a rare experience to find a single woman who was at all sexually attractive. Consider that today according to stats I've encountered all over the internet that in 2010 (it is now 2014 where the figure is likely to be even higher) that the average American woman is a bit under five foot four in height and that she weighs 76 kilos. I am seven inches taller than that, and I"m now in my sixties yet the average American woman outweighs me. Bottom line is this. America has become a wasteland when it comes to encountering physically attractive women.

The landscape started to change as soon as we went back to the airport at Los Angeles to return to Thailand. The first leg of our return took us to Taiwan where for the first time in a month we were able to actually view women who were physically attractive again.

And then once we got back to Pattaya once again the landscape changed once more for the better. I have to say that here one encounters the best looking women (on the whole) in the world in the Thai women living here. Even so in recent years Thai women have become increasingly fat due to their addiction to junk food and to the internet, unwillingness to exercise, etc.

And now...the Russians. In the fitness center where my girlfriend and I work out in general the laziest people who work out are the Asians. When we see someone just going through the motions on the elliptical machine or the treadmill and this person is focusing on his smart phone or ipad instead of actually trying to sweat off all that excess weight, the person is bound to be Asian, usually Thai, Chinese, Korean, etc. (I think the Japanese have it figured out that in order to lose weight one has to actually sweat those pounds off). From what I've seen Europeans and other Westerners do not plug into their electronic devices to lose weight. The ones who actually come to our fitness center have apparently come to the conclusion that there is a connection between sweat and losing weight and that electronic devices to not shed the pounds. Among the Thais who exercise here there are however some notable exceptions and these exceptions are usually doctors who due to the rigors of their profession and all the hard studying that went into it actually have figured out that in order to lose pounds one has to actually work very hard in the gym in order to do it. But in general the people who work the hardest to be physically fit are the Russians. Especially Russian women.

Whenever I encounter a woman who's working out for an hour and especially for much longer periods than that, she's bound to be Russian. As for the Russian men it seems to me that most of them devote most of their exercise time in strength building exercise such as chin ups, and doing weights. It is no wonder to me now how many years ago when the Soviet Union was oftentimes bettering the United States in the Olympics how Russian men often dominated Americans when it came to the shot put, discuss throw, free weights, etc. I used to think it was due to the Soviet system that caused so many Russians to perform so well in the Olympics but from what I am seeing now, for some reason or another a large portion of the Russian populations simply likes to exercise.

You won't see the kind of bodies in the U.S. anymore such as some of these Russian women have. As I've mentioned, there's just 62 units in my condo building. There's at least two Extremely attractive and SLENDER Russian women living here right now. We had to discuss some business in our condo office with one of them the other day, and her husband, who the grapevine tells me is a wealthy man back in Russia. But the man's English is marginal. I found the man's wife to be very charming with an inner warmth that came through once she started to become comfortable with our office personnel. There's the slender Siberian woman who's been living in the condo beneath mine for several years now. Normally reserved and seemingly not outgoing, the Siberian woman speaks excellent English and she's utterly charming. There's the Russian family which has owned the condo above mine for the past nine years. The parents have been sending their children to the best schools here. They are topnotch. There's a new Russian condo owner here too, but he speaks very little English or Thai yet he's prone to talking to our Thai employees as well as the fence posts, and all the dogs and cats. And we have a renter whose command of English is excellent. I really wish he would have bought a condo here but he told me he's already bought a smaller condo south of us.

Overall, the picture that emerges of the typical Russian here in Pattaya is not a pretty sight. But there's a lot of notable exceptions. Overall for some reason or the other, the most friendly Russians I encounter are Siberians where it's terribly cold. I might also say that the most friendly helpful Americans are to be found in the Midwest and not in the big cities and the West. Perhaps the same might be said of Siberia where the people are more rural, and like so many Midwesterners very outgoing. And there's a lot of great eye candy here from Russia whereas I must unfortunately report there is hardly any left in the U.S where it's gotten to be so bad that even most of our film actresses have become much overblown and where even most of the strippers should find new roles in the latest upcoming release in George Orwell's classic, "Animal Farm".

[johnh869]

Is Thailand really losing Russian arrivals?

Let's hope so!

Absolutely agreed. Definately some of the pushiest, rudest and obnoxious people I have encountered in a long time.

Most of us know what they are like....But why? Under communism they had very little....push and shove to get what you can...Sound familiar? Maybe like the Chinese also? The reasons are very deep rooted why they are like this way. Hopefully, they may change and see that a smile and a few polite manners goes a long way instead of a mean looking stare!

[harrycallahan]

Escape Russian winter by visiting Sochi. Tell em they're dreaming.

[Asiantravel]

There are certainly pleasant and less pleasant people of many nationalities around. We all know our own countrymen. There are pedantic Germans, superior Americans, colonial British, drunk Aussies, yelling Chinese, smelly Koreans, ever arguing Irish etc.

We tend to notice the less pleasant examples much more than the really nice folks, who don't stand out.

There are certainly many Russians around that are not trying to take over the place and thus fit right in. We like to stereotype.

Anyway, this thread is about numbers going down. I for one feel they do.

At the same time I think numbers are going down generally. Not sure why. I don't believe that political situation has much to do with it. People back home don't really hear much of Thailand.

" At the same time I think numbers are going down generally. Not sure why. I don't believe that political situation has much to do with it."

Same here. I think it's got just as much to do with disposable income being squeezed everywhere by increased taxes and food price inflation while at the same time people's salaries are stagnant.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Asiantravel

[GAZZPA]

I hope Russian will choose another place , when you see how they are treated in this forum by some sexpat thinking they are better than anyone else ...and who define themselves as more Thai than Thais , I would rather be friend with a Russian than a narrow minded arrogant Brit or yank who think he is someone in here but in fact is not better than anyone else. Pathetic ....

Your post might have some credibility if you did not mention "Brits or Yanks". It is ironic that you attack 2 whole nations for being arrogant and therefore I assume you think you are better then them, I think thats pretty pathetic.

No one likes arrogant people with an inflated sense of self importance, it doesn't matter where they are from.

I think Russian numbers being down is probably more to do with the fall in the rubble and political instability then a worry about how idiots generalise about them on Thai visa.

I am surprised the moderators allow such generalisation to continue, that would also include your post.

[BigC]

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With all the so called new visa rules I think its time to say we need as many people as we can get, regardless of nationallity and stop sending people to the surronding countries.

yes i agree not all Russians are bad guests and some of them are keeping the economy going.

Yes allot of Russians i have seen don't have Thai girl friends but they still have to eat and have roof over their heads which at some point means spending money in the country.

Russians remind me of us Brits as we have reputation for mess having abroad butt this does not apply to all of us.

Just the same as the Russians

[aussieinphuket]

honestly no great loss, next the chinese will just take their place, at least they not as violent...... just horrible eaters and speak to each other like they across the room, but they

will also eventually go and the next lot will appear....

[spidermike007]

And the mood in Thailand, without them, these past few months, has been delightful. Not sure about you, but I much prefer the Chinese tourists, who are having fun, are not unfriendly, and seem to be having a nice time. Also, the Chinese are not afraid to spend money at restaurants. Do you miss the Russians? Yes, some of the younger women are attractive, but the minute they start speaking Russian, all attraction disappears for me. But, that is just me.

[ginglee]

I hope Russian will choose another place , when you see how they are treated in this forum by some sexpat thinking they are better than anyone else ...and who define themselves as more Thai than Thais , I would rather be friend with a Russian than a narrow minded arrogant Brit or yank who think he is someone in here but in fact is not better than anyone else. Pathetic ....

From personal experience I find them arrogant, rude and abusive- maybe I'm wrong in generalising and basing it on the ones I've met in Thailand....But then when you have a leader that thinks it's ok to invade another country without international support, shoot down a passenger jet, and rides with not shirt on horse back....you really have to wonder what hope these people have...

Hm, until you mentioned shooting down a passenger jet I thought you were talking about Bush going into Iraq! Which is why the shrub was such a disaster, now the US has no moral high ground on which to stand, not a category even a cynic like myself would have put the US in prior.

I did say " without international support"...US, UK and others went into Iraq for the wrong reasons...but nevertheless they got rid of a tyrant. There is no Tyrant in Ukraine, and the Russians are wrong to be there.

[empireboy]

I didn't think I was racist until I met so many rude people from the same country. Who for goodness sake expects to get a discount in 7/11 and then pretends not to understand the counter staff and so walks out with the goods and throws their cash (too little cash by the way!!) on the counter?
Who walks into the supermarket with no shirt on and gets in a fight with the security guard when he requests they get a shirt on.... I could go on with a couple of other examples and I'm just ONE guy.... Maybe I am racist maybe I'm not.... I've met some lovely Russians, but honestly.... I've experienced a fair few thugs too. One good long look at their leader I guess says it all....

[The Deerhunter]

and does anybody really care?

Beautiful Youthful Russian girlfriends, I can Dream.

I have been to Russia, have Russian friends and had Russian live-in girlfriends. Russian (far eastern-European) people are......... different!! Their culture is one of a harsh country with a harsh political & social history and they do seem to thrive on confrontation & seek blame laying in any social or business encounter. Alcohol abuse is at a level that the Irish & Australians cannot even comprehend. Russian conversations frequently come down to conversations that seem to be headed for blows that are later described (in one case we witnessed) as two friends merely discussing the price of some caviar. We thought that they were about to kill each other. Many Russian attitudes (eg blame laying) are at at total opposites with the Thai save-face philosophy which is why we "Westerners" see the Thai way as refreshingly different. Many Russian mail order weddings in my country come to pieces quite quickly as while Thais & Westerners seem ready to compromise & meet in the middle, the Far-Eastern-European way seems to be to dominate every difference & win every battle. Most of us are not hard enough to duke every difference out.

In my view this makes a distinct miss-match between the typical Russian character & a typical Thai. Thailand would like the tourist roubles but I do not see tham as a ready chacter match. I speak a little Russian but I avoid bars & restaurants with overt Russian signage. I am sure there are many examples of East/Euro people who are "not like that" and I even had one Russian gf who was overly submissive, but I believe it is a fair generalisation. Beautiful Russian youthful girlfriends? Think of Anna Kornikova crossed with Venus Williams. Are you a hard enough man to survive? Good luck

Edited September 11, 2014 by The Deerhunter

[The Deerhunter]

I hope Russian will choose another place , when you see how they are treated in this forum by some sexpat thinking they are better than anyone else ...and who define themselves as more Thai than Thais , I would rather be friend with a Russian than a narrow minded arrogant Brit or yank who think he is someone in here but in fact is not better than anyone else. Pathetic ....

And of course as a frog, you are familiar with the convivial way they carry on in their seaside resort of Pattayajetski?

He is probably Eastern Euro, not French.

[The Deerhunter]

I hope Russian will choose another place , when you see how they are treated in this forum by some sexpat thinking they are better than anyone else ...and who define themselves as more Thai than Thais , I would rather be friend with a Russian than a narrow minded arrogant Brit or yank who think he is someone in here but in fact is not better than anyone else. Pathetic ....

I hear your opinion, but I am curious if you actually live in a place where the majority of people you are surrounded with everyday have been Russian tourists for YEARS. Because if not, it's hard to see how such a person could have an INFORMED opinion about Russian tourist behavior (as a generality) in Thailand.

This post written in Jomtienski, Thailussia

well I can reply to you , I have been to Russia over 23 times in the last decade , 21 years living in Thailand and been surrounded by many nationalities , the behavior of Russian tourists is not worse than any other nationalities ... judging people or a country only on the fact that you live in pattaya is disgraceful .. dont think you are better than anyone you are only a guest in Thailand like the rest of all the farang here

I'm not anti Russian, I just prefer people who arn't loud, rude, racist, narrow minded and ignorant.

Cancel your Thai visa sub immediately then.

[The Deerhunter]

This post written in Jomtienski, Thailussia

well I can reply to you , I have been to Russia over 23 times in the last decade , 21 years living in Thailand and been surrounded by many nationalities , the behavior of Russian tourists is not worse than any other nationalities ... judging people or a country only on the fact that you live in pattaya is disgraceful .. dont think you are better than anyone you are only a guest in Thailand like the rest of all the farang here

I'm not anti Russian, I just prefer people who arn't loud, rude, racist, narrow minded and ignorant.

Don't be so harsh. I have met some French who are actually quite nice.

I take it they weren't Parisians then.

Good one. I have a lot of French friends and they say it takes a long time to train Parisians when they move to the provinces or territories.

[sambum]

Have also got to agree - not saying they are all like that but certainly the ones I have met seem to have no manners, push people to one side, expect doors to be held open for them without even a glance, and don't seem to know the meaning of the words "please" or "thank you". And this is typical of Russians of all ages, whole families strutting about like they expect to be treated better than anybody else. Consequently,the kids are growing up with the same attitudes as their elders, so don't expect things to improve in the future! So Whizbang & Fiddlesticks, I'm on your side!

Is Thailand really losing Russian arrivals?

Let's hope so!

Absolutely agreed. Definately some of the pushiest, rudest and obnoxious people I have encountered in a long time.

[NativeSon360]

Is Thailand really losing Russian arrivals?

Depends upon whether or not the PM clamps down on Russian mafia, in places like Pattaya, does it not?

Excuse my ignorance, sir! I read and hear considerable "gossip" about some alleged Russian Mafia, however, is there at least one Russian expat, or any other nationality of expat,"chatting" on this forum, who can (thru personal experience) confirm 100%, the actual existence of such a group? The probable answer is a resounding "NO". I can guarantee, w/ 100% accuracy, that 99.9% of "reply posting" members on this forum, are non-Russian. As such, the existence of "The Russian Mafia or Bratva", must be mostly a figment of the motion picture industry's imagination

[DavidMavec]

No.

How do you know? Oh, I know, you're Russian yourself!!!

5555555

[Hans Donnerborg]

"

Thaimaishoe"

Does living next one count ?

[Thaimaishoe]

I hope Russian will choose another place , when you see how they are treated in this forum by some sexpat thinking they are better than anyone else ...and who define themselves as more Thai than Thais , I would rather be friend with a Russian than a narrow minded arrogant Brit or yank who think he is someone in here but in fact is not better than anyone else. Pathetic ....

From personal experience I find them arrogant, rude and abusive- maybe I'm wrong in generalising and basing it on the ones I've met in Thailand....But then when you have a leader that thinks it's ok to invade another country without international support, shoot down a passenger jet, and rides with not shirt on horse back....you really have to wonder what hope these people have...

Hm, until you mentioned shooting down a passenger jet I thought you were talking about Bush going into Iraq! Which is why the shrub was such a disaster, now the US has no moral high ground on which to stand, not a category even a cynic like myself would have put the US in prior.

I did say " without international support"...US, UK and others went into Iraq for the wrong reasons...but nevertheless they got rid of a tyrant. There is no Tyrant in Ukraine, and the Russians are wrong to be there.

Having your closest friend and a few hangers on (which also includes your closest friend BTW) join you in a drunken lie does not amount to "International support". That term is reserved for UN sanctioned actions.

Its not like the shrub didn't try, he sent his most believable man (no one would have believed a treasonous coward like cheney) to lie his ass off about the weapons Sadam had. It was not enough. Even lying, they could not convince enough countries to agree. So as far as international support, no Iraq did not have "International Support", hell it was put to a vote and failed, that by definition is lack of international support. The fact that a few sycophantic ass lickers sent a small contingent to watch the invasion, says more about the power of foreign aid, than it does about their support.

If the invasion of Iraq qualifies as "internationally supported" then Russia is not even involved in the Ukranian uprising. Either lie is just as believable.

And as far as removing a tyrant, how's that working out for you? Hailed as liberators were you? Found massive stock piles of WMD? Brought peace and stability to the entire region did you? How about Democracy? More people alive now than if Sadam had just been left in power?

[Loptr]

The ruble/baht exchange rate has no bearing on arrivals.

The immigration crackdowners would have us believe that all of them come here to work illegally anyway.

So they are spending baht not rubles.

The Ruble has devalued against the baht by 20% this year alone... You better believe exchange rates matter...

[indieke]

The problems with Russians is not only their behavior in public. Except the fact that they are invading in big numbers the place, the problem is they not mangle. Their promoters invade some areas, where you could have a good time before. RUSSIAN promoters. Even french, Germans, accept to speak the international language now. They don't. Everything is made in Russian. Go on Patranak hill, in Pattaya, there is no sign in Thai or English any more. Although there is a law about what foreigners cannot do in business, they find always a way around. You not travel with thai's any more, you not are served anywhere by Thai's, all Russians, who make a little Russia, everywhere. It feels much more like an invasion, not simple tourism. Even massage girls have to learn their language.

I have nothing against other nationalities. But leave Thailand to the Thais, I not want to be served by Russians, have them everywhere outnumber when I travel around. A mix is fine, not one nationality, that takes over a country.

[Jingthing]

Exactly!

Domination is the problem.

Diversity is a feature.

People (other than Russians) don't travel or move to Thailand to be in RUSSIA.

[SteveFong]

I wish I found russian females while in Thailand,

they would have been a fun experience, assuming they were there to have fun

[SteveFong]

Exactly!

Domination is the problem.

Diversity is a feature.

People (other than Russians) don't travel or move to Thailand to be in RUSSIA.

Wow,

I wish I knew there were places in Thailand, where I could have entered a little Russia.

it would have been a welcome change, as every place in Thailand looked the same to me

[BigC]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Russians,are only good for 7/11 or family mart,,,They sit on the beach,do not use the deck chairs,or buy food from the traders,They go over to 7/11 and bring back,,,Night time they buy cheap thai whiskey,and sit in there,as cheap as they can get rooms..The brits are leaving in numbers,,Thailand,,has lost the plot,,yes we are not as many as ..ie,, indians chinese russians,,Who now make the tourist numbers up.But we do squander a great deal of money ,,ie bars beach,and women..I also think we spend more in 7/11 and family mart, than them,,,Are hygene is far higher,,

When u say " our " who do u mean?

yes allot of them are like that but then so are us Brits.

Too be honest maybe the reason why they haven't bothered me is because i have hardly seen any for a while. non e that bothered me anyway.

[Konini]

well I can reply to you , I have been to Russia over 23 times in the last decade , 21 years living in Thailand and been surrounded by many nationalities , the behavior of Russian tourists is not worse than any other nationalities ... judging people or a country only on the fact that you live in pattaya is disgraceful .. dont think you are better than anyone you are only a guest in Thailand like the rest of all the farang here

Well i have never met a Russian who was NOT RUDE, ARROGANT, LOUD MOUTHED, ETC ETC.

I have, several in fact. Perhaps Chiang Mai gets a better class of Russians. Perhaps we're a bit more tolerant group up here.

Your statement is so racist I'm left shaking my head and wondering why I waste my time reading this drivel. I got to page 2 and stopped. And no, I'm not Russian.

[Konini]

I'm not anti Russian, I just prefer people who arn't loud, rude, racist, narrow minded and ignorant.

Cancel your Thai visa sub immediately then.

You beat me to it; exactly what I was going to say.

Cultures around the world are different. In very general terms, Brits are perceived as being reserved, Americans loud, Germans orderly, Thais face-savers at all costs, Russians brash, etc. These perceptions came from somewhere, but don't mean that every Brit is reserved, every American loud etc. Any group who stays close when outside their own environment - and the Russians possibly do so because of language restrictions - are viewed poorly by society at large.

In northern England in my younger days, Indians stuck together in tight groups, not mixing at all and leading to some awful discrimination. When we moved to Melbourne, there were, and still are, suburbs entirely associated with Greeks, Italians, Yugoslaves of various colour, Vietnamese, I could go on. All sticking together firstly for communication as their English wasn't great, then because nobody else liked them until the second generation went to school and mixed with all other ethnicities.

It's not rocket science. It's racism. And it really sticks in my throat.

[klikster]

laurentbkk-You are living proof why everyone hates the french!

Not everyone.