There are a zillion generalisations on TV about 'Thais and Thailand' and about 'foreigners'

My somewhat cynical and detached observation is that most foreigners in Thailand think they have landed on Rock Candy Mountain or at least in the Land of Cockayne

One must presume? maybe, that Thai people are no different from other people in needing to satisfy for themselves Maslow's hierarchy of needs. And after those, like everyone else on the planet, houses, cars, bikes, wealth, family follow.

One criticism that has been made of Maslow is that he failed to distinguish between 'individualistic' societies and 'communal' ones. In my life most Thai people are amazingly confident, and to use Maslow's word, 'self actualising', But theylive in a world where hierarchy dominates a great deal; and they are attached to family to the extent that, because of respect and love and age, it diminishes their individual opportunities, but provides a support system economically and emotionally. How do you think Thais handle this conundrum? And indeed as a foreigner, which introduces another factor into the scenario, how do you handle it and how do the Thais handle you?

This is far to complex to answer on a Friday afternoon

Thai people want laolover88 no think so much. Give too big headache cannot say. I miss mother me.

Love the Thais ,

It is the farlangs in Thailand , that cause most of the problems .

.Introduce selective tourism , increase visa fees , and rid the Kingdom of the C.Charlie culture .

Who's maslow?

Sounds like a detective to me.

Im not a reader sorry.

Anyway to try and put my 6 canned oeTtinger brain into thought, Thais want what the rest of us don't have also.

Such is life.

"There are a zillion generalisations on TV"

And it's your ambition to add some more

A number of 'bickering' tit for tat posts removed.

Shiny things?

They want your money without your stupid opinion of how to run their wonderful country, simple.

Now stop thinking too much and start sharing your humongous wealth to these smiling buffoons.

So Laolover88!...You gonna publish this thread as a book? Travel? Self Help? Autobiography?

People are the same the world over.

There is the good, the bad and the ugly, some want to archive to the highest levels, others are not so ambitious and quite content to just plod on with their lives and there are the losers, the self destructive, the self imposed long and suffering and for some unfortunates may become down on their luck by no faults on their part, the same as everywhere, the Thais are no different from anyone else.

As regards foreigners living in Thailand, the secret of being safe, happy, content and living in peace here is to keep a low profile, don`t get involved, keep your heads down, lose that western aggression, stay within the boundaries of the laws at all times and above all learn to adapt without moaning, groaning and whinging about everything.Thai. It`s that simple, otherwise foreigners will never be happy here.

We are foreigners living in a foreign land, one has to accept that there is going to be some Thai people who don`t like us, that`s the way of the world. There is no such place as the kingdom of Utopia, nothing is perfect. Thais want the same as all of us, that`s a lifestyle of comfort and ease.

what they certainly want: at least 6 meals a day.

They want your money without your stupid opinion of how to run their wonderful country, simple.

Now stop thinking too much and start sharing your humongous wealth to these smiling buffoons.

Sums it up nicely. Simply nothing to add.

Cheers.

I'm not sure about European culture, but America is very much about achievement. People tend to feel a little deflated when they don't rise to a level they feel they were intended for. That's one of the reasons we're always shooting the place up.

Thai also want to achieve, but seem more content if they don't.

Of course anybody Thai is like anyone else. What in my rather awkward way I was trying to get at:

Is there anything that Thai people want, or a 'wanting to be' that other people generally are not so interested in and is that something outsiders don't understand?

+/or are there ways, in Thailand, of expressing what you want which are different from the ways other people(s) express desire and want and is that difficult for outsiders to discern?

the 7th answer and the bickering started,,,lol

they want just the same as most people around the world,,, i would think,,

me ive never wanted to be rich, just enough, good health, and happyness,,

what more is there to want???????

just my thoughts for what its worth

The simple answer is yes, there are socio-cultural differences which effect Maslow's model. Are they difficult to discern? Not so much.

They want your money without your stupid opinion of how to run their wonderful country, simple.

Now stop thinking too much and start sharing your humongous wealth to these smiling buffoons.

If you are living in Thailand, life must be a huge grudge for you.

I would never stay anywhere if I felt like that about it.

the 7th answer and the bickering started,,,lol

they want just the same as most people around the world,,, i would think,,

me ive never wanted to be rich, just enough, good health, and happyness,,

what more is there to want???????

just my thoughts for what its worth

More little piggies?...

They want money without having the inconvenience of too much work, food, food and more food, and not have to think too much, that's it

They want your money without your stupid opinion of how to run their wonderful country, simple.

Now stop thinking too much and start sharing your humongous wealth to these smiling buffoons.

If you are living in Thailand, life must be a huge grudge for you.

I would never stay anywhere if I felt like that about it.

I'm not living in Thailand. I did for a while before I came to my senses. I still visit monthly for a long weekend. That's usually long enough for me. :-)

Thai people want laolover88 no think so much. Give too big headache cannot say. I miss mother me.

Statement from the Office of Gecko123:

Gecko123 wishes to clarify that the above post was written to poke fun at what Gecko123 considered to be OP's overly-intellectual post.

If anyone felt the above post made fun of Thai people, Gecko123 wishes them to know that this was not Gecko123's intent at all.

If anyone 'liked' the above post because they thought it made fun of Thai people, Gecko123 would prefer that they 'unlike' the above post as soon as possible.

Thank you.

We now return you to regularly scheduled programing.

Thai people want laolover88 no think so much. Give too big headache cannot say. I miss mother me.

Statement from the Office of Gecko123:

Gecko123 wishes to clarify that the above post was written to poke fun at what Gecko123 considered to be OP's overly-intellectual post.

If anyone felt the above post made fun of Thai people, Gecko123 wishes them to know that this was not Gecko123's intent at all.

If anyone 'liked' the above post because they thought it made fun of Thai people, Gecko123 would prefer that they 'unlike' the above post as soon as possible.

Thank you.

We now return you to regularly scheduled programing.

?????

Actually it is a very intelligent question. However Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is not based on want but rather need and Self Actualization and since Thailand is a Communal based society I would say the simplistic answer would be to be Head of the Family and providing and guiding the family upwards and onwards as opposed to the Western idea of reaching the Individualistic and maybe Selfish Nirvana of Personal Self Actualization.

In other words most Thais and especially the Thai-Chinese would like to create a Dynasty.

It is all about conditioning and the ability to adapt to present times. For that education and proper parental guiding is paramount.

A Buffalo that never gets sick.

That would be a good start.

Thai people want laolover88 no think so much. Give too big headache cannot say. I miss mother me.

Statement from the Office of Gecko123:

Gecko123 wishes to clarify that the above post was written to poke fun at what Gecko123 considered to be OP's overly-intellectual post.

If anyone felt the above post made fun of Thai people, Gecko123 wishes them to know that this was not Gecko123's intent at all.

If anyone 'liked' the above post because they thought it made fun of Thai people, Gecko123 would prefer that they 'unlike' the above post as soon as possible.

Thank you.

We now return you to regularly scheduled programing.

Mate, you are taking yourself and your posting way too seriously!!

On topic: Thais want: Money=Benz=Face=Big Wai

A Buffalo that never gets sick.

That would be a good start.

A dead buffalo ?

There's an old saying:

"I know everything there is to know about women except one thing: What the hell do they want?"

Thais, same same.

42

That is what we want.