So, you've gone to the food court for lunch, but wow, it's busy in here! Where are we going to sit when all the tables are taken?

Phew, here's an empty one now. What a stroke of luck! Oh look, they forgot their umbrella. Never mind, let's just sit down and enjoy our meal.

Sound familiar? If it does, try paying attention to the way things are done here. I'm sick of walking around like an idiot with my soup going cold because some old farang can't figure out the way food courts work.

Mind you, considering the stone-faced 'deleted' attitude they tend to display, I suspect they know the rules, they just don't think they should apply to them.

Are you Thai then, or were you talking about yourself?

Plenty of places to eat, I'm sure you saw seating was limited before buying food. My soup is getting cold.....waah

Yes, I saw seating was limited. Which is why I made sure I found a table before getting my food. That's how it works.

I never got the idea to eat something in a food court....

I never got the idea to eat something in a food court....

Wow, you're so cool. Tell me, how can I become as cool as you?

I never got the idea to eat something in a food court....

Wow, you're so cool. Tell me, how can I become as cool as you?

By paying too much for your food, I guess.

Your umbrella on the table isn't a reservation

Your umbrella on the table isn't a reservation

of course it isn't...

I suspect they know the rules,

I must confess after all these years here and eating in multiple food courts all over the country, never seen this rule before....leave your brolly on table = your table, but would beg the question what would happen is someone genuinely leaves a brolly by mistake on a table ?...

Have the feeling the OP is making the rules up as he goes along....

Please help me here, what is the OP complaining about?

The shortage of sits in food courts?

His soup going cold?

His umbrella on a table, with an attempt to reserve it?

The farang that doesn't know how the food hall works?

Or the stone-faced 'screw you' attitude of a farang?

I would appreciate your help as I'm a little confused here.

Brolly, hat, id card, handbag. People use all sorts of things.

I guess maybe it's a Bangkok thing.

Sounds to me like the people had been served before you, meaning they were in the queue before you. Meaning they had the right to the table before you.

You sound like the sort of person who gets the wife to join the queue for Tesco checkout, then wiz about getting what you want, then rejoin her just as she gets to the front.

I'm the sort of person that observes the way the locals do things, then does the same.

Clearly not a common trait round these parts.

Brolly, hat, id card, handbag. People use all sorts of things.

I guess maybe it's a Bangkok thing.

oh so now its none specific items, so If I put any empty Tesco's shopping bag on a table its my table, how about an empty coke can ?....as regards a handbag, one suspects a lady or any personage who happens to carry a hand bag or man bag would be real silly person to do that wouldn't they ? and don't people normally carry their ID's in said handbag wallet or man bag ?

Bangkok thing ?....again must confess, eaten in many in BKK and never see this either

Food Courts....ugh.....

You guys should really get out of the bars more often.

Sounds to me like the people had been served before you, meaning they were in the queue before you. Meaning they had the right to the table before you.

You sound like the sort of person who gets the wife to join the queue for Tesco checkout, then wiz about getting what you want, then rejoin her just as she gets to the front.

yeap my understanding of food courts are that they operate on a first come first served principle, therefore the offending Farang was obviously there first and served first.

Personally I don't eat at food courts but I have experienced them on several occasions. That's why I don't use them.

However maybe you could carry one of those triangular table reserved signs around in English and Thai.

You guys should really get out of the bars more often.

why ? at least they have a seat

Then your understanding is wrong, when it comes to busy ones where seating is limited.

Personally I don't eat at food courts but I have experienced them on several occasions. That's why I don't use them.

However maybe you could carry one of those triangular table reserved signs around in English and Thai.

ATF, you could be onto something a new product for TC Industries...a Farang entitlement sign...."this is table is reserved for the great white Bwana"... In English, Thai, Russian and Chinese

Ignorant but smugly convinced they're correct. Thai visa in a nutshell. Bravo, chaps.

Then your understanding is wrong, when it comes to busy ones where seating is limited.

Not at all, at the time of "reserving your table" you hadn't actually purchased anything from the food court, therefore you would not be entitled to use said facilities until a purchase was made, as these would be reserved for those customers who had actually made a purchase

What would have happened you had "reserved a seat" went to look and decided you didn't want to eat there and a person who had made a purchase, was unable to be seated because of your "brolly rule" and had to wait for you to return to retrieve said brolly prior to you leaving the premises ?

Ignorant but smugly convinced they're correct. Thai visa in a nutshell. Bravo, chaps.

Don't forget your brolly on the way out

Then your understanding is wrong, when it comes to busy ones where seating is limited.

Not at all, at the time of "reserving your table" you hadn't actually purchased anything from the food court, therefore you would not be entitled to use said facilities until a purchase was made, as these would be reserved for those customers who had actually made a purchase

What would have happened you had "reserved a seat" went to look and decided you didn't want to eat there and a person who had made a purchase, was unable to be seated because of your "brolly rule" and had to wait for you to return to retrieve said brolly prior to you leaving the premises ?

I guess that's their problem. Although who goes to a food court then decides they're not hungry?

You can argue with it all you like - it's the way it works. The fact that you've never noticed it doesn't change that.

Ignorant but smugly convinced they're correct. Thai visa in a nutshell. Bravo, chaps.

Indeed. Someone makes an inane ranting post, gets the mickey taken out of them, accuses everyone of being a bar rat and criticises the forum in general....

I would have had the seat and a free umbrella. I think I like Bangkok rules.

Ignorant but smugly convinced they're correct. Thai visa in a nutshell. Bravo, chaps.

Indeed. Someone makes an inane ranting post, gets the mickey taken out of them, accuses everyone of being a bar rat and criticises the forum in general....

Yeah. I should have married a farm girl young enough to be my daughter. Then I too would know all there is to know about Thailand...

I guess that's their problem. Although who goes to a food court then decides they're not hungry?

You can argue with it all you like - it's the way it works. The fact that you've never noticed it doesn't change that.

I have a few times myself, I was hungry went to go and look, decided the food looked like sh*t and went somewhere else.

it's the way it works.

Is this paragraph 1 clause 2 of the "Brolly rule" ?

I am not arguing I am making observations

Ignorant but smugly convinced they're correct. Thai visa in a nutshell. Bravo, chaps.

Indeed. Someone makes an inane ranting post, gets the mickey taken out of them, accuses everyone of being a bar rat and criticises the forum in general....

Yeah. I should have married a farm girl young enough to be my daughter. Then I too would know all there is to know about Thailand...

Maybe you should have, then you'd have got a seat at the food court.....