It is about time restaurants should change their habits.

[bkkcanuck8]

Nonsense. How do you think a Japanese person would react if you began to eat rice with your hands in a good restaurant in Japan? Is that Western? Is it OK to ball up sticky rice and eat it with your hands in a Thai restaurant? Sure. Is that Western? No. These things are universal. Being polite is universal. When you eat my food eat it correctly. Thailand you can eat rice by hand in America you can eat french fries by hand.

You probably think politeness is a Western concept but I assure you it is not.

Politeness is universal, but what is and what is not is not universal.

If you are in the window seat on a train and the person in the isle seat is sleeping.... in the west you might try not to disturb them by stepping over them to get out ... thus being polite.

Doing that in Thailand is about one of the most impolite things you can do because of the way the feet are pointed at someone.

Societal norms dictate what is polite.

[thehelmsman]

I visited my grandfather in Denmark when I was 13, We were eating soup in a nice restaurant, I took the bowl in my hands and slurped soup from bowl. He was dumbfounded. That was barbaric to him. What does it mean......absolutely nothing...I'm bored and happened to think of it........carry on

[bkkcanuck8]

The Thai use of fork and spoon is more logical. The fact that they don't use a knife at the table is cultural (asian) -- knives are used for fighting not for eating.

Aw come on. Link that one. I can't wait.

Do you really want to know why or do you want to continue to make up stuff?

Look up Thai cultural mandates "people were encouraged to eat with a fork and spoon, rather than with their hands as was customary. Phibunsongkhram saw these policies as necessary, in the interest of progressivism, to change Thailand in the minds of foreigners from an undeveloped and barbaric country into a civilized and modernized one."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaek_Phibunsongkhram

Just logic, forks might work for mashed potatoes - but when you scoop little bits of rice and sauce with a fork it is not the most efficient and is more likely to have stuff fall off the fork (unless you put very little in the middle).

I was brought up that you sat straight, put your spoon in the soup which is left on the table and bring that spoon back up. Japanese customs would see that as impolite. Slurping noodles in Europe is considered impolite, slurping noodles in Japan is polite (silence is not appreciated). Politeness is dictated by the society you are in, not the restaurant you are in.

Nonsenses. Do you eat the same at MacDonald's as the Ritz Carlton?

I cater how I eat to where I am. Which means I adopt Japanese politeness while in Japan (not that difficult for me) which were different than what I did in the United Kingdom. MacDonalds you don't have to be polite and get away with it (which a majority aren't). A majority of people these days seems to think cussing is ok, but to me it is unacceptable.

I have eaten at many 5 star places like the Ritz, and to be quite honest - I prefer sitting around eating near street food with good company not worrying about having to act pretentious.... but sometimes when with family I don't get a choice.

EDIT: Typo or hand / brain out of sync

Edited October 9, 2014 by bkkcanuck8

[SoiBiker]

You probably think politeness is a Western concept but I assure you it is not.

What's considered polite varies.

You can argue until you're blue in the face - and I suspect you will - but the simple fact is things are different here.

Good luck persuading millions of Thai people to do things the way you think they should.

[thailiketoo]

Politeness is dictated by the society you are in, not the restaurant you are i

Nonsenses. Do you eat the same at MacDonald's as the Ritz Carlton?

I cater how I eat to where I am. Which means I adopt Japanese politeness while in Japan (not that difficult for me) which were different than what I did in the United Kingdom. MacDonalds you don't have to be polite and get away with it (which a majority aren't). A majority of people these days seems to think cussing is ok, but to me it is unacceptable.

I have eaten at many 5 star places like the Ritz, and to be quite honest - I prefer sitting around eating near street food with good company not worrying about having to act pretentious.... but sometimes when with family I don't get a choice.

EDIT: Typo or hand / brain out of sync

You wrote, "Politeness is dictated by the society you are in, not the restaurant you are in."

I wrote, "Nonsenses, Do you eat the same at MacDonald's as the Ritz Carlton?"

You wrote, "I cater how I eat to where I am."

Well, yes, That's what I said. Politeness is dictated by the restaurant you are in.

[bkkcanuck8]

Politeness is dictated by the society you are in, not the restaurant you are i

Nonsenses. Do you eat the same at MacDonald's as the Ritz Carlton?

I cater how I eat to where I am. Which means I adopt Japanese politeness while in Japan (not that difficult for me) which were different than what I did in the United Kingdom. MacDonalds you don't have to be polite and get away with it (which a majority aren't). A majority of people these days seems to think cussing is ok, but to me it is unacceptable.

I have eaten at many 5 star places like the Ritz, and to be quite honest - I prefer sitting around eating near street food with good company not worrying about having to act pretentious.... but sometimes when with family I don't get a choice.

EDIT: Typo or hand / brain out of sync

You wrote, "Politeness is dictated by the society you are in, not the restaurant you are in."

I wrote, "Nonsenses, Do you eat the same at MacDonald's as the Ritz Carlton?"

You wrote, "I cater how I eat to where I am."

Well, yes, That's what I said. Politeness is dictated by the restaurant you are in.

You purposely quoted that out of context to try and make a point - where I am is which society / country.

Edited October 9, 2014 by bkkcanuck8

[thailiketoo]

You probably think politeness is a Western concept but I assure you it is not.

What's considered polite varies.

You can argue until you're blue in the face - and I suspect you will - but the simple fact is things are different here.

Good luck persuading millions of Thai people to do things the way you think they should.

Why would I want to convince millions of Thai people anything. The ones that want to learn ask me. I was talking about service in foreign restaurants. They pay me to learn. They have been paying Westerners to learn Western things for a hundred years nothing new there.

[thailiketoo]

Nonsenses. Do you eat the same at MacDonald's as the Ritz Carlton?

I cater how I eat to where I am. Which means I adopt Japanese politeness while in Japan (not that difficult for me) which were different than what I did in the United Kingdom. MacDonalds you don't have to be polite and get away with it (which a majority aren't). A majority of people these days seems to think cussing is ok, but to me it is unacceptable.

I have eaten at many 5 star places like the Ritz, and to be quite honest - I prefer sitting around eating near street food with good company not worrying about having to act pretentious.... but sometimes when with family I don't get a choice.

EDIT: Typo or hand / brain out of sync

You wrote, "Politeness is dictated by the society you are in, not the restaurant you are in."

I wrote, "Nonsenses, Do you eat the same at MacDonald's as the Ritz Carlton?"

You wrote, "I cater how I eat to where I am."

Well, yes, That's what I said. Politeness is dictated by the restaurant you are in.

You purposely quoted that out of context to try and make a point - where I am is which society / country.

What did I quote out of context? You wrote, ""Politeness is dictated by the society you are in, not the restaurant you are in." Then in the next post you contradicted that by writing , "I cater how I eat to where I am." They are two stand alone thoughts and two stand alone sentences.

So which is it? You can't have it both ways. Is politeness dictated by the society or the restaurant? Fast food one eats with ones hands, fine dining one does not. I think we both agree? It is the restaurant not the society.

[bkkcanuck8]

You wrote, "Politeness is dictated by the society you are in, not the restaurant you are in."

I wrote, "Nonsenses, Do you eat the same at MacDonald's as the Ritz Carlton?"

You wrote, "I cater how I eat to where I am."

Well, yes, That's what I said. Politeness is dictated by the restaurant you are in.

You purposely quoted that out of context to try and make a point - where I am is which society / country.

What did I quote out of context? You wrote, ""Politeness is dictated by the society you are in, not the restaurant you are in." Then in the next post you contradicted that by writing , "I cater how I eat to where I am." They are two stand alone thoughts and two stand alone sentences.

So which is it? You can't have it both ways. Is politeness dictated by the society or the restaurant? Fast food one eats with ones hands, fine dining one does not. I think we both agree? It is the restaurant not the society.

You chop off the immediately following that clarifies (goes into further depth) by what I mean. Yes. It should have been properly constructed being that the second sentence is not actually a sentence and does not stand alone. But even though it is poorly formed english - any english speaking person that can walk on two feet should be able to understand what was being said -- unless they were purposely trying to distort the meaning of what was being said.

I cater how I eat to where I am. Which means I adopt Japanese politeness while in Japan (not that difficult for me) which were different than what I did in the United Kingdom.

[thailiketoo]

I don't know what you are talking about. They have MacDonald's and Ritz Carlton in Japan and the UK. How one eats is determined by the restaurant and not the country that the restaurant is in. The rest is just bickering.

[Grindting]

So anyway - should they bring the soup at the beginning of the meal or what?

I prefer the Thai way of bring everything and sharing everything. European way of serving appetizers, your own plate of meat and 3 veg and then desert is just the most boring way to enjoy food.

Who gives a shit what you want or how you think things are ok in the 'thai system'.. Simply don't call them <removed> appetisers or starters on the menu if you're not even going to bring them first. It's as simple as that and That is the point. Lump the soups and the nibbles on the same menu ('mains' or whatever they are called in thai) and then there will be no false expectation. Calling them starters and bringing them with or even after the mains is incompetents, end of story. If they want to open an international restaurant with international prices then they need to stick to the international system. When I want thai standards I go Thai, and pay thai prices and expect thai service. So simple isn't it?

[kerrysum]

I love it when the farangs think they can change Thailand.

Things are different here. You can either adapt, go home, or go crazy ranting against the tide. Your choice.

Agreed, and it is no different here in America, because somehow Thais think they can change America....

[bkkcanuck8]

Maybe if we just give them a European name like "Thai Tapas" then all of a sudden it will be acceptable

[AYJAYDEE]

So anyway - should they bring the soup at the beginning of the meal or what?

I prefer the Thai way of bring everything and sharing everything. European way of serving appetizers, your own plate of meat and 3 veg and then desert is just the most boring way to enjoy food.

Who gives a shit what you want or how you think things are ok in the 'thai system'.. Simply don't call them <removed> appetisers or starters on the menu if you're not even going to bring them first. It's as simple as that and That is the point. Lump the soups and the nibbles on the same menu ('mains' or whatever they are called in thai) and then there will be no false expectation. Calling them starters and bringing them with or even after the mains is incompetents, end of story. If they want to open an international restaurant with international prices then they need to stick to the international system. When I want thai standards I go Thai, and pay thai prices and expect thai service. So simple isn't it?

they obviously dont give a sh-t what you think is wrong with their system

[Grindting]

So anyway - should they bring the soup at the beginning of the meal or what?

I prefer the Thai way of bring everything and sharing everything. European way of serving appetizers, your own plate of meat and 3 veg and then desert is just the most boring way to enjoy food.

Who gives a shit what you want or how you think things are ok in the 'thai system'.. Simply don't call them <removed> appetisers or starters on the menu if you're not even going to bring them first. It's as simple as that and That is the point. Lump the soups and the nibbles on the same menu ('mains' or whatever they are called in thai) and then there will be no false expectation. Calling them starters and bringing them with or even after the mains is incompetents, end of story. If they want to open an international restaurant with international prices then they need to stick to the international system. When I want thai standards I go Thai, and pay thai prices and expect thai service. So simple isn't it?

they obviously dont give a sh-t what you think is wrong with their system

Correct, as they are completely incompetent. But you say it like it's something to be proud of, being ignorant? I'm sure a thai living in the UK who orders som tam from the menu in a thai restaurant and then they are presented with grated cucumber instead of papaya would be pissed off, considering the menu says 'som tam payaya salad'. And they'd be on their 'Thais living abroad' forum complaining about these sort of things also. I wouldn't be telling them to 'go home', id be advising them of an alternative that is authentic.

And those who as you say 'dont give a shit'.. Well they go out of business in these tourist areas unless they are up to scratch, all the time. Like a revolving door. And as for in the thai mall western places in BKK and the likes with poor service, as I noted before, the Thais also complain. My wife's sister goes nuts at them if they get lazy on the timing of dishes (mains coming out before starters, someone's main coming 20 minutes after another, etc). I witnessed in Jakarta (an Indonesian couple) in a Japanese curry house get their ice cream before their main. They looked at each other like &lt;deleted&gt;?? And sent the ice cream away. After they finished their mains the ice creams came back out, literally the same ones!! (Melted!) lol. It was sheer stupidity. And in this place they ask what desert you want as they take the whole order all at once. Utterly dumb.

Oh yeah, they closed down last year and taken over by another curry house franchise

[AYJAYDEE]

Correct, as they are completely incompetent. But you say it like it's something to be proud of, being ignorant? I'm sure a thai living in the UK who orders som tam from the menu in a thai restaurant and then they are presented with grated cucumber instead of papaya would be pissed off, considering the menu says 'som tam payaya salad'. And they'd be on their 'Thais living abroad' forum complaining about these sort of things also. I wouldn't be telling them to 'go home', id be advising them of an alternative that is authentic.

And those who as you say 'dont give a shit'.. Well they go out of business in these tourist areas unless they are up to scratch, all the time. Like a revolving door. And as for in the thai mall western places in BKK and the likes with poor service, as I noted before, the Thais also complain. My wife's sister goes nuts at them if they get lazy on the timing of dishes (mains coming out before starters, someone's main coming 20 minutes after another, etc). I witnessed in Jakarta (an Indonesian couple) in a Japanese curry house get their ice cream before their main. They looked at each other like <deleted>?? And sent the ice cream away. After they finished their mains the ice creams came back out, literally the same ones!! (Melted!) lol. It was sheer stupidity. And in this place they ask what desert you want as they take the whole order all at once. Utterly dumb.

Oh yeah, they closed down last year and taken over by another curry house franchise

nope just stated a fact

[Grindting]

Correct, as they are completely incompetent. But you say it like it's something to be proud of, being ignorant? I'm sure a thai living in the UK who orders som tam from the menu in a thai restaurant and then they are presented with grated cucumber instead of papaya would be pissed off, considering the menu says 'som tam payaya salad'. And they'd be on their 'Thais living abroad' forum complaining about these sort of things also. I wouldn't be telling them to 'go home', id be advising them of an alternative that is authentic.

And those who as you say 'dont give a shit'.. Well they go out of business in these tourist areas unless they are up to scratch, all the time. Like a revolving door. And as for in the thai mall western places in BKK and the likes with poor service, as I noted before, the Thais also complain. My wife's sister goes nuts at them if they get lazy on the timing of dishes (mains coming out before starters, someone's main coming 20 minutes after another, etc). I witnessed in Jakarta (an Indonesian couple) in a Japanese curry house get their ice cream before their main. They looked at each other like <deleted>?? And sent the ice cream away. After they finished their mains the ice creams came back out, literally the same ones!! (Melted!) lol. It was sheer stupidity. And in this place they ask what desert you want as they take the whole order all at once. Utterly dumb.

Oh yeah, they closed down last year and taken over by another curry house franchise

nope just stated a fact

It is a fact.. That the staff working in the aforementioned restaurants are untrained (at the fault of the management / owners) and or simply incompetent. Nothing to do with 'thai culture'

[AYJAYDEE]

Correct, as they are completely incompetent. But you say it like it's something to be proud of, being ignorant? I'm sure a thai living in the UK who orders som tam from the menu in a thai restaurant and then they are presented with grated cucumber instead of papaya would be pissed off, considering the menu says 'som tam payaya salad'. And they'd be on their 'Thais living abroad' forum complaining about these sort of things also. I wouldn't be telling them to 'go home', id be advising them of an alternative that is authentic.

And those who as you say 'dont give a shit'.. Well they go out of business in these tourist areas unless they are up to scratch, all the time. Like a revolving door. And as for in the thai mall western places in BKK and the likes with poor service, as I noted before, the Thais also complain. My wife's sister goes nuts at them if they get lazy on the timing of dishes (mains coming out before starters, someone's main coming 20 minutes after another, etc). I witnessed in Jakarta (an Indonesian couple) in a Japanese curry house get their ice cream before their main. They looked at each other like <deleted>?? And sent the ice cream away. After they finished their mains the ice creams came back out, literally the same ones!! (Melted!) lol. It was sheer stupidity. And in this place they ask what desert you want as they take the whole order all at once. Utterly dumb.

Oh yeah, they closed down last year and taken over by another curry house franchise

nope just stated a fact

It is a fact.. That the staff working in the aforementioned restaurants are untrained (at the fault of the management / owners) and or simply incompetent. Nothing to do with 'thai culture'

so dont go there

[bkkcanuck8]

It is a fact.. That the staff working in the aforementioned restaurants are untrained (at the fault of the management / owners) and or simply incompetent. Nothing to do with 'thai culture'

so dont go there

That is too logical.

You find a restaurant, and you don't like the service... you don't enjoy your time there and then you go there over and over again.... I guess it is cheaper than paying a dominatrix

[SoiBiker]

It is a fact.. That the staff working in the aforementioned restaurants are untrained (at the fault of the management / owners) and or simply incompetent. Nothing to do with 'thai culture'

so dont go there

That is too logical.

You find a restaurant, and you don't like the service... you don't enjoy your time there and then you go there over and over again.... I guess it is cheaper than paying a dominatrix

Swap 'restaurant' for 'country', and you've just described the angry expat syndrome. Weird, isn't it?

[Grindting]

Correct, as they are completely incompetent. But you say it like it's something to be proud of, being ignorant? I'm sure a thai living in the UK who orders som tam from the menu in a thai restaurant and then they are presented with grated cucumber instead of papaya would be pissed off, considering the menu says 'som tam payaya salad'. And they'd be on their 'Thais living abroad' forum complaining about these sort of things also. I wouldn't be telling them to 'go home', id be advising them of an alternative that is authentic.

And those who as you say 'dont give a shit'.. Well they go out of business in these tourist areas unless they are up to scratch, all the time. Like a revolving door. And as for in the thai mall western places in BKK and the likes with poor service, as I noted before, the Thais also complain. My wife's sister goes nuts at them if they get lazy on the timing of dishes (mains coming out before starters, someone's main coming 20 minutes after another, etc). I witnessed in Jakarta (an Indonesian couple) in a Japanese curry house get their ice cream before their main. They looked at each other like <deleted>?? And sent the ice cream away. After they finished their mains the ice creams came back out, literally the same ones!! (Melted!) lol. It was sheer stupidity. And in this place they ask what desert you want as they take the whole order all at once. Utterly dumb.

Oh yeah, they closed down last year and taken over by another curry house franchise

nope just stated a fact

It is a fact.. That the staff working in the aforementioned restaurants are untrained (at the fault of the management / owners) and or simply incompetent. Nothing to do with 'thai culture'

so dont go there

What do you mean 'there' ? Like it's specific to 1 or 2 places?

When you find a place with good food and good service you become a repeat customer. But one can't always eat in the mandarin oriental.. Those who fail then obviously we won't go back. But it's the quantity that fail is the issue. And also depending where we are, limited availability.

My office in Jakarta had only 2 restaurants near by. One being an Italian brand had amazing food, really really good grub.. but the service was diabolical. Very very hit and miss. They got repeat service from us because we had no choice and there was no where else to go, unless you took a pack lunch every day. I have the right to complain about the service as it was not a cheap place to eat and had a western menu layout

[Grindting]

It is a fact.. That the staff working in the aforementioned restaurants are untrained (at the fault of the management / owners) and or simply incompetent. Nothing to do with 'thai culture'

so dont go there

That is too logical.

You find a restaurant, and you don't like the service... you don't enjoy your time there and then you go there over and over again.... I guess it is cheaper than paying a dominatrix

Swap 'restaurant' for 'country', and you've just described the angry expat syndrome. Weird, isn't it?

This is really quite annoying. We are not all expats because we decided to retire in asia, but because that's where are work has taken us. Your logic about not complaining about bad service in a restaurant and the answer being 'go home' is pathetic. So if a local dr prescribes the wrong medication due to incompetents we should just shut up or 'go home' if we can't handle Thai culture about dr's not being able to make correct diagnoses'. If we get ripped off by the police we shouldn't complain, and we do the answer is 'go home'? Landlord tries to rip you off, take it or go home?

You just sound like another apologist who as long as he can get his cheap tail then everything else is perfect and no one is allowed to complain.

[bkkcanuck8]

Swap 'restaurant' for 'country', and you've just described the angry expat syndrome. Weird, isn't it?

This is really quite annoying. We are not all expats because we decided to retire in asia, but because that's where are work has taken us. Your logic about not complaining about bad service in a restaurant and the answer being 'go home' is pathetic. So if a local dr prescribes the wrong medication due to incompetents we should just shut up or 'go home' if we can't handle Thai culture about dr's not being able to make correct diagnoses'. If we get ripped off by the police we shouldn't complain, and we do the answer is 'go home'? Landlord tries to rip you off, take it or go home?

You just sound like another apologist who as long as he can get his cheap tail then everything else is perfect and no one is allowed to complain.

As an expat that has worked in places I really did not want to be sent (aka London for a year) -- I can talk with absolute authority as god has invested in me knowledge from experience. Life is too short to let work dictate that you live a miserable existence in a place that you hate. Wrap up the work that you are doing and hand it over to someone that would appreciate being here (it took me a year) -- and move to a place that you can at least tolerate.... That is of course unless you are one of those few that love being miserable.....

London was a great place to visit for 3 weeks - but IMHO a place that is best only visited....

[AYJAYDEE]

This is really quite annoying. We are not all expats because we decided to retire in asia, but because that's where are work has taken us. Your logic about not complaining about bad service in a restaurant and the answer being 'go home' is pathetic. So if a local dr prescribes the wrong medication due to incompetents we should just shut up or 'go home' if we can't handle Thai culture about dr's not being able to make correct diagnoses'. If we get ripped off by the police we shouldn't complain, and we do the answer is 'go home'? Landlord tries to rip you off, take it or go home?

You just sound like another apologist who as long as he can get his cheap tail then everything else is perfect and no one is allowed to complain.

speaking of annoying, what possible good can come of your whining to us?

[SoiBiker]

This is really quite annoying. We are not all expats because we decided to retire in asia, but because that's where are work has taken us. Your logic about not complaining about bad service in a restaurant and the answer being 'go home' is pathetic. So if a local dr prescribes the wrong medication due to incompetents we should just shut up or 'go home' if we can't handle Thai culture about dr's not being able to make correct diagnoses'. If we get ripped off by the police we shouldn't complain, and we do the answer is 'go home'? Landlord tries to rip you off, take it or go home?

You just sound like another apologist who as long as he can get his cheap tail then everything else is perfect and no one is allowed to complain.

speaking of annoying, what possible good can come of your whining to us?

We get a laugh out of it?

[AYJAYDEE]

This is really quite annoying. We are not all expats because we decided to retire in asia, but because that's where are work has taken us. Your logic about not complaining about bad service in a restaurant and the answer being 'go home' is pathetic. So if a local dr prescribes the wrong medication due to incompetents we should just shut up or 'go home' if we can't handle Thai culture about dr's not being able to make correct diagnoses'. If we get ripped off by the police we shouldn't complain, and we do the answer is 'go home'? Landlord tries to rip you off, take it or go home?

You just sound like another apologist who as long as he can get his cheap tail then everything else is perfect and no one is allowed to complain.

speaking of annoying, what possible good can come of your whining to us?

We get a laugh out of it?

oh , I know its good for us. I was wondering about what he gets out of it?

[Grindting]

This is really quite annoying. We are not all expats because we decided to retire in asia, but because that's where are work has taken us. Your logic about not complaining about bad service in a restaurant and the answer being 'go home' is pathetic. So if a local dr prescribes the wrong medication due to incompetents we should just shut up or 'go home' if we can't handle Thai culture about dr's not being able to make correct diagnoses'. If we get ripped off by the police we shouldn't complain, and we do the answer is 'go home'? Landlord tries to rip you off, take it or go home?

You just sound like another apologist who as long as he can get his cheap tail then everything else is perfect and no one is allowed to complain.

speaking of annoying, what possible good can come of your whining to us?

Because I'm in agreement with the OP and letting him know he's not the only one. Simple as that basically

[StreetCowboy]

Politeness is dictated by the society you are in, not the restaurant you are i

Nonsenses. Do you eat the same at MacDonald's as the Ritz Carlton?

I cater how I eat to where I am. Which means I adopt Japanese politeness while in Japan (not that difficult for me) which were different than what I did in the United Kingdom. MacDonalds you don't have to be polite and get away with it (which a majority aren't). A majority of people these days seems to think cussing is ok, but to me it is unacceptable.

I have eaten at many 5 star places like the Ritz, and to be quite honest - I prefer sitting around eating near street food with good company not worrying about having to act pretentious.... but sometimes when with family I don't get a choice.

EDIT: Typo or hand / brain out of sync

You wrote, "Politeness is dictated by the society you are in, not the restaurant you are in."

I wrote, "Nonsenses, Do you eat the same at MacDonald's as the Ritz Carlton?"

You wrote, "I cater how I eat to where I am."

Well, yes, That's what I said. Politeness is dictated by the restaurant you are in.

You purposely quoted that out of context to try and make a point - where I am is which society / country.

Specifically, it's which seat in which restaurant. My language is different in Sid's Pub and the Works Canteen

[StreetCowboy]

This is really quite annoying. We are not all expats because we decided to retire in asia, but because that's where are work has taken us. Your logic about not complaining about bad service in a restaurant and the answer being 'go home' is pathetic. So if a local dr prescribes the wrong medication due to incompetents we should just shut up or 'go home' if we can't handle Thai culture about dr's not being able to make correct diagnoses'. If we get ripped off by the police we shouldn't complain, and we do the answer is 'go home'? Landlord tries to rip you off, take it or go home?

You just sound like another apologist who as long as he can get his cheap tail then everything else is perfect and no one is allowed to complain.

speaking of annoying, what possible good can come of your whining to us?

Why do you ask?

[AYJAYDEE]

This is really quite annoying. We are not all expats because we decided to retire in asia, but because that's where are work has taken us. Your logic about not complaining about bad service in a restaurant and the answer being 'go home' is pathetic. So if a local dr prescribes the wrong medication due to incompetents we should just shut up or 'go home' if we can't handle Thai culture about dr's not being able to make correct diagnoses'. If we get ripped off by the police we shouldn't complain, and we do the answer is 'go home'? Landlord tries to rip you off, take it or go home?

You just sound like another apologist who as long as he can get his cheap tail then everything else is perfect and no one is allowed to complain.

speaking of annoying, what possible good can come of your whining to us?

Why do you ask?

why do you care?