I was in Central Plaza Pattaya last night and saw a Russian woman talking to a Thai man getting annoyed that he didn't understand what she wanted.

She was trying to buy some seafood in the Grocery Store they have in the mall. (she was speaking Russian)

Here is my big thing about this. We all should learn to speak Thai as best as we can we are in there country it only makes sense.

But if you don't speak Thai I am sorry your next best bet is speaking English.

Why? Because English is the most commonly used language throughout the world.

It is the closest thing we have to a universal language.

I am not saying that my native language is better than yours its just more common for people to know it than Russian.

How can you travel to a place like Thailand and not speak Thai or English it seems crazy?

wow! so youre suggesting that folks that cant speak thai or english should stay home? lol. the tourism ministry would take issue with that idea!!

wow! so youre suggesting that folks that cant speak thai or english should stay home? lol. the tourism ministry would take issue with that idea!!

Well ok how can you do anything if no one understands you?

English expect Thai people to speak English?

I'm going to be roused from my slumber in about seven hours.

Amazing. A tourist hopes that in a supposedly top quality establishment someone should be able to serve them.

Its tough out there in business......

wow! so youre suggesting that folks that cant speak thai or english should stay home? lol. the tourism ministry would take issue with that idea!!

Well ok how can you do anything if no one understands you?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R2A588/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=livintha09-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000R2A588 duh!!

wow! so youre suggesting that folks that cant speak thai or english should stay home? lol. the tourism ministry would take issue with that idea!!

Well ok how can you do anything if no one understands you?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R2A588/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=livintha09-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000R2A588 duh!!

Exactly translate it into Thai or English but did they have that no. All they were doing is getting mad that a Thai couldn't understand Russian.

Amazing. A tourist hopes that in a supposedly top quality establishment someone should be able to serve them.

Its tough out there in business......

people working in shopping malls are now expected to know Russian?

What are you on about?

Amazing. A tourist hopes that in a supposedly top quality establishment someone should be able to serve them.

Its tough out there in business......

people working in shopping malls are now expected to know Russian?

What are you on about?

That it is ridiculous to expect Thai people to speak Russian. Russian people should speak Thai its Thailand

wow! so youre suggesting that folks that cant speak thai or english should stay home? lol. the tourism ministry would take issue with that idea!!

Well ok how can you do anything if no one understands you?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R2A588/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=livintha09-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000R2A588 duh!!

Exactly translate it into Thai or English but did they have that no. All they were doing is getting mad that a Thai couldn't understand Russian.

then you should have suggested that instead of saying they shouldnt visit thailand!!

They shouldn't until they learn to speak Thai or English so they can communicate with someone

wow! so youre suggesting that folks that cant speak thai or english should stay home? lol. the tourism ministry would take issue with that idea!!

Well ok how can you do anything if no one understands you?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R2A588/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=livintha09-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000R2A588 duh!!

Exactly translate it into Thai or English but did they have that no. All they were doing is getting mad that a Thai couldn't understand Russian.

then you should have suggested that instead of saying they shouldnt visit thailand!!

All he said was should talk thai or English he did not say to come to thailand read it again and by the way I agree with him I can talk thai and English and get by but if you can't talk thai and English you should try and if not try and get by it is thailand

They shouldn't until they learn to speak Thai or English so they can communicate with someone

lol! like i said, the ministry of tourism would love you! lol. an electronic dictionary or voice translator can easily suffice for a good holiday!!

Moved to Pub.

They shouldn't until they learn to speak Thai or English so they can communicate with someone

Ridiculous!!

No one learns the language of every country they take a vacation to, except maybe a few words/phrases.

Why should Thailand be a special case?

English expect Thai people to speak English?

Oh for the good old days ,

mind you nothing has changed ,in my old home town ,you still get Indians driving white men around ,but now its in a taxi and you have to pay.

There are certain nationalities that will always address others in their language and stubbornly continue even when it is obvious to all concerned that the listener cannot understand a word.

It strikes me as a form of stupidity that the speaker has no other strategy to enable basic communication, perhaps tinged with an unwillingness to cede any power.

I found mainland Chinese seem to show this trait very strongly and some Brits too.

My travel experiences started when I was 15 (1968)...a trip to Europe. I spoke a little spanish, Italian and french. I was in Spain and the following scene occured......I wanted to cash a cashier check , so went into a small shop where I heard In LOUD English (with a Texas drawl) from an overdressed heavy set woman screaming at the cashier "What do you mean you don't speak english, EVERYONE speaks english" and huffed out. Although, I am an American I learned quickly what the phrase "Ugly American" meant. As for me in that situation I spoke quietly in my limited spanish that I was sorry to see the situation occur but was in need of cashing a cashier check, to which she responded in perfect english "no problem"....in the end, I just laughed.

I guess with all the new money Russians have and the ability to travel we are just experiencing the "Ugly Russians"

I have seen the same, on the beach some Russians wanted to rent beachbeds and spoke russian to the Thai. I was laying right next to them so i could hear them speaking. Finally the Thai tried to speak russian back to them which worked so they took some beds, bought some fruit and had a happy day.

Also i don't understand how French can survive in Thailand, they even can't order (or refuse to speak english) a glass of water in the plane.

wow! so youre suggesting that folks that cant speak thai or english should stay home? lol. the tourism ministry would take issue with that idea!!

Not stay at home, but also not get upset if nobody speaks your native language.

I've seen this American yelling at French guy at Charles de Gaulle. "SPEAK ENGLISH!!! SPEAK ENGLISH!!!"

wow! so youre suggesting that folks that cant speak thai or english should stay home? lol. the tourism ministry would take issue with that idea!!

Not stay at home, but also not get upset if nobody speaks your native language.

that goes without saying

Flying saucers expect thai people to speak English? What next .... Thai people start making Yorkshire pudding

Sir

So let me get this right, all non thai/english speakers, on a 2 week holiday, should learnt thai before they come here,

silly silly silly

AH ... the OP, he's just having a wee chuckle at our expense.

Productive, but not creative mind you.

Each to their own.

.

Sales 101: Don't expect the buyer to learn the language of the seller.

Sales 101: Don't expect the buyer to learn the language of the seller.

buying 101: don't shop in a place that you dont understand whats for sale.

Sales 101: Don't expect the buyer to learn the language of the seller.

buying 101: don't shop in a place that you dont understand whats for sale.

Our moobaan has huge advertisings in english, at the highway and all over the place itself. When you go to the "main office" to the "customer service" whatever department they named in english don't expect anybody to speak english there.

When you go to our own 108 shop there they can speak english.

There are thousands of houses here and they like to show farang and farangdogs on their advertisings as well so i think it's a shame nobody speaks english. Then also they shouldn't advertise in english.

"farangdogs". I like this concept and I like your turn of phrase. I am going to add this to my repertoire and drop this one into conversation.