'I Hate Thailand' star comes clean: Video funded by TAT

[ScotBkk]

I really think they should just show what they really think of us Farangs like this Thai commercial showing they are all fulfilled with hearts of gold . Would bring tears to a glass eye ........

Edited November 21, 2014 by ScotBkk

[jaywalker]

I saw the stupid body paint, stupid unkempt hair, no razor in forever....OBVIOUSLY staged & I wanted to barf, BUT...

Not to say Thai folks aren't friendly to idiots like this guy "acts" to be. Thinking back, aside from the hair, lack of razor & body paint... I was once helped by friendly locals when I was in a helpless state.

==============

I passed out drunk as a skunk on the beach on Koh Larn around 2001 at night & was helped.....woke up covered in sand somewhere "else" above the high tide line = somebody drug my stupid ass up above the high tide line

I made some great Thai beach-bed vendor friends out there as well over the years, but this video is, well.......staged but yet TRUE? In my experience it is.

For sure if you go to Koh Larn, look for the older house in the middle of Haad Samae Beach & ask where Mr. Song is, or if its "his" section of the beach.

Song speak excellent English and is as honest as they get. SUPER nice guy.

He inherited that section of the beach from his uncle (Mr. Paam) who has since passed on.

Mr. Paam got shut down in 2006 or so....BIB mafia wanted tea money he didn't have.

The place was ZERO developed back then, and was PERFECT aside from the soi dogs. Along came the government, for better or worse.

Anyhow, they wouldn't allow Mr. Paam to rent beach chairs or umbrellas or sell beer or food.

The whole beach was alive yet he was shut down.

I walked by & his wife started yelling my name, so I went over to say hello. They were DESTITUTE. Mrs. Paam had (of course) a 1 year old grandson they were struggling to feed. They DID NOT beg! Did not ask me for anything. Just explained in their broken English & my broken Thai what was going on.

I had about 9,500 baht with me & gave them 8,000 baht. I gave it to Mrs. Paam (who has also passed on) so Mr. Paam wouldn't drink it all. Nice guy but he was in a state of severe depression with no light at the end of the tunnel & smelled like a distillery that day.

Not saying my 8,000 baht solved all their problems, but Mrs. Paam told my wife she had no idea how she was going to buy milk for the kid when I stumbled in with 8,000 baht.

I would normally drop 1,000 baht or so on food & drinks at Mr. Paam's beach.

The next 10 or 12 times I visited & tried to pay my check-bin, Mr. Paam would say "Check-bin? You no hab check-bin here". = He paid me back when I had no expectation of ever being paid back.

I'm from the USA & aside from admiring soccer players ability to run for 4 hours non-stop, don't particularly watch soccer or American football for that matter, but I spent the night at his house & watch Thailand VS. Germany one night. It was quite the crowd & I was made most welcome & this was ages before my act of charity.

I took Mr. Paam home & he had dinner & stayed at my house in Banglamung once.

Don't get me started on how nice the locals are in Isaan. They're always super cool.

Much like the bulk of anti-[insert your country name here] is directed at governments, most American, Brits, Autralians, Kiwi's Spanish, Brazilians, Thai's (even Russians) are nice folks once you get to know them.

Having said all that, I know where the dregs of society live in Orlando & Chicago & Jacksonville & Los Angeles, and Pattaya and Panama City, Panama, Buenos Aires and Bangkok.

I still have ZERO sympathy for corrupt cops & incompetent government policy (USA included - at the top of my list).

Errrr. the "Mai pen Rai" attitude is BS as well when it come to doing something correctly (construction for example) drives me nuts.

Back on topic though, your average Thai citizen is just a nice person at heart, much like 99% of population Earth.

[SunsetT]

Obvious it was staged from the quality of the production ??????????

And the over smulshiness of the whole sentiment

Thats how advertising works, and millions of gullible suckers fall for it!

[slygeeza]

one part of it thats realistic is that the police couldnt help

[Ceruhe]

So the video seems a government attempt to counter reality with fiction.

Can we just let this sink in a little bit? hehe

[SunsetT]

In fairness, the best bit of marketing done by TAT for years.

Cheesy, but a good effort.

Did people really believe 100 Thais would take to a beach with candles for free to find someone's bag?

I agree, I actually think this is a good bit of marketing and refreshing change from the usual rubbish TAT puts out.

I don't think that TAT were trying to pull the wool over anyones eyes with this. I don't think they ever claimed it to be anything other than what it is and I don't think they were trying to pass it off as being 'real', so to speak.

If people watching it believed this video to be anything other than scripted, then more fool them!

In fact, it could be argued that it's been very successful as it's gained huge attention, the video has been watched more than 800,000 times on YouTube and had people talking about it on forums and throughout social media.

Sure it's cheesey but it's better than the 'Thainess' campaign and the other quickly forgotten marketing spiel they've put out in recent years.

Yes its good but such ads about Thailand should have a "Thailand can kill" health warning like a pack of cigarettes.

[micmichd]

I'm Farang. Throw a stone on me, and you'll be killed.

The blonde is a sexy young woman, don't you like her?

Almost every Thai that comes in contact with tourists can speak English (quite contrary to many Farangs), and tourists are everywhere in Thailand.

The Kao Thao case is still to be investigated, in the USofA eg they would beat the shit out of you if you would complain like this.

You're cowards in Farang countries, you self-pproclaimed Masters of the Universe.

You think you need to protect your Farang children?

Then find out what they think of you.

[smellthecoffee]

Nancy that's easy to remember perhaps they were looking at Oliver Twist as research.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Oh.... thanks a lot for many smart Thai Visa members.... I had no clue the video was staged!

[jaywalker]

Obvious it was staged from the quality of the production ??????????

And the over smulshiness of the whole sentiment

Thats how advertising works, and millions of gullible suckers fall for it!

I totally agree with you.

It does not portray the "other" side, such as:

• What a ladyboy is & how to spot them (for the vast majority of males that are heterosexual)...Hey I figured it out by buying one a drink on Boracay once in 1999.
• Pickpocket ladyboys on baht buses
• Taxi scams
• Tuktuk scams
• Motorcyclists driving like maniacs
• ZERO parking most any and everywhere you go
• Police collecting tea money for imaginary offenses
• How any physical altercation (always STUPID) will wind up w/ 8 Thai guys ganging up on said farang "fighter"
• Why one needs to constantly look right, left, up, down, behind you and keep an eye on the uneven pavement all at once when crossing the road or just walking on the sidewalk/footpath
• Bag snatchers when you look like you have something worth stealing
• Shall I go on?

It's not a 100% BS video. It's just not the entire story us grizzled veterans of Thailand know.

It's just a convoluted way of presenting the truth in the light they want to portray their portion of the story in.

Honestly, is the smartest thing I've ever seen TAT come up with, which ain't saying much.

[Suffinator]

What Thailand could or rather should be for foreigners - unfortunately as so many have experienced Thailand is anything but what's depicted in the video. Shame really but when foreigners are view with little more than disdain and merely a cash target all the promotion in the world isn't going to stop the decline in tourism.

[jaywalker]

When he said he had no money in the video, it was ok, because a seasoned bargirl would know he had to wait a few days and he would be able to get money wired. Hooker with a heart of gold indeed.

I have a soft spot for those.

Sorry. I stand corrected. I couldn't watch it that far as I wanted to puke 30 seconds into it.

The clown said he had no money??????

THAT MY FRIEND makes this entire bit of propaganda 1,000% BS.

Why do I waist my time saying nice things when???

Nevermind. It's TAT BS 110%.

[SunsetT]

I saw the stupid body paint, stupid unkempt hair, no razor in forever....OBVIOUSLY staged & I wanted to barf, BUT...

Not to say Thai folks aren't friendly to idiots like this guy "acts" to be. Thinking back, aside from the hair, lack of razor & body paint... I was once helped by friendly locals when I was in a helpless state.

==============

I passed out drunk as a skunk on the beach on Koh Larn around 2001 at night & was helped.....woke up covered in sand somewhere "else" above the high tide line = somebody drug my stupid ass up above the high tide line

I made some great Thai beach-bed vendor friends out there as well over the years, but this video is, well.......staged but yet TRUE? In my experience it is.

For sure if you go to Koh Larn, look for the older house in the middle of Haad Samae Beach & ask where Mr. Song is, or if its "his" section of the beach.

Song speak excellent English and is as honest as they get. SUPER nice guy.

He inherited that section of the beach from his uncle (Mr. Paam) who has since passed on.

Mr. Paam got shut down in 2006 or so....BIB mafia wanted tea money he didn't have.

The place was ZERO developed back then, and was PERFECT aside from the soi dogs. Along came the government, for better or worse.

Anyhow, they wouldn't allow Mr. Paam to rent beach chairs or umbrellas or sell beer or food.

The whole beach was alive yet he was shut down.

I walked by & his wife started yelling my name, so I went over to say hello. They were DESTITUTE. Mrs. Paam had (of course) a 1 year old grandson they were struggling to feed. They DID NOT beg! Did not ask me for anything. Just explained in their broken English & my broken Thai what was going on.

I had about 9,500 baht with me & gave them 8,000 baht. I gave it to Mrs. Paam (who has also passed on) so Mr. Paam wouldn't drink it all. Nice guy but he was in a state of severe depression with no light at the end of the tunnel & smelled like a distillery that day.

Not saying my 8,000 baht solved all their problems, but Mrs. Paam told my wife she had no idea how she was going to buy milk for the kid when I stumbled in with 8,000 baht.

I would normally drop 1,000 baht or so on food & drinks at Mr. Paam's beach.

The next 10 or 12 times I visited & tried to pay my check-bin, Mr. Paam would say "Check-bin? You no hab check-bin here". = He paid me back when I had no expectation of ever being paid back.

I'm from the USA & aside from admiring soccer players ability to run for 4 hours non-stop, don't particularly watch soccer or American football for that matter, but I spent the night at his house & watch Thailand VS. Germany one night. It was quite the crowd & I was made most welcome & this was ages before my act of charity.

I took Mr. Paam home & he had dinner & stayed at my house in Banglamung once.

Don't get me started on how nice the locals are in Isaan. They're always super cool.

Much like the bulk of anti-[insert your country name here] is directed at governments, most American, Brits, Autralians, Kiwi's Spanish, Brazilians, Thai's (even Russians) are nice folks once you get to know them.

Having said all that, I know where the dregs of society live in Orlando & Chicago & Jacksonville & Los Angeles, and Pattaya and Panama City, Panama, Buenos Aires and Bangkok.

I still have ZERO sympathy for corrupt cops & incompetent government policy (USA included - at the top of my list).

Errrr. the "Mai pen Rai" attitude is BS as well when it come to doing something correctly (construction for example) drives me nuts.

Back on topic though, your average Thai citizen is just a nice person at heart, much like 99% of population Earth.

Yes you are right; good things can and do happen when you are young, nieve, and travelling abroad. I believe you mostly get what you give in life. When young, I used to hitch hike everywhere at home and abroad and only ever met good helpful people and nothing really bad ever happened to me. But things change. In 1985 I crossed into Mexico from off a Greyhound bus at San Diego at 3am and hitch hiked to the out of town Mexican bus station. Would I do that now? And very rarely do I see a hitch hiker at home in the UK now. The point being that as Thailand becomes more westernised and materialistic, so the country and its people will change and the risk factors, in some serious respects, are increasing and will further increase. Visitors to Thailand should be aware of this.

[kannot]

Well we all consider Thailand a preferable option to farangland or we wouldn't be here, this video doesn't show the real place though. Well unless they edited the bit where he gets deported for teaching without a work permit or the bit where he drinks himself to death after a rough break up with Nancy over money.

Speak for yourself.........my Wife likes to stay in Thailand, dont lump everyone in with your idea of heaven

[zoolander]

The video sells the dream.

Unfortunately reality can be somewhat different.

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Tapatalk

[Bloodnut]

Just par for the course.

All we need now is TAT to deny any involvement.

come on all of us living here for a long time like me for over 30 years can get very cynical about Thais and start to think its all bad. We forget how bad it is in west.If you've been here a long time (over 30 years ago was my first time) you will remember your first visit to Asia (mine was 37 years ago in Indonesia). The buzz you got the experiences the pure joy compared with rat race hole of UK and USA. Sure I like most got scammed a bit in first few years was taken in my outside beautiful smiles of most gorgeous females I've ever seem and sure I lost in money terms a few thousand gbp which luckily was at the time not much to me. So some of rose tinted grasses wore away as a few years rolled on and i got more wise and a bit more careful but in all honestly i also found great true frendliness and kindness. Sure this was partly so they could make a living but for most of my guides it was more than that. It was about service and wishing to please and being kind. So after 5 years or so I discovered Thailand and by then was very vary of any Asian ladies and determined never to fall into same trap id seen so many. Like most who've been here a very long time I fell totally in love with Asia. I met true love and saul mate of my life and we've been together for 30 odd years. Like all marriages we've had our rough patches.

TO point I know this film is of course grossly exaggerated and sadly Thailand like all developing countries is not the paradise it used to be. The ladies have grown hard and cynical due IMO to hordes of forang especially in Vietnam days basically just treating them like and throwing them on rubbish without a thought later.

I guess its good TAT are learning some proper PR even if its like any PR its a long way from truth.I recall after a few years in Indonesia saying this place is like paradise and like Hell but tourists and short visitors only normally see paradise bit and not the hell bit. Thailand is same as often us olduns forget why were still here and will never ever return to decedent rotten to core western societies.

Very well put Icare999 - It's so easy for us long-termers to get cynical and bitter over the years and forget how and why we're here. I like to remember the mad culture shock and the wild fun of first arriving and partying on the south islands in the mid 80's. I arrived there around the same age as this guy - 25ish. Young troppo and more than a bit stupid and naive.

A bit like these young fellahs living it up on Soi Bangla - Thailand did make my dreams come true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvH7SUr9fvo. -

Cheap everything and 'seemingly' noone really policing anything... Seemed if you just didn't hurt anyone - you could nearly do what you liked. No one seemed hostile or deliberately out to steal or injure you. This seems no longer the case in the young peoples' haunts.

Like everyone else I enjoyed the 'pink cloud' of culture shock for the first few months - but of course we all have to grow up and my illusions became less and less fantasy and more and more fact over the years.

I found a good job and stayed - actually becoming a Thai citizen just recently. With ASEAN coming up - that's a bonus for travel within the member nations.

Back on topic - I actually enjoyed watchiung this short fantasy film and understand the TAT's rationalle given the recent rape and horrific murder of the British youngsters. Why not try a youtube film getting back to basics about why young travelers like to come and party here. No harm done.

Except for, as already stated several times - the early scenes infer that an angry young foreigner will get away with swearing at a police officer and even throw a rock at a passing car. <deleted>? No way. Not on your life... Some pretty stupid script writing there TAT. Sheesh.

Apart from those few silly mistakes, it's alright. I mean - the bar girl is cute and the expat job on a boat - and the rest of the fairy tale sometimes actually happens - or at least it 'used' to happen way back when. They need to be proactive because Thailand is no longer the the only SEA country for youngsters to come and blow off their steam. - It's becoming more dangerous and there is absolutely no justice. As always in the amazing ever changing and beautiful LOS - we must all - Caveat Emptor.

[sabaijai]

Any of the events acted out in the ad could have happened. even if badly reproduced in fictional form as paid advertising.

Hub Ho Hin, who Smith claims produced the video, was founded by Jira Maligool, director of Mekhong Full Moon Party and Tin Mine. It merged with GMM Tai Hub in 2003. If the company produced the film as a separate entry, it suggests that Jira Miragool directed.

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=62703624

[iReason]

A cynical disguise of "Thainess".

Hey TAT! Why no credits at the end of your little propaganda?

[micmichd]

Hey Farang, leave them Thais alone.

Growing old is just another

Sorry, what I lost the words.

After looking at the video I've got an idea where to look for my belongings

Nice chick, btw. And a hard-working woman, too.

Please treat her with some respect !

[darhut]

Does anyone know when the video was made? I remember seeing at least part of this video quite some time ago.

[Equalizer]

This is an excellent video. I've seen it going around FB for a few days, now. It captures The Dream of an entire segment of would-be vacationers and visitors from the West. Extremely well done. People knocking the quality of this video haven't got a clue.

I agree, been here 10 years and everything in the video is plausible and not too far fetched. I too can be critical of how Thailand treats foreign parents of Thai children and spouses, however to me the video is not outlandish in any way.

[Dogmatix]

This is an excellent video. I've seen it going around FB for a few days, now. It captures The Dream of an entire segment of would-be vacationers and visitors from the West. Extremely well done. People knocking the quality of this video haven't got a clue.

The video was fairly well made from a production point of view which is what actually gave the clue that it was fake. It is a deliberate attempt to deceived by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and to present to the world a kinder, gentler Thailand that no longer exists. The storyline is a lie and is obviously something that couldn't have happened in real life complete with the improbable ending with the monkey returning the bag with all possessions still inside.

The worst part of it IMHO is that this is a government video that encourages foreigners to violate to the Immigration Act and illegally work in Thailand without proper visa and work permit and to teach probably without a university degree or teaching credential. There is no way that a foreigner can come to Thailand on tourist or transit visa, as he must have done, and then get a NON-IMMB visa that would facilitate a work permit without ever leaving the country. He would have to apply for the NON-IMMB visa in a Thai embassy or consulate abroad.

Is Thailand now so desperate for foreign tourists that the government has to resort to lure penniless foreign backpackers with a myth about illegal employment on a beach in paradise?

The reality is more likely that they will end up featured in a Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand video after police have planted drugs in their backpacks and whisked them off for a two year stretch in a fetid Thai jail after a visit to the confessor in a safe house with plastics bags over their heads.

[ultimate weapon]

In fairness, the best bit of marketing done by TAT for years.

Cheesy, but a good effort.

Did people really believe 100 Thais would take to a beach with candles for free to find someone's bag?

it won't happen to farangland either. 100 farangs finding the bag of one thai person.

[z42]

now just waiting for the covert video of the same name to make its appearance on the net....... Piggyback on a popular video's name and all

[hawker9000]

This effort at least shows that TAT has some awareness that news about the realities of Thailand is present on the Internet, and not good. If only that could translate into a real attempt to fix the things that are broken rather than a cheap youtube fairy tale that few will buy into.

Edited November 21, 2014 by hawker9000

[Sviss Geez]

1. Two years in LOS, as a turist, nonstop - what visa is that? :-D

2. Workpermit?

3. Throw stones at the taxies, on Koh Samed....and nothing happens?

This video sucks - The old "Never go to Thailand" is a bit better

It's fiction, none of it happened, that's the point of the OP.

[lildragon]

I have had similar adventures to this guy, both good and bad, very cheesy but the sentimentality isn't the problem for me. Oh no it's more 'official' stuff

Two years on what visa?

Teaching English and diving, work permit?

See now tourists will watch this video and think yeah I will spend two great years in Thailand, only to be crushed by the reality of these current very tight visa regulations. TAT you are sending out mixed messages, and further up than you the government for publishing this video! You are being very hypocritical.

[SamDezeure]

In fairness, the best bit of marketing done by TAT for years.

Cheesy, but a good effort.

Did people really believe 100 Thais would take to a beach with candles for free to find someone's bag?

Depends what's in the bag.

Sorry, was a cheap shot that I couldn't resist.

I was waiting for him to have to go upcountry and give sinsot to marry the bird to say thanks for finding his bag.

At least he didn't get his head bashed in or rent a jet ski......

He DID rent a jet ski... its the first few seconds of the video...

Anyway its a great clip and a good advertising. Now all that is left is change the Thais back to what they were 20 years ago... only THEN can we say that this video has some reality to it....

[zydeco]

You know, despite all the problems I have had and continue to have, I like Thailand and intend to stay. Parts of The Dream can and do come true. If I were as sour and bitter and angry as some seem to be, I think I would get the heck out of Dodge. Some people sound like they're doing hard time by living in Thailand. I'm not discounting their problems--just wondering why they prolong them by remaining.

[Iwantto]

He didnt leave thailand because doesnt have 20,000 baht to pay his overstay