Do Asian expats moan as much as Western expats?

[thailiketoo]

Then how come the forum is so often overwhelmingly negative?

The negative guys don't live in Thailand. Most of them have never been in Thailand. The closest they get is an internet virtual affair with an expat pretending to be a Thai female school teacher.

[David48]

Then how come the forum is so often overwhelmingly negative?

Then how come the News/General/Pub (sometimes) forum is so often overwhelmingly negative?

I reckon the rest of the place is quite cordial.

However, the Patts and Chiang Mai forums do get a little testy ..

OH ... in the Spirit of Christmas ... that wasn't meant to be a negative comment.

Edited December 8, 2014 by David48

[SoiBiker]

Then how come the forum is so often overwhelmingly negative?

The negative guys don't live in Thailand. Most of them have never been in Thailand. The closest they get is an internet virtual affair with an expat pretending to be a Thai female school teacher.

You have no idea where they actually live. You just think you do - and I doubt many other than yourself have much confidence in the accuracy of your assumptions.

[thailiketoo]

Then how come the forum is so often overwhelmingly negative?

The negative guys don't live in Thailand. Most of them have never been in Thailand. The closest they get is an internet virtual affair with an expat pretending to be a Thai female school teacher.

You have no idea where they actually live. You just think you do - and I doubt many other than yourself have much confidence in the accuracy of your assumptions.

It is easy to find out. Ask any digital pikey.

[gomangosteen]

Perhaps a new forum could be created for those posters who are actually in Thailand, and bar access to all posters who live outside the Kingdom.

The frorum could allow/deny access depending upon the poster's IP address - very unlikely that any poster living outside the Kingdom would go as far to spoof a Thai IP address.

Actually, I like this idea of a new forum - the 'Private - Thai Expats Only' forum.

Good idea I think!

George!!

Thanks a lot. It was only after my first 5 1/2 years living/working in Thailand till I left for a 3mth contract overseas.

Now I'm doing it again - 11 weeks away, back home for on Xmas day.

On your proposal, I'd be ruled out; though I rarely comment on the threads here, populated as they are by a band of miseryguts

The photo forums are far more enjoyable.

Regarding the title of this post - having worked in immigration and with immigrants and refugees from numerous countries in my pre-Thailand working years, there is simply nothing to compare with the expats living here.

[WitawatWatawit]

Other Asians do complain - but they tend to do it more privately and with less fuss than westerners do. My "other Asian" colleagues certainly didn't hold back when having a quiet beer together. I don't think any of them post on here, so if they post on forums in their own language, I guess they would be quite forthcoming - it's just. that we don't know about it. My Thai colleagues also bitch and moan privately - they are more circumspect in public, though.

FWIW, I don't mind the moaning on here all that much as some of us have no other outlet to release pent-up frustrations. Just about all of it I have heard before anyway, so water/duck's back.

[robertthebruce]

My only moan is about the ''Driving Standards'' the rest i can put up with, as its no big deal...

[neverdie]

Whilst I've never been to Thailand, I hope to one day and I've read all the travel brochures, I've seen a short 20 minute documentary and I once sat on a bus which went past a Thai Restuarant.......so I'm pretty much an expert on the place. 555555

Ps: it really annoys the crap out of me....the whiners and the bashers.....seriously, if it's that bad, flekk off home or somewhere else where it's better. Not really that hard.

[Morakot]

Do Asian expats moan as much as Western expats?

The Vietnamese worker on this construction site, I pass every day, look rather jolly when the perform their motivational gathering in the mornings. The Burmese maid who brings lunch has never very ever complained and mostly smiles when I try communicate in Thai. The senior colleague from Korea grumbled only once, when I lifted my rice bowl with two hands in a restaurant. The Japanese Ladies in these legendary places in Bangkok apparently moan a lot; I think are getting paid for doing this. The slave workers from other South East Asian countries, on these fishing boats in Thailand, look too knackered to kick up a fuss.

So overall, probably no. Unless of course we compare them to the ever delightful, generally rejoicing, cheerful TV expats.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Morakot

[BritManToo]

The western expats I know are a cheerful bunch. They enjoy living here.

It's not expats in general who are moaning. Just the ones that post on ThaiVisa.

Very few Asian expats in the UK, after 5 years they are all citizens.

If the western expats in Thailand all became citizens after 5 years, there would be a lot less of them to moan too.

So let's compare what's to moan about,

Property, if you got the money in the UK you can buy it, no moaning.

Hookers, in the UK they are rancid, nobody will move in with one, no moaning.

Health insurance, if you live in the UK, health care is free.

VISAs, if you made it to the UK you can stay forever, no hassle.

Government, Junta, etc., in the UK say what you want, nobody cares.

So most of the reasons for moaning have already gone.

Edited December 8, 2014 by BritManToo

[Morakot]

^^^ Rose-tinted spectacles alert!

Edited December 8, 2014 by Morakot

[SoiBiker]

The western expats I know are a cheerful bunch. They enjoy living here.

It's not expats in general who are moaning. Just the ones that post on ThaiVisa.

Very few Asian expats in the UK, after 5 years they are all citizens.

If the western expats in Thailand all became citizens after 5 years, there would be a lot less of them to moan too.

So let's compare what's to moan about,

Property, if you got the money in the UK you can buy it, no moaning.

Hookers, in the UK they are rancid, nobody will move in with one, no moaning.

Health insurance, if you live in the UK, health care is free.

VISAs, if you made it to the UK you can stay forever, no hassle.

Government, Junta, etc., in the UK say what you want, nobody cares.

So most of the reasons for moaning have already gone.

Who was talking about expats in the UK?

[simon43]

If the western expats in Thailand all became citizens after 5 years, there would be a lot less of them to moan too.

I firmly believe that if they all got Thai citizenship, they would still continue to moan - no change whatsoever.

I deliberately live alone in the middle of a rubber plantation so that I don't have to meet these whingers

Drat! I'm moaning again

[baneko]

I moan a bit but I'm Scottish. More about the English than the Thais mind you.

[Kudel]

Then how come the forum is so often overwhelmingly negative?

The negative guys don't live in Thailand. Most of them have never been in Thailand. The closest they get is an internet virtual affair with an expat pretending to be a Thai female school teacher.

Maybe some of us non expats see true the drivel most walter mitty expats post on a daily basis about their life in Thailand ,putting on a silly police volunteer uniform in bhucket and getting mentioned on a certain Britisch journalists website operating from Bangkok as being very unlucky operating a bussines in Thailand might get one to loose his street cred so to speak....

Edited December 8, 2014 by Kudel

[slipperylobster]

Only the females, during the course of the "inter" type.

I find that the loudest moans come from Western Expat girls. However, Asian Expat girls moan more melodically.

Edited December 8, 2014 by slipperylobster

[swissie]

I don't believe Thais do moan as much as Westerners, it is in their nature not to be confrontational, ie, if a Westerner orders a meal in a restaurant, and is served with the wrong food, 99.9% of us will complain, and quite rightly will ask the waiter to serve what he asked for, but for most Thais, it will be mai-pen-rai, and they will just accept it.

Please don't take this as a criticism of Thais, it is actually a compliment, Thais will not look for things to complain about the way Westerners would, it's just the way they are.

Frightening. Above text would finally explain, why it came to pass that it's the long nosed ugly Farangs that fly to the moon, have made all the important discoveries and innovations over the last 150 years, have won a major part of all the "Nobel-Prizes".

Those achievements were not born out of a "Mai Pen Ray" attitude. Quite the opposite. Those folks were a critical bunch of malcontents, that were not afraid to criticize, ask nasty questions, and not even trying to avoid controversial discussions. If it wasn't for them, today's Farangs living in Thailand would still be traveling by OX-Cart and not in a vehicle named "Toyota" or "Ford".

MAY PEN RAI,ANYONE ?

Poll: Should above text be rated as:

- Run of the mill Thai-Bashing ?

- Rumblings of an old fart ?

- A short but concise analysis of how things actually are in the land of "mai pen rai".

Cheers.

PS: Of course other S/E Asians moan and groan about "Thainess" on occasion, but NEVER IN THE PRESENCE OF A CAUCASIAN-FARANG.

[BritManToo]

If the western expats in Thailand all became citizens after 5 years, there would be a lot less of them to moan too.

I firmly believe that if they all got Thai citizenship, they would still continue to moan - no change whatsoever.

I deliberately live alone in the middle of a rubber plantation so that I don't have to meet these whingers

Drat! I'm moaning again

My point being, they would no longer be expats moaning.

[BritManToo]

Only the females, during the course of the "inter" type.

I find that the loudest moans come from Western Expat girls. However, Asian Expat girls moan more melodically.

They always moan that I haven't given them enough money.

[ATF]

Have you ever taken a Thai to Europe? They moan like crazy. Why is somtam 500 Baht and it's made with carrots? Why is it so cold? Why are chilies so expensive? Why is everyone looking at me? And on and on.

[canuckamuck]

I assume that this is how it goes. Expats from higher tier nations moan more when living in lower tier nations..

I am assuming that the Japanese and Singapore expats moan quite a lot in Thailand, while the closer neighbors have lower expectations.

[thailiketoo]

PS: Of course other S/E Asians moan and groan about "Thainess" on occasion, but NEVER IN THE PRESENCE OF A CAUCASIAN-FARANG.

Teachers from the Philippines often complain about Thais with Farang teachers. Business owners from China, Korea and Japan often complain about Thai people with Farang business owners in the same technical area.

[Suradit69]

But is it all expat nationalities that are moaning? Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I get the impression that it is the 'Western' expats who are moaning, (including us whinging poms), ...

Many have never been more than 50 km from home all their lives before coming to Thailand and can't get over the idea that not everyone lives like they did or would want to. It's like going away to summer camp for the first time when your 10 years old and discover life without mommy is scary.

It's also the first time for many that they have not been in the majority in terms of race or nationality. If they came from one of the nanny states they come here with a big sense of entitlement and think they should be treated as though their presence is a gift to Thailand.

It's not constructive criticism as one poster claimed ... presumably not understanding "constructive." It's mostly childish whining and adolescent insistence that they be the center of attention like they were living at home with mom.

I've lived and worked in 5 different countries. Westerners, especially Europeans from my experience, do little else other than moan, but I will say westerners in Thailand ... assuming Thai Visa is even remotely representative ... deserve a place in the Guinness World Records for most incessant, non-stop whining.

The 7-Eleven clerk didn't smile at me. Bwaaahhh. They ALL must hate ALL farangs!!

Edited December 8, 2014 by Suradit69

[Suradit69]

The western expats I know are a cheerful bunch. They enjoy living here.

It's not expats in general who are moaning. Just the ones that post on ThaiVisa.

Yes, there is an amazing difference between foreigners you encounter out and about in the real world ... compared to many of those here at the hub of whining. I sometimes think about the normal looking, normal behaving people I see and wonder which ones turn into cranky old ladies when they fire up Thai Visa.

[canuckamuck]

The there are those that whine about the whiners.

[BudRight]

Most of it is constructive objective criticism (for good reason) For sure Thais do not complain about much, the face thing, which I guess applies to all Asians So someone has to do it

For example these jerk Bangkok city bus drivers who stop in center lane for passengers. Its like the Thais would rather be hit by a motorbike than complain.

And what about the locals in Pattaya who regularly run red lights with pedestrians in the crosswalk.

If you think thats being negative then you need to give some specific examples of what you are referring to .

It's the Bwana force. Now there are two threads running that whingers just can't imagine Thais doing anything good. One on fuel prices and another on failing grades in universities. Numerous examples have been given in both threads that fuel has gone down in price and some Thai universities do fail large numbers of people but this information can't be processed by those people who have succumbed to the Bwana force.

Another post is trying to start a rumor about retirement going up in age and another about police it's just the Bwana force trying to start rumors about visas being canceled and the typical chicken little rumor mongering stuff.

The Bwana force normally affects ex colonial masters more than ex colonial enslaved peoples hence not many Asians or colonials have the problem.

Not sure about that 'colonial masters' drivel, but in Texas right now gasoline is $1.99 per gallon. That's 17.47 Baht per liter. Show me where you can buy gasoline in Thailand for that price.

[ttthailand]

Bitching maybe ..... All I have to say is that some people accept mediocrity and some don't.

[thailiketoo]

Most of it is constructive objective criticism (for good reason) For sure Thais do not complain about much, the face thing, which I guess applies to all Asians So someone has to do it

For example these jerk Bangkok city bus drivers who stop in center lane for passengers. Its like the Thais would rather be hit by a motorbike than complain.

And what about the locals in Pattaya who regularly run red lights with pedestrians in the crosswalk.

If you think thats being negative then you need to give some specific examples of what you are referring to .

It's the Bwana force. Now there are two threads running that whingers just can't imagine Thais doing anything good. One on fuel prices and another on failing grades in universities. Numerous examples have been given in both threads that fuel has gone down in price and some Thai universities do fail large numbers of people but this information can't be processed by those people who have succumbed to the Bwana force.

Another post is trying to start a rumor about retirement going up in age and another about police it's just the Bwana force trying to start rumors about visas being canceled and the typical chicken little rumor mongering stuff.

The Bwana force normally affects ex colonial masters more than ex colonial enslaved peoples hence not many Asians or colonials have the problem.

Not sure about that 'colonial masters' drivel, but in Texas right now gasoline is $1.99 per gallon. That's 17.47 Baht per liter. Show me where you can buy gasoline in Thailand for that price.

The point was not the price but that prices have come down. Bwana people can't seem to get this fact.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/782264-gasoline-prices-in-thailand-not-budging-as-in-rest-of-world/page-3#entry8778854

Edited December 9, 2014 by thailiketoo

[azaazo9]

Oh, come on guys! Expats moan everywhere.

I lived in Dubai (and you all know that it's a quite expat environment) almost ten years, and I can assure you that Dubai expats moan much more then expats in Thailand.

And yes, I also moan about some things here in Thailand:

- traffic

-lack of public transport

- lack of communication since I can't speak Thai, and many Thais can't speak English

end...

[Eliot Rosewater]

Yes

I could not believe some of the things Thais complained about in my country; none of them wanted to pay tax, organize paperwork to get driver licence etc

One guy who was working illegally wanted workmans comp for an injury...the list goes on

When I asked if a foreigner would get those things in Thailand I received a blank stare then "but this is US"

So, yes.....yes they do