What has surprised you in Thailand?

[jdinasia]

I have been here for 18 months not that long compare to many. But unlike many that have been here far longer than me, I have my eyes open.

LOS land of smiles ..... what a joke that is. I don't like Thai people. Used to think they were wonderful, but the rose tinted glasses fell off.

Show the dollar bill and you are special. Keep it in your pocket, you are scum.

Thanks for your honesty! I understand you better now!

Seriously. Wanting people jailed for life or hung so others can carry on doing what they do!

That has nothing to do with being Thai, that is just pure evil.

If you cant trust the police who can you trust ?

I actually know Thai people. I am not willing to paint them all with the same brush.

BTW they don't hang people in Thailand. Execution here is done by lethal injection. Prior to that it was done by firing squad.

Ask black people in the US if they trust the police.

[AZBill]

I like the food and there is some beautiful beaches and scenery but other than that Thailand doesn't leave any more of an impression on me than any other 3rd world country. As I've said before, it's Mexico without the work ethic.

[jdinasia]

Meanwhile, back to topic.

What has surprised me in Thailand is the bitterness of expats on this forum.

quite, I am surprised at the open and balatant racism displayed on this forum by some members

Not just racism, but bashing of any people of any country which is not their own home country. That's right before they start bashing their home country. Bitter.

Nationalism is an issue in all countries.

[berybert]

I have been here for 18 months not that long compare to many. But unlike many that have been here far longer than me, I have my eyes open.

LOS land of smiles ..... what a joke that is. I don't like Thai people. Used to think they were wonderful, but the rose tinted glasses fell off.

Show the dollar bill and you are special. Keep it in your pocket, you are scum.

Thanks for your honesty! I understand you better now!

Seriously. Wanting people jailed for life or hung so others can carry on doing what they do!

That has nothing to do with being Thai, that is just pure evil.

If you cant trust the police who can you trust ?

I actually know Thai people. I am not willing to paint them all with the same brush.

BTW they don't hang people in Thailand. Execution here is done by lethal injection. Prior to that it was done by firing squad.

Ask black people in the US if they trust the police.

Far from it. I have yet to see a post you make where by you have a go at a Thai person. You paint them all with your love brush.

I am sure as many white people distrust the cops in America as blacks. But we are not talking about America, we are talking about the land of smiles.

[jdinasia]

I have been here for 18 months not that long compare to many. But unlike many that have been here far longer than me, I have my eyes open.

LOS land of smiles ..... what a joke that is. I don't like Thai people. Used to think they were wonderful, but the rose tinted glasses fell off.

Show the dollar bill and you are special. Keep it in your pocket, you are scum.

Thanks for your honesty! I understand you better now!

Seriously. Wanting people jailed for life or hung so others can carry on doing what they do!

That has nothing to do with being Thai, that is just pure evil.

If you cant trust the police who can you trust ?

I actually know Thai people. I am not willing to paint them all with the same brush.

BTW they don't hang people in Thailand. Execution here is done by lethal injection. Prior to that it was done by firing squad.

Ask black people in the US if they trust the police.

Far from it. I have yet to see a post you make where by you have a go at a Thai person. You paint them all with your love brush.

I am sure as many white people distrust the cops in America as blacks. But we are not talking about America, we are talking about the land of smiles.

"if you can't trust the police..."

You won't see me post about Thai people in general. I am not a bigot. As a white person in the US I trusted the police unless I was riding with people who were patched with a known patch.

If you look at statistics you would know that your claim of surety regarding white people in the US is wrong.

BTW my individual conflicts with Thai people will never be posted online. Why? Because they are individual conflicts.

Edited February 27, 2015 by jdinasia

[sdanielmcev]

Been here 1 year. Good; not that much different from back home. Bad; see previous.

[gk10002000]

What surprised me.. I first visited in Sep 2004. I have been 13 times now I think. Sometimes staying for two months at a time. All holiday trips between my contract jobs. I had read up on it a lot before my first trip and I am not right out of high school so I have been around a few blocks. I understood and was aware of most of the negative things that people have experienced, two timing girlfriends, tourist scams, crooks etc.

Good surprises:

The local Thai eateries for basic fried rice with real shrimps, or pork, watermelon or banana shakes, noodle soup carts (30 baht), pork kabobs (10 or 20 baht). For some cheap and pretty decent eating these were quite enjoyable to me. Decent german food and some English food available.

Foot massages. I really had no idea.

Oil massage. I knew but didn't expect the 300 baht (10 usd) prices. What a pleasant vacation thing, often right in my hotel.

Soapy massage. Way more fun than I expected

Pattaya Post Office. Has seats to sit in, ticket number machine, ticket number display. I live in Palm Beach Fl and that post office has no seats, old people have to stand etc. Not greatly impressed with the Thai mail service reliability but most of my postcards made it to the USA

Nong Nooch gardens.

NEP. Well, it is worth a look and makes some good bar stories back in the USA.

Bangkok BTS skytrain. To me it is a great tourist ride, get a view of the city and can be very convenient and avoid driving

Ease of getting from BKK to Pattaya by either bus service during the day or taxi. I used to arrive at 2 am and never had an issue with taxis.

Walk in Hospital treatment. Used it twice for nothing too severe, but thought it was fine and reasonably priced, and available. USA is a nightmare for a walkin stuff even with coverage.

I love the Baht bus Toyota pickup truck idea. It is cheap, gets me where I want to go. I like the fresh air. Can look out and see things that might warrant further investigation

Mid level hotels I stay at are quite clean. Can't recall much of a bedding or linen issue. See Bad Surprises about AC and Filter.

I like the outdoor heat pump exchanger design with a slow moving fan indoor.

Loved Sukhothai. Serene and beautiful

Was kind of surprised at the willingness of Thai ladies to go and join up or even travel. One of my friend's girl friends called her friend and she traveled on her own to meet up with us on Ko Samet. Of course I re-imbursed everthing, and yes I have no doubts money was her motivation as well as the idea of having three days away from home, having some fun etc. But still, that was a pretty cool experiecne

Bad Surprises.

Gogos tending to being less topless

Liquor drinks are bad and the juices used are worse: For example Vodka and OJ, or vodka and cranberry. they use some cheap Tang type of nam som. yech.

Beer selection is limited.

Hard Hard and Harder Thai mattresses. Some are just too uncomfortable to sleep on.

Bad and dirty Air conditioning filters and screens.

I hated some hotels that never maintained or greased the fan bearings on the outside AC unit. Darn things look like they are 25 years old and sound like a bucket of ball bearings

Too many big construction things in Pattaya. 2005 was fine. I don't like the big malls, no green areas etc.

[neverdie]

A disguised moaning thread, same old, same old.

I'm surprised anyone would think this is not something it is.

[RichieHuaHin]

I have been here for 18 months not that long compare to many. But unlike many that have been here far longer than me, I have my eyes open.

LOS land of smiles ..... what a joke that is. I don't like Thai people. Used to think they were wonderful, but the rose tinted glasses fell off.

Show the dollar bill and you are special. Keep it in your pocket, you are scum.

Quote: "Show the dollar bill and you are special. Keep it in your pocket, you are scum."

I don't agree with this. In my experience, Thais have a low opinion of westerners who flash the cash and laugh at morons who give their (unemployed) Thai wives allowances.

[benalibina]

A disguised moaning thread, same old, same old.

I'm surprised anyone would think this is not something it is.

Who dares to question your analytical capabilities ?

[Soutpeel]

Meanwhile, back to topic.

What has surprised me in Thailand is the bitterness of expats on this forum.

quite, I am surprised at the open and balatant racism displayed on this forum by some members

As I said, you are a true Master.

this maybe true but one suspects its far better than being a bigoted half wit

[Soutpeel]

Meanwhile, back to topic.

What has surprised me in Thailand is the bitterness of expats on this forum.

quite, I am surprised at the open and balatant racism displayed on this forum by some members

Not just racism, but bashing of any people of any country which is not their own home country. That's right before they start bashing their home country. Bitter.

NS you do know Africa is not a country don't you, it a continent and much much bigger than the state of Texas

[Soutpeel]

Meanwhile, back to topic.

What has surprised me in Thailand is the bitterness of expats on this forum.

quite, I am surprised at the open and balatant racism displayed on this forum by some members

Not just racism, but bashing of any people of any country which is not their own home country. That's right before they start bashing their home country. Bitter.

Neversure, I think / hope that you did not understand the baiting in Soutpeel's post.

there was no baiting....it was stated as a fact

[koo wallety tourist]

what has surprised me over the years is the number of completely dysfunctional foreigners who are living in the country,

yeah everywhere I have worked in "foreign" countries, you get the odd 1 or 2 nut jobs who have arrived on a banana boat, but Thailand must the be the regional hub for "broken"/disturbed/dysfunctional foreigners. there many who should be in padded cells for their own protection.

and then we have the another demographic of those who have have never traveled outside their own country until the prospect of a cheap available women grew too strong for them and they up root themselves and transplant themselves to Nakon Nowhere shacked up with some bint,with splayed toes and a trick pelvis who gave them the goo goo eyes and promised to love them long time and they are absolutely clueless

Where exactly do you meet these completely dysfunctional foreigners, and what are you doing in those places?

Dear boy, one only has to open ones eyes in many public places in the major population centers in the country, to see this.

unless of course you live in Nakom Nowhere per the second demographic and you would be forgiven for not seeing this

i currently am located in an area where there are huge volumes of farang passing through daily. cant recall seeing even one "dysfunctional foreigner". so once again, what are you doing in those places.!?

[koo wallety tourist]

firstly, you are coming back, you just dont know it yet.

secondly hat yai is a separate country as far as thailand is concerned. have spend months there on many separate occasions for mostly the same reason. (border run are more convenient) moving north the attitude and culture change noticeably. so that is all you need to do , not necessarily leave as you propose. there are many different location niches that you can flit between at whim and to suit your mood.

i'm amazed that i can now walk past beautiful smiling girls who are readily available and not even feel the remotest need to open my wallet. just smile and walk on by. never would have though i could do that when i first came here. seen too much had the experience, so obviously those experience weren't all favourable even if most were. things have changed not to my liking on that front, or perhaps it is now me in my older age that doesnt bring out the best in in the girls that are available. still live here by choice without that fringe benefit though. often think of moving on but just dont get to actually do it. even if i do leave i always return.

Edited February 28, 2015 by koo wallety tourist

[thhMan]

I expected Thais to be stupid... I am surprised I was right

They cant drive, have no idea of road rules... cannot manage their finances... cannot manage their country....

What surprised me was that Thai females dont think much of Thai men at all...

Ive read lots of stories about Western men finding their Thai GF with a thai guy, but I havent encountered that situation within the circle of people I know...

My wife gets asked what its like to live with a western man... and thats sometimes followed with a "how do I get one"... (Makes you feel like some breed of animal)

Im suprised at the way Thais bring up their children... followed by comments to the wife on how well mannered ours are.... and how good they speak english and interact with dad (me)

My biggest suprise was.....

There was a bike accident, right in front of my house... It involved one family member accidentally running over his brother that was on a scooter.....

But on speaking to them, I was surprised at how much they loathed Soi Dogs and how many times they and their neighbors complained to police about them....

I thought I was the only one annoyed by the garbage strewn all over the streets by the dogs.. their never ending barking.... and so on....

Since I saw no actions against the Soi Dogs, I thought it was just me being the "crazy falang who not like dog"

And I do have a cat and a husky that are properly managed by their owner

Edited February 28, 2015 by thhMan

[BigC]

As I am leaving Thailand I am overwhelmed with all sorts of feelings about the place. I was wondering if I wrote a post on something interesting before leaving. When posters leave Thailand, they tend to give their rather dismal opinions on why they have to leave. As a result, a usual clash brakes out between the apologists and the Thai bashers. Thats boring. How can people argue over experiences and observations of others? You cant take away someones experiences for sure.

And here comes my idea: instead of the usual stuff, I am trying to give a short summary on what things have surprised me or what things have turned out to be different from what I expected. And I ask other posters to share their surprises.

As a note: I am neither bashing nor praising the place. Also, I have gathered my experiences in Hatyai and Songkhla province as well as during my trips around Thailand. I speak, read and write in Thai, and I have had the chance to use these skills during my stay. Note: Sometimes, its shocking to know what Thais talked about us foreigners.

Ok, here is the list:

- I thought most of the Thais can cook (I dont know why). Nope. Only a small fraction of them can cook confidently.

- The weather. Its much more boring than I thought. However, its fairly easy to cope with it. Its never extremely hot (for me). Also, the number of cloudy days is much higher than I thought.

- The people are as friendly as I expected. However, in my experiences, friendliness doesnt couple with helpfulness.

- Driving is smoother and easier in a couple of places than I thought. For example: Bangkok, Prachin Buri, Kanchanaburi. On the other hand, the drivers in Trang, Pattalung and Songkhla are like a nightmare. Quite a large proportion of them shows absolutely no regards to any road related laws.

- Much more people speak English than I thought before. They are just overly shy. All the doctors I have met could converse in English. Teachers, on the other hand, showed extremely low level of English language competence.

- Alcohol. For some reason I thought Thais dont really consume alcohol. Lol. I have met scores of daily drinkers. Most of them are men.

- The incompetence in bureaucracy is abysmal. Apart from a few cases, I have had loads of problems. This includes immigration, local council, Teachers Council, banks and school bureaucracy.

- We all know that corruption is deep-rooted in Thailand. Its really everywhere. Its on an unimaginable level.

- I thought that there were lot of handymen around, yet I couldnt find an available plumber for months. On the other hand, getting certain services is as easy as pie. For example: motorbike repair services, car cleaning services etc.

- Before I moved to Thailand I had the feeling that Thais are introverted in general. This wasnt true.

- Dishonesty and all sorts of lies were another huge disappointment for me.

- I thought Thai people dont really have ideas about the problems in the country. Wrong. I have met loads of people who are aware of and would talk about their frustrations about the problems in the society. The problem is that they would never express their opinions openly.

All in all, living in Thailand has been an invaluable experience, and I dont regret having lived here. However, I dont think I will ever come back for another round.

I know some posters would disagree with my list above, but I would like to point out that I have only jotted down my experiences.

Anyways, what has surprised you in Thailand?

Bye-bye Thailand

I love Thailand if I didn't have to die one day I would never leave

Just wish I could buy a gun and buy land in my name

[Soutpeel]

Just wish I could buy a gun

From Texas are we ?

[Oziex1]

Meanwhile, back to topic.

What has surprised me in Thailand is the bitterness of expats on this forum.

Yep, I read a few internet forums on various subjects and it's the same old boorish dominators of conversation as you find in bars in workplace meetings just another platform for those who love the sound of their own voice or typing.

On the plus side a lot of good credible info on specific topics to be found on the other TV forums.

Thailand surprising not everyone out to scam as we are made to think, I live in Issan not Phuket or Pattaya.

[ToddinChonburi]

I would say the amount of trash in certain areas, vacant lots full of garbage, venders pouring dirty greasy water into the sewers, garbage washing up on the beach.

This place can be so beautiful and then such a whole.

I see people violating traffic laws daily but then they stop at the red lights, two or three wide trying to turn right with a fourth one joining in and the motorbikes on the sidewalk is a whole new subject.

I think the entertainment value of this is priceless I can sit and watch this shit for hours.

Watched 3 boys in there late teens bounce off the side of an oncoming car on there motorbike and never slowed. Two of them looked back with big smiles on there faces and the car never touched the brake. I smiled and said to myself, only in Thailand.

Looking forward to the year 2015 in Thailand.

[Johnny S]

I have been here for 18 months not that long compare to many. But unlike many that have been here far longer than me, I have my eyes open.

LOS land of smiles ..... what a joke that is. I don't like Thai people. Used to think they were wonderful, but the rose tinted glasses fell off.

Show the dollar bill and you are special. Keep it in your pocket, you are scum.

Agree w you berybert. Unfortunately in this forum when people are beeing honest and tell the truth as they see it where ever they may live its time for the "truth-bashers" (apologists) to come out and call you racist and many other pretty things ...

[cms22]

BAD surprises: My wife, Thai drivers, Thai religion

GOOD surprises: My wife's family, Thai food, Cost of living

[MauiSteveBKK]

++ I expected Thai people to be nice and friendly. They have been.

-- I find Thai people a bit "rude". They never introduce me. They never say: "excuse me" , "Bless you", khob khun khrap, or especially ga ruu naa (please). I was surprised by this. Just basic courtesies.

-- Possibly because of me and 60 years on Mainland USA -- Thai people are not "creative" and not always very smart. I believe they have, somewhat, lazy minds.

-- I often wonder what Thai's are thinking when I see them staring off into space. Now I know -- they are not thinking of anything.

For us, for now -- our plans are to live Maui, Hawaii 7 months and Tha Bo, Nong Khai Province, for 5 months.

Bless you on your experiences.

[berybert]

I have been here for 18 months not that long compare to many. But unlike many that have been here far longer than me, I have my eyes open.

LOS land of smiles ..... what a joke that is. I don't like Thai people. Used to think they were wonderful, but the rose tinted glasses fell off.

Show the dollar bill and you are special. Keep it in your pocket, you are scum.

Agree w you berybert. Unfortunately in this forum when people are beeing honest and tell the truth as they see it where ever they may live its time for the "truth-bashers" (apologists) to come out and call you racist and many other pretty things ...

The word racist has been so watered down, these days its impossible for someone not to be racist.

To many people feel the need to apologize for others.

My mate has a Thai girlfriend who is pretty clever. She has changed jobs and is now working for a new company that works with vans doing backloads.

Transport has been my game for about 25 years. Now other than the odd hello this woman has never really spoken to me. He tells her I know about transport.

She buys me a beer then expects me to tell her everything I know for 99 baht. Now she tends to avoid me totally.

That for me is typical Thai.

[BB24]

As most of the above - plus:

How lazy the men are (especially the police), and that they get away with it.

How lovely so many of the women are - beautiful one day, perfect the next.

How many farangs hate Thailand, but dont seem to have the guts to leave.

I made the mistake of talking to an 'abviously upset' Farang a while ago in a shopping centre. He started going on and on about how bad Thais were (especially his wife) - at first I thought he just needed to let of steam, but he kept going and going, and as I walked away he followed and kept going. Eventually I stopped and told him that perhaps he should <deleted> off - he responded something about leaving Thailand one day - I responded : 'No Mate - you need to <deleted> off away from me before I smack you in the mouth you fat c**t".

I am surprised how many Farangs here need a good smack in the mouth

[garrya]

A disguised moaning thread, same old, same old.

I'm surprised anyone would think this is not something it is.

Yes. You are right. Your post shows the same old, same old attitude.Where is your bitterness coming from?

[enufsaid]

Garrys, not so long ago Thailand was a nice place to holiday. Now the place is over run by drunken/drugged Falang with no respect for the Thai culture never mind themselves. How dense must one be to do drugs in a country that has the death penalty or horrendous prisons. How dense must one be to get totally blind drunk in a strange country or their own, half naked walking on beaches in the early hours, then wonder why they're attacked. Respect for the country your in might be a start. The saying " when in Rome do as the Romans do" goes a long way to keeping one safe.

[berybert]

Garrys, not so long ago Thailand was a nice place to holiday. Now the place is over run by drunken/drugged Falang with no respect for the Thai culture never mind themselves. How dense must one be to do drugs in a country that has the death penalty or horrendous prisons. How dense must one be to get totally blind drunk in a strange country or their own, half naked walking on beaches in the early hours, then wonder why they're attacked. Respect for the country your in might be a start. The saying " when in Rome do as the Romans do" goes a long way to keeping one safe.

Because Thai's don't do drugs or alcohol.

[Robert24]

For me the surprises were mainly:

Positives:

+ quality of healthcare and relatively cheap. I didn't expect this

+ my wife's family have been really good to me.

+ easier to make friends with locals than I thought.

Negatives:

- extent of corruption in private businesses here. We all know that the government is corrupt similar to other countries in SEA. But the extent of corruption in privately owned businesses and also exchange listed companies really surprised me. I would have always thought that owners of such businesses have all interest to implement controls that this doesn't happen. But clearly I was wrong.

[727Sky]

Over 40 years ago I honestly thought Thailand would be the next Singapore or Hong Kong... It did not happen..

The big well connented families have pretty much blocked new business start ups that might cut into their profit picture with import and ownership restrictions, not to mention the local kick back schemes to some authority..It used to be called racketeering which pays well if you can get away with it.

With some of the attempts to regulate society which have not worked the world over you would think with all the road maps available Thailand could plan a course of first class anything.

I have had many Thai friends over the years both social and some who worked for me and ended up as friends. People are people IMO; some have honor and respect others, where some are just air breathers and better left to their own devices.

Expat weirdos: Over the years I have played Golf with large groups of expats. Usually the ones who have a screw loose are voted out of the group the second or third time they act like an ass. Again people are just people and you get the good with the bad no matter where you are..

A Thai friend once told me in the early days, "when driving expect everyone to try and kill you or cause an accident". I have never forgotten his words and in all honesty that has saved me more than once. Driving where the speed limits are to slow to begin with and then mixing tuk tuks, motorcycles, bycicles and the occasional wrong way traffic can make for an interesting experience no matter where you live. Wrong way traffic can be attributed in some cases simply because the next "U" turn is a couple of miles down the road, or, in a congested city the traffic is so bad that unless you are on a motor bike expect long delays. Many of the problems in thailand could be fixed with public information broadcast and breaking some heads when corruption is rooted out not to mention one way streets where that rule is inforced diligently..