FFFA / Farangs and Foreigners Friendly Addresses (FFFA) you know... to share...

[Alexjou123]

Good morning everybody !

Thank you very much to all people whom contribute to ThaiVisa.

Now, not a day goes by without reading information from ThaiVisa.

Nowadays, we live in Bangkok since November 2014, and we settle in Thailand, for several years.

We are Both (Farangs) my wife and I, we come from France, so sorry for the mistakes in English.

We try to do our best, to learn Thai, and try to make the exchanges between Thai people and us, easier.

We try to be polite, understanding and really try to do our best and to be open minded.

But after more than 3 month, we are really really upset, not because we came with preconceived expectations, about what we will find here.

But because :

1/ It's often impossible to be understood from Thai (oral or writtings in Engish, even in Thai, drawings, pictures from Internet, etc.). How many times we ask for something and They still now did not do it at all (Banks, Cell phone company, Internet Company, etc.). Now, we really have doubts ... Really, do they not understand ? Or, do they not want to understand ? We have a Thai friend here, whom often waste her time trying to find solutions. And often, there is no solution... It is not possible to ask her, all the time to help us... Often, she must call several times for the same problems. It is not possible to keep on like this ! Most of Thai did not understand English even in Bangkok. And as we are not native English it is often impossible to understand them in English. Only few speak a correct English and most of the time, we realised they come Phillipines... I know, French guys are very awfull about foreign languages. it is not because we do not want to learn, but in France schools way to teach languages is hawfull and during years and years every movies were translate with French voices.

2/ Taxi troubles : How many time they refused us, trying 10 times to find one, and ask us between 300 Baths or 600 Baths for few kilometers or miles (since more three months just 3 times, they had put the meter on and we only paid 56 Baths and not 300 or 600 Baths). Most of the time we use BTS ou MRT, But there is many place we ca use only Taxi. We went once to Hua Hin from Bangkok, it cost us 3 000 Baths and we have negociated from 4 000 Baths. When we arrived at Hua Hin, we saw the price was 1 600 Baths. One day, we ask to go to " China Town "

Yesterday night we went to a restaurant we took a seabass for 490 Baths (usually we find it at 350 Baths), it was the smallest seabass, I have ever seen hier. When I asked the menu for the dessert, the price for the dessert started at 290 Baths (+10% service and + 7% Vat). It is more expensive than in Paris !!!

3/ Xenophobia, racism towards foreigners, Farangs,... in Bangkok .... As far as my wife and I are concerned I can fell it every day. Often, we ask to our Thai friends what does that mean this words, that what said to us and she told us it was very bad words. And never Imagine so many Thais could be so racists and this is really really sad !

We really do not know if we will stay now for more than one year.

So If you really know Farangs and Foreigners Friendly Address (FFFA) that you have really tested yourself

[Soutpeel]

Xenophobia, racism towards foreigners,

That's a bit rich isn't it ? I have been to Paris...

[Soutpeel]

I have a solution to solve all your troubles... a White flag

[CharlieH]

Location location location, you cant judge an entire country or its people on one defined location.

There are many foreigners who live and work in Bangkok with no issues and love it there.

There are many that don't, its all about finding what's right and what fits you and your personality.

I personally have been here 10 years, never encountered anything of what you describe (other than the taxi problem occasionally on visits to Bangkok)

my recommendation, is take time to spend more time elsewhere in the Country if you are feeling so unhappy.

[Alexjou123]

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Location location location, you cant judge an entire country or its people on one defined location.

There are many foreigners who live and work in Bangkok with no issues and love it there.

There are many that don't, its all about finding what's right and what fits you and your personality.

I personally have been here 10 years, never encountered anything of what you describe (other than the taxi problem occasionally on visits to Bangkok)

my recommendation, is take time to spend more time elsewhere in the Country if you are feeling so unhappy.

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Hello CharlieH

You misunderstand what I wrote, I am not judging an entire country or all Thais. I never say " all the thai in Thailand ".... I do not undesrtand why you make this short cut...

I have explained at the begining, My wife and I we have settled in Bangkok since more than 3 months. We just gave only few facts, because only facts care, in Bangkok and I said we are really diseapointed about what we had been faced, not once but several times, since we live here.

I am really happy for you that you had ten years in Thailand without what I discribed... Hope most of foreigners will never ever have to face what we had to faced. But, It was not our case during these 3 last months, that's why I wrote them here.

About you writtings " its all about finding what's right and what fits you and your personality. " We know what we have heard in Thai, after our Good morning " สวัสดีครับ " from me and " สวัสดีค่ะ " from my wife, we just arrived and we were both smiling, and it was not the first time it happened. I will not write down the Thai words in this forum...

About " its all about finding what's right and what fits you " Hope you could agree with me : I don't find racist words towards someone is a right things and racism doesn't fit anybody... Do you ?

I give facts and said we are really diseapointed here about what happened here to us, and of course these is our point of view (my wife and I).

May be you are not interested in, hope other could be... I mean evebody who wants to share Farangs and Foreigners Friendly Adresses, because they went to a real friendly place for foreigners and had a real good experience in this palce could share it (to got restaurants, bars, shooping, to buy a car, a motorcycle etc ...).

So If you really know Farangs and Foreigners Friendly Address (FFFA) that you have really tested yourself, it could construcitve to share them... Bangkok or any place in Thailand.

Wish you and everbody good things

[ukrules]

Well I've always found it nice and friendly in Hua Hin. If you go to the mass tourist orientated places you will face being overcharged - this is the same everywhere.

If you go to a regular nice restaurant a little outside the mass tourist areas you will pay normal prices, even right on the beachside restaurants (Coco 51 in Hua Hin being a good example of this) . These are nice places with excellent food where both Thai and foreign customers go to dine.

Thais will never put up with the kind of thing you're talking about.

[96tehtarp]

From the OP:

"1/ It's often impossible to be understood"

Being non native English speakers will make it more difficult for you. I'm not sure a new location will help, although a more tourist oriented area may be easier. (See Post #5) although tourist areas have another set of problems.

Regarding a 490 baht sea-bass... I think in time you will discover a better restaurant with bigger fish and lower prices. They are everywhere.

2/ Taxi troubles : How many time they refused us, trying 10 times to find one...

This is common. Don't blame the taxis. At certain times of the day, at rush hour, they do refuse to take you somewhere. This is unique to Bangkok.

3/ Xenophobia, racism towards foreigners

This is something one will experience everywhere in Thailand. You'll need to learn to deal with it and get over it. Not all Thai people are Xenophobic but the ones who can be found everywhere. I'm sure you can find some nice open minded Thai people anywhere in Thailand, although the language barrier often makes this difficult.

I think a Farang Foreigner Friendly Area is anywhere you feel it is. I like almost all of the larger provincial capital cities with the exception of Chiang Mai.

[siam2007]

Alexjou, I wonder in which area of Bangkok you actually live and what places you patronize and how you act.

In the 12 years living in BKK, I had almost NEVER problems with Taxis not using the Meter, I would say less than 2% refused to open the meter or start discussing prices. when that happened, I just got off the cab and hailed down the next one. Even at lower Sukhumvit, saturday at midnight, I never had problem to find a cab that uses the Meter, just do hail down a Cab that is MOVING and not one that is waiting in front of an entertainment establishment or at the BAK SOI (mouth of the Soi, lietrally).

You say you learn Thai and probably can speak some Thai already, so this should help you even more.

If you patronize restaurants that are mostly frequented by tourists or tourgroups, then chances are bigger you will experience rip-offs.

In 12 years in BKK I only had experienced one rip-off in a Resto, and that was at the CAFE LAOS in the Sathorn/Silom area.

Could it be you still behave a lot like you are in France and apply French standards ? Could it be the way you approach people that makes them encourage to rip you off ?

Most important here in Bangkok (and this actually applies to all foreign countries one wants to move to): when in Rome do as the Romans.......

The more you act like a local, or at least a long-term Expat in the Know, the less likely you will experience rip-offs or other unpleasant things.

You just arrived in November 2014, now thats just a few months! You will need to learn, to adjust, and to adopt standards and custom here.

Such thing can not be done within a few weeks. Believe me, it is a process of many years and can be frustrating and this process actually never ends.

So, the most important attitude is to adopt "MAI BPEN RAI" - because sometimes things just WON'T go your way, no matter how much you try (or how loud you yell).The ability to accept those "CAN NOT" experiences plus stopping to try to see things in a LOGICAL WAY as you were used to in Europe will help your life here tremendously. Some people can not or do not want to accept this, but they will usually not live here for a long time.....

CHOK DEE and calm down first...... give yourself time to adopt the lifestyle in the City of angels......

[marko kok prong]

I do sympathise,as i know how hard it would be for me without my Thai wife,and i can speak a fair bit of Thai,but sometimes the mindset seems to be"it sounded like Thai,but he is a falang,so it cannot of been",,the taxi's never been an issue,xenophobia,Alex i have been in this village for three years they still call me the falang,it no longer bothers me,what you have to understand is most Thai people know nothing of the rest of the world,they have been taught since birth their country is the greatest in the world,and kon Thai stand above all others,needless to say this triggers an immense culture shock when they do actually visit a western country,one of my wife cousins went to Sweden,in summer,but it was too much for her,2 weeks she was back,no som dam,no burning rubbish,no dogs howling through the night,what i am trying to say is it goes both ways,learn as much Thai as you can,percivere,and try to understand the people,they do like falangs{ well at least for your money],at least in my village i have never been subject to aggresive racism,the like of which i may get it i was Thai and moved to a small country town in Australia or the Uk.