Have you changed your viewpoint of Thais and Thailand since arriving

[KamalaRider]

My opinion about Thailand and Thais are getting to the worse by the month.

BUT, and this is a big but, this is my reflection of Thai's, not a valuation of all of them as a people.

They are ALL children, without any exceptions, this is very charming the first couple of weeks and I did what most people (farang) do in the beginning (some don't ever stop), I entertained myself with a few bar girls the first two months, mostly because I was charmed and excited about grown women acted like teenagers, felt a bit like that myself at the time, made me feel younger I think.

It pretty soon became quite boring and also irritating, never an adult decision or action from anyone.

Interactions with professionals, be it an ISP, like TOT, 3BB or any other company was a pure nightmare.

If I wouldn't have met my present wife, I would have left and gone to the West Indies.

Now after almost nine years in LOS, I have just accepted the fact that I can't change anyone or anything here and I have to take it if I'm going to stay sane.

Too bad Thais aren't growing up to become older than 15 years, max.

Even my wife has moments when she reverts back to 12 years at times but I just have to ride it out, it doesn't last long nowadays thankfully.

I still love Thailand and I still appreciate Thais as long as I don't depend on anyone of them or trust, or expect too much or... The list is long.

I don't have any Thai friends as I found out it costs too much.

I still have a few two arm lengths away Thai friends and my wife have Thai women friends whom I too are friends with, but I don't spend any alone time with any for obvious reasons, and as long as my finances or my professional time isn't hit by their "charming" ways, I still think it's quite charming to socialise with them and my wife.

Edited March 11, 2015 by KamalaRider

[bkkheat]

I found Thailand not as great as I expected from my holidays here.

But it is not even as close to being as bad as what you read on these forums.

All in all, I think its a great place, met some great people and so far, so good.

[chrisinth]

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how much did she/he nick out your trousers then ?

Pantaloons I think if it happened in 1972......................

Must have been a good score if it is that deeply ingrained.

[KhnomKhnom]

Like Buddha said, Attitude is everything. For one, you call another place "home" meaning you are not at home here. I suggest permanently returning to that "home."

You asked and so I can say that I have enjoyed eleven years of continuous living in my new home in Thailand in which I marvel at something new every day, and lots of those new subtle factors come from Thai behavior that I discover with a new wrinkle. Before I moved here, I set my mind to adapting and enjoying the DIFFERENCES here and holding off the silly idea of wanting things to be just like "back where I came from" USA. I love living here and observing these obvious and subtle differences; if I did not have this attitude, Thailand would be the misery too many typists here moan about.

I go home every day; you should too.

[KamalaRider]

I found Thailand not as great as I expected from my holidays here.

But it is not even as close to being as bad as what you read on these forums.

All in all, I think its a great place, met some great people and so far, so good.

You will get more experienced, just wait for it.

[Benmart]

The sex business is getting full of thieves who will get you in a hotel room, when you go to clean up after, will through your pants out the window and steal all your money.

The younger generation of Thais think we are rich and resent when we do not give them the FREE RIDE they think they deserve. NO ONE gave me a FREE RIDE, why should I give one.

THIS IS ALL because the government is more corrupt than when I was here in October, 1972 for six months, and the government is getting worse every day.

Normal Thais are in the sex business, because the daily minimum wage just got raised to 300 baht a day on 1/1/2015. A sex worker can make 1,500 baht or more in 1 hour rather than the normal 10 hour Thai workday of 300 baht.

In Chiang Mai, there are 150 - 200 new buildings being built. That means there is money in Chiang Mai.

Too bad the upper 5 % are highly protected by the corrupt military and the corrupt government.

In Thailand the poorer 95% are not fairly represented.

THIS WILL NEVER CHANGE----it has changed for the worst since 1972.

THE END

If each negative thought in this post were comprised of cholesterol, I would need a triple-bypass after reading it.

So much of it covers things that I don't control. nor would I venture to research how much is factual. CAPS denote shouting and shouting seems unnecessary.

I'm not qualified to define what "normal Thais" are. There are approximately 66 Million people and I've yet to talk to all of them.

As for the figures being tossed around (150-200 buildings; upper 5%), It reminds me of Mark Twain, who said, "There are lies, damn lies and statistics".

The only thing I know, is that I know far less than those that think they know more than anyone else.

Not the end. Just another day in my paradise.

[NoshowJones]

With all of its corruption Thailand is still the best place on earth.

I will live and die in Thailand.

Well said, as a poster on another thread said, make the corruption work to your advantage.

[bluebluewater]

I certainly understand those that are somewhat cynical or jaundiced in their views and would not blame them one bit.

But remember - Thai people are crapping on Thai people far more than they are on us!

[georgemandm]

I come and go to thailand to have fun not bash thais I take them as they are , it is bad some times but not care because I have good fun good sex and when I am sick of the bullsh?T

Sorry did not finish when I am sick of the bullsh?t I get on a plane and go home and when I feel like it I go back to thailand and have fun again so if you can't stand go home to were you come from sorry to say that but sick of western man get on here and just bush thais not all thais are bad ok it is the same were I come from have dick head to you no .

Got your priorities sorted then, go to the restaurant, eat like a pig, make a mess of the table, and then leave without a care for the staff.

Nice.

What are you on about with my reply are you on drugs were do you get off saying I eat like a pig you are the pig ok get a life ok you would be one of the many Man that go thailand and can never go back home because you put all your money in to thailand you poor sole .

[chrisinth]

OP, you state that you came here with an open mind, and that is great, as it should be.................

But what were your expectations? By that I mean did you have the mindset that it would be like your home country, that you would not have to adjust to a brand new culture, a new way of getting things done, a new life style as with the natives of this country?

You have stated in the OP that you have come to expect poor service, attitudes and bad workmanship in just about everything; that must be based on some sort of benchmark?

This isn't a dig at you kannot, I do understand where you are coming from. Yourself, like many, many others still expect life to be the same as where you originated, and that just isn't the case. I have found that if you expect the same service, for a fraction of the cost that you would have paid at home, then you are going to be disappointed.

Everything is possible here, proper construction, fabrication, finishing, etc. if you are prepared to pay for it.

IMHO, if you are serious about living here, you have to be prepared to cut the apron strings to your old home. The world is getting to be a much smaller place through social media and travel options, but it is still oh so different dependent on where you are.

[MisterTee]

Thailand has gone through a lot of changes since the 1970's and - from my point of view - most of them haven't been for the better.

The same can be said about the USA... but I'll take Thailand any day of the week.

[HooHaa]

one wonders what the hell you lot expect from thailand.

in my experience you get what you give, learn the language, behave yourself, be polite and people will respond in kind.

for the most part i am treated very well wherever i venture in this fine country.

[YeahSiam]

I have changed my viewpoint of them....for the better.

I've been pleasantly surprised at how they don't fawn

over farangs like they used to. People say that Thais

love nothing more than money but I've seen an

increasing number of women who'd rather work two

low paid jobs than spread their legs for lecherous

scum - domestic or foreign. They've embraced

technology at an alarming rate and many are actually

trying to understand how it works and improve their

lives at the same time.

I accept that a lot of people feel frustrated with them

and I admit I can understand why they feel this way

but I'd bet the extent of that frustration has a fairly

close correlation to how much they've invested

(financially or emotionally) in Thailand. I came here

with a suitcase and a laptop and apart from a leather

LazyBoy recliner, a couple of TVs and a few bits like a

combi microwave, I can pack everything into another

suitcase and leave. No cars, no scooters, no condo

purchases, no investments except a clutch of Thai

stocks which I can sell from anywhere.

All these guys who bring millions of baht to buy/build

/extend houses for local broads, buy cars & motorbikes,

lend money to oiks to start doomed businesses and

look after the families of people they hardly know are

too heavily invested to be passive any more because

they've got too much to lose if they leave

[benalibina]

With all of its corruption Thailand is still the best place on earth.

I will live and die in Thailand.

Well said, as a poster on another thread said, make the corruption work to your advantage.

And then that moment comes that somebody else is using it to your disadvantage......connections.....

[roo860]

The sex business is getting full of thieves who will get you in a hotel room, when you go to clean up after, will through your pants out the window and steal all your money.

The younger generation of Thais think we are rich and resent when we do not give them the FREE RIDE they think they deserve. NO ONE gave me a FREE RIDE, why should I give one.

THIS IS ALL because the government is more corrupt than when I was here in October, 1972 for six months, and the government is getting worse every day.

Normal Thais are in the sex business, because the daily minimum wage just got raised to 300 baht a day on 1/1/2015. A sex worker can make 1,500 baht or more in 1 hour rather than the normal 10 hour Thai workday of 300 baht.

In Chiang Mai, there are 150 - 200 new buildings being built. That means there is money in Chiang Mai.

Too bad the upper 5 % are highly protected by the corrupt military and the corrupt government.

In Thailand the poorer 95% are not fairly represented.

THIS WILL NEVER CHANGE----it has changed for the worst since 1972.

THE END

'Normal Thais' as in the other ones are abnormal?

[YeahSiam]

The sex business is getting full of thieves who will get you in a hotel room, when you go to clean up after, will through your pants out the window and steal all your money.

The younger generation of Thais think we are rich and resent when we do not give them the FREE RIDE they think they deserve. NO ONE gave me a FREE RIDE, why should I give one.

THIS IS ALL because the government is more corrupt than when I was here in October, 1972 for six months, and the government is getting worse every day.

Normal Thais are in the sex business, because the daily minimum wage just got raised to 300 baht a day on 1/1/2015. A sex worker can make 1,500 baht or more in 1 hour rather than the normal 10 hour Thai workday of 300 baht.

In Chiang Mai, there are 150 - 200 new buildings being built. That means there is money in Chiang Mai.

Too bad the upper 5 % are highly protected by the corrupt military and the corrupt government.

In Thailand the poorer 95% are not fairly represented.

THIS WILL NEVER CHANGE----it has changed for the worst since 1972.

THE END

The first thing you mention is the sex business so

you obviously scavenge around the seedy cesspit

of Thailand's underclass; what the hell are you

expecting? Impeccable manners and integrity?

You're going with streetwalkers and you complain

when one steals a few baht out of your pants?

You're an idiot for not locking your valuables away

This ain't Amsterdam with regulated 'ho's in

showroom windows. If you're "man enough" to

wallow around in the filth, at least have the sense

to protect yourself.

Edited March 11, 2015 by YeahSiam

[dotpoom]

Your OP reminded of the way things were when I last lived in my own country. It too at one time had consciences workers up to about 20 years ago....now a hardware shop assistant can hardly tell you what a paint brush if for. Besides...we seem to count for something here, whether it be positive or negative....where as, if your over 55 at home..... your invisible.

[kinmaew]

I come and go to thailand to have fun not bash thais I take them as they are , it is bad some times but not care because I have good fun good sex and when I am sick of the bullsh?T

The optimal approach I feel. The bottom line is to be honest and realistic with yourself, even though its a fun place, it is not at all realistic to live there if you want to maintain a sane head. Enjoy a good screw and move on and treat the place like a transient fantasy land because that is what it is, normal people do not behave the way Thais do or the way their country works, its a 24/7 circus and worse if your money is committed to the place, never me that is for sure.

[pkspeaker]

I've been here for almost 20 years now, I have always felt that Thai people are nice and they have a high morals. AND i spent the first 10 years living in pattaya dealing with the lowest 1% of the Thai population. You have to consider that most of the Thai's we deal with make 10,000฿ and month and work 6 days a week.. and when Thai's have money they share it with their families (Americans don't share with their families like the Thai's do), I've seen and heard of poor Thai people taking in a falung and feeding him when he ran out of money, one of them was a drug addict (it was in pattaya). I mean WHO in the US would take in some immigrant SE asian drug addict and feed him.

When your nice to the Thai's and you smile alot, they are very nice back.

The reason you people have so much problems with the Thai's is you look down on them in the first place, they can tell you look down on them, so they say "that falung bastard an ah so lets screw him." Like me, I'm a guest in their country so I'm respectful.. with most of you people(im talking about the ones on this thread that are bitching)-you act like you own the place and the Thai's are here to serve you, you think your doing them such a big favor because you brought a little money here, they are getting sick of your attitude so that's why they been tightening the visa requirements. They're saying we dont need you people.

I don't understand WHY you people come here in the first place, and WHY the do you stay here if you think the Thai's are so 'bad' Id like to see you try South America, or CHINA(i was talking to an english teacher the other day about working in rural china lol) or Africa..

Again if they are so bad why do you come here and why do you stay here, your shitty attitude ruins it for the rest of us so I really wish you people would leave here and stay out.

Edited March 11, 2015 by pkspeaker

[BadBouy]

The sex business is getting full of thieves who will get you in a hotel room, when you go to clean up after, will through your pants out the window and steal all your money.

The younger generation of Thais think we are rich and resent when we do not give them the FREE RIDE they think they deserve. NO ONE gave me a FREE RIDE, why should I give one.

THIS IS ALL because the government is more corrupt than when I was here in October, 1972 for six months, and the government is getting worse every day.

Normal Thais are in the sex business, because the daily minimum wage just got raised to 300 baht a day on 1/1/2015. A sex worker can make 1,500 baht or more in 1 hour rather than the normal 10 hour Thai workday of 300 baht.

In Chiang Mai, there are 150 - 200 new buildings being built. That means there is money in Chiang Mai.

Too bad the upper 5 % are highly protected by the corrupt military and the corrupt government.

In Thailand the poorer 95% are not fairly represented.

THIS WILL NEVER CHANGE----it has changed for the worst since 1972.

THE END

[benalibina]

I've been here for almost 20 years now, I have always felt that Thai people are nice and they have a high morals. AND i spent the first 10 years living in pattaya dealing with the lowest 1% of the Thai population. You have to consider that most of the Thai's we deal with make 10,000฿ and month and work 6 days a week.. and when Thai's have money they share it with their families (Americans don't share with their families like the Thai's do), I've seen and heard of poor Thai people taking in a falung and feeding him when he ran out of money, one of them was a drug addict (it was in pattaya). I mean WHO in the US would take in some immigrant SE asian drug addict and feed him.

When your nice to the Thai's and you smile alot, they are very nice back.

The reason you people have so much problems with the Thai's is you look down on them in the first place, they can tell you look down on them, so they say "that falung bastard an ah so lets screw him." Like me, I'm a guest in their country so I'm respectful.. with most of you people(im talking about the ones on this thread that are bitching)-you act like you own the place and the Thai's are here to serve you, you think your doing them such a big favor because you brought a little money here, they are getting sick of your attitude so that's why they been tightening the visa requirements. They're saying we dont need you people.

I don't understand WHY you people come here in the first place, and WHY the do you stay here if you think the Thai's are so 'bad' Id like to see you try South America, or CHINA(i was talking to an english teacher the other day about working in rural china lol) or Africa..

Again if they are so bad why do you come here and why do you stay here, your shitty attitude ruins it for the rest of us so I really wish you people would leave here and stay out.

Jungle Jim ?

[ggt]

Spent 3 wonderful years working and living in Thailand many years back...this is not the same Thailand I knew back then...very disappointed in the way many Thais treat foreigners as personal bankers...corruption everywhere...no sense of community or love of your fellowman...unless the fellowman is will to pay for it...

[SoiBiker]

No sense of community?

I think I must be in a different Thailand to you.

[Keesters]

Normal Thais are in the sex business, because the daily minimum wage just got raised to 300 baht a day on 1/1/2015. A sex worker can make 1,500 baht or more in 1 hour rather than the normal 10 hour Thai workday of 300 baht.

And the average sex worker makes 1 trick a week.

Maths never was their strong point.

[pkspeaker]

if she's hot she can get 1 every 3 hours, its the ugly ones that only get 1 a week.. also there is not 'corruption everywhere' seems like to many people have been listening to the pdrc.ncpo .. the corruption is greatly exaggerated and the issue is used to get rid of the PM/cabnet every 2 years..

Edited March 11, 2015 by pkspeaker

[Keesters]

No sense of community?

I think I must be in a different Thailand to you.

I think he has a point. Very close community exists in the family, less with neighbors, less with village down to zero at the country level. What community would litter their streets, their beaches, their parks because its in another community not theirs. What community doesn't know how to queue properly and observe first come first served rather than me next. What community or rather 2 separate communities cause so much tension and upset in the last few years resulting in the military stepping in. The Thais don't pull together as a nation. Sometimes I feel its a place with a million nations all living side by side where each nation is trying to out do the others.

Don't get me wrong. I've chosen my community and loving it. Outsiders move in. If they don't follow the communities rules they're out. I wouldn't mind it being a bit bigger though.

Edited March 11, 2015 by Keesters

[Utley]

Now that I've been here awhile I pity the Thai people. Most are decent folk but they have been bamboozled their entire lives.

[marko kok prong]

Yes,when i first lived here my father in law was a thankfully distant figure who,disdained even to come to our wedding,as he stated he does not like falangs,my wife has 2 sons from a previous relationship with a german chap,i asked her so does he not like them?

"he likes the Thai part " she told me,i thought kinda like solomon,half the kid,etc,then she moved him in to a room outside our house,where he lurks,as most of you already know ,like klaus Kinski's take on Dracula,occasionally he emerges to sling up bamboo poles and hang his holed underpants off,along with other unedifying clothing such as old shirts,sweat stained caps and the like,i cut the poles down ,he puts them back,i cut them and chop them up,he returns with more,he put's his favorite empty rusted paint tin in the garden, i move it,he moves it back,i throw away paint tin he puts,it back,and so on,so anyway to get to the point i recently got a very high powered air rifle,so yes,now he is firmly,in my viewpoint,i only hope a cane truck will clean him up.

[marko kok prong]

Of course i should of added before i have a tragic misfire,from said rifle.

[puukao]

I thought my wife was a virgin, but found out she has been with 10,000 guys.

My house is now gone

Pollution turned my lungs black

visa payments are fun

traffic is fun

dogs and noise are fun...

and all the illegal expat workers

plus the backpackers!!!

i kid, i kid.....mai bpen rai krap!!!! haha