I have been involved in a discussion on a completely Thai unrelated forum based in the UK.

It makes me laugh how they see Thailand based on what they read in the press and see on the TV that the "be all and end all" of Thailand is the sex industry, the full moon parties, that you will face the firing squad if you are caught with drugs and outside of the "facade" of tidy western hotels, lies extreme poverty.

The final message from someone who has never ever traveled to Thailand was all of the above and "One should keep well away".

There also seems to be a common misconception that all farang will be ripped off by their wives and end up losing everything. To be honest, in the 5 years I have been here, I am yet to meet a farang who has fallen this way. I know many have, but more the type who come here on holiday, hook up with a bar girl and is lured up to Isaan and milked. But considering the staggering amount of expats in Thailand, this is very very rare. Most people are not so stupid to get sucked in that far.... So again extremely isolated cases.

Another misconception is that Thailand is going down the pan. Or as one guy quotes "gone tits up" since the global crash..... For me, Thailand has its faults like any country, but it is anything but on the skids. There are many good opportunities to be had here. I have done very well out of Thailand over the last 5 years. Thailand is technically up to date. The economy is still going strong. Thailand completely escaped the crash of 2008, and is still emerging, and very strong in the region compared with most all ASEAN nations.

Thailand is being misrepresented in the west by ignorant people. Basically us farang are crazy to move here..... what do YOU think? Are you crazy??

Comments.

OP, you are saying that people in a "completely Thai unrelated forum based in the UK", are bashing Thailand out of ignorance.

What about the people on TVF that is a "completely Thai related" forum, and most members live here.

Did you notice any similarities?

I've never been to Thailand but I post on the forum with so much expertise 555555555

And yes, I am crazy.

OP, you are saying that people in a "completely Thai unrelated forum based in the UK", are bashing Thailand out of ignorance.

What about the people on TVF that is a "completely Thai related" forum, and most members live here.

Did you notice any similarities?

The thread is not about people bashing Thailand... We who live here, bash about individual things, or we agree or disagree. Some bash and some defend. That happens in just about every country. The people on this UK forum relentlessly bash the UK.

This thread is about the perception of Thailand by people who have never even been here.

My message in this, is that their common perception if true..... we would not be here.... Are you here?... Is it so bad you want to leave??????

Ignorance is bliss.

Thailand is being misrepresented in the west by ignorant people...

hook up with a bar girl and is lured up to Isaan and milked....

lucky you don't generalize...

Is the UK full of violent skin-heads with punk haircuts and chains?

That is what I have heard.

Prostitutes, ladyboys, full moon parties and Elephants.

I think the op dose not know much about thailand at all , some of the things are wright but I have seen first hand how western man get ripe of here and I am not a farlang ok I am from the west , farlang is a racist word .

They are the same people who'll tell you that you have to be careful driving through Sydney because a kangaroo could jump out at any moment.

Prostitutes, ladyboys, full moon parties and Elephants.

and rice & dirt roads in Bangkok ....

I think the op dose not know much about thailand at all , some of the things are wright but I have seen first hand how western man get ripe of here and I am not a farlang ok I am from the west , farlang is a racist word .

Lol.... So you think all that is Thailand encompassed do you?

You need to get out of Pattaya more.

I have lived in Korat for 5 years, and I would not know where to go to find a prostitute. But then agai, I have no need for one being married and all that.

In America the average perception seems to be that Thailand is it an impoverished hellhole full of starving people that sell their young children to sex slave brothels. People think all the girls in the bars for foreigners are child sex slaves. Fewer Americans go to Thailand than Brits, and we have 6 times as many people, so basically hardly anyone has any first or second hand knowledge of Thailand and views of it are completely ridiculous.

Common Perceptions

not directed at Thailand specifically but perceptions are usually grounded in actual events that become generalizations/stereotypes

Are you suggesting that some of the things you list as perceptions as regards Thailand, never happened or don't happen in Thailand ?....if they have happened then they are not perceptions then, do they happen to everyone..No

just to pick up on few of your examples:

"be all and end all" of Thailand is the sex industry...are you doubting the role of the sex industry in Thailand or denying it exists in a big way in Thailand ?

"facade" of tidy western hotels, lies extreme poverty.- I suggest you open your eyes then this could in fact be true dependent on ones interpretation of "extreme poverty"

But considering the staggering amount of expats in Thailand, and how many would staggering be ?

I think the op dose not know much about thailand at all , some of the things are wright but I have seen first hand how western man get ripe of here and I am not a farlang ok I am from the west , farlang is a racist word .

Lol.... So you think all that is Thailand encompassed do you?

You need to get out of Pattaya more.

I have lived in Korat for 5 years, and I would not know where to go to find a prostitute. But then agai, I have no need for one being married and all that.

Seems to me the premise of your OP is the predictable apologist thread and trying to prove your better then everyone else and your at one with your "Thainess"

You criticise people oversea's for their perceptions/sterotypes of Thailand and here you are doing exactly that in response to the posters comments

Who cares ?, really ! on what people thousands of miles away "think" they know about this country.

To use a well known phrase, "opinions are like A-holes, and everyone has one", just some are more full of crap than others.

I think the op dose not know much about thailand at all , some of the things are wright but I have seen first hand how western man get ripe of here and I am not a farlang ok I am from the west , farlang is a racist word .

Lol.... So you think all that is Thailand encompassed do you?

You need to get out of Pattaya more.

I have lived in Korat for 5 years, and I would not know where to go to find a prostitute. But then agai, I have no need for one being married and all that.

I have lived in Korat for 5 years, and I would not know where to go to find a prostitute

You need to get out of the house more.

I dont live in Korat, but have visited often enough to know where in Korat to go.

Where do you think the locals go?

I think the op dose not know much about thailand at all , some of the things are wright but I have seen first hand how western man get ripe of here and I am not a farlang ok I am from the west , farlang is a racist word .

Say WHAT??

Common Perceptions

not directed at Thailand specifically but perceptions are usually grounded in actual events that become generalizations/stereotypes

Are you suggesting that some of the things you list as perceptions as regards Thailand, never happened or don't happen in Thailand ?....if they have happened then they are not perceptions then, do they happen to everyone..No

just to pick up on few of your examples:

"be all and end all" of Thailand is the sex industry...are you doubting the role of the sex industry in Thailand or denying it exists in a big way in Thailand ?

"facade" of tidy western hotels, lies extreme poverty.- I suggest you open your eyes then this could in fact be true dependent on ones interpretation of "extreme poverty"

But considering the staggering amount of expats in Thailand, and how many would staggering be ?

Oh they happen, and they exist but the generalizations are actually nothing more than isolated cases, yet the bigger picture of what Thailand actually has to offer is way more than these stereotypes. Outside of a few locations frequented by tourists and the western media profile of the place, there is a very different country with a great culture, great lifestyle and great prospects.

Remember, the OP relates to the stereotypes being applied to Thailand in it entirety. Which of course is laughable.

Is the UK full of violent skin-heads with punk haircuts and chains?

That is what I have heard.

I heard it's full of Teddy Boys with D.A.'s & bicycle chains.

I think the op dose not know much about thailand at all , some of the things are wright but I have seen first hand how western man get ripe of here and I am not a farlang ok I am from the west , farlang is a racist word .

Lol.... So you think all that is Thailand encompassed do you?

You need to get out of Pattaya more.

I have lived in Korat for 5 years, and I would not know where to go to find a prostitute. But then agai, I have no need for one being married and all that.

I have lived in Korat for 5 years, and I would not know where to go to find a prostitute

You need to get out of the house more.

I dont live in Korat, but have visited often enough to know where in Korat to go.

Where do you think the locals go?

I get out a hell of a lot.

I do not go looking for it, you do.... So what?

What i am saying is that it is well hidden and not in your face like in Nana or Walking Street. Outside of those few red light districts, it is well hidden. I have no need for those places. This is like saying that even though most major cities in the UK also have their red light districts, that the UK is one big red light district..... again, laughable.

Understand what the OP's trying to say but not why he feels so aggrieved by it.

Most countries will be stereotyped to some extent and while it's not always pleasant, some of those stereotypes often have basis in actual fact.

They are the same people who'll tell you that you have to be careful driving through Sydney because a kangaroo could jump out at any moment.

So are you telling me thats not the case? ;-)

When I told people I was moving to Thailand from the UK, I mostly got jokes about ladyboys, or how I should be careful because the locals might eat my cat.

There's members signing up on here on a daily basis that have never set foot in Thailand.

However, question them and they've been here 25 years, speak fluent Thai and have been browsing the forum since it started.

I have met folks that have lived in Thailand for a long time and had not much of a clue about their country, being stuck in a rut of the same foreign-owned eateries and bars....

OP

Seems a fairly legit view of Thailand.

Yeah everything they say about Thailand is true.... so please don't come here :-)

Do not forget that many of the people who post here rarely impinge upon the 'real' Thailand.

So many foreigners here live their lives in their own little ivory towers, in some mainly foreign condo or complex, going down to the beach, shopping in air con centres ... doing what, essentially, visitors do.

Often we see that the opinions of those people stand out clearly here - they have no conception of what life is truly like for the average Thai worker.

Those commenters should really be the ones we blame for a poor image of Thailand - all they do is complain, with no rhyme nor reason nor understanding.

Do not forget that many of the people who post here rarely impinge upon the 'real' Thailand.

So many foreigners here live their lives in their own little ivory towers, in some mainly foreign condo or complex, going down to the beach, shopping in air con centres ... doing what, essentially, visitors do.

Often we see that the opinions of those people stand out clearly here - they have no conception of what life is truly like for the average Thai worker.

Those commenters should really be the ones we blame for a poor image of Thailand - all they do is complain, with no rhyme nor reason nor understanding.

What is the real Thailand then ?

The natives picking rice in the fields, eating leaves from the side of the road and are happy with their lot in life, while the farang bwana sits on his stoep drinking his gin and topic and discussing the "old country"

one suspects it you who doesn't know what the real Thailand is, you have a vision of what YOU want Thailand to be,not what it is in reality

who do you think those air conned shopping center are for ?... for tourists ?