Common Perceptions Of Thailand By Westerners Who Never Came.

[gandalf12]

What you say has a lot of truth in it but who is to blame for that? The TAT always advertise the Go-Go bars and massage so can we really blame people who have never been here to think anything else?

[ammagic]

Not rare at all. I have known many....hard to believe people allow themselves be so suckered...one had his - well her - house burned down, after all she owned the land. Buyer beware!

[Berkshire]

"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."

1. you must not meet many farangs. I'd say odds might be 50-50, but if farang leaves common sense and judgement at the airport, who's to blame.

2. Plenty of girlfriends rip off too

3 General populace of many countries ignorant of anything beyond their borders: Thais think USA is part of Europe, know some Americans who think Taiwan and Thailand same place.

4. USA blasted regularly here with silly prejudices too, like everyone gets shot at. Thailand has higher gross numbers of gunshot homicides than USA.

5. Every place has it's issues and assets. Get used to it.

6. I started coming to Thailand in 1982, and it wasn't for sex.

So 50% of farangs you know have been ripped off by their wives?

Thailand has higher gun deaths than USA?

I hope you are not offended, but you are clearly lying.

He's not 'lying' about the gun murder thing, he is just misinformed There has been a gun murder statistic passed around on a site called Nationmaster for years that is wildly inaccurate because of a translation error. The Thais translated gun crime (including illegal possesion) as gun murders, giving them over 20,000 gun 'murders' per year, which is more than the US and up there with Colombia and South Africa. The reality is Thailand has about 3000 TOTAL murders per year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

3,307 murders in 2011

So Emster is clearly wrong...or misinformed as you say. But will he have the courage to admit it? Let's see.

[GuestHouse]

I think a better question would be:

Common perceptions of Thailand by Westerners just before the got on the plane to go to Thailand... and what part did those perceptions have in them deciding to go to Thailand?

[StreetCowboy]

When i first announced i was selling up and moving to Thailand i received many different response's but these are some of them....

1...'' Thailand ?....well isn't that all jungle still inhabited by Jap' soldiers still hiding since the war ? ''

2...'' I've always thought of Thailand as all natives and mud huts ''''

3...'' Be careful you don't catch something nasty from those hookers over there ''

4...'' Don't eat the food, they say it's all Cats and Rats. ''

5...'' Is that near the Caribbean ? ''

I'm often surprised at how parochial our fellow posters' acquaintances seem to be. I worry that on that basis, our fellow posters carry with them an unrepresentative yet damning impression of The Old Country.

My Dear Old Mother, on the strength of her Saga holidays to Thailand, has a far more positive image of the Kingdom, and I have never had the heart to tell her of my years in the Flesh Pots, or the corruption

SC

[StreetCowboy]

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

That is what I have heard.

The way things have gone in recent years in the UK it probably is

I was there last week, and it was not.

[AZBill]

Having lived there off and on several years for work I do think most westerners who haven't been there have a skewed view of the place but it does have a lot of problems and I'd never live there again.

[gk10002000]

One of the comments I often hear back is "go there for young girls". Well, I am 58 so lots of girls I go with can be considered young. But I know the ignorant commenters are alluding to children. Just pure ignorance on their part.

[MauiSteveBKK]

Some USA Perceptions:

- Looks slightly better than Mexico.

- As a Friend says: "Lots of ladies for old guys."

- Good, but spicy, Food.

- No drugs - don't get caught with them.

- Difficult to understand language.

- Friendly people. But don't trust USA people.

- Very, Very Inexpensive.

I live in Hawaii.

[Beetlejuice]

.

[Luke06]

You are all complete suckers for responding to this, its clearly a flame aimed at getting upset responses - I am of course a sucker for responding to the resposnes, but it is a weak effort and I demand a higher level of flaming - come on really upset them.

[benalibina]

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 .

Sorry, I disagree, the word Farang is not racist, even Farangs call each other Farangs.

Crazy, right ?

[daveAustin]

Thailand may have escaped the 2008 crash, whatever that was, but it is by no means on the up and up. It may be for you, but do you speak for the average Thai? I think not. Things have never been tougher in recent times.

There will always be misconceptions on Thailand based on the sex industry. It is what it is. Yes, we all know that 99% of girls are not involved in that carry on, but many come here to get their rocks off, it's no secret. I also get frustrated with people mocking the place because they don't know how it really is, but that's life

What's more irritating is folk appearing on here having spent 5 minutes in the country, knowing it all and going troppo.

By the way, Korat. Do pray tell how one ended up there. Temples and culture? Yes I thought so.

[poweratradio]

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

That is what I have heard.

Grandpa told me that when he landed in London he thought somehow he had landed in the Middle East but soon found out that the middle east had purchased the UK in a fashion.

[poweratradio]

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.

And half of Americans think Thailand is Taiwan, and can't point out either on a map!

They can't find Canada for that matter.

[poweratradio]

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 .

Farang is not a racist word.

Farang (Thai: ฝรั่ง [faràŋ]) is a generic Thai word for someone of European ancestry, no matter where they may come from. The Royal Institute Dictionary 1999, the official dictionary of Thai words, defines the word as "a person of white race".

I used to be a farange but now I m just the A** h*l* here try to get people to call me by my real name of Mister. In the middle east I was called the Agznebi=the stranger

[gk10002000]

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.

yeah, just like 115,000 people were at 35,000 capacity Yankee stadium for Lou Gehrig's farewell speech.

[aronp1]

Op I agree with you 100%.

Oh and also, they think Thailand is a 3rd

world country. 55555

[aronp1]

Op I agree with you 100%.

Oh they also think Thailand is a 3rd world

country. 5555

[EnglishJohn]

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 .

Farang is not a racist word.

Farang (Thai: ฝรั่ง [faràŋ]) is a generic Thai word for someone of European ancestry, no matter where they may come from. The Royal Institute Dictionary 1999, the official dictionary of Thai words, defines the word as "a person of white race".

In the UK, if one person complained about the use of the word 'farang' as racist, it would be immediately banned on the BBC and made as politically incorrect as possible for use in general life.

That's one of the reasons I'm here. People can call me what they like : it's their intention behind it which counts, not the words.

[aronp1]

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 .

Farang is not a racist word.

Farang (Thai: ฝรั่ง [faràŋ]) is a generic Thai word for someone of European ancestry, no matter where they may come from. The Royal Institute Dictionary 1999, the official dictionary of Thai words, defines the word as "a person of white race".

In the UK, if one person complained about the use of the word 'farang' as racist, it would be immediately banned on the BBC and made as politically incorrect as possible for use in general life.

That's one of the reasons I'm here. People can call me what they like : it's their intention behind it which counts, not the words.

Really the word "farang" refers to anyone not Thai. If you are not from Thailand then you are a foreigner hence farang.

[ttthailand]

There is truth in what people who have never been here speak but it is only part of the story. Good news does not make the international press only bad news is reported and Thailand has had too much bad news. Just karma doing its work .....

[dragonfly94]

Ok what's the good news from here then, apart from taxi driver returns wallet?

[ttthailand]

To be honest I can't quickly think of any good news at the moment.... I can only think of bad news

[StreetCowboy]

Some USA Perceptions:

- Looks slightly better than Mexico.

- As a Friend says: "Lots of ladies for old guys."

- Good, but spicy, Food.

- No drugs - don't get caught with them.

- Difficult to understand language.

- Friendly people. But don't trust USA people.

- Very, Very Inexpensive.

I live in Hawaii.

No wonder you live in Hawaii, if that's your impression of the rest of the USA.

I have travelled amongst them, and I found mainland Americans to be similar to other people, except that they believed their own stories.

SC

[Aussieroaming]

Let the armchair tourists have their say...

[elgenon]

Dunno. The people I know who want to go to Thailand are interested in the rich culture and love the food and have heard the people are lovely. Do I hang out w weirdos?

[micmichd]

Common perception of Thailand in the West?

Sex with semi-females and AIDS.

[uptheos]

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 .

Farang is not a racist word.

Farang (Thai: ฝรั่ง [faràŋ]) is a generic Thai word for someone of European ancestry, no matter where they may come from. The Royal Institute Dictionary 1999, the official dictionary of Thai words, defines the word as "a person of white race".

In the UK, if one person complained about the use of the word 'farang' as racist, it would be immediately banned on the BBC and made as politically incorrect as possible for use in general life.

That's one of the reasons I'm here. People can call me what they like : it's their intention behind it which counts, not the words.

Really the word "farang" refers to anyone not Thai. If you are not from Thailand then you are a foreigner hence farang.

Ah, another who has never been here.

[Toknarok]

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.

What's a DA? GF, BG, LB, MIL, fine. but DA?? Why did you not just put TBs, and BCs as well and save your typing?

Ducks arse - a type of hairstyle favoured by 'Teddyboys' in the late 50's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck%27s_ass