flevering Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 When I moved to Thailand with the family 2 years ago, we decided to buy a cheap (old) car that would see us through the first few years as we settled down. What a bad decision that was, as it turned out to be an endless string of repairs and issues from the moment it was out of its sellers warranty. The climax of this poor car's misery happened this past weekend. We planned a quick day trip to Pattaya from our home in Bangkok, so the kids could play on the beach while we enjoyed the downtime. The car decided to call it quits with about 25 kilometers to go before Pattaya, spectacularly with smoke and all, in the middle of nowhere on the highway. As a regular leacher on Thaivisa forums, I know this is where you all expect the usual robbers, corrupt government officials etc. This is NOT what happened. After mere minutes, a pickup truck pulled over in front of us and a Thai gentleman got out. In simple English he explained he might be able to assist, so I showed him the problem area (still smoking). It was obviously not going to get fixed by a handy solution on the spot, so this is where I expected the start of an elaborate scam to kick in. How ashamed do I feel now. The very friendly local took a pulling cable from his car, towed us 20km to his house and had the wife bring us drinks and sat us down in the shade. He proceeded to make a number of phone calls to find a garage that might be able to help... This guy easily spent 20 minutes making numerous calls until he finally succeeded in finding someone who could help on a Sunday. Of course he jumped back in the car, dragged his poor pregnant wife along and towed us another 20km to the garage he found. We loaded our personal things in his car while I took the location, contact details and some pictures of where my car undoubtedly would be seen last, if only for the police report. Feeling even more ashamed now. He asked us about our plans for the day in Pattaya and offered to drive us to the beach. This is around lunch time, so I offered to make him stop somewhere so I could treat the couple to a nice meal at least. After a very local and cheap, but wonderful meal, he proceeded to take us to exactly the beach I would have taken us. Rather than dropping us off, he parked the car and they joined us on the beach. They happily entertained themselves, played with the kids, engaged in (difficult) small talk in English and seemed to really enjoy our happiness of turning this day around. It doesn't stop there. My wife checked out the night market and they happily joined. Now my guilt kicked in about taking this couples' entire day away and I treated them to a nice dinner before we would take a taxi home to Bangkok. They outright refused to let us take a taxi. They drove us all the way home and refused all my attempts to at least compensate them financially for their time and wasted day. The guy shook my hand and said: 'no way, my pleasure for my new friend'. Well, you bet! This couple must be the kindest people I have ever met. Of all the things you hear about Thailand, I hardly come across stories of such incredible people willing to do whatever it takes to turn a bad day around into an experience we will smile about for years. Maybe that is why they call it the land of smiles? For the record: the garage followed up as promised with the suggested repair, estimated time and cost and an alternative option to keep the cost down if needed. I have given up looking for the scam and have to live with the shame of my cynicism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikmar Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 nice story mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flevering Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Thanks Nikmar... Still blown away by the experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TP1 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 OP, welcome to the real Thailand and not the Thailand we know reading the TVF. There are many more good people around than bad people. It's who you choose to be with and associate with. Enjoy your life there are many more good things and situations to come across you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven100 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 (edited) hmmmm ... good story, so there are some one thai couples in Thailand who are not out to scam or scew the farang. Edited May 18, 2015 by steven100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLCrab Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 I find most Thai people I encounter especially those who don't speak English and with whom I can converse with in my 70% Thai are more like the OP's encounter than otherwise. The only time that I have had unpleasant encounters with Thai persons it was because of their dogs. I'll spare the details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weegee Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Good to hear and read....also a good start to life here....enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_smith237 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Nice story Op... It reminds us that the usually Paranoid Delusional posters are wrong and that we are simply a 'normal' part of society here in Thailand, we don't get treated any better or worse... we just get on with our lives here... Of course, while getting on with our normal lives here we will experience many of the positive sides of humanity as well as some of the negative sides also discussed on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krisb Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Would never of happened if they didn't sell you a lemon to begin with. Joking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flevering Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Good point Krisb :-) It won't do to take anything away from this awesome couple, but suffice to say that I took a gamble with my eyes wide open and paid the price with the lemon indeed. You win some and lose some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mauGR1 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Nice story OP, thanks for sharing. Just because this is TV Forum, is it time to get a better car ?.. Next time you might not be that lucky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flevering Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Spot on MauGR1, let the hunt begin :-). It is also time to figure out how to sell the victimizing without screwing anyone else, while still getting at least some of the invested money back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussieroaming Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Good post...you can pay forward the Thai couples kindness by being honest about the vehicle when you sell it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flevering Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Hi Aussieroaming... Just noticed that I didn't quite sanitize my last response correctly. I intended to say, of course, sell the car without victimizing anyone else. So we agree completely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalmagic Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Wonderful story, very happy to read it. Reminds of my first trip to Phuket many years ago when my rental motorcycle ran out of petrol in the middle of the island. Lovely old gent on a motorcycle and side cage with adolescent son on board stopped, sent son to get petrol, and chatted in broken English for 20 minutes before filling me up and going on his way. Cynicism is just like sexism and racism, we learn them as we grow up by listening to the prejudices of others. Then we spend the rest of our lives trying to work out why we think like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLUEEYEDTHAI Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Wonderful story,thankyou for posting. We do'nt see nearly enough of these on TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickJ Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 What goes around comes around....nice story. ......There are very good people here and its so easy to focus on the negative. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluek Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Yup, the jerks are the ones that get talked about most (especially on this forum) but there really are a lot of great people here. Just recently I met a guy from Phattalung on the island of Ko Libong, he runs a little shop near the pier with his wife and they seemed to enjoy chatting with me in my broken Thai and his broken English. That was when I arrived. On the way back a few days later, he insisted on giving me a ride back to Trang. Turns out he had an old pick-up parked near the pier in Hat Yao and he accompanied me on the ferry then drove me all the way to Trang town, talking all the while about everything from Taksin to Suthep to George Bush and bin Laden. I tried to pay him at least what the minibus would have cost but he graciously refused, saying something like, "I'm happy to help my friend." On another occasion my brother left his backpack, filled with electronics and some cash, in the back of a taxi that picked us up near Saphan Taksin and drove us to Khao San Road so we could catch a very early morning bus to Ko Tao. It took my sleepy/hungover brother 20 minutes before he realized he left it, and we figured that was the end of it. But when we walked back to the spot where we'd been dropped off, there was the taxi driver standing with my bro's bag in hand while perusing the street in search of us. He accepted the 1,000 baht "reward" that my bro gave him, but never once did he open the bag, much less take anything. I have many other stories of random acts of kindness by Thais, and I can't say that I have many negative stories. The patronizing and passive-aggressive attitudes that foreigners sometimes in Thailand receive can be expected in any country -- and obviously it's way worse in a lot of places. For the most part this is a fun and easy place to be an expat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aasha Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Very nice story.. Happy to read it.. and giving good message for me. May not be for others.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeinbangkok Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Flevering, I am really glad that you publish your wonderful experience. This is not an isolated case as for the past 25 years in Thailand, personally have had wonderful moments with the Thai people, the care and goodness they could reflect. Of course, I don't patronize the so-called "Bar Beers" hanging around with the Bar Girls. As an expatriate family man, we socialize with quality people, both Thai and foreigners, not necessarily millionaires, but average people. So unfortunately for the average T.V Thai basher, I am not able to contribute anything. In 2007, I had a heart attack and I am alive today because my Thai staff and friends managed to get me to an emergency section of Bambrungrad Hospital just in time. My family is taken care of by Thai people while I am busy at work and traveling. My house is left behind with Thai staff while we are away.In fact I will never leave Thailand as for us this has become our home.We are grateful for the hospitality that we are so fortunate to receive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernphil Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Good story, would make a good little film if reconstructed. Bought a tear to my eyes anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vogele123 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 (edited) Great story, nice to hear some more positive things these days! Pay it forward. (There are some really nice Thais around, often the idiots tend to get the main headlines and the better ones slip through the cracks) Nice to hear no ulterior motive - I once met a "nice" Yugoslavian couple while travelling in Dubrovnik, took me and my girlfriend back to their apartment after we got lost, cooked us food, made us drinks, then it turned out he wanted me to shag his wife while he shagged my other half! (Didn't happen, she had more body hair than him!) Edited May 18, 2015 by Vogele123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metisdead Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 An inflammatory post has been removed as well as the reply. The misunderstanding was acknowledged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttthailand Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Great post and I too have had many great experiences in Thailand. Too bad to read stories like the ladies getting charged 8,840 baht for a simple meal. I guess there are good and bad everywhere but with all too many bad stories it is wise to keep up your guard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomcam Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 I'm 71 now. I lived in Thailand most of the seventies. I had a car and, with my girlfriend (and sometimes alone) I drove all over Thailand. I had many similar experiences. I always richly rewarded the kind person that helped me but they could never expect that. I am so happy that this lovely Thai spirit is still alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackson369 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Nice story..thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornishcarlos Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 I'm 71 now. I lived in Thailand most of the seventies. I had a car and, with my girlfriend (and sometimes alone) I drove all over Thailand. I had many similar experiences. I always richly rewarded the kind person that helped me but they could never expect that. I am so happy that this lovely Thai spirit is still alive. I think the OP bought your old car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flevering Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 @ CornishCarlos: That's absolutely priceless LOL. The spirit is alive, the car is dead. Long live the spirit LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannot Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 It gets to the point on Thai visa where you feel pressurised by all the replies and the moderators to go with the flow, however I would still use a lot of caution in Thailand and ask why many Thais DONT trust each other before running down the line with "many Thais are kind" Many simply are not and that does need to be remembered, and if it isn't so why do Thais not trust each other? no doubt you will rant on now about " theres always one" to put a downer on things but the reality is there are a lot of dishonest folk out there also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flevering Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Hi Kannot, there are stories in abundance on this forum to prove your point indeed. We were incredibly lucky to be so pleasantly surprised by these awesome kind people. Expect the worst, but appreciate the best I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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