Domestic / cross cultural issues - Thai / Foreigner concerns

Children and Abuses in Their Name

By spoon, Created on: 29/07/2009, Last updated on: 31/07/2009

» It is obvious children here have little or no real protection from paedophile predators in places like Pattaya, an ongoing horror story. But did you know that Save The Children finance four separate representative offices here in Bangkok, at least one of whom [i:3qpzr7z2]gets a huge allowance just...

• 2 replies, 5,361 views

Domestic / cross cultural issues - Thai / Foreigner concerns

Are Farang invisible to Thai?

By Jason McDonald, Created on: 21/06/2009, Last updated on: 15/12/2010

» I ask this to find out if farang are really invisible to Thai. This has happened to me many times and I was wondering if it happens to other Westerners who live in Thai areas of Bangkok (or maybe elsewhere). When I am out with my Thai wife, especially shopping, I find that, Thai people refuse to...

• postreader commented : I would like to response (explain) to Jason McDonald At the end of your post you said it only happens in Thai area. That is the key of all misunderstanding. They didn't look at you not because you are invisible to them or they don't like you or disrespect you. You have a Thai wife and I am surprise that your wife didn't explain to you one aspect of Thai culture which is 180 degrees apart from western culture. In Thai culture, when people talk or greet each other they don't look at each other in the eyes or directly. This especially true for people who are younger or who they think they have lesses status in society (age, wealth, education, etc). I live in LA for over 30 years, for the first few years I would not look at my co-workers eyes when I spoke to them. This cuased misunderstanding that I tried to hide something. I simply try to avoid the feeling of confrontation (that is what most Thai feel when you look at them directly in the eyes during conversation). After several years here in US I learn to look in people eyes during conversation and don't smile becuase they think I am making fun of them. It is just a matter of culture differences. In Thai culture people like to smile during conversation to make it feel friendly or less tense. When I and my wife go back to shopping in Thailand the casheir girls or ladies tend to talk to my wife more tha me. No hard feeling for me that how they are. They may feel more comfotable talking to the same gender. Thai's in tourist areas know more western culture and they have to be more open to be competitive and stay in business. They also have to be more aggressive than Thai's in non-tourist spots. From my years in US, I notice that westerners l(Farangs) ike outgoing and more aggresive behavior. I hope the example I cited above make you understand the situation better. I can say from my own experience that 99.9 % of Thai like Farangs to the point that I always says to my Thai wife and Thai friends that Thai people worship Farangs. So relax you are living in the country that treat farangs better than theirn own people.

• alfrdmas commented : I have never been invisible to the Thai people, and I have never waited for anything in the ten years I have been coming here. I certainly don't understand that perspective at all. Perhaps it is because some foreigners don't speak Thai; I do and I smile, laugh and joke around with the Thai people. I get served immediately whether my wife is with me or not. I have found that the other farangs in Thailand are not overly friendly. I have never had another farang say hello to me first. Usually they look away from me or at the ground never in the eyes and never smile. I don't live in Thailand because there aren't enough opportunities for me, my wife, and our son. Also there are many things that I enjoy about the U.S. that I couldn't do here. Hunting white-tailed deer, taking my family fishing, riding the Harley, brewing beer. I like visiting, though the farangs could stand to be a bit more friendly towards each other.

• drake commented : [quote="alfrdmas":1d40399j]Also there are many things that I enjoy about the U.S. that I couldn't do here. Hunting white-tailed deer, taking my family fishing, riding the Harley, brewing beer.[/quote:1d40399j] Really ? I mean, in a place where you can get practically [i:1d40399j]anything[/i:1d40399j] for a price Okay, white-tails are a wee bit hard to find in these parts but there are other species....

• 29 replies, 50,831 views

Domestic / cross cultural issues - Thai / Foreigner concerns

Land purchase through Thai spouse forbidden: Land Dept

By Suttisan, Created on: 28/05/2009, Last updated on: 02/10/2016

» -- Land purchase through Thai spouse forbidden: Land Dept The director general of the Land Department has reiterated that foreigners using Thai nominees to buy land anywhere in the country will have their land title deeds revoked if caught – even if the nominee in question is a lawfully wedded...

• Krumm commented : [quote="MrReciprocal":1gpigr5k]Nothing better than Mr Anuwat's comments highlight the need for all foreign countries, Western, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, etc. to bring in RECIPROCAL laws. I.e. laws which ban nationals of one country which ban nationals of another country from the same buying rights, to themselves be banned. I.e. Thais would be banned from buying in Western countries, Japan, South Korea, China, etc. - because our nationals are banned from buying in Thailand. Switzerland has laws virtually doing this. We should copy Switzerland. Mr Anuwat should be banned from buying in Western countries, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, etc.[/quote:1gpigr5k] That would be great but would never happen countries like the US and UK which regard it as a fundamental freedom for anyone to own land and actually want foreigners to invest in their countries, wherever they come from. Would also love to see Thais not being allowed to own their businesses abroad and being charged 10 times the going rate to enter museums and national parks too. No doubt they would scream blue murder. Anyway it seems that The Bangkok Post did get Anuwat to eventually publish a clarification and he apparently meant to say that it is illegal for Thais married to foreigners to buy land, if the funds are not their own and the couple doesn't sign the Letter of Confirmation. So he was indeed just shooting his mouth off trying to sound tough and score brownies points for foreigner bashing. What a useless old windbag and time waster! Can't they find some one a bit brighter to head up the Land Dept. Oh....I forgot. It's a political appointment.

• elportoed commented : I'm Thai born and raised, but now living in the US. I have to admit, living in a foreign land is not easy, since you have to learn and adapt to the local culture and laws which may be greatly different than your country of origin. You don't always get the preferencial treatments like the locals. If you can adapt and follow the culture and the law of the land, then you can get along peacefully with the locals. That's why this post bothers me a bit, as I'm reading the posts for all the complainers and whiners about this subject. I only have one comments, why can't you just repect the law and culture of the country that you are visiting and/or would like to live? If you don't think it's fair for you, please LEAVE. No country or culture is perfect. There's nothing for you to do here, you can't change the law, since you cannot vote. And to be fair, Thailand isn't the only country in the world that have laws against foreigners owning her land, or other quirky laws that prevent foreigners from doing certain things. Obviously all you whiners here, regardless of what you said how bad the government was, like the counrty and the people enough to actually consider settle here. If you want to live happily in Thailand, adapt to the culture and follow the law.

• stilljustbrowsing commented : [quote="elportoed":3nss2v3b]I'm Thai born and raised, but now living in the US. I have to admit, living in a foreign land is not easy, since you have to learn and adapt to the local culture and laws which may be greatly different than your country of origin. You don't always get the preferencial treatments like the locals. If you can adapt and follow the culture and the law of the land, then you can get along peacefully with the locals. That's why this post bothers me a bit, as I'm reading the posts for all the complainers and whiners about this subject. I only have one comments, why can't you just repect the law and culture of the country that you are visiting and/or would like to live? If you don't think it's fair for you, please LEAVE. No country or culture is perfect. There's nothing for you to do here, you can't change the law, since you cannot vote. And to be fair, Thailand isn't the only country in the world that have laws against foreigners owning her land, or other quirky laws that prevent foreigners from doing certain things. Obviously all you whiners here, regardless of what you said how bad the government was, like the counrty and the people enough to actually consider settle here. If you want to live happily in Thailand, adapt to the culture and follow the law.[/quote:3nss2v3b] Nice post Mr. Ranter. And your superior advice is? Better we follow the flow and forget about laws hey? AH 9th magnitude. You are, care must we take when reading your rants, for thoughts you have none.

• 186 replies, 1,555,754 views

Domestic / cross cultural issues - Thai / Foreigner concerns

The Value of a Tourist.

By Sean Moran, Created on: 18/01/2009, Last updated on: 15/12/2010

» What are some of the most common positive and negative results of foreign tourists from overseas visiting Thailand? Thai opinions welcome, kap.

• boonfah commented : I understand Thais concern on this. I am one of those tourists and am horrified at the lack of respect some tourists show your country as all Thais I have come across are such a respectfull and friendly people. I try to stay away from Bangkok for that reason so i dont have to see drunk English in the bars their. But going up north I love Nakon Sawan and stayed there for a month recently. I love Thailand and I love the poeple (my girlfriend is Thai so am very biased). I only wish that my own country in England that people would have the same respect for others. Unfortunaltley your economy does reley a little too much on tourism which is shame for a country with such vast wealth. Of course without all the world bank and IMF debt that Thailand is in you wouldnt need to be so reliant on tourism or its money. It is only with these loans that countries like the US and the UK steal your vast natural wealth for themseleves as they have done all around the globe.

• Jay commented : I see tourists complaining about being ripped off by taxi drivers and other Thais, and I guess I just don't understand this. I have traveled to Thailand dozens of times, usually for a month or more at a time, and only once has a taxi driver ever tried to take advantage of me. And, when he did, he backed off as soon as I called him on it. Rarely have any other Thai service workers tried to cheat me; once in a while in a karaoke club, or in Fortune Mall, but not often. I find that, compared to most other places to which I travel - like Hong Kong, the Philippines, or even most places in the U.S., Thailand is safer and more friendly, and I don't have to be as vigilant protecting myself. Tourists bring a lot more to Thailand, in my opinion, than just the money they spend. Yes, it's true that you have thousands of middle aged men, often with not a lot of money, coming to Thailand to visit the go-go clubs and beer bars. Except for providing work for thousands of girls from the provinces, they don't help the economy all that much. But most tourists are not in that category. Most tourists who come to Thailand discover a subtle and interesting new (for them) culture, and leave this country with a new understanding. That translates, more often than you think, into business activity later on. If you look at all the international businesses that have been established in Thailand (excluding the retail businesses), you will be surprised to find that probably half of them had their start with a business executive vacationing in Thailand, and having their eyes opened to the potential of this great country. Sure, not every tourist starts a factory later. But if one in a thousand does, that translates into many thousands of new manufacturing jobs in Thailand every year.

• tmvolunteer commented : Tourist = Money. When Thais see a tourist spending more money in one evening than a Thai make in a month it is obvious they think that all farang are filthy rich. When I tell my Thai friends that it takes my brother one year to save up enough money to come and visit me here in Thailand for three weeks, they don't believe me. When I tell them that more than 90% of my friends back home cannot afford to drive around in a huge three liter pick-up truck, they don't believe me. I have a fourteen year old Honda Dream and sometimes I get the question why I don't have a car, I tell them that I cannot afford to buy one, they laugh and it is obvious... they don't believe me. So what are the Thais to think about us farang when they see tourists throwing money around like there is no tomorrow? What when they watch Hollywood movies? They know that all the best superheroes in the world are American, even if aliens should come from outer space they would land in America, and the Americans will save us all! There are so many movies showing that the good always wins over the bad, but in everyday life in Thailand it is the opposite, the one with the most money or the highest position rules. It is not easy to convince a Thai that the movies are just fiction, most of them actually think that this is the way it is in the western world. The point is that Thai people know nothing about western culture and how can they know? They hardly know their own history. The education system in Thailand has gone from bad to worse in the last couple of years, with political turmoil and students and parents only worry about their immediate financial situation. For politicians and the rich, the education system is way back in the line of improvement. The politicians are too busy defending themselves from accusations from the opposition, and the rich are not interested in educating people, they would probably lose their gardener, driver, house maids and so on, if the Thai people were to be properly educated. Tourism is not the highest income source for Thailand but most tourists think that it is, and it often shows in their behavior towards Thailand and its people. Often I see tourists behaving in a manner that makes me think "would they behave like this back home?" and I know that they wouldn't. Where has the respect for each other disappeared to? Wherever it is, I hope that it comes back to us soon. Maybe respect has become a filthy rich tourist too. The true value of today's tourist = $$$. Send a genuine smile to 10 people today and tomorrow will be a happier day.

• 85 replies, 111,416 views

Domestic / cross cultural issues - Thai / Foreigner concerns

** ABUSIVE MARRIAGE TO FARANGE, CARE 4 HIM FINANCIALLY

By somjai, Created on: 01/01/2009, Last updated on: 16/06/2009

» I am here to share my personal experience. And I’m not here to offend anyone. Hopefully I can open your mind to reality to treat Asian women with respect. In 1986, I was a young beautiful naïve Thai girl, 20, who held onto the Asian tradition. For this reason I stayed in a miserable marriage....

• Junglejim commented : I do think that many Thai woman (and men) are more submissive than counterparts in the West. It's a bit like the way things would've been in the US perhaps in the 1950's or before the sexual revolution and womans' liberation.... I personally have experienced a relationship where the other half wants to cook breakfast, make the bed, do the cleaning and its nice to have but half of me is also thinking this is not really what I want. I don't know if there was a financial arrangement between you two but that could have perpetuated the situation...were you being paid to be his servant? You should have talked about what both of you wanted. Could you have gone out to work and split the cost of a maid between you...possibly you could have employed a friend or relative from Thailand even and then you could also have had someone to chat to. I stopped providing financial reward to my friend for doing the chores and although she still likes to carry on almost like in the past, she's also decided to go out and also do some work. Many men want their wife to be at least slightly independent. Western culture has long moved away from the wife at home culture (unless he's from the bible belt) and I suspect that your former husband would have held you in higher esteem had you gone out and worked by yourself and had your own friends. There's no reason why he should be eternally grateful for you doing the chores at home. Sorry to say this but a maid can be employed inexpensively. I guess you also didn't have children, a key factor in a marriage that you fail to mention. Anyhow, less of the narrow thinking. In my experience the relationships that work best permit everything in moderation. And if he/she is drinking too much then work out why that is...and do something about it.

• 9 replies, 14,508 views

Domestic / cross cultural issues - Thai / Foreigner concerns

cool kids and their motorbikes, new trend !?!

By pachangamac042, Created on: 28/11/2008, Last updated on: 12/02/2009

» There is a brand new trend in the village I stay up here near Chaiyaphum. Young people strip their motorbikes of everything “you don’t really need” like; lights, protections, exhaust pipes, silencers, mirrors and so on and then go on the streets an “do the monkey” on their bikes, specially...

• Sean Moran commented : Certainly does defy logic in the context of multitasking operations at those sorts of decibels, but motivation itself is compromised by the removal of a tuned length extractor (US Eng. header) from a high-compression engine as well ?!? It's meant to be built at a certain length and radius so that a sine wave between the exhaust valve and the end of the pipe actually assists the rate of pollution and resultant global-warming as the valve opens over each cycle. It's not going to make the bike any quicker to remove the exhaust unless it's blocked up with buffalo turds or something. Logic and Chaiyaphum might be a bit of a chin scratcher though. Lonely Planet 2004 if I remember, mentioned that most Thai mattayom students couldn't pin the Chaiyaphum tail on the elephant's head. I used to use it on classroom know-it-alls all the time and three times out of four they won't get it until you draw the regions and add in Petchabun. Only driven through once and had lunch on the way back the next day. Very peaceful sort of place by the look of it. Have you heard any new hit songs on the radio about someone riding around on a motorbike with no muffler installed? Maybe it's the latest Lydia song behind the craze?

• 20 replies, 20,555 views

Domestic / cross cultural issues - Thai / Foreigner concerns

IS Thailand Safe?

By Wally, Created on: 08/11/2008, Last updated on: 07/12/2008

» Thailand is relatively safe, many of the statistics you cite are largely Thai-Thai. All countries have areas best avoided, Thailand is no different, but for the most part I think it is quite safe. Mind you this will vary depending whether you are in Chiang Mai or Pattaya.

• John Doe commented : In my view and based on my personal experience from living here: YES, Thailand is safe. At least relatively safe. I don't fear being gunned down or robbed, I don't drive and expect to be killed. I've lived her for many years and have not had any of my Thai friends hurt by gunshots although a few have been killed in traffic. Statistics is a wonderful thing . . . how reliable is your source? The United Nations Survey of Crime (dated year 2000) ranked Thailand 14th in murders per capita (#1 was Colombia, #2 was South Africa, and 3# was Jamaica but USA was not on the list) and having visited Jo'burg several times, I must same I had a stronger sense of danger lurking there than I have had anywhere in Thailand.

• Martinus commented : [quote="MustaphaMond":3iv7txc1]Thailand is rated #3 in gundeaths in the world with over 20,000 in 2006 compare to "guncrazy" US that had just under 10,000. that's some per capita ... Just how many men have been murdered for their bank accounts by their wife's family? And what about Thai DCA giving back operating permits to an airline that wasn't complying with safety regulations and a plane crashed because of it ? NO indictments, no fines... Amazing..[/color][/size][/quote:3iv7txc1] These stats from nationmaster and such are ususally never referred to by the likes of CNN and BBC How come???

• Martinus commented : [quote="MustaphaMond":ntgckkre]In Phuket, between Patong and Karon beaches, tourists were regularly knocked from their scooters in smash and grabs. The local police were doing nothing. It wasn' until the Consulate starting major griping that the head police in Bangkok sent down some officers to deal with it .[/quote:ntgckkre] Obviuosly you have never wondered why in the US the rental cars are stripped from anything remotely showing it is a rental...... contrary to any other nation where I have rented cars.... Wake up man.....

• 13 replies, 20,072 views

Domestic / cross cultural issues - Thai / Foreigner concerns

Farang and their seemingly paradoxical ways

By Mr. Surin Province, Created on: 17/10/2008, Last updated on: 17/04/2010

» As a long-historied Farang resident myself, comfortable and understanding, I have to ask the age old question regarding Westerners that find it necessary to stay/live here while finding life so objectionable in many ways. Why is this so? I've experienced this throughout Asia {in particular the LOS}...

• HybridEm commented : to answer the point of this thread...why farangs live in this paradoxical land is the same as why marginalized asians, and latinos and whoever-else choose to live in America and suffer its indifference towards blatant/ institutional racism is because they're willing to tolerate it, and they themselves understand the indifference in life itself; and as Mr. Surin Province pointed out..the problems are just the same in any other country. On a side-note - to think that China, Malaysia, or India are non-racist countries is quite a nice illusion.

• Sean Moran commented : [quote="HybridEm":16cvdlc2]to answer the point of this thread...why farangs live in this paradoxical land is the same as why marginalized asians, and latinos and whoever-else choose to live in America and suffer its indifference towards blatant/ institutional racism is because they're willing to tolerate it, and they themselves understand the indifference in life itself; and as Mr. Surin Province pointed out..the problems are just the same in any other country. On a side-note - to think that China, Malaysia, or India are non-racist countries is quite a nice illusion. [/quote:16cvdlc2] That's an excellent contrast, and the invention of the web-forum really enables us to examine both sides of that same coin from the same terminal, like here. I just did 11 months on a forum mainly populated by ex-pats in Thailand, followed by another 11 months on another forum mainly populated by ex-pats in the USnA, and the ratio of sensible people to whingers was probably not all that different, considering that the ex-pats in Thailand averaged around 30 years older than the ex-pats in the US. Maturity has a way of adding a little more diplomacy to the way people speak about things that bother them, or perhaps angry young men don't live as long as the rest of us? On the whole, maybe all of us have some axe to grind about something that we feel unjust, whether that is because it truly is, or whether we just copped a bad run with something, or whether we simply don't understand the mechanisms behind it? That latter one seems to be the most annoying cause for gripes IMHO, because it's like crying wolf a bit. It's probably quite a normal experience when you first get off the boat in a new place, to not expect to understand everything about a place where you have less understanding than a local kindergarten student. However after a few years as an ex-pat, those sorts of mysteries might be overcome as one learns the reasons they are in place. Still, there will always be problems that we might encounter that cause us to perhaps regress back to those initial perceptions and rant away.

• ricepaddy commented : Our farang ways are paradoxical, not just seemingly, compared to the Thai ways. My father was KIA in WWII and mom went to work, so I was raised mostly by my grandparents, who were village farmers in Slovakia until WWI, when the Kaiser’s army conscripted grandpa, who was captured and sent to Siberia by the Russians. He survived until the war ended. Then grandpa and grandma immigrated as farangs to America. 17 years ago I was assigned to a five year farang work assignment in Thailand and after a few months was sure that Thailand was just a dirty, undeveloped, Third World country trying to put on a façade of modernizing with big buildings and a few road signs in English. Then I met an old long-stay farang, who patiently listened to my story and all my negative gripes about Thailand. He asked me to try and make a mental list of some good things about Thailand and we’d talk again. I took his advice and in the course of making my list, flashed back to some of my grandpa’s stories about the great things about America and how hard it was to assimilate into a culture so different from the one where he was raised. His vocabulary to a child obviously didn’t include “assimilate” and “culture” even though we were speaking in Slovak, but that was the gist. Learning the American language (my British friends insist I do not speak English) was high on grandpa’s list of difficulties, just as learning Thai was on mine. Fast forward to now and I am retired living on a village farm in Changwat, Surin and still adding to the old long-stay farang’s mental list of good things about Thailand. The list is quite long, and keeps growing because despite the negative things I see and sometimes comment about, the good and positive things I see and experience daily are what keep me here as a healthy, happily married farang whose ways are much less paradoxical than 17 years ago. My comment could probably have left out many details and just said that most people are different and some can assimilate well, some not so well, and others not at all, but I just finished a cup of coffee, booted the computer, checked email and Bangkok Post, looked out the window at the green rice paddies and got carried away. Thai coffee is on the good list (for talking and writing).

• 57 replies, 74,821 views

Domestic / cross cultural issues - Thai / Foreigner concerns

Child Nationality

By Anonymous, Created on: 03/03/2008, Last updated on: 18/06/2009

» Can my unborn baby gain USA/UK nationality just because he was born in either countires?

• RichO commented : I don't know about the U. K., but in the U.S.A. your baby will be an American citizen if he/she was born there in most cases. I have read stories about Phillipine Airline stewardesses being assigned to a U. S. flight right around the time she was expecting. They end up with free medical care and the baby ends up a U. S. citizen. I also know of illegal Thai persons having children in the U. S. Automatic U. S. citizen. Hope this helps.

• puzzled commented : In the US a child born in the US can have US citizenship. However, the parents do not. Creates a problem sometimes especially if the parents think this is their ticket in. I was once at the US Embassy and a Thai woman and boy were going for a VISA to the US. The boy was born there and had US Citizenship. I was next in line so I heard the official say, "Yes he can go to the US with no problem, but you have to get a VISA." "But who will look after him when he goes to school?" The answer was, "He is a citizens and can go; there is no guarantee for you beyond a visitor's VISA." The Thai woman was astonished and protested because she was his mother. Didn't do her any good to protest. So, yes on the citizenship for the baby, but if your motives are more than that, forget it.

• 6 replies, 8,233 views

Domestic / cross cultural issues - Thai / Foreigner concerns

Good Private Schools in Thailand

By Anonymous, Created on: 18/02/2008, Last updated on: 30/08/2011

» We have heard of this new" Internationalised" Curriculum being offered in Thailand. We wanted to know if it is appropriate for us as I am British and my wife is Thai.

• JPWard commented : My Girlfriend is a teacher in the "New International School Thailand" Asoke and they are linked with Bath University UK and teach I-GCSE. I may be biased but I am forever hearing of special events that reflect both Thai and other Cultures as well as issuing all studients with a table pc making lessons homework more organised! Studients are from UK, America, Japan, Austrillia, Thailand, India to name but a few...... Johny

• 17 replies, 45,050 views

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