Being polite to foriegners in Thailand

[TingTongJohn]

Is it a waste of time trying to be polite when in Thailand? An example would be at the market and see some one who is not Thai(Tourist/farang what ever) And as you pass by you say Morning/good morning/Just nod hello and you get the glare like your wrecking my holiday what are you selling or even worse the blank stare. Is it just me? (It must be) Yes maybe I should just ignore everyone and not try to connect with other human beings. What say yee?

[HHTel]

It's you. You're just too damn scary!!!!

[richard]

Bit like when you get the glare when you are with a younger lady and smiling like you are enjoying yourself. Just give 'em a wide grin, say hi. They hate it

[TingTongJohn]

It's you. You're just too damn scary!!!!

Maybe it was the ladyboy on my arm or it was the fact I was wearing a banana hammock(Speedo) Hmmmm.. Scary? Yes that could be the answer. Now that I look in the mirror I wonder what happened to that young bloke that used to be there. Now all I see is an old guy.

[Johnnywastaken]

I have a habit of nodding at least..... in Thailand most would reciprocate..... but now I live in Vietnam and seldom do expats or tourists even make eye contact.... a simple word would imply an ulterior motive.... sad really.....

[oakdale160]

I don't do this on the street, but have greater or even started conversations in bars and restaurants and have neverbeen rebuffed. I am of course a very hansum man.:-)

[Gérard]

Everyday when I ride my bicycle in Thailand, I get a few smiles an hellos from children or older people.
When in France, it may happen once in 3 months...
Now that nearly everybody has a smartphone or I-pad, it may become even worse...

[buksida]

As said above this is only going to get worse with the use of dumb-phones ...

I think it also depends a lot on location, if you are in a place that doesn't get thousands of foreigners every week so that they are more common than locals, people are more likely to acknowledge your greetings.

(Thread title edited to reflect content)

[Pleng]

was the fact I was wearing a banana hammock(Speedo)

Were you walking around shirtless too, by any chance?

[Frank La Rue]

In places with abundance of other foreigners like the nightmarket it is easy just to ignore each other and not appear aloof or impolite. I think that is in order.
I do find it a dilemma however, when I have been in a Big C or Tesco Lotus somehwere in Kanchanaburi, where we go frequently, there are relatively few farangs and we end up meeting/seeing another farang with his wife. Often have I been in this situation that there is only two of us in the whole store being farangs and obviously recognizable as such,

I realize that I have struck up a conversation only once (a swiss guy). We ended up next to each other at the cashier
It seems the others same as me get buzy studying the selection in the shelves to avoid making eye contact. I shall actually try the other approach now that I think of it, nod and smile as a silent greeting and see what happens.

Maybe it can result it getting to know some great people?

[VincentD]

Is it a waste of time trying to be polite when in Thailand?

Personal opinion. Yes.
Many are not tourists, hard to tell which is which, and the non-tourists usually have an agenda.
However, if in a place where interpersonal interaction is to be expected as the norm (as in a bar, for example) then yes, I'd probably interact.
Another example of when I *could* interact is if said person appeared to have communication problems as in getting the correct bus.

Don't forget many people on holiday want to experience the local ambience, and a large part of that is the learning curve. Let them enjoy their disassociation with their home country (and kin).

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[Spitfire]

Being polite and interacting in a default fashion also gets you into conversations with lots of nut-jobs and types of people who you would probably never associate yourself with in your country of origin.

[TingTongJohn]

was the fact I was wearing a banana hammock(Speedo)

Were you walking around shirtless too, by any chance?

Yep that was me..The guy with the chain of Thai amulets to protect me from bullets ,ghosts and everything else under the sun. I was out
to buy a case of Viagra as my supply was running low.

[theprice01]

Being polite and interacting in a default fashion also gets you into conversations with lots of nut-jobs and types of people who you would probably never associate yourself with in your country of origin.

hahaha, completely agree with you...I think from now on ill pretend im Russian

[Gérard]

As for me, I will always answer a "hello" or a smile from anybody, and open my door to all at first, since I can always shut it quicky if I feel the need.
How will you meet nice people if you always shut yourself in you ivory tower ?