Westerners in Thailand : What Went Wrong ?

[jumusman]

Just saw a great article that really made me laugh. Some of it because it reminds me of some people on this forum, some of it because I am just as guilty of fitting into many of these categories as most. It is specific to Bangkok but it really translates into falangs in all areas of Thailand.

http://whatsonsukhumvit.com/westerners- ... ent-wrong/

Which category do you fit into ?

If you read this forum often you will automatically be able to point out by their screen names the "White Knight - The Westerner Who Simply Cannot Stomach Criticism of Thailand" Yeah.... if you are reading this, you know who you are!!


WESTERNERS IN THAILAND. WHAT WENT WRONG ?

“You see, there are some people who had no life at home, before they came to Thailand, for whatever reason. Maybe they were unpopular, or never got ahead in life, were career criminals, or whatever. Despite problems at home, their lives in the Land of Smiles are the complete opposite. In Thailand, the locals smile at them and treat them nicely. In return, these questionable farangs will defend the Thais to the hilt, even if it involves something very clearly questionable or downright wrong. This drives me crazy and is one of the reasons I seldom read the local internet discussion forums these days.

“There are some Westerners who find Thailand to be their personal paradise and are prepared to overlook anything, even things that border on a minor atrocity – and they will vociferously criticise anyone who questions their idea of paradise. This is one of the huge unspoken shortcomings of life in this part of the world – the calibre of the Westerners here.”


Harsh? Maybe.

True?

Absolutely.

Of course, it would be unfair to tar all Westerners with the same brush, but it’s undeniable that there is a certain subsection of the Bangkok expat population where quality of character is seriously lacking.

With that in mind, let’s have a look at some of the shady expat characters you can expect to meet during your time in Bangkok.




The Angry and Divorced Forty-Something Seeking a ‘Proper Woman’

This city is full of once-burnt divorced men who were either so shattered by their previous marriages — or so disenchanted by the era of leftist feminism — that they felt compelled to move thousands of miles east to find a ‘proper woman’.

And by proper woman, I mean one straight out of the 1940s.

“Just let me be a man, while you do my washing, take control of the kitchen and don’t ask too many questions.”

Not much to ask.

These men tend to shack up with the financially destitute, or the professionally prostitute — whatever improves their chances of exerting total dominance over them in the long run.

With these couples, it seems true love simply equals “You’ll never leave me while I send your parents and buffalos 20% of my retirement fund.”

Such is the plight of the average bar girl, they are often correct.



The Westerner Who Simply Cannot Stomach Criticism of Thailand

I call this guy the White Knight.

He is infatuated with Thailand.

If something bad happens, it’s your fault.

“Oh, a motorcycle hacked you down in broad daylight and decapitated your pet spaniel? That’s just the way the pavement works over here, buddy. You need to appreciate cultural differences. It’s people like you that ruin this country for the rest of us.”

White Knight has learned the Thai language so impeccably well that you can read the disdain on his face when he’s forced to speak in crude plain English to his fellow farang.

He is the Moses of the Walen School.

There’s nothing he would love more than a job at Immigration castrating the non-fluent masses as they pass in to his adopted shire.

His stated motives for total cultural immersion are, quite sympathetically, to “integrate fully with the people of Thailand“.

But more often than not, he just wants to get laid.

Which is why if he updates his Facebook, it has to be in Thai script.

Firstly, to secure those 450 likes and comments from college students (half of which he has already shagged in his own mind), and secondly, to send out a message to his expat friends that he’s a prime candidate for the Best At Living In Thailand, 2015 award.

A title handed out almost exclusively to helmets.



The Rude P****s

This may be the Land of Smiles, but it can also be the Land of Intolerable Dinosaurs.

There’s a certain type of Westerner who reaches the gate at Suvarnabhumi, puts on his wife-beater, and slips in to an immediate mid-life crisis.

Thailand has a reputation as something of a boys’ playground; the untamed Vegas of the east. Except it’s much cheaper and, generally, much friendlier.

You’d think this would earn some goodwill from expats and tourists but sadly, it often encourages the opposite.

Good ol’ Western Privilege kicks in.

There are some who think that a ฿20 tip buys five star service — or the right to admonish performance at will.

Signs of Western Privilege:

Instinctively talks down to native Thais
Gets increasingly agitated at the first sound of broken English
Solicits sex from any woman who happens to be within 1 mile of Nana BTS
Gawps at students – and occasionally photographs them – on the BTS as if he’s entered a third world candy store



The Retired Keyboard Warrior Brigade

I don’t know what Thailand was like 20 years ago — unlike some of Bangkok’s expats, who clearly wish they could catch a BTS train right back there.

Some use those nostalgic memories to forge a manifesto of what Thailand should be like today.

Regardless of small facts like, you know, globalisation.

Thailand has moved on; but many of its expats are stuck in a Land of Smiles that no longer exists.

These troopers find it inconceivable that condos have replaced their fondly remembered brothels, that millions more people visit Thailand every year, and especially — that anybody under the age of 30 would dare to follow in their footsteps and build a life over here.

The rising cost of living in Thailand, accentuated by decades of Westerners living beyond their means, is seen as something to take out on the younger generation of expats.

There is no finer example of this contempt than the ThaiVisa forum; a place where tribal snobbery knows no bounds.

Where those who have married into Thai families, or landed a retirement visa, will lampoon and mock the Tourist Visa Peasants simply trying to find a solution that works for them within the bounds of complex immigration law."

[jingjoe]

certainly on the mark for 99% of us over here.....the rest are in denial

[oakdale160]

Yes we have all met guys in all three groups, but mostly, ex-pats go along with it, bitch a little(Probably about the same amount of bitching that they did back home) and have a realization that you have to take the good with the bad. So chug-a- lug a 35b beer, watch the sun go down and all the girls coming out to play.

[hhfarang]

"bitch a little(Probably about the same amount of bitching that they did back home)"

Nope, I only bitch about the cost of healthcare here... I had sooo much more to bitch about there.

[oakdale160]

By here you mean your home country and by there Thai???

[Takiap]

Yes we have all met guys in all three groups, but mostly, ex-pats go along with it, bitch a little(Probably about the same amount of bitching that they did back home) and have a realization that you have to take the good with the bad. So chug-a- lug a 35b beer, watch the sun go down and all the girls coming out to play.

Well said. There are several "Thai" things that are in my mind totally absurd, but like you say, you have to learn to take the good with the bad. Also, I think once you can accept the fact that Farangs know absolutely nothing about anything and everything, while Thais know everything about anything and everything, then life here actually becomes quite amusing.

[migrant]

Also, I think once you can accept the fact that Farangs know absolutely nothing about anything and everything, while Thais know everything about anything and everything, then life here actually becomes quite amusing.

Substitute Husband for Falang and Wife for Thai and your still correct!

[hhfarang]

Also, I think once you can accept the fact that Farangs know absolutely nothing about anything and everything, while Thais know everything about anything and everything, then life here actually becomes quite amusing.

Substitute Husband for Falang and Wife for Thai and your still correct!

Since marrying a Thai I no longer have to search Google. I just ask her!

[Name Taken]

Yes we have all met guys in all three groups, but mostly, ex-pats go along with it, bitch a little(Probably about the same amount of bitching that they did back home) and have a realization that you have to take the good with the bad. So chug-a- lug a 35b beer, watch the sun go down and all the girls coming out to play.

[Name Taken]

Just saw a great article that really made me laugh. Some of it because it reminds me of some people on this forum, some of it because I am just as guilty of fitting into many of these categories as most. It is specific to Bangkok but it really translates into falangs in all areas of Thailand.

http://whatsonsukhumvit.com/westerners- ... ent-wrong/

Which category do you fit into ?

If you read this forum often you will automatically be able to point out by their screen names the "White Knight - The Westerner Who Simply Cannot Stomach Criticism of Thailand" Yeah.... if you are reading this, you know who you are!!


WESTERNERS IN THAILAND. WHAT WENT WRONG ?

“You see, there are some people who had no life at home, before they came to Thailand, for whatever reason. Maybe they were unpopular, or never got ahead in life, were career criminals, or whatever. Despite problems at home, their lives in the Land of Smiles are the complete opposite. In Thailand, the locals smile at them and treat them nicely. In return, these questionable farangs will defend the Thais to the hilt, even if it involves something very clearly questionable or downright wrong. This drives me crazy and is one of the reasons I seldom read the local internet discussion forums these days.

“There are some Westerners who find Thailand to be their personal paradise and are prepared to overlook anything, even things that border on a minor atrocity – and they will vociferously criticise anyone who questions their idea of paradise. This is one of the huge unspoken shortcomings of life in this part of the world – the calibre of the Westerners here.”


Harsh? Maybe.

True?

Absolutely.

Of course, it would be unfair to tar all Westerners with the same brush, but it’s undeniable that there is a certain subsection of the Bangkok expat population where quality of character is seriously lacking.

With that in mind, let’s have a look at some of the shady expat characters you can expect to meet during your time in Bangkok.




The Angry and Divorced Forty-Something Seeking a ‘Proper Woman’

This city is full of once-burnt divorced men who were either so shattered by their previous marriages — or so disenchanted by the era of leftist feminism — that they felt compelled to move thousands of miles east to find a ‘proper woman’.

And by proper woman, I mean one straight out of the 1940s.

“Just let me be a man, while you do my washing, take control of the kitchen and don’t ask too many questions.”

Not much to ask.

These men tend to shack up with the financially destitute, or the professionally prostitute — whatever improves their chances of exerting total dominance over them in the long run.

With these couples, it seems true love simply equals “You’ll never leave me while I send your parents and buffalos 20% of my retirement fund.”

Such is the plight of the average bar girl, they are often correct.



The Westerner Who Simply Cannot Stomach Criticism of Thailand

I call this guy the White Knight.

He is infatuated with Thailand.

If something bad happens, it’s your fault.

“Oh, a motorcycle hacked you down in broad daylight and decapitated your pet spaniel? That’s just the way the pavement works over here, buddy. You need to appreciate cultural differences. It’s people like you that ruin this country for the rest of us.”

White Knight has learned the Thai language so impeccably well that you can read the disdain on his face when he’s forced to speak in crude plain English to his fellow farang.

He is the Moses of the Walen School.

There’s nothing he would love more than a job at Immigration castrating the non-fluent masses as they pass in to his adopted shire.

His stated motives for total cultural immersion are, quite sympathetically, to “integrate fully with the people of Thailand“.

But more often than not, he just wants to get laid.

Which is why if he updates his Facebook, it has to be in Thai script.

Firstly, to secure those 450 likes and comments from college students (half of which he has already shagged in his own mind), and secondly, to send out a message to his expat friends that he’s a prime candidate for the Best At Living In Thailand, 2015 award.

A title handed out almost exclusively to helmets.



The Rude P****s

This may be the Land of Smiles, but it can also be the Land of Intolerable Dinosaurs.

There’s a certain type of Westerner who reaches the gate at Suvarnabhumi, puts on his wife-beater, and slips in to an immediate mid-life crisis.

Thailand has a reputation as something of a boys’ playground; the untamed Vegas of the east. Except it’s much cheaper and, generally, much friendlier.

You’d think this would earn some goodwill from expats and tourists but sadly, it often encourages the opposite.

Good ol’ Western Privilege kicks in.

There are some who think that a ฿20 tip buys five star service — or the right to admonish performance at will.

Signs of Western Privilege:

Instinctively talks down to native Thais
Gets increasingly agitated at the first sound of broken English
Solicits sex from any woman who happens to be within 1 mile of Nana BTS
Gawps at students – and occasionally photographs them – on the BTS as if he’s entered a third world candy store



The Retired Keyboard Warrior Brigade

I don’t know what Thailand was like 20 years ago — unlike some of Bangkok’s expats, who clearly wish they could catch a BTS train right back there.

Some use those nostalgic memories to forge a manifesto of what Thailand should be like today.

Regardless of small facts like, you know, globalisation.

Thailand has moved on; but many of its expats are stuck in a Land of Smiles that no longer exists.

These troopers find it inconceivable that condos have replaced their fondly remembered brothels, that millions more people visit Thailand every year, and especially — that anybody under the age of 30 would dare to follow in their footsteps and build a life over here.

The rising cost of living in Thailand, accentuated by decades of Westerners living beyond their means, is seen as something to take out on the younger generation of expats.

There is no finer example of this contempt than the ThaiVisa forum; a place where tribal snobbery knows no bounds.

Where those who have married into Thai families, or landed a retirement visa, will lampoon and mock the Tourist Visa Peasants simply trying to find a solution that works for them within the bounds of complex immigration law."

So true.
He forgot to mention the steroid junkies and roid freaks.

[oakdale160]

there I sa group that you see in BKK but not here in HH. They are sent here by their companies for three years. Their 'Package" includes,a beautiful condo, live in maid/nanny. Car and driver, club memberships and school fees for children. Most are great guys but there is a sub-set whose arrogance and condescension to the Thai and the self-employed or retired ex-pats is nauseating.

[jumusman]

Just saw a great article that really made me laugh. Some of it because it reminds me of some people on this forum, some of it because I am just as guilty of fitting into many of these categories as most. It is specific to Bangkok but it really translates into falangs in all areas of Thailand.

http://whatsonsukhumvit.com/westerners- ... ent-wrong/

Which category do you fit into ?

If you read this forum often you will automatically be able to point out by their screen names the "White Knight - The Westerner Who Simply Cannot Stomach Criticism of Thailand" Yeah.... if you are reading this, you know who you are!!


WESTERNERS IN THAILAND. WHAT WENT WRONG ?

“You see, there are some people who had no life at home, before they came to Thailand, for whatever reason. Maybe they were unpopular, or never got ahead in life, were career criminals, or whatever. Despite problems at home, their lives in the Land of Smiles are the complete opposite. In Thailand, the locals smile at them and treat them nicely. In return, these questionable farangs will defend the Thais to the hilt, even if it involves something very clearly questionable or downright wrong. This drives me crazy and is one of the reasons I seldom read the local internet discussion forums these days.

“There are some Westerners who find Thailand to be their personal paradise and are prepared to overlook anything, even things that border on a minor atrocity – and they will vociferously criticise anyone who questions their idea of paradise. This is one of the huge unspoken shortcomings of life in this part of the world – the calibre of the Westerners here.”


Harsh? Maybe.

True?

Absolutely.

Of course, it would be unfair to tar all Westerners with the same brush, but it’s undeniable that there is a certain subsection of the Bangkok expat population where quality of character is seriously lacking.

With that in mind, let’s have a look at some of the shady expat characters you can expect to meet during your time in Bangkok.




The Angry and Divorced Forty-Something Seeking a ‘Proper Woman’

This city is full of once-burnt divorced men who were either so shattered by their previous marriages — or so disenchanted by the era of leftist feminism — that they felt compelled to move thousands of miles east to find a ‘proper woman’.

And by proper woman, I mean one straight out of the 1940s.

“Just let me be a man, while you do my washing, take control of the kitchen and don’t ask too many questions.”

Not much to ask.

These men tend to shack up with the financially destitute, or the professionally prostitute — whatever improves their chances of exerting total dominance over them in the long run.

With these couples, it seems true love simply equals “You’ll never leave me while I send your parents and buffalos 20% of my retirement fund.”

Such is the plight of the average bar girl, they are often correct.



The Westerner Who Simply Cannot Stomach Criticism of Thailand

I call this guy the White Knight.

He is infatuated with Thailand.

If something bad happens, it’s your fault.

“Oh, a motorcycle hacked you down in broad daylight and decapitated your pet spaniel? That’s just the way the pavement works over here, buddy. You need to appreciate cultural differences. It’s people like you that ruin this country for the rest of us.”

White Knight has learned the Thai language so impeccably well that you can read the disdain on his face when he’s forced to speak in crude plain English to his fellow farang.

He is the Moses of the Walen School.

There’s nothing he would love more than a job at Immigration castrating the non-fluent masses as they pass in to his adopted shire.

His stated motives for total cultural immersion are, quite sympathetically, to “integrate fully with the people of Thailand“.

But more often than not, he just wants to get laid.

Which is why if he updates his Facebook, it has to be in Thai script.

Firstly, to secure those 450 likes and comments from college students (half of which he has already shagged in his own mind), and secondly, to send out a message to his expat friends that he’s a prime candidate for the Best At Living In Thailand, 2015 award.

A title handed out almost exclusively to helmets.



The Rude P****s

This may be the Land of Smiles, but it can also be the Land of Intolerable Dinosaurs.

There’s a certain type of Westerner who reaches the gate at Suvarnabhumi, puts on his wife-beater, and slips in to an immediate mid-life crisis.

Thailand has a reputation as something of a boys’ playground; the untamed Vegas of the east. Except it’s much cheaper and, generally, much friendlier.

You’d think this would earn some goodwill from expats and tourists but sadly, it often encourages the opposite.

Good ol’ Western Privilege kicks in.

There are some who think that a ฿20 tip buys five star service — or the right to admonish performance at will.

Signs of Western Privilege:

Instinctively talks down to native Thais
Gets increasingly agitated at the first sound of broken English
Solicits sex from any woman who happens to be within 1 mile of Nana BTS
Gawps at students – and occasionally photographs them – on the BTS as if he’s entered a third world candy store



The Retired Keyboard Warrior Brigade

I don’t know what Thailand was like 20 years ago — unlike some of Bangkok’s expats, who clearly wish they could catch a BTS train right back there.

Some use those nostalgic memories to forge a manifesto of what Thailand should be like today.

Regardless of small facts like, you know, globalisation.

Thailand has moved on; but many of its expats are stuck in a Land of Smiles that no longer exists.

These troopers find it inconceivable that condos have replaced their fondly remembered brothels, that millions more people visit Thailand every year, and especially — that anybody under the age of 30 would dare to follow in their footsteps and build a life over here.

The rising cost of living in Thailand, accentuated by decades of Westerners living beyond their means, is seen as something to take out on the younger generation of expats.

There is no finer example of this contempt than the ThaiVisa forum; a place where tribal snobbery knows no bounds.

Where those who have married into Thai families, or landed a retirement visa, will lampoon and mock the Tourist Visa Peasants simply trying to find a solution that works for them within the bounds of complex immigration law."

So true.
He forgot to mention the steroid junkies and roid freaks.

I saw many of those when I lived in Pattaya. Not so many in Hua Hin that's for sure, completely different.

[usual suspect]

I enjoy bitchin' about this place (no s*** Sherlock)..but I also enjoy 'watching the girls come out to play' (that is till wifey spots me!)..still gotta find those 35b beers tho'..?

[Pleng]

He forgot to mention the steroid junkies and roid freaks.

The "know-it-all blogger" is also mysteriously absent from his list

[Name Taken]

He forgot to mention the steroid junkies and roid freaks.

The "know-it-all blogger" is also mysteriously absent from his list

Who would that be?
Sorry, I can't read peoples minds.