Moaning about Hua Hin/Thailand

[dtaai-maai]

As a tourist I find some of comments in here totally unacceptable, firstly I am here with my wife and whilst some of you behave in a particular way does not mean all of our morals are equal. we are not sex tourists, we are here for the 5th time and enjoy everything the area has to offer.

As for the comment regarding the volume of tourists and wanting to move - maybe you should do just that. This is a tourist town. We spend copious amount of money here willingly and I would hope that the way we freely spend our cash is appreciated.

I really had to edit myself there because one day I will move here

I find it amazing that some of the people who post on here actually live in Hua Hin
They seem to moan about everything Thai
If they don't like it get out this is their country their rules that we should live by
Go back to your home countries if you don't lime it
Sorry but needed to be said

Interesting comments, not because they're being heard for the first time, but because they come from a new member and an infrequent poster who both feel strongly enough to get quite cross.

"we are not sex tourists"

Of course not, though there are plenty about. Plenty of ordinary tourists who indulge in an occasional naughty massage, I dare say. There are quite a few 'sexpats' too, I imagine.

As advised by others, ignore pretty much anything GLCQ posts, as do most of us who've been around for a while. If this forum was a medieval village (and there are times when it feels like it!), he'd spend most of his time in the stocks. I'm reliably informed he has a brain, but unfortunately he hasn't figured out the instructions yet.

"we are here for the 5th time and enjoy everything the area has to offer"
Presumably not quite everything...

The moaners... <sigh>

This is such an old chestnut.
There are quite a few people who enjoy living here full-time or part-time for one reason or another. Most are retired and live in what are almost expat compounds ("gated communities"). A surprising number of them seem to expect 1st-world standards and infrastructure in a (slowly) developing country and can get quite irritable when things go wrong, which they often do.

Moans include driving standards, the state of the roads, the price of beer, being charged for ice, poor service, power cuts, internet connection, dual pricing, Indian tailors, ladyboys, schools... I could go on, but I think I've offended quite enough forum members as it is!

The usual suspects are quite regularly seen to be complaining about one thing or another - I've even been known to indulge in a little moan myself, though mine are of course always justified, moderate and perfectly reasonable.

Quite a few members have been around for 20 years or so and like to reminisce fondly about the days when HH was a quiet little village with no farang tourists, lots of fishing boats and the occasional monkey. What they overlook (aside from the fact that memory can be deceiving) is that since half of them opened bars, they helped to start the tourist trend. Nor, I'm sure, would most of them now survive a week without access to the internet and decent sausages...

The simple fact is that complaining is human nature. I don't suppose HH is any different in that respect from any other expat community in any country of the world.

And there is, of course, a certain irony in moaning about moaners!

One of the things you need to spend any length of time in Thailand is tolerance, and that seems to be a dwindling quality amongst both farang and Thai.

It seems to me that someone is just as entitled to express their opinion that there are too many tourists and they are thinking of moving (as quite a few have), as the next person is to say that he enjoys the benefits that tourists bring (restaurants, shopping facilities, rising prices, double parking, idiots on motorcys, a plethora of floating markets... ).


[Mods, I realise this is off topic, but there's really only so much that can be said about bar closures which happen 2-3 times every year. Feel free to move it if necessary.]

[eatuae]

Excellent post dtaai maai

[Pleng]

Moans include driving standards, the state of the roads, the price of beer, being charged for ice, poor service, power cuts, internet connection, dual pricing, Indian tailors, ladyboys, schools... I could go on, but I think I've offended quite enough forum members as it is!

My favourite moan (not on the forum) was from a guy sitting on a table next to me in a restaurant; he was complaining to his friend about the fact you got a wooden stick when you bought fruit. Not just a simple "I don't get it" (what's there not to get anyway? maybe some people like sticky pineapple fingers?), but he went on to his friends for quite a while paraphrasing his thoughts that occurred in his mind whenever he bought fruit "why would you put this in here? why do you think I would want this" etc... It was really quite amusing.

[richard]

Good post DM.

We all or the vast majority of us moan at some stage during our stay here and as DM stated, it is only human nature. I moan often but then I think of the alternatives. Grass is always greener...springs to mind but it's rarely true. Going home to one's country of birth and upbringing is always clouded by fond memories of all the good things and not the bad things.

I usually take a giant step back and consider what I would gain by either relocating to another similar location or stepping foot back into the UK for good. Problem solved very quickly insomuch as here in Hua Hin I have very little to moan about when weighing all things up

[HHADFan]

Great post dtaai-maai.

Living in a tourist town and pissing and moaning about it is normal. I lived in a tourist town in the USA from 1975-1985, and many of the residents complained. Some time in about 1982 I was at a party with a lot of long term residents, when someone said, "You know, it seems like things are changing. It's not like it was in the seventies."

Replies:

"Naahh, it was already screwed up by 1970."
"Naahh, it was already screwed up by 1960."
"Huh, you should have been here in the forties. It was really nice then."

Expats moan about Thailand. My personal faves are traffic and politics. Both are crazy and dangerous. Don't take it seriously.

[Gregjam]

Moaning can be very therapeutic for most people but it is a state of mind very much driven by a persons current situation. I always try to proof read any posts to ensure they not only make sense but also ask myself if I am just venting feelings rather than making a valid point. A lot of the complaints made are quite valid from a foreign perspective but if put to a local they would probably wonder what you were getting so excited about.

Improving traffic safety would cost money which would have to come from somewhere and probably result in the price of goods be it som tam from the motorcycle vendor to prices at Tesco going up which would cause more complaints.

Sometimes the complaints are entertaining which is as good a reason as any for them to appear in the forum, they might also alert others to things worth avoiding.

Keep the complaints and moans coming, my wife is always on about something or the other and her life would have something missing without them. You can always ignore those that are unwarranted and the complainer will have had their say and hopefully feel better for the rant. With the wife a 'Yes Darling' usually avoid suffering the wrath of not responding.

[GLCQuantum]

Good post Dtaii Maii (I'll take the 'reliably informed he has a brain' part as a compliment )

Age plays an important part in regards to how much we moan too. The older we get the less tolerant we are of things. Seeing as the majority of Hua Hin expats are older, retired people, one would expect the moaning to be more frequent than places that attract a younger, more adventurous crowd.

Living in Thailand takes an incredible amount of tolerance... working in Thailand even more so. It's a country that is going backwards. A country whose people think they know better, on any topic, than the most streetwise and educated of foreigners that arrive on its shores. A country that doesn't allow foreigners a voice (we should only be seen and not heard - saying that, not being seen would make most Thais happy). A country that lacks education but thrives in corruption. A country with the 2nd worst roads in the world with drivers who still haven't figured out that the seat belts in cars are for their safety and the helmets in their baskets are for their head. A country that has one of the highest underage pregnancy rates in Asia. A country where the richer adults bicker like children over contractual agreements that could help the country (3G internet service comes to mind - am I right in saying Laos already has 4G) due to their own greed. A country where the foreigner is in the workplace mainly for photo opportunities and not for his/her expertise (look, look - have you seen our new farang!). A country where its people can't admit they were wrong after making a mistake due to loss of face. A country that still employs slave labour while the rich get even filthier from it. A country where the police are underpaid and incompetent...

A country I can proudly call my home.

[Name Taken]

Good post Dtaii Maii (I'll take the 'reliably informed he has a brain' part as a compliment )

Age plays an important part in regards to how much we moan too. The older we get the less tolerant we are of things. Seeing as the majority of Hua Hin expats are older, retired people, one would expect the moaning to be more frequent than places that attract a younger, more adventurous crowd.

Living in Thailand takes an incredible amount of tolerance... working in Thailand even more so. It's a country that is going backwards. A country whose people think they know better, on any topic, than the most streetwise and educated of foreigners that arrive on its shores. A country that doesn't allow foreigners a voice (we should only be seen and not heard - saying that, not being seen would make most Thais happy). A country that lacks education but thrives in corruption. A country with the 2nd worst roads in the world with drivers who still haven't figured out that the seat belts in cars are for their safety and the helmets in their baskets are for their head. A country that has one of the highest underage pregnancy rates in Asia. A country where the richer adults bicker like children over contractual agreements that could help the country (3G internet service comes to mind - am I right in saying Laos already has 4G) due to their own greed. A country where the foreigner is in the workplace mainly for photo opportunities and not for his/her expertise (look, look - have you seen our new farang!). A country where its people can't admit they were wrong after making a mistake due to loss of face. A country that still employs slave labour while the rich get even filthier from it. A country where the police are underpaid and incompetent...

A country I can proudly call my home.

Good post GLC.

[richard]

^ echo

[hhfarang]

Me too. That's the best and most lucid post you've ever written on here in my humble opinion GLC. You must be "clean and sober" so far today.

[Name Taken]

Good post Dtaii Maii (I'll take the 'reliably informed he has a brain' part as a compliment )

Age plays an important part in regards to how much we moan too. The older we get the less tolerant we are of things. Seeing as the majority of Hua Hin expats are older, retired people, one would expect the moaning to be more frequent than places that attract a younger, more adventurous crowd.

Living in Thailand takes an incredible amount of tolerance... working in Thailand even more so. It's a country that is going backwards. A country whose people think they know better, on any topic, than the most streetwise and educated of foreigners that arrive on its shores. A country that doesn't allow foreigners a voice (we should only be seen and not heard - saying that, not being seen would make most Thais happy). A country that lacks education but thrives in corruption. A country with the 2nd worst roads in the world with drivers who still haven't figured out that the seat belts in cars are for their safety and the helmets in their baskets are for their head. A country that has one of the highest underage pregnancy rates in Asia. A country where the richer adults bicker like children over contractual agreements that could help the country (3G internet service comes to mind - am I right in saying Laos already has 4G) due to their own greed. A country where the foreigner is in the workplace mainly for photo opportunities and not for his/her expertise (look, look - have you seen our new farang!). A country where its people can't admit they were wrong after making a mistake due to loss of face. A country that still employs slave labour while the rich get even filthier from it. A country where the police are underpaid and incompetent...

A country I can proudly call my home.

A country that has no zoning laws/restrictions...

[richard]

Me too. That's the best and most lucid post you've ever written on here in my humble opinion GLC. You must be "clean and sober" so far today.

Careful GLCQ. You are in danger of gaining a fan club

Seriously though the forum has lost a few interesting posters (moaners/CT's and the like) and at times verges on being boring. Oh sh1t, I'm moaning now about the lack of moaners

[usual suspect]

Great stuff D-M..I often wonder what other forum members think 'cos I'm always grumblin' about summat or other to do with H.H. or the L.O.S...but where I'm from in the 'northern wastelands' of the UK it's what we seem to do best..(& practice makes...)


(Am I excused..??)

[TingTongJohn]

There are 2 types of moans..The massage be it with special ending or not. Then there is the other.

Dam Thai, Dam Tourists, Dam traffic and so on. Nothing wrong with a good moan once in a while(of either type) But I get tired of the same ones.

A small Joke.

There was this gent who came to work everyday and at lunch would open his lunch pail up and moan.. God dam it I hate peanut butter sandwichs.
Everyday he would gripe about it after he opened his lunch. After a few weeks of this groaning then one of his co-workers spoke up. Why don`t you tell you wife to stop making them then.

The gent looked up and said " I am not married I make my own lunch"

[moe]

As a fairly new forum member, and a semi-frequent visitor of Hua Hin for the last 5-6 years (currently staying for a 6 month stretch), I 've got to say the incessant moaning in the forums took me by some surprise.

This is where you live, in one of the best climates on the face of the Earth, with some of the most friendly and least tribal people compared to basically anywhere, where the food is amazing, the drinks are great & cheap, service better than pretty much any major tourist country, the scenery beyond fantastic, the general attitudes are liberal to whatever your lifestyle contains -- and you choose to spend your time sitting on your ass posting on the internet about tiny little niggling stuff that irritates you about the place?

It's not like it's contained to a thread here and there either, about things that are obviously bad -- it's just a constant flow of diarrhea in almost every thread, often over the most inane things.

Quite often also with some thinly veiled racism about "TIT" and whatever generalizations about how "the Thais" are uneducated, unfriendly, short-sighted, and well, just plain low-IQ creatures. That's the general impression one gets from reading the forums, sadly. I wonder how many here would be comfortable showing a Thai friend what gets written about them?

Well, as an infrequent rookie on the forums, I don't have much weight behind my opinions in a meritocracy like an internet forum, but if I can be as cheeky to say so: I think it'd do wonders for the forum if the next time anyone feel like posting something whiny you've written about some generalization about Thailand or the Thais, if you could please take 10 seconds to a) consider whether or not the whining part actually adds anything of value to your post, and b) throw in a little addendum about where you would rather stay in the world, since this place is treating you so horribly.