Positive experience in Thailand

General chat about life in the Land Of Smiles. Discuss expat life, relationship issues and all things generally Thailand and Asia related.
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migrant
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Positive experience in Thailand

Post by migrant »

I hear so much negative experiences when dealing with Thais so thought I would post a good one.

Mrs M wanted a television mounted on the wall. Due to where she wanted it (of course) a standard flat mount wouldn't work, needed to be a vertical mount which no one in Bang Saphan had (of course again).

Picked one up in Hua Hin and brought back. The mount went on good but when I went to attach the TV (standard LG 24") none of the screws fit. There were 8 different sizes included, but none fit.

Off on the road. Stopped at a store near us that seemed to have quite a bit of tools and supplies. The guy said (Through Mrs M) that they don't carry screws but hold on. He, and his assistant dug around for about 20 minutes in drawers, etc. and came up with 4 screws that fit. He got a phillips screwdriver and we made sure.

Price, -0- he said they were left over from when he did his TV and no charge. :cheers:
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.
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usual suspect
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Re: Positive experience

Post by usual suspect »

Yes indeed it does restore your faith somewhat. OK..here's my 'positive expirience'..
After my stint back overseas I returned to find my pick-up parked up just where #1 son had dumped it due to clutch failure!
A quick ride up the Pala U Rd on my m/bike ( with wifey on the back) to 'our' local car mechanic's garage, plus a 2 min explanation by her good-self saw 2 young lads follow us back home.
One lad (with a bit of pedal-pumping) drove my truck away to their garage...15 mins later wifey got a call asking if I wanted a genuine Ford master cylinder fitting or after-market..? "aftermarket" I told her..and that was that.
45mins later my truck was again parked ouside my house..new part fitted, new fluid, all air bled etc...
..total bill 1.400B!
:cheers: :thumb: :cheers:
GLCQuantum
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Re: Positive experience

Post by GLCQuantum »

I crashed into a pick-up truck while speeding and drunk and the Thai guy picked up the 300,000 baht hospital bill while also paying me 240,000 baht compensation. Brought me a basket of fruit too.
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PeteC
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Re: Positive experience in Thailand

Post by PeteC »

migrant wrote:I hear so much negative experiences when dealing with Thais so thought I would post a good one........
It helps to understand some reasons for that in an attempt to stay sane:

1) Most of us don't understand Thai well enough to be able to absorb conversations going on around us like we can do in places speaking our native language. This in itself cuts us off from a wealth of knowledge, or at least input that our minds can process and use in any way we choose.

2) Depending upon location the quantity of people who do speak our language is limited and as we've all seen, the majority seem to like to complain and walk around with a cloud over their heads all the time. Look at other English speaking forums and look at all the negative comments vs positive. I don't really blame them as they're victims of the points I'm making here as well.

3) Regardless if English or Thai news, they are really not in the business of printing good news. We all get the full dose of Thailand's problems, the world's problems etc., on a daily basis.

4) We don't feel or have any sense that we're in control of anything as compared to where we came from. This is a very big deal for many/most, at least for males. If most of your adult life has been spent managing people and processes, life here won't be very fulfilling unless you can adjust that part of your personality.

5) Our hosts don't make it easy for us to feel welcome or part of society in general. Most are looked upon and treated as tourists even if living here for decades. Even if one becomes fluent in Thai there won't be full acceptance in Thai groups, and most will be viewed as an oddity and a source of amusement.

6) Unless a person has a large group of foreign friends with whom to socialize regularly, expats tend to become reclusive, and this naturally becomes worse as we age.

I don't have any solutions to the above except to try to understand them and deal with them the best one can. As always, all of this is......IMO. :D Pete :cheers:
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T.I.G.R.
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Re: Positive experience in Thailand

Post by T.I.G.R. »

Been here seven of the past ten years. Many more positive experiences than negative; to many to pick one or two out.

To be happy wherever you are takes determination and a fair amount of self-knowledge. If you are not introspective you can lose track of what you right and what you do wrong, leading to a lot of dissatisfaction.

Only one person in the world can make you happy or sad, yourself. Try to enjoy whatever comes your way for what it is. Except for Thai driving skills of course....then it's just best to get out of the way!
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Re: Positive experience in Thailand

Post by ExpatJohn »

We were getting a Air con put into our master bedroom and the electrician who was Thai and was doing the wiring noted the fuse panel was installed wrong(we had been in the house for 3 months) And was improperly grounded. He proceeded to go outside and shut off our power and removed the fuse box and reinstalled so it was properly grounded
and took only the money for the Ac wiring job ( 1000 baht if I remember) as that was his quote even with him staying about 3 extra hours.
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