Are You Happy Here?

Post by **usual suspect** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:02 pm

How many of you came to HH,all was sweet,then over the last few years this place has started to get to you?
Maybe I'm just getting fed up of dogs sh****** outside my house,(cant shoot 'em cos family are Police),constant litter in our street, Thai-Chinese corner-shop owners that do not consider smiling or any form of thanks (god forbid they should verbally show any gratitude for your purchase),Thais on the street or in shops that blatantly walk AT you,knowing YOU will move outa THEIR way/path. I could think of more.
I may be a minority here but I feel the farangs in this town NOW are really not welcome here anymore (if ever).
I know many will tell me to go elsewhere then,but maybe some of you can see a change over the years also....???
(Or are these little gripes a reminder I'm just a guest here?)

Post by **Wanderlust** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:34 pm

usual suspect,
Some of those things ring true but if someone walks AT me I let them bounce off me - I'm big enough for them not to do it again! Of course afterwards I will say sorry in Thai...

Any tourist destination changes over time and I have seen others doing the same - Koh Samui and Koh Chang have both changed since I went there first and I am sure they will go through a stage where some locals resent the tourists/farang but probably they will either adapt or leave.
Others have mentioned dog mess in the past to me but I never seem to come across as much of the stuff as I did in the UK so I can't say it bothers me, and its not exactly the dogs fault that its toilet is now your street! I think you may just be unlucky with that one. As far as unfriendly staff/shop owners goes I don't think that has changed much really and I still think it is a small minority.
What has changed is the tourists that come here, and there are now both more of them as well as more rowdy types, so inevitably the general perception of farangs may go down with many Thais. We are generally more demanding and confrontational as well, however hard we try not to be, so that also marks our card in the general scheme of things.

Post by **Big Boy** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 10:06 pm

Thais on the street or in shops that blatantly walk AT you,knowing YOU will move outa THEIR way/path.

I've had a few try that in the past. Their faces are a picture when they bounce off.

Trouble is, I don't think it's blatant that they are trying to make you move - they're just not looking. I've said it before - if you look at the way Thais walk, it goes a long way to understanding how they drive.

Post by **Big Boy** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 10:08 pm

Wanderlust,

You obviously have similar 'bouncy' experiences. I responded to usual suspect before reading your post.

Post by **nanyang** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 10:25 pm

After eight years here, and two young daughters to consider, it's time to move on.

We will return to our house as and when and, once the kids have been educated, we may well decide to return full time.

By that time a clearer picture of where Thailand is going may have emerged - though I'm not offering any odds.

Post by **migrant** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 1:51 am

Big Boy wrote:
Thais on the street or in shops that blatantly walk AT you,knowing YOU will move outa THEIR way/path.
I've had a few try that in the past. Their faces are a picture when they bounce off.

Trouble is, I don't think it's blatant that they are trying to make you move - they're just not looking. I've said it before - if you look at the way Thais walk, it goes a long way to understanding how they drive.

I agree Big Boy, they're just not looking.

I'm tall, and big enough to bounce off, but my problem is on rainy days all those umbrella points are at eye level for me in Thailand!!

I have to bob and weave more than Ali ever did!!

Post by **Big Boy** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:50 am

At 6' 5 and a half inches my head is usually in the clouds, way above the umbrellas

Spitfire · Post by **Spitfire** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 10:41 am

After about 8-9 years, it's still better here than in the UK from what I hear from people I know there. I suppose I am pretty happy, would move if I wasn't. Agree with some of the points made by others such as the "shine" has gone because I know the place too well now. Once you can look through the facade that is presented to you then you get to 'see the score' quite well and understand were you really are, which helps you.

Immigration? Petty proceedures but, well, up to them what they do, they won't change the xenophobic policies on my account.

Corruption? To be expected all over Asia, knew that before I came so not an issue.

If I was in the UK then I'd be 28 years away from retirement, screw that! Working here is only a semi-employed situation, 12-15 hours a week, if I'm not teaching then I'm free to go home and be with the Mrs. Not going to get a job like that back in the UK that provides me with the same standard of living that if possible here.

So, yes, happy enough. There is also hope that even a place like Thailand, that is full of nationalistic dogma, can and probably will change eventually.

I suppose, if I was to have a gripe then it's the constant lying by everyone here, it's almost got to a point were I sometimes find myself automatically assuming that the person who is speaking to me is taking shite. It's something that I guess I'll never really get used to.

sargeant · Post by **sargeant** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 11:03 am

What a curious coincidence you should ask this question on that day and time .When it came up I was feeling pretty down. Now I am feeling very sad but also very relieved and actually looking forward.(curiously maybe happy even)
You see my marriage has broken in totality and irrevocably was it due to me and drink NO, was it due to me and other women NO
Was it was because of Mrs Sarge being an alcoholic (in part), was it because Mrs. Sarge is an addicted gambler (in part) was it the slow wearing down with constant lies and deceit YES YES YES was it because she has run up 184,000 bahts worth of debt (so far/to date more to come I am sure) you damn betcha
But mostly it was because her friends were, still are and always will be gamblers/alcoholics and she had a farang ATM (and was therefore able to borrow) and as I have said sooooo many times on this forum its not the girl it’s the friends they listen to (which makes it her fault for listening).
As a young boy I read the story of the goose that lay the golden egg I never expected to be the goose let alone be strangled for laying golden eggs
One good thing my house is on a mortgage in her name I wont pay anymore I will sit until the bank reclaim the house and then move on having lost NOTHING and she has lost EVERYTHING.
Funny old world innit this could just as easily been anywhere in the world so no i am staying here not running away i am just gonna get on with my life whats left of it
to quote Frank : i will do it my way :

Post by **MrPlum** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:10 pm

sargeant wrote:You see my marriage has broken in totality and irrevocably

Sorry to hear that Sarge.

I may be teetotal myself but I still keep two beers in the fridge in case of emergencies. Feel free to come over and drown your sorrows.

Post by **Nereus** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:32 pm

MrPlum wrote:
sargeant wrote:You see my marriage has broken in totality and irrevocably
Sorry to hear that Sarge.

Yes, I will add to that, sarge. Not something you need at the best of times, but with your health problems to add to it you need to be careful how you go.
I am in a similar position with my daughter de-camping after a breakup with her boyfriend. The worst part is that she has taken her 4 year old daughter with her, and she used to spend more time with me than her Mother.

Post by **HHADFan** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 3:26 pm

Sarge, I'm very sorry to hear about this. Last time we talked things looked to be on the mend.

Post by **PeteC** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 4:23 pm

Yes, too much bad news on here of late. First Wobit and his legal problems, and now this. Do the best you can Sarge and don't let it eat you up. If things get nasty and vengeful, protect yourself and move out sooner rather than later. Pete

Post by **JimmyGreaves** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 5:02 pm

Happy but am also a little disappointed at the way HH has changed over the last 4 years. Also share Buksi view of how vunerable we are even though we have kids here and invested so much.

Post by **STEVE G** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 6:14 pm

Commiserations on the marriage front Sarge, and I hope you can move on in a positive fashion.

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